Some Mid-Week Family Fun

Let's all grab our sippy cups and welcome Meredith Peters Hale as today's Wednesday's Guest. She is the author of the humorous look at motherhood, Mommy A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the Joys, Wonders, and Absurdities of Motherhood, which I reviewed last Sunday. The point of the sippy cup will become clear as you read the fun interview with the author, conducted by her children, and you can put the beverage of choice in your cup. Mine will have coffee, and as you can see, I have a tippy cup, which is what I remember calling a sippy cup when my children were young. But that was so long ago, who can trust my memory?

While Meredith and her children are entertaining us here, I am attempting to entertain readers at The Blood Red Pencil with a few jokes about writers. Come on by if you get a chance. 

The following is an imaginary interview with Meredith, conducted by her five-year-old daughter and one-year-old son. The children were not compensated for this interview, unless you consider string cheese and free room and board for eighteen years to be compensation.

Daughter: Today we are interviewing my Mommy, who wrote a book about me.

MPH: Well, actually, honey, it’s based on you and your brother. But it’s really about all mommies, and what it’s like to raise small children. From those moments when you feel complete, unbounded joy, to those times you want to lock yourself in the bathroom—except you can’t, because your toddler’s already locked himself in there, and you’re waiting for the locksmith.

Daughter (whispering): But Mommy, it’s mostly about me, right?

MPH: Yes, honey. It’s mostly about you.

Son: Ma-ma! Ma-ma! Cheese! Cheese!
(Interview pauses while Mommy gets cheese for Toddler, who has climbed onto the table and is jumping up and down like the gorilla in Donkey Kong.)

Daughter: So, what made you write a book about me?

MPH: Well, it’s not all about you, honey . . . never mind. One thing I talk about in the book is how I never planned to pursue humor writing. For a long time I wanted to write a great work of literary fiction, exploring deep, existential issues. But when I sat down to write this masterpiece, I found myself writing about . . . sippy cups. Motherhood had become a part of my life, a part of me. Suddenly it felt unnatural to write about anything else. Sippy cups it was!

Son: Cup! Cup! Cup!
(Interview pauses while Mommy gets cup for Toddler, who has climbed onto his sister’s head and is trying to eat her hair.)

Daughter: Are there princesses in the book?

MPH: No, no princesses. But lots of things that mommies can relate to, like attending three princess birthday parties in one weekend, or surviving the grocery store, or making small talk with your kid’s imaginary friend. Mommy A to Z is also about the joyful moments of motherhood—like when your baby bursts into giggles at his first game of peek-a-boo, or when your daughter blushes with excitement as she blows out her birthday candles, everyone she loves cheering her on. Because ultimately, while motherhood is full of chaos, it’s also filled with unimaginable love and happiness.

Daughter: Are there stickers in the book? Good books have stickers.

MPH: Well, it’s an eBook, so no stickers. One of the fun things about the book is that it’s organized as an encyclopedia. So, you have twenty-six chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet, with short entries designed to fit into a mom’s busy schedule. Entries cover all the day-to-day experiences of motherhood, such as “A is for Art Projects,” “B is for Birthday Parties,” “C is for Conception” . . .

Daughter: What’s “conception”?

MPH: Um . . .  did you have any other questions, honey?
(Interview pauses while Mommy chases Toddler, who has grabbed a roll of toilet paper and is proceeding to redecorate the hallway.)

Daughter: Will kids like the book?

MPH: It’s really a book for mommies, although there are also entries about dads and grandparents, and what makes those relationships so special. I love when readers tell me how relatable they found the book—how it captured the realities of motherhood while making them laugh.

Daughter: How do you get a book? Does it cost a hundred dollars? I have four dollars in my piggy bank, but I wanted to buy a My Little Pony.

Son: Pony! Pony! Cheese!

MPH: The book only costs $5.99, and I think the nice lady that invited us here today has links for people who want to buy it. It's available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble  and the Apple iBookstore. 

Daughter: OK, that’s all. Now I’m going to dress up in my Frozen gown and freeze my brother forever.

MPH: That sounds nice, sweetie. Don’t forget to clean up your room when you’re done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author:
Meredith Peters Hale is an editor and writer whose work has appeared on sites including The Huffington Post, Pampers.com and WhattoExpect.com. She has recently launched a new humor blog based on her book, MommyAtoZblog.com. Meredith currently resides in Westchester, New York, with her husband and two feisty (and energetic) children.

You can connect with Meredith on her  BLOG, FACEBOOK, GOODREADS, TWITTER and at her WEBSITE

 Buy the book at Amazon *** Barnes and Noble *** Apple

Book Review- Mommy A to Z by Meredith Hale

Mommy A to Z
Meredith Hale
File Size: 2893 KB
Print Length: 158 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00KIC4X0S


The full title of this humorous book about raising "tiny humans" is Mommy A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the Joys, Wonders, and Absurdities of Motherhood and the book is broken into chapters headed by, you guessed it, the letters of the alphabet. Each chapter has funny anecdotes and clever parenting advice, such as what to do with the overflow of artwork that your child wants attached to the refrigerator and how to deal with the young artist's ego when she notices a treasure is no longer there.

Meredith said that this is not a how-to parenting book, but she does offer tidbits of wisdom along with the witty commentary on the antics of her children. When she wrote about letting go of our children in small increments, that really resonated with me. She mentioned all the little ways that her daughter was asserting her independence and wrote: "But this was the first time I'd had to let go, to grant her some independence. It was a glimpse into part of what motherhood is: putting what's right for your child ahead of what's necessarily comfortable for yourself."

Having raised five children, I can attest to that push-and-pull between wanting to hold them tightly and learning to set them free.

Meredith also says in her introduction that sometimes laughter is the only barrier between motherhood and madness, and to that I can also attest. I got my start as a professional writer doing a weekly humor column that kept me from permanent residency in the closest mental hospital. Laughter is so good for us in so many ways, and certainly does make the "medicine" of parenting go down a whole lot easier.

While I marveled at how mothering has changed in the, ahem, many years since my kids were toddlers, there were still so many parts of the book I could relate to. So many sections had me laughing out loud, I was so glad I had swallowed my coffee beforehand. The book is written from a mother's perspective, but I think many fathers would enjoy reading it, too. It is a warm, funny, wonderful testament to the joys of motherhood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author:
Meredith Peters Hale is an editor and writer whose work has appeared on sites including The Huffington Post, Pampers.com and WhattoExpect.com. She has recently launched a new humor blog based on her book, MommyAtoZblog.com. Meredith currently resides in Westchester, New York, with her husband and two feisty (and energetic) children.

Meredith will be my guest this coming Wednesday, sharing a fun author interview conducted by her young daughter, who considers herself a princess. Please do try to come back to visit on Wednesday. In the meantime you can connect with Meredith on her other  BLOG, FACEBOOK, GOODREADS, TWITTER and at her WEBSITE

 Buy the book at Amazon *** Barnes and Noble *** Apple

Monday Morning Musings

I thought I would try a little different format for my Monday offerings. I've been accused of never wanting to change a thing - not even to move a sofa in my living room - so I am just showing some folks how versatile I can be.

WHAT I'M READING: Several books on tap for reviews. First up will be a humorous look at parenting, Mommy A-Z, which is scheduled for next Sunday. Good read so far. After that will come Silent Partner, a mystery that I am resisting the temptation to start reading. Need to do things in order, right? No link to that book as it will be released September 1.


WHAT I'M LAUGHING AT: The cat races that just started at my house. My cats love to chase each other from one end of the house to the other. If they would slow down, I'd try to get a picture.

WHAT I'M DISMAYED ABOUT: I may get lots of boos for this one, but I am really concerned about the doctor infected with Ebola coming to the U.S. Yes, great precautions have been taken as he was transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, but this is a very deadly virus, and according to experts, it is not entirely clear how Ebola is spread. Most commonly it is spread to a human by contact with an infected animal's bodily fluids. Transmission from first human infected can occur  through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person. Others can also be infected by contact with contaminated medical equipment, particularly needles and syringes. While direct contact is the most common form of transmission, it is likely that it can also occur through oral exposure and through conjunctiva exposure. That has proven the case with non-human primates.


Dr. Mike Brantly is a 33-year-old father of two young children who works for the North Carolina-based Christian organization Samaritan's Purse. He was in Liberia responding to the worst Ebola outbreak on record when he contracted the disease. Since February, more than 700 people in West Africa have died from Ebola, a hemorrhagic virus with a death rate of up to 90 percent of those infected. The fatality rate in the current epidemic is about 60 percent.


More about Ebola from the World Health Organization. While all of us pledging to remain civil about this, what do you think?

WHAT I'M LUSTING AFTER: BTW, this might not be a regular part of my Monday blog, but I just had to share the picture of this wonderful guitar owned by singer/songwriter, BettySoo. She did a concert this past Saturday at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, and I fell in love with her guitar. The concert was great, too, but the guitar....

Thanks to the talented Michael Alford for the wonderful picture.

BettySoo said there are only four of these guitars in existence. The possibility of me getting one are so slim, I wish my waistline looked like that. Well, maybe not. I do need some meat between my belly button and my back bone. But am I right about this being a great guitar?
 
AND NOW JUST FOR FUN: This one is from Shoe by Gary Brookins & Susie MacNelly.

Shoe walks into his favorite bar and says to the bartender, "Hi, Fred. What's new?"

"Sigh... Nothing good, Shoe... My divorce from Ethel has been finalized."

"I can sympathze with you. How did the settlement turn out?"

"It became quite the nightmare," Fred says. "Once I realized the decimal point was just a bagel poppyseed."

And this from Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley.

Mallard is on the news anchor desk and says, "As 'Back-to-School' time nears, we're joined now by our Mediocrity Correspondent, Dylan Custard..."

Custard says, "I'm seeing some really encouraging signes in the mediocrity movememnt. For instance, more school systems are ending the elitist practice of naming a valedictorian!"

Mallard responds, "Woo. You must be excited."

"Guaredely optimistic. But there are still some disturbing statistics like these." He hold up a paper.

"What do they show?"

"Who knows?! They're all fill of numbers! Math-adverse students immediately feel marginalized..."

Sadly, that is not so far removed from what really happens in so many schools across the country.