So Glad They Told Me - Book Release Day!

I've always tried to be real about both the great and the really hard parts of motherhood on this blog and on my Facebook page (shameless plug, follow it if you don't already. That's where I share the really juicy stuff. Also ridiculous pictures of myself for some reason.) I try to tell the truth about parenthood, to laugh (and make you guys laugh, too) and to cry, and to be honest about it all.

Last year, an awesome blogger named Stephanie Sprenger launched a campaign called So Glad They Told Me and asked other moms to share honest, real and helpful advice that other people had given them about motherhood (or the advice they wish they'd gotten.) And since I try to be real to the point of embarrassing myself, I shared this picture of myself sitting on an embarrassing pile of laundry along with some helpful advice that my dad gave me about housework when you've got an infant.

Spoiler alert: I no longer have an infant, and my laundry situation is still this embarrassing. 

The campaign went viral, and the above photo of me, my baby and my ridiculous pile of laundry appeared on television and on The Huffington Post. I'm so proud.

Then a while later on Facebook, Stephanie posted a call for submissions for a book, also to be called So Glad They Told Me. Guys, I wanted to be in the book so badly! I ended up submitting two essays on the very last day they were accepting submissions, and then I waited. And waited some more, because it turns out that I was wrong about it being the last day to submit. So then I waited some more.

And then I got an email telling me that ONE OF MY ESSAYS HAD BEEN ACCEPTED FOR INCLUSION IN THE BOOK!!! AAAHHHH!! The essay they accepted was about my parents - two amazing people who I'm proud to know - and about the only time I can ever remember my mom refusing to talk to me.

And today, that book is available for sale!! With my essay in it!! And my name!!! And a little bio about me that was somehow harder for me to write than the essay itself!!!

Honestly, since I just got my copy of the book three days ago, I haven't even had a chance to finish reading all of the other essays in the book yet (shocking, I know, with two young kids at home,) but I've loved the ones I've read! The book is a refreshing and honest look at parenting - both the amazing parts and somewhat less than amazing part. And it HAS MY NAME IN IT!!!

If you want to buy So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood, you can do so here!! (Full disclosure, if you buy it through that link, it will cost the same for you, but I'll get a small percentage of the sale. Like literally a few cents. But if you don't want me to get a few cents, you can just type the name of the book into Amazon and buy it that way.)

So, to summarize, I JUST GOT PUBLISHED IN A REAL LIVE BOOK!!!! And so did some other amazing women!! And you can read it if you want to.

I was promised more naps | Promote Your Page Too

The Beautiful Daughters

Towards the beginning of December, Nicole Baart, an author whose page I follow on Facebook, posted a request for applications for her "street team" to read advance copies of her not-yet-released book The Beautiful Daughters and then write a review of the book. Naturally, my reaction was "Free book?? Before anybody ELSE gets to read the book??? DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!" Also, she said she'd mail some gourmet chocolate and homemade organic soap along with the advance copy of the book, so, um... obviously I applied.

Then I got selected, and I suddenly got kind of nervous. Because, minor detail, I had never actually read any of the other books she's written, so I wasn't entirely sure that I even liked this author's books. If you didn't like her book, she wasn't expecting you to lie and say you did or anything, but still, you know, I didn't want to be like, "thanks for the free book. It stunk." Then I read her book. And it was good. Really good. As in, despite the fact that I have woken up to nurse Calista at least once a night (but usually two or three times) every night for four months and am chronically sleep-deprived, I still willingly stayed up past midnight to finish reading it. Two nights in a row. (I'll give you all a moment to pick yourselves up off the floor, as I assume you've fallen out of your chairs at this shocking revelation.)

So here's the scoop: The Beautiful Daughters is the story of Adri (short for Adrienne) and Harper. (Side note - how cute is the name Adri? If I'd read it before I had Calista, I probably would've suggested the name Adri to Dan as a possible name for our own beautiful daughter. And he would've said no. Moving on...) Adri and Harper are two former best friends who have been separated by time, a whole heck of a lot of miles, and one tragic event. It's equal parts suspense, mystery (from pretty early on you're told who committed a crime, but not how or when or why,) best friend story, romantic fiction, and a bunch of other goodies. Parts of the book are told from Adri's perspective and other parts from Harper's, so you see some of the same events and people through two different sets of eyes. Both main characters are well-developed and likable, and very early on you'll find yourself rooting for them to reconnect (all while trying to figure out why on earth they've been separated in the first place.)

The novel deals with some pretty intense themes, but without being too graphic, and the love stories are romantic but not sappy. Nicole Baart has absolutely mastered the art of writing vivid descriptions that allow you to visualize a person or place without being so overly detailed that you're thinking, "could you please stop describing a table and just move on with the story?" Overall, I loved the book, and now I'm planning to buy Nicole Baart's other books because I really like her writing style.

If you'd like to read this novel before you can buy it, you can win my Advance Reader Copy (autographed by the author) for your very own!! Not only will you get to read it before everybody else does (it's due to be released April 28,) it's also entirely possibly that if you take it with you to a doctor's appointment and have it sitting next to you in the examination room, the doctor might happen to notice that it's an advance copy and be impressed and then recommend some other good books you'll like. I'm not promising this will happen, but it has happened to 100% of the people who have read this particular copy of the book (although, to be fair, I'm the only one who has read this copy before, so...)

Wanna win it? (Of course you do.) Visit my Facebook page or check out the Facebook post below to enter (and check out the complete rules under the picture of my beautiful daughter with The Beautiful Daughters.)

Post by I was promised more naps.

This book comes with my 100% personal guarantee that Calista did not spit up on it.

Complete contest rules and details:
Open to residents of the United States age 18 and over. Contest ends 1/21/2015 at 11:59pm. Up to two entries allowed per person. Please do not comment more than two times on the Facebook contest post!

Requirements for the first entry: 
1. "Like" Nicole Baart's Facebook page.  
2. "Like" I was promised more naps' Facebook page. 
3. Leave a comment on the contest post on Facebook letting me know that you've liked both pages.

Requirements for the second entry:
In a SEPARATE comment on the Facebook contest post, tag at least two friends (or as many more as you wish) who you think might be interested in entering the contest to win a free book.

One person will be randomly selected to win an autographed Advance Uncorrected Proof copy of The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart and will be notified of their win via Facebook. The winner is responsible for providing me with a mailing address within 72 hours of being notified. If the winner does not contact me within that time frame, the prize will be forfeited, and an alternate winner will be chosen.

This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook. By entering, you agree to release Facebook of all liability pertaining to said contest. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This prize has no assigned value as advanced reader book copies are not available for retail sale.