Disclosure: I received this book from the Tommy Mommy program. Opinions shared are mine.
When I was pregnant, a friend of mine told me that pregnancy was the easiest part of motherhood. The hard part, she said, was raising a family. At that time, I couldn’t see past my fear of the pain of childbirth. Two kids, 13 years, and 60 pounds later, I completely understand what she meant!  Motherhood means that you google weird things like, “Does broccoli make your pee smell funny?” and “What does ringworm look like?”  Motherhood means that you stay up all night listening to your child breathe, wondering if it sounds tight or wet.  Motherhood means that your heart breaks every time someone else looks at your child with disdain or pity.  Why didn’t anyone tell me those things when I was pregnant?  I think that’s what my friend meant when she said the hard part was coming later. 

I’ve wondered if blogs were started by moms who were up in the middle of the night because they couldn’t stop their child’s hiccups or something.  Not able to go back to sleep despite the extreme exhaustion, they might have kept watch over the child using light from the computer screen.  A new wave of blogging has started in terms of books; many bloggers are creating hard copies of their blogs.  An example is The Magic of Motherhood, a collection of essays from the blog Coffee + Crumbs.  

Some of the stories are sweet, some are funny, and some made me sad. This book made me say, “YESSSSS, this!!!” and “Oh no.”  I even teared up a bit with its complete honesty and hope.  Though I couldn’t relate to every single situation, I definitely understood where those moms were coming from.  That’s a beautiful part of being a mom — it ties you together with other moms, whether you are the same or different in lifestyle, choices, or beliefs.

This book is also a wonderful resource for uplifting one-liners and meme-worthy quotes.  Things like “Score keeping has no place in your marriage” needed to be said, even after my 19 years of marriage.   I loved the chapter titles, too.  You’ve got to read something when it’s titled “In Defense of Mom Jeans,” you know?   The Magic of Motherhood would make a lovely gift for a first-time mom, but seasoned moms can definitely appreciate its wisdom.  Like me, some moms don’t figure out how hard motherhood is until they’ve been in it for a little while!  

One lucky Savings in Seconds reader will win a copy of The Magic of Motherhood. Will it be you? The giveaway is open to US readers ages 18+. Void where prohibited by law. Enter on the form below. Good luck!

Thanks to Tommy Nelson for sending me a copy of this book.