Um, could we get your help just one more time!

Yup, I hate to say it but we are STILL trying to figure out our title! A couple weeks ago we had the survey to vote for the title. And we got some GREAT suggestions. And then last week my sis and I got the hamsters running on their wheels in our heads again and thought of a few more ideas. So, one more time let us know what you think. Some of you may notice, we used your suggestions but added a subtitle to it.

I will put another survey up, but it won’t be visible on a mobile phone so I will give you the choices in the blog itself. Feel free to comment on FaceBook or on the blog below. We LOVE hearing from you!!!!! I also reposted the into to the book below, just to help out.

***What!?! It’s not just my kid : Two Sisters Misguided Manual to Motherhood

***What!?! It’s not just my kid : Perfectly Imperfect Moms

***Perfectly Imperfect : Two sisters Misguided Manual to Motherhood

***Perfectly Imperfect : Two Sisters tell ya, “”It’s not just your kid.”

This book is about…

Well, I would like to start off by telling you what this book is NOT about. This book is NOT the “Kid 101” manual. This book will NOT guarantee that your kids won’t argue, whine, or make messes. This book is NOT a “How to potty train in 12 hours” manual. In fact, if you are potty training while reading this book, I can almost guarantee that you will still be potty training when you are done, especially if you have a boy. This book is not how to create the “perfect” kid, nor is it how to be a “perfect” parent. This is the book you read BEFORE you read all those “How-to” books. Because, no matter what “parenting manual” you read, no matter what discipline technique you use, and how consistent you are at using it…you will still have those crazy days when NOTHING seems “manual”-friendly. There will be days your precious angels aren’t parent-friendly, and definitely days when you, the parent, aren’t kid-friendly! This book is about “how to” survive THOSE days.

This parenting business is the worst, best, exhausting, most fulfilling, scary, chaotic, amazing job we will ever have. Time and time again, I have met parents who use the condition of their house, their kids’ behavior, or other people’s expectations as a “measuring stick” to determine whether or not they are a GOOD parent. I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone else at times. In fact, one day I realized I had a chronic problem (and, no, it wasn’t drinking, unless you count coffee!): I carried a “judgment” bat around and used it to beat myself up emotionally about everything, especially when it came to my parenting. I knew something needed to change, but I didn’t know what. Fortunately, I stumbled into a TurningLeaf seminar on emotional growth, and it was there that I began learning about “Value Based Parenting” and that I really didn’t have to be perfect to be a GREAT mom!

Not only was I hurting myself with my “measuring stick” mentality, but being so hard on myself was affecting the way my kids responded to me. When we create unrealistic expectations of ourselves, we feel so defeated that we don’t have any energy left to actually parent. Our kids sense this negative energy, which magnifies the everyday challenges that simply come with raising kids. Instead, what if we learned to give ourselves some grace and laugh at the hilarious adventure of parenting?

I’ve been on this parenting journey for almost 15 years now, and let me tell ya, NO two kids are alike! Every child is different—some are more strong-willed than others—and there is NO “right” way of doing things. No magic formula. No manual for exactly how to parent in order to have a good kid. TurningLeaf’s Value Based Parenting principles thought me that I could stop judging myself for the mistakes I made and stop judging myself for my kids’, at times, embarrassing behavior. I realized everything that happened was part of a growth process for me and for them. I finally relaxed a little and really started to enjoy being a parent!

Five years ago, my sister had her first son and joined the parenting business. Together, we realized that one of the best ways to battle the harmful cycle of getting down on ourselves as parents was to laugh and cry together as we shared the CRAZY adventures and mishaps that we often had with our kids. This book is a collection of many of our stories. We want you to know your kids are NOT the only ones making a scene in the store or throwing spaghetti at your head. You’re not the only parent who fears your kids might need therapy when they’re older or is tempted to sell them on E-bay at times. We all have those days!

So, it’s time to put the “bat” down and start learning to laugh at life’s mishaps! We invite you to witness our experience as perfectly imperfect moms—GOOD moms. We hope that by inviting you into our lives and sharing what we have learned along the way, you find encouragement, kinship, and maybe even some tools to help you feel good about you and enhance your “perfect” parenting abilities. We hope you take on the challenges we have given you at the end of each chapter. These are challenges that have helped us, personally, to put down the bat, accept ourselves, and love the experience of parenting with its many ups and downs. We invite you to laugh with us, cry with us, pull your hair out with us, and enjoy the candid stories of two sleep-deprived, coffee-filled, almost gripped-with-insanity, but perfectly imperfect moms!