Proving once again that there is nothing more universal, or funny!, than parenting, internationally recognized humorist Linda Sharp opens the door to her home and welcomes us all in! From the beginnings of pregnancy to the droopy boobed realities of life after labor, to the struggles of raising a 42 year old child named Husband, her candor and wit leave no stretchmark unturned! You'll laugh yourself to tears as you see your own life in every word, and you'll end up wondering if she has been peeking in the windows of your house! Actually she has been hiding in the closet and has asked us to inform you that you are almost out of vacuum cleaner bags.

Inspiration and ideas for exhausted moms who want to reconnect with themselves—and create more time, peace, and joy in their lives. After spending a long time in the other-focused world of raising young children, women may find themselves struggling to remember how to take care of themselves. They may even feel guilty for wanting to do so, or wonder if it’s even possible. At a time when mothers are busier, more stressed, and less healthy than ever, this book offers realistic answers you can implement into your frenetic life. You’ll learn how to fix the disconnect between what’s truly important to you and what you spend your time, resources, and energy on. Stretch marks serve as emotional, visual, and psychological metaphors representing your ability to grow and push past your limits—and here, Amber Trueblood addresses the challenges mothers face in a funny, entertaining, supportive, and judgment-free environment. Using her A.M.B.E.R. Mindsets, you can learn the tricks and tools necessary to stop living the life you’re told you should be living—and start living freely.

A soul-searching 'self-help' adventure that delves deeply into 'Anny Mancy's' heart, soul and entire being. She explores her own sanity, existence and reason for being in a delightful, easy to read, can't-put-down style ... Growing up, being different, being bullied, being made to feel less than worthless; these are emotions too many girls and young women live through and hopefully, survive.

"I dare you to find even one page of this wonderful book that doesn't make you laugh. Linda and Shana are hysterical squared! And I mean that in a good way their musings made me smile, snort, and shout, 'Exactly right!'"-Debra Garfinkle, author of Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl (Putnam, 2005) Sex may take place in The City, but there's plenty of sass in the suburbs. While Linda Sharp and Shana Moore might cop to being housewives, these gals are far from desperate. Rather than finding their thrills with a pool boy, Sharp and Moore delight in taking the head-splitting struggles all women experience, and making you laugh until your sides have busted their seams. Linda and Shana tell it like you've experienced it only this time around it's funny. Their flat out honest portrayals of PMS and unearned sweat; puppies and grown women who piddle; sagging breasts and husbands who often act like boobs, will leave you smiling, and feeling less alone in your leaky rowboat. "Femail got me laughing out loud! It's a celebration of friendship that's at once irreverent, feisty and heartfelt."-Alison van Diggelen, founder & editor of Silicon Mom "Moore and Sharp unite tongue and cheek for a hilarious, witty, sometimes frumpy, sometimes sexy romp through the daily challenges and international nuances of motherhood in the twenty-first century."-Kymberli Brady, author of The Sleepy Little Star and Give Them Wings and Let Them Fly

Like Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, Remember Mia is a riveting psychological suspense, exploring what happens when a young mother’s worst nightmare becomes devastatingly real… First I remember the darkness. Then I remember the blood. I don’t know where my daughter is. Estelle Paradise wakes up in a hospital after being found near dead at the bottom of a ravine with a fragmented memory and a vague sense of loss. Then a terrifying reality sets in: her daughter is missing. Days earlier, Estelle discovered her baby’s crib empty in their Brooklyn apartment. There was no sign of a break-in, but all traces of seven-month-old Mia had disappeared. Her diapers, her clothes, her bottles—all gone. Frustrated and unable to explain her daughter’s disappearance, Estelle begins a desperate search. But when the lack of evidence casts doubt on her story, Estelle becomes the number one suspect in the eyes of the police and the media. As hope of reuniting with Mia becomes all she has left, Estelle will do anything to find answers: What has she done to her baby? And what has someone else done to her?

Beginning with infertility and one couple’s struggle with building their family, Stretch-mark My Heart dives headlong into the fragmented world of the US foster care system. Following the adoption journey of Matt and Niki Tschirgi (pronounced Sure-Gee), this book lays the groundwork from start to finish regarding what it takes to have a child permanently placed in your home for adoption. Through fostering, private adoption, open adoption, and foster-to-adopt, Niki recounts the lonely and grievous road of infertility, her and her husband’s decision-making process to choose adoption, the hard work and perseverance to get licensed to be foster parents, and the finalization of six adoptions. Discover how the Tschirgis became a blended family over the course of six years and doubled their family size while moving from Washington to Texas. Stretch-mark My Heart will immerse you in the complicated process of accepting and loving into your home children who were born out of trauma, abuse, and neglect. See how each child was uniquely meant to be a part of this family. Travel along this bumpy yet inspiring road and explore many facets of adoption, including sibling-group, multiracial, infant, and older-child adoption. Although heartbreak, trials, and the unknown are present throughout this book, triumph, miracles, unconditional love, and belonging overshadow the pain and loss of infertility, as well as the brokenness inherent in being a child in foster care. Stretch-mark My Heart will help you understand the intricate and detailed plan that God had for a family to be built together by the power of choice… the choice of adoption.

Why can’t I lose the extra weight? Why am I shedding like my pet golden retriever? I’m just too tired to have sex— and it hurts. What should I do? How can I tell the difference between the “baby blues” and a real depression? Why am I having so many fights with my husband? At last your baby has arrived, and you’re experiencing all the joys that come with being a new mom. But you may not have bargained on acne and enlarged feet, not to mention constipation, vaginal pain, mood swings, or perhaps one of the more serious conditions that pregnancy can trigger. So what can you do to deal with all these unexpected challenges? In this compassionate, comprehensive guide, Dr. Jennifer Wider, a physician as well as the mother of two small children, delivers up-to-date medical information, candid answers to a host of questions, and expert advice on a range of postpartum issues, including: Sex and intimacy after pregnancy—physical and mental roadblocks •Marital stresses and strains •How to safely lose weight and exercise •Cracked nipples and other breast-feeding concerns •When the baby blues are more than just a phase •Coping with thyroid problems, anemia, diabetes, urinary incontinence, and other conditions that can show up during or after pregnancy From redefining yourself to taking care of yourself while caring for your baby, The New Mom’s Survival Guide offers such a wealth of practical help that new moms will turn to it again and again.

"Mia is a granola-eating, sensible shoe-wearing, carbon-footprint-conscious twenty-something living in a multicultural neighborhood in Chicago. Her mother, Babs, is a stiletto-wearing Zsa Zsa Gabor type who works as an activities hostess on a Caribbean cruise line...and if you guessed there's some tension there, you'd be right. Factor in an unexpected pregnancy and Mia's idealistic boyfriend, and the mother-daughter relationships is, well, stretched very thin. As is Mia's sanity when Babs shows up to...help..."--p.[4] of cover.

Say yes to the dreams God has planted in your heart. Every woman was born to dream—to live a life of beauty, passion, adventure, and purpose. No matter how big or how small they are, our dreams push us to become women of courage, grace, and grit. God in His goodness breathes new dreams within our hearts and revives the dreams that have died, inviting us to trust Him as we dream impossible dreams that only He can bring to pass—because God not only gives dreams; He fulfills them. In this book and companion six-week Bible study we will look at Moses’ journey to live out the God-sized dream given to him, exposing the ancient wisdom and truth God offers for every woman with a dream beating in her heart. With timely truth and encouraging accounts of God’s heart and hand in the life of Moses as well as in the lives of ordinary women, author Tiffany Bluhm will dare you to dream the impossible dreams the Lord is stirring in your heart, reclaim any broken dreams, and trust God for the victory. Throughout the study you will identify: The role of prayer as you grow into your dreams. The importance of obedience as you pursue what God has for you. Why your dreams are a blessing not only to you but also to others. How your failures can be a gift that help your dreams become a reality. The life-changing love, power, and wisdom of the Dream Giver. Get ready to discover the role you are designed and destined to play as you partner with God for the impossible! Book can be read alone or as part of a Bible study with the companion Study Guide with Leader Helps and DVD. She Dreams Bible Study Features: Encourages readers to discover and follow their God-given dreams. Learn how to live a life of dreams with this study of prayer, obedience, and the wisdom of God. Helps readers discover the role they are destined to play through partnership with God. An encouraging account of Moses’ journey to live out the God-sized dream given to him. Book can be a stand-alone resource, or combined with the Leader Guide and DVD for a six-week study. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Study Guide with Leader Helps, and DVD.