Treasure Find from the Library
Book Review of M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual) by Doreen Cronin and Laura Cornell
You know when you are having one of those Mom days where the baby’s poop has leaked out of the diaper and gotten on your pants, your preschooler has helped themselves to cereal and milk only now you are washing the floor with cloudy, white not so waxy substance and your elementary school kid tells you at 7pm that they have a huge project due tomorrow for school. Super Mom to the rescue! Some days I truly do feel like a need a special cape with magical powers so when I spotted M.O.M (Mom Operating Manual) by Doreen Cronin and Laura Cornell at the library my interest was snagged.
The book is written as a how to guide for kids on how to properly take care of their mothers. It is meant to be a hilarious look at a life of a mother and how our kids can help spot when there are problems in our daily care and maintenance and of course what to do in case of malfunctions. I read this one to my almost 7 year old but I think I laughed more than my son did reading this one. My son, however, was very interested in the malfunction section.
The book starts with a basic introduction to explain that mothers can come in all shapes and sizes with various talents and skills and then precedes to give us a brief historical overview of mothers through some different ages (Cave mom, Pilgrim mom and Hippie mom).
The next section shows the kids what your modern mom might look like. When I asked my son which one mommy usually looked like he did say that I looked most like #1 Reasonable alert and attentive mom. Bless his heart. However, I think I usually look like #2 Pleasant yet fried around the edges mom and when all 3 kids are sick especially with stomach bug I definitely look like #3 Barely upright but still functioning mom.
The rest of the book is divided into sections that explain proper Daily Care and Maintenance which includes topics of Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise, Grooming, Outdoor Use and of course a Trouble Shooting section in case of malfunction. See accompanying video from her site for images of moms:
http://www.doreencronin.com/mom!.html
The book presents light hearted advice to your child about what to do if they experience a Malfunctioning Mom and how to reset your Mom. My son loved the last tip which included singing what is called the Cranky Pants song. (Sung to the tune of Mary had a little Lamb)
Cranky Pants Song
Why do you wear cranky pants?
Cranky Pants?
Cranky Pants?
Why do you wear cranky pants?
Breathe deep and count to ten.
There are accompanying actions while singing the song but my son would not be filmed actually singing this song. Don’t blame him, but when he starts singing this to me when he perceives me to be malfunctioning I can’t help but stop, laugh and reset myself. So I would recommend this book for Moms if only to remember to go gentle on yourself.
Creating your own M.O.M. operating manual:
1. Check your model # as your M.O.M. can not be returned for refund and there is a lifetime warranty as long as you maintain the maintenance schedule.
2. In addition to the proper maintenance discussed in the book I am going to add a few of my own to personalize it.
- 1 massage a month (does not include feet on back while child is co-sleeping)
- Hair appointment every 6 weeks to keep up appearances of #2 Pleasant yet fried around the edges mom
- 1 coffee date with girlfriends a month so I can enjoy 1 hot coffee instead of reheated microwave coffee
- Bathroom breaks without children 90% of time (ok not feasible until they are older)
- 1 day of shopping for just mom for everything non-essential which just means I can wander freely in whatever store I want without having an escape plan.
What would you add to the maintenance schedule? How do you reset yourself if experiencing a malfunction?
I would love to hear about other great books you and your children enjoyed together. We can connect on Twitter or Instagram.
Cheers,
Bonnie
