Z is for Zany: Crazy Daze of Motherhood by Jane Isfeld Still

A good mother lives to tell the tale—and a great mother learns to laugh about it. I hope I can laugh as much as Jane Still does in her book Crazy Daze of Motherhood. It seems like Jane has enjoyed more than her fair share of zany adventures (especially since this is her second book!)

I read this quick, funny book in one sitting—you know, sort of. (Jane would understand!) Jane chronicles a number of tales (which probably weren’t all funny at the time) of household and childhood mishaps—stories that all sound familiar and ring true, but Jane tells them with humor. I really did LOL as I was reading, and had to stop to read some of the stories aloud to my husband.

It’s hard to pick a favorite from the book, but one of the ones that stood out was an early story in the book, where Jane’s oldest (then 2) locked himself in the bathroom. After basically declaring a state—or whole country—of emergency, she calls the university her husband attends and has them find him in class. When he finally comes to the phone, Jane tells him to come home immediately and take the door off its hinges so they can free their son (who sounds like he’s playing with the plunger). The resolution might be something that you can only laugh at in retrospect (and with the whole buildup from the story—seriously, if I tell you the punchline now, you’ll be like, “That’s it?” and I’ll be like, “Well, yeah, but only funny.”)

The short stories are also good for moms who have to get up EVERY TEN SECONDS to fetch, serve, feed, quiet, referee, calm, cuddle, love, discipline and otherwise raise their kids 😉 . If you’re so lucky to get to read more than one story in a sitting, you get to see the flow between stories, which is great, especially the references back to previous stories.

In all, this was a cute, fun, funny book. I want to read Jane’s first book, Mother’s Daze, and I definitely look forward to more from her.

What’s your favorite funny story about yourself or your kids? Jane covers hospital stays, locked doors, household appliances, cooking and more—it’s all fair game! (And maybe I’ll make the book a giveaway—if I can bear to part with it. If so, comment with a funny story by Monday night, midnight, to enter!)

I received this book free for review. <sarcasm>I’m bought easily, so a $9 book is worth my good name, reputation and readership. I’m a rubber stamp.</sarcasm> Okay, it didn’t influence my review.