Mom Connection by Tracey Bianchi...A Book Review!

Sometimes I can't help but wonder if when my husband approaches our front door, if he takes a deep breathe and ponders for a split second what is going to be in store for him for the evening!  I'm pretty sure he does.  Eric comes home to a lot of randomness: stomping dinosaurs, super hero costumes, homemade crafts, but last week may have been the strangest.  He came home to me standing in the yard with a brand new hula hoop. 

Now hula hooping isn't a strange sport, especially since we have a son who loves all toys, and would love a hula hoop.  However, when Eric came home, Samuel was asleep and I'm 6 months pregnant and am in no place to hula hoop.  I saw him take a deep breathe, put on a smile and ask, What are you doing with a hula hoop babe???  I'm still thankful he didn't call my OB, my mom, or his mom and inform them that his pregnant wife has officially lost it!  But there was a reason to my purchase of a brand new hula hoop...I blame it solely on Tracey Bianchi and her book Mom Connection. 

I do not know Tracey Bianchi, but over the past two weeks her book has inspired me to not only buy a hula hoop, but to: stalk someone (well not really, the suggestion was to reach out to a mom who might be lonely), have a picnic, covet my calendar, and slow down.  It's really quite impressive that someone I don't know could inspire me so much, but after reading Mom Connection, I was quite inspired!

I read A LOT of parenting books!  A LOT!  I'm just that type of person!!!  I need as much information as I can on topics that are pertinent to my life...and currently motherhood is my life!  I can truly say I enjoyed each and every chapter of Mom Connection.  Tracey Bianchi has a way to make you feel like she's right there with you as you read Mom Connection.  You can relate, you can laugh, you can take a deep breathe and be relieved that you aren't the only one who ________. (Fill in the blank: felt lonely, felt overwhelmed, felt chaos, felt happy, really, just pick one or add one of your own!)  I truly appreciated Mrs. Bianchi's ability to reach out to her readers, connect on an intimate level, yet make you laugh at the same time!

Each chapter of Mom Connection has a whimsical title that relates to things most mothers can relate to...playing games: Hula Hoops (Why We Need Rhythm in our Lives), Ring Toss (Balancing Our Marriage), Hide-and-Seek (Discovering Your Gifts and Talents), etc.  Simple concept, but it's the simple things that get lost in motherhood.  Mrs. Bianchi has a great way to gently remind you of things that may have taken a back burner once you have kids and bring it to the surface again! As a first time mom (and soon to be a second time mom), I found that this book was relevant to me.  I could relate, understand, been there/done that.  However, I think this is also a book, the more children you have the more amazing this book will be for you!

One of my favorite parts of the book is that it is "interactive" at the end of each chapter.  There are Five Mom-Tested Tips.  I have read the whole book, but I am going back now and trying each chapter again with the mom tested tips and have really enjoyed taking a few minutes out of my day for me and trying them out!  There are practical tips (like buying a hula hoop, as a reminder to all the hoops you have to keep going in your life), a prayer or blessing, and an idea to journal/write about.

Kudos to Tracey Bianchi for producing a book that all mom's can laugh, cry, and laugh some more with!  It was enjoyable to remember all the hoops that I keep going in my life, and a great reminder that my life is just more than "hoops," that motherhood is rewarding and fun!

Posted below is my hula hoop and book...please ignore the bloated, swollen look I'm sporting!  Not only am I six months pregnant, but I have a lovely case of Poison Ivy that has covered my entire face, chest, and arms!  *sigh* just another hoop to keep going in life!!