The Three Martini Playdate

“Lays out a plan for parents to enjoy themselves and not be slaves to their children while still offering their kids a warm, nurturing environment.” —Publishers Weekly Parents were here first! How did the kids suddenly take control? Sure the world has changed from the days when children were supposed to be seen and not heard but things have gotten a little out of hand. What about some quality time for the grownups? Author Christie Mellor’s hilarious, personal, refreshing, and actually quite useful advice delightfully rights the balance between parent and child. In dozens of short, wickedly funny chapters, she skewers today’s parental absurdities and reminds us how to make child-rearing a kick. With recipes, helpful hints, and illustrations, this high-spirited book is the only book parents will really need—and enjoy. Includes chapters on: Screaming: Is It Necessary? Bedtime: Is Five-Thirty Too Early? Child Labor: Not Just for the Third World! “Children’s Music”: Why? . . . and much, much more “Harried mothers who have given over their lives to their adorable little angels, beware: This book is the equivalent of a cocktail in the face . . . The book details the glories of saying no to your children, explains when you’ve gone too far in childproofing your home, laments our over-reliance on camcorders (‘a disease’) and suggests that the Tooth Fairy is getting robbed. Best of all, there’s a recipe for teaching your tot how to mix a simple martini just the way you like it—with lots of alcohol.” —Chicago Sun-Times

The author of The Three-Martini Playdate “delivers another clever, tongue-in-cheek self-help . . . Laughs and lessons for the beleaguered mom and dad” (Publishers Weekly). Chill the glasses! Christie Mellor is back with more irreverent and useful advice about life with children. Wickedly funny essays offer helpful advice on harnessing the energy of toddlers-gone-wild: on vacation, out to dinner, even just when grandmother stops by for a visit. Parents will relearn the art of traveling, socializing, and eating out like adults . . . sometimes with well-behaved children in tow. In dozens of short, kicky chapters like Cocktail Parties: Actually for Grown-ups! and The Theme Park Vacation: A Last Resort, Christie Mellor gently reminds parents that family vacations can truly be fun. Praise for The Three-Martini Playdate “Harried mothers who have given over their lives to their adorable little angels, beware: This book is the equivalent of a cocktail in the face . . . The book details the glories of saying no to your children, explains when you’ve gone too far in childproofing your home, laments our over-reliance on camcorders (‘a disease’) and suggests that the Tooth Fairy is getting robbed. Best of all, there’s a recipe for teaching your tot how to mix a simple martini just the way you like it—with lots of alcohol.” —Chicago Sun-Times

Christie Mellor, the bestselling author of The Three-Martini Playdate and Raised by Wolves, says You Look Fine, Really—and offers a droll, get-real guide to embracing and enjoying the adventure of mid-life. Complete with grooming shortcuts, tips on being your own personal trainer, and perfect party recipes, You Look Fine, Really provides witty and wise advice on how to add a sense of play and celebration to the everyday.

While Laura Ingraham was walking through a Northern Virginia shopping mall one Saturday afternoon, it all became clear to her. Everywhere she turned, she saw signs of the impending disaster: zombie teens texting each other across a café table; a man having his eyebrows threaded at a kiosk; a fiftyish woman shoe-horned into a tube top and skinny jeans; and a storefront ad featuring a Victoria’s Secret model spilling out of her push-up bra and into the faces of young passersby. Ingraham wondered to herself, “Is this it? Is this what our forefathers fought for? What my parents struggled for? I wonder if Victoria’s Secret is still having that two-for-one sale?” A menacing force surrounds us. We see it, we feel it, we know it. The country we love is in grave peril. While politicians and “experts” prattle on about the debt crisis at home, and terrorism abroad, a more insidious homegrown threat is emerging. It endangers our future and undermines our present. The uncomfortable truth is: We have become our own worst enemy. The culture we have created is now turning on us. We’re on the verge of drowning in our ignorance, arrogance, gluttony . . . can you believe there are only three shots of vanilla in a Caramel Macchiato?!? Now in an act of patriotic intervention the most-listened-to woman in talk radio casts her satirical eye upon all that ails American society. In this sharp-witted, comic romp, Laura Ingraham takes you on a guided tour through ten levels of our cultural hell. You know we’re in trouble when . . . • Airplane seats shrink—just as the passengers expand. • Celebrity baby names go from the peculiar (Apple, Stetson, and Daisy Boo) to the pathetic (Bamboo, Blanket, and Bronx). • People meticulously tend their virtual crops on Farmville, while their children eat takeout. • “Breaking News” usually means it happened yesterday. • The weddings last longer than the marriages. • Facebook has become a verb and reading has become an ancient art form. Of Thee I Zing is cultural commentary too funny to ignore, igniting a national conversation long past due. America, your cultural recovery begins here.

A breakthrough recovery plan for women who struggle with alcoholism, based on a groundbreaking new model Tens of millions of women today drink to excess and their numbers are growing. Now Dr. Kitty Harris, an experienced counselor and therapist who is herself a recovering alcoholic with more than thirty years of sobriety, presents a new model for recovery that focuses on treating the pain in women's lives that can lead to a vicious cycle of addiction?not on the shame that fuels it. Combining her personal and professional experience, Dr. Harris offers tools that can help women who want to recover as well as friends or family members who are seeking help for a loved one. Focuses on dealing with the pain associated with alcoholism in women, not reinforcing the shame Discusses the different types of female drinking habits, including binge drinking and drunkorexia Takes a plain-language, jargon-free approach that is easy to understand and shares the stories of recovering women of all ages and from all walks of life Is written by Dr. Kitty Harris, Director of The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery at Texas Tech University, with twenty-five years of private clinical experience working with adults and adolescents

Christie Mellor describes the new-found freedoms to be had when your adult children move out.

The indispensable cookbook designed for the demanding, chaotic and sleep-deprived days of new motherhood. Mothers-to-be read all the manuals and are diligent about eating well and getting enough exercise, fully aware that their health directly affects their baby’s development. But what about after the baby is born? How can an exhausted new mother who is low on energy and time still manage to eat healthily? For new mothers, especially those who are breastfeeding, maternal health is more important than ever, and yet during those first few weeks of hazy, blurry,“What am I doing?” chaos, it can be tough to find the time or inclination to look after oneself. Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit, a new mum roaming the house at 3:00 a.m., desperately trying to find something, ANYTHING, to eat, decided she wanted to make mothers’ lives easier as they learned to cope with their new, harried schedules. Consulting other parents, as well as breastfeeding and nutritional experts, Annemarie began to devise strategies for fast, easy and healthy eating. Healthy Mum, Happy Baby is packed with creative, delicious recipes that don’t require exact measurements and won’t be ruined if they aren’t served immediately (while you deal with the cranky baby), as well as big-batch meals for the freezer, time-saving tips on how to stock your pantry before baby and useful ideas for healthy snacks you can eat one-handed while you nurse. You’ll find the most current breastfeeding guidelines from the Canadian Paediatric Society, up-to-date information on toxins in breast milk, the scoop on omega-3s, and even a few ideas for reclaiming a bit of your life before baby. The perfect shower or baby gift, Healthy Mum, Happy Baby is a practical, invaluable resource for every new mother.

What makes a good mother? Are some women just born naturally maternal, or do mothers discover that part of themselves once they have a child? Now a renowned expert on the subject–and herself a mother of three–addresses the unspoken worries and fears that accompany motherhood and shares the reassuring message that every mother learns “on the job.” Dr. Valerie Davis Raskin has worked with more than four hundred mothers in twenty years of clinical practice and has discovered that mothering is just as developmental as childhood. Dr. Raskin identifies the nine challenges facing mothers from their child’s infancy to young adulthood, pivotal moments that put mothers to the test time and again–and yet from which they can emerge truly rewarded. • IDENTITY: How to gain confidence during those overwhelming first months after you’ve given birth or adopted, but don’t yet “feel” like a mother. • UNLOVING MOMENTS: Every mother’s secret guilt–learn to accept those not-so-precious moments when you don’t like the child you love so dearly. • HONORING THE FATHER: Tips for helping Dad stop feeling like a third wheel and bond with his child (and receive attention from you!). • SEPARATION: How to maintain a positive outlook on your child’s milestones, from the first day of preschool to packing him off to sleepaway camp. • SETTING LIMITS: How to put your foot down, even when your child kicks, screams, or cries. • IMPERFECT INSTITUTIONS: How to cope when your child does not have the best teacher or the most inspiring coach, or faces a less than fair grading system. • REVISED DREAMS: Your cute five-year-old in a pink tutu has no rhythm. Your nine-year-old cannot catch a ball. Learn to modify your dreams for your child–and follow your child’s dreams instead. • ADVERSITY: You can’t keep your child in a plastic bubble, but you can take a deep breath, relax, and be there for her when life gets tough. • SAYING GOODBYE: Discover the joys of loving your adult child while not living under the same roof. This wonderfully anecdotal, engaging, and accessible book is nothing less than an essential training manual for mothers of all ages. The bottom line: Just because motherhood is sometimes difficult, confusing, intense, sleepless, and frustrating, doesn’t mean mothers aren’t doing it right!