"Married Mom, Solo Parent" Review & Giveaway

I know I have been MIA again and I apologize. I haven't any great or exciting excuses either. Life is crazy with six kids. It just is. No matter how I plan or organize or dream otherwise. Between the dance recitals and the 18 year old falling and breaking her nose and four children sharing the stomach bug with the Soldier and I the week before Christmas, I just haven't had time for anything except coping. 

Yes, I am showering and even leaving the house, just in case you were wondering.

I have kinda been keeping up on my free ebook page. If you have missed it with the new format, you can find it here.

If you have ever been by before, you will know I love to read. I enjoy doing book reviews and sharing them with my faithful readers by giving them away. However, I tend to lean toward fiction. Give me a good book (preferably set in Scotland or Ireland) that I can immerse myself in for a few hours - and escape the dirty house and whining children - and I am happy.

I am not as excited about parenting or 'self help' books. I dread picking up a book where some woman (who is perfect and so are her children, I know because she spends half the book telling us so) preaches to me on what I am doing wrong and how she wants me to fix it, or on the other side - a book where I may have to look deep inside and admit that I need to change and do things differently (gasp!). 

That is probably the main reason this book sat on my dresser for longer than I will admit...

From the publisher: Bookstore shelves are full of parenting resources for moms who are newly divorced or widowed. But where do moms turn if they feel like a single parent--but they’re not? Whether he is away on business, deployed in the military, or obsessing over a computer game, dad may not be available for a variety of reasons. Moms who parent in this situation still need help and don’t necessarily relate to the advice given in divorce recovery or single parenting resources.

Married Mom, Solo Parent is a common-sense, down-to-earth look at the struggles wives and mothers face when their husband is not actively involved in family life. Writing from her own experience as a married single mom, Carla Anne Coroy will help wives and mothers sort through their questions, such as: Can I do this alone? How do I raise kids to honor their father? How do I give my children a healthy perspective of marriage if they never see one in action? With practical suggestions, anecdotes, and biblical teaching, this book will encourage moms to see their position as a high calling, to find healing for their worries and frustrations, and to tap into God’s strength for help in facing the daily challenge of being a married mom, solo parent.

Read a sample here.

The Soldier and I have been married for almost 20 years, but he hasn't been a Soldier for all of them. In fact, he had a pretty successful job when he joined the National Guard and living the military life has been a major adjustment for all of us. One thing that didn't change a whole lot was him being gone. In his civilian career, he would be gone for weeks or months at a time working on projects. In fact, he missed the last four months of my last pregnancy, just coming home in time for the delivery. While I got big and round and parented five children, he was taking ferries all over Alaska and eating out with his coworkers every night. At that point, I really wanted to trade places... 

I agreed to review this book because a) I love to read; b) I thought it would be a great giveaway for my MilSpouse friends. I had no idea that I was 'chosen' to review this book because I needed it so desperately. 

Through the good, the bad and the ugly, Carla Anne Coroy takes you through step by step and asks (and answers!) the really tough questions that we are all afraid to ask. She isn't the perfect woman telling you what you should be doing, but the one willing to share her story - mistakes, hurts and all. 

With chapters like "Emotional Divorce", "Those Should Be His Chores!", "Discipline Divided" and "Give Me a Break", you will learn biblical ways to face the emotions and struggles that come with being a "Married Mom, Solo Parent". I really appreciated how everything Carla Anne tackles is backed by scripture (and not preachy). 

This book hit me hard. Carla Anne answered questions and addressed hurts I didn't even know I had. I went through emotions that I have been stuffing for a long time. I will be reading it again - this time with a highlighter - and taking notes. There are even chapters I will be reading with the Soldier.

If your husband is in the military and deploying or training for long periods of time or he works away from home a lot or even if he has just 'checked out' of his roles as husband and father, this book is for you. You won't regret reading it and you may just finish with a new perspective and a changed attitude. I did. 

Don't miss Carla Anne Coroy's website. You can even download a free journal and study guide. (I love free.) 

Now for the giveaway!

  

How to enter:

1. Main entry - Leave a comment letting me know you want to win! 
Note: If you just can't wait for the contest to end to get your own copy of this book, you can still be a winner. Go ahead and enter and if your name is chosen, forward me your receipt from Amazon or other retailer and I will send you an $10 Amazon gift card instead! 
P.S. I would love it if you would shop through my link ;)  Click here for the Kindle version of "Married Mom, Solo Parent" and start reading it now!

Bonus entries - You must leave a separate comment for each in order for it to count!

2. Like "Our Crazy Life" on Facebook (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

3. Share this post on Facebook - or any other Social Networking Site using the "Share the Love" buttons below the post. One Bonus entry per 'share', make sure to leave a comment for each entry! (P.S. You can share 1x a day for each site!)

4. Follow me on Google Friend Connect (or if you already do, leave a comment letting me know!)

5. Add my button to your blog (Worth two entries, leave two comments!)
 
6. Like Carla Anne Coroy on Facebook.

Make sure you leave a way to contact you, either by having your reply-to email address set or by leaving your email address in your posts.

Contest will end Thursday, 1/26/2012, at 10:00 pm CST and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The winner will be mailed a copy of Carla Ann Coroy's "Married Mom, Solo Parent" via media mail.

*Fine Print: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

Linking up for Military Monday at Semper Wifey's!

Just another day without the Soldier...

Last year when we said goodbye to the Soldier, I never anticipated that we would be going into a second year of holidays without him. Yet, last night I carved pumpkins with the kids while the Soldier watched on Skype. I am not much of a Halloween person (a little too much work and sugar for me), but Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up fast with no clue when they will send him home.

On Saturday, I said goodbye for the fourth time. Once when he left last year in September, once when I flew to New Orleans for his four day pass and once again in May when he was home on leave. The first three times were hard enough, but we always had a date to anticipate his homecoming.

How do you tell six children - when they keep asking when daddy will be home - that we have no idea?

The Soldier has been on U.S. soil, for two months, in Army limbo. While the doctors and case managers and everyone else and their brother argue where and when the Army is going to fix what they broke. He has been denied leave and had surgeries scheduled and then cancelled. All while he sits and we wonder.

This isn't my first rodeo and I know it takes time for papers to process and orders to come through, but this is bordering on craziness. And he isn't the only one. There are dozens of other Soldiers, returning home from war, being kept from their families by red tape.

He has told me stories of wheel chairs too small for Soldiers, chow halls not handicapped accessible and other Soldiers having to take care of those who have had surgeries and are sent back to the barracks to recover. And in their brand new, 53 million dollar barracks, the Soldier has changed rooms three times for issues like no cold water in the shower and his fire alarm going off for three days (while the work order got passed along to several different people). What a joke.

I am tired of saying goodbye.

I am tired of the Army.

I am just so tired and ready for this to be over.



Love,

Military Friday 7-15-11

Here they are with their very cool HP
scarves that the 'cool mom' ordered
them for Christmas from Hooking Geek

I know I am a little late to the party today, but I have been trying to be the fun parent during deployment (usually the Soldier's job) and took the 10 & 11 year old monsters to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. There is going to be much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the 13 year old & 15 year old get home from camp and 4H Congress and find out we went without them.

They are still in shock this morning and can't wait to tell dad that mom is most likely ill or losing her mind - or maybe has been replaced by a way nicer clone. I am so tired that I am going to need a six pack of diet coke to make through the afternoon.

As much fun as I have been having, I can't wait for the Soldier to come home and take his job back over. Being the fun parent is exhausting! 

If you are a regular looking for the latest free ebooks, they are here and here. (Don't forget to double check the prices, they change frequently).

I love celebrating Fridays with my fellow MilSpouses. I am thankful to be part of a community that supports each other, even in the bloggy world. If you are a MilSpouse, we would love to have you join us. Link up with the MilSpouse Friday Fill-in at Wife of a Sailor and the MilSpouse Weekly Roundup today at The Science of Missing You.

Today's MilSpouse Friday Fill-in: 

1) If you could have a private concert with any singer, who would it be?  submitted by An Air Force Wife’s Blog 

My favorite singer is Anthony Kearns. Yes, most of my friends think I am crazy (the Soldier does too) and the kids complain that it is all we ever listen too (it isn't, but close), but he has an amazing voice and can sing just about anything - from Opera to Broadway to Irish folk songs. (Go ahead, click and listen. I will wait.) I would love to see a solo show of his again and since it is a private show, do I get to pick the songs too? The Soldier did get me tickets to see his latest opera for my birthday and I am very excited!

2) Is there anything you do to supplement your family’s income? submitted by Our Life, One Adventure at a Time 

I write. I have been paid a few times for articles like this one: How to Help a Mom During Deployment. I also do the occasional product testing and I clip a mean coupon. When I am actually grocery shopping (see #5), we save at least $100 a month with coupons. 

3) During your pregnancy (whether past, present, or future), what did you nickname your unborn baby before you knew the sex? submitted by Explosions of Love

Out of six, we only found out the sex of two of them during pregnancy. One was when they told us it was a boy (we didn’t believe them and still didn’t have a name until after he was born) and then with the last one (surprise!) and she was a week old before we had a name for her. We called her Bob for a while… No nicknames during pregnancy though. It was just the ‘baby’ or the alien taking over my body.

4) Have you ever won a blog giveaway?  If so what did you win? submitted by Mrs. O’s Life 

I have won a few. One was a DVD for the kids and one was a book on talking to your kids about sex. Yeah, we need that with all the teenagers we have. I also won an Amazon gift certificate from a really cool blog that I have been trying to find again. I lost all my favorites when my computer crashed.

5) If I looked into your refrigerator right now, what would I find? submitted by Married to the Army

Not a lot. It is time to go to the commissary again, only my Suburban died on the bridge last week and they want $800 to fix the fuel pump. (May was the water heater, June was my laptop and July is the car. I pray I get a break in August!) I wonder how much it would cost me to send the 18yo to do the shopping? Today, there are a couple of eggs, half a bottle of apple juice, a few red bell peppers, ketchup and some ribs defrosting. Dinner is going to be interesting to say the least. Maybe since it is payday, I will spring for a $5 pizza at Little Caesars - fun mom and all...

And don't forget to link up with The Science of Missing You for today's MilSpouse Weekly Roundup! 

Have a great weekend.

Love,

67th Annivesary of D-Day

"June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler." - Army.mil

I can't imagine the horror, the pain, the total and utter destruction that they witnessed and experienced as they landed on the beaches or dropped out of airplanes and started on their march across Europe.

I am very thankful for their bravery and for all that they sacrificed to fight for liberty.

If you know a WWII vet, hug them today and tell them thank you. They don't hear it often enough.






Love,