[Guest Post] “Claire and the Beast” Giveaway

[Guest Post] “Claire and the Beast” Giveaway

So I have this annoying friend.

He’s also ambitious and prolific. Which is what makes him so annoying. He’s constantly writing and drawing and illustrating and just generally striving, mostly in between mind-numbing meetings at his high-powered job. All that’s on top of living with two kids and what simply has to be a really understanding wife. Like, supernaturally understanding.

This Renaissance man’s name is Joel Bernard, and he recently completed one of his many projects! It’s a children’s book he wrote and illustrated himself. This endeavor took two years, and if the following post is to be believed, a fair amount of hand-wringing. But he did it, and he’s just now starting to put it out there into the world.

He’s written a guest post (he somehow doesn’t have a blog of his own) about this new book, why he wrote it, and why he’s so annoying and stuff. Check it out; not only is his post funny and probably meaningful (I haven’t actually read it), there’s a chance for you to win a signed, hardcover copy of his new book at the end!

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You’re a Good Parent

You’re a Good Parent

I don’t know you. And I don’t know your kids.

I have no idea what they’re like, how they act in public, at restaurants, in movie theaters. I don’t know if they have good manners, if they curse, if they listen to you more than they don’t, if they eat their dinners without argument and clean their rooms when asked.

I’ve never met you and probably never will. I couldn’t pick you out in a lineup. (I hope you’re not in any line-ups.) I don’t know if you’re quick to yell, or if you’re lazy, or if you’re neglectful.

But that doesn’t matter. I know you’re a good parent.

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[E-card] What Breastfeeding Says About You

[E-card] What Breastfeeding Says About You

It’s World Breastfeeding Week. I don’t think that means I get to partake, but I’m gonna go ahead and support it anyway. I mean, there’s no point in stopping now.

A few months ago I wrote something about breastfeeding, in which I suggested that many of us do far more disgusting things in public than those mothers who dare keep their helpless children alive through the miracle of biology.

The uproar over seeing a woman do something so natural, necessary and worthwhile always confuses me. But I think I’ve finally figured out why it makes some people so upset.

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Fair Comparisons

Fair Comparisons

If you’ve spent anytime on my blog, you probably know I’m no stranger to a good list.

I have written a lot of them, and almost all of them are collections of hilarious AND TRUE ways that children or parenting (or writing lists!) is/are like other things, like prison or homeless people (or writing lists!).

Comparing children to non-children things is a popular pastime, and an easy way to both let off steam and give non-parents an idea of what the child-rearing experience is like. Most of the time the comparisons are extreme, because everyone knows exaggeration is the absolute funniest thing in the history of the universe. But they all have a kernel of truth.

So which are the funniest and most fair comparisons? I’m glad you asked.

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[Video] Room Trailer

[Video] Room Trailer

Newsflash: I’m not a particularly emotional guy. And I pretty much never get emotional about fiction.

I don’t cry at movies, or TV shows, or books. Sure, some stuff tugs at my heartstrings and I’ll occasionally well up a bit, and I love a good heartwarming moment as much as the next person (like the end of Without a Trace), but tears? No.

Truth be told, I didn’t cry reading Room either. For the entire first half of the book I was crawling out of my skin and almost had a heart attack, but I didn’t cry.

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