Draws on medical case histories, scientific findings, and personal research by the author to separate myth from fact and debunk a vast array of parental edicts.
A single promise can change a life forever. We all make promises constantly. “Yes, I’ll be there.” “Sure, no problem!” But do we really mean what we are saying? What is the impact of a broken promise? And what happens to a life when a promise is honored? Because I said I would is the international social movement at the forefront of shifting how the world views commitment and accountability. With over 10.3 million Promise Cards distributed, this cause has played a unique role in changing lives around the world. Heartwarming, humorous, inspirational, and tragic—these stories will challenge readers to look deep within themselves and consider the importance of the promises they make. Through a collection of inspiring short stories and concise philosophical chapters, readers will gain the following: • Practical life lessons from surprisingly raw stories of everyday people with incredible determination • Useful advice on how to get better at keeping promises • Inspiring perspectives that can be utilized in leadership and character development initiatives One hundred percent of the author’s proceeds go to because I said I would, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is bettering humanity through chapters of volunteers, character education in schools, accountability programs, and awareness campaigns with global reach.
The third deligtfully undead novel in New York Times bestselling author Michele Bardsley's Broken Heart series. Not just anyone can visit Broken Heart, Oklahoma, especially since all the single moms—like me, Patsy Donahue—have been turned into vampires. I’m forever forty, but looking younger than my years, thanks to my new (un)lifestyle. And even thought most of my customers have skipped town, I still manage to keep my hair salon up and running because of the lycanthropes prowling around. They know how important good grooming is—especially a certain rogue shape-shifter who is as sexy as he is deadly. Now, if only I could put a leash on my wild teenage son. He’s up to his neck in danger. The stress would kill me if I wasn’t already dead. But my maternal instincts are sill alive and kicking, so no one better mess with my flesh and blood.
Yes, there are times when it’s appropriate to reason with your child, to patiently and eloquently explain why he or she needs to do as you ask. You might present convincing arguments like “Because it makes you strong”; “Because it will keep you safe”; “Because it’s good for you”; “Because it’s bad for you.” But there are times when the only thing that really makes sense is . . . “Because I said so!!” This book is a hilarious, honest romp through motherhood—the joys, the sleeplessness, the frazzled days, the unending carpooling, the in-house refereeing, the dieting (yeah, right), the worrying—and did we say, the joy? Here’s what some of that joy looks like—with excerpts straight from the book: • I tried to do the Buns of Steel video, but quickly realized that it wasn’t intended for people who have buns of pudding. • I felt like my head might explode. I kind of hoped it would so I could take a nice, peaceful ambulance ride out of there. • I was a little at a loss. I mean, those parenting books don’t tell you how to break up a fight over an imaginary friend. • Moms aren’t allowed to get sick more than one day a year. Single moms aren’t allowed to get sick ever. • Before you have children you can’t imagine yourself saying things like “Don’t put chocolate milk in your pants,” “Take the hot dog out of your nose,” or “Because I said so!” If you’re a mom-to-be or a mom in the trenches, you’ll love knowing that you’re not the only one out there who sometimes just figures it out as you go along—and sometimes can’t figure it out at all. But in the end, Dawn has these words of encouragement just for you: “Enjoy this time. Even when they make you crazy, these are the best days of your life.” And they really are, aren’t they?
People are often misunderstood and mistreated by others they have always looked up to and respected, including authority figures within the church, which can prevent them from reaching their God-given destiny. Many people still struggle with believing and trusting in God. They don't know to how to use the tools given to them as believers to their fullest extent. In Because He Said So, author Talin Aintablian explains in practical ways how to have and exercise their faith and con dence in God, while challenging the reader to put faith to work step-by-step in order to see the desired results.
Kesa Sapiro had to grow up fast. With her parents gone and a little sister to protect, Kesa has spent over a decade of her life trying to keep a roof over their heads. She’s learned the hard way that love is a luxury and that the price is way too high. When her sister Josie announces she wants to marry a boy she’s known for less than a month, Kesa immediately forbids it. Shannon Dealan is floored when her son-by-choice says he wants to get married to a girl he’s just met. Shannon has real reason to scrutinize any strangers who come into Paz’s life. She’s not about to let him do anything stupid—and that includes believing in love at first sight. She knows too well there’s no such thing. Hoping to soften the objections of their jaded, overbearing elders, Josie and Paz arrange for them to meet and discuss the future like civilized adults…but absolutely nothing goes as planned.
Because I'm your dad, you can have spaghetti for breakfast, French toast for dinner, and rocky road ice cream in the bathtub. In a text that's both playful and loving, a father expresses his hopes and dreams for a one-of-a-kind relationship with his child. Whimsical monster characters bring the silly and sweet scenes to life and keep the book universal. The book's ending, a moving tribute to the author's father, guarantees intergenerational appeal. Because I'm your dad, I will do all of these things for you and more . . . because that's what my dad did for me.
The Pulitzer Prize–winning film critics offers up more reviews of horrible films. Roger Ebert awards at least two out of four stars to most of the more than 150 movies he reviews each year. But when the noted film critic does pan a movie, the result is a humorous, scathing critique far more entertaining than the movie itself. I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie is a collection of more than 200 of Ebert’s most biting and entertaining reviews of films receiving a mere star or less from the only film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize. Ebert has no patience for these atrocious movies and minces no words in skewering the offenders. Witness: Armageddon * (1998)—The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they’re charging to get in, it’s worth more to get out. The Beverly Hillbillies * (1993)—Imagine the dumbest half-hour sitcom you’ve ever seen, spin it out to ninety-three minutes by making it even more thin and shallow, and you have this movie. It’s appalling. North no stars (1994)—I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it. Police Academy no stars (1984)—It’s so bad, maybe you should pool your money and draw straws and send one of the guys off to rent it so that in the future, whenever you think you’re sitting through a bad comedy, he could shake his head, chuckle tolerantly, and explain that you don't know what bad is. Dear God * (1996)—Dear God is the kind of movie where you walk out repeating the title, but not with a smile. The movies reviewed within I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie are motion pictures you’ll want to distance yourself from, but Roger Ebert’s creative and comical musings on those films make for a book no movie fan should miss.
The challenges facing mothers in the twenty-first century go well beyond tantrum control and potty training. Camille Peri and Kate Moses, the founding editors of Salon.com's "Mothers Who Think" column and the subsequent anthology of the same name, have once again compiled a selection of intimate and fiercely honest essays on the profound issues that affect women and their children. Because I Said So offers thirty-three unique perspectives on motherhood from such writers as Janet Fitch, Mariane Pearl, Ayelet Waldman, Mary Roach, Rosellen Brown, Mary Morris, and Ana Castillo. Witty and wise, their stories range from the anguish of giving up child custody to the guilt of having sex in an era of sexless marriages; from learning to love the full-speed testosterone chaos of boys to raising girls in a pervasively sexualized culture; from facing racial and religious intolerance to surviving cancer and rap simultaneously. This is the collective voice of real mothers in all their humor, anger, vulnerability, grace, and glory.