Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent! "It very well could mean you’re an INVOLVED parent—a scar-bearing member of the Parent Corps—and your greatest ally is a good sense of humor as well as the ability to laugh at, and make light of, the challenges of parenting." In that case, you'll want to order your copy today! Winner of the Adding Wisdom Award three years running: 2006, 2007 & 2008

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Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane... Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent! ISBN-10: 1411674189 ISBN-13: 978-1411674189 Parenting/Humor Trade Paperback - 6 X 9 218 pages January 2006 All proceeds will benefit The Hugs and Hope Club "Helping sick children one smile at a time."

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Book Reviews: You are not alone. If you ever wondered if you are alone in some of the everyday things you have to deal with, think again. Read this book and have a good laugh. Parenting is a roller coaster ride. Wendy Shepherd, www.MomShack.com You will laugh to no end! Only $9.95, it's worth every penny and then some. Lisa Barker shares her parenting experiences in "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane…Doesn’t Mean You Are A Bad Parent!". Ms. Barker's book explores the day to day life and happenings of being a mother in today's world, all written with a sense of humor. Some days we feel like crying. When those days approach, stop for a moment and pick up Lisa's book. It is sure to put a smile on your face, or worse make you roll on the floor in laughter. We can either laugh or cry and I prefer to laugh! ~ Wendy Wood, Mommies Magazine, http://www.MommiesMagazine.com Real life advice mixed with sincere humor. With wit and warmth, Lisa Barker - aka The Jelly Mom - offers real-life advice mixed with sincere humor in "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent" that sticks in the peanut butter daze of mommyhood. ~ Julie Watson Smith, founder of Mommy Hullabaloo and award-winning author of Mommyhood Diaries: Living the Chaos One Day at a Time I read that book in about a week! I couldn't put it down. Lisa has a sense a humor that only a mom can truly understand! I laughed the entire way through this book and I highly recommend it to ANY mom! If you don't laugh while reading this book ... you must have an honorary membership to the infamous "Parenting Police". Thanks to Lisa I now know that I really am NOT alone. When's the next book coming out? ~ Anita DeFrank http://www.MommysHelperOnline.com Motherhood Is A Laughing Matter At Lisa Barker's house, every day is Mother's Day. But that doesn't mean Lisa is getting cards, flowers, and gifts. What she gets is migraine-flavored shopping trips, toy-cluttered rooms, bad hair, a kidney infection, and loads of laundry. What you'll get is loads of laughs when you read Lisa Barker's book, "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent", which is published by Lulu. Lisa Barker lovingly and accurately refers to herself as Jelly Mom. You can imagine where that moniker is rooted considering she is the mother, chef, and maid to five children, ranging in age from bawling to sloppy to argumentative. Throw in a husband, a dog, and nine cats and you have one big hysterical family. "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane..." is a generous and funny offering based on Ms. Barker's syndicated "Jelly Mom" columns, and her take on mothering her "kiddos" will leave you bouncing off the walls with laughter. She doesn't stop at parenting, however. She is more than that. She is a woman and here's what she has to say on that subject: "I don't know where people got the impression that women were the weaker sex, especially when you consider that women today (as always) gestate, carry around a living, developing baby, go through intense labor, give birth and the next day they are nursing a baby while they vacuum, make grocery lists, chaperone toddlers, negotiate with their teenagers and order meat for the freezer all while standing over a hot stove cooking dinner." The appealing thing about Lisa Barker's sense of humor is that the joke is on her. She is the willing foil in this madcap menagerie and that's what makes it work. You also know that under that acerbic layer of wit is a mother who loves her children and wouldn't trade them for a million bucks. Her kiddos are what she is about. "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane" would make a great Mother's Day gift. Every mother could slip easily between the pages of Lisa Barker's book and find a little bit of her own self in this treasure trove of classic comedy. Lisa's column can be found online at www.JellyMom.com "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane" can be ordered online at www.lulu.com Review by Wendel Potter http://www.wendelpotter.com April 22, 2006 Wendel Potter, Chronicler and Humorist, is a contributing comedy writer for Jay Leno and has also written for Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, and the Yakov Smirnoff Show. Barker finds the hilarity of family life. I first “met” Lisa Barker over six years ago through my CatholicMom.com web site’s message board. I don’t think I knew her by anything other than her moniker “Little Mom” for the first several years of our acquaintance. What I did know, however, from those very first days, was that the woman could write! As busy as my days were, I always made time to read Lisa’s posts on the message board. She had the stunning capacity to blend spiritual insight with a lighthearted humor that never failed to touch me. I knew it was only a matter of time until I’d be promoting Lisa’s work through my CatholicMom.com Book Club. Well, here we are, six years later, and the time has arrived. Lisa Barker’s newly published book Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane…Doesn’t Mean You Are A Bad Parent! (Lulu, January 2006, paperback, 216 pages) is a must-read for any parent! Barker, the mother of five children and countless pets, takes a humorous look at family life and all of its insanity. As I’ve grown to know Lisa and her family, I’ve learned that as a wife and mother she’s faced some uphill challenges. Rather than going crazy, Barker finds the hilarity of family life and delivers it with such sweet wit that you can’t help but laugh out loud. Lisa’s book is one of those I keep within reach for precious moments of quiet “mommy” time to myself. I find, in reading her work, that I’m not only entertained but also inspired to look at life a little more lightly myself. I would recommend Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane…Doesn’t Mean You Are A Bad Parent! as a perfect gift for any parent, or especially to mothers as a gift just for you. As an added benefit, the book benefits the wonderful work of the Hugs and Hope Club for Sick Kids. ~ Lisa Hendey, Publisher, www.CatholicMom.com Laugh Out Loud Funny! In reading this incredibly funny book, I could not get enough. I am a huge fan of Lisa Barker, a.k.a. Jelly Mom, and realize that she is as close to Erma Bombeck as anyone I have ever read. I found myself poring over the pages seeking more parent/child humor and running to my husband with book in tow to say, "Remember this age!" If there's only one thing you do for yourself in 2006, be sure purchasing this book is it A must have for all parents, especially moms. ~ Jodie Lynn, syndicated parenting/health expert, Parent to Parent, CEO/founder of www.AddingWisdomAward.com, and author of family/health book, Mommy-CEO. Readers will laugh along at Barker's hilarious parenting stories. All parents will relate to the stories in Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane . . . Doesn't Mean You Are a Bad Parent! Author Lisa Barker speaks from her own experience in the trenches with five children and covers situations we've all encountered with our kids -- from potty training to lying as well as those treasured, unexpected silly moments. Some chapter titles include "The Meaning of No and Other Worthless Commands That Toddlers Ignore," "Twelve Steps for Parents," and "Three Sounds That Make a Mom Run." Raising kids can be stressful and frustrating, but it's made more tolerable with laughter; and readers will laugh along at Barker's hilarious parenting stories about such things as IBS (irritable boy syndrome), getting even with kids who get wild when the phone rings, mysteries of the laundry pile, and the practical reasons for not taking several children shopping at once. This is a book every parent will enjoy. It will make them laugh out loud as they recognize themselves in the stories and it's a good reminder that there is a lighter side to life with children. Marsha Jordan author of HUGS, HOPE, and Peanut Butter www.hugsandhope.org/pb.htm Highly recommended reading for anyone who is, expects to be, or has ever been a parent. "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane.Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" is a hilarious a collection of stories focusing on Lisa Barker's experiences in raising five children. It is a realistic look at the trials and tribulations of motherhood without the glamour. Yet, Lisa approaches the everyday chaos with a sense of humor that carries her through it all. In the reality of a world that is sticky from waist level down, she acknowledges that parenthood is not always the kind of idealized experience that she has read about in child psychology books. Parents are less than perfect humans and make mistakes. She admits to hiding from the kids to enjoy a treat of chocolate ice cream that they are not allowed. The kids wear on her nerves and whine, argue and tug, yet somehow she finds with herself an ability to handle it all, even if in a sometimes less than perfect way. Her love and sense of humor make the experience not only bearable, but also actually pleasurable as she laughs at her own ineptness and finds innovative approaches to dealing with the nitty-gritty tasks of being a mom. Her humorous approach to life with children, will inspire you, tickle you, and leave you with a smile of satisfaction at the end of each story. Lisa's book is highly recommended reading for anyone who is, expects to be, or has ever been a parent. It is a true accounting that will leave those who have been there with the satisfaction of knowing that others have been through it too. It will give parenting experience to anyone that does not have it already. This is a book that will leave you with a belly aching from laughter, a heart filled with joy, a deeper understanding of the reality involved in raising a family, and a knowledge of how any task can be made lighter when approached with a humorous attitude. ~ Sheila Moss, "The Tenessee Firefly," www.HumorColumnist.com, writes for The Kingsport Daily News and is the editor of www.SouthernHumorists.com Hilarious! "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane... Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" is our favourite humour columnist's new book, a compilation of 194 pages of her columns. They are hilarious, and I know many moms who'd agree with me! If you've been around Christian-Mommies.com for long, you're surely familiar with the "Jelly Mom" column by Lisa Barker. All proceeds for "Just Because..." go to Hugs and Hope For multiple good causes: Hugs and Hope for Sick Kids and the simple cause for spreading joy through laughter, Lisa's book would be a great buy for your own amusement or to share with another parent. ~ Rachel Lower, Publisher, www.Christian-Mommies.com

Reader Response: Jelly Mom!!! Woo-hoo! What a great gift! I already read a few pages of this AWESOME BOOK! Jelly Mom!!! WooHoo! Brigid Teresa I laughed and laughed. I have to tell you this. I stayed up too late the other night reading your book in bed (because I couldn't put it down!) and I just laughed and laughed. I almost wet my pants reading about [your husband] and the gnat's testicle! Shell Whole family laughed! My whole family laughed when I read parts of your book out loud! Thank you! Kathy We love it! I'd been meaning to say thank you so much for you wonderful book. We love it, my [dear husband] and me. And you must know I mean this. It is hilarious. Thank you. Juana This is a must read! This is a must read.... Way to go Lisa! Love and Blessings, Tina I laughed 'til I cried. I got it. I read it. I laughed 'til I cried. I love it!!! Get it... Sassy I am laughing my head off. Your book is hilarious. I am laughing my head off. The baby keeps looking at me like, "What is wrong with Mama?" I don't think she's ever seen me laugh that hard. You are definitely the next Erma Bombeck. My kids love the babies on the cover. MammaLove IT'S AWESOME My dear husband and I are reading your book out loud to each other - IT'S AWESOME! Presently, we are dealing with naked kids, biting babies, and colored walls.... WAmama Now all I can think about is...how many books I'll be buying!!! I ordered your book some time ago and being as impatient as I am - well, it was easier to just forget that I ever ordered it. LOL!! (Truth be told, it was probably only barely over a week if even ...) Well, it arrived today!!! I was so excited that I had to open the box up right away and sit down with it .... but I couldn't get past the first few pages without deciding I had to put it down. I was laughing soo hard I was afraid I was going to wake up the napping kids!!! Now all I can think about is whose name am I draw for Christmas next year and how many books will I be buying!!! I get your columns every week and they are great (I really liked this week's one) but your book is awesome!!! Jeanette Us moms are all in the same boat!! Hey Everyone.... I am so NOT a product pusher, but this is the FUNNIEST kid book I have EVER read! You have got to check out the sample, I bought it and it's the easiest reading ever! Short blurbs about raising kids. It came in the mail, I sat down at midnight last night and read it all in 2 hours. I laughed so hard I cried and woke up Aaron. This book is $9.95 and 100% [of the proceeds] go to a childrens benefit. How awesome is that??? Ugh... sorry, but this book is DAMN funny. My favorites are "Skeenky Heeper" and "Mysteries of the laundry pile". It still makes me laugh out loud! Just a funny book that is sure to lift spirits and remind you... "Us moms are all in the same boat!!" Kim

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Autographs

Some have asked how they can receive an autograph. Please send your book and a self-addressed stamped envelope (so I can return your book) to:

Lisa Barker
P.O. Box 217
Greenfield, CA 93927

Include a note with the name of the person(s) for whom you would like the autograph.

And thanks for tickling me pink!