MommyBest: 13 Inspirational Lessons Derek & Dylan's Mom (and maybe yours) Never Learned In School: Book 1: Memoirs From The First Five Years Of Motherhood

An inspirational book for moms to be, new moms and moms of any age.

I am a mom of three adult and one teenage child who found herself reflecting on how it felt to be a mom to four very different individuals. I found myself writing in the reader reflection pages my thoughts and experiences with each of my children that I would like to share with them when they have children of their own.
From the first lesson, "The birth of a Mom" to "Evens versus Odds" I did not want to stop reading this book. It was so nice to slip away from my daily routines to sit and quietly read and reflect on being a Mom. What a wonderful book to give to anyone thinking about being a Mom. I cannot wait to read Mommy Best books 2 and 3.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

a library must

As a Pop, I really enjoyed the book Mommybest. I am not an avid reader, but I didn't put this book down until I finished it. It's well written and the author made it a fast read. After finishing this book, I had a better perspective of a mothers sacrifices in the every day dealings with unknowing kids who need their mothers' leadership.
When I put the book down, I gave my good old wife a big hug and thanked her for raising my kids.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A must read for all moms in the world

Brilliant, powerful, moving & truly inspring.Everyone should have a mom like yours & a "Marge" as well.I hope the reader has the same powerful experience I had while reading it. I finished it in one night.I shed tears for the love, laughter & heartache along the way of being a mom.A perfect testament of a powerful bond between a mother & her sons.Those who know me know what a mush I am when it comes to my boys as well!!!! Read it, you wont be disappointed!!!
I can't wait to read the sequels.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Awesome gift for your MOM!

I bought this gift for my mom's birthday because she's always buying us books! My Mom read all these stories in a few days. She re-reads them now because she says she relates to the author's experiences and connects with her own kids. I'm 19 years old and this is the 1st review on here I've written because my mom enjoyed this book so much. So, if you want to make your mom, wife or grandmother happy, get her this book. Women seem to really bond with other moms in a way us guys don't always understand :)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An Honest and Humourous Approach to Motherhood!!

When I picked up Mommybest, I couldn't put it down until I was finished with it!! I enjoyed every minute of it. I especially liked the reflection pages where I could draw on my own experiences on paper-very theraputic!! The Author has captured every moment from of a mother's life, as a child with hopes and dreams, to a teenager and all the mischief that goes with it, to the birth of mother!! The Author also brings the past, present and future and creates a treasured family quilt and includes all the threads that keep it together! In this world of negativity and bad news everyday at your doorstep, it was refreshing to me to read something so heartfelt!! I laughed, cried and reflected on my own life. I cannot wait for this Authors next book!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST!!I LOVE HOW EACH CHAPTER TAKES THE READER TO A NEW JOURNEY WHERE YOU CAN RELATE TO ALL OF THE MOMENTS THAT THIS AUTHOR SO BRILLANTLY DESCRIBES! MY HUSBAND PICKED THIS BOOK UP,READ IT FRONT TO BACK SO QUICKLY-"AN EASY READ&

I want to purchase this book for all of my friends and family-it makes the Bestest gift!! I should know, my friend got this for me and I want to share it with everyone!! This is a book that you can go back to again and again to treasure in your family's life-long library. Each chapter made me laugh out loud about something and to think about so many things....but if I had to say what was the most important it would be Relationships!! My relationships with my PARENTS, BROTHERS & SISTERS, FRIENDS, HUSBAND, CHILDREN AND WITH MYSELF!!The struggles we face in balancing,maintaining, and enjoying all these Special People in our lives! My Children are such an unbelievable Gift! Precious moments shared go by so quickly... and I want to make the most of them. It was very helpful to use the reader reflection pages and the end of each chapter to gain valuable insight and to help me create our family memoir!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Entertaining and informative!

This book is a valuable teaching tool as well as a fun read. Moms and dads become parents and are thrown into it with no instructions. The recent Sarah Jessica Parker movie, " I don't know how does she does it" could actually be plagiarized from MommyBest :-) If you liked the movie you'll love this book, as it pertains more to everyday mom's than to movie star's, yet both provide the struggles woman have when it comes to work and motherhood. MommyBest goes the extra step in providing real world solutions to issues and problems faced today. My wife asked me to read this book and I found it eerily similar to struggles she and I endured with our 3 children. Ms. Scrima-Black offered instant solutions to issues our children faced, yet it took my wife and I 4 years to come to the same solution! Although this book is titled "MommyBest" it should be read by the husbands as well. A very well written book and one I recommend to everyone......even for us "Manly Men!"

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

So glad I found this heartwarming collection of MommyBest lessons and stories...

What a wonderful find on Pubit. I just found it by accident and started reading on my lunch hour a few days ago. Couldn't put it down whenever I had free time. I laughed, cried and so appreciated someone really articulating what it's like to "journey" into motherhood. GET IT. You'll love it no matter if you planning on having kids, have them or are a grandmother...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

BUY THIS BOOK. IT'S THE BEST BOOK ON MOTHERHOOD

An author finally grasped a way to put my life in perspective and realize how amazing a mom I am, and that I am an amazing woman too. I felt like I was talking to Mrs. Scrima-Black over coffee and she "got me" and my entire life--an is my friend. I love how the book is organized with a lesson and then a beautifully told story relating to the lesson. I've been reflecting on my own experiences; I've cried, laughed and pondered so much of this book. For $10. on here, it's so much better than all the expensive fixes to feel better about who you are as a woman and a mother. GET IT NOW for yourself or your friends...even for a wedding or shower gift.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

MommyBest is honestly one of the best books I've read!

MommyBest is a book that helped me realize that being a mom is probably the most amazing thing a woman can do. I laughed, cried and cheered Donna's lessons and agree with her that motherhood is a journey of self discovery--and that moms know more about their children than all the experts out there. MommyBest empowered me to understand that my mother's instinct in my GPS in guiding my kids--not the school, not my mother-in-law or my know -it-all pediatrician. Plus, I agree with Donna that women need to have a network of social support for all the amazing decisions and crossroads we face. I just started using the reader reflection pages to start my own family story (as the author suggests) because time is fleeting and the most important fans I have are my kids!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

MOTHERHOOD AT ITS VERY BEST

They don't teach Motherhood in College. Dr. Spock has come and gone. So what should a new mother do? She should rush to the nearest book store and buy a copy of "Mommy Best," by Donna Scrima-Black. This wonderful, delightful, heartwarming book should be on every new mother's coffee table or kitchen coounter to soothe her as her daily chores pile up. A mother's "job" is never done but Ms. Scrima-Black paves the way with inspiration and motivation. You can just picture her in front of a lecture hall writing her 13 inspirational lessons on the chalk board. She would have every mothers' undivided attention. She makes it so easy, but it is actually inspired by her own experience with motherhood. Ms. Scrima-Black is a role model in every sense of the word. Every child, grandparent and father, too, will learn more than they can imagine about the true valua being a mother. It is a 24 hr. per day job, not always appreciated, often underrated and has no union representative to insist that mothers get paid. It was a tremendous honor to review this book. It would make a great gift and that is why I am donating it to the landmark New York Public Library. This book can become an educational tool, a form of research, and seen as a book of daily motherhood inspiration to deal with raising children, trying to return to work and having time to be a loving wife all rolled into one. My name is Irene Brodsky. Proud 64 year old recent graduate of Brooklyn College CUNY Class of 2007 Author of Poetry Unplugged & The Adventures of Silly Kitty, Princess Jasmine and First Puppy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Mommy Best

Mommy Best: 13 Inspirational Lessons Derek & Dylan's Mom (and maybe yours) Never Learned in School!

Author: Donna Scrima-Black

What is the prescription you have to fill to get a good mother? Where do you go to get the perfect mom who answers all of your questions, listens to your complaints, acts as a referee when you and your siblings are arguing or cooks five different meals at dinner time to accommodate everyone's dietary preferences? How do you define a person who is selfless, caring, understanding, tries to have all the right answers and never passes judgment on her children even when they are wrong, which is not easy? Just look across your dinner table and you will find the answer to the first question: There is no prescription to fill because it is automatically done and presented with unlimited refills, tons of great advice, no co-pay and extra love included. I wonder if you knew that. Well, mothers are our greatest resource and gift. Children are their most precious blessings. As author Donna Scrima- Black enlightens mothers, children and let's not leave out fathers in her book Mommy's Best: 13 Inspirational Lessons Derek and Dylan Taught Me, you too will understand the true definition of what it means to take on the most important job, without pay, sometimes even without appreciation, that of MOTHER!

This book does not have a plot nor does it have characters that engage in actions that we can follow from page one until reaching and reading the last page. This book is more of a journal with 13 lessons that the author would like to share with the reader plus an added page to create your own journal or even book of your own with reflections and lessons that you might have learned from reading and want to share with others. Instead of a regular review I will write share my reflections, thoughts and feelings as I read this interesting book.

Growing up I shared a room with my sister who was my best friend. As the author shares how special and close she is with her twin sister, Deborah and her mother Lynn who phones her at least twice day, I smiled remembering how much I miss my sister and how she would call me every morning before the sun came up just because she was going to work and I was working from home. My mom, has Alzheimer's but before being diagnosed she too would phone at least five times a day to make sure that I completed everything on my to do list and hers too. How I miss that. The author shares so many wonderful memories, thoughts and experiences that I will reflect on some and the rest you will have to read for yourself.



Reading this interesting journal and reflections about beginning her career, meeting the right man and describing her preparation for her first job, I remembered the first day of teaching, the first words that I said to my sixth graders and the outfit my mother picked out for me to wear on day one. As the author remembers the shopping trips to the many department stores with her mom and her sister, I had to smile when her mother would buy each one five new outfits with the best shoes to wear the first week of school. My mom bought us the same dress in different colors with one pair of shoes that would match each outfit. (Just one pairs not five). As money was tight and things were difficult my sister and I appreciated whatever we received as the author shares her precious memories with the reader you can feel the love and emotional joys each time she speaks of her mother and

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Expectant Moms, New Moms and Experienced Moms--this is a beautiful book for you...

I loved reading these lessons/stories and jotting down my own experiences. I wish I had this book before my kids were born, so I could cherish each moment, instead of reading all the "how to" books. All the moms I met are trying to be their MommyBest and this book shares such poignant stories that left me shaking my head, screaming, "Yes, that's how I felt and what I needed as a mom.." My kids are now in middle school and every time I get frustrated I think about all our cherished moments and how fleeting they are..and I take a breath and enjoy the ride..,

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not a book for only females...

As the author of "Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male" I continue to use the lessons that the females of my life taught me. One of those lessons was-Girls remember and cherish the small things that they experience.
This thought is echoed throughout MommyBest: 13 Inspirational Lessons Derek & Dylan's Mom (and maybe yours) Never Learned in School. Not that motherhood should be considered a "small thing." Donna Scrima-Black has written a self-help book for new moms which reaches out to females (and some males) that incorporates her memories, her feelings and her love of family into a very quick to read, feel good about yourself book.
Throughout the 13 lessons she mixes remembrances of her own that help the reader relate to said lesson. And after each lesson there is a reflection page so you can write down your own thoughts and memories. I really connected with Donna as she related a story in lesson 12 about the holidays and her grandmother.
I was very skeptical when I started to read this book written for females.but that thought was wiped out very quickly. The connection I felt with Donna was evident. It was like we were seated across from each other, sipping on a hot beverage and she was telling me the story of her "boys.my joys."
Even though men may not admit that they have feelings and probably couldn't write a book like this, I think they should read this one. It gives an insight into how a women feels before becoming a mom, what they have to "give up" becoming a mom and more importantly how they feel after becoming a mom. I also found that this could be a great way for an experienced mom or grandmother to re-live those days of yesteryear. By using the reflection pages, you have a family history of each birth, somewhat like a scrapbook. Any man would learn a great deal and should have a renewed sense of appreciation for their spouse after reading this. I am grateful for what my wife went through as we became parents and by reading this book I have a better understanding of why.
This would make a great gift for any woman who is contemplating pregnancy or as a shower gift after she is pregnant, or how about a fantastic Mother's Day gift for moms or grand moms alike.
I also recommend that both the husband and wife should read this together and discuss the upcoming changes that will occur in their life or to revive the feelings they had during that time.
And remember as Donna says, (not that she is the first) "Life goes by fast.learn to enjoy it."

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best, Best and BEST.

Love, love, love this book. My mom got it for me and I will give it to my daughter and buy for all her friends. It saved me while up was up with my second son and couldn't sleep. Quick read and so inspirational and unique. Should replace What to Expect when you're Expecting as a must have for all moms

Heartwarming and so very special for moms

Loved this book. Read it overnight. I learned lots of great ideas and thought about my own parneting journey. I even wrote some reflections (my high school English Teacher, Mrs. Sabota, is smiling) If your're a mom, get this book

Saw the Channel 12 News Segment on MommyBest facebook page, loved it and bought your book.

Read MommyBest last night on the Nook...couldn't put it down--fantastic, spot on and beautifully written...Thank you!

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