Cheers to the Diaper Years: 10 Truths for Thriving While Barely Surviving

by Erin Brown Hollis, Delores Topliff B.A., M.A., C.Ed.D (Foreword by)

Overview

Welcome to Crazy Town.
Population: Every mom with kids in diapers.
As moms, we drive ourselves crazy striving for perfection. We try to prepare the healthiest meals, install the safest car seats, plan the best birthday parties, and still we lie awake at night wondering if we’re doing enough. The pressures can be overwhelming.

Thankfully, the Bible provides us with an encouraging framework for godly parenting. Cheers to the Diaper Years shares ten biblical truths that will help you:

• find something great in every day,
• manage your time around what matters most,
• go from worrier to warrior,
• dump the mommy guilt,
• celebrate your unique awesomeness, and
• rely on God’s Word to guide your child to Christ.

Out of all the mothers in the world, God selected you to parent your child. You can survive the diaper years because you are more than enough in Christ. Cheers to the grace and goodness found in him!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781424557349
Publisher:	BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	789,078
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Erin Brown Hollis is a proud Bama girl, writer, speaker, lawyer, friend, lunchbox packer, boo-boo kisser, sweatpants-wearing momma to her two precious girls: Bellalise (age five)—a sweet, gentle-natured soul, and Annalise (age four, going on fourteen)—the life of every party. She met her husband, Marshall, during law school and drug that Cajun boy back to the Heart of Dixie, a place he now proudly calls home as well. They live in Birmingham, where their dining room is currently being used for laundry overflow. Outside of writing, Erin’s hobbies include scrapbooking, playing tennis, watching Friends marathons, crafting, cooking with her girls, and having a clean fridge—an outright miracle worth celebrating these days.

When she isn’t attending toddler tea parties or wiping up spaghetti stains, you can find Erin writing on her blog: ErinBrownHollis.com and on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest @erinbrownhollis. She welcomes all moms to find a community of love and acceptance on her site, where she shares recipes, crafts, and encouragement weekly. She believes that all moms, no matter their story, are amazing and loves to see them pursuing their passions, whether that be in a Mommy and Me Zumba class or the center of the boardroom in a pair of killer stilettos. Lastly, and probably most importantly, she believes in making every day a celebration—so if you haven’t found a reason to celebrate yet today, tell ′em Erin told you to live it up, girl!

Table of Contents

Foreword Delores Topliff xi

Introduction 1

Part I Mommyhood: You Have Been Chosen

Truth #1 - You Were Selected by God to Be Momma to Your Babies

1 Calling All Fellow Commandeers of the Hot Mess Express 6

2 A Cautionary Tale 11

3 What Somebody Should Actually Tell Us When We Are Expecting 16

Part II You Do You-Free Yourself from the Chains of Keeping Up and Embrace the New (Non-Perfect) Mom Inside

Truth #2 - You Are More Than Enough in Christ

4 Smashing the Stepford Wife Syndrome 26

5 Picture-Perfect Performance-and the Other Lies Instagram Tells Us 31

6 Ghosting on the Guilt Goblins 37

7 Botox Bingo or Bible Study Brunch? 42

Part III You Are Not Alone

Truth #3 - You Always Have Support in Christ and in Your Tribe (Even at 2:00 a.m.)

8 Is Anybody Out There? 50

9 The Ultimate Guide to Tappin' Your Momma Tribe 53

Part IV Conquering the Cray-Cray and Overcoming the Chaos of #Mom Life

Truth #4 - You Can Find Joy Even in the Craziness

10 Mamaste-Cultivating Calm Rather Than Chaos 64

11 Tasmanian Devils for Life! 68

12 Plot Twist: Switchin' Up Our "Have-tos" to "Get-tos" 73

Part V Mamarazzis, Pinterest Princesses, and MomBots, Oh My!

Truth #5 - You Are Never Going to Be Perfect, but with God's Direction, You Will Be the Best Momma to Your Children

13 Pummeling Pinterest Perfection 84

14 Mamarazzi Mania 90

15 The Grass is Greener-Where You Water It 94

Part VI Muting All Mommy Shamers

Truth # 6 - Your Awesomeness Can't Be Defined by Others

16 Mommy Manifesto 104

17 Brouhaha to Kumbaya 110

18 Haters Gonna Hate 115

Part VII From Worrier to Warrior

Truth #7 - You Can Give Up Googling and Look to the Word

19 Worrywart to Christ Cohort 122

20 Bedsprings Baptist 127

Part VIII Squashing the Scheduling Savages

Truth #8 in Christ You Can Find Rest from the Parenting Rat Race

21 T he Solution to: Stress-Gate 136

22 Move it, Mealtime MomBot! 145

23 Stepping Off the Struggle Bus: Prioritize Your Pandemonium 149

24 Pouty Lips and Pedicures 156

Part IX Adulting: Accept the Challenge. Play by the Rules. Win at Parenting.

Truth #9 - You Know What's Up with This Whole Parenting Thing

25 Fix It, Jesus! 164

26 Pop Out Your Planners for the Parenting To-Do List 168

27 Chugga Chugga Choo Choo: Step Right Up to the Grace Train! 180

28 Handprints on Their Hearts 184

Part X This Too Shall Pass (Boogers and Poopy Diapers Included)

Truth #10 - You Will Get Through This

29 The Tale of the Next Best Thing 190

30 These Are the Days 194

Conclusion: The Thrivin' Tribe: A Love Letter to You 199

Cheers to … Scripture Resource 201

Acknowledgments 205

Notes 209

Connect with Erin 211

Editorial Reviews

Laugh out loud, honest, and utterly relatable.”
- Reagan Croyle Phillips, childcare director of Big Oak Ranch

“This is the new go-to survival guide for thriving in this crazy, beautiful journey of motherhood. This book needs to be on every momma’s bookshelf.”
- Betsy Cooper, Briarwood Presbyterian Church


Cheers to the Diaper Years is a warm hug coupled with a healthy heaping of God’s grace. It is the new, go-to survival guide for thriving in this crazy, beautiful journey of motherhood. This book needs to be on every momma’s bookshelf smack dab between her Bible and What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
- Betsy Cooper, head of Briarwood Presbyterian Church Mother’s Day Out program, mother of two, and grandmother to nine

Cheers to the Diaper Years is like a refreshing gulp of sweet tea and a lingering hug for weary mamas everywhere. This delightful read is filled to the brim with biblical wisdom and humorous stories that “perfect mom” wannabes can relate to. Thank you, Erin, for changing my perspective on parenting from “I-have-to-mom” drudgery to “I-get-to-mom” delight.
- Tracy Steel, mama of two “spirited” kiddos, author, speaker, and writer; tracymsteel.com


The infant and preschool years of parenting are physically and emotionally exhausting. Erin Hollis quickly earns readers’ trust with humorous, relatable stories of her own surprises, disappointments, and failures along the journey of motherhood. But she does not join us there to wallow in a pity party! Erin makes you feel that you are chatting with a friend over coffee, as she shares how each of these moments is really an opportunity to better understand God’s grace. Her timely truths remind moms of the importance of perspective, community, self-forgiveness, and unconditional love—qualities which can only be found through a growing relationship with Jesus.
- Brooke Gibson, minister to preschoolers, Dawson Family of Faith; speaker and writer for Group Publishing, Loveland, Colorado

Delightful, encouraging, and perfectly lovely! Erin Brown Hollis’ Cheers to the Diaper Years brings with it a fresh glimpse of motherhood. Her wit and honesty address the not-so-glamorous side of mommy-life, celebrating it with a cup of truth and humor. The Southern charm laced throughout is contagious—mothers in all seasons of life will find themselves saying, “Cheers to the diaper years!”
- Lauren H. Brandenburg, author of The Books of the Gardener, homeschool advocate, and mother to Kensi and Jack, LaurenHBrandenburg.com


Laugh out loud, honest, and utterly relatable. Erin Hollis has perfectly described in Cheers to the Diaper Years what all moms go through on a daily basis and how striving for perfection in a "perfect Instagram world" is not only unattainable but also not what God calls us to.
- Reagan Croyle Phillips, director of Big Oak Ranch Childcare

I so appreciate how Erin uses scripture to encourage and enlighten us in our motherhood journey. How beautiful it is to see God's design for motherhood explained throughout His Word in this book! Erin reminds moms that we are not perfect (and shouldn't expect perfection!), sometimes we need naps (amen!), and all of the hard, exhausting moments are worth it! Finding a mom tribe is necessary for your sanity, and this book teaches you how to find fellow moms who will understand you and walk alongside you to build you up when you are losing your sanity. So, log out of all your social media accounts (which are probably making you feel like a bad mom anyway) and read this book. It will have you laughing in agreement and encourage you to face each day with a renewed sense of hope.
- Julie Sasse, mother of two, co-owner and co-founder of Birmingham Moms Blog

From the Publisher