I was happy to get to the end. Too much use of the F word for me. Not a fan of the Diary format. “ L. Billings. Though I don't have any kids myself, I found this novel to be really entertaining and amusing. I could picture the situations very well, despite not having been through it myself, and this shows was a fab writer Gill Sims is. The book group liked the diary format of 'Why Mummy Drinks', comparing it to 'The Diary of Adrian Mole', but this time with a 39 year old (equally irritating and confused) mum. Some women are idiots unto themselves. Yes I see why she drinks, it's a few hours of fuzzy pleasure not having to face up to the realities of her life and her absolute stupidity of putting up with a man and his family who use her. Falling in love is a dizzying emotion, but the love that comes in marriage brings with it rights and duties, and the duties are all on her side. Sometime good things go on for too long. A fourth book could have been good, but this one does't cut it.

She also doesn't seem to like her kids. But this as was a heart warming as it got on Mother's Day... "Breakfast would have been a challenge at the best of times. But, managing to eat half cooked scrambled eggs seasoned liberally with chunks of shell, served on burnt toast, with a tepid cup of tea coloured milk on the side, ALL with a tequila hangover is testimony if ever there was one to the strength of a mother's love". She also doesn't appear to like her husband who by her own admission adores her. She won't let him say anything nice to or about her, and she accuses him of not doing this at the same time. I particularly liked how the story was set out in a diary form covering a full year, with each of the events narrated within the correct month, e.g. the taking of exams in June and the dreaded expectation of results in August. This made for a highly realistic time line of events that sounded all too familiar and I knew exactly what issues was on their way! This is a comic insight into the life of a middle class family and the travails of life that disrupt all efforts to be more organised. It is written in the form of a diary, Ellen is a woman looking to change her mess of a life with her recalcitrant young children, Peter and Jane, and her tech obsessed husband, Simon, and family dog. Her turning 39 awakens all her insecurities and fears about the process of aging, she is determined to be more fashion conscious and improve her image, and be the more perfect and organised mother. So she draws up plans, gives us insights into how her actual life has been. Like all the best laid plans, they scarcely survive the realities of life. There are the stresses of the school gate mummies, Lucy Atkinson's perfect mommy and The Coven, always perfectly turned out, with whom Ellen can barely compete. Although the occasional Dad at the gate sends hearts aflutter. Pentru că, deseori, tații nu sunt cei mai implicați în această perioadă a vieții de familie și aici nu știu a cui e vina, ori a mamelor că își iau prea multe responsabilități pe umerii lor, ori a societății că educă două categorii de părinți: mame și tați. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of the book*It genuinely never occurred to me when they were little that this would ever end – an eternity of Teletubbies and Duplo and In The Night Bastarding Garden and screaming, never an end in sight. But now there is. And despite the busybody old women who used to pop up whenever I was having a bad day and tell me I would miss these days when they were over, I don’t miss those days at all. So many, laugh out loud moments. Don’t read this book in company, I couldn’t stop laughing. The worst bit was Semen Smoothies! Yes, I would have bought a new blender as well!!

Was a hilarious read, and I could resonate with many a thing, but Ellen experiences and retaliates more vividly than me. At least five fold than an ordinary mother does she suffer mishaps and indignities ... if I am permitted to consider myself as representative of the average mother . I enjoyed the book. It was very funny but rather risqué. I particularly found the Easter Egg hunt and the Fire Work display very memorable. If there was a problem with the book, it was the bad language and too much information about her Sisters children's Toilet habits." Maureen. In the book Mummy is constantly thwarted in her efforts to have well turned out, well rounded children who she has delightful little chats with and goes on lovely walks in the countryside with. They won't eat her lovingly prepared healthy food, look in horror at the idea of improving visits to art galleries etc and Daddy (otherwise known as Gadget Twat) longs for a 'simple lasagne', little knowing how much effort it takes to make said dish. His plaintive cries when failing to cope with his little dears if Mummy is out for a while made me laugh and I think that many stay at home parents will recognise the other parent not really understanding just what they do all day with the children. It's not all sitting about having coffee with the other mums! My initial worry was that it would be full of over the top smugness, a mum who harped on about how she effortlessly manages home life, work life and still had time to hang out with her friends. I felt it might net mums inspired - if you know, you know. BTW, the consensus from Bookclub was a thumbs down...at least it wasn't just me that struggled with it).A highly recommended comedy fiction series for parents, these are so much more practical than any parenting book you could read and for aspiring parents.....you have been warned! Thankfully, it was largely relatable and not over the top with the drama and making it seem unbelievable. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the swearing and learning new insults.

The book itself was an absolute joy to read, it was so much fun and absolutely joyful. I loved the story, and felt so connected to Gill Sims' autobiographical character in this book, through her opinions and thoughts. I loved seeing the connections between each of the family members in this book and all of the fun anecdotes. I also really liked the layout of this book, as it is set up to read like a diary with different accounts of Gills' life throughout her two children's' examination years in school, at ages 16 and 18. It was also really interesting to see the dynamic between two separated parents, and how Gill raised her children primarily as a single parent. Why Mummy’s Sloshed” is quite a rollercoaster ride and I did feel quite breathless at times, it’s not a stress free read but then neither is parenting! And in the words of the author, “the bigger the kids, the bigger the drink!” This book was okay- but I was hoping for so much more. The first few chapters annoyed me, as it was completely reliant on a series of stereotypes- the dad who spends too much time at work, the mum who does all the child care and housework, the stay at home mums, the working mums etc. etc. I was really hoping that this book would break away from this, and have something different to say, alas not! It felt like a bit of a rip off of Bridget Jones if I'm honest with all the above mentioned stereotypes thrown in for good measure.

Tits, Gits and Little Sh*ts

Do we women not know men like this? Do we not know women who work and do the laundry, the ironing, the shopping, the getting the children to school and their after-school programs, who take time off work to take them to the doctor and have dinner ready on the table when the husband, tired from a day in the office, comes in from work? When we first meet Ellen (Mummy) she is waiting to take her daughter, Jane to her driving test. Her children Jane and Peter are now older. Jane is studying for her A Levels and hoping to go to university and Peter is studying for his GCSEs. She is now separated from her husband Simon and going through the process of a divorce. Throw in some changes at work and Mummy’s plate is full to bursting. However, she still has time to see Hannah one of her oldest friends and babysit Hannah’s 2 year old son Edward, who gives new meaning to the term ‘the terrible twos’. The book follows Mummy’s life in a year and each chapter represents a month and what happens in her life. This will definitely be an eventful year for Mummy, no wonder she’s partial to a drink. This is the fourth and apparently final book in the 'Mummy' series, which makes sense since the kids are almost grown up now. And honestly, 15 year old Peter and 18 year old Jane don't feature in so many of the diary entries of Ellen anyway. She also writes about her life as a single woman, about her friends, her new sexy neighbour, her ex Simon and his new girlfriend, the imminent danger of losing her job, and also about her two beloved dogs.