The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting your Groove Back (Girlfriends' Guides) [Mass Market Paperback]

Vicki Iovine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Girlfriends' Guides | Publication Date: April 6, 2004

Bust out of that mommy rut and get into the groove!

When a mother finally emerges from the mommy mole tunnel of pregnancy, breastfeeding, potty-training and preschool, she comes to the inevitable realization: The road to maternity is a one-way street. No U-turns allowed. You’ve survived the battles of baby- and toddler-hood, playdates and temper tantrums to time-outs. And just when it seems your former life is within reach—taking up neglected jobs and hobbies, committing to a fitness program, rediscovering the boyfriend living in the body of your husband—you crash headfirst into the wall of reality. The kids may be able to fasten their own seatbelts and pour their own cereal, but the homework, tucking in, car pools, and birthday parties have just begun. Let Vicki Iovine, author of The Girlfriends’ Guides, show you how to navigate the twists and turns of family life—and find time for your kids, your spouse, your home, your work, and yourself. You’re not alone in this “mommy adolescence.” In The Girlfriends’ Guide to Getting Your Groove Back, Iovine provides her trademark sage, witty advice on:

- How to focus at work when things at home are in chaos—and vice versa
- Making time for yourself—and not the PTA
- Getting over the romantic myth of “date nights” and weekends away from the kids
- Homework help—your transformation into a human flashcard
- The dinnertime crush and how to relieve frozen pizza fatigue

Iovine puts the perils of perpetual parenthood into perspective. You’ll feel like you do after a long chat with a good friend—relaxed, refreshed, and ready to reclaim your life …

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sensible, chummy and sure to be popular, The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting Your Groove Back: Loving Your Family Without Losing Your Mind by author and media personality Vicki Iovine (The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy; etc.) offers advice to mothers of school-age kids. With an engaging mix of humor, firsthand experience and the insights of other girlfriends, she urges women to relish this phase of motherhood (and their independence from diaper bags), while also realizing that they can't turn the clock back. For example, even if moms can't find time to set aside "date" nights with their partners, there are other, efficient ways to rekindle the flame (e.g., greeting their mate with a long, lingering kiss; going to bed naked).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"With great humor and frankness, Iovine addresses the topics most women talk about only with their best friends." — USA Today

“With an engaging mix of humor, firsthand experience and the insights of other girlfriends, she urges women to relish this phase of motherhood (and their independence from diaper bags), while also realizing that they can''t turn the clock back.”—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399526307
• ISBN-13: 978-0399526305
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If having kids has knocked you off your dot, read this book, April 20, 2001

By 

Shaz "oi-you!" (Naples, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting your Groove Back (Girlfriends' Guides) (Mass Market Paperback)

Everyone told me how great having kids would be. Personally, I think they were trying to lure me into the "mommy club" by not telling me the rest of the story. While having babies is exciting and defenitely one of life's undisputed miracles, there is an aspect of it that changes you forever. You have to give up a lot of selfish behavior (in that, I mean things that aren't in and of themselves selfish in nature, just things you normally do for yourself: i.e. taking a long, hot bath or having a bit of a lie down whenever you feel like it)and in the process, you lose a bit of yourself. Thank goodness Vicki Iovine and her gaggle of girlfriends have returned to tell me that I'm not alone! It's amazing: you think that passing a certain "stage" (i.e. teething, potty training)is a relief, but in the process, you begin to feel your purpose slip away as your kids grow more and more independent. You begin to think, now what? I've been raising my kids for X amount of years, and I've lost who I am. Wasn't I supposed to just slip right back into the fabulous career woman role with little to no turbulence?!? Vicki is right by our side to lend her shoulder and support, and to tell us (perhaps before we even realize it) that life keeps changing- you never pass a "stage" and get relative calm in your life. She uses the anaolgy of a leaky rowboat. You can either cry about the fact that you're up to your knees in water, or you can grab that bucket and bail the boat out, something you'll have to do again and again as eventually, the rowboat fills up again. Vicki helps us to see the humor in motherhood, and the unique role we play as women, but not in some drippy, "I found this book in the self help section" way. Every piece of advice is peppered with humor. Vicki explains how to focus at work when things at home are chaotic, that we should get over the romantic myth of "date nights", and how to turn to your experienced girlfriends for help through what she calls "mommy adolescence". A must for every mom.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" for any Vicki Iovine Fan, April 8, 2001

By 

G. Lavelle "lavellebg" (Puyallup, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting your Groove Back (Girlfriends' Guides) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is written for the Mommy who has finally put all the kids in school, and now wants to reclaim a part of her old self. Although I still have small ones at home, I found it reassuring that these "stages" parents go through with the kids don't last long, so we might as well enjoy them. At the same time, we need to remember that "we are the only ones who know how much soul-searching time we need to keep functioning as the locomotives that pull the family train." I think a Mother can never hear enough that the days are long but the years are short, and that taking care of yourself must be a priority if we're to make it all fly and stand a chance of enjoying our families and ourselves.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful advice on trying to do it all, April 15, 2001

By 

Whitney Hoffman (Bear, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting your Groove Back (Girlfriends' Guides) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Iovine has a great knack for hitting the nail of motherhood right on the head. This book is a real look at what most of us moms are going through- loving our family, but wondering when we will have time for ourselves, and why we are so suprised that everyone's needs are being met, but somehow, not our own. I felt this book not only spoke to my struggles at being a mom, wife, carpooler, volunteer and holding a job, but certainly made me feel as if I were not alone on this treadmill. The best advice she gives is to look forward, and that we will never be the single girls we once were, so it is time to create a new identity and take care of ourselves, so we can enjoy our lives NOW and in the future. Thank You for a great book!