Customer Reviews

Living in a Locker Room: A Mom's Tale of Survival in a Houseful of Boys

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I intended to read this book after the kids went to bed, but my eight-year-old son was struck by the title, figured out it was about sports, and I ended up reading it out loud to my little guy. We thoroughly enjoyed it, laughed page to page, and if I had been allowed to read this one my own would have enjoyed it just as much.
Paula Schmitt captures the exasperating notion of raising boys and fully plays up the potential for hilarity of having, feeding, clothing and finally simply enjoying children.
This book is a happy journey on Highway Mommy. It stays on my nighstand.

As a mom of three boys and after seeing the reviews I was really excited to read this book. But I was disappointed. It's not that the book was flat out bad, but the writing style was VERY simple and elementary. While reading the book I got a few smiles, but no out loud laughs. The sense of humor through out the book was very clean and lacked good wit and humor. The humorous comments seemed forced and the author tried too hard to sound funny. Not to sound harsh -- but comments that were meant to be humors basically sounded like lame jokes. If you like clean, elementary humor, that could be sold in a church book store then you may very well like this book. However if you are looking for a great laugh out loud book with hilarious wit and humor try one of the following books:
1. What's the Matter With Mommy?: Rantings of a Reluctant Stay-at-home Mom
2. The Perfect Stranger: The Truth About Mothers and Nannies

As a mother of two very active little boys, I can't even imagine what it would be like to raise FOUR of these testosterone producing beings. Fortunately, this book gives me great insight and some great laughs, too. Thanks for sharing!

Paula's book "Living in a Locker Room" made me laugh outload several times. It brought back a flood of memories of raising my own 3. Although my 3 are girls I was able to relate to many of the stories. Paula had a nice way of saying everything I have been through is normal and what all parents are feeling. Thanks Paula for the fun book. I look forward to the next one with "pink ribbons and lace".

Paula has hit the nail on the head with this hilarious collection of stories from an all sports mom! Great job Paula! I'm getting this book for my sister who has four boys who all play sports and do lots of fun boy things!

Schmitt handles her four boys with grace and humor. This is a fun and quick book to read!

What reads like a series of newspaper columns, written by one distraught, yet hopeful mom is a book filled with motherly insight. And not those pretty, painted pictures you're often fed in other parenting books. Schmitt lays it all out on the line - sometimes serious, sometimes funny - but always insightful.

Thinking about tackling the role of motherhood? Already a parent, but tired of all the useful advice? Just want someone to say, "been there, done that. I understand. Here's how it really happens!" Then order a copy of Living In A Locker Room.

Alyice Edrich, editor of The Dabbling Mum.com; where BUSY parents find advice, balance, inspiration, and e-books on earning money from home.

Farts. Sports. Pain. Fighting. Girls. All are things a mother of boys has to deal with on a daily basis. Who would know better about these things than Paula Schmitt, mother to four boys and author of LIVING IN A LOCKER ROOM.

Schmitt, an experienced columnist for Web sites such as JustForMom.com and SanityCentral.com, is no stranger to writing about her boys and can recognize the humor in just about any situation imaginable.

LIVING IN A LOCKER ROOM takes a (sometimes disturbingly) truthful look into the life of motherhood, particularly with boys. Take a journey from birth ("He is a dictator in a diaper. Get used to it" (p. 3)) through mealtime with toddlers ("The wait between ordering and the actual arrival of our food could best be likened to the time it takes for dead turtles to race through molasses in winter" (p. 20)), potty training, road trips, sports, sports and more sports, all the way to driving and beyond, including the toughest of tough subjects:

"Puberty - the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Testosterone. Its multi-year mission to explore strange, new girls, to seek out its own cell phone and new socialization, to boldly go where all men have gone before!" (p. 96)

Join Schmitt as she cheerfully goes with the flow of her young men, at times delighting in their rambunctious, mile-a-minute behavior, while at other times stubbornly trying to maintain her own femininity while drowning in a sea of testosterone.

LIVING IN A LOCKER ROOM is at times laugh-out-loud humorous, especially for anyone who's tried to raise boys. Schmitt is able to take everyday situations and point out how not every day they really are when four boys are added to the mix. She uses understatement to make her husband a hilarious addition to the mayhem and makes the reader wonder just what kind of supermom she must be to handle such constant motion and craziness around her.

Nearly every aspect of this book is pleasing, from the sweet cover photo of her and her very own basketball team of sons, to the unique method of titling each chapter. Anyone looking for pointers or tips on maintaining sanity and order in a houseful of boys may be disappointed, but someone looking for a comrade who's "been there, screamed in horror at that," will be delighted with their choice in reading.

LIVING IN A LOCKER ROOM will make a great gift for the busy mom of boys in your life, as well as anyone expecting a tiny bundle wrapped in blue in the near future. It would make a great gift from a son to a mother, perhaps on (hint, hint) Mother's Day. Schmitt promises an entertaining and funny read and does not disappoint.

Rebeccasreads recommends LIVING IN A LOCKER ROOM as a fast, light & funny book of reportage from a writing Mom.

From the delivery room of her first son & initiation into the post-birth hospital farce -- complete with leaking bosom & "notes to self" -- to the joys of changing diapers -- complete with a Warholian description thereof -- to her first child's milestones complete with hopeful sappiness until... along comes Boy #2 & this Mom's getting the hang of it until... along comes Boy#3. Now she has a season ticket to the pediatrician & grocery shopping resembles Dante's Inferno... until -- yup! -- along comes Boy #4.

This All Sport Mom touches on most everything including testosterone, estrogen, PMS, potty training, sports & much, much more goings on in this madcap household.

Read it & weep tears of terror & humor, then give it to everyone you know who's expecting for the first time... or the second... or the third...

I've never read such drivel! How did this book get published? It's sarcastic and not at all funny and the typos would make your head spin. Save yourself the money!