Memory Making Mom: Book Review

Book Review: Memory Making Mom

“Mom, can I stay home from the sleepover this week and watch a movie with you and Dad?”

It’s a question that she’s been asking more and more often lately.

For the past few years, my husband and I have been blessed by our kids having Friday night sleepovers a couple of times a month with their grandparents. If you’re parenting young kids far away from family, this prospect might sound completely unbelievable to you — I know, because that was our reality for almost a decade. And now that we get regular alone time, “date nights”, it’s extremely hard to give it up!

I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. See my Disclosure Policy for details.

Now that she’s getting a little older, I know she sometimes gets bored hanging out with her little sisters at Grandma’s. It’s a long time to spend without all her stuff, her books, her bedroom. But recently, while reading Jessica Smartt’s new book, Memory Making Mom, I realized that it’s also the special alone time with her dad and me that is making staying home from sleepovers so appealing.

One-on-one time with my kiddos isn’t something I’ve done very well over the years. As a busy homeschooling mama to three kiddos, it also seemed like a luxury I didn’t think I could afford.

“The whole idea sounds great in theory, but it is costly. Its price is the most expensive commodity we own: time”.

And to tell you the truth, I didn’t think it was all that important either. But I’ve noticed a subtle difference in my relationship with my oldest daughter since we’ve begun these private little movie nights. First of all, I’ve come to see how she really enjoys spending time with me. And as we’re getting ready to enter the teen years — this is so important! Secondly, I’m really enjoying spending time with her.

You know what? I really want to enjoy spending time with my kids more often. And when they grow up and leave our home, I want their memory banks to be packed full of good memories from their childhood.

Sometimes though, I need a little push and some fresh ideas to help make that happen. Memory Making Moms was just the little push I needed!

Memory Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life into Your Home

Over the last few years, I’ve been on a quest to build our family’s culture and I’ve read a handful of books about building a rich and meaningful family life. What set Memory Making Mom apart to me was how relatable it is for me as a busy & tired mama of young kids. I’ve been inspired by descriptions of beautiful and time-consuming traditions and celebrations described elsewhere, but I’ve rarely made the jump to incorporate many of those ideas into our family home.

Help with Memory Making for Ordinary Moms

Jessica Smartt is a busy homeschool mom to young kids who is still in the thick of it — she gets us! And she even starts the book off by reassuring us that we can’t possibly do everything she suggests. No need to fear feelings of inadequacy and judgement while reading this book! It’s the most accessible book on the subject I’ve yet read.

She wants to inspire moms to add more adventure, celebration, meaning, and tradition to their families — not leave them feeling defeated. Memory Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life into Your Home has a wealth of ideas for creating family traditions; there’s definitely something to suit everyone.

The book is filled with personal and relatable stories from her own life and is very readable. It’s also organized into categories of traditions, some of which I certainly wouldn’t have even considered. She explores traditions of spontaneity, beauty, food, holidays, learning, service, relationships, work, rest, and faith.

And the very best thing about the book? The handy appendix at the back that lists all the ideas and resources she shares throughout the book in a quick and easy to reference spot. I know I’ll be turning back to it often!