cover image I'm Too Sexy for My Volvo: A Mom's Guide to Staying Fabulous

I'm Too Sexy for My Volvo: A Mom's Guide to Staying Fabulous

Betty Londergan. Adams Media Corporation, $12.95 (205pp) ISBN 978-1-59337-502-7

First time author Londergan teases and laughs her way through the first nine months and the years beyond. This fun, flip approach to pregnancy and parenting pays equal attention to minute details (clothes and mani-pedis) and larger ideas (single motherhood). Organized chronologically from conception to college, each chapter includes rules (e.g. ""Rule #26: Wear anything that fits""), guest writers, funny stories and tons of hip tips. (""If your hospital is anything like mine, you are in for a boatload of freebies."") Chapters conclude with ""bonus pointers"" that are tantamount to survival school for mommies. (""When you don't work outside the home, it's easy for working moms...to assume that you're available for free childcare,"" or ""make some gay friends."") Though pregnancy and the first year are covered in detail, years 1 to 20 are scrunched into a single chapter. And if Londergan seems a bit smug, she's careful to acknowledge that her ""emotional hardships seem...well, shallow"" compared to most single mothers. Mothers-to-be with disposable income will appreciate Londergan's libertine approach to being gloriously gravid.