Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures (book excerpt)

Your toddler won't go down for his afternoon nap. The dishes are stacking up. Your three-year-old threw a tantrum. Your kids are pounding on the bathroom door, not giving you a moment's peace. Sound familiar?

Amber Dusick was — like most other parents — sleep deprived and tired all day long. The mother of two young sons eventually started up her own blog and, wishing she had photos or illustrations to accompany each post, she did the next best thing — she drew them herself on the trackpad of her laptop.

Her funny and crudely drawn upcoming book Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures hits stores in April 2013. For more information, visit amazon.ca.

This is what aging looks like after having kids.

Now, I age five years every year.

The more excited you think they'll be about a gift, the more they will only play with the box.

The closing of a bathroom door causes end-of-the-world panic.

The more things you are carrying, the more desperately they will require being picked up.

They will repeat things at inappropriate times.

If you are extra tired, they will pick the longest book from the shelf for bedtime.

If you toss out that half of a plastic Easter egg they got three years ago, they will notice.