I’ll admit; I was not having a great day in the land of Motherhood. But I loaded up the kids and made it to story time at Full Circle Books one fine Saturday morning. They were enthralled at the quaint location and engulfed by the stories read by a local author. As I sat back in my chair, my eyes wandering around the cozy room and the many books stacked, piled and shelved around me. One particular title on display caught my eye:

The Three Martini Playdate: A Practical Guide to Happy Parenting, by Christie Mellor.

Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s those trying days where I find I need my sense of humor most, and my humor tank needed a big refill. This looked like just the ticket, so I picked up the book and added it to my stack without a second glance. When I got home and started reading, the vintage illustrations and tongue-in-cheek parenting advice contained within (chapter titles include Saying No to Your Child: It’s a Kick! and “Children’s Music”: Why?) made it a true guilty pleasure. Be warned that if you don’t find yourself with a taste for sarcasm, you might not find this title appealing.

Sprinkled among the pithy, sometimes snarky comments, I was surprised t find some genuinely good advice. I find myself to fall into the “overprotective” category most often, and this book gave me a playful nudge in the other direction. After all, there is such a thing as too much parenting, and sometimes it’s okay to let the tiny little inmates run their own asylum. Or at least a safe corner of said asylum.

Many of the visuals evoked by the writing reminded me of scenes from Mad Men, where the kids are fixing a cocktail for mom and dad, or practicing being seen and not heard. I enjoyed briefly entertaining a world where my peers would wear pearls and kitten heels, sipping martinis and swapping recipes for Jell-O salads at their playdates while the children played in their starched pinafores and short pants.

On a good day, the advice in this book gives me a laugh. And on those days when I’m really not in the running for Mother of the Year, I can comfort myself with the knowledge that at least my kids don’t yet know how mommy takes her martini.