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Motherhood can be full of sweet, memorable moments, but it also comes with plenty of exhaustion, awkward encounters, household chaos, questionable decisions, and days when hiding from everyone for five minutes sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan. Cartoonist Harlow Brooke turns that less-polished side of family life into the heart of her humorous series, “I Am Mama.” Brooke describes herself as a cartoonist and artist whose work revolves around “parenting, motherhood, being a woman, relationships, issues that matter to me... and probably also things that don't matter that much at all.” Her cartoons have also appeared in the UK-based “The New Cartoonist,” a publication dedicated to political and gag cartoons.

Brooke approaches parenting firmly from within the chaos rather than presenting a picture-perfect version of it. Her cartoons find humor in situations many parents will recognize immediately. Brooke also explores relationships, friendships, aging, being a woman, and the strange expectations that seem to arrive with adulthood. Many of her cartoons have the feeling of amusing little confessions of thoughts and observations people often have but might hesitate to say out loud, while staying deliberately visually simple.

We've gathered a selection of her cartoons, so scroll down to enjoy them, and let us know which were your favorites.

More info: Instagram | momwarpcartoons.com

#1

A relatable parenting comic showing a child transformed into a pizza, highlighting the messy side of parenting.

“This little cartoon followed a week during which it seemed my child's pizza consumption had reached an all-time high and would eventually start to show. School celebrations, parties, play dates, lazymommy's dinners - all just throwing pizza at those kiddos. And, somehow, they don't get tired of it! I'll admit, it's hard not to like a good pizza.”

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    #3

    A relatable parenting comic showing an awkward mom at school pickup, holding a sign about engaging in conversation.

    “Schools back in session .And with that, some of those old feelings of being right back in grade school. I'm supposed to have outgrown this!!?”

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    #4

    A relatable parenting comic depicting a chaotic home with a parent juggling multiple tasks while children play wildly.

    “Tomorrow I promise to be better...”

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    #7

    Cartoonist highlights messy parenting with a mom carrying a huge stack of to-do items on her back.

    “Hugged your inner to-do monster today? Those to-do's just keep coming don't they.”

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    #8

    A parenting cartoonist draws a mom with blinders avoiding another mother pushing a baby stroller, illustrating relatable parenting comics.

    “Ah...baby-envy is real! It is perimenopause's way of messing with us old mamas! Maybe the body saying there might be 1 slightly-ok egg left in there??? I don't know.”

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    #11

    A parenting comic captures a mother lying on the kitchen floor amidst a messy kitchen, as her children comment, a relatable comic of parenting.

    “Corpse Pose: a fabulous means of relieving stress. Less fabulous for unsuspecting house guests.

    In the throws of peri and given the current state of the world, I’m finding myself in this pose frequently these days...”

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    #12

    A relatable comic shows a woman at a doctor's office, thinking about the messy side of parenting responsibilities.

    “Another forty-something birthday right around the corner...”

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    #15

    A parenting cartoonist shows an angry, wolf-like figure yelling at a mom, depicting the messy side of parenting in comics.

    “An after-bedtime discussion goes south.”

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    #16

    A parenting comic shows a child in a car seat, expressing a desire for safety, reflecting relatable parenting concerns.

    “Safety first.”

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    #17

    A parenting comic depicts a mother sleeping on the floor next to a bunk bed with a slide, exhausted from the messy side of parenting.

    “You don't have to let go.”

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    #18

    A parenting comic illustrates a young girl pointing out an 'OLD mommy' to her older sibling, highlighting relatable parenting moments.

    “Late 40s motherhood: a weird convergence of contemplating pregnancy and registering for AARP.”

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    #19

    A relatable parenting comic showing a child demanding more food from a stressed parent in a messy kitchen.

    “Kidlife = sweets, sweets and more sweets...”

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    #20

    A relatable parenting comic by a cartoonist, showing a mother and son fighting over a 'NO' button.

    “The ‘no’ button was funny for about 5 minutes. Now I do my best to hide it.”

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    #22

    Cartoonist depicts messy parenting with a mom waiting for coffee in the kitchen, holding a piece of toast.

    “Any of you have a pour-over coffee drinker in your lives? I'm more of a tea gal.”

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