Annie, first you are very attractive. Second, the fact that your husband disputes you does not mean he is biased, it means he finds you attractive and sexy and that is a beautiful thing and the only one that really counts anyway right? I have always been an in through the mind type so attraction has not been a strictly physical thing. Oh, except when a guy has a ponytail or an accent, either of those make him 40% more attractive. (that is my shallow piece, sorry ; )

so funny that you posted this. i just had a similar, but more acute, experience at the nail salon. there were more than an ok share of toddlers and pre-schoolers there, some of whom were having their nails done but that is a whole other problem. bottom line, when you take your kids to an 'adult' place, if they become wild or the screamer or tantrum thrower, you need to remove them from the situation. period. that is being both a good parent and a good member of the community. i say this from a been there done that point of view. i am the mom that left plenty of meals on the table in my day. yes, both sympathetic and irritated at the same time.

Noelle, not sure of your work status, but I would say that non-working stay at home moms probably fall prey to the chronic facebooking, tweeting and texting way more than those that work at home. the need to connect for those who are more isolated from the grown up world might be greater for them so it is understandable. being a work at home mom forces you to be extremely efficient with your time if you want to keep your job/clients.

I don't know the parental status of the Ms Turkle, nor would I really be to hard on her. She, too, is only doing her job. Data is her currency. But a big AMEN to your suggestion of supporting vs. judging.

I surely wish there were mom blogs when my kids were young. Would have saved me a lot of worry.

Ahh, the many faces of social media. This is one of the less attractive ones. Never engage in arguments about religion, politics or a woman's right to choose, with someone who does not have your belief system. Not just on facebook... anywhere! No one changes their mind an everyone gets rabid. Facebook is like the real world. Sometimes your friends have different belief systems. You don't have to agree and you don't have to stop being their friends either. But I agree, it is disappointing when you see this kind of behavior. Breathe! (nice ranting, BTW)

If the badgers make the final four i might have to fly jana home from spain!!!

You are so right Darryle. Go Badgers!

thanks. yeh, he really got a kick out of it. keeps coming in and crossing things off my bracket. too cute

as a newly 'retired' soccer mom all i can say is enjoy every last minute. somehow the thought of soccerless weekends seems eerily odd to me now. i keep begging my HS sr. son to play one more spring season but it does not look good. on the flip side, i will say that i do get to sleep in late on the weekends if i want and seriously, it doesn't suck!

Darryle, you are right behind me on this one. My girl has been in Spain for just about 5 weeks now. Well kind of in Spain because by that I mean Lisbon one weekend, Amsterdam this weekend, Barcelona, Paris, Rome... all on the horizon and need I say the dreaded work "Morocco"? I have been thinking about all the vast differences between how we parent from the way ours did but I think the abroad experience carries the biggest difference. In the past five weeks I have never felt disconnected to my daughter. We bbm, IM, vid chat and she is blogging. I have more contact with her in Europe than I do when she is a counselor in the cell tower scarce Adirondacks for the summer! The world is way smaller my friend, you will do just fine.

you mean virgos rule and pisces drool?

Helen, you are hired!!

A woman's right to choose should be A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE. Tebow and his mom? Great people I am sure, and they have a lovely story. But ANY woman (and statistics show many of them are merely girls) she not be denied access to safe medical care.. All that said, Dawn is correct. This is an issue of policy. I think the greatest public outrage comes from the CBS decision to break policy and accept this ad. Cristie, free speech would be an editorial, paid advertising that breaks policy is not free speech.

or is that hawt?

It is easy to relate to that one. We were recently in a restaurant with a group of women who almost attacked the poor young waiter until he opened the back door for some 'fresh air'.

I could not agree with you more, Debbie. My point exactly on the need to work hard towards the etiquette piece. I just attended a county soccer awards dinner and I was saddened by how many heads were looking down in laps during the presentations, adults as well as children. Although in all fairness the reading of names is a bit insufferable. Nonetheless, I am going to try to make a real effort to model for my kids and keep that crackberry under wraps. Hey, that is what excusing yourself and going to the bathroom is for. Thanks for your input

Nothing like when your kids surprise you by acting grown up and engaged. I am so excited for your family. Can't wait to read the blog posts from your trip.

Debbie, I am so with you on that. As one of my best friends and mommy mentors told me when her second child left, "Empty nest is SO under-rated!"

No matter how many pair of shin guards you own, there is never a pair where and when you need them!

Didn't anyone see the Curb Your Enthusiasm about this? It was hysterical. I am a big fan of no gifts at adult parties with a designated charity instead, but there are those who just can't do it. For kids, I am Feener on this. The gifts don't have to be excessive. It is part of the kids' birthday tradition to receive a gift, it does not make them greedy or unappreciative. Perhaps teaching them to write thank you notes and to appreciate what they have is a better practice then denying them gifts. And seriously, if they already have too much, whose doing is that? Surely not their own.

Thank you for sharing your story. And for sharing Carol. May her memory live in on all she has done for you, and I am sure others around her.

I loved that post. When we look at our children as they emerge and then arrive at adulthood the hints of their baby selves poke through every now and then to remind us of their childhood selves. And of course that is a gift.