Filed under: Lifestyle, Elementary school, Emotions

One man's art is another man's eyesore, at least such is the case in Sarasota where a couple of nude figures are raising a stink. Apparently one neighbor has an ongoing feud with his other neighbors and has resorted to the ever sensitive subject of nudity to raise a ruckus. The trickster places the nude dolls in lewd positions on a daily basis, sometimes adding a bit of skimpy clothing and other times letting it all hang out for the world to see.

If the mannequins were in a remote location that would be one thing, but the fact that they are in display in an empty, public building is causing a fuss in the neighborhood. Young children walk by the window to get to their elementary school which is just a hop, skip and a jump away from the offending window. Parents claim they have to turn the children's heads away from the windows in order to prevent their curiosity from taking root.

The man who owns the building and the troublesome dolls says he is making a statement with his provoking scenes. He wishes ti turn the building into a hair salon where the stylists are clad in skimpy bikinis. He is having trouble getting the plan approved and in the meantime is sharing his naked vision with the neighbors.

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Filed under: Kidwear

My daughter used to eat anything -- even gross stuff like steamed spinach. But she's decidedly more selective these days -- to the point where she'll convince herself that she doesn't like something before she's ever tried it.

Needless to say, this can be a little frustrating from time to time. So that's why, when I saw this "give peas a chance" onesie, I just about died laughing.

If you're similarly impressed, you can win one for yourself. Apples 'n' Oranges, an online store that sells kids and baby clothes, is offering a chance to win the onesie to anyone who writes about it on their personal blog.** But even if you're not a blogger, you can still enter if you email the company and "pinky swear" that you'll tell at least one other person about the contest.

So go on, give peas a chance.

**I've asked that I not be entered in the contest.

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Filed under: Family togetherness, Siblings

This slide show of photos was simply too cute to not share with you. It's all pictures of twins! Some of the pictures are pretty old, which makes them all the more fascinating. Some of them are simply so beautiful they must be viewed.

I don't know about you, but I always fantasized about being a twin. Specifically, I fantasized that my twin was given away or there was a mix-up at the hospital, and that we then found each other later in life. My twin would then be my best friend forever and we'd braid each other's hair or some crap like that. Like I said, it was a fantasy.

I never had any siblings, so I clearly had no idea what I was fantasizing about. To hear my friends with brothers and sisters tell it, having a sibling was basically a pain in the butt. My point of view on this was that at least these friends of mine had someone to share their "OMG: Did mom/dad just say/do THAT???" moments.

Or not. From what I hear it is hard enough to have an identity outside of that as the shadow of your sister or brother. Imagine how it must be for twins? There's always the prettier twin, the smarter twin, that kind of thing. Trust me--I read Sweet Valley High, I know how this game is played out. Despite the fighting, etc., the SVH twins always remained true to each other, putting family first.

At least that's how I remember the series in my mind. Again, could just be fantasizing here.

Take ten minutes to peruse these photos of twins. They're truly spellbinding, even if you never had the fantasy that you were separated from your twin at birth.

Awesome pic of twins depicted on a mural by Franco Folini!

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Filed under: Parent-friendly workplace, Being at work, Working moms, Breastfeeding, Pumping

According to a recent article in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) newsletter, a new bill is being considered in the New York State Assembly that would allow breastfeeding mothers paid or unpaid time during the workday to pump.

If passed, women would have the opportunity to pump for up to two years after the birth of the child. As a new mommy who is breastfeeding and planning on returning to work full-time in the near future, this sounds like a great idea. I'll be pumping several times a day, and while my new employer is very family friendly, it would be nice to know that specific time could be carved out of the day for pumping without having to haggle about it or duck away.

People take cigarette breaks that last anywhere from seven to ten minutes, right, and that is allowable, so why not for pumping? I would imagine most employers have no issue whatsoever with a woman taking a few minutes here and there to pump, but this bill would make it a law and a right.

And as another article points out, women may be more inclined to return to work for an employer who considers their needs by providing rooms and privacy for pumping. And I have news for employers, or anyone, who would nay say such a law: women are not going to stop having babies. As long as there are babies and mothers in the workforce there will be a need to pump, and a place and time to do it.

I have to admit, I took a new job because the company was more family-friendly than my last employer. That made all the difference in the world to me.

As we all know, breastfeeding, doing it in public, doing it at work, are hot topics. They always have been, always will be. Part of me feels like if there are laws governing such things, making it "OK" to do so, then people--employers, those we see at the mall when we stop to feed our screaming four month old--will hopefully stop freaking out about it.

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Potty training

When Jared was born, Rachel agreed that she would handle the input and I would handle the output. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time that the output kept coming long after she stopped providing the input. With Sara, I still handled most of the output while she handled the input, but we split it more evenly. Of course, the non-changing parent had to take care of Jared while the diapering took place. Occasionally, there would be some discussion or negotiating to see who would handle a particularly unpleasant diaper -- having almost no sense of smell, I often ended up doing the duty, so to speak.

One family, however, has come up with a novel way of assigning the task of changing a poopy diaper. They play spin the baby and whoever the baby lands on, gets to change the diaper. I don't know if this is bad for the kid, but it certainly can't be good for him. Still, he does seem to really enjoy it. Plus, it's got to be safer than spinning a kid around like an airplane -- at least there's no chance of dropping him. What do you think?

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Filed under: Celebrity kids, Rumors, Celebrity parents

Now that Lindsay Lohan has gone 4 or 5 days without making headlines for some drug-induced escapade, her parents are giving picking up the slack. Her dad, Michael, had filed a motion in Long Island Family Court requiring that Dina, his estranged wife, be drug tested before having contact with the couple's younger children. (Makes sense, right?)

But yesterday he dropped that motion, reportedly so Ally, his 13-year-old, wouldn't love him any less. Page Six reports that the deal-breaker for Mr. Lohan was when Ally told him: "Daddy, I love you. I love you more if you'll drop that motion."

Because Ally apparently understands that mommy is just like Lindsay -- sometimes she just needs "a little pick me up." How fortunate that she was able to communicate that to her father.

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Filed under: Pregnancy and Birth, Moms, Dads, Newborn, Celebrity babies, Celebrity kids, Celebrity parents

There is a new addition to the list of unusual celebrity baby names. Jenna Elfman and her husband Bodhi welcomed their first child last week in Los Angeles and named him Story Elias. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and, according to mom's publicist, is fond of "classical music, a clean diaper, mom's boobs and long naps." Sounds like her publicist is just as cute and kooky as Jenna's character on Dharma & Greg.

I didn't realize until today that the Elfman's are Scientologists, which means she likely gave birth to her new son in complete silence. Religion aside, I like Dharma as an actress and I think it is somewhat amazing that she and her husband have been together since 1995 - that is forever and a day in Hollywood.

But the child's name is interesting. Story Elias. I can't decide if it is a really clever and cool name or just ammunition for playground bullies. Not that Jenna cares, but what do you think about Story for boy's name?

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Filed under: Business, Lifestyle, Middle school, 10-12 years, Pre-teen, Teenager, 13-14 years, 15-19 years, Celebrity kids, Celebrity style, Books, Literacy, Making a Difference

Wow, I'm really liking Danica McKellar these days. I mean, consider her list of accomplishments: She did a bang up job playing Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years way back when. She co-authored the proof of a mathematics theorem. She's got her math book for middle school girls coming out in August. And as if that weren't enough, she's come out publicly stating what has always seemed obvious to me -- smart is cool.

In an upcoming interview in Newsweek magazine, she lashes out at celebrities who eschew intelligence for notoriety. "When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible, but I want to show them that being smart is cool," she said. "Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life."

In addition to homework and test tips, her new book includes profiles of three beautiful mathematicians (presumably aside from herself.) Her message is simple: "I want to tell girls that cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart." You want a positive role model for your daughters? Here ya go. Could you get any better than this?

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Lifestyle, Media, Teenager

I somehow missed J.D's post last year on the phenomenon of teenage cough medicine abuse. And because I
a) don't have a teenager and
b) am not very hip on what's cool to get wasted on these days
I had no idea that cough medicine abuse among teenagers was teetering on an epidemic.

Last week I heard about a website that is dedicated to educating the public about cough medicine abuse by teenagers (and by educating, I include eradicating.) Five Moms is really a public awareness vehicle led by five actual moms - a nurse, an accountant, an educator and a DARE officer. They use their website to tell the world that teens are getting high off cough medicine. Seriously, I had no idea, but I guess this is no weirder than the early nineties, when my generation used to have fun making each other pass out. Although, this cough medicine business might be even more dangerous.

If you know, love, or have a teenager, this site is worth a peek.

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Filed under: Celebrity kids, Celebrity parents

I rarely watch TV, but when it's on, I love to watch Hell's Kitchen. I worked as a waitress and a hostess for over a decade, and I can say without hesitation that it's the most stressful, insanity-inducing job I've ever had. I cannot imagine what it would be like dealing with cantankerous customers and late-night tray-arm with the added horror of a boss like Gordon Ramsay. The man is even more terrifying than he is brilliant. But still, I love to watch his fury unfold, as long as it's nowhere near me.

Now Magazine is reporting that the chef - famous for food and foul temper - has been invited to be a guest of the Beckham family at their home in LA. The article has a picture of Ramsay and his family, including four beautiful kids. I am hoping that his temper is reserved exclusively for adults, and perhaps embellished for reality TV. The only thing scarier than a boss like Gordon Ramsay would be a Dad of the same temperament.

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