When you have a baby, you take on a lot of new titles. Parent. Diaper-changer. Lullaby singer. And photographer. Since cameras became affordable for the masses, new parents the world over have felt the need to document this little being's every moment!

I'm just as guilty as everyone else -- maybe more so. I'm a family portrait photographer in addition to being a blogger, and my daughter is so used to the sound of the flash firing, she doesn't even react anymore. That's just mom, at it again!

Want to get in on the game? You've got the perfect model: your cute little pumpkin. And here's how to get great shots for their baby book.

Get ready -- The first step to photographing babies is really figuring out what you want. Are you content to sneak in when they're sleeping? Are you trying to capture eyes wide open and a sweet grin? Candids can be taken anytime, anywhere, but portraits take planning. Judge when your sweetie is happiest -- is it after a feeding or at a certain time of day? -- so you'll be able to block out a little time for this process.

Get familiar -- With your camera that is. Whether you have a point and shoot or an SLR, the more you know about the camera, the more creative you can be. Some good things to figure out -- how to change shutter speed, ISO, and aperture.

Get 'em comfy -- If you're going outside, you want a spot that has open shade rather than direct sunlight, which isn't optimal for pictures OR particularly pleasant for a baby. Inside, you can use a flash or try to set up near a window to take advantage of the nice, natural light, but you still want a happy, comfy baby.

Get safe -- If you're going portrait, prep a safe place! We all know how wiggly babies can be, and if your hands are on a camera, you can't be holding baby too.

Get on their level -- A little math problem for you people: how tall are you? Now how tall are they? Exactly. A picture shot from standing up when kiddo is way down there is not going to capture much other than the top of their head. Don't be afraid to hunker down on the floor and shoot (with the lens!).

Get close -- Ever perused your pals' Facebook photos and wondered what the heck that picture was supposed to be showing off? Was it their kid or that gigantic mess in their living room? You don't need all that extra "stuff" in your shot; heck, you don't even need your baby's whole body in there. A photo that zooms in on "just" the face or "just" the toes can really capture the essence of babyhood. 

Get happy -- If someone was sticking that weird clicky machine with a flashing light in your face, wouldn't you be a little weirded out? Coo, smile, laugh, put down the camera and remind them it's really just Mommy or Daddy back there. Having a partner playing peekaboo behind you doesn't hurt either.

Get creative -- The 'net is full of ideas for tracking baby through the ages and stages that can spur you on, but don't be afraid to make them more personal. Does baby have a favorite stuffed animal? Pose the two together once a month and you'll be able to look back at how one grew and one stayed the same! Or try posing baby in the same outfit every week -- until they've outgrown it completely. The sky is the limit here. 

Get shooting -- The best thing about digital photography? You can always delete the "bad" shots! So take a ton of your squirmy, wriggly baby and don't worry if some are blurry! The more you take, the more likely something good is going to be on that memory card!

Get in there -- Nine times out of 10, there is one photographer in the family ... who is always on one side of the lens but never actually IN the pictures. Don't forget to hand that camera over and get some of your own time cuddling in front of the camera!

What are your favorite times to take photos of your baby?

Image via potzuyoko/Flickr

We all sacrifice for our kids on a daily basis. Stuff like sleep and sanity are long gone. But we have got nothing on Stephanie Decker. She managed to protect her kids from the furious winds of a deadly tornado that swept through their Indiana town, and she lost her legs in the process.

I don't know whether to cheer for her or cry for her! But I can't help identifying with her: she did what she had to do to protect her kids, and I'm willing to bet she doesn't regret it a bit.

Decker apparently was thinking fast when the storm blew into town. Home alone with her two young kids -- her husband was at the local high school where he's a teacher -- she tied her son and daughter to one another with a blanket, tied the blanket to herself, then threw herself on top of the children. It sounds like a pretty incredible plan to throw together in a few minutes.

And it sounds like her plan worked perfectly. Yes, the sleep specialist lost one leg above the knee and the other just above the ankle because they'd been crushed by falling debris. But she did her job, her kids -- both of them -- walked out of that house unscathed. Considering some of the other awful stories we've heard about children caught up in the recent storms that have ravaged the Midwest of late, the safety of little Reese and Dominic Decker is just plain miraculous. Take a look at the devastation in Indiana, and you get a sense of what she was up against:

Scary, huh?

What Stephanie Decker did was brave. I'm not trying to diminish that. My heart hurts for her. But this is how you define a "win" in the Mom (or Dad) book. Most of the time we don't have to deal with something as terrifying as a deadly tornado. On an average day, for an average parent, the sacrifices are more like taking the brunt of a fall when carry a toddler -- so we get hurt instead of them. We will take our lumps, even something as devastating as lost limbs, so long as our kids make it OK. 

When have you sacrificed your own safety for the sake of your kids?

I'd probably been listening to Adele sing for three or four months on my iPod before I actually saw a picture of the British singer. It blew me away. Here she is so young with a voice that sounds like it belongs to someone who has decade upon decade of living, loving, and learning behind her.

And now an Iranian teenager has done it again! Her body is just 13, but the girl known only as Tara has the voice of a woman three times that. And she's quickly become a viral video star thanks to her haunting but beautiful cover of -- surprise, surprise -- Adele's "Someone Like You." She does the Grammy winner justice and then some:

See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.

Did that give you chills? A good reminder not to underestimate the power of young people to move us, isn't it?

If you're wondering how someone so young can sound like that, here's a thought: it's illegal for women to sing in public in Iran. The guy who uploaded her video made one of his own to tell people that she is safe and not to call her a hero because it was not meant to be a political commentary, but facts are facts: growing up female in a strict Islamic country can't be easy.

Just as Adele has poured her heartache into her music, a teenager who has gone through tough times has a lot of living, loving, and learning to voice! And what better way to get out the pain than through music!

What was the toughest part of being a teenager for you? How did you let it out?

Image via smerdiis/YouTube

Alexander Pope should be spinning in his grave today. He's the guy who said, "To err is human, to forgive divine." But I'm pretty sure he didn't mean police should be forgiving the parents who didn't realize they'd "accidentally" left their 3-year-old at a Maryland Chuck E. Cheese until they saw her face on the 11 o'clock news.

But that's exactly what happened this week in Bel Air, Maryland. Police were called to the kiddie restaurant around 8 p.m. on Sunday to help a lost little girl named Harmony who approached a restaurant manager to say she was a little thirsty. But they didn't get a call from Harmony's mom and dad until after 11 ... after her picture was plastered on every TV screen in town. And they still gave her back!

That is some mighty powerful forgiveness right there! Maybe too powerful?

The parents, who share custody but seem to be split up, apparently told the coppers that they'd been at a "large party" at the Chuck E. Cheese, and they each thought their daughter had gone off with another member of the family. Then lo and behold her sweet little face topped off with a pink ribbon ends up on the news. The parents called, and Child Protective Services handed Harmony right over to her mom. They're even saying they won't file charges.

Gee whiz, I mean, they were watching TV that night. Totally awesome job there folks.

Wait, what???

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling sort of lost here. I know accidents happen and people get forgetful. I mean, just the other day I walked in the bathroom to take out my contacts and realized I'd taken the solution into the living room. So you know, I had to just walk right back in there and get that bottle.

Except little girls are not bottles of contact solution. And when you forget little girls, horrible, awful, terrible things can happen. Harmony was just 3 years old. When my kid was 3, you had better believe I either had my eyes on her in public places or made sure someone else did. Made sure. As in, I didn't assume she was with my mom or my brother or my husband or my bestie. I physically walked her over to another responsible adult, looked them square in the eye, and said, "So, you have her, right?" and got an affirmative (vocally!) before I relinquished my control.

I'm not saying either of Harmony's parents meant to leave her at the Chuck E. Cheese. I'll even go with the word that CPS use: this could have been "inadvertent." But "inadvertent" doesn't mean "excusable." And that's what everyone seems to have done in Bel Air this week ... excused the crap out of some spectacularly crappy parenting. Check out more on this crazy story:

What do you think should be done with these parents? Parenting classes? Community service?

Image via Harford County Sheriff’s Office

If you're a sucker for a good "lost dog makes it home after beating incredible odds" story, you have found the right place. Maybe I watched The Adventures of Milo & Otis or Homeward Bound a few too many times when I was a kid, but this is the stuff that makes me want to grab the tissues and have a good heartwarming cry. And boy did I get a good one out of Dooley.

The 4-year-old Shetland sheepdog spent 53 days alone in a desert! And before you start to worry, let me just clear up your concerns right now: no animals were harmed in the making of this blog post. That's right, Dooley made it home to his owner when she really, really needed a friend. Got your tissues ready? You're going to need them.

Barbara Bagley of Salt Lake City, Utah, lost her husband Brad and one of her dogs, Delaney, in a car accident right after Christmas. She was critically injured in the crash, and wouldn't you know it, Dooley was terrified ... and he took off in the Nevada desert. Searchers spent some time combing the desert for him, but when they found a dog's remains, they gave up hope ... the very day Brad succumbed to his injuries. (Pause for a clearing of those tears.)

Is it any surprise she was having trouble with her own recovery with that kind of weight on her shoulders? Grief is very powerful, and it can do a number on your health. There's scientific proof that we can die of the so-called broken heart.

But don't worry, it got good again. The gorgeous ball of fur survived -- most likely on roadkill -- and Barbara's friends somehow found him and brought him back to her. They probably saved his life. Fifty-three days in a desert is somewhat miraculous for a dog who is used to the comfort of a nice home. 

Maybe that's what gets me most about these kinds of stories. We bring our animals into our homes and try to care for them, and when they go missing, we don't just suffer from heartbreak (although that's there). We are scared for them, terrified that all the nice things we've done for them hamper them in the wild where they now have to fight to survive. And then a miracle happens, they make it!

Check out Dooley and his mama, and tell us -- do you have a miracle pet story?

Image via KSL

Folks, the next time you have a hankering for some ice cream, I advise you drop whatever you are doing and feed that craving! Hey, it worked for Louise White! The 81-year-old is the winner of the third biggest Powerball jackpot in Rhode Island history, and she says she owes it all to a trip to the Stop & Shop to pick up some rainbow sherbet!

Well, that and the fact that Louise White is one feisty granny. Apparently her family member with a taste for the cold sweet stuff offered to pick something up for her at the store, but this octogenarian was having none of it. She was going too ... and she wanted said family member to get a move on. Score one for geriatrics who are still kickass and raring to go!

Did I mention she's even on Facebook? Of course she is! Which could give us a hint about what she'll do with all the cash.

The jackpot was $336 million, but White opted for the lump sum payment of $210 million instead of 30 annuity payments paid out over 29 years. She will pay about $52.5 million in federal taxes and $14.7 million in state taxes, but that still leaves a whole lotta dough. And with a lady this cool, I am holding out hope that she's going to paint the town red!

No offense to her family here, but when you get a windfall this big at that age, you have every right to say the hell with the grandkids and go out and spend, spend, spendy, spend, spend. I don't mean to be crass, but we can't live forever (sadly). Even if she's in the prime of health and going to be around for another 20 years -- and I hope she is -- a win at 81 is karma's way of telling her she can only have it so long, she might as well have fun with it! And by George (what, she's 81), she deserves it. I'd want nothing less for my grandmother.

I think a car and driver are in order, for one, so she can indulge in a trip to get something sweet any time without worrying about someone else taking her on a trip. And maybe a trip to Napa is in order for a taste of the country's most expensive ice cream sundae: it's no rainbow sherbet, but the $3,333 banana split is made with syrups from three rare dessert wines, and it's served with an ice cream spoon from the 1850s (still older than Louise!).

Heck, with that kind of money, she can just buy an ice cream shop. Rainbow sherbet for everyone!

If you won the Powerball at 81, what would you spend it on?

Image via dno1967b/Flickr

Tim Tebow had us all a little worried yesterday with rumors that he'd told The Bachelor host Chris Harrison he'd actually take his mate-finding process to the TV screen. But the Denver Broncos quarterback has ever so kindly allowed us to start breathing again. Tebow will never be The Bachelor.

Phewwww! Now that Tebow's cleared that up for us, we can finally talk about the sports star the folks at ABC should be angling for. Come on, isn't it obvious?

Kris Humphries would make a much better bachelor than Tim Tebow! The New Jersey Nets power forward is kind of cute (if you go for the curly haired-type). He's rich. He spends enough time in the tabloids being catty that it's obvious he'd be much more devious (aka reality TV-worthy) than the sweet Christian Tebow. And need we remind the entire world that he's very, very single these days?

If you're worried that his 72-day marriage and explosive split from his famous ex might count him out, don't. The former Mr. Kim Kardashian wouldn't be the first contestant to hit up the show for a post-divorce rebound. Single dad Jason Mesnick tried it out, and it worked. He's now married to Molly Malaney, the runner-up from his season on the show. This could be Humphries' ticket to true love and happily ever after.

And the match would go both ways -- it would be a big win for the producers of The Bachelor to snag this star. Think about it! He's already accustomed to being on a reality TV show, so they don't have to deal with some newbie who they have to train to be on camera. He's got the Kardashian-associated fame that will draw more viewers. And if Mike Fleiss wants to put charges of racism behind him -- the show has never had a non-white guy in the lead role of looking for love -- well, the biracial Humphries is a good start.

If Tebow won't do The Bachelor, who better to take his place than Kris Humphries? Do you have a better suggestion?

Image via Bryan Horowitz/Flickr

It never fails. You tell a certain kind of mom in the school drop-off line that your kid can't get enough of this one new video game, and they give you a look that turns you cold. They don't say it, but you know they're thinking, "You are a horrible mother! Don't you know that video games turn kids into violent morons?" Don't worry, you're a good mom -- she's wrong.

In fact, the more scientists -- not sanctimommies -- look at these things, it turns out there are plenty of bona fide health and behavior benefits for our kids. So next time you get the raised eyebrow from another mom who sees your kid walking around with a game console in hand, here's what you tell her:

1. Video Games Make Kids Smart: Yes, I'm for real. Neuroscientists were able to determine that people who play action-based video and computer games make decisions 25 percent faster than their peers. And they're good decisions -- there is no decrease in accuracy for the speed. In fact, if someone is really good at gaming, they have been found to make decisions AND act on them four times faster than regular Joes and Janes. Bring on the brain games!

2. Video Games Can Help Fight Childhood Obesity: There has been a lot of debate over the years about fitness games and whether they actually do anything for you, but the latest news is good. If they play a fitness game, scientists say kids could on average burn between 7 and 14 pounds of fat a year, just by playing these more active video games (instead of sitting around watching TV). Experts caution these games should be combined with regular exercise away from the machines, but when it's raining or cold outside and you can't send them out to play, there's ample evidence that you shouldn't feel guilty for setting them up with a workout game. And maybe getting in on it wouldn't hurt?

3. Video Games Can Cheer Us Up: So you've heard that gaming will make your kid a depressed recluse? Not necessarily. Casual gaming -- using video games as a part of a well-rounded slate of activities -- has actually been proven to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms and give an all-around mood boost. Hey, kids can use stress relief too, right?

All this certainly makes me feel better about letting my kid sit with her game console in the backseat of the car, how about you? What are your video game rules?

Image via aditza121/Flickr

I don't think I have to tell you that the world wide web can be a scary place. But I think we've just crossed over the line from "scary" to "terrifying." A dad who accidentally downloaded child porn has been more or less branded a pedophile and banned from spending anytime alone with his 8-year-old daughter for an unspecified period of time. For an accident!

I know what you're thinking. Yeah, sure, he says it was an accident. And every guy or gal in prison says they're not guilty too. Suuuuuure it was an accident. But the story Nigel Robinson spins just sounds too real for this kind of punishment. 

The way this British dad tells it, he was downloading music on the Internet when some super creepy stuff popped up on the screen. I can picture it. Haven't you ever been surfing along, clicked on something off Google and blam, it's like boobs, boobs, boobs, with flashing lights, and a zillion giant windows popping up all over the place offering you free sex! and hot, hot, hot girls!

It's the scourge of the Internet, this stuff, but it happens to the best of us. I spend all day on my computer -- for my job! -- and I am hyper vigilant about updating my virus software because of these kind of sneaky tactics. But this dad went even further than that to protect himself. Immediately after the images showed up, he told his wife and then he called the cops. On himself!

Does that sound like a creeper to you? A guy who should be picking better sites for his music downloads, maybe ... but generally hardcore pedophiles don't call the police to report themselves for child porn.

I understand the "better be safe than sorry concept," but they're talking about disrupting this man's life and that of his little girl until November. And that carries a risk for society. It troubles me that Robinson's been separated from his daughter while police investigate because of the message this sends to other would-be do-gooders. Essentially they're saying "try to help ups out, and we'll make your life a living hell." As Robinson said to the media: "I wish I had just binned the laptop and then none of this would have happened."

Reports of child porn from good citizens are a vital means the police have to actually fight this vile practice of hurting kids. If we keep punishing the whistleblowers, we could be hurting our best chances of actually getting the real pedophiles off the streets.

Does it scare you knowing we're all one wrong click away from being this dad? What would you have done in this situation?

Image via [F]oxymoron/Flickr

It's awfully tempting to say that we have it so much worse than our parents did. They didn't have to worry about us texting and driving or the ozone layer being completely obliterated by SUVs and hairspray. But this week we've been served a sad reminder that the more things change, the more parenting comes down to one cruel fact.

We can only do so much to protect our kids, but in the end, they -- not us -- control their destinies. Just look at Taylor Sauer, the Idaho teenager whose last Facebook blast, sent out on her cellphone as she hurtled down the highway, has made the rounds of the web. Just before slamming into a tanker truck as she drove home from college, Sauer sent out one last ominous message.

I can't discuss this now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha

Some are calling it spooky, some prophetic, but I have another word. Life. As in, that's life, and even the best parents can't control it.

Obviously Taylor had been taught about the dangers of simultaneously operating a cellphone and a motor vehicle. And just as obviously, she ignored the warnings because -- as her parents told the Today show -- she thought she was invincible:

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Isn't that the way it is with kids? We can say the same things over and over and over again, even make them parrot them back, but in the end, they will make up their own minds about what applies to them and what doesn't. We can't "make them" listen. 

It's not just the big stuff like dangerous texting and driving. It's the everyday lessons. I don't know how many times I've told my daughter that she needs to get to sleep at night so she can wake up rested in the morning and tackle her schoolwork with a fresh mind. But she is her own person. I can't make her sleep.

Sure, I can make her stay in her room. I can make her stay in her bed. But I can't morally, physically, legally walk into her room, climb into her bed, and hold her eyelids shut so she will actually fall asleep at a decent hour. It's her body. Her decision.

I watched the Sauers this morning, and my heart aches. Because they lost a daughter. Because they tried their best. Because right now, they represent the scariest part of being a parenting: we give them life, but what they do with it really is up to them.

What have you tried to teach your kids but fear they have yet to really understand?

Image via Today

It's not easy being an American parent. Any day, it seems, a pedophile could move into your neighborhood, and there isn't a thing you can do about it (well, other than lock your doors or try to sell your house ... but in this market, with a sex offender next door, let me just say good luck to you there). If only there was something we could do about it ... like maybe chemical castration?

Oh, it's controversial as all heck, but using testosterone-suppressing hormones to curb the sex drive is considered by some experts to be the best way to stop a criminal from sexually abusing kids. And the Eastern European country of Molodova just joined a select few around the world that are willing to do what American parents only wish we could. Can I get a hell yeah?

The Moldovan government has apparently had a problem with sex offenders moving into the country and abusing kids. So they passed a law that requires foreigners who move in and Moldovan nationals with a pedophile charge on their record to receive shots that will kill their sex drive. They join the likes of the Czech Republic and Poland in making this a requirement for these type of offenders, which has drawn a lot of criticism from human rights groups.

Personally? I'd like to send these Moldovan legislators a big bottle of vodka, and give the human rights activists a punch in the nose. They're the reason American parents can't convince most American governments to make this move.

Yes, I'm usually a liberal and all rah, rah, human rights! But there's something about the abuse of a child that strikes me as so repugnant I automatically see red. It's a mix of anger and fear that makes it hard for me to sit idle and not do something to the monster in our midst.

Fortunately I'm relatively non-violent, so although there is a pedophile in my neighborhood (dude, I know you're there, and we are ALL watching you now), I'm not the type to burn down a house or start throwing bricks through windows. Instead, I suffer in silence. More to the point, my child suffers because now that I know there's a creep in town who raped a little girl just three years older than her, I fear letting her out on her bike alone.

So let's talk about whose rights have been violated. For starters, there is that poor defenseless girl who was raped by this sicko. And now there are all the little kids in my neighborhood who are at risk of a man who is at an extremely high risk of once again hurting children ... who cannot run and play and be normal kids because he's here, lurking.

Still think it's such a bad thing to make someone who has been convicted of abusing kids undergo medical treatment that will protect them? Yeah ... me neither.

What's your take on chemical castration?

Image via amanderson2/Flickr

It looks like Teen Mom star Amber Portwood has done the impossible. Rumor has it she's managed to miss a required drug test. Now the mother of little Leah will have to sit and wait until a judge decides if that's reason enough to send her to prison for the next five years -- the cost of failing at rehab. But there's another big question dangling out here y'all. 

How does a woman in a strict drug court program actually miss a drug test? Is this something only Amber Portwood could manage to screw up?

I know I'm being harsh here, but the more that comes out about Amber, the more it seems like this girl excels at getting her own way. There's only so much that can be blamed on MTV, fame, and the pressure of being a teenage mother. At some point, someone has to take responsibility for their own life.

Amber is responsible for peeing in a cup once a day, and TMZ says she was too busy to make it on Monday. It almost sounds like we should feel bad for her, right? Poor little Amber couldn't make it to go take a urine test, and now the big mean judge is going to penalize her for it -- possibly with five years doing hard time, away from her daughter and everyone who loves her. Awww. Boo hoo.

More from The Stir: 'Teen Mom' Amber Portwood Has Bigger Emotional Problems Than We Thought

But let's get real: this is not like missing a dentist appointment or showing up late for your haircut. It's not the kind of thing you just randomly forget to reschedule if you can't make it.

There isn't exactly much on her schedule right now that could get in the way either. Amber doesn't have a job to go to right now. She's living in Sister 2 Sister Ministries, a halfway house that specializes in reentry and outreach to women returning to community from jail or prison. She's got a case manager. She's subject to random house checks. And did I mention the threat of five years in prison if she screws this thing up dangling over her head?

If Amber can screw up this badly, I have to say it ... she has much bigger problems than what might or might not have been in her urine. Jail may just be the only option left.

What do you think should be done with Amber now?

I've always thought that the "best place" for kids taken from their parents is with a member of their own family. It sounds ideal, right? All nice and cozy with blood relatives who will make sure kids have it just as good as Mom and Dad (well, better ... really, there's a reason they don't live with their parents after all). Man oh man am I feeling naive today.

Because you will never guess who was supposed to be the primary "caregiver" for two kids found living in an abandoned bus outside Houston, Texas. Not some nameless foster mom. No sirree bob. It was their great-auntie, a hard-working woman who puts in 12 hour days at her job and then comes home to "take care" of the 11- and 5-year-old niece and nephew she allegedly leaves in a broken down vehicle all day.

So much for blood is thicker than water?

But, but, she says she provides them meals! You know ... sometimes. Funny thing is cops say they didn't see much food in the bus, although they did find the old school-use vehicle had been rigged with electricity and an air-conditioner (although it sounds like that's just there to blow the stink of human filth around). Honestly, the details on this case just get worse from there. Police say the kids' parents are both in jail, and they've been living in this bus alone since the beginning of the year. They don't go to school ...

To make matters even worse, the little girl allegedly told cops she thought this was the best they could have:

We've got hot water, cold water, shower, two closets, a pair of bunk beds...

It all makes me want to hop in a car, drive to Texas, grab these poor kids, and drive them back to my house where I'd put nice clothes on their backs and healthy food in their bellies. They don't know me from Adam, and considering I live in New York, that would mean taking them away from everything they've ever known. But it has to be better than what the police are saying their own flesh and blood has provided, right?

It's nice to think of a world where family sticks together. There are people making a mint these days selling vinyl wall clings with cutesy sayings about the kindness of kin. Cliches are perfectly acceptable on your walls, but they're not sound methods to guide an entire social service system.

Kids deserve more than kin, especially when they've already suffered the pain of having been removed from their parents. They deserve the best care someone -- anyone -- can give. If the best option for "caring" for kids that a woman can provide is living in a filthy abandoned bus and leaving a 5-year-old alone with his 11-year-old sister for 12 hours at a time every day, keeping them both out of school, you're a pretty crappy human being ... no matter how much blood you share.

What should be the first thing social services looks for in a caregiver for displaced kids?

Image via bsabarnowl/Flickr

Didja hear? Didja hear? The new iPad cometh! And some of you don't get the hype. But may I offer you one amazing story that might change your mind? It's about a boy with autism who got to be like "everyone else" for a day ... all because of one little gadget from the folks at Apple.

Matthew Emmi can't read, write, or speak in full sentences, and his parents know he will never have a wedding or a high school graduation. But thanks to his (about to be obsolete) iPad, he is now a man in the eyes of his Jewish synagogue. He had an honest to goodness bar mitzah just like every other 13-year-old boy in the faith.

I'd say that's a pretty major mark on the world, how about you? Matthew's family recorded him saying a few words, which were then tied to icons on the screen of his iPad. Hebrew school staff then added the more complicated sayings typical for a bar mitzvah ceremony, which were also tied to icons. By touching those icons, and allowing the little gadget to play his own words out loud, this kid who loves to hum and clap along to the synagogue's cantor got to celebrate a major milestone for Jewish kids. It gave him a voice.

As a parent of a child who doesn't fall under the special needs designation, I'll readily admit that those of us who aren't living it can so easily forget just how major these milestones are. We don't wonder if our kids will be able to have a bar mitzah or walk up onto the stage in their high school auditorium to accept their diplomas. We just expect it.

But these times are huge. That's why we all take 1,001 photos and mark the occasions with big parties where we invite all our family and friends to come in and help us celebrate how amazing our kids are. And we repeat the same celebratory process again and again for each event -- the graduation, the wedding, the baby shower ...

These moments define us. After them, we are changed: high school graduate, wife, mother.

But a kid with severe autism like Matthew doesn't get all those parties and accolades. They don't get the incredible feeling of accomplishment and the resulting pats on the back that fill them up with the love and support of a big extended family. They don't get to "change" and redefine themselves.

Well. Usually. But a little gadget is slowly changing that for these kids. It is giving kids like Matthew "their moment" too. I'd say that's worth a little hubbub about the iPad, how about you?

What's been the most significant game-changer for your kid with special needs?

Image via Sergio Vassio/Flickr

Yippeee! It's International Women's Day! And I am the proud owner of a (slightly used) uterus, which can only mean I get something, right? No? Not even a box of chocolates? A super cool doohickey from Apple? Still no? Sigh.

Fine. I don't need presents yes I do. I am still going to celebrate a day that is all about "connecting girls" and "inspiring futures," because ladies, we are pretty darn cool, and it doesn't take a new iPad (want) or box of chocolate creams to make us happy. No, what we need is a look at the numbers that show we are one amazing force to be reckoned with in these here 50 states. Just take a look at the girl power we've got going on:

6 -- Female governors currently in charge of American states

6.2 -- Percent of women who have been married for 50 plus years!

17 -- Women currently serving in the US Senate

23 -- Percent of women in the United States who own guns (legally!)

26.5 -- Median age of a woman at the time of her first marriage

28.8 -- Percent of American firms owned by ladies

40 -- Percent more likely women are to give to charity than men

44 -- Percent of the NFL's fanbase that's female. Who says chicks don't like football?

46.2 -- Percent of women (18 and up) who voted in the last congressional election

50.8 -- Percent of the American population that's female (as of the 2010 Census)

59 -- Percent of American rocking body ink, compared to only 41 percent of guys with tattoos

67 -- Percent of women smart enough to lock up their Facebook privacy settings (compared to 48 percent of guys)

73 -- Women currently serving in the US House of Representatives

79 -- Percent of Gen Y ladies who say they're saving money instead of spending to make it through the recession

94 -- Percent of Gen Y women (22- 35 years old) who believe that they’ll be able to achieve a balance in their personal and professional lives ... they WILL have it all!

36,931 -- In dollars, the median income of females 15 and up in the US

205,500 -- Active duty women in our nation's armed forces

7.5 million -- People employed by women-owned American businesses

30.7 million -- Number of American women 25 and up with a college degree (bachelor's or higher)

85.4 million -- Moms in America

157.0 million -- Women in America

What number on this list makes you most proud to be a woman? Let's hear it for International Women's Day ... chocolate for all!

Image via Kheel Center, Cornell University/Flickr

Poor Peyton Manning. First the legendary quarterback breaks down in front of the media as he's released from the Indianapolis Colts. And now his generosity to a waitress has become a big hot mess with her actually getting fired. Seriously, the dude just can't get a break!

By the looks of the receipt from the Angus Barn in Raleigh, North Carolina, that popped up on the Web, Manning knows how to make servers feel appreciated. His $200 tip, on top of a bill that already included an 18 percent gratuity, equals out to about 50 percent of the bill. So what's the problem?

The Angus Barn has fired the server for violating the privacy of their guest -- aka Manning. And on the one hand, I get it. As a restaurant owner, you want people -- especially big spenders like an NFL legend -- to feel like this is a place where they can spend their money without everyone knowing their business. Courting famous people can be extremely lucrative.

So the big to-do is because he's famous. But let's follow this thing around the complicated circle, shall we?

The only reason the server shared this receipt with the web was because Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning. And she wasn't slamming the QB. Actually, it was anything but. By showing the world that he tips big time on top of the house gratuity, she was actually giving us all another thing to love about the sweet southern boy.

And because he's famous, this could work better for him than privacy. Famous people depend on their reputations to get new jobs just as much as us normal folks -- heck, maybe more so. And if Manning wants to get another job quaterbacking in the NFL after getting cut loose from the Colts, he can use every bit of good mojo from the masses on his side. Fans want the kind of guy who tips a waitress $200 to come to their city.

So, let's sum this up. She shouldn't have shared this receipt because he's famous. But then again, because he's famous, it's actually a good thing that she shared it ...

Ach! This is making my head hurt! But not as bad as Peyton's probably is. Because now he's got to deal with a call from this restaurant owner and all sorts of extra publicity at an already complicated time in his life ... when all he really wanted to do was leave a waitress a nice tip and call it a day.

How does this whole fiasco affect how you feel about Peyton Manning?

Image via IAN RANSLEY DESIGN + ILLUSTRATION/Flickr

Ever notice most parents today whine that their kids have too much stuff? But if anyone from our parents' generation makes a comment about it, boy we're quick to defend that playroom overflowing with crap toys! Be honest: you're just trying to give your kids "better than you got" and overcompensating in the process.

You know what I mean. You never had a dolly that talked, so your kid has five. Your husband never had a toy train, so you bought out the Thomas line. And yet their childhoods just never seem to reach that mark in your mind of how fabulous childhood is supposed to be ... right? Let me let you in on a little secret.

Today's toys pretty much suck!

Sorry, but they do. They're mostly plastic hunks of junk with too many buttons that suck the creativity right outta playtime.

Oh, I will admit there are the one-offs that have really improved on the stuff we had. I recently found out Crayola makes these Paintbrush Pens that don't drip all over the place and are washable. It was all I could do not to buy out the entire rack at the store for my little artist. They. Are. Fabulous. And I got a press release the other day assuring me that today's girls do not have to tape the ends of their friendship bracelets to their bare knees (or pin them to a sock like my friend Amber did back in the day) because there are now handy dandy "makers" that will hold that thing steady for you. Guess what my kid's getting for Easter!

But when I look around the playroom, these types of modern-day improvements are few and far between. I was feeling so depressed about the fate of fun in 2012, I turned to friends on Facebook hoping they'd cheer me up with some more fabulous finds (and maybe ideas for that basket?) that represent better than we got. They admitted the Nintendo Wii is a heckuva lot cooler than the Atari. But that's about it. Out of 10 friends, they couldn't come up with any other toy of today that lives up to the stuff of yesterday -- even with the lead paint and choking hazards we endured.

That's a big fat nothing! In 2012. How can this be? Isn't every generation supposed to be an improvement on the last? We can make cars that run on old cooking oil. But we can't seem to make toy trucks that don't lose their wheels after a few days of kids being kids with them or action figures that don't shed limbs faster than you can say "where did I put that receipt?"

Thank goodness the good old outdoors is still there for them with the fresh air and trees to climb ... well, for now anyway.

What modern toys do you think are an improvement on what we had as kids -- are there any?

Image by Jeanne Sager

Ever since she became a bona fide star, it seems like Lea Michele has been haunted by comparisons to Rachel Berry, the character she plays on Glee. Which wouldn't be so bad, except, well, Rachel isn't all that likeable, is she? Speaking as a Gleek, I'm going to go ahead and admit she's kind of prissy and way into herself.

But Lea seems much more fun. So I was glad to hear the actress dishing about all her body art this week to Prestige magazine. And by all her body art, I mean A LOT of body art. This does not sound like a Rachel Berry moment at all!

On-screen she might be all Catholic school girl, but off, Michele has got 14, count 'em, 14 tats on that bod. And if you're thinking, wait a minute, I saw her half nekkid in GQ two years ago and then that holy good God that's a lot of cleavage cover of Cosmo ... how could she have hidden them all, well, you're asking the right questions.

Apparently at least four are new-ish, and all are teeny weeny -- from the blue butterfly on her right foot to the bird on her hip, plus two musical notes from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" on her left shoulder, red heart on her left index finger, "Our city, our love" on her right foot, and another tattoo tribute to her late grandfather.

More from The Stir: Lea Michele Can Teach Us a Thing or Two About Showing Some Leg (PHOTOS)

But considering Lea spit out that number, but we haven't seen them in most pictures, and she won't dish on them all, could it be that some are in rather ... intimate ... places? Bravo girl! Very enigmatic; I like that!

Tattoos are so personal that I hate to judge what or where people have themselves inked (except face tats -- those I just do not get ... they scream "unemployable" to me). My husband has two tattoos -- right on his shoulders -- and I have a buddy with a sleeve tattoo that's pretty fab.

But there's something to be said for small and secret, especially nowadays. Hidden tattoos shout "I'm not just getting ink because it's in" (59 percent of women in America now rock some body art!). Not knocking the more showy body art, but hidden tattoos are sweet! They're just for you and/or the person you're showing off those places too (co-star Cory Monteith perhaps, Ms. Michele?). They're definitely not something that a "I'm only in it for the fame, so look at me, look at me, look at me" girl like Rachel Berry would do.

If you were going to get a hidden tattoo, where would you place it?

Addicted to beauty and style? Make sure you follow us on Pinterest, the virtual pin board that is seriously addicting! Check out some of our favorite boards, including Spring Style 2012, Celebrity Style, and our hilarious I'll Take That Dare style videos, and you'll see what we mean.

Image via Prestige

Parents, we need to talk. It has come to my attention that some of you have gotten into the ridiculous trend known as the "potty party." Potty as in potty training. Party as in cakes and cookies and balloons and streamers and other gee gaws that used to be carted out just once a year ... on their birthdays.

People. People. PEOPLE! Your kid just took a dump in a plastic tub which you then had to dump into your toilet and flush off for the nice folks at the sewer plant to deal with. And you're inviting guests? Have you lost your minds?

I suppose in a world where people actually post pictures of their little munchkin's first bowel movement on Facebook and expect people to "like" it, this is what we've come to. Inviting the neighbors in to celebrate the fact that you have finally bid the diaper days goodbye.

I get that this is a momentous occasion. I really do. When my kid was finally potty trained, a whole chunk of money began to stay in my wallet each month instead of being deposited in the cash register at Sam's Club so I could carry that big box of Pampers out to the car. And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like the day when you realize that not once in the past 24 hours have you actually wiped someone else's ass. That's like July 4th and your birthday and Christmas all rolled up into one, my friends.

And that was enough for me. Really. I mean, the kid got some good stuff too -- if I recall correctly, there were stickers and M&M's and some high fives and hugs because this was a big frickin' deal in our house. 

But that's the point, people. In our house. Not in the world or even in our community. She didn't negotiate a peace treaty with Iran. She didn't turn a deserted lot into a park. She didn't even become the proud owner of a high school diploma so she could continue her march onward into being a productive member of society. She decided she'd rather not sit in her own feces.

If that deserves a party, what's next? A trip to Disney World when she learns to tie her shoes? A flight to the moon when she masters the multiplication tables?

How about we start setting some realistic expectations for our kids and kick this trend to the curb, what do you say? Are you with me?

What will you be doing to celebrate potty training success? Anything?

Image via alibree/Flickr

WTF, America? The Office of the Surgeon General has released a new report saying teen smoking is now at epidemic levels. Have these kids actually missed those giant pictures of blackened lungs in every school nurse's office and horrific ads on every TV channel?

This is the first youth smoking report to come out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since 1994, and the numbers are almost as scary as the idea of spending the rest of your life talking with a voicebox held to your throat because your throat was riddled with cancer. Seems like those scary ads are really working for us, huh?

They're saying 600,000 kids in middle school and 3 million high school students are already puffing on some cancer sticks. Middle school? That deserves another WTF, don't you think? And if you think it's a passing phase, sorry Charlie, but the study claims approximately 3 out of 4 high school smokers continue to smoke well into adulthood.

But allow me to snort in the general direction of the Surgeon General's grand plans for video challenges and guides full of "practical information" to end this awful epidemic. It's an awfully cute idea, completely deserving of a nice pat on the head like Granny use to give you. Maybe even a chuck under the chin?

But if terrifying the pants off of our kids for the last umpteen years has actually resulted in the number of young smokers climbing, I'm going to go ahead and say the "practical information" is going to do a whole lot of nothing. I've got some better ideas that might actually make these kids listen up:

1. Make Your Kid Smoke a Whole Pack of Ciggies. All at once. And none of this filtered, light crap. I'm talking some hardcore, make 'em cough until they're hoarse and want to puke Camels. Get 'em good and "addicted."

2. Serve Their Sugary Smack-o-Puffs With Acetone (Nail Polish Remover) and Ammonia for the Rest of the Week Instead of Milk. Hey, that's what they're ingesting when they puff on a typical cigarette, why wouldn't they want to eat that crap stuff?

3. Set Them Up in an Old Junker With a Hose From the Tailpipe Snaked Through the Back Window. What, that sounds like a horrific suicide method by carbon monoxide poisoning? Funny, cigarettes are full of the stuff ...

4. Tar and Feather Them. The sooner they get used to that sticky stuff, the better, if they intend to be a real smoker. They'll be ingesting one full cup of tar every year as long as they puff.

Come on, people, let's stop being all nicey nice with our kids. It's not WORKING!

What have you done to keep your kids from the cancer sticks?

Image via CDC