Happy 4th of July! Welcome to the one holiday nearly as fun for kids as Christmas, only with fewer financial obligations for parents but with the painful twist of the grand finale (fireworks!) at the very end of the day instead of first thing in the morning.

If you aren't the lucky owner of a cottage or waterfront property (or related to someone who is) it can be really tempting to let the kids plop in front of the television while you work on marinading the steak and prepping the potato salad for a cookout.

However, with just a few craft materials you probably already have lying around and some easy instructions, you can quickly throw together a last minute 4th of July Kid Parade that will be the talk of........well, everyone who was actually around on the 4th! (And if you keep the neighbor kids occupied for a few hours, their parents might even invite yours over to burn some daylight out of gratitude!)

If you spent your life shunning fruits and vegetables, you might want to seriously reassess that stance on healthy foods before becoming pregnant. According to British researchers, a mother's diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding directly affects the child's risk of obesity, elevated cholesterol, and blood sugar levels for the rest of their life.

In the study, researchers fed one group of rats a diet of donuts, muffins, cookies, chips and sweets while they were pregnant and nursing their young. Another group was fed a regular, healthy diet. When comparing the two groups, researchers found the babies from the junk food momma rats had higher levels of cholesterol, triglycerides,glucose, and insulin and were fatter through adolescence and adulthood that the rats born of mothers who ate healthily.

And while it's true that rats aren't human (although some humans can be rats!) according to Neil Stickland, the study's co-author, "Humans share a number of fundamental biological systems with rats, so there is good reason to assume the effects we see in rats may be repeated in humans. Our research certainly tallies with epidemiological studies linking children's weight to that of their parents."

Does this mean pregnant woman stress over a couple chocolate chip cookies and an occasional hamburger? Of course not! But knowing the constant craving for deep fried Snickers bars isn't exactly doing the wee one any favors might be the push needed to choose a juicy orange or calcium-building serving of yogurt instead.

I've never been much of a fan of reality TV. Putting ordinary people (who are always prettier or meaner or whinier than anyone person I've ever met) in weird circumstances to show what happens just isn't entertaining to me. I've got kids, I deal with weird circumstances ALL DAY LONG!

Apparently, I'm not the only one who isn't crazy about at least one reality TV show. The Washington D.C. based nonprofit group Zero to Three is upset with the new NBC television series "Baby Borrowers". The group's spokesperson told Page Six, "We're concerned about the fact that these babies are being separated from their parents and placed with strangers. On the first episode, the babies were separated for about 12 hours and were clearly in distress. Typically they will cry and cling and search for their parents, which they were doing. They should be with someone they've had the opportunity to get to know."

I'm all for educating teens on child care getting rid of the notion that parenting is one big ball of baby powdery fun, but there ARE better ways than dumping a baby off with complete strangers for a television show. Working at a childcare center, volunteering at a church nursery or preschool, or even babysitting are all good ways to get a small idea of what life as a parent is like.

There is no way I'd ever, ever, ever have agreed to let my babies be on a television show like this, even with a nanny stationed nearby in case she's needed. What exactly is going on with our society that makes babies fair game for a reality series, anyway?

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One of the best things about Halloween is the assortment of candy bars the little goblins bring home. I consider it repayment for my costuming efforts as there is always WAY too many for tender tummies to handle, so I help reduce the inventory levels of chocolate covered goodness from the communal treat bowl. ( And, you know, to save the little scamps from cavities. I eat because I love!)

Because of this yearly crash course in chocolatery, I fancied myself somewhat of an expert on the various candy bar brands available until I took this quiz asking you to identify cross-sectioned chocolate bars. Even with multiple choice answers available, I scored a dismal 14 out of 20 which shocked me. Obviously, I need to do more research treat myself a little more often than just Halloween and build up a better understanding of chocolate and caramel and nougat!

Test your candy bar knowledge against your kids and see who is candy king in your house! It's trickier than you'd think!

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Don't rely on just your memory to keep track of when to reapply kids' sunscreen.

The perpetrators of the horrifying and and heartbreaking case of Baby Grace discovered to be the blonde toddler's own mother and stepfather a mere seven months ago, are in the headlines again.

Kimberly Trenor, 19, just gave birth to a baby boy fathered by Royce Zeigler II, 25, the same man accused of helping beat her 2-year-old daughter Riley Ann (dubbed "baby Grace" by investigators before the body was identified) to death.

The infant was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services immediately after he was born and Trenor was returned to jail. In spite of both parents initially agreeing to give up their parental rights, Zeigler changed his mind and now wants his parents to raise the child. CPS was in the process of placing the newborn child with some of Trenor's relatives but now the courts will have to decide who will raise the baby boy born into such unfortunate circumstances.

It's hard not to feel sympathy for the members of the extended family. Not only did they lose a darling little girl due to the horrific actions of their own flesh and blood, they might also be denied the right to see this little boy as he grows up.

I'm sure glad I'm not a judge.

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"Things are different today,"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day.

-The Rolling Stones "Mother's Little Helper"

Between the proliferation of kid activities, the increased expectation of parental involvement, and the demands of work AND home, today's mothers are being pulled in more directions than ever before. How are modern mommas getting more hours in their day? It's not a pill like the Rolling Stones sang about.

A study by The National Sleep Foundation found that 65% of mothers regularly drink caffeinated beverages to make it through their day. And we're not talking just a cup or two, Sarah Kripal, mother of two from Lincoln, Nebraska admitted, "I need about four energy drinks, three cups of coffee and a six-pack of soda every day." Lindy Smith, a mom of three says, "I usually drink two to three pots of coffee a day. I am sure this is not good for me, but how do you keep up?"

In spite of research that coffee can reduce inflammation and decrease blood sugar levels, caffeine can trigger migraines, heartburn, gastrointestinal problems and put women at an increased risk of miscarriage. And unlike the original Mother's Little Helper, liquid energy requires no prescription is readily available in various sweetened and foamy forms (vanilla lattes are my weakness!) in nearly every city in the nation, making it easy for busy moms to grab a delicious cup of jet-fuel whenever energy levels sag.

No doubt about it, caffeine is a hard habit to break and current lifestyles make it hard to imagine why we'd even try giving up the one thing that helps us squeeze more hours into a day.

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Spontaneous dancing is one of those childhood traits that you can easily take for granted and miss desperately when kids start getting self-conscious. Matt Harding has become an unlikely internet celebrity through amazingly touching videos of himself doing his signature (and endearing) primitive dance move all over the world.

I'm not sure whether it's the childlike quality displayed by Harding,or getting even a split-second glimpse at some of the amazing places all over or the world, or the reminder that anything is possible that makes me cry when I watch it, but I do.

Share it with your kids, it's a great reminder that you can a friend to dance with (even a whale!) no matter where you are.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Some moms boast about their young daughter's involvement in dance or gymnastics or sports, but not Denise Richards! The bitter ex-wife of Charlie Sheen felt the need to share with In Touch magazine that the couple's two daughters Sam, 4, and Lola, 3 are both in therapy.

"It's very sad that they need to be there, but they do for now. On the other hand, it's good they have an outlet to deal with their feelings and someone who is just their advocate." Richards told the magazine.

What I find really sad is that these girls have to have a hired advocate because Mommy is too busy appearing on television denying she sent their father emails asking for sperm and her reality show and Daddy is occupied with screaming at Mommy and remarrying the next victim wife. One of the parents should be able to get themselves together enough to act in the best interest of the kids, no matter how bitter the divorce was.

And apparently Denise fancies herself the "good parent" because in full-on Mother of the Year mode, she explained exactly why she's sharing her baby girl's private lives with a glorified tabloid before they're even old enough to go to school and be teased for seeing a shrink.

"If I can help anyone feel better about their kids being in therapy - then something else good has come of this, too."

Maybe instead of feigning concern over everyone else's children (which is obviously a passive-aggressive way of trying to make herself look like a responsible adult and Charlie as the problem) Denise should worry about her daughters above all else. A good start would be to keep her daughters' private business out of the headlines to the best of her ability.

Denise Richards(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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It's not uncommon to be on a plane with a crying child. However, having the plane actually TURN AROUND and return to the terminal because of a kid's tantrum isn't typical, but that is what happened to a North Carolina mother and her two-and-a-half- year old son with autism.

According to his mother, little Jared Farrell started getting anxious as the plane was taxiing down the runway, and the flight attendant didn't help matters.

"She kept coming over and tugging his seat belt to make it tighter, 'This has to stay tight'. And then he was wiggling around and trying to get out of his seat belt. And she kept coming over and reprimanding him and yelling at him," Janice Farrell, the boy's mother said.

Eventually, one of the pilots left the cockpit to see what the ruckus was about, and tensions between the adults rose, which caused Jared's behavior to get even worse and he started rolling around on the floor. As soon as the pilot returned to his seat, the plane turned back to the terminal.

"The pilot made an announcement that there was a woman and her child on the plane and the child is uncontrollable. And at that point I just broke down," Farrell said.

While it is true that "rules are rules" and Jared was not following the seat belt rule if he was having a fit on the floor, a disorder affecting 1 out of 150 kids just might warrant some training on how best to handle those with autism and making flying the friendly skies...........well, just a little friendlier.

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