Former boxing heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield hasn't fought a match in a while, but he is still making the newspapers. Unfortunately, he's in the legal notices section and the news isn't good. Holyfield's $10 million estate in Atlanta, Georgia is facing foreclosure and is about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

If that wasn't enough to make the champ want to punch someone, he is also facing deadbeat dad charges from one of the mothers of his children. Holyfield has been married just twice, but admits to at least nine children fathered out of wedlock. One of those children is a 10-year-old son with Toi Jenese Irvin. Irvin has gone to court claiming Holyfield is behind on his child support payments and now owes her $9000. She also says that Holyfield hasn't maintained a health insurance policy on their child despite a judge's order to do so.

It sounds like Holyfield is having some serious financial issues and the foreclosure and the child support issue may just be the beginning of things. Irvin's lawyer is aware of this and wants to make sure his client is at the top of the list when what's left of Holyfield's money is disbursed. "My concern is there may be a lot of other mothers not be getting paid, and I would like my client to be at front of the line," says her lawyer, Randy Kessler. And Kessler means business. If Holyfield doesn't pay up, the lawyer wants him tossed in jail. "This is such a small amount given the scope of what he has," Kessler said. "If Evander Holyfield can get away with it, anybody can. There are guys making $15,000 a year who go to jail for missing a $100 payment." Yeah, he's got a point there. I don't know what happened to the reported $200 million Holyfield has earned over the years, but perhaps he should have set a little of it aside to take care of all his kids.

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School shopping is just around the corner. If you're looking to dress your daughters in long prairie dresses and long underwear, then I have just the site for you.

When the 400-plus children of the Yearning for Zion ranch were removed by child protective services earlier this year, the sect's clothing was a major topic of conversation in the media. The enterprising women of the FLDS are building on that attention and have started their own website, where parents can buy princess dresses, overalls, and long underwear for the whole family.

The website started as a way for child protective services to clothe the children in their custody, but is now being turned into a business to help mothers pay bills related to their legal battles. Many have been advised not to return to the ranch, and are having to pay for rent and utilities.

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The story of little Madeleine McCann, taken from her bed in the middle of the night while her parents dined at a restaurant nearby, reached every corner of the globe after her parents launched a massive publicity campaign in their attempts to find her.

Sadly, however, despite their efforts and the efforts of Portugal police, Madeline is still missing a year later. The Portuguese police have filed their final police report, and once that goes to the prosecutors office, the case may be closed.

Though I know very little about police work, I have to imagine that authorities giving up the search for their daughter has to be a devastating blow for the McCanns. Sources close to the family say that the McCanns will never give up looking and hope that, if the case is officially closed, the police will hand over the vast amounts of information they have gathered to private investigators.

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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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Diplomats in Geneva recently set new limits on the amount of certain kinds of bacteria allowable in baby formula as well as the level of natural toxins in some types of nuts. They also tackled the amount of gluten permissible in products labeled 'gluten-free.' The safety standards will apply to all internationally shipped foods.

The outcome of the standards is to hopefully affect hygiene practices and therefore reduce the amount of contamination of two kinds of bacteria in powdered formulas which have been known to cause illness and death in infants. Foods labeled gluten-free would not be able to contain more than 20 milligrams of gluten per kilogram, nor could they contain wheat, rye, barley or oats. Regulations were also set for the amounts of aflotoxins in almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios. Aflotoxins are known carcinogens in lab animals.

Over 170 countries claim membership to The Codex Alimentarius Commission responsible for making these decision, which also includes the European Union. Other topics for consideration are frozen foods, flavoring, tomatoes (no surprise there given the United States' recent issues with them) and mineral water.

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I'm one of those moms that cares a lot about the food my family eats. Even as food costs rise, we've cut back in other areas in our budget so that we can continue to buy organic and locally grown meat and produce.

But by far, the most important thing I do to ensure that my family eats healthy, well-balanced meals is to COOK. That is why I found myself particularly peeved as I read a Time Magazine cover story entitled "How America's Children Packed on the Pounds."

In summing up the answer to the dilemma presented in the cover story title, the author describes "a long multifront war" on childhood obesity as such: "Parents are fighting it in the home....... Policymakers are fighting it as they study the growing body of research..... Doctors are fighting it as they deal daily with the ills associated with childhood obesity. And perhaps most important, teachers, mentors, and public role models are fighting it as they help kids navigate a culture that fosters fat but idealizes thin....".

Teachers, mentors, and public role models are the most important front in this war??!! I have a serious problem with the assigned hierarchy. In fact, this mentality, which inevitably leads to millions of wasted tax dollars, makes my blood boil!

A child's food preferences, habits, and his/her relationship with food are determined at HOME. Teachers, mentors, and public role models (whatever that means) can do precious little once the mold is set.

If America thinks that real solutions to childhood obesity lie in government campaigns such as the $125 million "VERB" campaign aimed at preteens and featuring Miley Cyrus, they are either grossly naive or, more likely, in serious denial. The campaign's budget was eventually slashed, which Time Magazine described as the government "dropping the ball."

Actually, parents are the ones "dropping the ball." We don't need another million-dollar government study to figure out that childhood obesity increased at about the same time that the once sacred family meal became optional and even non-existent in some homes.

If your child is a latch-key kid who heats up his dinner in the microwave or if eating take-out in the car on the way to soccer practice has replaced good food and conversation around the family table, you may have a genuinely good reason for your family's meal arrangements. And that's fine by me.

My problem is not with your particular arrangement (to each his own), but rather with our national denial. We blame McDonalds, school lunches, commercials, video games, the government -- the list goes on.

To combat childhood obesity, kids don't need government funded celebrity campaigns or mentors as much as they need parents who take the time to plan and cook nutritious meals that family members are expected to attend.

Why do we insist on complicating things so much? It's the family meal, stupid.

For more information about Rachel, visit her website at www.rachelcamposduffy.com.

Would you use the new milk jug? Or, are you wedded to the cardboard cartons of what is soon to be the past? I remember when I was a kid and we got milk delivered to our house every week in a glass bottle. Nothing tasted more refreshing. By the time I was a teen those days were gone and we got cartons. Now, those cartons are being replaced by something less expensive to produce and more environmentally sound.

Sound good? It is. Still, the new concept has some consumers fuming, or at least perplexed. The problem with the new milk jug is that it SPILLS. Kids drink more milk than anybody, and this new design, being favored by places like Wal-Mart and Costco, which is becoming more available by the day, is not easy to use.

Kids have trouble pouring anyway, but the new milk jug, so foreign in its design to many, makes that simple task more manageable. Some sellers have taken it upon themselves to educate consumers on the how-to, to make pouring from the jug easier. Folks still are a little unnerved by the square shape of the jug--and they're not convinced the same old milk is in there. I had the same problem with Parmalat. Now I love it, but it was hard getting used to it at first.

What about you? Had any experience with the new milk? And???

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This chilling incident luckily had a (mostly) happy ending. A fourteen-year-old girl was attacked by a bear during a bike race in Alaska but was saved by her 911 phone call. The teenager, who remains unnamed as of press-time, was participating in a 24-hour long mountain bike race in Anchorage when she was mauled.

The girl was able to make a call to 911, wherein all she was able to say was the word "bear." She later underwent surgery at a local hospital. Experts say the bear was probably a sow grizzly, and some speculate it was the same bear that went after two joggers earlier thew past week.

Dispatchers called the girl back as part of regular procedure, and another biker heard the ringing and went onto the darkened trail to investigate, discovering the teenager. Another biker remained with her until help arrived, despite the knowledge of the bear attack. Although little information has been released about the teen's condition, Police Lieutenant. Paul Honeman said the girl was in a fight for her life.

Grizzly pic by Ber'Zophus.

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If you are reading this, chances are you are least somewhat Internet savvy. I would also venture to guess that you are familiar with common Internet acronyms like LOL, IMHO, BRB, and the ever-popular WTF. If not, perhaps you work for the Division of Motor Vehicles in North Carolina. Those guys may be first in flight, but they are apparently the last to know that when you put the letters W, T and F together, they convey a rather inappropriate message for a license plate.

A few months after they began making WTF plates, someone finally clued them in., That someone was a 60-year-old teacher from Fayetteville who complained about her plate after her teenage grandchildren told her what it meant. Not only are there about 10,000 WTF'ers driving around the state, that letter combination was also used on the DMV's own Website as a sample personalized plate (it has since been removed).

Now that they know about it, state officials are happy to replace the plates free of charge for anyone who would rather not drive around displaying that particular acronym on their vehicles. For those who choose their keep the plates: LOL!

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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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How far would you go to help your child have a child? A Michigan mom recently showed the world exactly how far she would go when she gave birth to her daughter's twins.

Crystal Sirignano, 52, gave birth last week to two healthy children, a boy and a girl. Crystal's daughter, Kendra, and her husband Aaron Simpson, struggled with infertility for years before turning to surrogacy. Though they were both hesitant at first, Crystal ended up being a healthy and helpful candidate. She moved from her home in Goodrich, where she owns a fitness center, to Arizona to be near her daughter and struggled with all the usual pregnancy symptoms at an age when pregnancy is the last thing on many women's minds.

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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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There are few childhood characters that have stood the test of time as well as those on Sesame Street. Kermit Love, creator of one fhe most famous of those characters -- Big Bird -- passed away last week at the age of 91. Though Love's career spanned decades, he's known worldwide for his contribution to the children's show and for his work on Sesame Street's most beloved characters.

Big Bird, as you know, is a towering 8-foot, 6-year-old bird, whose head and neck are controlled from inside the costume by levers. Mr. Love was protective of his creation, according to a NYT article, and the costume got its own seat when they traveled by plane. Because he wanted Big Bird to seem natural and more real to small children, he designed the costume so that stray feathers would fall off during shooting.

Carroll Spinney, who plays both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street talks about his old friend Kermit Love on NPR. In a CNN article, Spinney said of Love, "He looked very much like Santa Claus but was a little bit more like the Grinch."

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Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal -- surprisingly, a biology major in college -- has signed into law a bill that allows school boards in Louisiana to select materials to be used in science classes in order to critique scientific theories. The law is supposed to be used to promote "open and objective discussion of scientific theories... including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

Given that the law was written and promoted with the help of the Discovery Institute, the Seattle "think" tank that orchestrated the Dover debacle, the point of the law seems clear: to allow school boards to select texts that question evolution -- such as the one produced by the Discovery Institute itself. Unfortunately, this will open school districts to very expensive lawsuits, a la Dover. In Oklahoma, the Governor vetoed a similar law, noting that school districts would suffer from "an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense."

The scientific community, naturally, has opposed this legislation. The law will "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce," according to Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Biologist PZ Myers offers up a scathing analysis that includes an alternative to the Discovery Institute's materials.

Personally, I think Louisiana has enough to worry about, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, and doesn't need the financial burden of school boards trying to push Intelligent Design into classrooms, but that's just me. Luckily, my kids don't go to school in Louisiana, but I'm sure they'll feel the effects of this for a long time as they end up having to deal with others who were "educated" with the help of the Dover Institute.

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