Blog Posts by Babble.com

My wife is a wonderful mother, friend, and confidant. Over the years, I've witnessed her fix boo-boos, comfort crying babies, and make each child feel special. She is always attuned to the kids' needs and to mine. In addition, she is the go-to person when her family has a problem, a dedicated volunteer in our community, and a mentor to women and girls. I definitely hit the jackpot when I met her. She has inspired me to not only be a better father, but also a better human being. During our 15 year marriage, I've learned many things from my wife, but these have risen to the top as the most influential and the most valuable to me and to our marriage. Click through for the 7 most important things my wife taught me! -By Frederick J. Goodall

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Wedding season is fast approaching, and if you're like 30% of Americans, you're going to need a bow tie for your dog because it would be totally embarrassing to bring your dog to a black tie affair and have him be under dressed. My dog is still upset about that time I forgot to pick up her tuxedo from the dry cleaners. SHE HAD TO GO NAKED, YOU GUYS. I'm mostly kidding. My dog DOES have a tuxedo. But it's totally washable. So do yourself a favor and get out ahead of the crowd on this one, okay? Don't let your pooch be the only one left out on the big day, or any day really, when all the other dogs are dressed to the canines. Click through for 7 dogs wearing bow-ties! -By Morgan Shanahan

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Me with no makeup! I have a sort of reverse body dysmorphic disorder. I've been overweight since my teen years (although I'd pay good money for the body I had back then, boy howdy), and in the years since I've gained more weight (and gained, and lost, and gained, and lost ad infinitim) I've accidentally trained myself to see just my face.

Not my body.

Definitely not my body.

I can go for months without seeing my whole body, allowing myself to believe my body is… well, just not really there.

I mean, I know I'm fat. I'm not stupid. But there's a sort of willful blindness that makes it easy to just cut myself off emotionally from my physical state. It makes it very easy to, well, do nothing.

Related: The 10 craziest things women do to lose weight

I recently had one of those snap-to-reality moments where I made a decision to acknowledge what I really look like. I also let go of a stance I'd been holding on body size acceptance, acknowledging that I want to lose weight and be smaller.

So I cleaned up my

3besos

I remember the first time I thought of myself being divorced, tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt sorry for me. I was angry and disappointed.

There are always two sides to every story, so I'll avoid making personal comments about why I got divorced. In the most general terms, my ex-husband and I were either in disagreement and fighting about everything, or we just weren't communicating. We became strangers under the same roof, with nothing in common anymore.

Still, accepting that my marriage wasn't working was not an easy task, especially because we had children together. I went through periods of depression and desperation, without even having the time to stop and analyze what was happening to me. I was too busy trying to adapt to a new life as a single mom.

Eventually, I got through these dark periods, and came out of it realizing that, guess what? Divorce is not that bad at all. All our family members' lives have changed in the last several months, but today, I'm

I struggled with turning 40 but got past it. Now, 45 feels like true middle age, and that's just damned weird. I mean, I have a little girl (my daughter will be seven in June), so how can I possibly be in middle age? Not to mention that I just FEEL the same as I always did. Right? ...Except you know what? That's not quite true. I feel better now about myself then I ever did. I know who I am, and with each day I feel less and less like I have to explain myself. I was curious about how other women over 40 felt, and got some great responses. If you're on the cusp of 40 and are worried - or here already, or even if 40 is far away - I think you'll find great joy in these words.

-By Cecily Kellogg

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Choco Honey Banana Peanut Butter CakeI'm not kidding, this is one of the best cakes I've ever tasted hands down. Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Crepe Cake: Imagine this, chocolate cake that has layers of crepe inside topped with a honey peanut butter frosting and fresh bananas. I am completely in love with this sinful cake and am dying to share it with my Mom. Her and I have the same sweet tooth and I know she is just going to have a "savor each spoonful" type of moment when she has it for the first time, I can almost picture her face. I'll wait till Mother's Day to surprise her with it as soon as the sun rises…maybe even a coffee and cake breakfast in bed, it is made with crepes afterall. Enjoy!

Related: 10 tasty mug cakes you can make in under 10 minutes

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Crepe Cake:

Chocolate cake mix (mix according to directions on box with eggs, oil, and water)
12 - ready to use crepes (I use Melissa's)
1 - cup creamy peanut butter
1 - cup honey
3 - ripe bananas

Directions:
Preheat

hemangiomaI recently read a post by a mom who wrote about getting her toddler daughter plastic surgery. The headline grabbed me so I was curious to see just what kind of surgery it was. I live in Los Angeles, so I thought "it's finally happened - some crazy parent got her baby a nose job." But when I saw the surgery was to remove a hemangioma, I was 100% in favor of this mom's decision.

A hemangioma is (to put it simply) a blood vessel tumor. They usually appear on babies within weeks of birth and tend to resolve on their own - but it can sometimes take ten years for one to go away completely. Females are three to five times more likely to develop them, and 80% of hemangiomas are located on the face or neck. They are very scary-looking but they are technically benign (although a hemangioma on an internal organ can lead to a multitude of complications). I say technically because, quite frankly, they are ugly and since they are often located in extremely visible areas, they can lead to

The Kentucky Derby is coming up soon and I don't know about you, but this time of year always has me feeling inspired to don a big frilly hat and sip on a mint julep or two. There's something about the derby that is just so fascinating and there is absolutely no better excuse to channel your inner fashionista. You can go as big, as bold and as lady-like as you please! When dressing for your derby fete, think pretty floral prints, candy colored pastels, feminine pumps, wide-brimmed sunhats and fluffy fascinators. Click through for 7 fabulous derby fashion finds! - By Cyd Converse

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