Blog Posts by The_Stir

Our babies grow up so fast. Sometimes the moments seem slow, but the process itself is often a fast one. One minute we are holding helpless little creatures and the next they can walk, talk, climb, and run. It's so emotional. And while we wait months for them to do all the things we want to see, sometimes when they do them, they actually make us cry.

More from The Stir: 25 Ways You Know You're Such a Mother

For many moms, the first smile is the biggest one. In those early postpartum weeks, we are just hoping for some indication that this eating, pooping, and sleeping machine we take care of 24/7 actually notices us. So when they smile, it lights up so much more than just their face. Then, a few weeks later, they laugh. And that laugh makes our hearts explode with joy.

The first year is a blur of milestones. Our babies start the process toward becoming toddlers from the moment they exit the womb. Some of the bigger milestones are these:

• Laughing: That first real

Chicken wingsKnow what goes great with the Super Bowl? Chicken Wings! Mmm, noshing on some hot, sweet-and-spicy wings with a side of ranch sauce and celery sticks sure would hit the spot. And wouldn't it be nice if some wings just showed up at your doorstep around half-time? Well, we've got you covered.

More from The Stir: In Our Salsa Face-Off, Only One Is Good Enough for the Super Bowl

We rounded up some national chains that deliver hot wings and looked into what you get with your order. You know, just to make decision time a little easier for you.

Domino's: Chicken wings come in packs of 8 for $5.99, 14 for $9.99, and 40 for $27.* You have your choice of 5 sauces: Fire, Hot, Mild, Sweet Mango Habañero, BBQ. And a serving of 4 pieces has 190-200 calories, depending on which kind you get.

Papa John's: These wings are baked and come in packs of 10 for $6.99, 20 for $13.98, 30 for $20.49, 40 for $27.96, and 50 for $32.99. There are 4 varieties: Spicy Buffalo Wings, BBQ Wings,

Oral sex became the "it" kind of sex briefly in the 1990s thanks, in large part, to Billy C's Oval Office indiscretion. Many people thought it was fine to have oral sex since it wasn't "sexual relations" according to our President's definition, so why not rack up the partners? Here's why: Oral cancer. Seriously.

It turns out that while the rate of many other cancers has gone down, oral cancer and other kinds of cancers of the throat are going up and doctors are theorizing that maybe the uptick in oral sex is to blame. Yes, you read that right, ladies. We can stop that horrible chore right now.

More from The Stir: Oral Sex Etiquette I Wish All Men Followed

In all seriousness, this doesn't let us married ladies in monogamous relationships off the hook (darn!), but it's a good lesson to those who are doing it with random men.

Oral sex IS sex, and if you are doing it, it requires a condom the same as intercourse. If you think otherwise, you are just fooling

Practically every city has had its own Real Housewives cast by now -- dishing dirt and drama galore. But if any of you Bravo junkies out there are looking for a reality TV reality check, look no further than JoAnn From Bensonhurst on CafeMom Studios' YouTube channel. Like most of the Real Housewives, this mom from Brooklyn is a total spitfire, but unlike them, she's also totally -- and I mean completely, 100 percent -- REAL. As in, she's like your best friend who tells it like it is and isn't going to let you off the hook when you come to her with something that's absolutely ridiculous.

Recently, JoAnn took on the topic of cheating, and if you ever questioned whether talking on Facebook means you're being unfaithful or whether you should "even the playing field" by cheating on your hubby if he cheats on you, answers await you in JoAnn's warm and cozy Bensonhurst home.

More from The Stir: Man Gives Cheating Girlfriend Worst Tattoo in History

Here's the totally entertaining,

high heelsA brave scientist in Australia was motivated to study the effect that high heels have on feet after seeing a woman teeter precariously in her stilettos. Using a group of women with the average age of 25, Neil J. Cronin and his fellow biomechanic researchers studied the difference between chronic heel wearers (women who've worn heels for more than 40 hours a week for more than two years) versus non-heel wearers (ladies who generally wear flats), and the proof was in the pudding. Or should I say, the proof was in the footing.

More from The Stir: This Woman Has 1,200 Pairs of Shoes (VIDEO)

The high heel wearers' feet, calves, muscles, and tendons were royally messed up. Even when they took off their shoes, they habitually walked less efficiently than those women who generally wear flats.

Told you heels were the devil.

Basically, heel wearers tire more easily than the flat wearers -- their calf muscles have been shortened and strained by all those hours keeping their

Salsa taste testPeople often jump at the chance to bring salsa and a bag of chips to a Super Bowl party. Why? Because they think it's the simplest thing in the world: There's no prep work, no time-intensive, complex recipe to wrestle with, and it travels well.

More from The Stir: This Tortilla Chip Scored the Big Win in Our Taste Test

Unfortunately, it's exactly this brainless, "always looking for the easy way out"-type of thinking that leads to such tragedies as bland, watery salsa and cardboard-tasting chips and threatens to ruin even the best game day parties. People, this must be stopped!

In fact, there's an art to choosing the perfect salsa to feed a hungry crowd of football fans. That's why we decided to taste and compare some of the top supermarket brands of jarred salsa to prove that not just any salsa will do.

One salsa in particular stood out from the rest -- can you guess which one it was?

For our official salsa taste test, we blindly sampled the following brands

Tortilla chip tournamentSuper Bowl snackers, the big day is nearly upon us, and there are some very important decisions to be made. First of all, let's talk about the best tortilla chips. Last time I waltzed into the store looking for chips, I saw row after dizzying row of crunchy corn snacks. Which one to chose?!?

Well, we've got you covered. We brought in testers from The Stir and from MamasLatinás (oh yes we did!) to taste a range of plain tortilla chips. We asked everyone to judge based on our proprietary and rigorous Ultimate Tortilla Chip Deliciousness Test: Chips that hold up to dip, have that light-yet-substantial crunch, are just corny and salty enough, and have the ideal tortilla chip texture. And now, as Hank Williams, Jr. would have sung: Are you ready for some TORTILLA CHIIIIIIIIIIPS?

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The chips we tested were:

1. Tostitos Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
2. Xochitl Totopos de Maiz with Sea Salt Mexican Style

michele zipp long hairEveryone has an opinion, right? On everything. Which is great. But there are some things people should just keep to themselves sometimes. And one of those "sometimes" is when discussing a woman's hair. Or really, commenting on a lady's locks when she didn't even ask. Of course it's done to women with short hair as well -- these less than polite words that make you feel worse than a perm gone wrong (been there).

More from The Stir: 5 Things Never to Say to Women With Short Hair

I have long hair and heard many, many not-so-nice things that make me wish my hair was made of leather so I can whip some sense into those who say mean things -- had some friends dish some hair-raising things that were said to them, too. So I feel like a good authority to share with you the things you should never say to a woman with long hair. Along with some possible responses.

1. You would look prettier/younger if your hair was shorter. Wow, that's really sweet of you to say. You would be much