Blog Posts by The_Stir

After the topic of car seats on airplanes being brought up constantly, and the legality of flying without one being a point of consideration, this news story confused me, and likely, really confused this poor mother.

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We're told our babies on airplanes, in turbulence, would be like a projectile and go flying, or our bodies would crush them if we tried to cling to them. So when Melissa Bradley took her infant car seat onboard a SkyWest airplane, the last thing she expected was to be told she was not allowed to use it -- she could either hold her baby or get off the plane.

Like we're told to do, Bradley carried her infant car seat onto the plane and installed it rear-facing into the plane's seat.

The flight attendant came over and argued with her that she needed to turn the seat forward-facing, to which she replied, obviously, that infant seats can't go forward-facing -- they're not made to install

mom and twinsYou know the dirty words -- most of them are four letters long and super fun to use to punctuate sentences (if you're a potty mouth). But there is one word, featuring seven letters, that sets off the alarms in mothers everywhere even worse than the c-word and it's (whisper now) formula. It doesn't matter if you breastfeed or mix a powder in a bottle or go for the liquid stuff, formula triggers some insane reactions. Some for good reason, some for pure evil, but all of it comes with a whole lot of misunderstanding.

More from The Stir: Delivery room pictures banned; outrageous or understandable?

I'm happily in the breastfeeding camp. I'm all set up with my Fenugreek, and oatmeal cookies, and pretty nursing bra from Target with the easy snaps so I can nurse my 13 month old twins.

I was also in the formula camp. Not as happy there with all the bottles to clean. But as a working mom with twins to feed and not enough milk to pump I did what I had to do.

I stand by both

If you're looking for another argument in favor of home birth, here's one -- some hospitals are banning parents from taking pictures of their baby's birth. That means no video cameras, no still pictures, no recorded history of one of the most magical moments of your life.

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While policies vary by hospital nationwide, a Maryland hospital, Meritus Medical Center, recently banned pictures for five minutes after the baby's birth. FIVE FULL MINUTES. That's a lot of precious minutes of your own child's life to be prohibited from capturing.

For years parents have been snapping pictures and filming births, and while I'm sure there are some obnoxious family members who don't know their place in the delivery room, most are just as concerned about their baby's safety as the medical staff. They just want to memorialize it.

As Laurie Shifler, who will be delivering her eighth child at the hospital under the new

Rachel McAdams
Actress Rachel McAdams looked sophisticated with upswept hair, wearing red on the red carpet at the Morning Glory premiere in Berlin the other night.

Rachel wore a red Michael Kors halter gown with a criss-cross belt and Giles & Brother silver hoop earrings. Her hair was pulled up in a pretty tousled, textured updo.

Sebastian stylist Thomas Dunkin crafted Rachel's sexy updo for the red carpet. Read on to find out how to get this hairstyle.

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For those of you who want Rachel's soft and ravishing updo, Thomas Dunkin shares his step-by-step styling tips so you can re-create the hairstyle at home:

1. For hair-raising root volume, begin by spraying volume-building spray gel to the roots of the hair and brush it through the ends with a Mason Pearson hairbrush.

2. Use a round brush to smooth the hair and wrap 3" sections in small Velcro rollers. Hold each section vertically away from the head for

You go to a bar and order a beer. Perhaps it says 16 ounces -- $5. (I'm assuming you're in an affordable area of the country.) Are you then inclined to break out a measuring cup and make sure you're getting all 16 ounces? If so, you might want to move to Seattle where Seahawk fans have made a brew-ha-ha over the size of the beers at the football stadium.

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It seems the 20-ounce cup, which is $1.25 more than than the 16-ouncer, can be poured in its entirety into the 16-ounce cup. I know, crazy! Of course you're pouring the liquid all the way up to the rim, and no bartender does that. But let's get pissed off anyway, okay? And then let's film a very scientific demonstration and force the Qwest stadium operation people to spend a lot of time on this very serious issue.

It's official, the Seattle Seahawks fans are some of the most obnoxious in the game. Or the beer-drinking ones are, anyway, if this video is any

Ben Wa BallsI found myself, not long after the New Year began, with my husband in my somewhat local adult video warehouse looking at Ben Wa balls.

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Ben Wa balls are meant to be inserted into your vagina and left in there for at least 15 minutes a day. The balls supposedly give your vaginal wall muscles a workout, similar to doing Kegel exercises. Over time your vagina gets tighter and stronger, leading to more satisfying sex for both you and your partner.

I'd always heard people speak about Ben Wa balls but have never known anyone to use them, or at least admit that they do. But they always sounded sexy and a little dirty to me, in a good way. So as part of my New Year's resolution to be even more open minded, sexually and otherwise, I decided the time had come to purchase a pair for myself.

Read on to see how that worked out for me.

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In the store, I spent a

Cameron DiazHollywood's hottest celebrities are chasing away the winter blues with red hot dresses.

From Cameron Diaz to Rachel McAdams to Isla Fisher and Christina Aguilera, the Little Red Dress doubles both as a trendlet-of-the-moment and a wardrobe staple that's never really out of fashion.

Best of all, you don't have to be a Hollywood A-lister (or a millionaire) to rock the look.

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Added bonus? It's a PERFECT dress for your Valentine's Day date night.

Check out my top budget-friendly LRD picks after the jump!

Channel Cameron for pennies on the dollar in this Will You Be Mine One Shoulder Dress (Arden B, $34.50).

Or go high-end in this to-die-for Nanette Lapore "La Marocain" dress (Bloomingdale's, $208.80 on sale), WHICH I COVET.

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Go strapless in this Ralph Lauren Dupioni Silk 'Rosie' dress (Ralph Lauren, $74.99 on sale).

My husband has been "sick" this week. He's got a sore throat and stuffy nose and is sneezing and coughing. He has no fever, no aches, and has been cleared of strep throat and any infection. In other words, he has a cold. But, not just any cold. It's a man cold. Are you familiar with this unfortunate ailment? In case you aren't, here are the sure-fire signs:

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1. He truly thinks he is dying.

2. He audibly moans, whimpers, whines, and shoots over dramatic glances in your direction.

3. He can't muster up the strength to get a drink, but can energetically bark orders at you.

4. He bundles himself up in four blankets and then asks if his forehead feels hot.

5. There is a permanent indentation of his body on the bed. And the couch.

6. He asks you to hand him the remote even though it is only a couple of inches outside of his reach.

7. You arrive home from a drugstore run for his cough drops to