Blog Posts by The_Stir

kate gosselin
Mady Gosselin in Mom's heelsThis just in: People have lots of opinions on how others raise their kids! And if you're a celebrity parent, well, good luck to you. No matter what you choose to do with your child -- be it not breastfeeding them for seven years; putting them in a bikini; or carrying them everywhere -- you're gonna get shit for it. Because everyone else in the world is better/wiser/awesomer than you -- didn't you know that? The latest celebrity mom to get virtually yelled at for their parenting is one all-too familiar with getting virtually yelled at: Kate Gosselin. The mom of eight is currently under fire for tweeting a photo of her 11-year-old daughter, Mady, in her high heels.

Oh. The horror.

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Saturday afternoon, Kate posted a photo to her Twitter account of her daughter doing what pretty much all daughters (and sometimes sons) do: Trying on her mom's high heels. The picture, as you

parachutesIt was supposed to be Wioletta Roslan's last base jump. She was four months pregnant and an avid extreme sports addict, but she knew with a baby growing inside her, it was time to take a break. She just wanted to do it one last time.

It was that last time that killed both her and her unborn baby. According to The Sun, last weekend, the 37-year-old Swedish woman was attempting the jump from a cliff despite her mother begging her not to do it.

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Halina Zaniewska-Pettersson told the paper:

Roslan's boyfriend, Aleksander Domalewski, jumped with her -- from her favorite spot at Via Ferrata cliff in Switzerland -- and watched helplessly as she struggled to get her parachute open on the way down. But she could not do so. A source told the paper that he

Sex. It's such a simple, animalistic instinct. But it can be a wonderful, intimate time you spend with someone you love dearly or a great way to release pent-up frustrations. There's a lot to like about sex.

But not all sex is created equal, which is why it's important to avoid THIS kind.

1) Coercion Sex - one of the worst types of sex to engage in is the sex that you don't really want to have, but you're doing it because if you do it he'll just leave you alone and let you go back to sleep. While it might SEEM like the path of least resistance, it'll make you feel badly enough about yourself after the fact that it's just not worth it.

More from The Stir: 8 Great Ways to Arouse a Woman

2) Obligatory Sex - while this type of bad sex goes hand-in-hand with coercion, it's a little different. This is the type of sex you have out of obligation, because you feel like it's your duty as a wife or girlfriend. Not very fun or romantic.

3) Rebound Sex - while most of us have

alarm clock Hey. Are you tired? Like, really, really tired? Probably you are. Probably because you had to wake up super early every day this week for work, or maybe you were up all night with the baby, or maybe you had to stay at the office super late. Or maybe because you had to wake up super early every day this week for work AFTER being up all night with the baby and THEN you had to stay at the office super late! Point is, you're probably so tired that the only thing getting you through the day is the dream of being able to sleep in for a few extra hours if you're really lucky this weekend.

More from The Stir: A Letter to My Old Friend Sleep

Well, allow me to dash your dreams. Because according to the latest research, not only is it impossible to catch up on lost sleep, the attempt will make you more tired than ever by disrupting the all-important circadian clock. But you know what? I don't care what fancy schmancy sleep scientists say!

Maybe you CAN'T truly "catch up" on

apple cakeI know it's just barely September, but I can hardly contain my excitement that fall is nearly here. Suddenly the heat and humidity are gone, and there's a cool crispness in the air. And you know what that means? Apple season is beginning!

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We got an armload of apples from our farm share last week and we've just been gobbling them up the way they are. An apple goes in the school lunch every single day. At some point, though, we're going to want to have our apples some other way. Hello mom and apple pie! Here are 7 amazing things you can do with them apples this fall.

Bake in cider. There are dozens of ways to bake apples, but this apples baked in cider recipe just makes them taste especially ... appley.

Roast with pork. This is one of my favorite food combos! Here's a simple pork chops with apples recipe. And here's a pork shoulder with apples and sauerkraut recipe.

Apple tart. This one is a

Monogamy gets a pretty bad rap from a lot of different corners - people who've divorced, those who are single, people who just like to hook up. They're not huge fans of being exclusive.

And they have a point (to some degree or another) because monogamy, if it's not with the right kind of person, isn't worth it. In fact, dating someone you don't want to be monogamous with (or who doesn't want to be monogamous with you) is a waste of time.

But monogamy comes with a lot of good stuff too, providing you have the right partner. Here are some of the best parts of being in a monogamous relationship.

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1) Hand-holding. If your relationship is monogamous, it means that there's no weirdness about a cuddle during a movie or hand-holding while walking along the river. It comes naturally and it can bring even the most jaded of us some happiness.

2) You don't have to worry about safe sex. That doesn't mean you shouldn't insist

piercing jewelry"Sex Confessions" is a series featuring your naughtiest bedroom secrets and fantasies. Some will sound familiar, others may give you ideas, some will turn you on, and some are dark and twisted. You might want to sit down for this.

Today's sex confession comes from Paula* who has been married to Dan* for over 10 years. She's a stay-at-home mom to three kids, and has a very active sex life with her husband. She attributes the five times a week sexy time with her man to her labia piercing, which she got almost a year ago when she and her husband were going through what she calls a "funk." There wasn't much nookie going on so she surprised him with a kinky piercing in hopes it would make her much more aware of her naughty bits ... and turn her husband on. It worked. Though she's never told any of her friends about it ... until now.

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With three kids and 10 years of marriage, it's kind of hard to spice things up when

When I was expecting my second son, I wanted to do something special to document my last pregnancy. I didn't quite have the confidence (or budget) for professional maternity photos, so I decided to take my own pictures ... after I'd had my giant belly decorated top to bottom with a temporary henna tattoo. It was a wonderful experience and I loved how the design turned out, but I did get a few raised eyebrows over the images when I first shared them online. For instance: U R POISINING UR BABBY!!

More from The Stir: 6 Creative Ways to Say 'I'm Pregnant!' (PHOTOS)

Which is all to say, I totally understand that one person's individual choice for commemorating their pregnancy may not be appealing to someone else, and we're all special unique snowflakes etc. etc. etc. -- but I still think there are a few pregnancy trends popping up lately that are weird as hell.

For instance, these 3 unusual ways of celebrating the miracle of life:

The freaky fetal Photoshop