Blog Posts by The_Stir

The tip jar is one thing that's going over like gangbusters in the slow economy -- the NY Post called them the "ubiquitous scourge" of New York City, and I see them even in my small town.

But before that bleeding heart turns to mush from all your giving, we promise, sometimes it's okay to skip the tip.

"There are more and more tip jars popping up at venues where you'd least expect them -- from Starbucks to the local produce stand to bathrooms at restaurants," says Faye Rogaski, owner of SocialSklz :-), a Manhattan-based etiquette school.

More from The Stir: A Waitress Sounds Off About Tipping for Takeout

But aside from "certain venues where a tip is required, such as a restaurant, bar, or hair salon, tip jars and the tipping are meant for exceptional service or if someone went out of their way for you and you feel so inclined to give something additional," Rogaski tells The Stir.

In other words, sometimes you're a sweetie ... and sometimes you're just a sucker.

Photo by Sheri ReedThankfully, runaway mom and wife Tiffany Tehan, who everyone thought had been abducted in Ohio last weekend, was found safe and sound -- in a car outside a hotel in Florida with her boyfriend.

Wow, what kind of mother worries about the day when her own needs will finally become more important than those of her children? What kind of mother worries about the day she might run away from home and never come back?

(Raises hand.)

More from The Stir: Mom, Interrupted: Doing Whatever Works to Get It Done

While my escapist fantasies don't include Miami Beach or a guy with a mullet and a goatee -- or any guy, for that matter -- nor do they include faking my own abduction and scaring the crap out of my husband, kids, family, and friends -- they do exist.

It's hard as hell to admit it but: I worry (and dream) about becoming the next runaway mother.

I remember in college, before I was a mom, reading the book Rich in Love, in which the mother of the teenage protagonist

I'm half Italian so I'm an olive skin lass. It's great in the summertime because I tan super quickly and get all goldeny. Please don't yell at me about skin cancer ... I do wear SPF.

However, in the winter I'm just this sallow, yellowy looking person. I try to mask it with rosy, ski bunny cheeks which gets me through the super cold months.

The spring is when I really go crazy. The warm weather and sun tricks me into thinking I should be tan. So, I use these bronzers to trick my skin into appearing tan.

Here are my winners:

For my face:

Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Bronzer ($13.95) by Physicians Formula

Sensitive skin girl here. I use Physician's Formula religious for all my makeup needs ... it's all eco-friendly. For my base I use the Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer ($9.95), which has a built in SPF 15.

Over top of that, I finish off with the Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Bronzer ($13.95). It has two shades that you swirl

Last week I found an ugly red spot in my left eye -- a small pool of blood where it should have been white.

I researched a bunch of frightening scenarios before seeing an ophthalmologist. He diagnosed it as a harmless broken blood vessel, which is usually caused by either high blood pressure (mine is very low) or trauma to the eye.

And that's when it hit me ... who had hit me. This "subconjunctival hemorrhage" was likely the doing of my 15-month-old daughter -- the result of one of the endless accidental (usually) incidents that hurt mommy. BAD!

They're deceivingly cute and don't come with warning labels, but the truth is: Toddlers are dangerous.

There's her big hard head that packs such a wallop I've been left seeing stars. There are her flailing limbs that whack me in the most painful of locations regularly, and her innate curiosity to see what will happen when she strikes me with whatever object is in her grasp (e.g., TV remote).

More from The Stir: Preventing

The outcry over the Tennessee woman who put her adopted son on a plane to Russia earlier this month has been fast and furious.

But for all the stories admonishing Torry Hansen for not understanding there's no such thing as a return policy on adopted children are the parents who are living her story -- and sympathizing with her actions.

Helen, a mother of two adopted daughters from Russia, agreed to speak with The Stir (on condition of anonymity to protect her family) about being on a first-name basis with the police in her town and daily fears that she'll return home to find her house burned to the ground.

More from The Stir: 5 Things Never To Say to an Adoptive Parent

What pushed your decision to adopt two at the same time?

They're biological sisters. We heard the story of these girls, and something triggered in us that they were perfect for us. Really, we believed that for a long time. To this day, we still wonder if this was the right thing to do?

We try to

The other day I was having brunch with a friend who remarked that she thought having a toddler was just like having a pet. I was mortified because I didn't agree with her for so many reasons.

I could go into them here but that would be totally long and incredibly boring. You wouldn't even have time to read it because your kid is probably scratching at the door for a pee right now.

Instead, I thought it would be much more entertaining if I had a sense of humor about the whole thing. So here I present to you 10 ways that toddlers are like puppies.

1. Toddlers, like puppies, can be restrained with leashes -- if you're into that kind of thing. (For the record, I'm not.)

2. Reward 'em with a doggie treat and you can get a kid to do pretty much anything you want.

3. Some toddlers like to chew on things, rip books, and play with their mom's shoes. (Don't worry, sweetie, I'm not mentioning any names.)

More from The Stir: 10 Warnings Before Taking Toddlers to a Museum

I'm loving Kate Gosselin these days -- sure she's a little stiff on Dancing With the Stars and sometimes a tad difficult during the practice sessions, but this is a woman with eight kids going through a very public custody battle with a man who wears mid-life crisis clothes from Ed Hardy. It ain't easy being Kate. I sympathize. And I love her new hair.

So I thought of some men who would make a good match for the divorcee.

1. Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- Kate's Dancing With the Stars partner, Tony Dovolani, is married, so why not the fiery Maks? Kate has even said she wished she was partnered with Maks instead. And sure, he criticized her saying she's missing the point of Dancing -- "the pain on her face says it all" -- but a little debate can be great in a relationship.
2. One of Jason Mesnick's friends -- The one-time Bachelor, now Molly's hubs, Jason seems like a sappy push-around, and Kate is certainly dominating, so why not one of Mesnick's unattached, but has kids

Sure, I had baby brain -- I found frozen peas in my underwear drawer; I wore two completely different shoes for an entire day; and when pregnant with my daughter, I tried to drop my son off at the wrong summer camp.

Those hormones are strong and make us do some crazy stuff, but long after they have gone there's a more powerful force that can make one's brain even foggier -- the toddler.

How can one hope to have a clear head when there is a little one constantly on the move (even if she's not yet walking!), getting into everything? Trying to anticipate her next move and attempting to prevent it from resulting in injury takes about every ounce of my mental capacity. Not to mention remembering to restock the diaper bag, bring her sippy cup everywhere, pack snacks and a million other preparations and preventative measures.

More from The Stir: What's Wrong With a Little Spanking Now and Then?

Then there's the whining ... how can anyone possibly be expected to think when