Blog Posts by The_Stir

Single mothersThere are some women who use their entire dating lives to figure out the kind of fellows they absolutely will not date. He can't have this. He shouldn't do that. He has to make X amount of money, have a certain kind of education and be at least yea tall to get any airplay. I am not one of those girls.

But nonpartisan as I am, my adventures as a single gal in the city have hipped me to some dudes who just will never make the cut. Like the guy who asked me out for lunch, then proceeded to shake me down for my views on abortion and the death penalty before he revealed that he was looking for a wife. I'm pretty sure he meant that afternoon. He was scary.

More from The Stir: 20 Signs He Is Definitely a Player

Being a single mother adds a whole other element to the process of finding Mr. Right, even finding a reasonable facsimile in Mr. Right Now. That means raising the standard even higher because, if he should be so fortunate, he may end up meeting the kid(s). That puts

Read More »from 10 Guys Who Are Dating Kryptonite to Single Mothers

It feels like you've been waiting forever for him to put a ring on it. All your friends are marching down the aisle. Your closet is stuffed to the brim with bridesmaid dresses so ugly even the Salvation Army won't accept them as donations. Every weekend, you're headed somewhere or another to go to yet another wedding.

When's it gonna be YOUR turn? When do YOU get to pick out the ugly bridesmaid dresses and obsess about seating charts?

More from The Stir: How to Ruin a Perfectly Wonderful Marriage Proposal

You may be closer to the Big Day than you realize. And there are ways to tell that your man isn't as far gone as you might think. Here are some sneaky little signs that he's about to propose.

1) He's gone from being freewheeling about spending his cash to being a bit of a spendthrift for no apparent reason.

2) He's nesting -- getting rid of that Budweiser sign in his living room and rearranging the bathroom to accommodate your hair and makeup stuffs.

3)

Read More »from 20 Signs He's About to Propose

pornSo, file this under awkward. A man who went online to look at porn "for the first time" in his life (while he was in a coffee shop) was treated to the shock of his life when he saw his wife of 16 years boning a bunch of dudes in said porno films. I mean, you think you know someone ...

After seeing the unsettling clips, the man, identified as Ramadan, ran home to confront his wife -- who, of course, at first denied it. But then when Ramadan showed her the clips -- you know, the ones starring her and her ladybits -- she had no choice but to come clean and admit her dirty past. What she did after that, though, is downright shocking.

More from The Stir: 5 Ways Porn Makes Men Bad in Bed

She told Ramadan that despite their almost two-decade-long marriage, and despite the four children they had together, she never loved him. That's right, Ramadan had been had. Joke was on him. And if that wasn't enough salt in his wounds, the pornos were made with an ex-boyfriend of hers. So

Read More »from Man Watches Porn & Discovers His Wife is an Adult Star

Tori SpellingI will never forget when I was about two weeks postpartum with my first baby. My husband, a previously loving and wonderful man who supported me through my labor and pregnancy, told me I was gorgeous (I wasn't), and held me while I threw up, came into the room and asked one question: "When can we have sex again?" Say what, dude?!

More from The Stir: Mom Accused of Selling Her 6-Year-Old for Sex Has Worse Problems Than Drug Addiction

Two weeks after a baby, when my body still resembled hot cookie dough (only lumpier) and my vagina was, um, sore, the LAST thing on my mind was sex. My husband, on the other hand, clearly had other priorities.

It isn't that he is some kind of jerk, either. Men think about sex. Even Tori Spelling said the reason she fell pregnant again so soon after her last was a desire to not let her husband think their sex life was dead. But the truth is, any man who would make a woman feel bad about their sex life a few weeks after birth isn't a good

Read More »from Only a Selfish Husband Would Pressure a New Mom into Sex

pregnantToday, I am exactly two weeks away from my due date. Two weeks! Where did the time go? This pregnancy flew by, and now, here I am, anxiously awaiting "the moment." (You know, the moment I go into labor.)

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

I'm thrilled. I'm excited. I'm ... nervous as hell my baby's going to come early because I still have a few things I need to get done! I need to clean. I need to cook and freeze meals. I need to sterilize bottles. Hell, I still have a table I want to paint! The suspense is killing me. When are you going to get here, baby girl? It'd be great if you could wait until after next weekend, thanks.

I know, I know. It doesn't work that way. Babies come when they're ready. I just wish I had a general idea, though. A few telltale signs labor is imminent. Anything! I have no plans to be induced, and I hate surprises.

Well, would you look-y here. There actually are telltale signs labor is imminent. Not as good as a

Read More »from 8 Signs Labor is Approaching

boy and girlThe older my kid gets, the more I realize her childhood will never be like mine. It doesn't matter that I'm raising her a mere 16 miles from my childhood home. It doesn't matter that I have pretty much the same values as my parents before me. There are some things that are just never coming back.

And when it comes to the mullet, that's a good thing (seriously, Mom, that third grade picture ... really?). But it's no wonder parents today are neurotic .. life is so different. Just take a look:

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

Childhood Then: Mom taught you to avoid that empty house down the street.

Childhood Now: We teach them to avoid high fructose corn syrup.

Then: When you complained about your food, your mom told you about the starving kids in Ethiopia.

Now: If they really think they have it rough, they could try living under Joseph Kony.

Then: Ernie & Bert were our favorite babysitters.

Now: The only babysitter we trust

Read More »from 20 Signs Childhood as We Knew it is Gone for Good

fireworksWomen's magazines have been trying to convince us forever that our orgasms are simply not up to par. They're not intense enough, they should last longer, oh and, by the way, did we know that there's a different kind of orgasm we should be having? The fabled G-spot orgasm! Or A-spot orgasm! (I swear, Cosmo has probably attempted to invent NEW female anatomy in order to sell us on their climax coverlines!)

Well, now there's a new series of scientific essays that lay out evidence concerning vaginal and clitoral orgasms being "separate phenomena," activating different areas of the brain. Apparently, there's a BIG debate about this. Because, again, that orgasm you're already having? Not good enough!!

More from The Stir: Understanding the Female Orgasm Is Actually Very Simple

Here's the thing ... Vaginal orgasms definitely exist. They're not like the mythical unicorn of orgasms that some people would have you believe. Those same people who roll their eyes and say, "G-spot? What Read More »from Having the Ultimate Orgasm is Easier Than You Think

What do you do when your marriage hits the rocks. Do you cut and run? Do you go into counseling? Do you just hope for things to get better? Lots of couples can share their stories about how they've handled a dip in the marriage love tank, but the ones you might want to take advice from are the couples who tried a trial separation. A few months ago, the Wall Street Journalreported that possibly the best way to save a marriage is to take deliberate time apart. While some people just see a separation as a pit stop on the road to divorce, it can be quite the opposite. It can be, in fact, a pit stop on the road to happiness.

More from The Stir: 5 Ways Couples Therapy Can Ruin Your Marriage

A trial separation allows you to see if you really do want to get a divorce. It gives you the space to think about what ultimately makes you happy.

This isn't to say "studies show" or "research proves" that couples who take a trial separation more often than not get back together -- there's

Read More »from A Trial Separation Could Save Your Troubled Marriage