Blog Posts by The_Stir

In our grandparents' era, children were potty trained much earlier than they are now. With the advent of disposable diapers, potty training became something parents stopped pushing on their kids and let the kids lead them. But then it all changed again.

Now, we have people on one side of the issue who insist children should be potty trained by the age of 2 (and some even younger) and those who believe children should potty train when they are ready.

More from The Stir: The Most Disgusting Toddler Behavior of All Time

Babble had a controversial article last week from a doctor who says early potty training (under 3) is actually a major problem. The one thing we can be clear on is this: Potty training is not a competitive sport. No matter how many mommies (and daddies) might say otherwise.

As a mom of two, I have now seen two children potty train in vastly different ways. My daughter was done with diapers at 2. She just stopped. From then on, she was trained at night,

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Pregnancy brings with it, a lot of unforeseen changes. I'm not just talking about your nose spreading, your feet growing, or even the fact that you might be over taken by uncontrollable bouts of gas. I'm talking of the sudden Sybil syndrome that descends upon pregnant women. The ugly toll that changing hormones can take on an expectant woman's life, making her unrecognizable to our loved ones.

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

Nauseated Nancy: Back the truck up, she wakes up feeling like she's been asleep at sea. She brushes her teeth and almost vomits. Commence watery eyes and gagging. Breakfast? No, thank you. Starving. Must eat. Irritable bowel ensues. No appetite. Repeat.

Starving Sally: She eats but her hunger is insatiable and nothing quenches it except for carbs. Ding Dongs and Pizza are bad, right? Don't try to come between Sally and her carbs or you may just pull back a nub.

Horny Helga/Dirty Diana: She just can't get enough sex

It's a boy
Pretty much the first thought I had after getting pregnant was: Is it a boy or a girl? The whole "waiting to find out" thing was the furthest thing from my realm of concept, and at my very first doctor's appointment, before she could even finish the exam, I blurted out: "When can I find out the sex?!"

Turns out, around 18 weeks. To a non-pregnant person, or a pregnant person "waiting to find out," 18 weeks may not seem like a long time. But to a mama-to-be who's dying to know, it can feel like a lifetime.

More from The Stir: Woman Passes Driving Test While in Labor, Then Drives to the Hospital

Enter the "gender games." You know, those silly, little things women do to torture themselves even more about what the sex of their baby is. Not saying they're iron-clad, sooth-saying prophecies, but when you're waiting for week 18, they can be the next best thing. Plus, they're kinda fun.

The ol' necklace test. Probably the oldest wives' tale in the book, the "necklace test"

FlickrFrench women are known for being thin (they have to be to wear French fashions) -- the reason for this is that they pay a lot of attention to what they're putting into their mouths.

Not so long ago, the French gave us the Dukan Diet, a strict diet regime that's rumored to be used by Kate Middleton to keep her slim figure. Now, the latest diet craze in France is even weirder. It's called ...

Le Forking.

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The rules of Le Forking are fairly simple -- You can't eat anything for dinner that won't fit on your fork.

That rules out sandwiches, meats, and sauces, as well as nuts, breads, and pizza. Pasta is allowed, as well as vegetables.

I'm actually kind of liking this diet. Le Forking encourages its followers to have a hearty breakfast, a reasonable lunch, and a strictly controlled dinner. The idea is that you change your eating habits permanently, lose an average of five pounds a month, and keep

I've written about the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of children other than my own before.

Of course, there are some kids I truly do enjoy, I'm just not one of those women who universally loves all kids. Or, many kids. OK, most.

As I read through my Confessional last week, I realized that I'm far from alone in my feelings. Of course, though, these women couldn't possibly be talking about my precious children. It must be the other ones, the ones that I can't stand, too.

1. "I'm beginning to really dislike all kids. Why did I decide to be a first grade teacher again?"

More from The Stir: 10 Things You Never Want To Hear Out Of Your Preschooler's Mouth

2. "I ended a friendship with my grade school best friend because her daughter was the most annoying child on the planet."

3. "My poor 4-year-old has never had a single playdate because I just don't want to entertain another child."

4. "There's a brat bullying my kid at school. It's taking all

lady gagaLady Gaga did something totally crazy yesterday, guys. She took a picture of herself -- wait for it -- without makeup. And she posted it to Twitter! The Internet is currently ablaze with people shocked, awed, and inspired doggone it at this extreme act of courage and bravery.

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Does she look beautiful? Just like every other celebrity who voluntarily tweets a photo of themselves totally bare-faced, of course! Does she look like she's not totally bare-faced? Just like every other celebrity who voluntarily tweets a photo of themselves totally bare-faced, of course!

Celebs without makeup are always a good time. But when they tweet photos of themselves sans any makeup ... ehhh ... it's not quite the same. I mean, I applaud the act, but clearly, they're posting a photo where the lighting is perfect, their hair is just so, and where they're wearing a little bit of makeup. (Gag's definitely has

popcorn recipes healthyBust out the Jiffy Pop, everyone! Apparently there is new nutritional information on a snack food that will make you feel good about that midday trip to the microwave. Almost as exciting as when we were told dark chocolate is good for you, this news that popcorn contains antioxidants like those found in fruit is incredibly exciting. I, for one, would much rather eat popcorn than fruit as it satisfies my salty cravings. Also, much neater.

Of course plain old popcorn will get old if you chow down on it every day. Why not trick out your popcorn snack, and try these three options the next time you pop?

More from The Stir: 3 Foods to Make Your Headache Disappear

Truffled Popcorn

I first had this via a food truck in Los Angeles and thought, "Wow, that is some seriously fancy popcorn." I'm guessing the food truck peeps didn't actually shave a black truffle onto the 'corn. But maybe they did! Either way you can do this with or without the shaved truffle. Just be sure you get

Hunger GamesNow that The Hunger Games is a bona fide hit, you can bet that fans of Katniss wil be going crazy trying to find Hunger Games-related merchandise.

Well, worry no more, Mockingjay fans!

China Glaze has come out with 12 new nail polish colors, each one representative of the 12 different Hunger Games districts.

More from The Stir: "Hunger Games" vs. "Twilight": There's No Comparison

Want to see them?

Read on!

The spokesmodel for the nail colors, as you can see, is the illustrious Effie Trinket (a.k.a. Elizabeth Banks), who incidentally is also wearing the Paperself false lashes I showed you not long ago on The Stir!

Check out the colors:

There's really something for everyone here -- although, if ever I wear a color called foie gras (translation: goose liver) on my nails?

Shoot me.

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I'm liking some of the other colors, though -- Whether you're into spring brights