Blog Posts by Jessica Ashley, Senior Editor

Many moms are attuned to checking homework while you throw together dinner, scheduling doctor's appointments while you work out, and sneaking in a work conference call while you're watching a ballet class. It's not easy to turn off that multi-tasking mentality once we click in our seat belts in the car.

Of course, we know that driving with any distraction, whether it's a boss calling incessantly or a car-sick child in the backseat or our favorite new Bieber song on the radio, is not the safest driving. But the ding of a new text or the drone of the GPS lady giving directions or the coffee sloshing all over the dash doesn't stop just because Oprah said moms should be safer or even because we say we want to be more mindful in the car.

So what exactly is distracting moms while we drive? And, if we're really, really honest, how big of a threat is it to our safety and the well-being of the kids and other passengers riding with us? Yahoo! partnered up with Good Housekeeping to survey moms

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Kirstie Alley | Photo Credits: Michael Buckner/Getty ImagesTV Guide Kirstie Alley, who has struggled with yo-yo weight gain and loss for years, is showing off a body 10 sizes smaller after a lot of hard work. The 60-year-old actress strutted the runway during New York Fashion Week -- 100 pounds slimmer! - at her designer friend Zang Toi's show.

Inspired by her physically demanding "Dancing With the Stars" stint, Alley has gone from a size 14 to a size 4. Before her appearance on the show, Alley said she visualized one day fitting in a size 4, and now she does.

Today, Alley's confidence is contagious, and she says she feels much more comfortable in her body. "I feel like I'm back in my element," Alley told Entertainment Tonight. "I honestly didn't even realize what I looked like."

Her hard-won metamorphosis is not tempting her to take things further. No plastic surgery for the former "Cheers" star. "I haven't had plastic surgery but here's the reason: People do plastic surgery to make you look younger," she said. "I don't think it makes you

Read More »from Wow! Kirstie Alley's dramatic weight loss

She's smiling in some photos and headed off to a birthday celebration, but it's clear Reese Witherspoon is still recovering from the accident that sent her to the hospital one week ago. After being struck by an 84-year-old driver while she was out for a run in Santa Monica, the actress was released with minor injuries -- as evidenced by the bandage and bruises just at the good-and-ugly point on her forehead.

Just under all that, Witherspoon has a definitive, very purple black eye.

While a shiner is seen by some as a badge of honor, the causes and implications can be a much bigger deal than that. We get black eyes for many reasons that range from concerning (like trauma to the nose or face, like Witherspoon experienced) to super serious (like shaken baby syndrome or a skull fracture). Nearly all are deemed a medical emergency and require urgent care. The discoloration is caused by bleeding under the skin's surface. That tissue most often turns a black or bluish shade, then fades over

Read More »from Have you ever had a black eye? Reese Witherspoon's shiner revealed

When I read a recent post on the top five dating mistakes single moms make, I couldn't help but feel a little defensive and...caught. While two reputable, seemingly kind and wise experts -- a "courtship coach" and psychotherapist specializing in relationship issues -- explain how newly single moms can trip up when they step back into the dating realm, I recognized a few of the potholes I fell into after I got divorced.

Their advice is sage, or at least something to consider as parents explore the "single" part of their lives. For people who have been married or partnered for a long time, it can be very easy to get swept up in the world of crazy boyfriends, bad break-ups, and intoxicating sex. It's just that this time, there are kids to consider. Even if your children never know where you go on Saturday nights or who you are with when they are dad's house on Thursdays, how you think of yourself, how safe and happy and nurtured you are impacts them, too. This makes being good to you and

Read More »from 6 things every single mama should do when she starts dating

The buzz is that Xtina will get booted from "The Voice" for excessive boozing and boyfriending on the set. And while it's still just a rumor, it might be slightly supported by reports that Adam Levine and Blake Shelton take shots during filming and, as pointed out on Jezebel, the fact that "she's the only lady, surrounded by a bunch of dudebros, and maybe she feels more comfortable hanging with her boyfriend than high-fiving and downing tequila?"

One source said during this second season's filming that Aguilera pays more attention to her own man-friend on the set than she does her contestants, which could lead to her being fired for season three of the show. (An NBC rep says point-blank: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumor.")

The allegations, whether accurate or not, are easy to pin on Aguilera. No amount of Perez Hilton-posted denials of the "news" or PR spinning will make us stop expecting her to be kindly asked to leave some job, if not this one. And that is a reputation

Read More »from Why can't Christina Aguilera get it together?

Coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 has pooled in the center of every media outlet this week with stories of lives and deaths taken control of by terrorist attacks. There is also the slow drip of news about prominent suicide deaths -- totally unrelated to September 11th and still, offering a strange confluence of lingering loss, but this time by one person's choice to end their own existence.

The recent suicide death of reality television cast member Russell Armstrong made many headlines, continuing in the last week with the season premier of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" prompting discussion on the show and in the press about his loss, mental well-being, financial downturn, and the wife and children he left behind.

Castmates gathered during the first episode to put their reactions to 47-year-old Armstrong's suicide on record. They were worried for their friend, Russell's estranged wife Taylor Armstrong. They were surprised by his actions. They'd never felt connected to

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On the first day of first grade, my almost ran off without doing our ritual. It wasn't the first time he's forgotten in his excitement to get into the classroom, slide into his seat, or keep some six-year-old potty joke going with his buddies. But on this first day back to school, I noticed the near-absence of it and I pulled him back just before he crossed the threshold into a new grade.

It's our fourth year doing a kissing hand, based on the wonderful book about how a mother and son raccoon ease school worries by placing one kiss on the other's palm to hold on to throughout the day (see the video of the book in this post). When my boy transitioned to full-time preschool, it was not just a connection but a cue that our days apart were beginning. In his second year of preschool, it became a habit. In kindergarten, we just kept on. Maybe first grade is where it will end. Honestly, when he stops needing that little goodbye tradition, I am quite sure I am the only one who will miss it.

Read More »from How do you say goodbye before school? [video]

A new study gets specific about how well one weight-loss program really works over the course of a year, comparing pounds lost by participants to those who got diet guidance from a doctor. The findings were significant -- dieters who followed the Weight Watchers program dropped double the pounds and were more likely to stick to the program than those who got monthly advice from a medical professional.

Researchers recruited 772 men from the UK, Germany, and Australia from doctor's check-up appointments. All of the participants fell in a body mass index range of 27 to 35 and showed at least one marker for obesity-related disease risk. In a random selection, half were given a complimentary 12-month membership to Weight Watchers and half were asked to visit their doctor for monthly appointments on weight loss.

The results were clearly in favor of Weight Watchers. Of these dieters, 61% stuck it out for a year and their average weight loss was 15 pounds.

About 54% of the doctor-guided

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