Blog Posts by Charlene Prince Birkeland, Shine staff

Lego ring by jacqueline sanchezHow twisted is it that I, a self-proclaimed Lego disliker (I'd use hater but my kid would tell me I'm saying a bad word), am coveting Jacqueline Sanchez's Lego-inspired ring? Let's forget the fact that it cost $250 for a moment, shall we? Let's just look at the pretty silver, the sweet magenta Lego piece and howdy, you cute, little 3-point diamond.

Mama needs some new bling.

Now that he's a daddy, Joel Madden has kids on the brain as he writes tunes for Good Charlotte's new album. The newbie parent, who has a two-month-old daughter with Nicole Richie, recently told contactmusic.com that he thinks about his fan base more because "they are other people's kids and so I care about what they think and I care about what I'm saying to them, because I want people to think about what they're saying to my child."

Joel, my man, don't ever listen to any of your previous songs or you'll be re-writing those lyrics too. Especially the one called "Break Apart Her Heart," where you tell the gents of the world, "If you want to keep the girl for as long as you live Just break it apart, her heart." Because if any dude uses your pre-daddy advice on your little girl (which will happen...you've been warned), I'm guessing you'll be sort of bummed you weren't thinkin' alot sooner.

How long before Good Charlotte starts playing the Baby Loves Disco circuit? I would pay good money

Hannah Keeley of totalmom.com says a mom's brain is like a pie divided into many pieces. Keeley told NBC's Today Show, "When you divide that pie - here's a slice for breast-feeding, here's a slice for packing the diaper bag, going to the doctor, making sure the milestones are met - the common, ordinary things get pushed to the wayside."

Those things that get knocked to the sidelines? Just chock it up to Momnesia.

It's a simple case of kid-induced mama trauma. Apparently female hormones from pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding get all jumbled up and cause moms to, wait, help me out. Oh that's right. Forget things.

Should we consider momnesia validation for every single time we can't remember why we walked to the back of the house for something really important I needed just 60 seconds earlier? Or should I be concerned that someone's just slapped another label on we already over-labeled moms?

What's your take on Momnesia?

A car full of kids in booster seats, a little Evanescence "Bring Me to Life," and some simple parental editing skills equals video goodness. Except you might want to keep the sound down just a tad...my ears are still ringing.

Somewhere in Orange County, Fla., two women should be hiding their faces in complete shame after taking a young girl to a car wash, spraying her face, chest and legs with a power hose as punishment for being disrespectful, and then -- get this -- changing her clothes before driving away.

The entire session of abuse was caught on a surveillance camera and as soon as the car wash manager spotted what was happening, she called the police. The manager, Marlene Diaz, said she heard one of the women saying in Spanish, "You're not gonna disrespect me, don't worry I'm not gonna hit you. I'm just gonna get you with cold water, you're gonna learn to respect me. You're not gonna treat me bad,"

FoxNews.com reports that Orlando County police believe the girl to be between 3-6 years old. And you have to wonder what else is happening to her at home if this is how she's punished in public.

The women were driving a white, 4-door sedan, Hyundai Alantra. If you live in the Orlando, Fla. area, check out

photo credit: boonThe bean bag is a kid-room staple. Who doesn't love plopping their tired rump into huge, comfy pillow and cuddling up with their kid? But there's this little issue called, "Bean bags take up so much space." You'd probably feel if they had some sort of dual purpose (besides being the perfect "something" fory our kid to toss at a his litle brother. I'm just sayin').

Enter the Animal Bag. Three big 'ole circular bags that your little ones can fill with the other must-have-but-can't-stand objects in their rooms: stuffed animals. It's brilliant. Nursery and kid-room decoristas beware: the Animal Bag only comes in orange. Hey, I'd be willing to work around that color it if meant I woudln't have to trip over George the Bear, Johnny the Bunny, Mitch the Dog, Nana the Blue Bunny...

The Animal Bag sells for $US99.

Via Daily Candy.

Eleven-year-old Adri sings Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" to her video camera. The missing front teeth add a little zest while she belts out lyrics like, "...beach blonde tramp and she's prob'ly gettin' frisky" and "white trash Shania karaoke."

photo credit: people.comDespite their high-fashion sense and jet-setting lifestyles, Victoria and David Beckham want you to know they can toss a kid's birthday fiesta that's as mellow as the rest of us.

The Beckham's celebrated the birthday of oldest son, Brooklyn, on Tuesday at a restaurant in a mall. The mall, people! And they even hired entertainment to keep the kids amused.

So normal.

Except you probably wouldn't host your party at the Pink Taco at Century City Mall in Los Angeles. (Pump it Up, baby!) And you probably wouldn't hire a bunch of break dancers to spin on their heads. (Andy Z. anyone?) You likely wouldn't be wearing a designer dress and heels (jeans and cute ballet flats, maybe, with a little dog drool on your pant leg and kid crumbs on your shoulder). And, okay fine, and you wouldn't have the likes of celebrities Heidi Klum and Eva Longoria Parker helping you pass out birthday cake. (That would be, um, you because all the other parents are long gone. They planned out their three hours of