Photo courtesy Amy HeinzWedding season is officially here! While I love going to weddings, I know they can be particularly challenging when a baby is in the picture - especially the ones out of town. Last weekend, we traveled out of town with our girls for a wedding and it was quite the adventure! While it certainly may be easier to leave your little one at home, that's not always an option. Here are some tips & tricks I've collected from my mama friends for surviving wedding season with a baby in tow.

1. Make sure your little one is invited!
First off, make sure your little one is invited. If your invitation was addressed to just you, chances are littles aren't welcome. If you are uncertain, always ask the bride to be sure.

Related: 8 pro tips for getting great family photos

2. You don't HAVE to bring the baby to the ceremony.
If you can, leave your little one with family or a sitter during the ceremony, then pick them up for the reception! (This is especially great for daytime weddings!)

3. Let

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Photo: Corbis/Najlah FeannyThe Wisconsin town of Monona has taken a big step in the effort to fight bullying with an unusual new law, threatening to fine both the bully and his or her parents upward of $114.

More on Shine: Bully Punished With Bad Clothing. Unusual Yes, But Cruel?

“We don’t have a bullying problem any more than anywhere else, but it’s been escalating nationally, we just want to try to take an extra step to fight it,” Monona Police Sgt. Ryan Losby told Yahoo! Shine. “It’s for the parents out there who either won’t do anything to try and stop their kids from bullying, or for those who encourage it.”

Losby, who drafted the law after being inspired by a similar, 2010 law in nearby Milton, said the new ordinance is meant only as a last resort when dealing with parents of bullies who refuse to cooperate with the school and police. The part that targets moms and dads, called the “parental responsibility” piece of the law, can fine the parents of a bully $114 for a first offense and $177 for subsequent Read More »from Should Parents of Bullies Pay? Wisconsin Town Thinks So.

By Spencer Cain, The Vivant

Kanye's Bachelor Pad It looks like Kanye West's New York City days are officially coming to the close, as the 35-year-old rapper, fashion designer, and soon-to-be father has quietly put his SoHo spread on the market for $4.5 million according to Page Six. Although the Soho apartment on West Houston -which was designed by famed minimalist architect Claudio Silvestrin-is for sale, it has not hit the open market and has merely been shown to the city's most prestigious brokers (something that is expected when it comes to selling high-profile celebrity homes).

Related Article: Top 10 Biggest Divorce Settlements In History

The fourth-floor apartment, which West bought for $3.14 million in 2007 long before his Kim Kardashian days, features 2,300 square feet of living space, and West had it tricked out to meet his oddly quirky needs. So, steps away from his bed in the master suite is a 9 foot long granite basin that houses a sink (we don't want to know why that's there). Also, at the

Read More »from Bye Bye, Bachelor Pad! Kanye West Selling SoHo Apartment for $4.5 Million to Prepare for Baby

Have you ever gone to a soccer game and see a fight break out? Far from some European hooliganizing, a full on brawl erupted this week between 30 parents at a youth soccer tournament in Barrie, Ontario. The fight was a result of a call made during a boys' under-14 game involving teams from the Kitchener Soccer Club and the Barrie Soccer Club. Parents on the sidelines disagreed with the referee's call and things escalated when one of the parents directed a racial slur at a black family from Kitchener, said Sgt. Curt Phillips of the Barrie Police. It got so out of hand, that tournament organizers had to call police to come and break up the fight. We get it. We all love our kids, We're passionate about them and want to see them succeed, but … right When parents fight at soccer game it's time trot some reminders and highlights from Taking You Beyond The Game's sideline etiquette guide so we can show our kids how to win and lose with grace. -By Buzz Bishop

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pregnant lies Pregnant women are a lot of things. Beautiful. Hormonal. Glowing. Nurturing.

And bold-faced liars.

When I read a recent article on The Stir about the lies pregnant women tell, I actually laughed out loud and thought, "Yes! Thank you for saying that! Finally, some truth in pregnancy!" I knew immediately that I had to share my favorite five from the list, so here they are.

LIE 1: "I don't care if it's a girl or a boy"
Obviously, every woman wants a healthy baby. I mean, no one's out there praying for an unhealthy child, let's be real. But most women do have a preference.

LIE 2: "Pregnancy is GREAT!"
Pregnancy is hard, and even a bit terrifying. Maybe you're one of those super blessed-and totally rare-women who have the best pregnancy ever, but the likelihood is that most pregnant women totally fib about their "fabulous" pregnancies.

Related: 12 most disturbing baby shower cakes ... EVER

LIE 3: "Oooo, I just LOOOVE this gift!"
Like The Stir says, "It's the thought that counts, sure.

Read More »from Liar, Liar: 5 Fibs All Pregnant Women Tell

Sometimes There Really Are Monsters Under The Bed
In memory of my dear Uncle Pete who passed away in the wee hours of this morning.

My father instilled a great love of monster movies in me. Most Saturdays and Sundays of my childhood were filled with marathons of the Creature Feature or The Monster Matinee. My Dad, my brother, my uncles and my cousins would settle down for the long haul of it most weekends. And we were the true couch potatoes; absolutely glued to the television set, living for commercial breaks to run to use the toilet so we wouldn't miss anything, and filling our bellies with wonderful junk to enjoy our movie experience-except for when I would hide behind my dad's big easy chair when it got a bit too scary for me.

You see, I am one heck of a big old chicken and it started years ago with my own imagination. But being a chicken-and knowing it-gave me plenty of ways of learning to cope with a bad case of "The Fraidy Cat Syndrome". Me, and my wild mind can make absolutely anything scary if I think about it long enough.

Read More »from Monsters Are People Too

Chelsey Ramer broke the rules and wore a feather on her cap. Photo: WPMI-TVThis year, graduation has become a battleground for some school officials and students. With schools tightening restrictions on who gets to walk, seniors are fighting for their rights in the last hours of their high school careers.

More on Shine: Cricket Prank Bans Seniors From Graduation

Take 17-year-old Chelsey Ramer. Her private school, Escambia Academy, is holding the Alabama grad's diploma and transcripts until she pays a $1,000 fine—all because she hung a lone eagle feather alongside her cap’s tassel during her May 23 commencement ceremony.

More on Yahoo!: Student Asks for Special Graduation Gift from Taylor Swift

Ramer, a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, told Indian Country Today Media that the feather was an important spiritual and cultural symbol of pride, and that she’d decided to wear it even after being warned not to by her then-headmaster, Betty Warren (who has since been replaced, though it’s unclear whether that was related to this incident). Escambia’s dress

Read More »from Native American Feather Sparks Graduation Debate: Schools' Tough Rules for Grads

closet

Last December, the week before Christmas, a strange event occurred.

First of all, our housecleaner came to our house, which was weird, because, you know, it's hard not to feel unnerved when you're watching Grey's Anatomy in your Disney princess nightdress (stop judging, you are never too old for Disney) and your 20-something housekeeper who is wearing clothes other than pajamas is vacuuming behind you- working her butt off while you're, you know... watching TV.

In your pajamas. At midday. I know, I know, life is hard.

Related: The 10 biggest secrets parents hide from their kids

My father was also at my home; mowing our lawn, because Mum and I are lazy and do not mow lawns, and apparently having a forest in the suburbs is frowned upon, and he says to my mum, "Can I speak to you privately?" And she's all "o-kayyyy…?" So they go upstairs and I try to eavesdrop, grumbling because this house does not have thin walls and I can't hear anything, and I start to fold laundry.

Then

Read More »from The Day My Father Came Out of the Closet