Now here’s a concept that would have made my '70s mom spit out her martini:  Dads who kvetch about the frustrations and joys of changing diapers, setting up playdates, and the best products to use to clean vomit off a highchair.

What would have amazed her even more:  hundreds of these dads gather annually at daddy conferences. The get-togethers are just as glitzy as marketing-to-moms conventions, with the dads’ events sponsored by mammoth brands such as Honda, Dove, Kraft and Huggies. more

Silicon Valley’s most notorious working mom has ground her high heel in the proverbial diaper again.  Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer tackled the top job when five months pregnant and then (in)famously took only two weeks maternity leave.

Now she has banned her employees from telecommuting. 

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I spent the weekend wallowing in the media blitz that broke on Friday as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, hit the headlines, along with her goal of raising the consciousness of working women everywhere.

My first observation: Woo hoo!

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Nearly every day, I thank my lucky stars that I live in this country.

But sometimes, I hate our country.

Twenty years ago, just before my first child was born, Congress enacted the Family Medical Leave Act.  It was our country’s first (and still only) law that explicitly supports employees who need to take care of our loved ones.

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Two American women.  Both victims of relationship violence.  Two horrifying photos.

Four years ago, on the eve of the 2009 Grammys, the world learned that one of our most famous young pop stars, Rihanna, had been viciously beaten by her boyfriend, Chris Brown, in his automobile.

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It is true that I am obsessed with the PBS show, Downton Abbey. Also true that I have read all 1,040 pages of Gone With The Wind at least four times.

But that doesn’t explain why I recently bought two corsets made from cold hard steel and reinforced black nylon.

Twenty years ago, I bought a beautiful black dress.  Handsewn black lace sleeves. Sequined fitted top. Fluffy black polka dot crinoline skirt.  Purchased at the same fancy-schmancy Madison Avenue boutique where I got my white silk wedding gown. more

Two of America’s most famous and wildly different moms - singer Jennifer Lopez and mom-in-chief Michelle Obama - revealed nearly identical haircuts last week.

Bangs.  Mom bangs, to be exact.

For most of my life, I thought bangs were for first-graders.  A badge of childhood.  Something you outgrew by age seven. Instructions your mother gave the hair salon for your little brother’s first haircut, as in “Just give ‘im some bangs.”

You know, cute.

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Gang rape is not just a problem in India.

Last summer, in a small town in Ohio, two teenage boys allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl who was intoxicated into oblivion.

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The Drug Lady came to 8th grade this week.

You may think I’m joking, but that’s what the kids at our school call the prevention specialist who visits our 13 and 14 year olds for a week each year as they prepare to face high school’s chemical perils. 

One student saw her in an airport security line and called out “Hi, Drug Lady!” which led to a long visit in a private screening room and the Drug Lady missing her flight.

True story.

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People always say raising a boy is easier than a girl.  I’ve never been sure why.

From the moment I realized I had grown a male infant inside my decidedly female body, I was impressed to the point of being intimidated.  Fortunately my son was sweet and gentle and uncomplicated.  His early years were a cakewalk - in marked contrast to the way my head spun from his sisters, one of whom, pre-language skills, once bit me on my right butt cheek in lieu of asking me to move, and then a few months later toilet-trained herself. 

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