Lavinia Lingerie

One thing I find really wonderful about the Internet is the ability to shop for items that I just don’t feel comfortable shopping for in public. Like lingerie. The newest site in our directory is online lingerie retailer Lavinia Lingerie in New York.

They offer beautiful lingerie and other women’s clothing and they make shopping a pleasure and a breeze. Whether you need a plus size bra, a unique pair of panties, accessories that just aren’t available at the nearby WalMart, or a gorgeous camisole like the one pictured, you’ll find it at Lavinia’s.

Mom Has 18th Child

Yes, 18. Eighteen kids. Yes, they’re all her and her husband’s children.

The Canadian couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and appear to be dead set on populating the sparsely populated areas in the “Northern tundra”.

Their oldest child is 23 years old and not surprisingly wasn’t at home for the taking of this photograph. Their newest child, Abagail, is the 10th girl and she has 8 brothers.

What an amazingly large family. If a picture can tell a story it would appear they’re just like any other average family of 20!

Raising Twins From Pregnancy On

Kimberley Becker has four kids and somehow has found the time to put together a fantastic online resource for parents of twins. Her youngest children are fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, and Kimberley has learned and documented what she has learned for the benefit of anyone who is pregnant with twins or has already begun their journey as a parent of twins.

Her Website, Raising Twins, covers topics most parents of twins will be interested like, what to expect during pregnancy, what’s unique about breastfeeding twin babies, how to make the most of the very special first year with twins, and the toddler years and how potty training is different with twins, and all sorts of other stories only a mother of twins can describe so colorfully.

One of my favorite posts on her Website is “Top 15 Stupid Things People Say to Parents Of Twins”

The #3 dumbest thing is: “What do you do when they both cry at the same time?” (Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I go to Starbucks.)

The #2 dumbest thing is: Said to a mom of boy/girl twins: “Are they identical?” (Uh. Not exactly.)

The #1 dumbest thing is: You’ll just have to get the #1 dumbest thing said to a mom of twins and #’s 4 through #15 by visiting her Website at: Raising Twins. Hope you enjoy your visit as much as we did!

New Online Games for You and Your Kids!

We generally try to offer mothers important news and resources but we all need to take a break sometime so we’ve added some games that you can play with your kids. Check out the new games in our all new Games section: Family-Friendly Games

Your Man May Have Secrets

Some of your man’s secrets should remain secret.

Many women believe they should know everything their husband or man is thinking, the secrets he has are little demons, tearing us apart. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is necessary for each individual in a relationship to have their own unique world, their own thoughts, and privately held feelings that belong to only them and no one else.

Being married or close doesn’t mean you’ve become one person. It means loving, honoring and respecting the other and sharing what can be shared. If a man (or woman) feels there isn’t room to have their own thoughts and experiences while in a relationship, they’ll likely feel their individuality and sense of self is being lost over time. Needless to say, a good relationship not only brings two people closer, but enhances each person’s sense of self worth and individuality. Here are a few secrets that men often keep to themselves, and reasons why it is important to let them.

1) Secret: That he looks at and is attracted to other women

Don’t try to pry into this. There are some women who keep asking their man whether or not he is attracted to other women. A man who doesn’t look at women, or feel anything for even the most attractive among them is either very old, very tired or just lying to you. There isn’t anything wrong with a married or attached man who looks at and admires other women. That is if he does it discretely, and doesn’t make a show of it in front of others or you – as long as he doesn’t use it to make you insecure or competitive with the other women.

Looking at and responding to others doesn’t mean he doesn’t find you desirable, or that he’s comparing you. Most men fuel their sexuality and fantasies by looking at and admiring others. If you ask them to talk about it, not only will it make you nervous, but they can often feel shamed, embarrassed and exposed, unable to do what they do naturally, without being censured. Enjoy his love for you and leave well enough alone.

2) Secret: The details of his previous relationships

Some women are obsessed with finding out everything about their man’s past relationships. They need to know if they measure up, if he’s as happy with them as he was with others, what went wrong in the past relationships, or if he’s really over a past love. There’s no need to probe into this. People change and he was a different man in the past. Don’t hold his past mistakes and relationships against him. He doesn’t want to constantly be reminded of them, and particularly doesn’t want you to see him in a bad light. Relax and let him be who is he now.

Let him feel good about how he is with you, not be dragged past into memories of other people or of what did or did not do. The best way for him to forget old girlfriends is to feel happy and close with you.

3) Secret: Whether or not he’s truly happy in your relationship

Many women just can’t leave well enough alone. Every chance they have they want to get into a discussion about their relationship. They want to know how he’s feeling about things, and at some point, pin him down to get all the details. This makes most men feel pressured, put on the spot and restless. They don’t know exactly what you want them to tell you or what it’s going to mean. Some fear repercussions for what they say. Healthy communication in a relationship is on-going without drama. Communicate often and keep it “light”.

Sitting down for an “serious” discussion is not something most men are comfortable with so reserve it fr truly serious situations.

4) Secret: Whether he enjoys being with his friends more than being with you

Many women become possessive of their man’s attention and resentful of time spent away from them, particularly nights out with the guys or any time spent with other friends, having a good time. The women want to be included in everything as proof of his love for them. When the guy has spent time with his buddies, they want to know if he enjoyed that time more than being with them. It is a bad idea to question him about this, or make him feel that he has to choose. Time spent with buddies is crucial for many men, it is a time of male bonding that is greatly needed, no matter how much he cares for you.

Some women interfere with her man’s friendships and even his relationship with his family, she feels so threatened. But truly loving someone means allowing them to be all of whom they are – fulfilling all their needs and realizing that no matter how much they love you they also need others in their lives. When you have a truly healthy relationship, you are secure in his feelings for you, and want to see him happy and fulfilled with others. The more fulfilled he is, the more he can then give to you. Let the time he has with his buddies belong to him. Don’t question him about details, don’t make him feel guilty as though he is taking something away from you.

Brad and Angelina Give Birth to Twins in Nice France

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave birth to the “Brangelina” twins in Nice France. They now have a boy and a girl to raise.

Here’s a short (4:04) news report to get you caught up on what little details are available. Pay particular attention to the offer of $11 million they received from a magazine for the story. (I must have missed those calls when each of my four children were born!)

Do you think these babies will ever be able to hide from the paparazzi?

Twin Pregnancy and Beyond

Kellie added her great site about twins to our directory of Websites for moms today! If you have twins you’ll appreciate the volume of information her site has made available for those who haven’t yet lived the experience. If you’re pregnant with twins you’re in luck because you’ve just discovered a great resource for mothers of twins.

The site has great information on everything that’s going to cross your mind once you’ve learned that you’re pregnant with twins and probably many things you would not have thought of while preparing for twins. For starters you will need to think about naming your twins and this is more then twice as hard as naming one child! The site has a Twin Baby Names section of articles to assist you.

For you moms and dads with twins you will find the Dad of Twins and Parenting Twins very interesting and helpful. Be sure to send in your pics for the Twin Belly Gallery!

Mommy Mystic

The newest listing in our Web directory for moms is a blog titled “Mommy Mystic“. Lisa, the author of Mommy Mystic, describes herself in this way:

I am a mom, teacher, and writer – mostly in that order, but it shifts from day to day. Raised Christian but drawn to Buddhism and yoga in college, I studied both seriously for many years, and have meditated daily since that time. I now teach meditation and spirituality within a non-denominational, or as I prefer to call it, ‘cross-denominational’, context. I believe that the mystic branches of every world religion – the branches that emphasize personal spiritual experience and our individual relationship to the divine – are each unique paths to the same universal truths and understanding.

And from what I saw the reviews and posts on her blog are as interesting how she describes herself. Here’s a snippet from my favorite post of the few I looked over:

If You Think You’re Enlightened, Have Kids

July 12, 2008
Spiritual teacher Ram Dass reportedly once said, ‘If you think you’re enlightened, spend a weekend with your parents.’ I would like to modify that to ‘have kids.’ Of course, having kids is a much bigger time commitment than spending a weekend with your parents. Instead, you get YEARS of weekends in which birthday parties, G-rated movies, and Chuckie Cheese’s qualify as high excitement. But that isn’t really what makes having kids such a spiritual reality check. The value is that you have a built in test of your ego and self-awareness on every front.

cont.

To read the rest and to check out Lisa’s blog click here to visit: Mommy Mystic.

Directory for Moms

Baby Names are Evolving

Baby names are evolving at an increasing rate according to comparisons with favorite baby names from years past. It seems more parents are willing and even eager to give their children names that are unique to them. Although Michael, Mary, John, Linda, David, Kathy and the like are still hugely popular you’ll only see one of them, Michael, on the 2007 list below.

Here’s a list of the most popular baby names from 1950:

Boys name / Girls name

1. James / Linda
2. Robert / Mary
3. John / Patricia
4. Michael / Barbara
5. David / Susan
6. William / Nancy
7. Richard / Deborah
8. Thomas / Sandra
9. Charles / Carol
10. Gary / Kathleen

Here’s the list of most popular baby names from 2007:

1. Jacob / Emily
2. Michael / Isabella
3. Ethan / Emma
4. Joshua / Ava
5. Daniel / Madison
6. Christopher / Sophia
7. Anthony / Olivia
8. William / Abigail
9. Matthew / Hannah
10. Andrew / Elizabeth

Choosing a name is one of the more interesting tasks parents have to perform and we all handle it in our own way. Some people dwell on it for months or even years in advance of giving birth and others wait until the baby is in their arms. Neither method is better or worse then the other and most people we’ve met are OK with their given names so no harm, no foul.

Our children’s names are: Brian, Kevin, Dustin, and Colin. The dog is Pooch and the cat is Moon. Maybe not the most unique names out there, but the kids sure are and that’s the important thing, not a name.

Live Science has an interesting article on baby names worth checking out at: Baby Names.