Have plans for Wednesday, May 21st? Well, even if you do, if you happen to be pregnant, make sure you stop by Baskin Robbins. They're offering those expecting a new addition a taste of their own new addition--soft serve.

Now, you may say Baskin Robbins offering soft serve is pure ice cream blasphemy, but, if you're pregnant (and having a craving for ice cream, with or without the pickles) you can enjoy a free three ounce serving of the new soft serve from 11:00 AM until 10:00 PM. My advice? Locate the various Baskin Robbins stores around you and hit them all.

Unfortunately, the offer is limited to those lucky gals in California, Chicago, New York, Nashville and El Paso. if you don't happen to be located in one of those locations, you have two options:

1. Hop on the next train or plain and get yourself there to satisfy your desire for soft serve.

2. Consider that your OBGYN would probably say ice cream isn't good for you anyway.

I happen to be pregnant, located in New York, and a supreme lover of Baskin Robbins. So if you're looking for me on May 21st, you know where to find me.

Ever get tired of eating at home or suffering through take out? Ever fantasize about going out to a nice meal that someone else cooks, someone else serves you and someone else cleans up? Ever figure out how to turn that fantasy into a reality and actually get you, your spouse and your kids out the door at a reasonable hour before things get too crowded and miraculously find yourselves seated at a table at--oh!--a restaurant?

You've finally managed to sit down and rest your aching feet, your aching back, your aching everything. You've got the kid's food and his toys and his diaper changer and your spouse has managed to put down the stroller and find a safe place for it out of the way. The server has brought the high chair. And, as you're sliding the baby down into it, you realize it's broken. The latches don't work or don't exist or whatever. You kindly ask for another one, explaining this one is broken.

The server obliges and brings you another one, which is, alas, also broken. Not only is it not safe, but it simply won't hold your son, who is more excited than ever to be in a new place with new faces and smells and ever so much excitement. He can't sit still. In fact, he won't sit at all and you have to hold him down to keep him from standing in the high chair.

My girls and I took my husband out to dinner tonight, a thank you for an afternoon digging out concrete and sod so that we could have a new garden. As we ate, a woman near us caught my eye. Her kids appeared to be about two years apart, the same as mine. Hers, however, were still very young -- an infant and a toddler.

She caught my eye because of the way she was sitting. The baby was sitting on the seat of the booth, in her infant car seat. Her son sat next to the baby. The mom sat perched on the tiniest edge of the booth, trying valiantly to scarf down as much food as she could in the moments where no one needed something from her. They were few and far between.

Oh, how I remember those days. We're past them now and I was enjoying a fairly quiet meal with my family. But this poor mom had anything but a peaceful meal. She fed, she soothed, she cut up food, she fished her boy out from under the table, gave the baby a bottle...I even saw her eating standing up at one point. Her husband sat across from her, eating his meal in peace. I got the feeling that he would have liked to help, but maybe he just didn't know how. I was tired just watching her.

Just how much are you supposed to eat when you're pregnant? According to MayoClinic.com, the average (not overweight, not underweight) woman should gain between 25-35 pounds during pregnancy. But, does it matter what your doctor says, what your friends and family say, or what the little one inside you dictates?

With my first pregnancy, I was advised to consume between 300 and 500 calories extra per day. Not a drop more. Gone were the days when I thought I would be able to eat anything I wanted, the way things used to be

Back when my mother-in-law was pregnant with my husband her doctor prescribed her diet pills to take during her pregnancy so she wouldn't gain too much weight. Scary thought, eh, but it's the truth. How she managed it I'll neverk know. Now that I'm in the second trimester of my second pregnancy, I am starting to remember what it was like the first time around.

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of about 5,000 Munchkin Deluxe Bottle and Food Warmers. Munchkin has has received nine reports of the units overheating, with several of them actually igniting and causing damage to counter tops. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

The recall involves the Munchkin Deluxe Bottle and Food Warmer with Pacifier Cleaning Basket 2-in-1 Design. This is model #13301, lot number TP-1487. The set includes a main basket, a lift-out basket, an adapter ring, and a measuring cup. You will find the lot number on the bottom of the unit and the word "Munchkin" on the front.

These were made in China and sold at various retailers nationwide as well as the Munchkin company's catalog from June 2007 through April 2008 for about $20 each.

If you have one of these warmers with lot number TP-1487 on the bottom, you are advised to stop using it immediately and contact Munchkin to receive a free replacement. You can reach the company by calling them toll-free at (866) 619-8673 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or by visiting their Web site.