Many intelligent, enterprising and otherwise employable women choose to stay out of the workplace in order to be home with their children. But the desire to supplement the family income and perhaps have a life beyond the children, has led generations of stay-at-home-moms to turn to home-based businesses.

Beginning with Tupperware parties in the 1950's, the strategy of bringing women together to buy and sell in a social atmosphere has proved very successful. These days, I regularly receive invitations to product parties for everything from adult toys to candles to cookware. And now the newest party idea on the scene is gold parties.

It's the same concept, but with a twist. Instead of buying plastic bowls or fur-lined handcuffs, guests arrive at gold parties with pockets full of gold, ready to sell. As the price of gold nears $1000 an ounce, there is money to be made on what might otherwise just be cluttering up your jewelry box.

Of course, the real money is in hosting the parties. There are businesses who will sell you a kit that includes everything you need to confidently buy gold - a gold karat-testing machine, a scale, a jeweler's loupe and a how-to book. Once you've purchased the gold from your party guests, you then turn around and sell it for even more to a refinery.

I think it's a great idea and hope someone invites me to a gold party soon. Sure, I might make a little more money cutting out the middlewoman and selling directly to the refinery myself. But I am not likely to take the initiative and do that. Besides, I don't want to miss the party.

Generally speaking, moms have a lot of power at home. Some moms, however, wield a lot of power outside the home too, and that takes a lot of effort and determination. Dana over at Mombian has compiled a list of the most powerful lesbian moms in America. These are women who are not only caring for their kids, but are also making a difference in the world.

The list includes a lot of women we hear about all the time -- Melissa Etheridge, Mary Cheney, Rosie O'Donnell -- as well as some you might not have heard of at all -- Lisa Brummel (senior vice president for human resources at Microsoft), Megan Smith (vice president of new business development at Google), and Karla Drenner (Georgia State Representative).

Of course, everyone's definition of power is different, but I think we can all agree that these are women who are definitely higher up on the ladder than most. And if that weren't enough, they're also all moms -- probably the most challenging and difficult job on the planet. Cheers to all of them!

There's not doubt that most Americans are having to tighten their fiscal belts and with more than a 100 million customers a week, discount giant Wal-Mart is a great place to get a sampling of U.S. consumer spending.

Last week Eduardo Castro -Wright, CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, reported strong sales in groceries, health and wellness products, as well as flat-screen televisions and other consumer electronics. And at the same time Starbucks reported a 28% drop in profits last quarter, Wal-Mart reported an increase in sales of coffee and cappuccino makers leading one to believe Americans are staying home more both for their meals and their entertainment.

Moms are great. Dads are too, for sure, but this week, and this month, we're talking mamas. And you know what? Mamas work hard. I knew when I first got pregnant that being a mom would change my life, be unlike anything I'd ever done, and be very, very hard. Rewarding, yes, above all that heaven could offer, but HARD. So, I'm going to be totally honest with you when I say that not all moms go in for cards, candy and maybe some flowers.

It's not that we think we deserve the world for doing what millions of women have done before us. No, it's that life is more complicated now than it ever was. We work full-time, we're fitness frenzied, we're suffering through war and a housing crisis and a terrible economy. We're expected to keep a perfect house, perfect children, have the perfect body and be able to do it all in a day while working full-time. Oh, and we're supposed to be happy about it! So, without further ado, here's a short list of the kinds of things moms would really love for Mother's Day:

1. Quiet. Also known as "peace and quiet." Moms love it and can't seem to get enough of it. Muzzle the dog, send the kids off to a play date and lock yourself into your office (or a Starbucks with wi fi) and let mom bask in silence. After all, silence is golden, and it's a lot cheaper than jewelry. And she'll get more use out of it.

When Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow stepped away from Hollywood to be a stay-at-home mom, people wondered if she had made the right decision. Like many women who put a successful career on hold to raise their kids, she was taking a leap of faith. But to Paltrow, that didn't factor much into her decision.

In a recent interview, she said:

"You know, they change so quickly and the idea of someone else being there when they do their first this or say their first that is just, like, it makes me die."

Paltrow is married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and the couple have two kids, Apple, 4 and Moses, 2. Paltrow recently spoke about her bout with post-partum depression after Moses was born. It was then, she said, when she was depressed, unable to take off the baby weight, and hanging around in her sweats all day, that she began to worry Hollywood might not take her back.

Actually, it's my former neighborhood. Apparently--and please pardon me, as there may be just a teensy little bit of bile forming in the back of my throat (and it's NOT morning sickness)--the creator of Melrose Place are considering another such type show set in, gag, Park Slope. For those of you unfamiliar with the Slope, it's in Brooklyn, New York. The people who live there think it's the bomb--the epitome of making it in, well, at least Brooklyn if not New York.

People move from Manhattan to Brooklyn, specifically, to have their babies and clog the sidewalks with their OBNOXIOUS (note, I didn't use the word annoying--it's not annoying; it is, in fact, OBNOXIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!) double-wide strollers and brag to each other and anyone else endlessly about how wonderful they are from all their righteousness and do-gooding. None of which is mixed with an ounce of altruism.

And I used to be one of them. Well, sort of. I fled to Windsor Terrace (sort of like the older cousin of the Slope whose been around the block and knows better) long before I thought about babies--my own, anyway. See, you can't live in the Slope without at least one kid. They'll scorn you otherwise. Seriously. And regardless of cost, they must have the best of everything--you will be snubbed for a simple Maclaren umbrella style stroller like the one I have when you could have shelled out $800 for whatever Euro design is hot this week. I'm basically considered a bad parent by these people because I don't have one. But mine folds up. Easily. With one hand.

Mathematics and music have long been linked -- Pythagoras may have been the first to study the relationship between the two, way back when. Michael Bitz, a professor at Columbia University, has found a new way to put music to work in the education world. His program, the Youth Music Exchange, has kids writing and recording music, producing albums, and marketing CD's.

Having produced an album myself, I know there is a lot involved. Designing the packaging -- cover art, liner notes, layout -- requires a lot of different skills and a lot of work. Even without the whole writing music part, putting together an album involves English, art, math, and computer skills. Then there are the legal aspects -- reading contracts, understanding intellectual property rights and so on. My head hurts just thinking about it.

Bitz's program was recently chosen to receive a fellowship from the Mind Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to "empowering education entrepreneurs to develop or expand transformative education initiatives", and will be expanding into Indianapolis schools with the grant. One of the advantages of Bitz's program is that it is relatively inexpensive to implement -- the program costs about $2,500 to get started.

Before the students can begin packaging a CD, they have to write and record the music, of course. This involves putting the knowledge gained in more traditional classes to work. "We were writing the songs, and we did similes, metaphors and personification," noted thirteen-year-old Madelyne Giron.

Younger kids write about their heroes and holidays while the kids in middle school tackle more difficult topics, such as love and crime. This has got to be a fantastic experience for the kids and today's technology makes it an affordable possibility. And, on top of all the learning that goes on, we might just find us the next Charlotte Church or Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

One of my best girlfriends had a baby last year, and we've been making plans for her impending visit here since the day her baby girl was born.
"We'll take walks in the forest!"
"We'll sip lattes and carry matching purses!"
"We'll talk about our long-lost days of debauchery and disheveledness!"

We've been talking about this event for nearly a year now, but she hasn't come to see me yet. Airline prices have been so high, and, well, maybe we'll wait for a seat sale.

Finally, I asked: "Can't your husband help out with the fare?" He is working full time, after all, and he makes a good living as she stays home with their baby.
"Well,"she paused,"You know, I look after my own expenses, he looks after his."

It's the way it is with them: they keep their finances completely separate, and she, the stay-at-home-wife, is expected to cover any incidentals and luxuries with her own moneymaker. That moneymaker tool, however, is a little hampered by the daily grind of life with a baby: it's difficult to establish a high-flying career when one has a baby attached to one's breast at all times.

My friend's situation made me wonder. Financial arrangements within marriages aren't a topic of everyday conversation amongst most of my friends, but (having never been married myself) I've been assuming that most couples just divide the bacon 50/50. Evidently, this isn't the case, and as I probed more of my married friends (for research purposes) I learned that most of them keep their own bank accounts.

In many ways, I guess it's prudent. But it seems to me that marriage, in its shiniest light, should connect all life's big forces: love, sex, children, money.

Over at about.com, they have some common-sense advice about the best financial practices within a family unit . Number one? Maintain separate accounts.

It makes sense, I guess, but it's not very romantic, is it? But I'm beginning to understand that in long-term relationships, very little is.

Carme Chacon is 37 years old and an expectant mom who is seven months pregnant. She's also the defense minister of Spain, which has put her in a difficult position. While Spain has a mandated 16-week maternity leave (paid maternity leave...lets hear a collective groan from our American sisters), some are saying that she shouldn't be allowed the time off, due to the important nature of her job. Others are calling that point of view sexist, saying that if a man in the position fell ill, there'd be no question.

While it's hard for us in the States to relate (six weeks unpaid leave is hard enough to pull off), it is easy to understand the crossroads where motherhood and career meet. As women, motherhood forces us to make choices about the direction our lives are taking. Will we step aside from our careers -- careers we worked hard for in our youth -- to raise our children, or will we try to strike a balance between work and home?

MSNBC has an interesting article about the different viewpoints surrounding this issue. Take a minute to check it out, then come back and share your thoughts with us.

Thirty-year-old Katherin Shuffield works as a teller for the Huntington Bank in Indianapolis, Indiana. She's also five months pregnant with twins. Yesterday, however, wasn't such a good day at work. Around 9:30am, a masked man came into the bank, jumped screaming over the counter, and shot Shuffield in the abdomen.

Shuffield is in critical but stable condition, according to a police spokesman. Luckily, the bullet missed the unborn twins and they survived. Still, this is pretty heinous. "It just makes me sick. Here's a woman working hard for a living," said Indianapolis Police Chief Michael Spears. "From all accounts, without provocation, this gutless robber shoots her."

If you have any information about the crime, please contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477. I know all our best wishes go out to Mrs. Shuffield.

According to some scientists at University College London, 20 minutes of housework can reduce your risk of anxiety and depression.

No, really. They're serious.

I'm guessing these scientists have never been sleep deprived by new parenthood to the point where just peeking into the laundry room causes them to burst into tears.

When I was making the transition from professional career woman to SAHM, housework nearly undid me. Suddenly, instead of challenging my brain daily with a variety of intellectual tasks, I was folding underwear and rescuing toys from the dust bunnies under the couch. Sure, I did those things when I worked outside of the home too, but they were chores, not my career. The side effect of staying home with your kids means that your kids are home all day to mess it up, and finding balance can be tough.

The little glass juicer was shoved way back in the cabinet, where it had sat unused since it was given to me by my mother-in-law last year. My five-year-old pulled it out and asked what it was.

I happened to have a bag of aging oranges in the fridge, so we pulled them out and I taught the girls how to juice them. The took turns shoving the oranges down on the juicer, getting more efficient after every try. It wasn't long before their hands were a delicious, sticky mess. They did the whole bag of oranges and then watched closely while I ran it all through a strainer.

As I sat there sharing the sweet results with my fascinated kids, I thought to myself, "Why in the world don't I do things like this more often?" Sometimes, I think I make life harder than it needs to be, you know? It's so easy to get wrapped up in what needs to be done, that sometimes I forget to just stop and smell the...well...oranges.

Stay-at-home parenting isn't easy to do in our economic times. Though our mothers often were able to pull it off, the fact is that many families need two incomes these days to stay afloat. If you are in a position to try and make a go of it, however, About.com has some suggestions for trimming the fat from your budget:

• Research refinancing your house.
• Become a one car household.
• Cut back on luxuries like cell phones, cable, restaurant meals, etc.
• Look hard at your grocery budget.
• Work from home, if possible.
• Shop resale and garage sales.
• Use coupons.
• Look for free or inexpensive family activities.

We've given up our cell phones, sold our extra car (my husband is a bicycle commuter anyway, so it was an easy sacrifice), and hit garage sales in the summertime. Grocery shopping and eating out continue to be a black hole in our budget, though, and don't get me started on our cable company's internet rates. If you're a SAHM or have cut back on your working hours since starting a family, what do you do to save on expenses?

Spain's newly appointed defense minister made international news this week as she reviewed troops in Madrid and was sworn in. Not only is Carme Chacón, 37, the first woman to head Spain's armed forces, she is also seven months pregnant.

The sight of Chacón inspecting troops on her first day in office, a delicate maternity blouse billowing over her belly, blond hair was blowing in the breeze, came as a shock. Her appointment however, came as no surprise: Spain's prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who was reelected for a second term last month, has consistently demonstrated his commitment to gender equality, and has appointed more women than men to his cabinet.

Spanish feminists say that the fact that people were shocked to see a pregnant woman heading up Spain's troops is is exactly the point. "It's an important image precisely because it conveys normality," says Marisa Sotelo, president of the Madrid' based Women's Foundation. "It serves a pedagogic function: it shows that women can be and are everywhere."

Working mom's arguably have the hardest jobs in the world, no matter what they do: they are expected in many ways to be superwoman, pouring 100% of their energy into their jobs, and then another 100% into their kids. One can only imagine the standard to which Chacón will be held to by her colleagues, and the general public.

Without a doubt Chacón will be expected to demonstrate that she is capable of the position, and already her first challenge is looming: will she take the 4 months of maternity leave she is entitled to? And perhaps more pressingly, can she afford to do so? By comparison, men are only given slightly more than 2 weeks paternity leave.

Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has finally given birth! This past Sunday the Elizabeth star and her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, welcomed a son to their brood.

Ignatius Martin Upton joins two other boys in the Blanchett/Upton clan, Dashiell, 6 and Roman, 3. According to reports the newest of the three boys weighed in at 3.6 kilograms (or around 7.92 pounds). Congratulations to Cate and Andrew!!!

Cate avatar pic by Anyaka.