You've seen the tabloid covers. Bikini-clad celebrities on luxurious vacations treated to the ultimate in tabloid humiliations: the close-up, sharpie circled cellulite photo. AAAGHHH!!!!!

The latest victim is the sultry 22 year-old Mischa Barton on vacation with her mom in Australia. While donning panties on her hotel balcony, photographers captured her dimpled bottom and thighs, prompting a cruel Daily Telegraph headline about losing the cellulite battle.

She's hardly alone. Jennifer Love Hewitt, recently on vacation with her fiance, was also photographed from an unflattering angle, sparking lots of online chatter about what is beautiful, normal, and fair in the age of the paparazzi. Jennifer's feisty response to the expose endeared her to women and may explain why she remains a Jockey Underwear model and spokesperson despite the flap.

A few months ago, I was complaining to my sister about my ever-expanding pregnant belly. "My belly feels heavier", I lamented. "The doctor says the baby is the same size as all the other ones, I must have no ab muscles left. This is going to be the pregnancy that does my belly in for good". A short while later,she sent me what I thought was a very thoughtful and sisterly e-mail: A picture of super-model Cindy Crawford in a bikini coming out of the ocean with a surprisingly loose post-baby belly. I'd be lying if I told you that it didn't lift my spirits just a little.

The comments that followed the Mischa story admonished the British tabloid to "Just leave her alone!!". Hear, hear.

But while the intentions of the tabloids are clear (they're cruel bastards), women enjoy the photos for reasons that are hardly malicious. Celebrity "fat and cellulite" revelations, while embarrassing for the stars, generates body acceptance and even a sense of gender solidarity among the greater female population. A cursory look at the internet comments overwhelmingly reveals women rallying around the stars. Countless women will look at themselves a little less harshly in the mirror after viewing celebrity cellulite.

Cindy's belly undeniably provided some comfort to this pregnant mom. Is that so bad?

Of all the compliments a parent can receive about their child, someone telling you that your kids are "so happy" is by far the most gratifying. It is the one tribute that has the magical effect of instantaneously erasing (at least temporarily) the fatigue, self-doubt and guilt that are a part of the motherhood package.

A happy childhood is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child and those deprived of this gift have greater obstacles and issues to overcome as adults.

These days, there are innumerable books, articles, websites and blogs devoted to advising parents on everything from discipline, birth order, toys, activities etc. - the list is endless. At the root of all this parental angst is a very basic desire among American parents to simply raise happy kids. Nearly every purchase, from the swing set in your backyard, to the soccer and ballet classes, is a parental calculation in childhood happiness.

Clearly, how you define "happiness" will determine how your family's time and money is spent. Is happiness a warm conversation around the kitchen table? Financial security for the family? A safe neighborhood? A sound education?

We all want happy kids (let's face it, they're a lot easier to live with), but the question is what does a happy kid look like? My answer is: 'you know it when you see it'. But recent research into the field of "happiness" is beginning to provide parents with more concrete answers.

My first reaction to reading about research on "happiness" in a recent article entitled, "How to Raise a Happy Kid", was one of skepticism. My own parenting style relies far more on common sense and intuition than the revolving theories and trends coming from the "experts". For example, the "self-esteem" trend of lavishly heaping on the praise for every little thing Johnny does never seemed to resonate with me. In my experience, kids are too smart. They don't buy it, and it ends up diluting authentic compliments.

Thankfully, this article echoed this notion and gives other common sense advice that parents can easily relate to and implement. I especially like that it emphasized the importance of unstructured play and time to use their imagination freely. Frankly, with a little reflection, most of us would arrive at many of the same conclusions.

One thing the article does not touch on is the happiness of the parent. When it comes to happy kids, I firmly believe that it starts with happy parents. And if you subscribe to the "If mom ain't happy, nobody's happy" theory, it begins with a happy mom. When I truly embraced motherhood and understood what an important contribution I was making (which wasn't till I was a few years into it), I became a better and happier parent.

In this week leading up to Mother's Day, consider gifting yourself some time alone for reflection. I'm not simply talking about "me time" (unless, of course, a day at the spa is the only way to clear your head). Take time this week to privately reflect on the privilege and nobility of motherhood and the joy and love it brings to your life.

When I have time and space to reflect, it doesn't take long for me to realize that along with my husband, my kids are hands down, my favorite people to be around. I think my kids know that. And when a child knows that deep down in their soul, it is a treasure beyond description and perhaps, their very first experience with true, divine happiness.

After delivering a baby alone in her bathroom, a 17 year-old high school sophomore in California walked 4 blocks from her house to a nearby hospital with her child wrapped in a blanket and her umbilical cord still attached. The girl, scared that her mom would kick her out of the house, kept her pregnancy a secret, presumably using her naturally full figure to disguise her condition.

On the morning that the contractions began, she did not call 911 because her home phone was disconnected She also did not seek help from neighbors because it was very early in the morning and she did not want to wake them.

Mom and baby are doing well, though doctors say she is lucky since the blood loss incurred during the delivery and her walk/jog to the hospital could have been fatal. The teen's mother was called to the hospital and has since accepted the situation and has agreed to help her daughter raise the 8 lbs. newborn.

How terribly frightening it must have been for this girl to have had no adults to confide in during her entire pregnancy and to ultimately labor and deliver alone in her bathroom. In the age of "Juno", this story may be yet another cautionary tale and "teachable moment" for parents and their teenagers. It speaks not only to the immaturity of teen moms, but also to their need for love and support once they find themselves in this situation. I clearly remember how my own mom told me when I was a teenager that while she would be very disappointed if it happened, she would always be there for me and the baby if I ever became pregnant. These were sage and compassionate words that stayed with me and that I will surely pass on to my own daughters.

As I approach my own due date in a week and a half, my heart goes out to this young mom. Somehow she kept her wits about her; many teenagers in similar situations abandon their helpless babies in garbage cans or dumpsters to die because they are scared, unprepared, and often in denial. While by no means an ideal pregnancy or delivery, I give her credit for trying her best to get her baby the help he needed. Regardless of how he entered the world, he is a gift from God.

I pray that Grandma will now truly step to the plate. Clearly, both mom and baby alike are children in need of love, support and guidance in what is sure to be a difficult, but joyful time for everyone involved.

In an ancient Muslim ritual that is still practiced today, babies are dropped 50 feet from a temple for good luck. Waiting below is a crowd of men holding a taut white sheet to break their fall and (hopefully) catch them after the first bounce.

Supporters maintain that in the 500-year history of this tradition, there have never been any deaths or injuries. However, from watching the video, one can't help but wonder about the physical or mental effects that may manifest later in development.

I am someone who is both afraid of heights and one of those moms that hates it when dad tosses baby up before a big hug; so I can't imagine how they found even one mother willing to offer up their baby for the 50 foot drop. The video is breathtaking and by the frightened look on the babies' faces, must surely feel like the longest 4 seconds in the life of both the baby and any onlooking mom.

In India, where this ritual can be found among Muslims and Hindus alike, there have been calls for the government to intervene to stop the practice. Is this religious expression that should be protected by the law? Is it better that it remains legal and thus a very public affair?

Perhaps more importantly, if banned, can it really be enforced? Bride burning is also illegal in India, yet claims the lives of thousands of abused women who die by "accident" or "suicide" every year.

Well, this week I feel (sadly) vindicated. This is exactly what happens when we entrust Hollywood, the media, and corporations with our children!

First, parents of young Hannah Montana fans had to explain the leaked photos of a bra-clad Miley and her boyfriend on the Internet. Then they were treated to a very grown-up photo spread of Disney's 15 year-old teen-queen with bedroom hair and only a silk bed sheet covering her nude body.

Not too long ago another Disney star, High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens, had to apologize for her leaked nude photos. Like this latest Disney debacle, it too sparked endless discussions on the fan sites and message boards that so many very young girls frequent.

Frankly, the shocked headlines are what I find so shocking. Well, that and all of the "outraged" parents. Don't they realize that this "teenager" is a billion dollar franchise whose marketing plan depends on capturing a younger and younger audience?

The operative word here is "teenager". She's a teenager and if only teenagers watched Hannah Montana, this incident could actually be a teachable moment where we warn teens about taking compromising photos in the age of the Internet and Girls Gone Wild.

"My Beautiful Mommy" is an animated children's book that will roll out on Mother's Day. Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon, wrote the book to help 4 to 8 year olds understand and deal with "mommy's" plastic surgery.

In case you haven't heard, the latest trend in plastic surgery is being dubbed "the mommy makeover". It involves multiple procedures to restore a mother's body to pre-baby condition; not surprisingly, the fastest growing demographic in the trend are women over 40 who are finished having babies.

Newsweek Magazine examines the trend in an article entitled, "Mommy wants her body back". In it, a mom who underwent a tummy tuck and breast augmentation overhears her 8 year old son bragging to his friends about how "pretty his mom's new belly button was. "I think he was proud", says his mother. Is it just me or is that a little weird?

According to Dr. Salzhauer, more and more moms are bringing their children with them to consultations and appointments. In addition, most will complete their recovery at home and they are concerned that the sight of bandages, bruising, swelling, and a laid-up mom can be scary for a young child.

I agree! But couldn't mom just hire a babysitter during the appointments and make arrangements for little Johnny to go to grandma's house during the more intense phase of recovery? While I have no real objection to a woman wanting to improve her post-baby body, I do object to burdening children with grown-up women's issues like sagging skin, deflated, over-nursed breasts, and cellulite. Whatever happened to discretion?

More importantly, nothing demonstrates the psychologically treacherous ground this subject treads better than the scene in the book where the little girl asks mommy's if her new nose will look different. "Not just different", responds her perky barbie-like mom, "prettier!".

Last night my husband and I stopped by the grocery store to pick up diapers and orange juice. While we were there, Sean thought we should stockpile some grains and a few other items in the basement in light of rising food prices and recent news that Costco and Sams Club were restricting purchases of rice and other grains. "Weird stuff is happening.", he warned.

The optimist that I am, I laughed and chalked up the hoarding to paranoid senior citizens and immigrants. Remember all the Y2K paranoia that amounted to nothing? We left the store with diapers, OJ, and three other impulse items.

This morning, in the Wall Street Journal, there's an article titled: "Load up the Pantry". To my chagrin, it makes a good case for Sean's advice at the grocery store. Just as $2.00 a gallon at the pump is a "rosy memory of a bygone age", recent higher food prices are here to stay and likely to go even higher.

Why? The emergence of a Chinese and Indian middle class demanding more and better food; this demand will only increase. In addition, our ethanol policy (something our politicians need to seriously deal with!) is making corn more expensive, thus increasing the price of cereals and other corn and packaged products. Now add to that rising fuel and transportation costs.

So, the article argues, if you have extra storage space, why not load up? Plus, buying in bulk has the added benefit of saving you money anyway.

What is your family doing to deal with rising food prices?

This week, the parents of a South Carolina teenager who was planning a "Columbine-style" attack on his high school turned in their son to the police after a shipment of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home. Investigators who later reviewed the teen's journal, as well as maps and diagrams he had drawn, say that the actions of his parents thwarted a potentially deadly and tragic copycat plan.

While the 18 year old is a straight-A student, only two days before his arrest his mother and stepfather kicked him out of the house for "violent and inappropriate conduct.". Now he is facing felony charges and if convicted, the possibility of life in prison. In court, the troubled boy can be seen waving and smiling inappropriately. His parents sit behind him in hearings and not surprisingly, are visibly "heartbroken over the arrest".

This is a very serious offense and I am glad that both the parents and the authorities are handling it as such. However, I am afraid that if this young man ends up in prison for life, it may have the unintended effect of discouraging other parents from taking similar action in the future. To avoid a similar sentence, parents may, for example, try to deal with it without involving the police. These parents did the right and responsible thing and I hope that will also be taken into consideration when determining the fate of their son.

Most of us will never have to deal with an incident of this proportion, however you may relate to a situation that happened in my own family.

When one of my brothers was in junior high school, he and some friends busted into a candy machine and stole all the candy inside. My mother. suspecting that something was "not right", managed to get a confession out my brother. Since this was his second incident, she wanted him to learn his lesson once and for all, so she forced him to go with her to the police station where he had to turn himself in. Needless to say, it was a formative experience.
Today, he is a successful and upstanding father and attorney who believes that mom did the right thing.

Thee are wildly different circumstances, but they both bring up the question: Would you turn your kid into the police?

This weekend, I rented the Oscar-nominated film, Juno. It's easy to see why this little film generated such buzz. It's funny, smart, and heartwarming. It also brings up the perpetually relevant topic of teens, sex, unplanned pregnancy and the ever-contentious issue of "choice". As a mom, these are issues of great interest to me. As someone who has personally dealt with an unplanned pregnancy prior to marriage, it is also a subject dear to my heart.

After watching Juno, I came across an opinion piece in the Boston Globe about the film by Ellen Goodman, a well-known feminist writer. Goodman is critical of Juno and a "wave of movies about unexpectedly pregnant women - 'Knocked Up', 'Waitress', and 'Bella' - all deciding to have their babies and all wrapped up in nice, neat bows". She expresses deep concern for the row of tweens sitting in front of her in the movie theater while she watches Juno. What misleading messages, she asks, are "being absorbed through their PG-13 pores"?

Goodman is certainly not alone in her thinking. Many adults, pundits and parents alike, expressed outrage at the recent announcement of 16 year-old television star, Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy. In a society that offers abstinence as an "option" for teens and follows up with information about "safe sex", the parental fury over Jamie Lynn is presumably about her carelessness and ultimately, her decision to keep her baby - not her sexually active status. And understandably, no one wants to see a teenage girl go through the stigma of pregnancy, the pain of giving up a child, or the hardships of raising a child when one is seemingly ill prepared.

When I first learned that I was pregnant, I was 27 and in the middle of a series of on-air live auditions for a seat on ABC's "The View". I knew that the producers were seeking a single 20-something and that my untimely pregnancy would likely cost me the job, no matter how well I performed. Moreover, the auditions (11 in total) were going to continue for several months due to the immense ratings boost they were providing the network; it would be nearly impossible to disguise my condition through the process. I made the difficult decision to publicly announce my pregnancy (on the show). Sean and I got married in a small ceremony a month and a half later in Arizona.

I was in a committed relationship, but I was not engaged when I learned of my pregnancy. Sean was still in law school and I was on the verge of launching a television-hosting career on the hottest daytime talk show. Professionally speaking, the timing couldn't have been worse. Plus, I was deeply aware of the embarrassment and disappointment this would cause my devout Catholic parents.

Of course, there are difficulties that one must endure in making any tough choice. Witness Juno waddling through the school hallway, missing out on prom, and enduring the stares of peers, the judgmental look of a school secretary and the insensitive comment of an ultra sound technician during one of her prenatal visits. Her wit, good humor, and steely exterior did little to dissipate the pain I felt for her during those scenes - a testament to the fine acting skills of this film's rising star.

I was not a teen, but I could certainly relate to the feelings of despair that drove Juno into the "Women Now" clinic. However, what Juno (and the women in the other movies) learn, is that life's problems always look their worst when they first present themselves. In those moments we are very susceptible to underestimating our own strength and the willingness and ability of others to help us through. But it is precisely when we are gripped by fear and self-doubt that courage counts most. The films and heroines that Ellen Goodman dismisses as "fantasy" all celebrate this little life secret, crumpled bow and all.

As I have come to learn for myself, an unplanned pregnancy and child often results in unplanned and unexpected joy - and not just for the mother. What Goodman and others, fail to grasp is that in order for that to happen, one must have faith, hope, and the unsullied optimism of a teenage girl to believe in such things.

Is traveling late in pregnancy too risky?

Last week I traveled with my husband to Washington D.C. to witness the welcoming ceremony for Pope Benedict on the White House south lawn.

Despite being less than a month away from my due date, there was no question in my mind that I was going and I immediately set about making airline and childcare arrangements.

It didn't take long, however, before friends and family started weighing in and I started to feel a little less confident in my initial decision. I could, they warned, go into labor on the plane or at the White House (not too shabby, I thought!). Delivering in another city, they insisted, would entail countless inconveniences and needless worries for our kids and loved ones back home.

While I was reassured by the fact that I delivered four times and never once before my due date, the idea of delivering without any drugs brought back some bad memories from my 2nd delivery - the time I swore that I would never deliver naturally ever again!

On the other hand, as a Catholic, this was more like a pilgrimage with great spiritual and religious significance for me. Surely God would take care of me. Right?

Besides, this was an opportunity for my husband and I to get away alone before the baby comes. As every nursing mom who hates to "pump and store" knows, our newborn will basically be attached to my body for the next year. This would be our last chance to get away alone.

The day before I left, I had an appointment with my doctor to ensure that I had not dilated. I took with me on the journey a copy of my records and a note from my doctor permitting me to travel. Sean made sure to carry luggage and to keep me hydrated and as comfortable as he could during the journey.

On the first night, we went out to dinner. During dinner I heard a familiar, yet grating laugh. As it turned out, Fran Drescher was dining nearby and almost immediately (a coincidence I'm sure), I began to experience severe abdominal pain. "Oh no." I thought, "I'm going to go into labor without seeing the Pope!"

Luckily, it was a false alarm, By the time I got to the hotel, the pain subsided. The next day, I went to the White House and thanks to my "she looks like she's going to pop any second" appearance, was granted front row seating in the handicap section. What a blessing!

In the end, it was a fantastic get-away for me and Sean and I have no regrets about taking the trip (although it took me a full day to recover from the exhaustion when I got home).

If you have had to make a travel decision in your third trimester (whether you went for it or not), share it here with other moms and moms-to-be.