Adventure Moms is a group of mothers. Sure, there are tons of mommy groups out there, organizing playdates, taking stroller walks around the local mall, discussing the latest parenting books. This one, however, is different. The group plans less traditional mommy outings such as rock climbing, sea kayaking, and fencing.

Naturally, they leave the kids at home for these activities. "Having kids is an adventure in itself," said thirty-nine-year-old Jenn Keohane, a mother of two. "It's so all-consuming, you lose a part of yourself, the person you used to be before you had them. By the time my kids got out of the baby phase, I realized something was missing." The group, she added, "enabled me to get back a little of what I used to have. Even though it's only half a day once a month."

Mind you, everything on their list is either something I've enjoyed doing in the past or would love to do. Alas, since having kids, such opportunities are few and far between. If you're in the same boat, perhaps you should consider starting a similar group in your area. And if anyone wants to start an Adventure Dads group, by all means, let me know.

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!

Sadly, there appears to be a dearth of movies that feature female leads at all, let alone mothers, except, perhaps, on the Lifetime channel. As XKCD points out, the ratio of male-to-female lead roles is definitely out of whack. Can you think of a big-budget film with a female lead (where the female wasn't just a love interest)? Sure, there's Tomb Raider and The Devil Wears Prada, but for every movie like that, there are literally dozens -- if not hundreds -- of movies with male leads.

Now consider the plight of the mother in Hollywood. Or, rather, lack thereof. Moms seem to be just an afterthought. Someone to give context to the male lead's homelife. Frankly, that kind of sucks. Still, I was able to come up with some maternal movies for Mother's day. Take a look at my list and then see if you can add any more in the comments.

Women going through childbirth might as well check their modesty at the door. Depending on how you handle your own labor experience, any number of medical professionals, friends, and family members may be privy to parts of your body that you yourself need a mirror and an awkward angle to see.

Then, afterward, the cameras come out. The baby is cute and the husband is dressed and well-rested, but mom? Well, if your pictures look like mine, you look sweaty, pale, and exhausted.

According to the New York Post, some moms -- influenced by today's celebrity mom lifestyle -- are taking steps to look their best in their post-labor pictures. Some are even planning appointments around their due date, making sure that they have fresh manicures, pedicures, hairstyles, and even bikini waxes.

Alan and Marie Walsh have been married for 23 years. They have three children together and have lived in San Diego for the last ten years. Alan Walsh described his wife as an honorable woman who cared deeply about her family. Federal marshals, however, described her as an escaped convict and a wanted woman.

It turns out that more than thirty years ago, Walsh -- whose real name is Susan LeFevre -- escaped from the Detroit House of Corrections after serving only a year of her ten to twenty year sentence for drug-related charges. "We're still just getting over this but it's been a tremendous shock to us," said her husband.

LeFevre told detectives that her family did not know of her past. "Our family is threatened to be destroyed by something that happened to her as a 19-year-old teenager 34 years ago in Michigan," said Alan Walsh. I can't condone what LeFevre did or her escape, but I have to feel for her family.

A few years ago, my best friend decided to build her family through adoption. Recently, she became Mom to an amazing young boy. She's taught me so much over the last few years, both about the process but also about how how to be sensitive to adoptive parents and children.

So I was shocked when I read that a company called Teleflora, which is currently sponsoring an America's Favorite Mom contest for Mother's Day (Donnie and Marie Osmand will crown the winner on NBC's Primetime tomorrow night), categorized adoptive moms in their contest as "non-moms." An adoption blogger complained, and the company quickly realized their error. They've now change the category to "adopting moms" and issued an apology on their web page.

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.

Don't have your mother's day gift quite yet? Naughty, naughty child! Well, if you're like me and forever trying to pick out the perfect gift yet always feel like you're coming up short, why not try a different approach?

MSN's astrology website offers gift suggestions for mom based on her astrological--or zodiac--sign. If you can remember your mother's birthday, you're in luck. Suggestions run from the usual, such as brunch for the Taurus mom or hanging out with the family for the Cancer mom, to the very, er, unusual--such as skydiving for an Aries mom!

I don't know enough about the different personality traits to say whether or not the suggestions are accurate. It did seem to me, though, that the traits discussed for each sign were the kinds of things we'd like to see in any mom, regardless of her birthday. So, for ideas when you're stumped, for perhaps something different or something traditional you hadn't considered, or just to have fun, why not see what works for a mom based on her astrological sign? Still stuck? Well, maybe you should consult your magic eight ball. That always works for me!

Nearly everyone who has a mother with a working computer has received some unintentionally funny emails from her at one point or another. Whether it's an update on the health prognosis of someone don't know and have never met (your cousin's ex-husband's barber's neighbor who was recently diagnosed with cancer of the toe, for example) or the latest warnings on the dangers of toilet spiders, technology and moms can be a pretty funny mix.

Instead of just forwarding these e-mails to girlfriends to enjoy and/or commiserate over, Jessica Grose and Doree Shafrir launched Postcards from Yo Momma, a blog with the tagline: A repository of modern day maternal correspondence. The idea was so great and the letter so brilliant, they've even been offered a book contract. Love, Mom will be released in April 2009.

"We started it on a lark," says Grose. "We never thought people would get so excited." Some of my favorite entries:

When my life was very clear and perfectly manageable and I had all the answers to everything, which is to say, back before I became a mother, I'd sometimes see other parents with their children and think, Absolutely not. I will never do that when I have children of my own.

My list of "nevers" was firm and my resolve was strong. There was equipment I was never going to buy: anything loud or squeaky; anything that took up more space in a room than a couch; anything that was made of plastic, especially products with colors so bright they made your teeth hurt.

I was never going to be one of those parents who interrupted the person they were speaking with, mid-sentence, to issue directives to their kids, stop picking your nose this instant, because it was just so rude. My children would never be fussy eaters, or unappreciative of gifts. They wouldn't say naughty things, or be mean to each other, or me.

Just in time for Mother's Day, a little something different. MSN has compiled a slide show of the meanest moms to come out of Hollywood. They're fictitious kind of silver screen, of course. Take a look to see if you're familiar with any and all from this compilation.

Naturally, included in the mix is Faye Dunaway's priceless version of Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. I remember seeing that film as a child and being absolutely terrified. Even now I can't think about Joan Crawford without flinching (especially after "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane!).

Also included is Norman Bates' mother from the movie Psycho, who haunts and taunts him from beyond the grave. Note to self: Do not be this kind of mother; son will turn out to be a murderer. Oh, and how could we forget Mrs. Robinson? Anne Bancroft, God rest her soul, who never looked better, played cold and calculating to a "T. If you're feeling bad about your own mothering skills, take a look at this list. I can assure you you'll feel a lot better knowing that no matter what you did--put the kid to bed to early, forgot to trim his nails (again), wouldn't let him have ice cream, etc.--you will never, ever be as bad a mom as these mamas. Have fun!

Pic of Joan and the Evil Queen from Snow White (not mentioned but worthy of inclusion!) by Evil Preacher.

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.

A friend and I were talking about the ridiculous sayings we heard growing up. We marveled that because our mothers (and sometimes fathers) said it, we never questioned the science or logic behind gems like:

• If you keep making that face, it might freeze that way!
• Clean your plate, there are children in (China, India, Africa, Ohio, etc.) who are starving.
• If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?
• Do I look like I'm made of money?
• Don't sit too close to the TV, you'll go blind!
• Don't read in the dark, you'll go blind!
• Don't wear someone else's glasses, you'll go blind!
• Do you think money just grows on trees?
• You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders!
• Don't touch that/put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been!

You don't hear people using Mom-isms much anymore. Perhaps in honor of Mother's Day, we should dust them off and remind the next generation that cleaning behind the ears is what prevents potatoes from growing because losing mom-isms, no matter how wacky or bizarre, just seems a shame.

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.

My nephew was born last December, a delicious addition to my brother's family. Whenever I see him, which is not often enough, I nuzzle the folds in his neck, breathing deep his new-baby smell. I work hard to make him smile and laugh -- he's four months old after all, just learning to chortle -- and I fawn over his baby fingers and toes.

I do this because I love him, because he grows fast between visits. But I also do it to test myself, to see how I feel when I have to give him back to his parents. If the desire to have another baby is going to rear its head, it's going to happen while I'm holding that sweet little man.

So far, though I love him with abandon, my uterus is quiet.

When people used to ask me if we were going to have more children, the emphatic "no" that came from my mouth always surprised me. It's like my brain knew something my heart didn't, because my heart just wasn't ready to close that particular door for good. But lately, especially with the arrival of a new round of babies among family and friends, I realize that while I was struggling with how to close that particular door, somehow it had shut on its own.