The stereotype of the old shrivelled aunt who hates kids needs a reboot don't you think?

Savvy Auntie is a community started by Melanie Notkin who has six nieces and nephews, but no children of her own. She has embraced aunthood saying that aunts can fill a unique roll in a child's life. Having Melanie as an aunt looks a little like having Carrie Bradshaw in your extended family. But being an aunt is more than just buying presents insists Notkin - it is about helping out over-extended parents with childcare and being a good role model to kids.

The rash of celebrities giving birth these days, including Tori Spelling, Evangeline Lilly and Kate Hudson means that in about six weeks we are going to be subjected to many headlines screaming: "How Tori Got Her Body Back!" and "You Can Lose Baby Weight Like the Stars!" and "So and so Debuts New Body".

She didn't and you can't.

Boys have penises, girls have vaginas. My daughter went through a period of telling this to everybody. I wasn't embarrassed when she told this to the checkout girl (okay, maybe a little). I was actually a little proud.

My daughter knows her body parts. And when she asks embarrassing questions I answer them as calmly as I can muster.

You know those moments when your kid chokes and you get scared? Or when a button goes missing and you think it is up your kid's nose?

I always have a moment when I wonder if this is it. If this is the moment when 911 will get called, the ambulance will come and I will end up on the news.

But no, it's not. Phew. In fact, it was nothing. Just a normal scare in the parenting world.

I was walking down our back alley when my beloved Blackberry phone slipped from my hands, I heard a smack as it hit the ground and then SPLASH!

Where did that splash come from wondered as I looked around for my phone. Oh &*%$#! The sewer grate was a foot away from me and my phone was nowhere to be seen.

My daughter looked down and yelled,"Look mommy! Your phone is floating!" What are the odds that my phone would bounce down the sewer grate? Not high enough, evidently.

Ever intrepid in the face of an emergency I yelled for my husband who took one look said. "Well there goes a few hundred dollars," and went to finish mowing the lawn.

To make a long story short a couple of neighbours came running with a pair of BBQ tongs and some courage (stupidity?) and rescued my phone from the murky depths. I immediately disassembled the phone and put it on rice and watched my hands many, many times. (At this point my husband usually jumps in to clarify that it was a storm drain, not a sewer, but he doesn't really appreciate dramatic storytelling.)

Three days later I tried it and...

France has made a unilateral move to ban ketchup in school cafeterias except when served with - wait for it - French fries.

Bruno Le Maire, the agriculture and food minister said the move was a way to instill a love of traditional French recipes into France's new generation:  "France must be an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children."

Babble.com is a site where moms go to read well-written blogs by a selection of mom bloggers. The posts are often funny and/or informative. It is very popular and often the start of many conversations here at embracethechaos.ca and on the schoolyard.

Babble recently stirred up the breastfeeding in public debate with a blog by Meredith Carroll entitled Breastfeeding: Just Do It Discreetly and Shut Up About It. In it, she says that all women should cover up while breastfeeding because no one wants to see "your saggy milk-filled breasts," she then says "Besides, if they were so great, Hugh Hefner would have come knocking to see your knockers already." Nice talk.

Mitchell Wilson was 11 when he took his own life. He had Muscular Dystrophy, was bullied,mugged and beaten in the months leading up to his death. His tormentor was caught but instead of pursuing criminal charges, Mitchell's father is asking for the tween to do community service with disabled kids.

He said he wants to “save the child, because he is just a child too.”

My kids have friends who have same-sex parents. When they have questions as to why Julian has two moms, we answer them. We treat it as normal, and so do they. We don't always handle the questions correctly but we try.

And when it comes to teaching sex education and tolerance in the classroom, the schools don't always do a good job either but at least they are trying. Because sometimes the school has to be a place that shows leadership and breaks down stereotypes.

We are an audience of parents all with our hands raised. The principal has asked us if we had a favourite teacher, one who made a difference in our life. And almost everyone has raised their hands.

The principal says that what makes some teachers truly great is that they see their students for who they are - their strengths as well as their weaknesses and they choose to challenge and support them on the student's terms.