Sometime I feel a little like Tipper Gore. Remember when the former vice president's wife was such a goody-two-shoes and she railed against the music industry's offensive lyrics?

I get it now. Do I really have to listen to the song "Birthday Sex" on the radio on my son's 13th birthday? Talk about awkward!

At least I had the option to change channels or turn the music off, or just talk really loudly to him about something else. But a family on a flight from Denver to Baltimore wasn't so lucky. And they got into serious trouble over it. 

There is no debate (for me) that birth is a more medicalized process than it needs to be with far too many Cesareans and interventions intruding on a natural process. 

Many of my friends have had home births in order to avoid the medical establishment. They have had lovely midwives who provided wonderful, mindful care. 

And yet... I am really of two minds about the exaltation of the home birth and super-natural birth movement. I realize this comes in opposition to my pro-extended breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping parenting reputation but a home birth would have most likely killed my son and I, so I can never shake that feeling of fear. 

There was tremendous excitement about the release of the movie Brave. It is Pixar's first movie with a female lead (two female leads, in fact). It was hoped that Merida of Brave would prove to be Disney/Pixar's anti-princess; a girl who is brave and defines herself by actions OTHER than getting the Prince.

And she is. Kind of. 

Pregnancy is a confusing time. There are so many things to think about: what's up with the constant heartburn? Why do I hurt here? Why did I eat that whole crate of peaches? What is going on in there??

These days there are lots of websites and Dr. Search Engine to answer whatever niggling question is on your mind. My first pregnancy was almost 13 years ago and the Internet was a fledgling baby, not the resource it is today. So I had to make do with old-fashioned books for answers.

There was one book that was on everyone's shelf: What to Expect When You're Expecting. And since it has a constant place on the New York Times Bestseller List, I guess everyone still buys it.

I hated it.

(If you are expecting and would like to attend a GIANT baby shower hosted by Babies "R" Us and a preview of the new movie, read to the end of the post to enter to win!)

Do you remember when "mom" was just what you called the woman who gave birth to you? (Mum, in my case.)

Now the word "mom" is a whole marketing strategy. The momification of every sector from business to fashion and entertainment to blogging is ongoing. There doesn't seem to be an area that can't be mommified. And I say this as a writer who is proud to be called a Mom Blogger (said with only slight sarcastic intonation).

You know that mommydom is trendy when even the celebrities are pulling out their mom card whenever they can. From their baby bump to getting their body back, a celebrity mom gets extra media attention, more tabloid shots and possibly extra sympathy from the cultural group known as "moms".

When I first heard that Disney was rebooting The Muppets, I didn't really give it a second thought. They were funny when I was kid, but the decades-old movies are a bit painful to watch these days and their goody-two-shoe optimism has had its day.

But then the trailers and the spoofs came out and it felt like the Muppets were in on the joke. Could this be a reboot of characters from my childhood without all the cynicism and sexed-up characters that plague all the other comebacks from my youth?

I don't know how you do it. I get told that often by moms of only children or people with no kids. I don't know how you do it is what I often tell moms of four kids or more or who work full-time and still manage to coach the soccer team and write thank-you notes.

I don't know how any of us do it.

Did you line up to see Harry Potter this weekend? Did you cower at Voldemort? Cry at the end? Revel in all things Potter?

Harry is like a member of our family. We even discussed naming our puppy Sirius or Patronus after a character and a protection spell. (We settled on Joey for no reason other than that it is what we came with.)

My husband read each book to my now 11-year-old. The two of them lined up at midnight for the last book to be released. They have been part of a cultural moment that I don’t know will ever happen again. It was a journey they took together and I love J.K. Rowling for that gift. In fact, that reason alone has made me a Harry Potter fan for life.

Have you seen Rango yet?

We haven't, so I shouldn't really comment on it... but here I go.

There was an article in the Globe and Mail that detailed a controversy over the smoking in the animated kids' flick. Seems that some supporting and ugly characters smoke in the movie and that has raised the ire of some parents and the pediatrics associations in North America.

It is shameful, and it is our little secret. My husband likes to watch the Bachelor Pad and Dating in the Dark.

It is helpful to be reminded how horrible it is out there, he tells me.

And the out there is everywhere. It's fun to watch the hook-ups, the break-ups and the questionable fun of single life. Added to that is are the joys of watching public divorces.