Just one of the things I wish the US would learn from Canada. : P (I'm also a fan of national health care.) I also like that Sweden's parental leave policy incentivizes the "minority" parent by setting aside 2 months specifically for him or her. So that both parents are assumed to be involved from the beginning.

I know!! My wish list on this topic is a mile long. But only because the US is so far behind every other developed nation in supporting working parents.

That would be even better! For a country that places such high esteem on "family values", we certainly don't do very much to actually enable people to spend time with their families. : P

Ugh. We're moving to the Bay Area this summer and I am NOT looking forward to the traffic. I've experienced the same "micro-sleep" on my commute to work now, but at least I'm just on a regular road, not a highway. : P

It's not just better maternity leave we need ... It's also good paternity leave policies. So that it's not just mommies who are assumed to need leave to take care of their children.

I believe the average annual salary for hiring a full time (not live-in) nanny is something upwards of $40-50K. That's higher than the US median household income, I believe. The average annual cost of full-time daycare is $11K. All that's just to pay someone to raise your children for you part of the time. It…

I don't carry a purse anymore. Just a wallet, in which I keep:

Oh, good! That sounds like a nice positive development. Thank you for providing clarification!

The "eunuch" took me back abit until I looked it up on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)

Yes! The facilitator at my mom group was trying to tell me that infants don't sweat, which was an obvious untruth given the way kidlet and I would be totally soaked after a walk around the block. : P It was great for the winter, though ... I hardly ever needed a coat. (Though I did at least put the kidlet in…

Totally agree with all previous responses that you really don't need all that much baby stuff. Having a stroller can be helpful when it's a) hot out (babies are tiny radiators - baby wearing when it's 90 degrees out can get a little sweaty) or b) you're going somewhere where baby is going to want to get in and out a…

i just love that the GOP's response to getting in trouble for airing their crazy ideas is NOT to stop having crazy ideas, but rather to just keep hiding the crazy until they can manage to win an election.

I actually agree. Seeing the tears in his eyes as she was speaking made me think he might actually be a decent human being somewhere down under all the layers of horrible behavior.

I actually thought he had tears in his eyes - real tears. The man may make all sorts of horrible life choices, but I genuinely think he was supporting her in this. Plus, he's sitting with her at her table, they've been friends for a while - do you really think he didn't know?

I can't erase the fact that I commented, but at least I can erase my comment.

Sorry, I meant "sympathize", not "empathize" in my previous post. Having never been on the receiving end of catcalls, I cannot understand your experience because I haven't shared it. But I can acknowledge that it must be unpleasant.

I am going to read your post as a sincere attempt to educate me on the reality of being catcalled. In which case, I appreciate your intent, but personally I did not find your response helpful. I've been reading Jezebel for years; I KNOW that most catcallers aren't saying things like, "You look lovely today, miss." …

I have to admit: somewhere deep down inside I kinda wish I would get catcalled every now and then. Even though i know better. Even though I know it wouldn't feel all that flattering if it really did happen. Even though I know I shouldn't judge my own self worth on what other people think of me.

I've been working in Corporate America for almost 10 years and I've never worn any makeup. Not even tinted moisturizer or lip gloss. But I don't recall anyone every calling me out on it or commenting on it in any way. Maybe my coworkers have been dropping subtle hints this whole time and I'm just really oblivious? …

We went all minimalist for Hannukah and just got the kidlet a toy plane, a wood letter puzzle, and a set of small animal puppets. Then we took her to her aunt's house where she played with their massive FisherPrice Playmobil Main Street set and Mining Set with all the toy bulldozers and people and whatnot and had a…