I've long thought that Nicole Kidman's ice queen image has held her back as an actress and as a public figure.

She has always been perfectly coiffed and made up when out and about, and her personality has seemed to reflect that carefully manicured appearance.

And then she had kids with Keith Urban.

Now, Nicole seems to be loosening up -- and I for one am loving it!

For example, check out her messy mom hair after a flight to Sydney.

Can you relate to this 'do? I sure can!

It's fair to say that Republicans and Democrats seem to have very different ideas on the preferred roles of women in society.

From the number of times the phrase "family values"  has been used by the GOP presidential candidates, I get the distinct impression that if they had their way, every American woman would grow up, get married to a man, have 2.5 kids, and attend church every Sunday.

Democrats, on the other hand, seem to embrace a broader view of women's preferred roles in American society. They champion the idea that abortion should reman legal and contraception should be both affordable and readily available.

These conflicting party views of women mean that the next president very well could affect women's rights as a whole in the coming years. That's why this week, we're asking our political bloggers the following questions:

What's your take on how the candidates view women's rights?

And how do you think moms' lives might change depending on who's in office?

Not so long ago, a post was written on this blog that caused a bit of a stir. (Heh.)

"Couples Who Dress Alike Are Fashion Killers," the headline trumpeted. A heated debate over the truth of that statement ensued in the comments, and BOOM.

I had a new style dare.

Yes, readers, I took that dare and dressed like my husband for a day.

Want to see what people thought of our matchy-matchy look?

Click through to see the hilarious video!