Feel like parenting has gotten way too mushy lately? You're not the only one. I've been reading a new parenting book called Mean Moms Rule: Why Doing the Hard Stuff Now Creates Good Kids Later by Denise Schipani. It's loaded with the kind of common-sense parenting I was raised with. In fact, I think my own mom would love this book.

Her "Mean Mom Manifesto" is a list of principles just about any parent would agree with: Be consistent. Don't follow the parenting pack. Say "no" and mean it. Yes, yes, and yes! And then we get to Mean Mom Manifesto #9: "Fail Your Child, a Little Bit, Every Day."

Fail my what when how?

A mom named Ashley Sanchez was feeding her 3-month-old baby, Ashlynn, when the unthinkable happened -- the baby turned pale and her eyes rolled back into her head because she had stopped breathing. But instead of screaming and starting to panic, Ashley leapt into action and immediately started performing CPR on her daughter, and even continued the process on the ride over to the hospital.

When they got there, baby Ashlynn did not have a pulse or heartbeat, but because Ashley was quick on her feet and started CPR right away, doctors were able to revive the baby successfully. She was then airlifted to another hospital, and was ultimately diagnosed with viral pneumonia. She miraculously survived, but only because of her mother's brave actions.

What we all worry about during pregnancy is that our baby is healthy and doing well in our womb. And if there is something wrong, you hope for a miracle. That's exactly what Marci Barney hoped for when she learned the baby in her belly had Spina Bifida.

Spina Bifida is when the fetus' spinal cord doesn't close all the way during development. It can cause paralysis and learning disabilities, and in severe cases lead to hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain, which can be fatal.

But there is a radical open-fetal surgery that can be performed while baby is still in the womb -- it used to be only done right after birth. Marcy and her husband Tracy decided on this procedure while the baby in her belly was 24 weeks gestation with hopes to repair the spine. Most pregnant women who undergo open-fetal surgery go into labor 10 weeks later, but Marci didn't make it that far.

Carrie Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, are a really cute couple. They recently appeared on Oprah's new show, and Oprah asked Carrie who she was really. Carrie said she was a happy person, a daughter, a wife, and a "mom to my dogs." Awwww. Carrie has two dogs, Ace and Penny. When the conversation turned, as you knew it would, to whether they would have a family, Mike indicated that he knew Carrie had great nurturing qualities, and that if she was half the mom to their kids that she was to their dogs, the kids would be in "great shape."

I'm certainly a big believer in the idea that people who are good to animals are good people. And I'm certainly a huge believer in the idea that Carrie Underwood would be a great mother, if she chooses to become a mother. But, call me a party pooper, but just because someone is great with their dogs doesn't necessarily mean they'll be great with kids.

First you have the guilt about how you birthed your baby. Next up is whether or not you breastfeed. And then comes if you have to go back to work and leave your baby with some kind of child care provider. Depending on where you live, these people are called nannies, babysitters, day care workers, or if you are really lucky, Grandma. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. It's inevitable for most of us. We all feel it but how we feel it, meaning how much and how much we let it really get to us, is key. Don't. Just don't let it get to you.

Easy to say, I know. I went back to work when my twins were 12 weeks old because for my family, staying home wasn't an option. We needed my health insurance and my income in addition to my husband's in order to keep our lives afloat. In NYC, many families opt for a nanny, who comes to your home and takes care of the little ones while you are working. Having a nanny was weird to me, at first.

When it comes to parenthood, there are some situations that throw you for a bit of a loop, no matter how much you've rehearsed (or planned to rehearse) for them. Sometimes even though you have envisioned yourself calmly explaining the birds and the bees to your son a million times, when he actually asks, there may be nothing but buzzing in your ears.

In this week's episode of The Kristen Chase Show, Kristen delves into this and some other sticky topics. She talks to child family therapist Jenna Rankin about how to handle some of the most uncomfortable situations we moms find ourselves in, like when your child walks in on you having sex or walks into the bathroom while you're putting in a tampon.

I have to admit, I'm a little bit jealous of the anonymous mom featured in this episode of CafeMom Studios' Coffee Shop Confessions: "I Only Go to the Gym for Free Childcare!"

Because the handful of times I tried to leave my clingy, babysitter-selective kids in the colorful, toy-filled daycare room at my gym, I'd log about 5 minutes on the treadmill before an apologetic caregiver would track me down: "Um, I'm sorry, but your son/daughter won't stop screaming ... and the other children are getting scared." 

And I was actually going to the gym to exercise! Unlike the aforementioned anonymous mom, who secretly drops her kids off at the gym daycare and goes to the locker room where she reads magazines and surfs the net. And doesn't work out at all!

Clearly the woman feels a little guilty about her scheme, but do the Coffee Shop moms approve?

Delia Lloyd may be a mom, but she knows she's still navigating adulthood. Thank goodness she has her kids to help her, and she writes about it at the Real Delia, so we can grow up with them.

In honor of Mother's Day, Delia shares what it's like to talk about tough topics like evil and hate with your kids:

My daughter came home from school yesterday and told me that her best friend had a “hate list.”