When I found out that there was a little boy inside my belly, the first thing I thought was: I'm terrified. This was soon followed by: I am so excited! I will teach him how to cook and do ballet! He will appreciate art and literature! Lastly I thought this: We won't do any guns or violence in MY house.

Oh how I laugh at myself now.

The second my little boy started walking, he started turning things into guns. And swords. And knives. And weapons of any kinds. We go to an amazing preschool where the curriculum is weapon-free, but somehow, somewhere he is picking it up and I, as his mom, am powerless to stop it. So I don't try.

What is with the so-called Christian pastors in North Carolina lately? A few weeks ago we had the creep who told dads to punch their toddler sons for acting "gay," and now we have the Rev. Charles Worley whose idea of delivering a stirring Mother's Day sermon is to suggest we round up all the gays and lesbians and place them in concentration camps. 

Worley was videotaped standing at the pulpit of the Providence Road Baptist Church on May 13 calling for an electrified fence to be built to keep the nation's LGBT community. There Worley said they can "die off."

Disturbing. And a somewhat ironic choice of words for a guy who also called President Barack Obama a baby killer.

I love my 6-year-old's elementary school. The teachers are great, the parents are friendly, the parking is plentiful, and I almost always enjoy going there.

My 4-year-old's preschool, on the other hand? Well, the teachers are great, but the rest of it ... not so much. As much as I look forward to the brief kid-free breaks I get on preschool mornings, I've come to dread the dropoffs and pickups. Boy, especially the pickups.

Let me share my list of top preschool pickup pet peeves, and you can tell me—is it just me?

Flying the "friendly" skies just got a whole lot less friendly this past week when United announced that they are going to stop allowing parents with small children to board early. Now parents will have to board with their section, even as they clutch car seats, strollers, diaper bags, and the dozen other large-scale items that make traveling with babies such a nightmare.

I am sure many will say suck it up, you don't have to fly, and sure, that may be true. But as a mom, I am disgusted by this. Flying is hard enough for ANYONE, let alone parents with our hands full of things, plus kids. We need the overhead compartments and the extra time to get settled, and this will make it practically impossible for one parent to even consider flying alone with a child.

It's not just that, though. We are also a society. And it says enormous amounts about our society if we treat children badly.

It's been a while since we have heard from Casey Anthony, the infamous mother who was accused and acquitted of killing her beautiful toddler daughter Caylee. She has mostly been laying low and in hiding, but all that is about to change. An investigative team has found her location.

There may just be some kind of justice for Casey yet. Anthony has been ordered out of hiding to face some questions under oath in a courtroom regarding the defamation action filed by a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez.

The real Gonzalez had nothing to do with the case. It was a name Anthony used when she said a "babysitter" had taken Caylee. That babysitter was named Zenaida Gonzalez and though it was likely a complete fabrication, the real Gonzalez paid a hefty price as her "name" was dragged into such a tragic and emotional case.

So, by now you've probably heard that filthy rich Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got married over the weekend to longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan, in what could be described as the Royal Wedding of Silicon Valley. But completely unlike the 2011 nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, there was zero lead-up and anticipation for the general public. In fact, it sounds like even their closest family and friends, who were invited to the wedding, were caught off-guard, as they were told they would be attending a soiree for Priscilla's med school graduation. Wonder if Zuck's folks even knew the real scoop ahead of time?!

And if not ... oh man do I envy these blissful newlyweds! That's right. I'm not lamenting the fact that I didn't just make bank like Zuck did on the Facebook IPO. Oh no. I am more envious of his spontaneous "I do"s!

You gotta love Jessica Alba for being the picture of confidence and style as far as being a mom goes. She hasn't let having kids kill her fashion sense, she's shed every square inch of baby weight she gained (and she worked hard for it), and she isn't afraid to try new trends that most moms would be a bit leery of.

In a new interview with Marie Claire, Jessica's comfort in her own skin really shone through, as she insisted she dresses for herself -- not for men or anyone else. I have to commend her for putting such an inspiring and empowering message out there for her fans, and I think it's safe to say there are plenty of women who dress for their own comfort and satisfaction. But in reality, the majority of women aren't trying to please themselves or the man in their life -- we're dressing to impress other women.

The strapless wedding gown is one of those things that many modern brides take for granted. A design that is cheaper than one with extra fabric, the strapless wedding gown has become nearly ubiquitous at the altar and yet they are not all that flattering on the majority of brides.

Oh yeah, I said that. Relax, I went strapless, too. And I was so happy during my wedding, I could have had a burlap sack on and I would have looked radiant just like all brides. This is because I FELT radiant. So, no, your strapless dress didn't ruin your wedding.

But ladies, really. We can do better. Writer Katherine Goldstein addresses this issue in Slate and it inspired me to find 5 gowns that are more flattering than a strapless one. Here they are: