Sarah Palin got me today. This week she published the sweetest tribute to her son, Trig. As most of us know, Trig has Down Syndrome. He's a strapping 4-year-old now, and Sarah just couldn't be prouder.

Sarah reveals the secret every parent of a special-needs child knows: That the true joy of parenting doesn't come from watching your child "achieve" their milestones. Instead, it comes from countless daily acts of nurturing, of watching your child become their best versions of themselves, and watching your child bring out the best in others.

A lot of moms are looking at Sheryl Sandberg right now -- she's the COO of Facebook who stands to make a boatload of dough after Facebook completes its IPO. Even without that IPO, her career is one loud feminist roar: Executive positions at two tech giants, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Treasury. How did she do it, and what does this say about the way we raise our kids?

A writer for Forbes picked up on this quote from a talk Sheryl gave: "We need our boys to be as ambitious to contribute in the home and we need our girls to be as ambitious to achieve in the workforce." In other words, equality at home supports equality in the workforce. So what about teaching your son to contribute in the home? What does that look like?

My daughter has this adorable thing she does where she stops what she is doing, gives me a huge hug, and says 'I love you' with her sweet 2-year-old voice. I melt like ice cream, and she smiles when I tell her I love her too, eating it all up like the little ham and cheese she is. I could do this hugging all day, I think. But could there be a downside to too much of that? Will that make my kids grow up to be arrogant? These are things I worry about, along with the big things, the small things. But taking away from my worry is this new study that says our love for our kids, and the affection we show them, helps build up the part of the brain that deals with stress, learning, and memory.

Excuse me while I go hug on my kids for a moment.

We all want smart kids who aren't stressed out, right? So here's what we have to do ...

With all the information out there about the importance of booster seats and their power to save the lives of children, some parents shockingly still don't use them. Especially parents who carpool it seems.

A new study from the University of Michigan found that  while most use them when they're driving their own kids, 30 percent of parents don't require their kids ages 4-8 to be in a booster seat when they ride with someone else. Not only that, they found that 45 percent of parents don't make their own kids get in booster seats when they have other children in their own car without booster seats. 

Are you kidding me? Who are these people?

Vaccines are an issue that incite plenty of debate and make me nervous as hell. I want to believe all the reassurances and studies that they're safe, but all of the contrary studies and information have led me to struggle and stress over every one my children have received. New information about microwave popcorn's power over vaccines makes me even more nervous.

What's microwave popcorn got to do with the whole debate? Well, a lot apparently, and it's terrifying.

Sharie Manon, star of Glam Fairy, recently had a really bad mommy moment. TMZ caught up with her on the street and started asking her about celebrities whose hair she'd like to do. She got out Justin Bieber ... then the whining started.

Her toddler daughter, Emerson, was with her, and she clearly wasn't up for the interview. The reporter kept going despite her protests, but things don't end pretty. It was tantrum city. Watch for yourself:

You're cut off, little dude!The day comes for every nursing mom: The day her baby stops breastfeeding. When I first started nursing my son, I made one of those fateful pledges that's up there with promising your first-born child to Rumpelstiltskin. I pledged to keep nursing until my son self-weaned. Baby-led weaning is an extension of on-demand nursing -- and it's an extension all right. That magical day could come at any time -- at 9 months or at ... oh Lord, what if it never comes at all?!?

This was the question I faced as we reached my son's 3rd birthday. He showed no signs WHATSOEVER of losing interest in "nursie." If anything, he was as enthusiastic as ever.  

Once toddlers get the hang of talking, they certainly like to chat up a storm and these two little guys are no different. But because one of them is deaf and the other is a little hard of hearing, they communicate with each other -- and their parents -- through sign language (ASL).

Their parents (dad is deaf too) say the boys had no language skills when they adopted the boys just six months ago -- and now look at them go.

You can't shut these two up!