I'm Totally Tax DeductibleIt's tax time, people! That means lots of scurrying around, trying to find receipts, W2s, interest statements, and all of those slips of paper you collected from Goodwill when you dropped off your donations. While the big stuff like mortgage payments and health care costs may pop into your mind immediately when you're looking for a tax write-off, don't forget the kids!

In addition to simply having them, there are some great benefits to spending money on those little tykes. Having just visited my accountant yesterday, I'm fresh off the "You mean I can write that off?" train. And there are actually differences between what you can claim if you have a toddler versus an older child. Believe it!

Here's how you can write your toddler expenses off on your tax return.*

One of the most emotionally gripping moments of the CafeMom Coffee Breaks with the Republican candidates was this candid conversation with Rick and Karen Santorum speaking as parents. The couple opened up about life with their daughter, Bella, who has Trisomy 18. No matter what your political persuasion, their story of caring for a special needs child is touching.

I was especially drawn to Karen's perspective. She told another mom of a special needs child, "The sad thing is, you frequently have to turn into a mama bear to get the care, and I could talk to you for weeks about stories -- Bella's first year was really a challenge." That sure sounded familiar. My youngest sister has cerebral palsy, and I remember the way my own mother turned into a "mama bear" to get the care she needed.

Toddlerhood, the age that defines the parenting warriors from the flakes, the battle-axes from the push-overs. If babyhood is all about mere survival, the toddler years are when you decide what kind of a parent you're going to be. Even if you don't pick a specific parenting philosophy -- say, tall half-disciplinarian half-attachment-parenting with soy whipped cream -- you're still being forced to make decisions about how you will teach your kid to be a decent human being.

For a lot of parents -- and parenting experts -- raising a decent human being looks a lot like raising an obedient person. BUT -- we also want our kids to be compassionate and independent thinkers. An article in The Guardian asks, Since when did obedience become the epitome of good parenting? I think that's an idea worth picking apart.

There's nothing like planning a wedding to make a girl just want to give up and elope already. The fights with the in-laws over the seating chart, the fights with the bridesmaids over the dresses, and then there are the fights with the moms.

I'm not talking about the mom of the groom or the mom of the bride (though those two will certainly give your stress level a run for its money), I'm talking about all the moms you invite to the wedding (hereinafter Mom Guests). The ones who, for some inexplicable reason, think that your wedding is all about them. The ones who you will piss off beyond belief if you deign to do the unthinkable: Throw a child-free wedding (CFW).

You will rue the day you decided on a CFW. 

That's right, I said rue.

Did I mention elopement?

A show of hands, please: How many of you working moms out there work on a strict 9-to-5 schedule? Yeah, me neither. Seems like fewer and fewer of us working parents keep the kind of classic full-time day-job hours our parents' generation took for granted. Instead, we're working the night shift (as well as the day shift) just to get by, going to school in the evenings to improve ourselves and create opportunities for our families, or simply taking whatever work comes our way, at whatever time it's required. So how do we make sure our kids are cared for while we're working? It turns out more and more working parents with non-traditional schedules have an option that used to be only rarely available: day care … at night.

One of the biggest fears of parents of active toddlers is the bad weather weekend or holiday break. If you can't run that kid around outdoors, he's going to start bouncing off the walls -- and fast. Which is why I'm a big fan of the indoor play space. Especially since there are two super cute ones very close to my house.

My kids love them, I can (sometimes) sit down for a minute, enjoy a cup of coffee, and if the gods are smiling down on me -- even plug in my laptop and get some work done. Even though I've had some hugely awesome experiences with the indoor play space, having spent more time than usual at them recently, I'm realizing there's a dark side to these houses of fun.

This week on America's Supernanny, childcare guru Deborah Tillman came across the most foul-mouthed little kid she's ever seen. Poor little Armani (NOT pictured here), just 4 years old and already cussin' like a pirate. "Hey listen, you #$%@-head! &*$# face!" Poor mom! Where did he pick up such language? From his daddy, Bill. 

Bill fessed up: "The only person on earth he would've gotten that from is his dad. I knew that was my mistake ... that's what got me, he was sounding like me. But I know I'm gonna stop." Good for you, Bill, taking responsibility for poor modeling. But the time to really stop swearing is way before your kid turns 4!