Here's a story that's sure to give you indigestion ... a restaurant in Pennsylvania has banned all kids under 6 because they're too noisy. Yep, McDain's Restaurant and Golf Center says it doesn't want to be bothered with the rug rats, so they're not welcome.

The restaurant's owner, John Vuick, says beginning July 16, kids will be kept from entering his establishment, no matter if they've proven themselves to be angels in the past or not since "their volume can't be controlled." Neither can mine, when it comes to cranky, rude people who won't even give children a chance.

We all saw the photos. Princess Catherine and Prince William kissing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace ... and the little pouting flower girl/bridesmaid/whatever they were calling her in the lower left corner. Grace Van Cutsem, Prince William's goddaughter, none too pleased to be there, peeved, stealing a bit of the spotlight, acting like a normal 3-year-old.

Anyone else look at that picture and wonder, "Is her mom freaking out right now?" 

Make fun if you will, but I adore holiday letters.

I open every card with anticipation and feel a little sense of disappointment whenever one fails to flutter out of the envelope.

The minute I enter anyone's home during December, I immediately start snooping around for their card basket, and I start reading. I don't care if I know the people or not, I find it fascinating to see what people deem significant enough and appropriate to put in "the" letter of the year.

While they're notorious for being filled with the boastings of parents trying to impress everyone on their list, I say so what.

In fact, I don't think people brag enough about their children.

Beyond Kate Gosselin and her brood, I've kind of drowned out the steady hum of reality shows based on parents of multiples and those with many children ... like 20. So I wasn't all that surprised that the WE tv show Raising Sextuplets had never made much of a blip on my radar until I saw the Masche family last week on the Today show.

How could anyone not hear of them? I think they could be heard in China as they wreaked sheer havoc on that set. These six 3-year-olds were Naughty, with a capital "N" and out of control. They were running around, not listening to what their parents or anyone said; and one little boy continued to beat on poor Natalie Morales.

When I was growing up, kids never called adults by their first names -- it was always Mr. This or Mrs. That. In fact, to this day, that's still how I address many of my parents' friends.

But I don't think my 2-year-old daughter has ever even heard those honorifics. She's on a first-name basis with her friends' parents, her kiddie class instructors, and our family friends -- which is how they all introduced themselves to her.

My daughter even calls people I refer to as Mr. and Mrs. by their first names -- at their insistence. They've given me permission to call them by their given names too, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm old-fashioned that way.

Flickr photo by photograTREERearing a toddler as a single mom can sometimes make me feel like I'm going to explode -- but I never do. Yelling at a 2 1/2-year-old or saying something sarcastic doesn't help matters. So, I count to 10 in moments of madness (crayon coloring on the windowsill, say), then I kill my kid with kindness, telling him it's wrong -- then cleaning up together.

He responds well and it's no surprise, says this April 2010 study via Queen's University, Ontario.

Photo by brighteyesbryar There's been a lot of talk lately about children in fine dining establishments -- should they or shouldn't they be allowed?

The New York Times seemingly started the this round of the ongoing debate with an article titled Fine Dining Where Strollers Don't Invite Sneers that talked about efforts by some upscale restaurants that actually cater to families with children.

"There are no children's menus at these places, where grown-up meals run as high as $100 a person, but they all have high chairs and find little ways to cater to the under-3 crowd," wrote the article's author, Shivani Vora.

Then came the backlash.

Photo by Julie Ryan Evans; Lila Claire and her brother, NolanI always thought naming a girl would be fun, but when it came time to name my daughter, it was painful.

My husband hated my favorite names ("Eleanor" and "Beatrice") and refused to let me use any combination of names that could result in an embarrassing monogram or future email address -- which actually ruled out quite a few. Too trendy, too tacky, too many dogs with the same name ...

In the end, we came up with one we both liked pretty well: "Lila Claire."

I liked the traditional feel of a two-name name and the way it sounded together. Unfortunately, it's rarely used together.