What drives you nuts about the holidays?

We know you're supposed to be in a happy go lucky mood this time of year - what with the thoughts of presents, and great food dancing in your head. But why is it that moms have to be the ones to oversee their kids' holiday lists and plan how they're going to celebrate all the holidays and New Year's Eve too. Can't someone else pick up the slack for the social calendar for a change? What's your biggest pet peeve this time of year? We want to hear from you, so sound off. Or if you're too busy, then send us a message telepathically and will print your response the same way.

CONTROVERSIAL PARADE.COM POLL ON LOWERING THE DRINKING AGE IN A DEAD HEAT

It turns out the debate about lowering the drinking age remains a contentious one. Last week, the August 12 issue of PARADE magazine raised the important question: Should the current legal drinking age be lowered from 21 to 18? Parade.com conducted a poll on the matter and, after 12,500+ votes, the poll is at a dead heat, 50%/50%. The Parade.com message board was flooded with more than 530 reader comments, reviving the age-old debate. One Parade.com reader writes in, "If we are old enough to die at 18, then we are old enough at 18 to drink. What we need is proper education and responsibility on when and how to drink. Cultures that have drinking (under 21) don't have the types of problems the U.S. has. Keep an open mind and think outside the box."

Another counters: “The issue here is whether anyone who drinks alcohol at any age is sober and safe enough to operate a motor vehicle in a manner consistent with public safety on our nation's roads and highways. If a person is 18 or 68 years of age, I do not want to be a passenger in that person's vehicle if that person is drunk where my life would be endangered. If one wants to drink booze, whatever the age, that person is going to have to reap the consequences for whatever actions result from the drinking.

A poll conducted in 2005 found that 78% of the public opposed a lower age. In the last three years, legislators in Vermont, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have introduced bills to lower the age (though only for military personnel in Wisconsin and New Hampshire). None of the bills became law.What do you think?
Join the hot debate at Parade.com:http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_08-12-2007/Teen_Drinking

Birthday Party Etiquette

Okay...now that I have survived yet another party, my question is this: When is it acceptable for a party to be a drop-off event and when is it mandatory for parents to stay the entire time? Sure, when you get an invitation to a party for a one year old, two or three year old, there's no doubt in your mind that you're going to stick around for the festivities. But at what point do you cross over the threshold and get to leave your kids at a party while you slip out to pick up a pair of shoes at Loehmann's or whip through the aisles at Stop & Shop or, dare say it...go home to relax and maybe even read?

I have dropped my daughter off at a few parties lately, but yesterday, at her ice skating party, I realized there are certain situations where parents should maybe stick around the entire time...and this one was it. So what do you think? Should parents be required to stay at a party that has a danger factor or should they take a chance and slip out for a few rounds of gold or a piping hot latte? Sound off and let us know what you think...

Nanny 911...A Good Nanny is Hard to Find...

This post is actually not about the show...although who doesn't love Jo Frost? It's about the holy grail of childcare: finding the perfect nanny. In the last week alone I have more harrowing tales from working moms who are on the edge of their rope, trying to decide if they should keep their nanny after catching them in white lie; another, who has nanny cams in her house caught the nanny cleaning the floor with her baby beside her and a third kept having her parents report in from the front sharing tidbits about her less than stellar nanny - forcing her to replace her with someone new. How do you find a good nanny? Is it word of mouth, the Irish Echo, through an agency? Or do you give up on nannies completely and sign your kid up for daycare. We want to hear from you - do you have a story or advice to share or perhaps a question? Do you think it's okay to have a nanny cam in your house if your babysitter has no clue she's being watched? Sound Off right now on the nanny question!!!

Are Your Kids Addicted to Webkinz?

Is it just me or have your kids gone over the deep end with the newest craze to hit the playground...Webkinz!!! I thought they were harmless enough, those furry creatures that you pick up in your local toy store. When we tried to get them the first time, they were totally sold out - I couldn't understand why, but I figured they'd eventually show up and we'd eventually buy them. And so, when we stopped by the store a week later, they were there, and we adopted four Webkinz (two for my daughter, two for my son) - my friend incidentally has 22, so four is pretty conservative if you think I'm being a bit overindulgent with my kids...but I digress.

We then had to fill out the adoption papers for the animals on the Webkinz website and then the kids started playing. And playing. And emailing their Webkinz friends. And playing games against their new friends. And decorating their Webkinz rooms, and earning Kidzcash and then, after my son spent all his cash on a TV, trampoline and toilet and wanted to buy a tub for his Webkinz cat, he ran out of cash. And he lost his mind.

He cried and cried and cried. And even as we tried to win more kidzcash for that damn tub, we'd have to play an entire year before he can afford it. I told him to try the Webkinz employment office but he didn't raise too much capital there either.

So now, we've got a room full of stuff, but every time he logs on all he wants is that damn tub. If anyone is reading this post and has a kid who owns a webkinz and wants to send my kid a tub as a gift (you know what I'm talking about), please reply and I'll send you back some online flowers.

Working Mothers Don't Get Enough Sleep

Just found an interesting tidbit that hits close to home on a Tampa Bay news website that says: "American women are not getting a good night's rest. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent say they only get the sleep they need a few nights a week or less. Even more say they frequently have sleep problems. The lack of sleep interferes with about 43 percent of women's ability to do normal activities during the day. The women polled say the lack of sleep affects virtually every aspect of their time-pressed lives, leaving them late for work, stressed out, too tired for sex and little time for their friends."

The crazy thing is the study says that stay at home moms face more problems with insomnia than working moms! I guess as a working mom, I'm so damn exhausted at the end of the day that I look forward to having a clandestine meeting with my pillow each night. For tips on how to fall asleep (uh, don't think about the million things you have to do the next day and pop an ambien in your mouth), Click Here.

Do you have trouble sleeping too? SOUND OFF and tell us your side of the story!

Who's the Boss? Great Blog Post in WSJ's The Juggle

Today's Wall Street Journal blog The Juggle has a great post today that gets working parents thinking...do working moms make better bosses? Well, I guess I am biased on that one - but I have to agree wholeheartedly that once you become a parent, you suddenly become more understanding of the demands many of us face at work and at home trying to be the best we can be in both sides of the fence.

I have worked for many bosses over the years and have to say, that the ones with children were pretty mindful of the fact that while I may have to bolt out the door to relieve my babysitter, I can be found typing away on my BlackBerry making sure I never miss a deadline or shirk my responsibility in the office.

During the times that I had bosses without kids, I have found many of these women to be incredibly inconsiderate of my family commitments - one used to call me late in the evening until I told her that I don't take calls after 8pm.