Next Saturday my two older boys will be part of a wedding ceremony. My sister-in-law is getting married, and my sons are very excited to be part of the bridal party.

Weddings are a very special occasion for a couple and having kids be part of the ceremony can be a great and unpredictable thing. Sometimes they behave as the best children in the world but other times it is just a complete nightmare.

If you are taking part in this process (as I have been doing for the last couple of months) here are some things you can do to make the experience as pleasant as possible:

• Assign them a helper – ideally another member of the wedding party who can keep an eye on them, hang out with them before the ceremony, and take them outside if they start to cry.
  
• Bring a change of clothes for the wedding reception – this way they can eat, run around, play with crayons or other toys, all without fear of ruining nice clothes.
  
• Practice walking down the aisle, until they are comfortable with it.
  
• Show them exactly where their parents will be sitting
  
• Consider buying them a book that talks about being a flower girl or ring bearer.
  
• For a child whose parent is getting married, be sure to include them in the ceremony.

There are many other great ideas to assure everyone has a great time at the wedding. For instance, there should be activities for the children. The idea is to entertain them while the adults enjoy their time together.

I had ten children at my wedding and we all had a great time. My mom had a corner specially prepared for them with toys, coloring books and crayons. They danced among themselves and parents were close by to watch over them.

We’ll see how it goes this time with my children being part of the bridal party. It is a completely new experience for me. Let’s hope is a great one.

Posted by Momcrazyforkids.

Pregnancy Discrimination News:  A judge has reduced the “emotional distress” award given an Oakland police officer who was denied promotion to captain because of her pregnancy from $1.85 million to $400,000, noting that the initial suit alleged a single instance of discrimination and not a pattern of discriminatory conduct.  The officer, Janeith Glenn-Davis, had been promised a promotion to captain as soon as an opening occurred, but when she became pregnant, the department suddenly went into a promotion freeze which was lifted during Glenn-Davis’ maternity leave. At that time, a less qualified officer was given a captaincy.

Lovely Liz:  Just Jared has fun scans from Elizabeth Hurley’s wedding. (Via Fametastic.)

Via Working Dad, a new trend in wedding dresses - gowns for the maternity set!

This Pea in the Pod dress is sweet. Almost tempts me to get pregnant again and renew my vows.

Posted by MommaSteph.

When it comes to NFL Football, I’m what most people would call a fan…to say the least.  The thought of my favorite time of year coming to a close in a mere 6 days makes me especially sad.  We’ll end the season with a bang, eat a bunch of not good for you foods, and for once, NOT use the DVR to skip past the commercials.  Why?

Well, here is but one reason.  This anonymous fellow has taken under the loftiest of romantic proposal goals…he is (hopefully) going to propose to his girlfriend during a SuperBowl commercial.  That’s right, a 2.5 MILLION dollar, 30 second spot, dedicated to asking his chick to be his forever love.  For me, I think it’s a pretty SUPER idea…but I’m sappy like that. 

Nonetheless, he needs our help to get the word out because his potential sponsors are waiting until the last minute to decide whether or not to hand him their pre-paid $2.5 million spot.   (For my fellow math junkies, that is $83,333.33/second).

Posted by Dorian.

Epilepsy News:  Pregnant women with epilepsy who take the anti-seizure medication lamotrigine (Lamictal) can be subject to more frequent seizures.  “Clearance” of the drug from the bloodstream apparently increases during pregnancy, resulting in a low concentration of the medication.

Cancer and Pregnancy:  Researchers in Western Australia report that a study on women becoming pregnant after breast cancer treatment indicates that women do not need to wait two years after completing treatment to have a baby.  In fact, pregnancy may have protective qualities that improve the women’s post-cancer health.

Car Seat Sleepers?  Researchers report in the British Medical Journal that infants should not be left unattended in to sleep in car seats because there have been reported cases of babies’ heads falling forward, resulting in oxygen de-saturation and apnea.

Taking their show on the road:  Reportedly, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were so awed by Tomkat’s fancy pants Scientology wedding that they’re planning to renew their own vows next summer as an excuse to throw a party.  The two have been married three years.  So, you know, it probably is time to freshen up their commitment anyway.

Posted by MommaSteph.

Drug News:  A federal panel has made a recommendation to the FDA that the painkiller Celebrex be approved to treat juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for children two and older, although the panel strongly recommends that further studies be conducted to test its safety for children.

Money and Medicine:  A survey of 893 review board members who oversee medical clinical trials have financial ties to companies that sell pharmaceuticals and medical devices.  One-third of the respondents also reported that their institutions did not have a process for disclosing financial ties, or that they were not aware of any formal procedure.

Fewer Biopsies?  Elastography, an ultrasound procedure that enables doctors to see how easily breast lumps compress and bounce back, allows doctors to confirm with nearly 100% accuracy whether an abnormality in a breast is cancerous or not, a small study reveals.  (Cancerous cells are stiffer than normal breast tissue cells.)  Such technology would spare many women the anxiety and discomfort of breast biopsies.

Wait, that’s bad luck!  Reportedly, Pete Doherty has picked out a dress for Kate Moss to wear on their wedding day.  Oh great, now this marriage is NEVER going to make it!   And they seem so solid together!

Posted by MommaSteph.

I had heard that their wedding kiss kiss was overly-long, but I thought this had to be a typo.  Not so:  other accounts are the same.  Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes kissed for THREE MINUTES when they were pronounced man and wife (or co-Thetans or whatever).  Some guests began to shot “Stop, stop!”

Ew.  It reminds me of when George Michael kept shoving his tongue down models’ mouths in his videos to somehow imprint his manliness on the public consciousness.  (But I love George Michael.)

In other random observations, check out the death grip the groom has on his lady’s hand as he levels his movie poster gaze at the photographer.  And Katie looks lovely, of course, but there’s not a lot of smile in those eyes, if you ask me.  (But to be fair, she looks happier in other photos.)

And speaking of other photos, I came across this one of the couple as they took care of some prewedding official paperwork…

(more…)

Everyone loves a scandal…but we don’t all love Tom Cruise:  Brooke Shieldshas been invited to nuptials of Hollywood super (annoying) couple, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  This is news for two reasons, 1.  Tom and Brooke publicly sparred regarding her use of anti-depressants to treat PPD, and 2.  Oprah (and her infamous couch) were not invited.

Tamiflu and delirium in children:  The FDA is considering giving Tamiflu a label makeover due to recent reports of children displaying odd behavior after taking the drug.  Reports of such behaviors have only just begun in the United States; however Japan is seeing a much higher rate of reports as they also diagnose approximately 10 times the flu cases as we do here in the states.

Children who smoke are more likely to become asthmatic:  A study to be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that children who smoke are four times as likely to develop asthma later in life.  Though the amount a child smokes is a factor, any smoking increased this risk.

Earl is preggo?  Jamie Presley, of My Name is Earl, has announced that she and her fiance are expecting.  She is reporting that she is four months along with a son, which would put her due in March/April?  (I think).  This will the couple’s first child.

Posted by Dorian.

So maybe John Mason, aka the Runaway Bride’s ex-fiance, isn’t a sucker afterall…

Jennifer Wilbanks, the Runaway Bride, is suing her ex-fiance for $500,000, claiming he took off with her half of the book deal, $250,000, that Mason brokered while she was recovering from her runaway “episode” and he had power of attorney.  She also tacked on another $250,000 in punitive damages to punish him for abusing her power of attorney.

Wilbanks is also asking for some personal items that Mason has, such as a ladder, a gold sofa, a comforter set, a new vacuum cleaner, and, get this, wedding shower gifts.

Honey, let it go.  Does she really think, after all she put this guy through, that she has any right to money earned from a book deal about their story?  She humiliated the poor guy!  And why, why would she want to keep those wedding shower gifts?  If it were me I wouldn’t want to keep anything that reminded me of that time in my life.  But then again, we aren’t talking about a woman who is cooking with all four burners.

And up until now I thought this guy was a doormat.  Perhaps he is more clever than I ever would have guessed.  I sincerely hope this case gets thrown out of court and Mason can get on with his life.

Posted by Pager12

Benefits of Montessori:  A study published in the current issue of Science finds that children enrolled in a Milwaukee Montessori school outperform those in a traditional public school in reading and math.  Researchers found the positive social impact of the Montessori to be significant as well. 

Fatty Peet to wed:  Pregnant Hollywood hottie, Amanda Peet, is set to wed her screen writer Baby Daddy this weekend.

ADHD connection:    Parents of children who are on drugs for ADHD are nine times more likely to be on the medications for the condition themselves.  Females were also three times as likely to be diagnosed as ADHD as men.

Spinach is back:  The U.S. Food and Drug administration has cleared fresh spinach for consumption, after a break out of E. Coli in tainted bags of spinach. 

Posted by Dorian.