Parents

PINE CITY, Minn. (AP) - Cindy Hickey was sitting in her home office last summer, preparing a receipt for a client of her animal physical therapy business when the phone rang. She picked up, then nearly hung up, thinking it was a sales call.

"Then I heard 'Baghdad' and 'embassy' and that got my attention," Hickey said. "And she told me, 'Your son Shane is believed to have been taken by Iranian authorities. That's all the information we have, we will call you as soon as we have more information.' My adrenaline peaked. My heart sank. And I immediately went into a mode of, what are we going to do to take care of this immediately?"

A year later, Hickey and the other mothers of three Americans detained in Iran since July 31, 2009, are still in that mode. They have put their own careers on hold and turned to what's become a full-time job for them: attempting to secure their children's release from Tehran's Evin Prison in the face of espionage accusations by the Iranian government.

"M" is for the multiple contusions she gave you.

"U" is for all the food you'll have to gum.

Because "M" is for how she'll mess you up, and all your crying will not save you.

Put them all together, they spell MUM.

OK, so it's not exactly the same ode to motherhood Eddy Arnold sang back in the days of June Cleaver. But they're singing a different tune these days in Australia.

Mothers Down Under are baking brownies, knitting baby booties, kicking butts and taking names.

Nobody said saving the planet was easy, but actors Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts know certain sacrifices must be made.

Rather than buying new clothes, they sometimes have their 19-month-old son wear things previously worn by their 2-year-old.

CBS News is not making this stuff up. "Kai wears Sasha's clothes," Schreiber tells the network point blank.

There will be a slight pause now so you can all catch your breaths.

CBS News reports Schreiber made this revelation while taking part in "The Darker Side of Green," a debate on climate change issues, held July 27 in New York City.

For those about to rock, we envy you. These lullaby renditions of favorite rock songs weren't around when our teens were tots.

And while we've got nothing against Brahms, we love the idea of starting baby off right with a little AC/DC, Coldplay, Rolling Stones, Radiohead or any one of the 30 or so bands covered by Rockabye Baby to date. Soothing mellotrons, vibraphones and bells replace guitars and drums, and the volume is turned way down to protect your little one's ears.

Oh, and don't sweat the lyrics -- all the lullabies are instrumental, so even Kanye West is an option at bedtime.

Available at Rockabye Baby for $16.98.

Related: Sun-Sensitive Wristband Helps Shun Sunburns

Erika Johnson and Blake Sinnett of Missouri had a baby. For two days. Then they had a nightmare. State authorities took their baby away because both Johnson and Sinnett are blind.

Following a public outcry, little Mikaela was returned to her parents this week, and authorities were reminded of an ancient truism: None are so blind than those who will not see.

But Johnson tells the Kansas City Star she's not bitter.

"I'm a forgiving person," she says. Nonetheless, she adds, she resents the lingering prejudice people in power have against the handicapped.

"Disability does not equal inability," she tells the newspaper.

Mikaela was born May 21 at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Mo. The Star reports doctors let Sinnett "see" his daughter's birth by feeling the crowning of her head.

According to the newspaper, Johnson's first attempts at breast-feeding were clumsy. A nurse noticed Mikaela's nostrils were covered by Johnson's breast, and Johnson felt that something was wrong. She switched the baby to her other side, but not before Mikaela turned blue.

A nurse wrote on a chart: "The child is without proper custody, support or care due to both of (the) parents being blind, and they do not have specialized training to assist them."

Take your next picnic to a whole new level with WASARA disposable tableware, a line of gorgeous Japanese-designed products made to fit comfortably in the hand, while beautifully framing your culinary creations.

But not only do the WASARA plates, bowls, cups, tumblers and serving trays look great, they're also "green," made from tree-free renewable materials -- think sugar cane fiber, bamboo and reed pulp -- so they're fully biodegradable and compostable.

Now, if we could just figure out how to keep the ants off the blanket.

Available at Branch for $9 and up.

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Imagine the surprise of a black Nigerian couple in London when they discovered their newborn baby was a white girl.

No, it's not the second coming of Michael Jackson.

Professor Bryan Sykes, the head of human genetics at Oxford University, tells the British newspaper The Sun there's a perfectly reasonable scientific explanation for this sort of phenomenon: These things happen.

But they don't happen often. Ben and Angela Ihegboro tell the newspaper they didn't think they had any white ancestry, but Sykes says there must be a white skeleton in one of their family closets for Angela to give birth July 19 to a California surfer girl.

Newborn Nmachi has blue eyes and blond hair that would put Paris Hilton to shame.

Angie Cromer got pregnant -- while she was pregnant.

The Murray, Utah, woman was born with two uteruses. That means her babies will not be twins. They likely will be born a few days apart from two separate pregnancies.

KLS, the NBC affiliate the Salt Lake City, reports the odds of that happening are about one in five million.

Such births are extraordinarily rare, Cromar's obstetrician, Dr. Steve Terry, tells the station.

"Probably less than a hundred so far worldwide have been reported," he says. "So she's a member of a very small elite club."

On "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Caroline Manzo comes across as one don't-mess-with-me mama. But off camera, this mother of three is a big softie, especially when it comes to her children.

On an episode that first aired July 12 on Bravo, Manzo discloses something she normally doesn't talk about: her 23-year-old son Albie's learning disability, which he was diagnosed with at the age of 11.

ParentDish caught up with the mother and son duo at House Beautiful's recent Kitchen of the Year event in New York to talk about why the family chose to share something so private with the world.

ParentDish: Why did you decide to go public with Albie's disability?
Caroline Manzo: It actually wasn't my decision -- it was Albie's and I have to say I think it was really courageous to put out the message, "I am not perfect." No matter what struggles he went through, we worked together and Albie went to college.

You'll be off to great places, off and away, with brains in your heads and Seuss on your shoes.

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers just got a whole lot cuter with a collection celebrating everyone's favorite doctor. That's right, Dr. Seuss-inspired styles are available for children young and old, featuring characters and artwork from beloved stories including "The Cat in the Hat," "If I Ran the Circus" and "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish." Your kids will love them. (That's 98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Go ahead, buy a pair for yourself. We know you want them. (Ours should be arriving any day.)

Available at Converse for $35-$65.

Related: Cute Kid Shoes With a Custom Fit

Some are calling this insensitive but at ParentDish, we call it a pure celebration of life.

Holocaust survivor Adolek Kohn never dreamed he would head back to the concentration camp 63 years later, but he did just that, bringing his grandchildren with him.

It was his daughter's idea to make a music video out of the experience.

"We came from the ashes, now we dance," Jane Korman told the Associated Press. She explains that she did it to "awaken people" in the hopes that it "would make them think again about this past."

Seems to us that this is more about the future. And for that, we applaud you.

Click here to see the AP news report.

What would your child's school do with $500,000? Start an art program? Outfit a new computer or science lab? Save a music program? Tell the folks at Kohl's Department Stores, and you could help bring those dreams to life.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Kohl's Cares philanthropic program, the company is donating a total of $10 million to 20 kindergarten through 12th grade schools across the United States.

The donations are funded by the Kohl's Cares merchandise program, which sells special merchandise, including plush toys and books, and donates 100 percent of net profits to benefit children's health and education initiatives nationwide.

Visit the Kohl's Facebook page to submit your school, cast your votes, view the official rules and get more information.

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While the star of Old Spice's most recent marketing campaign is all about uber manliness and romancing the ladies, it was nice to see him focus on a very important lady this week -- his daughter.

Following two viral commercials for Old Spice that lead to lots of parodies and talk show appearances, the Old Spice guy, Isaiah Mustafa, returned to the internet this week to personally respond to web commenters and even give a little sex appeal advice to President Obama.

To be sure, Mustafa's spots are hilarious; prepare to lose hours to the Old Spice YouTube channel. But the one that caught our attention is a special response to his daughter.




Haley Mustafa asked, "Why do you look so much like my dad?"

Her towel-clad pop, keeping his actor act firmly in place, replied with a whimsical tale of parallel universes, wherein he waxed on that her dad must not be as handsome and rich as the Old Spice Man himself. He finished up with a nice mention of how she deserves all the best toys in the world.

Gotta love a dad who 1) mocks himself and 2) backs up enough to give his daughter the spotlight.

Related: Urlesque: Hottie Old Spice Guy Goes Viral

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, becoming the first country in Latin America to declare that gays and lesbians have all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage brings to heterosexual couples.

After a marathon debate in Argentina's senate, 33 lawmakers voted in favor, 27 against and 3 abstained in a vote that ended after 4 a.m. Since the lower house already approved it and President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter, it becomes law as soon as it is published in the official bulletin, which should happen within days.

The law is sure to bring a wave of marriages by gays and lesbians who have found Buenos Aires to be a welcoming place to live. But same-sex couples from other countries shouldn't rush their Argentine wedding plans, since only citizens and residents can wed in the country, and the necessary documents can take months to obtain. While it makes some amendments to the civil code, many other aspects of family law will have to be changed.

Recently, we met a woman who revealed to us her best-kept parenting secret: For 30 minutes each week, in the privacy of her home, she lets her 8- and 11-year-old kids use all the swear words they can come up with. We were instantly struck by how brilliant an idea this is -- letting her kids use "bad words" not only lessens their shock value, it also allows her to hear firsthand what her kids are "learning" from week-to-week.

That got us thinking about our own kids and swearing, and we realized that we probably bear a great deal of responsibility for our kids' questionable vocabularies. And, apparently, we're not alone.

Nearly three-quarters of moms and dads admit to cursing at another driver with their child in the car, according to a recent Evenflo "Savvy Parents Survey" of 1,000 parents with kids younger than 5. Another 28 percent say they've flipped the bird, and 21 percent have rolled down their window to scream at another driver.

But while cursing may be common, and may even help relieve pain or prevent physical violence, it's hard not to cringe when your toddler repeats four-letter words with perfect diction.

We asked ParentDish editors and writers how they handle the issue of cursing in their homes. Have your own swearing story to share? Add a (bleepin') comment below.