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Last week, I spoke to actress, author, activist, and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete about her son RJ’s autism diagnosis 10 years ago and her family’s long journey to living with autism today. Holly talks about how her family’s priorities and focus on autism have shifted as RJ approaches age 13. The family of six is working inwardly to strengthen their own family bond and outwardly to share their experience and hope with other families struggling with autism....

Ben Wa balls are meant to be inserted into your vagina and left in there for at least 15 minutes a day. The balls supposedly give your vaginal wall muscles a workout, similar to doing Kegel exercises. Over time your vagina gets tighter and stronger, leading to more satisfying sex for both you and your partner. I’d always heard people speak about Ben Wa balls but have never known anyone to use them, or at least admit that they do....

Years ago, Reynolds was caring for a preemie infant, a baby boy born five weeks early. He was doing well, but over in the adult ICU, his mother lay dying, a victim of catastrophic epilepsy and a cerebral vascular accident. Although the mother was in a coma, Reynolds brought her baby to her … and what happened next remains burned into Reynolds’ memory to this day. Reynolds writes that time and time again, she’s observed the overwhelming connection a mother experiences when she holds her baby for the first time....

There’s a lot of chatter over the age old sex debate, to spit or swallow, but when it comes to decisions, this is an easy one. If you love your partner and can muster up enough strength to take one for the team, take one for the team. Not only do guys love it when women swallow — something about the whole completion thing — but there are actually measurable benefits to swallowing, too....

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, aka PCOS, is an endocrine system disorder that causes some women to produce more testosterone than normal, resulting in a lot of fun symptoms such as ovarian cysts, weight gain, excessive hair growth, and hair loss. You might think being hairy like Chewbacca is the worst symptom of all, but the hair loss is the one I’ve had the most trouble dealing with. But now, my view on it has totally changed....

Or you might be the kind that squares off and disagrees passionately, to the point where dinner’s delayed by an hour because neither of you could choose a takeout menu. Either way, this is a neat new trick to try. Get ready, though. There’s math. It’s called the 5-3-1 rule, and it goes like this: One of you offers five choices (of activities, restaurants, or TV shows — whatever). The other eliminates two of those choices, no explanation necessary, leaving three....

And Kat’s favorite brand of sunglasses? Valley Eyewear. It’s easy to see why she loves Valley so much — since 2011, Valley has created the most amazing, architectural sunglasses around. They’re truly unique, almost like sculptures for your face (that also protect your eyes from the sun, and the glare of the paparazzi, naturally). And if Kat likes them, I need to put them on my face. So I had five pairs of Kat’s favorite Valley sunglasses sent to the Revelist offices to test them out....

This discussion on CafeMom delves into the reasons so many men absolutely flip their lids when their wives roll their eyes at them. And wow. Yeah. It’s intense. The thing is, I am not really an eye roller myself, so I wasn’t sure how my husband felt about it. I asked him hypothetically how he would feel if I did so, and his response was vehement: “I would be furious....

One of those standards should unequivocally be avoiding sexualized costumes of 12-year-olds. More from CafeMom: 10 Sexy Halloween Costumes That Are More Treat Than Trick If you’re going to be Eleven this Halloween, keep it PG. title: “Sexy Costume Of 12 Year Old On Stranger Things Infuriates” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-12” author: “Ivette James” One of those standards should unequivocally be avoiding sexualized costumes of 12-year-olds. More from CafeMom: 10 Sexy Halloween Costumes That Are More Treat Than Trick If you’re going to be Eleven this Halloween, keep it PG....

And earlier this summer, Rob Kardashian took a pass on going to sister Kim’s nuptials. Whatever their excuses, it got me thinking: Is it ever okay to skip the wedding of a family member? What if you feel the bride is more excited about her gown than her groom? (I’ve been to that wedding!) Or what if you believe the husband-to-be has a roving eye that will dissolve the marriage before your gift check clears?...

So far, the jury is still out on whether Spanx are safe or risky for pregnant women to wear, but doctors do have some concerns based on the sheer biomechanics of these types of garments. “Although we do not have any medical evidence indicating that tight clothing leads directly to adverse effects on your pregnancy, we do know that tight clothes can make a pregnant woman uncomfortable,” says Jenny Jaque, MD, an OB/GYN at the online health magazine Health Goes Female....

Let’s head to Provo, Utah, to check out her family’s home. Come on inside … Framed family silhouettesStephanie, tell us a little about your family and your home. We live in Provo, Utah. Our home was built in 1963. We are the second owners of this home. We live in the “tree streets” — streets named for the trees that grow in abundance in this area. I grew up on Fir....

Read on to see which baby girl names everyone will be talking about. More from CafeMom: 22 Southern Baby Names Parents Will Love No Matter Where They Live We’re pretty sure we’ve seen quite a few of these girl names before (hello, Sophia and Ella!) … but it’s interesting to see how some others have risen in popularity (Princess Charlotte might have something to do with that!) and others have slightly fallen....

Lawyers are among some of the worst possible men to marry. Sure, they usually make a decent living (if they can find a job in this economy), but the stress and the time it takes to be a lawyer are usually not conducive to the best possible family time. With two parents who are lawyers, countless friends who are in the profession, and at least one good friend who was called home from his honeymoon to service a client, I speak from experience....

Too tall and curvy for a straight-size large but not curvy enough for most plus-size extra-larges, I’ve resorted to a DIY Catwoman costume at LEAST five times, just because there’s nothing in my size at a run-of-the-mill costume shop. Luckily, having been through the Halloween ringer 23 times now, I’ve learned that the best costumes for in-between bodies live not in your local Party City — but with some of the retailers you already know and love....

The people at Sleeping Baby Productions just returned from a conference that not only tackled baby car seat sleeping, but baby carriers as well. While the information they presented said that most baby carriers are safer than car seats for a sleeping baby under the age of 4 months, there were many other points to be made about babies and sling safety that could save your baby’s life. If you carry your baby in a sling, you cannot let his head fall down to his chest — it blocks the airway and can cause hypoxia, resulting in ADHD, delayed development, decreased IQ, and impaired attention....

Trade “best friend” for “surrogate sibling,” and you’ve got the relationship between my kid and the dog. To the outside world, I’m raising a lonely only child. Inside my house, I’m raising a kid who has everything she needs from a “sister” with four legs and boundless energy. Yes, I just called the dog my kid’s sister. I would be embarrassed in that “oh God, I’m now one of those crazy pet ladies who calls the dog her kid” sense, but I promise you I have yet to knit her sweaters to match my own....

Fast forward to year 3 and I started to get frustrated. Potty training would not stick. What was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t she get it? What finally convinced her to ditch diapers surprised me. Rissa started showing interest in her special potty chair around 2 years old. She sat down on it, fully clothed, and looked through books. She hid toys inside of it. Since she accompanied me almost every time I used the bathroom (seriously, why is it so hard to pee alone?...

While the world is full of places to explore, you don’t need to leave the country to see some amazing sites. From historic destinations that bring US history lessons to life to awe-inspiring natural wonders — and some that are just plain old fun — here are 25 incredible vacation spots in the United States that are great for families to explore together. More from CafeMom: 10 Cool Backyard Science Projects You’ll Love as Much as Your Kids Will More from CafeMom: 12 Science Experiments Kids Can Create at Home More from CafeMom: 10 Fun Toys to Teach STEM skills to Toddlers...

Of course, that was before I dumped a pile of baby powder on him, which he instantly inhaled; or the time I managed to bang my arms on the crib rail and drop him unceremoniously to the mattress; or the day I discovered—after he drank the contents—that I’d accidentally handed him a sippy cup with mold coating the inside of the lid. As bad as those moments were, I have to say, nothing has really topped the time I burned chemical capsicum into his soft, dewy face....