When I was a little girl, watching a classic movie like The Sound of Music was a treat we enjoyed once a year. Back then television reruns were the only way to see movies after their original release. Our whole family stayed glued to the tv while Fraulein Maria sang her heart out to seven adorable children in the Austrian Alps.

I loved the adventures that Maria had with the children and longed to join in. Each year I focused on a different Von Trapp as the most interesting girl in the film. Tiny Gretl, who got her finger stuck in the tea, was my first favorite. Then it was cheeky Brigitta with her love of reading and her dreamy eyes. And who could forget Liesl dancing in the gazebo with her proto-fascist boyfriend Rolf? Liesl’s exuberant “yippee” after her first kiss made me wonder what would happen to me the first time I fell in love.

Now in the age of Blu-ray players, I can watch this with my daughters whenever we want. The songs are still as catchy, the production design as beautiful, and the lederhosen as tight. My 6-year-old has the same reactions I did at that age. She especially loves Julie Andrews with her heavenly soprano and gentle but firm demeanor. But now, somehow, I am all about the Baroness— the very adult girlfriend of Captain Von Trapp. Elsa has amazing clothes, a sarcastic sense of humor, and her witty best friend Max. They watch bemused as Maria cavorts with the children and coaxes the stuffy Captain into singing and dancing. Elsa’s one liner telling Max that she should have brought her harmonica is classic.

The baroness’s actions, which seemed so diabolical when I was little, appear more logical to adult me. Sending the Von Trapp children to a top boarding school? Par for the course for upper class children of that era. Elsa does fail miserably in her one attempt to play catch with the children. But I think if I were visiting a friend with seven children, I might sit in the shade and have pink lemonade and strudel too. (Since that is pretty much what I do during cookouts, it isn’t that sinister.)

Maria is a hard act to follow – she runs and cavorts with endless energy, sings beautifully and is completely adorable. And as a friend pointed out to me, all aspects of Maria’s sexuality have been completely sublimated. Her hair is cropped like a little girl’s, and her dresses are a similar cut and length to the Von Trapp children— while the world-wise Baroness is all about couture suits and ball gowns. If a twenty-something governess (dewy) eyed my fiancée, I would probably send her back to the convent too. And would I ever hire an angelic, yet buxom, temptress to run my fiancée’s household? N-E-V-E-R

Every now and again I wonder what happened to the Baroness after the Von Trapps escaped Austria. Did she join the resistance and wear exquisitely tailored army uniforms with a little beret tilted at just the right angle? Did she and Max flee Vienna with all of the artists and intellectuals? Whatever her fate, I am sure she landed on her feet. Anyone who remembers the scene where she “breaks up” with Georg can see the lady knew how to make an exit. And for all you Georg and Maria shippers out there, I do not suggest that the movie should have a new. I am just saying that adult me might rather sneak into a convertible with the Baroness and Max for cocktail hour, than stay home and sing about my favorite things.

Mai Spurlock is a writer, painter, procrastinor and mom. She live in Topanga Canyon with her husband, daughters, pets and lots of wild creatures.

Perhaps because of the large ensemble cast of A-List stars, or the fact that I couldn’t imagine how a Pregnancy Manual had been adapted into a narrative film, I was certain that What To Expect When You’re Expecting was going to be a dud. But I was wrong. It’s hilarious, touching and thoroughly enjoyable.

Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Banks, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Morrison, Chace Crawford, Anna Kendrick, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Rodrigo Santoro, star as people in various configurations of having babies and wanting to have babies – and the film follows them through all the trials and tribulations that come on such a journey.

Director Kirk Jones felt that, contrary to my ridiculous misgivings, a pregnancy manual was in fact the perfect vehicle for a movie: it had a definite beginning, middle and end, and along the way there were all the elements of drama and comedy necessary. And, as I’ve already admitted, he was right.

There are several couples we follow through their pregnancy journeys: Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison, the Dancing with the Stars-esque couple, who find themselves pregnant and must cope with beginning a relationship, Jennifer Lopez & Rodrigo Santoro, the married couple planning to adopt and dealing with their relative readi- and un-readiness, Chace Crawford and Anna Kendrick, the 20-somethings who have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone, whose pregnancy does not go as swimmingly as does his father Dennis Quaid’s with his new bride Brooklyn Decker. Hers is the fairy tale pregnancy, with no more weight gain than necessary, no bloating, and a sneeze delivery. Of course you hate this woman.

Elizabeth Banks’ character, who owns a baby store and has written a children’s book about breastfeeding (in a case of a hilariously illustrated prop), can’t help but compare her own pregnancy to her Mother-in-law’s, and ultimately calls “BS” on the whole affair: “Pregnancy,” she says, “sucks. Making a human being is really hard!”

The cast is terrific in this film, giving it all they have, but not letting caricatures take over. The side characters are phenomenally funny in this as well, and the “Dudes’ Group”- Dads who meet Saturdays at the park – may go down in cinema history as the funniest bunch of honest men ever seen. Director Kirk Jones said that filming with so many talented comedians was terrific because they all tried to out-do one another and it made the scenes even better.

Elizabeth Banks’ store clerk Janice, played by Rebel Wilson (also seen in Bridesmaids), is one of the strangest and funniest actresses I’ve seen in a while, and she is a joy to watch. She flits around the store, asking if she can take a “15-minute Facebook break”, and dropping lines like “I like to rub my breasts, too”. She must be seen to be believed.

Jennifer Lopez, whose character adopts a baby from Ethiopia, said that filming with the twin babies hired to play her adopted son was truly a joy and that they were real snugglers.

Chace Crawford and Anna Kendrick play the couple that unfortunately lose their baby before coming to full term. Kendrick said she didn’t feel comfortable asking friends and family for their stories of miscarriages before filming began, but that when she was on set, women would come up to her and tell her their stories, privately, needing to unburden themselves, and that those stories did inform her performance.

These stories are interwoven very smoothly, over the course of a pregnancy, and along the way I found myself howling with laughter at some points, and silently weeping at others. If you’re pregnant, have been pregnant, or just need a good laugh, I highly recommend seeing the film, which opens May 18th.

{Photos courtesy of Lionsgate.} 

Like most Los Angeles transplants, I started having kids here without any family members nearby. It was just myself and my husband. Having come from the Midwest, the idea of having a nanny was ridiculous to me. I was 29, had no job, and my husband could afford for me to be a stay-at-home mom.

And so I was.

On the 8th day of my son’s life, he had a Bris. As he sat whimpering in my arms, my mom kissed me and said she “knew I could do this.” Then she and my dad drove back home, over 300 miles away.

I didn’t leave my baby at all for six months. I exclusively breast fed, and my mom convinced me that all I needed was a hand pump, because that’s all she had in the 70s. If I wanted to leave my baby at all I would sweat/pump for 20 minutes and produce barely 1 ounce of milk. Within an hour my husband would call and tell me I didn’t leave enough milk.

I began to think it was time to look into a babysitter. The only problem was I was so tired and overwhelmed I didn’t even know how to find someone. It took until my boy was 9 months and I became convinced I was going to be divorced very soon for me to finally find a babysitter. A neighbor let me borrow her nanny. For 4-9 blissful hours a week I had some help.

I left my baby and did whatever I wanted. I had one afternoon to myself a week.

Then I had a second child. This time I was smarter about things. I pre-emptively posted an ad on Craigslist stating I was looking for a “mommy’s helper.” Someone who was willing to cook, clean and watch my kids–not at the same time, of course! I ended up interviewing two people and hired the PERFECT person. Once my boy arrived I planned on using her for 14 hours a week.

When my second son came out screaming, I plunged into full blown post-partum depression. I pulled a muscle in my neck and it hurt so badly to nurse him. Throw in the Postpartum Depression, and I barely wanted to go to my crying newborn at night.  My in-laws were kind enough to buy me two nights with a night nanny.

Two nights.

I was ashamed to tell some of my friends, mostly from the Midwest. My circle of Los Angeles mommy’s were actually very supportive. “Of course you need help,” they’d say. “Take care of yourself.”

I was also trying to see a physician who could prescribe the anti-depressants my psychologist was telling me “would be a good idea.” The doctor would ask me the obligatory, “are you homicidal?” over the phone. The problem was,  I couldn’t make it to an actual doctor’s appointment because I couldn’t leave my screaming newborn with my mommy’s helper. I was breastfeeding and establishing my milk, not yet pumping, and there was no way in hell I was driving across LA with a screaming, colicky baby.

I was disappointed that I could not handle the situation. I not only had a mommy’s helper, I had a night nurse, for two nights.

When she showed up, it was like an angel descended upon us. She told me he was actually a good little sleeper but he was very gassy. Being away from him for 20 minutes made me smile at him deeper then I’d previously been able to. I also loved having another woman to talk to who really knew babies. I swear her two nights of work helped me get enough sleep to make it through those eight weeks of colicky hell.

Now cut to my third pregnancy, because we had to shoot for the girl. (Yes, we got her!)

“I want a full time nanny.” I announced to my husband. My mom told me I’d become so Hollywood. I stood strong and didn’t back down on my decision to get help. I had seen what my moodiness could do to my marriage and my kids. In hindsight I wish I’d hired a full time nanny earlier, while still pregnant. But still, the stoic Midwestern girl in me persevered. I hired a nanny and had her all set to start once the third baby came.

The months just before my little girl’s birth were challenging. I was huge and we were selling our house. There I was, 9 months pregnant, showing the house, chasing two kids and one dog, during a brutally hot LA summer. Crazy.

Oh, did I forget to mention, I also hired a night nurse. Yep. I feared that I would get PPD again, so I began assembling my own community of support. I felt guilty the entire time, but also realized how little support we get after having babies here in the U.S. I had my psychologist on speed dial with my OBGYN all ready to prescribe me meds if needed.

I tell you I did all of this so that I could be the best me possible. I had been surrounding myself with moms who had been taking care of themselves and I saw the difference between them and me.

It was a gigantic expense. I tell people, we made a decision. We quit private school, sold our house and moved to a great public school district. Also, we had a choice, a minivan or a nanny. We went for the nanny.

As soon as my baby girl was born I was relieved to not be thrown back into PPD. I had so much help, I almost felt guilty. Almost. But it was wonderful when I came home from the hospital and my one-year-old came down with hand-foot-mouth disease, requiring us to quarantine my baby girl. My nanny could take care of the baby and I could hold my inconsolable one-year-old. In the midst of the screaming, my nanny turned to me and said “We will get through this.”

“We.”

My heart squeezed. That was what I had been looking for all these years. I wanted someone, outside of my wonderful husband, to help me.

It’s been pricey, but I my husband and I are getting along much better then we were when we started having kids. I figure it will be cheaper then the divorce that might have happened had our stressed-out lives continued.  I’m calmer, and so is my family.

Recently, a French woman whispered to me at the playground that she was dying but felt ashamed to get help. She feared her sister and mother in France would tease her for becoming a stereotypical, spoiled LA mom. I told her they have more help there. You are all alone. “Don’t feel guilty, do it, it’s OK.”

Of course, I still feel guilty myself. My friend told me you’ve got to stop with the guilt. This is temporary. Just get the help now, while you need it. Once they are in preschool you won’t need it. I love looking at it that way.

I told the French mom about my Craigslist Mommy’s Helper ad, explaining she could look for someone for any number of hours at whatever price she wanted. With this terrible economy there are plenty of great people out there looking for work.

This guilt is universal it turns out. I also know of a Chinese mother that made her nanny promise not to tell her visiting mother and sister that she was a full time nanny. The mom felt ashamed.

So there you have it. Sometimes when I say I have a nanny I feel like I’m announcing I have an STD. But hey, we honor our children. Why can’t we honor ourselves with some help?

I hosted a party at my house on Tuesday with my MomsLA partner Sarah Auerswald. We were lucky enough to have Rachel Sarnoff, CEO and Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World, on hand to talk about why we should take the 5 Easy Steps to make the environment better for your kids better.

Video streaming by Ustream

I learned so much from Rachel and Healthy Child. Before the party I thought that people who make their guests take off their shoes before entering the house were crazy clean freaks. But in reality, wiping your shoes or taking off your shoes can help you from tracking dangerous pesticides and allergens into your home. This is especially important for my family because my kids and I have asthma and allergies.

You can learn more and host your own party by visiting Healthy Child Healthy World. A $25 donation gets you a kit that you can use to talk about what products are more safe for your home. The kit comes with this powerful video.

After Rachel gave her informative talk, I quizzed the ladies on what we’ve learned so far and also shared some information that was new to me. For example, did you know that if you feed your child organic food for one day, 99 percent of the toxins will be flushed out, according to Healthy Child Healthy World. The information gathered below was courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World. We gave away a bag of amazing baby products during the quiz courtesy of the lovely ladies who put on the Pregnancy Awareness Month event earlier this month.

The Quiz

Spring Cleaning –

1)   The chemicals in traditional cleaning products aren’t good for the environment and they aren’t good for you. If you do need to use a disinfectant, what should you use it on?

You should disinfect selectively – only disinfect objects that come into contact with raw meat, fish, or eggs, such as plastic cutting boards, utensils, and counters.

2)   How often should you vacuum or mop floors?

At least twice a week. You should also wipe your feet to keep from tracking pesticides into the house.

Breathing spaces –

1)   If you have a child with asthma, should you open the windows on hot days.

No! On hot days, close windows and use air conditioners to ventilate and filter out smog.

2)   Is it okay to have your asthmatic child sit in the kitchen with you when you’re cooking?

Not if you have a gas stove or oven. When you open the oven door your child can get a blast of NO2, which is nitrogen dioxide – an air pollutant. An asthmatic child should not sit in the kitchen when the oven is being used. Make sure that stoves are well ventilated.

3)   What should you do before buying an air purifier?

Get rid of the risk factors for asthma like dust mites (cover the beds, get rid of carpets), mold, and dander. Also, don’t put the machine on the carpet because it can kick up dust and make sure it’s at least 6 feet away from the bed.

Food –

1)   What is the top genetically engineered food?

Corn. 25 percent of the 80 million acres harvest in the US were genetically engineered.

2)   What is number 2?

Soy. 60 percent of processed foods contain soy ingredients.

3)   How should kids lunches be stored?

In glass containers. Plastic, especially when heated, can leach into the food. If you do use plastic, make sure and throw it away if it’s scratched. The scratches can be a breeding ground for bacteria.

Beaches –

1)   How long should you wait to go swimming at the beach after a heavy rain?

At least 24 hours. Heavy rain can cause sewers to overflow into storm drains.

Yvonne Condes is the Editor and co-Founder of MomsLA.com

Bravo Time Magazine! You succeeded in causing an uproar about attachment parenting with your shocking cover of Jamie Lynne Grumet nursing her 3-year-old son, accompanied by your even more controversial headline, “Are You Mom Enough?”  Yes you definitely managed to grab the attention of every media outlet there is.

However, while TV, radio, and Internet was blowing up over the Time Magazine article (more so, its cover), there was another story that emerged this past week, that also received some media attention, but did not explode to the degree that the attachment parenting issue did.   Yet, it’s an issue, which I believe is even more crucial and controversial than that of a mother who has a parenting method in which some people may or may not agree with.

On Tuesday the New York State’s Court of Appeals ruled that simply looking at child pornography online does not constitute criminal possession or procurement of the images.  In simpler terms, it is now NOT illegal to view child pornography online in the state of New York.  Yes, of course, this did grab some media attention, but I did not see my Facebook and Twitter feed blow up with this headline to the degree that it did of the Time Magazine article.  As a matter of fact, I don’t really recall anybody talking about this anywhere within my social media communities, and so now I find myself asking, did attachment parenting outshine child pornography?  Doesn’t this recent current event deserve the same, if not even more outrage and attention than the Time Magazine article?  I believe so.

What will it take to muster up the concern, the disdain, the outpouring of disbelief about the six-judge ruling, in which Judge Victoria A. Graffeo wrote, “The purposeful viewing of child pornography on the Internet is now legal in New York.”  What will it take for people to voice their disgust about this and for the media to go crazy over this?  Will it take a Time Magazine cover of a person masturbating to a computer image of an eight-year old girl in lingerie with her legs spread open?  I’m so sorry to have to paint such a disturbing visual for everyone, because trust me it sends horrible chills down my spine just having to write this.  However, that’s exactly the type of images that was found within the legal case in which this ruling was based on.

This ruling was based on a former professor, 65-year old James Kent at Marist College whose computer was found to contain pornographic images in 2007.   Kent was convicted on 134 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and two counts of procuring, but he only received a one-to-three year sentence in 2009.   That light sentence alone is horrifying to me, but then to think that two of the counts were absolved by this ruling because some images were considered to be automatically stored by sites he had visited, rather than directly by him.  So basically, as long as you don’t download, print, save, or do some other “affirmative act” as described by Senior Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, then it’s okay to view online all the child pornography you want in the state of New York.   In Kent’s case he was found with at least one folder on his computer where he contained approximately 13,000 saved images of female children, whom Investigator Friedman estimated to be 8 or 9 years old and they were dressed in lingerie or bathing suits and many with their legs spread open as I wrote about earlier.  Once again a feeling of sickness sets into my stomach.

So I find myself coming back to the question of how does a mother breastfeeding her three-year old child cause more shock than legal viewing of child pornography?  This simply baffles my mind.   When does protecting children from sexual exploitation become more of a concern to all of us?

Michelle Rivera writes at Mommyhood to Hollywood

Photo: Martin Schoeller for this week's cover of TIME.

I am not a psychologist… but I’m married to one. With all the hoopla over the TIME Magazine Cover (most of it having little to do with the actual content of the story – why don’t people read before they start pontificating), the Mommy Wars it’s kind of stirring, the controversy of the topic and the horror some people feel that a young, beautiful Mom (our ‘own’ Jamie Lynne) would pose for such a provocative photo… I went to my husband, an expert for his professional take. Particularly, I was curious if he thought that Aram, her breastfeeding toddler, might later be traumatized by the said Cover we as a nation (and perhaps world) are going a little cuckoo over.

My husband’s first words were ‘what’s the big deal!’ With confidence he reassured me (not that I was worried) that ‘the kid will be fine!’ And if the kid isn’t fine as a teenager, it won’t be because his Mother was breastfeeding him on the cover of TIME Magazine 10 years ago! If he has loving parents, that is what is most important! And he does. Does it guarantee he might not have issues – of course not. But being loving parents is #1. That’s it.

I have met Jamie, I know her through our mostly loving and supportive community here at MomsLA and she is lovely. And her children are sweet and happy. If she didn’t pose for this somebody else would have. Why not choose someone who believes in the philosophy of what they are talking about… that’s what I would have done. As a former creative director, I know, that the choice of the photo had nothing to do with her… that is the editorial, creative direction given and the photographer (which he discusses in the article that no one is actually reading.) Jamie Lynne is a young woman who also adopted a child and at 26 has established a foundation. Ummmm, a foundation!  BE NICE to her! You don’t have to agree with attachment parenting or her but just be NICE people!!!

I no longer have a toddler but I have a 10 year old son. So, after the much bigger conversation with my psychologist husband, I went to ask my 10 year old what he thought about the said cover. I asked him to try and imagine if I had been that Mom (I wish I had that body ever!). He said, ‘I wouldn’t really care’… ‘I mean you’re my Mom, it’s normal to breastfeed.’ LOVE HIM!

I only breastfed my son until he was 9 months old when I went back to work full-time and he naturally weaned himself away. I would have happily gone longer but he was done and I had to work! Yes, I went back to work FULL-TIME when he was 9 months old… I was a single Mom (GASP!) and working FULL-TIME. However, my son did sleep in my bed most nights until he was 4. OMG! Was I doing good/ bad? I went back to the expert 10 year old, my son, to ask. His response, ‘You are the best Mom, you are an amazing artist, and sometimes I wish you would play with me more!’ Not bad considering I surely would get mixed reviews in this sometimes very opinionated, very hard community and would equally (and hopefully weighing heavier than the former) get support, hugs and high fives. All you non-single Moms… you have NO idea how hard it is so don’t think you can have an opinion if you haven’t been there!

Jamie Lynne, I may not agree with all the factors of attachment parenting, I am admittedly incredible envious of your youth, beauty, ambition and I applaud your grace in all of this. I watched you today on Today and felt proud to say I know you even just a little.

Jeannine Chanin-Penn… xoj9 | event curator | smart & beautiful events… My son, my husband, lobster & the color purple make me happy…

Many of our MomsLA contributors have written about it on their personal blogs and also here. Here are links to their posts.

Yvonne Condes of YvonneInLA on MomsLA - Blogger on the Cover of Time Magazine Nursing Her 3yrold

Elsie Rivas Gomez of Mama Feminista on MomsLA – Dear Time Magazine, Working Moms Can Attachment Parent, Too

Jenny K or 3 Before 30 on MomsLA –  Attachment Parenting: How I Made It Work For Me

Shannon Colleary of The Woman Formerly Knows as Beautiful - In Defense of My Friend Jamie Lynn Grumet: Time’s Breastfeeding Cover Girl

Ciaran Blumenfeld of Momfluential - Are Mommy Bloggers a Bunch of Boobs

Jessica Gottlieb video - Breastfeeding a Big Kid on Time Magazine 

Morgan Shanahan of The818 – “Mommy Wars”: An Argument About Us, Around Us, About Us, But Not Between Us

Jeanne Ponessa Fratello of The Jolly Tomato on the Huffington Post – Extended Breast Feeding – Time To Come Out of The Closet?

Tanya Ruben of Pure Natural Diva – Attachment Parenting Takes The Cover Of Time Magazine and America IS Talking About Jamie Lynne 

Alexandra Anderson Bower of Beverly Hills Moms – My Pal Jamie Lynne Is On The Cover of TIME!

Cheryl Rosenberg of MommyPants - Are We Mom Enough?

Kristin Howerton of Rage Against the Minivan – Where is the Mommy-War For the Motherless Child?

Vanessa Diaz of The Queen of Swag – My Friend is on Time Magazine! & I Support Moms Being Moms

Deborah Stambler of Between Parents – TIME and Time Again

Liz Dwyer of Los Angelista – The Day After The World Exploded Because of a Mom, a Kid, and BOOBS

Leah Segedie of Mamavation – Attachment Parenting, Mommy Wars, and Time Magazine

Adrienne Van Houten of Adrienne’s House – Time Magazine Cover: What’s the Real Controversy?

Desiree Eaglin of Sarcastic, Funny, and Brutally Honest – Are You Mom Enough? Why YES, Jamie Lynne Grumet is Mom Enough

Megan McClain of Sunshine Wonderland – I Am Mom Enough, Time

Jeannine Chanin Penn on MomsLA - The Kid’s Alright…And It’s Time to Play Nice

Laura Filipowicz of BLP Connect – Attached Parenting: MOMpreneur & Time Magazine

Natalie Goldberg Klein of Hot Moms Club – Am I A Good Enough Mom? 

Yvonne Condes is the Editor and co-Founder of MomsLA.com 

Time to Play Magazine has got to be the most fun workplace ever: they review Toys. So I imagine they spend all day playing with toys. (I hope I’m right; please don’t tell me if I’m wrong…) And they’re certainly some fun people when you meet them. Chris Byrne, The Toy Guy, is delightful – and since I imagine him spending hours playing with toys, perhaps that is why he’s delightful. (Mental note: play with toys more often, Sarah…)

Time To Play Magazine hosts an annual Spring Showcase where Toy Brands get to meet bloggers and media, and where they announce the Toys that will dominate our Summer. I saw dozens of fun new toys and wanted to mention a few in particular I know my kids will like, and maybe yours will, too.

Zing Toys may be my kids’ favorite already, just from hearing about them. Crossbows, bows & arrows and slingshots: Does it get any better than that for a couple of dudes? I think not. The Air Storm Z-X Cross Bow is at the top of Time To Play’s list – and definitely at the top of my kids’ wish list as well.

Looks like they're a hit with Bloggers, too (Andrea Fellman of Savvy Sassy Moms)

There are 2 Merida character dolls from Disney/Pixar’s upcoming movie Brave that made the list – and the story is that retailers under-ordered because they felt the character was not pretty enough. I don’t even know what to say to that. If you have an opinion, please share it in the comments below.

Is this doll pretty enough for you?

Monsuno is a popular toy, with an animated TV show tie-in, and I’m certain it’ll be a hit with the Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon crowds.

A controversial toy made the hot list as well: Lego Friends. Our Contributor Elsie Rivas Gomez wrote about why her daughters wouldn’t be playing with Lego Friends, but apparently lots of other people have been buying them for their daughters, because the toy is a hit.

You can’t ignore the classics in summer, and the Big Wheel is nothing if not classic. In what was surely the highlight of my trip to NYC, I got to ride in a giant Big Wheel, and I can tell you this: if they sold them that size, I would already own one.

Check out the whole list on Time To Play Magazine for great Summer Toy ideas.

Sarah Auerswald is a co-Founder of MomsLA, a Community of over 100 of the top Mom Bloggers in Los Angeles. She also blogs about raising and playing with her 2 Tween Boys at Sarah & Sons.

{Full Disclosure: I was a guest of Time to Play Magazine for their Spring 2012 Showcase where they announced their list of Spring & Summer’s Most Wanted Toys.}

My parenting bible.

One of the very first books I purchased was the Dr. Sear’s Baby Book. The concepts of attachment parenting seemed foreign to me upon first reading, for I was bottle fed and certainly not carried around in a sling all day as a baby. But I have to say that the principals of attachment parenting made sense to me. They seemed natural, and I decided to go for it.

Breastfeeding my oldest child, whom is now almost 6, got off to a rocky start. To say it was easy as a first time parent would be far from the truth. I almost gave up so many times, but things got a little easier for us after a few weeks of diligence and I decided to stay the course. When it was time to go back to work, I was fortunate to be able to bring my son with me to work, which meant I could continue to breast feed him during the day with no interruptions. I wore him in a baby sling or carrier much of the day because it was just easier that way, but that’s not to say that I didn’t put him in a swing from time to time or push him in a stroller when my back needed a break. For the first 6 or so months of my children’s lives they all slept in a co-sleeper side car (for their own safety), which made it easier for me to nurse at night time. When they were ready for them to be in their own room, I gladly tucked them away in a crib so that I could finally start getting a full night’s sleep. Because that’s what worked for me and my family.

For the times that I had to be away from my son, I was armed with my breast pump. I have to say that the day a tour bus stopped in front of my car while I was double pumping at a truck stop south of Bakersfield was certainly a memorable moment for me. The people stared at my like I was some weirdo, even though I was ultimately just doing my best to take care of my child. When I had to fly, it was always somewhat embarrassing to get my pump and breast milk tested for explosives. It was a pain in the rear to do all of this, but ultimately I decided to keep doing it because it worked for me and my family. When I returned to my babies after being away from them, the bonding time that attachment parenting promotes was so very important for their sense of safety and security. I credit those principals of attachment parenting for making my work schedule and effectiveness of a parent work out for my children.

I nursed my oldest child until he was 19 months. To most people that is far too long to continue the “charade” of attachment parenting. When people found out that I was still nursing my son, even in to my 2nd trimester of pregnancy with my second child, they thought it was strange and that he was too old. To me it wasn’t a big deal, because as he got older he only nursed in the morning and at night. It all seemed natural to me, and I never once felt like it was a burden to my life or inconvenient. The relationship was mutually beneficial, and my son decided on his own when he was done.

My second and third child self-weaned by age one, which was both sad and a huge relief all at once. Sad, for we didn’t get that extended closeness that you just can’t replicate any other way, but liberating in the way that I didn’t have to drag my pump with me through airport security every time I had to go on a business trip, or pump milk while driving (hands-free, mind you!) to see a client. But just because I was no longer nursing them didn’t mean I couldn’t continue to implement attachment parenting principles in our life. To this day, I still carry my daughter (my third child, whom is 20 months) in a baby carrier wherever I go with her. Since she goes to daycare 4 days a week so that I can work, I consider the time we have together very important and precious. She loves being carried close to me, and I have to say that I love having her in the carrier canoodling with me.

My daughter, enjoying her view from the Ergo carrier.

I can also attest to the power of attachment parenting in that my children are strong, independent children purely out of the fact that they always have felt confident that their every need would be met, and that I was always there for them. Rather than let my kids always cry it out, or just give them a bottle to feed themselves, I was there to care for them. Naturally, on their own, with the confidence that they felt because of my parenting style they wanted to explore the world on their own, drink from a cup exclusively, and had no problem being cared for by someone else for the day should I need to be away. My children never have suffered from separation anxiety, and I credit attachment parenting for molding them in to strong children.

Every parent, given their situation, can only do their absolute best to raise their child. Whether this means they are bottle fed from the get-go at the hospital, or they choose to breast feed their child until age 4, they are choosing what works best for them as parents. Is breast best? Yes. Is it for everyone? No. Should we all sleep with our kids in our bed until they are 10? That’s debatable and ultimately the choice of the parents.

Somehow I was able to make attachment parenting work for me, and it’s possible for parents out there to take concepts of the parenting technique to make it work for them. Above all though, no one should be vilified for their parenting choices. To each their own, and if you don’t breast feed your child until age 4 that doesn’t mean you aren’t “Mom Enough.” As parent, all we can do is do our best, and no one should ever say that your best is not good enough.

Jenny K. is a mother of three children, all born before the age of 30, who lives in Orange County. Her own blog, 3 Before 30, focuses on health and fitness topics, as well as raising a child on the autism spectrum. You can also find her writing over at OCFamily.com.

Where:  Union Station- 800 North Alameda St
When: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Who: All
How: Just Show Up
Cost of event: Free

For more info: Event Website

Saturday, May 12 – MUCH LOVE ANIMAL RESCUE  
Discounted adoptions at all LA County animal shelters. At West LA Animal Shelter, first 20 dog & 20 cat adoptions are FREE, Matchmaking support by Much Love’s experienced volunteers & adoption coaches, FREE grooming services for all adoptees by Town & Country Mobile Grooming Gift bags sponsored by Dogswell and Unleashed by Petco. Donations also welcome – blankets, towels, dog beds.

Where: West LA Animal Shelter 11361 West Pico Blvd. 90064
When: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Who: All
How: Just Show Up
Cost of event: Free
For more info: Event Website

Saturday, May 12 – Mother’s Day Tea Festivities
Mother’s Day Tea Festivities: 1:00 – 5:00 pm • Performance by Madame Chocolat (1:00 pm; FREE) • Tea With Mommy and Me high tea & etiquette with Sarita Gomez (1:30 – 3:00 pm; $40/for two) • Kids-Love-Tea-Too program with teapot decorating and painting with tea (3:00 – 5:00 pm; FREE)

Where: Royal-T Cafe 8910 Washington Blvd. Culver City,
When: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Who: All  How: RSVP 310.699.7271
Cost of event: Free For Some Events  $40 for two to the Tea with Mommy & Me
For more info: Event Website

Saturday, May 12 – MamaFest
Family Music Concert with the awesome Randy Kaplen, Holistic Spa Treaments, Gift Fair and Prizes. Free Gift bags to first 300 guest- Free Starbucks in the morning. Part of Pregnancy Awareness Month
Where: 11965 Venice Blvd, 307 Los Angeles, CA
When: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Who: All
How:  RSVP 8oo.My-Birth or visit website
Cost of event: Free
For more info: Event Website

Saturday, May 12 – Fire Station Open Houses
All Neighborhood Fire Station in the City of Los Angeles will be holding an Open Houses and expecting you to stop by- You will get a personal tour of the Fire Station and learn safety tips
Where:All LA Fire Stations Click HERE

When: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Who: All
How: Just show up
Cost of event: Free
For more info: Event Website

Saturday, May 12 – Food Revolution Day at the Calabasas Farmers Market
Kids are in charge of their food at this Los Angeles Food Revolution Day event at the Calabasas Farmers Market. Presented by OutoftheBoxFood.com and JenniferMcColm.com, each purchased ticket will provide an opportunity for kids to gather fresh fruit and veggies from local farmers, learn about Real Food and how it’s grown, and participate in many kid-centric activities. It’s a day for Los Angeles families to experience Old Town Calabasas and for kids to learn to love Real Food.
Where: Calabasas Farmers Market 23504 Calabasas Road, Calabasas, CA
When: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Who: Everyone
How: Tickets available for purchase at the event
Cost: $10 per child or $25 per family of 3 or more children

Sunday, May 13 – Mother’s Day Pressed May Flowers @ Kidspace
Come make your Mother’s Day cards in the Garden Gazebo all day.  Collect lavender, leaves and flowers from around the Kidspace Gardens or use any of the materials provided to create a card for your mom, grandmother, or anyone special in your life.  All the materials used are organic and can be found in the gardens.

Where: Kidspace Museum, Pasadena
When: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Who: Everyone
How: Just show up
Cost: Included in museum admission
For more info: Event Website

When Courtney isn’t playing legos, or pirates with her two little boys or out on the kids event circuit she writes Santa Monica Macaroni Kid