Read my rebuttal to the “bumpaholic” story on Babble.com.

This may be the only photo in existence of myself and all my kids where everybody is looking in the general direction of the camera. And only one kid is goofing off!

And because who can resist those dimples, here’s one of Clara, held by her aunt Beth at a backyard barbecue last month.

Having babies isn’t addictive in the way that alcohol and narcotics can be. But bumpaholics feel compelled to procreate for many of the same reasons that substance abusers turn to booze or drugs….

This article was written by an online writer acquaintance of mine, so I probably shouldn’t go into the many ways I disagree with its premise…

Actually, you know what? Friend or not, I would like to express publicly how offensive I think this particular passage is:

Given all the psychological, physical, and social rewards associated with pregnancy, it’s no surprise that so many women like it. But plenty of couples stop at one or two children, despite the fundamental drive to reproduce. This is because we can use our higher brain functions to keep those instincts in check, reminding ourselves that children cost money — about $950 a month until they’re 18 — and require an extraordinary amount of time and energy.

But I’m going to use the higher brain function that I’m not using to restrict my wanton fertility, and use it to assume that she didn’t mean it quite the way it came out.

I don’t, of course, expect the rest of you to be quite as forgiving. Go ahead…tell me what you think.

After the Writers & Editors One-on-One conference, followed immediately by BlogHer, I had some major catching up to do in my personal life. And by that, I mean that after being away from home for two weekends in a row, the mess around here had gotten completely out of control.

So imagine my excitement when I was contacted by Bissell last week, letting me know I’d won their BlogHer drawing for a Healthy Home Vacuum, ProHeat 2X® Healthy Home Deep Cleaner, and a $250 SpaFinder.com Gift Certificate.

I am ridiculously excited. Not only have I not used a vacuum that cost more than $75 in, like, ever (and, yes, it shows) but I NEVER win drawings. I was the kid who sat through every church and school raffle choking back a lump in my throat because I never, ever, ever won anything.

But my losing streak is over, baby! Yesterday, FedEx delivered these to my door:

And, of course, a gift certificate for spa goodness.

Now I have some important decisions to make. Vacuum the whole house, then steam clean the carpets all at once? Or go a room at a time?

And then on to the pampering. What do I choose: two massages and a facial, two facials and a massage, a facial-pedi-massage? And where to go in the southwest Michigan area?

I’m going to have fun deciding. Feel free to jump in with suggestions…or just go read some of my latest posts on The Happiest Mom (I promise, they have nothing to do with awards or vacuums).