All right, I feel guilty giving you that really lame update the other day, so I’m back with what I hope will be a far more entertaining and enjoyable update. Oh, and it has very little to do with Melody, although without her, I would not have this site, and by extension the stuff I’m about to talk about today.

In the quiet dark of night, while you lay in your bed trying to fall asleep, I’m sure one of the thoughts that wanders through your head is “I wonder what other sites Mom reads?” I know this question is burning in your mind upon waking, so I felt it my responsibility, nay, my duty, to resolve the question and put your weary mind to rest.

Okay, so not really. I want to give a shout out to some of the other sites and blogs I read which I have come to enjoy and love since becoming a mom.

A recent favorite is Alive in Wonderland. This blog is written by Suzanne Broughton, who also writes for the Orange County Register and OC Register’s Mom Blog and probably a lot of other places I don’t know about. Suzanne and I are the same age, grew up in the same area (HB and FV respectively), and she makes me flat out laugh. Her posts are witty and fun, she has a couple kids, and is able to find the humor in things like those fancy, overpriced aprons that are popular right now. On the Mom Blog, she has a hilarious post that pokes fun at the “Real Housewives of OC” television show, which is how I found her. It had me ROFLOL. For the benefit of my mother, that means Rolling On the Floor Laughing Out Loud.

I love, love, love Because I Said So by my friend Mary Beth, also known as MB and IRISHEMBI. Mary Beth has three kids and her daughter Meredith is the same age as Melody. Meredith and Melody are in some ways, polar opposites. A perfect example: a while ago, Melody managed to climb out of her crib. She fell to the floor with a thud and burst out crying. She’s never done it again. Meredith, on the other hand, has been refining her skills at climbing out of the crib and wreaking havoc in her household. There is a little video on Mary Beth’s site of her ridiculous kitten and in the background you can hear Meredith’s excitement and enthusiasm. It’s very funny. And Mary Beth is hilarious. She is the writer I aspire to be at times. Mary Beth lives in Pittsburgh, although I don’t hold that against her.

Once in a while I visit True Mom Confessions. It’s good to know that other people feel some of the same things I do and are also afraid to admit them out loud. TMC is completely anonymous and has some sister sites which I am not interested in, such as work confessions and dad confessions, etc. Mom confessions are the ones that matter here. :-) FYI, some of the confessions are, shall we say, crass, so read at your own risk.

Before Melody was born, I joined BabyFit.com, which is a pregnancy and motherhood related site with information and message board communities. This is where I met Mary Beth and many wonderful women around the world who have helped me ascend the rather steep learning curve of becoming a mother at the age of 38. Even though I haven’t yet met them in person, these women are my friends, so here’s an internet hug to Claire, Renee’, Dani, Katie, Josie, Mary Beth, Boo, Jeanette, Michelle, Melissa, Jackie (all the Jackies, ha ha), Ashley, Kelly, everyone and I know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Some of these fine ladies have blogs as well, such as Discover Boo, The Secret Life of Ducks, The Rantings of a Hockey Mom and Does This Newborn Come With A Manual? These ladies play an important role in my life, and Boo wrote up a very nice piece on how we are all so important to one another. It’s so good I’m not going to try to recreate it, but you can find it here and I know some of you Auntie Tara will “get it” right off.

Other favorites: Old Picture Of The Day, Mental Floss, Crime News 2000, and The Superficial.

On deck for tomorrow, Dad will post some of his favorite Dad-related sites and blogs.

Not really.

Dad doesn’t read Dad-related sites. If anyone is interested in programming, Mac or Apple news, let Dad know in the comments so he can put up a post about that stuff. ;-)