Jill over at Writes Like She Talks asked me a very important and profound question a few weeks ago -- what is the conventional wisdom on why God invented lice?

Yesterday, I left my straightening iron on. All day. I didn't realize it was still plugged in until I mindlessly threw a washcloth on top of it and eventually smelled something burning. It was one of those busy, overbooked days where we had one activity planned after another. I was rushing to get us all out the door, my mind focused on the long list of stuff we had to do. And in the process, I could have burned our house down. Or maybe something worse.

US News and World Report did a cover story on me!!! Ok, well not me specifically, but on moms like me. This week's US News and World Report cover story "The New Mommy Track" is about how some women are avoiding the "opt out" phenomenon by negotiating flexible work schedules and non-traditional career tracks. I'm so thrilled to see other women finding ways to blend work and family in ways that work for them.

I'm a good mom. I really am. I spend time with my kids, teach them good manners, set appropriate boundaries and limits, follow up with consistent discipline, try with all my might to feed them nutritious foods, and most importantly, I give them loads of love and affection. So why is it that when my four year old asks me to be "Sharpei" to her "Gabriella" and I refuse in favor of reading the latest issue of People I feel guilty?

Tonight my husband and I will do something very few couples ever do. (No, I am not talking about sex). Tonight, we're going to divide The List.