Don't get fooled by these guys. They are some great tricksters!

Talented comedian Harvey Korman died yesterday at the age of 81. I used to love watching him and Tim Conway doing their skits together on the Carol Burnett show. Those two had me in tears from laughing so hard. Here is a video tribute to Harvey Korman and his brilliant career.

I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday weekend. Have fun and be safe! Before you go, take a look at this video that pays tribute to our troops and the true meaning of Memorial Day. Thank you to each and ever American soldier from the past to the present.

A 13 year old girl committed suicide in 2006 after receiving a series of cruel messages through MySpace. Megan Meier thought she was talking to a teenage boy who had befriended her on the social networking site. After three weeks of friendly communications between the two, he turned on her and told her that the world would be a better place without her. Megan took her own life shortly after receiving that last message.

The horrible twist to this story is that there never was a teenage boy. The MySpace profile was created by a grown woman who wanted to keep tabs on what Megan might be saying about her daughter. This adult woman was responsible for fooling a young girl and making her think that these nasty messages were coming from a cute boy.

This woman, Lori Drew, was indicted yesterday for her role in the suicide. Apparently, Lori Drew even started a blog called "Megan Had It Coming". Wow! I truly hope this woman is put in prison for a very long time. Her actions were horribly disgusting and irresponsible. The video below is from CNN and contains a phone interview with Tina Meier, Megan's mother. This story really makes me sad.

Two days before Mother's Day, Michelle Duggar announced to her family that she is pregnant with her 18th child. The family of soon to be 20, has children ranging in age from 9 months to 20 years old. This famous family was on The Today Show and you can watch this video from the show. Wow, I cannot even imagine having so many children. The Duggar family seems to handle it with ease and is something really special.

A friend of mine shared this with me. It is from the site The Secret, which focuses on "The Law Of Attraction". Whether or not you believe in that, this is a beautiful video that can remind us just how amazing our planet is.

The Secret says this about the video: "When you experience Planet Earth, you will emit positive forces of energy across Planet Earth that will reach every single living thing on it. You will lift yourself, and as you lift yourself, you lift the entire world." My youngest son has made this a challenging morning for me and this video did uplift my spirits. I hope it will do the same for you.

Except when it is a practical joke! I wonder just how long it would take me to realize this situation was a joke.

I absolutely love this song by Trace Adkins called "You're Gonna Miss This". I keep trying to tell my oldest son this same message. To tell you the truth, on difficult mommy days, I have to remind myself of this sometimes. This song really hits home. If you have not heard it, listen to it and see if you don't feel it too.

If you have a moment in your day, you can help raise money for Autism Speaks to fund research. I did it and it really only takes a quick minute. Here are the details:

From the Autism Speaks website:

Chevrolet has teamed up with Autism Speaks to drive home the message of autism awareness. During April – Autism Awareness Month – visitors to the Autism Speaks website (www.autismspeaks.org), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who complete the virtual test drive will receive a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio. Read more and visit the Autism Speaks home page to take the virtual test drive.

QUICK AND EASY WAYS TO SPREAD THE WORD:
1. Add the link to your e-mail signature.
2. E-mail everyone in your address book about the promotion and encourage them to do the same.
3. Post it on your social network home pages.
4. Post it on your blog, and encourage those who have blogs to do the same.

We need as many people as possible to view the video PRIOR to April 30. Please watch the video and spread the word. Link to video: Help Chevy Help Autism

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter! Whatever you do, do not pester the Easter Bunny!

If you ask any parent what their favorite sound is, most of them would answer that it is the sound of their child laughing. If you have not seen this video already, you should watch it. It is the cutest little boy just cracking up! His father is so happy hearing his little guy laughing this way.

Have you heard about the Scientology video that shows Tom Cruise rambling on in a rather incoherent way? I checked it out and I must say that it didn't make much sense. He seemed very creepy to say the least.

Most of the videos were pulled off of the net already by Scientologists. I found one this morning here that is still running. If you have not seen the video yet, check it out and see what you think.

I used to like Tom Cruise but lost respect for him some time ago. There are several actors that I feel this way about. They step out and talk in their self righteous way and impose their beliefs. I suppose since they are famous that this makes them right and important. Sorry, not in my book!

The other day, I asked What happened to cooties? I was explaining how my son already had a girlfriend and that kids are growing up too fast. By the way, my son's girlfriend broke up with him the very next day. My poor little guy. The girls are messing with his head already!

While this video is mildly amusing, it also reinforces my point. The video is a parody of a serious adult situation. I would have preferred to see the children running away from each other yelling and laughing "Ew, cooties"!!!

Hopefully you have most of your Christmas shopping all done. Some very ambitious people might have all of their gift wrapping completed as well. Personally, I still have to wrap all of my Christmas gifts. Here is a handy video for anyone that might need some tips for wrapping presents.

Time seems to be going by especially fast lately. Each year gets faster and faster. Now it seems as if each week comes and goes quicker too.

My youngest son is wearing some of his older brother's hand me downs. I love seeing some of my old favorites on him yet it makes me kind of sad. I long to hold the older boy as a baby again, but know that chance will never be given.

My point today is to try and slow down and appreciate every moment. Our children grow up so fast. Today I would like to share a song with you. It is "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. I am sure most of you have heard it. If you are not a country music fan, then you might not have. It is a great song with a poignant message that anyone can appreciate. Here it is and I hope you enjoy. Also, try to take the message to heart. I was not able to embed the YouTube video because this song apparently does not allow that. Just click on the link to listen!

"Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney

Every Halloween we go through our scary movie collection and watch scary movies until we drop. With the vast ranges of age groups we have in our house (4, 6, and 13), we have to stagger the movies so the youngest doesn't see anything *too* scary for him, and the oldest gets to see something that will send real shivers down his spine.

So here's a list that will cover whatever age range you have in your house, from youngest to oldest.

1. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown This Halloween classic is great for all ages. Even the smallest kids love Snoopy dressing as the Red Baron, and Linus's quest to see the Great Pumpkin is fun for adults as well.

2. Hocus Pocus When my now-13-year-old was 4, he and my mom started their Halloween tradition of watching Hocus Pocus every year. He called it "Pocus Pocus" and had to hold my mom's hand during the scary parts. Now that he's older, he still loves the movie, it's one the whole family can enjoy. It's just scary enough to make the little kids shiver, but not so scary it gives them bad dreams.

3. The Addams Family and Addams Family Values While these movies may not be appropriate for the 3 and 4 year old set, they are perfect for a 5 or 6 year old. 5 and 6 year olds love Thing. My own 6 year old has begged me to get a Thing for our own household. No luck, I haven't found one that will consent to work for us.

4. Ghostbusters The 6 and 7 year old set will love Ghostbusters.  It's a whole lot funnier than it is scary- I mean, come on, a giant marshmallow man? The 6 and 7 year old set will appreciate the humor and what's more appropriate for Halloween than movie about dudes that trap ghosts? Just be prepared for weeks of "Who ya gonna call?"

5. Gremlins I have not yet shown Gremlins to my 6, almost 7 year old. I will probably wait until she's 8 or so. She would fall in love with the cute Mogway and then get horribly grossed out when they later turn into gremlins.  My 13 year old saw this movie when he was 7 or 8 and loved it.

6. Beetlejuice Off-color humor and some disturbing images make this movie one for 9 year olds or even older, depending on your kid's maturity level. However, this movie is so wonderful, it is a Halloween favorite in my household.

7. Something Wicked This Way Comes While this movie is short on gross, seat-jumping, or other moments, it is a movie that will delve down deep into your psyche. Mr. Dark is truly evil and terrifying. This is good for 10 year olds and up- any younger and the kids might have bad dreams.

8. It This may be the scariest movie I have ever seen. Even so, I think most 11 and 12 year olds are able to handle it. This is one of the very few instances where I have found a movie is better than the book. Sorry, Stephen King, bloat kills a book for me.

9. Poltergeist This is a movie that scared the absolute crap out of me. It's very intense and there is a truly disgusting scene with a chicken leg and some maggots, so I think this movie is best for 12 and 13 year olds.

10. The Shining (the Stanley Kubrick version) Nudity, strong language, and graphic violence makes this movie a 13 and up kinda movie, and that's for parents who are less sensitive than others. Don't say I didn't warn you. My 13 year old, a horror movie aficionado, says this is the scariest movie he has ever seen.

What are your fave Halloween movies?

Remember this from your childhood? Don't we need to give our kids this message, too? I think so.

[Thanks Jag, for reminding me of this great song!]

Ok, my kids knew all about this video, so when my girlfriend sent me the link I just about lost my lunch laughing so hard. I could totally see my two boys acting the same way in a few years. Enjoy!

My son just finished his last year of little league baseball and is now a freshman in High School. I put this slide show together, over at Flektor, for him to let him know that I think he is simply the best. Better than all the rest!

These slide shows are so easy to make, even an ordinary mom like me can do it. It is totally free and all you have to do is just download your pictures and have fun with it. Show your kid that you think they're the best and make a video or slideshow using Flektor. Send it to us here at Loveshakbaby and we may use it in a post! Or check out their blog and find cool fleks to use on your own blog.

via Nashville is Talking, some powerful commercials about the effects of crystal meth.

I find I have a hard time talking to my kids about drugs, because I'm largely agnostic about using marijuana (I think it should be legal, regulated, and taxed all to hell). It's hard for me not to voice that opinion and not sound like a hypocrite when I say that I think one illegal drug is okay, but the rest of them are not good. So I usually just don't have these conversations with the kids, even though I know I should.

However, when I saw these videos today, I was able to open a good discussion with my 13 year old, Flip. He was appalled that meth would do that to someone's face, so I googled "meth mouth" and showed him just how much worse it could be. I talked to him about how meth not just ruins your own life, but messes with the lives of everyone around you. I think I got the message across, thanks to these videos.

Even though my kids are out of diapers I still love this Pampers Peace on Earth Video. Check it out!