That's the tweet tonight from the Los Angeles Times. It's running a big article tomorrow about new recommendations that call for fewer pap smears.  Mind you, that's the test credited with slashing cervical cancer rates in this country... and - as the reporter points out - one of the only reasons many women see their doctor each year.

This comes just days after the whole controversy over mammograms erupted.  A government task force announced earlier this week that most women don't need the exams in their 40s... and should get one every two years starting at 50.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation and American Cancer Society still recommend regular screenings start at 40 - or even earlier for women with a history of breast cancer in their family.

So what's going on???  The LA Times mentions that some are suspicous about the motives behind the new guidelines.  Is cost a factor?  Is this the first step toward government-run healthcare?

But the agency that issued this latest recommendation - the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - says the timing of this announcement is coincidental.

Don't know what to do?  Ask your doctor, then follow his or her guidelines.  After all, that's what our own Health Secretary just said all over tv today.

Believe you me, the health  care debate is FAR from over.

Click here for the LA Times article.

Talk about sending out the wrong message!  A magazine editor admits in The Sunday Telegraph to airbrushing baby pictures!!!

That cute little boy is named Hadley.  When he was five months old, he was featured on the cover of Parenting and Pregnancy, a small circulation mag out of the UK.  Editors now admit to lightening his eyes and skin tone (okay, fine)... and smoothing out the creases on his arms!  You kidding me?!?

I'm used to seeing supermodels and celebrities airbrushed to (sometimes scary) perfection on newstands.  But kids?  C'mon!  I understand erasing runny noses, or photoshopping out that dabble of drool.  But babies have fat rolls.   Babies are roly-poly.  Babies resemble mini Buddhas.  As long as your pediatrician says your kid's in the normal range of weight, you shouldn't worry.  I just think it sends a bad message in this already weight-obsessed society to make our youngest models try to look flawless.

I can't imagine a few of my own favorite pics photoshopped to get rid of "imperfections".

  My boy has a pooch!  My gosh, what a fat toe!

   My girl's arms are SO flabby!

Whatever.  I love the fat rolls, and when my son's disappeared, I actually missed them!  Quadruple ugh's and a big thumbs down to that media trend.

Okay, rant over.

I am not alone!  Turns out, there's a name for people who are crazy brave like my husband and me, with rugrats less than two years apart - "Baby Buncher"!

  Who ARE you? 

We qualify, because the kids are exactly 18 months and five minutes apart.  (Yes, 18 months and 5 minutes.) 

It's a unique experience, having two under two.  On the one hand, it's difficult, because our son is barely out of the "baby" stage. Sleep is just completely out of the equation.  On the other, it's so unbelievably sweet to see him with his little sister.  He's already doting, and loving and protective.

So, I was pleasantly suprised to find a whole community of mommies just like me.  My favorite new discovery is the website "Baby Bunching", created by two harried moms who wanted to be able to talk with others, share experiences, get advice.  I've learned the best strollers for my kids, the best baby carriers, how to tote both of them in public.  And my children even have a special name - they're not just siblings, but "twiblings"... since they're so close in age.

If you're a parent of two-under-two, check out "Baby Bunching".  Then try to take a nap.  You're gonna need it!

                                       Okay, you can stay... 

CBS 47 On Your Side first reported on the Maclaren Stroller recall Monday.  Since then, parents around the valley and the country - and even my cousin in the Philippines! - have been trying to get any info they can from the company.  Me, too, because I push my son around in a MacLaren Triumph.

[My model - the Triumph]

Maclaren's supposed to send out repair kits for about a million strollers sold at Babies R'Us and Target.  They're supposed to cover up a hinge that can amputate your kid's finger.  Say that again with me - amputate your kid's finger.

And now, skittish parents are getting even more ticked off, because:

(1) Maclaren didn't go public until the 12th case of finger chopping was reported. 12th! And...

(2) Maclaren's website has been crashing on and off since the news broke.  I tried for much of the day yesterday to order my repair kit.  But I keep getting a "site down for maintencance - please try again later" page.  I finally got on this afternoon.

Here's Time Magazine's article, slamming MacLaren's handling of this whole mess.

And here's MacLaren's recall info website, to order your kit.  Good luck!

Gotta say, I still love my stroller.  Then again, my son still has all 10 fingers.

  [His mode of transportation til my kit comes in]

This sounds cool. CBS is developing even MORE of its biggest shows into games for your wii or Nintendo DS or iPhone!

You can already channel your inner-Grissom with two different "CSI" videogames.  But soon, you'll get the chance to go on an "Amazing Race", prove you're the ultimate "Survivor" or talk to dead people as a "Ghost Whisperer".  No word on when they'll hit stores.  CBS 47 will keep you posted.

As for me, I'm intrigued to try out "Survivor".  It's one of my favorite shows, and when I see the newest castaways each season, I just know I could outwit, outplay and outlast most of them!  I just have a deep aversion to bug bites, bandana buffs and backstabbers... which is why I'd rather have the reality show experience - right from my living room.

Read more about it here.

Are crying, screaming, pooping babies really the answer to marital harmony? Apparently so.

That's according to the "Journal of Happiness Studies".  (Yes, there is actually a "Journal of Happiness Studies"!)  Researchers found that "life satisfaction for married people -- women especially -- goes up the more kids they have."  And as we all know, if mama's happy... everyone's happy.

However, the benefits of child-rearing didn't have as positive an effect on couples who are together, but haven't tied the knot.

Hmmm.  A few months back, I wrote about this study, which found that "90% of couples experience a decrease in marital satisfaction once the first child was born."

So which is it?  My take is... both.  My son and daughter are unbelievable blessings.  My hubby and I love them so ridiculously much, but that doesn't mean every moment is a Hallmark one.  That's life, though.

Maybe I better quit reading these studies...

Seven billion dollars.  That's how much Americans spend on diapers every year. 

We go through two boxes of size 1 diapers a week, and a box of size 3's a month.  And at $20 a pop, that adds up.  Blessedly, our family doesn't have to choose between food or diapers.  But many valley families do - because of the ongoing effects of the state drought.

But there's a way you can help.  Fresno State Nursing Students and PINC (Philanthropy Inspired by the Needs of our Community) will host a food and baby supply drive Saturday, November 7th... from 8am-3pm.

You can drop off donations of diapers and formula at the Fig Garden Shopping Center in Fresno.  There is also a need for non-pershible foods of all kinds.

According to PINC, the state's drought program has run dry... meaning needy Valley families are in more trouble.  500,000 acres in this area were left "unfarmed"... meaning $700 million in ag losses alone.

Many people already generously donate canned goods, boxes of food and other items to local food banks.  But we forget that moms and dads are scrimping to afford diapers and formula - a basic need for babies.  Hope you can help.

Again, the drive is Saturday, Nov. 7th, from 8am-3pm at Fig Garden Village.

For more information, click here.

PINC, by the way, is a non-profit group founded just last year.  Its mission is to raise money and help other non-profits around the region.  For more information, visits its website.

Sounds bizarre, but true...

London scientists believe they'll be able to successfully implant a viable womb from one woman to another - within the next two years.  This BBC report claims, "A breakthrough could offer an alternative to surrogacy or adoption for women whose own wombs have been damaged by diseases such as cervical cancer."

So far, the operation's worked in rabbits.  The researchers plan to move on to bigger animals, like pigs and monkeys.  Then... humans.  Actually, the article says Saudia Arabian surgeons did the first human-to-human transplant back in 2000.  The patient's body rejected the organ three months later, though.

The risks are enormous, since the transplant involves sugically transferring the uterus, then connecting it to almost blood vessels - including the aorta.  And the scientists bank on the recipient hanging on to the transplanted organ - just long enough to carry a baby to term.  Or close to it.

Just how far would you go to bear children?