I was fortunate to be at a book signing last night in Palo Alto where Maria Shriver answered some very interesting questions. I'm going to show them to you out of sequence, because my favorite came at the end. (I also have a bunch of photos of the event on Flickr.)

She was asked what it was like balancing work and family life when she has 4 kids and such a high-powered husband. While we're not all married to the Governor of California, she has some helpful advice for anyone trying to do the juggle.

She also gets asked to work with many, many worthwhile organizations, but she is only one person. How does she manage?

She was also asked about how she manages to incorporate mindfulness (a topic of her new book "Just Who Will You Be?") into her daily life.

It seems like everyone else in her family has run for President — is she planning on it?

And at the very end, a smart-ass blogger (is there any other kind?) asked her for advice for getting us all on Oprah.

Fingers crossed!

I couldn't be more excited that this vintage button jewelry business is taking off! How to be a popular mommyblogger — I really can't improve on the title. Fine. If you're a exploitative zombie-pimp, you're my favorite exploitative zombie-pimp. (I'm not sure the pic at the end of the post could be any cuter.) Scary recall of dietary supplements for toxic levels of selenium. And I reviewed some Neutrogena SPF 70 sunscreen for your face but don't wear it to work. Or really anywhere you want to look not stupid.

I've had a post in draft for two weeks about a new WordPress plugin I'm using, but I kept holding off on publishing it because I thought it might be too techy (read: "boring") for my personal blog. However, I've recently seen a few posts out there by people searching for answers to the problem this plugin solves, so here goes.

Darren has a great post about getting interactive with your blog readers. Among other things, Megan asks how do you respond to comments, and Problem Girl says she's going to start responding to comments even though it is a pain for her to do on Blogger.

I used to have the dilemma about responding to comments too. If someone asked a general question I would respond on the blog, but otherwise I'd respond in email. What I didn't like about this approach is that when you looked at the comments on my posts it appeared that I never respond when that is not the case.

So a few weeks ago I was delighted to discover a WordPress plugin called Comment Email Responder. It lets you respond to comments on your blog, and your response ALSO gets emailed to the original commenter. It is freaking fabulous.

Do you already use the Subscribe to Comments plugin? No problem, if the person you're responding to is already subscribed to that entry, they will only get one email, not two. Sweet.

The only downside of the plugin is that you have to respond separately to each comment, so you end up looking like a jackass who is trying to inflate the comment count. But I think it works so well for the readers in every other way that I'm willing to look like a jackass.

See what I do for you people? Aw… I'm feeling the love already ;-)

Every year since we started having kids, Spring has meant time to start visiting the San Francisco Zoo. We're members and we usually go on the monthly Member Day so we can get in early. I know what we need to do when, so we get in and out with few child or adult meltdowns.

I really thought I had our zoo trips all scoped out, but then last Christmas day everything changed. (Read more on the Silicon Valley Moms Blog…)

For the past few years I have gotten terrible sleep every night. Around 9 or 10pm I would get the Jimmy Legs, and it would be downhill from there. It would be really hard to fall asleep, and then I would wake up many times and not be able to fall asleep again. Even when I was asleep it wasn't very deep or restful.

So I finally went to the doctor and she gave me tips like not watching TV in the evening, reading books, drinking warm milk, and so on. But she closed with the offer of a prescription for Ambien. Sigh, I was disappointed that her advice really boiled down to 'take drugs' and I declined.

Hallelujah!

I no longer remember which magazine I found the advice that worked, but it was something silly and definitely not a scientific journal or medical magazine. It was a single sentence in a sidebar that recommended taking a Magnesium supplement before bedtime. At that point I was willing to try anything, especially when I saw that a bottle of it was $3 at Target!

I felt stupid, and kind of like I'd gotten the wool pulled over my eyes, but that night I took a magnesium pill. I fell asleep. I slept all night. I woke up refreshed.

The hell?

It must have been a coincidence, or psychosomatic, right? No! It has been working for months and months now — and recently I discovered that Dr. Google recommends adding calcium to the mix as well, and in a 2-1 ratio with the magnesium.

I tell you people, this has SAVED MY LIFE. I can SLEEP AT NIGHT. I can function again. (And with bones this strong, I'll be in my 90s crushing cities like Godzilla.)

So here's my sleep recipe: 1000mg Calcium and 500mg Magnesium about an hour before I want to be asleep. That's it. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, I suppose following this advice might kill you or just not work at all. Please talk to a real doctor before trying this.

But seriously, for me it's like magic.

—

(Here's the exact calcium magnesium supplement I take. It is a huge horse pill, but they're easy to break in half if you need to. Or you can look around for other options.)

Poor Chip… He's 3 and his brothers are 5 and 6, and all he really wants is for me to let him do what his brothers do.

He can't understand why I don't send him to kindergarten. He gets mad that he doesn't play T-Ball. He wants to bring home homework. And what do I do? I thwart him at every turn. If I'm not telling him "You can go to kindergarten when you're 5" I'm saying "Your classroom doesn't do homework." In short, I'm just that bitch who is keeping him down.

But hell if he isn't resourceful.

When we go to T-Ball games, he puts on a baseball cap and tells me it's his uniform. He packs up artwork from daycare and carries it around for days telling all who will listen about his homework. He is almost resigned to the fact that I won't send him to kindergarten, but when he asks me "Mommy, where's my team??" he is completely unsatisfied with my response of "Honey, I'm your team."

You should see the terrifying look he gives me. I'm considering sending him to boarding school for his teen years.

Aw shucks, thanks!

Yay — new book on the way :)

Um, so don't cross her.

Finally some good news!

Wow, yes Erin, you are a troublemaker, but this reaction is ludicrous.

Watch out for this amazing, strong, resilient mom. I heart her.

And I reviewed a cute book for moms on my review site.

Wendy of 'eMomsAtHome' has rebranded her site as Sparkplugging. Stop by, kick the tires, and let her know how great it looks :)

Sage but startling advice.

Yay, baby's first bath never looked sweeter!

Great post on Camp Babygate. (Never apologize for a long post, Susan!)

The BlogHer '08 newbie mixer has been announced.

Son of Bossy Kicks Ass! (And a rare sighting of Mr. Bossy. I think he needs to get that blurriness checked out. It could be something serious.)

I hate hate hate hate potty training, and I'm not even the one who has to wear a pullup.

Way to monetize that blog, baby!

Yes, and I love it when they give you 400 ketchup packs too.

Now that's my kind of birth story.

I weep for the future of our children.

Possibly the best movie pitch EVER!

I faxed her some pregnancy-safe crack, whatchoo got?

I love Five Star Friday!

I have a sneaking suspicion that Bossy will be the subject of an important Facebook meeting come Monday.

Susan needs suggestions on how to bathe a child with a broken arm.

(Just about to post this and it occurs to me that while I try to highlight lesser-know bloggers in GRIT, this has somehow turned into the rockstars of blogging edition. Sorry, I'll do better next time :)

Lisa at Clusterfook is living in the present — are you?

For sure, women need something for themselves.

The last line made me snort coffee out my nose!

Good gravy, is it just me, or is this dress really beautiful?

Yes, balance is good, but it's important for women to get a seat at the table. I need my own June Cleaver!