We almost always have dinner together with the whole family -- Rachel, Jared, Sara, Ezra, and I -- and plan to continue doing so as long as the kids are still living with us. That's the way my folks did it and I think there are definite benefits to sharing a meal together. Of course, there is the occasional exception, but for the most part, we all eat together.

Sometimes, however, that gets a mite tiresome. As much as I love my kids, sometimes I long for adult conversation. Rachel and I talk, but it seems that we invariably end up talking about the kids or other family matters. In addition, we've been together so long (nearly twenty years) and experienced so much together that we're comfortable just being together without talking.

Last night was different. I had dinner with another woman and the conversation was not about whether or not we would take them to the symphony this weekend or when we would get around to clearing out the attic. Instead, we talked of travel and of concerts and of youthful experiences. We laughed, we shared, we had a grand time. We barely even noticed that the kids were there.

It may seem like something of a bore by now, but actress Jennifer Garner has finally come clean about her pregnancy. the Alias star, married to fellow actor Ben Affleck, has caused much speculation over recent months after being photographed wearing comfortable clothing and posing her daughter, Violet, and some pretty expensive handbags in front of her swelling belly.

Not too long ago, former Alias co-star Victor Garber seemingly confirmed the news that Garner was pregnant again. He later recanted, saying his comments were taken out of context. Then her mother-in-law had a similar slip of the lip. Both Jenn and Ben refused to comment on her state of impending mommyhood until just recently, when she confirmed the news.

Now the watch is on to see how big she'll get, whether the baby will be a girl or boy, and what the name will be. These are the things the media is sure we care about and will take every opportunity to tell us. As or the Garner-Afflecks, I can appreciate wanting to keep some of the joy to yourself--they told when they were good and ready, and not a moment before that.

Congrats to Violet's mom and dad! She'll be a big sister soon!

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Second trimester ultrasounds have taken the guesswork out of pregnancy. If you want to know if you should paint the nursery blue or a sweet shade of pink, all you have to do is ask. But for couples who choose not to find out the sex of their baby or who, for whatever reason, don't get that mid-pregnancy ultrasound (my first OB did only a first trimester viability ultrasound and that was it), trying to figure out what you're having before delivery day can be kind of fun.

Nearly every myth about guessing the gender of the baby has been debunked, but scientists who study such things are finding that one of those old wives tales just might be true after all. Women who have the most severe morning sickness symptoms in pregnancy have a higher likelihood of having a girl.

The women who were in the study had been hospitalized with morning sickness or had developed a condition called hypermesis gravidarum. So if you find yourself kneeling in front of the toilet every morning or downing Saltines, sleeve after sleeve, it doesn't mean you should return that little blue onesie. But it is curious that these women with the most severe symptoms were more likely (up to 80% more likely, in fact) to deliver a girl. I wonder why -- any theories?

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The town of Yuma, Arizona sits very near the border of Mexico in the southwest part of the state. It sit so close, in fact, that a wrong turn may lead you right out of the country. As will boarding the wrong school bus, which is exactly what a 6-year-old boy did last week.

The boy was supposed to be on his way home from school, but accidentally got on the wrong bus. He got off the bus at an unfamiliar stop and wandered into San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. His mother said he was disoriented and thought he might walk to his grandfather's house, which is in Mexico. The boy was rescued a passerby, who returned him safely to his home.

Officials at Gadsden Elementary School District are looking into the situation and promise to correct any failures they find the school transportation system. I think a small boy being allowed on the wrong bus and ending up in another country where he is picked up by a total stranger pretty much qualifies as a failure of the system.

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Ricky Martin made himself famous with his song Livin' La Vida Loca, which means "living the crazy life." Martin has traded in one kind of crazy life for another... that of a dad. Instead of singing pop songs in front of thousands, he'll be crooning lullabies to his newborn twin boys.

The boys were born by gestational surrogate, and Ricky's keeping mum on any details beyond that. But his spokesman recently released a statement that said, "Ricky is elated to begin this new chapter in his life as a parent and will be spending the remainder of the year out of the public spotlight in order to spend time with his children." Good for him.

Being a single dad is no small feat; being a single dad to twins will definitely keep Ricky busy. If he runs into trouble, there are plenty of fellow celebrities out there he can turn to. Congratulations to the new dad, and welcome to the world little Martins!

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Having a sick child is no fun for anyone and we all try to avoid it as best we can. For me, not wanting my 7-year-old to get sick is more than about not wanting her to feel bad and maybe miss a day or two of school. It's the medicine. Getting meds down her throat is almost as difficult as bathing the cat. But with the cat, I can at least employ some brute force to get it done. With Ellie, I have a more subtle bag of tricks involving child psychology, bribes and usually something sweet to help wash it down. That something sweet is often juice, which according to new research, might not actually be the best way to help the medicine go down.

Grapefruit juice has long been known to interact with some drugs in a way that can cause blood concentration of the medication to reach toxic levels. But a new study has found that grapefruit and other fruit juices may also block the effects of some drugs. In the study, which was conducted with adult patients, grapefruit, orange and apple juices were found to reduce the absorption of the anticancer drug etoposide; certain beta blockers; cyclosporine, which is used to prevent rejection of transplanted organs; and some antibiotics.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," says Dr. David G. Bailey, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Ontario. "I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected this way."

Dr. Bailey recommends taking most medications with water and advises patients to consult their doctor or pharmacist before taking any medications with grapefruit or other juices.

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Solving the global warming issue or gazing at a caterpillar? Either way, these cute kids are intrigued. Thanks to cifka for today's image!

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Don't mess with Texas, they say, and that's especially true if you're a student in that particular state. The Human Rights Watch and the ACLU recently released a report on corporal punishment in the United States. They found that 25% of the reported 223,190 instances of corporal punishment last year happened in the Lone Star state. An astonishing twenty other states still use this form of physical punishment.

In the South, African-Americans are 1.4 times as likely to be hit than white students, and African-American girls are especially at risk. They're hit twice as often as their white peers. The two human rights groups want to see corporal punishment banned in the United States, saying that hitting kids creates a hostile environment, teaches violence, and creates a barrier to learning. And every now and then, kids get seriously injured. At school. By their educators.

Spanking is a hot topic issue among parents, and no less so here at ParentDish. But beyond my own personal views about spanking, I think that giving another person -- especially another person that you may not know very well -- the right to hit your child at their discretion and outside of your prescence is sheer insanity. I'm grateful this isn't an issue in my own state, where corporal punishment is illegal, and hope that these groups are successful in bringing awareness to this issue. What do you think?

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In some families, the original isn't always the best when it comes to fathers. For 'fragile families', described as low-income urban families prone to non marital births, mothers say that stepfathers are often more engaged, cooperative and willing to share responsibilities than married biological fathers.

A new study finds that while married biological fathers and stepfathers may be almost equally engaged with the children themselves, it is their interaction with mom that often makes stepfathers better parents. The mothers surveyed reported that stepfathers shared their parental views and were more open to talking about their parental wants than natural fathers. Rebekah Levine Coley, a developmental psychologist at Boston College, says this is probably because stepfathers "have to work harder to fit in and to have a useful productive role."

Coley says the findings contradict the popular view among social workers and experts that dads are more invested if the child is of their own flesh and blood. "I think this research does, to some extent, call some of those assumptions into question," she said.

The conclusions were made after interviewing 2,098 urban mothers from the The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study and will be published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

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