Thanks, Namco Bandai, for this great combination of an educational and fun game for the Nintendo DS!

What could be more fun than raising your very own panda babies? Okay, fine. They’re virtual panda babies, but still. You get to pet and cuddle them, not to mention giving them awesome toys, fancy clothes, yummy bamboo treats, refreshing showers, and more. You can also build a panda house (mine is a log cabin with blue and white polka-dot carpet). Your little cutie even develops its own personality, depending on how you treat them.

When your panda grows up, new panda babies arrive, bringing double the trouble and triple the fun. Personally, I like having multiple pandas because it’s terribly cute to watch them all tumble around together.

For every day that I played, I unlocked new features that taught me about my pandas. There’s no real plot to advance; the simple goal is for you to help your panda friends grow up. Similar games include Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, SIMs, Tamagotchi, and Neopets.

My recommendation: kids who love animals will probably love this too.

So there’s my son’s birthday party all planned and ready to go, and I had four kids who just would not respond. And this is after I had to hunt down three others past the RSVP date.

Have you ever gotten a party invite, then completely ignored it?

I left a nice message for one mom, asking if her son was coming to the party, and what did I hear from her? Crickets! The party was at a skating rink (20 bucks a kid, for the record), and as luck would have it, this boy showed up anyway. I didn’t have his name on the list, didn’t have a goody bag for him … and now I’m the mean mom? Please.

Not to mention that my husband accidentally invited a few extra kids while talking to their moms about the party. I could have throttled him!

Where’s the RSVP love? Does anyone else have this problem?

Last Sunday, my ears wouldn't stop ringing, my back hurt, my knees hurt, I had an all-day headache, and no amount of napping or OTC medication seemed to help. Am I a candidate for one of those "medical mystery" documentaries? No! I'm a Dancing Queen!

One of my best friends had a birthday on Saturday night, and we welcomed her late 30s with 7 hours of cocktails and shimmying all over a dance floor.

It was a successful night from beginning to end.

First – and I can't remember the last time I did this – I spent over an hour getting ready. I applied record amounts of eyeliner. I had product in my hair. The straightening iron was revived. Flat shoes were nowhere to be seen. I wore my very best bra. As I kissed my family goodbye, my husband said, "You look hot, babe!"

At the first bar, a group of Scottish tourists were wholly unconvinced that my friend and I were in our late 30s. We decided that the tequila must be acting as a preservative, and ordered another round.

At the club (once the so-so band got off the stage), 6 of us taught that dance floor a lesson it won't soon forget. I pulled out some of my old moves – they still worked! – and created a few new ones. We laughed and twirled, and if I had a dime for every time one of us shouted, "OhmygodIloooooovethissong!!" at the top of her lungs, I'd have $37.50.

One by one, people went home. But at 4:30 in the morning when the house lights flashed and the DJ left the decks, my friend, her husband, and I were still standing. My hair had long since stopped behaving and I was no longer as committed to sucking in my gut, but I had made it to the very end of the night.

There's nothing I like more than a quiet night at home with my daughter and husband. But I have to admit, dancing 'til dawn is a rare and precious treat for this hardworking mama.