Erin Mantz

Driving in to work today, I was sad to hear the news that Hostess is filing for Chapter 11. The maker of my favorite childhood cupcakes can't cave! Just last year, my sons spotted me veering toward the Hostess snacks and picking up Ho-Hos. "What are those?" they asked. I was shocked they didn't know and were missing out, because of me, on Hostess goodies appearing in their school lunch bags. I started buying Ho-Hos that day - hadn't had one since probably 1982 - and they were as good as ever to me, and a great treat to the boys. Something about Hostess made my childhood happier. I think i'm going to stock up before they disappear. Do Ding Dongs freeze well?

As parents, we are forever grateful to people who look after, help and/or work with our kids. What's the right kind of gratitude to express at holiday time? Check out my piece where etiquette experts give some good advice:  Ho Ho Ho - How Much? Holiday Tipping Tips from Etiquette Experts on www.Care.com.

Remember your first love and/or the girlfriend who turned her back on you in high school?  Facebook won't let you forget. Check out my HuffPost Women blog post today!

Check out my latest article on Care.com:  "Child Care Choices:  Au Pair, Nanny or Daycare?"  I enjoyed talking to experts investigating pros and cons for each, and drew on my personal mom experience of having used great nannies and amazing daycare centers. (Did I just get lucky?)

Interestingly, I just heard on the radio Forbes listed the Washington, DC area (where I live) as #9 on the Best Cities for Working Moms" list for salary, but we are also lowest ranked on child care.  So, it's a wash?  Go figure.

As a mom, what's more important to you - that your kids have good manners or good grades?  According to a new study by Women at NBCU, 77% of moms surveyed prefer to have kids with good manners instead of good grades. I ask - it is too much to hope for both?

I was just having a conversation with a mom the other day about some elementary schoolers who don't say please and thank you enough or sometimes forget to flush the toilet. But they are "teachable" kids, getting consistently good grades at school. Why can't they learn their manners?  Is it simple forgetfulness, a lack of trying on the parents' part, some kind of rebellion or just bad habits? Either way, one can only hope they will rise above it to meet the manners expectations at home just as they meet requirements in academics.

The study raises an interesting issue. After all, if you send your son off to dinner at a fancy friend's house and they eat spaghetti with their hands and never say thanks before leaving, it won't matter if he/she got a top grade in math. He'll make a bad impression, period.

Thanks to everyone who voted for my video last month in Got Milk's "Latte Love" mom blog contest. I was a Top 20 finalist out of hundreds of entries, so thank you!  Though I did not win the grand prize trip to NYC to meet the next Milk Mustache celebrity, I did win free milk for a month. Congrats to winner Cassie Wasem.

Every day, I tell myself I will place and enforce a concrete limit on my sons' electronic game time (Wii, iTouch, cell phone and website games). Now, there's another reason to movitate me to do so. Michigan State University researchers found that early and preteen middle schoolers who played more video games were more likely to hold negative views of their parents. Could this be why my six-year old talks back so much? This Vancouver Sun article tells us more - motivation to really put those time restrictions in place.  

Moms of boys, does this sound familiar?

In a given day, I often ask my 10 year-old son, who can seem a bit quiet or moody, all of the following:

- "Are you ok?"
- "Is something bothering you?"
- "How do you feel?"
- "What's wrong?"

I get the same answers --"Yes, no, fine, nothing." My six year-old is responding the same way! I worry they aren't confiding in me, sharing their feelings with me, facing their feelings or are letting potential embarassment get the best of them.

But here is some relief for me and other moms of boys who know the above conversations (or lack thereof) so well. A new study from the University of MIssouri says that boys avoid discussing problems not because of some sense of embarrassment, but because they believe that doing so is a waste of time. Check out this article on Futurity.com: "Talk About Problems? Boys Say Why Bother?"

Hi, I'm in a mom blogger contest for a "Got Milk" video I made at BlogHer ’11 San Diego and would love your vote. Click here, search "Mantz" and vote for my video! You can even vote daily. I could win a trip to NYC to interview the new mystery "Milk Mustache" celebrity and interview him/her for my blog! 

Critics of Kraft's Miracle Whip "Not For Every Relationship" contest have obviously never had to pay a divorce attorney. The contest asks people to tell their story about how Miracle Whip has affected their relationship for a chance to win $25,000 for their wedding OR divorce.

I think the brand should be applauded for being in touch with the reality of their consumers/families today. Many moms buy Miracle Whip, and the reality we live in is that a good portion of these moms are thinking about divorce and facing horrible financial battles. So why shouldn't the brand support all moms and give divorcing moms a chance to win the money?

Open up the refrigerator in homes of single moms and blended families - there's Miracle Whip in there, too.