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?

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.  

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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?"

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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! 

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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.

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Dear Teacher,

"My son is from a family of divorce..."

It's almost back to school time, and that means time to fill the teacher in on how your kid comes from a broken home. Smart, to be perceived as asking for special treatment, sort of shameful?  It's an odd discussion, but one that must be had. Right?  Check out my post on today's HuffPost Divorce site:  Back to School Confessions

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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 by Aug. 30. 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!  Some runners-up get free milk for a month -- I could use that with four boys in the house.

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PhillyBurbs.com highlights an interesting article from Boston.com about a Tufts University study suggesting that kids who spend time reading to dogs learn and absorb more than those reading alone or to other people. Maybe i've been wrong to keep reading to my six-year-old at bedtime. I can try plopping him down in Rizzo's dog bed with a book instead? I might have to try this.

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"In Praise of Stepfamilies" - Janice Van Dyck's post in today's HuffPost, puts a positive spin on what stepfamiles can teach us. It's nice to see some positive information on stepfamily scenarios. With 1,300 new stepfamilies forming daily, this offers some hope. Check out the six benefits she shares. I agree with all, and am jealous of the last since a stepdaughter just isn't in the cards for me. Four boys.

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If your child disappeared from your side at the mall tomorrow, would you know what to do?

Would you be able to remember his height from that last doctor's appointment or accurately describe his exact hair color to police in the middle of your absolute panic?

The FBI just introduced the Child ID app, a new iPhone app that gives parents one place to electronically store data about their kids - something they could show to security or police on the spot, within seconds of their child gone missing. Parents can even email specifics to additional law enforcement organizations with one click. 

The Child ID app is supposed to be available for platforms besides the iPhone, too. I can't wait; I have a Blackberry, so i'll be watching for it.

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What a great time with 3,500 other bloggers in San Diego! Here's what i'll remember most:    

• Generation Y moms’ optimism, meet Generation X moms’ realism – and vice versa.
• Thousands of other people want to write a book too, so just do it.
• There will always be a visitor who is a hater, whether you’re writing about food or friends.
• Making S’mores in the morning is good. (Without kids, even!) Thanks, Hershey’s suite.
• Introverts will always find a place/way to recharge when with a crowd on a long day (here, it was the San Diego Conference Center sun decks).
• A microphone is an empowering thing.

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As a hopeful twenty-something woman asked for a hint on having it all at yesterday's "Success on Our Own Terms" BlogHer panel, I shook my head in Gen X realism.  The message from the successful panelist, about my age, was loud and clear:  You can't have it all all at once. Redefine success on your own terms.  Kids today. I'd never felt so old and wise, sitting out there in the audience of hundreds, watching the other women my age nod knowingly and watching the Gen Y girls look crestfallen and not nearly convinced.

They'll figure it out.

Case in point:  an hour before the session, I finally received the call i'd been hoping and waiting for all week. I got the meeting i've been wanting so badly for my career - and it's the exact time of Meet Your Teacher day for back-to-school. I won't be taking my sons, i'll be sitting in this meeting.  My choice, yes. The boys will be fine, I tell myself. It's not like last year, when my younger one was headed to kindergarten and it was a really big deal.  It's fifteen minutes of walking into the room. We've been there, done that, in other classrooms. I know the first grade teachers already from my older son.  I will be at Back to School night, the Back to School picnic, and the first PTA meeting (since i'm on the board!).  What's one event?

Still, with all that said, I know my sons will miss me.

Still, I define my "success" on my own terms, feeling that if I can keep building my career and attend 80 percent of my sons' school stuff, I feel OK. And if they are sad because of the other 20 percent?  Selfishly, I think they will survive.  Bad mom or working mom? Who's to say.

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One of the most interesting things I saw at tonight's BlogHer '11 Expo was a "Modern Family" board game by Pressman Toy. I can't wait to get this! Everyone in our house loves to watch the tv show together and now we can hopefully do this as well.  Maybe now we won't watch the old episodes on our DVR all the time. We can just play the game when we need a "Modern Family" fix.

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Check out my posting on today's HuffPost Divorce site - "The Five People You Meet During Your Divorce!"  You just might recognize yourself - or someone you know.

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Four more days until BlogHer '11!  Looking forward to talking with everyone at 'Til Blog Do Us Part' - and seeing San Diego for the first time, learning and sharing ideas with so many creative bloggers, brands and moms. Also will be happy to escape the 90-degree heat of DC.

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