Staff writer Jennifer Broadwater received a Gold for her news feature “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” from the April issue which pointed out how preteens can ruin future careers by making bad choices on social media.

Writer Laura Barnhardt Cech received a Gold for general feature writing for her story “Momnesia” which ran in the September issue and highlighted what happens to a mom’s brain during and after pregnancy. Cech also won a Silver for the service feature “When Nursing doesn’t come naturally” from the September issue.

Writer Deidre McCabe received Gold for her profile “Double Overtime” from the December 2008 issue which highlighted the life of Ladies’ Terps Coach Brenda Frese after the birth of her twins.

Writer Joya Fields received Bronze for her travel feature “DC in a day” and for her part in a series on museums to visit downtown.

Bronze awards were also garnered  for cover photography by Drew Anthony Smith for the cover “Tackling Gender Roles” from the July issue. That same story garnered a Bronze for best feature layout for art director Michele Moy and graphic designer Brian Young.

The magazine was awarded Bronze in best overall photography and best overall reporting and Silver awards for headline writing and briefs. A Bronze also went to Cheryl Clemens for her editor’s notes.

Set the family on course for a new adventure this month at the Maryland Science Center.

A traveling exhibit called “GPS Adventures” will be at the center through April 18. Visitors can explore cutting-edge Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology and take part in an interactive Inner Harbor Geocaching hunt.

“GPS Adventures” will guide visitors through the history and future of navigation with more than 20 activities in a 4,500-square-foot maze. Obstacles and puzzles demonstrate the impact and advancement of GPS technology and how it is used. Each completed task or challenge leads visitors one step closer to their destination of Treasure City.

After completing the activities inside the center, visitors can head out on the hunt through Geocaching, a family-friendly treasure hunting game where participants use actual GPS devices provided by the Maryland Science Center to search for caches hidden around the Inner Harbor.

Admission to the Science Center is $14.95 to $24.95 for adults and $10.95 to $18.95 for children. For details and tickets, visit www.marylandsciencecenter.org or call 410-685-5225.

The last time I put prints in an album was a year and a half ago. And that was a whole year’s worth of prints that I finally got around to uploading.

This is a problem because I love looking at photo albums. The kind of album you can actually sit on a couch and hold in your lap — not the kind filling up all the space on my laptop hard drive. My kids love looking at albums too. They spend hours pouring over photo albums looking at how cute they were as babies and how much their friends have changed. To look at photos on the computer would just mean more screen time for them — something I’m trying to cut back on.

I declared in January that getting the photos printed was going to be my project of the month — but it never happened. And now there are thousands of photos that will take hours to upload. Every day that I put off the project, the more cumbersome it becomes.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my digital camera. I would never go back to film. But I hate that all those photos are in my computer — waiting for it to crash so they will be lost forever.

Despite a hard winter, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will open for the season Saturday at 10 a.m.
A Grand Opening Weekend celebration is planned for Saturday and Sunday with admission rates reduced to $5 per person. Children under 2 are always free.
“This has been a pretty tough winter for all of us in Maryland,” said Don Hutchinson, president/CEO of the zoo. “The zoo suffered a great deal of damage, but I am proud of the great work our staff did during the storms and the work they are now doing  to clean up the campus and ready the grounds for visitors.”
Some exhibits such as the Marsh Aviary and the African Aviary will remain closed until further notice because of damage suffered during the snow storms, according to Hutchinson. And on some days, certain animals may not be on exhibit due to the conditions of their yards, he said. In many cases mud caused by melting snow can be dangerous to certain species such as giraffes, he explained.
New this year will be the zoo’s latest train, the Jones Falls Zephyr, which will open later in the spring and chug along a wooded section of the zoo.
Admission for the 2010 season for adults will be $14 during the week and when purchased on line and $16 on weekends; seniors, $12 during the week and online and $13 on weekends; children 2-11, $10 during the week and online and $11 on weekends. For details visit www.marylandzoo.org.

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.

The fun snowy weather is, hopefully, behind us and now it’s time to march toward spring. But this is where things always seem to hit a snag.

It would be a perfect world in my mind if it was in the 50s every day in March, the 60s every day in April and the 70s every day in May. Unfortunately, this is never the case.

The other night, I could not get warm. I put on my pajamas along with a fleece top and climbed under the covers but I was still freezing. As I lay there, I tried to remember what it felt like to be so hot the sheets stick to you. It’s funny how hard that is to remember when it’s 30 degrees outside. I just kept reminding myself that it’s almost spring. And then before we know it, it will be summer. Hope it’s a hot one.

Laura Blank knew when she was ready to become a mother. She was recently married, well-traveled and fulfilled at her work. She just happened to be 39.

Jessica Beck felt confident about when she should start a family too. She was also recently married, had been a nanny and preschool teacher but had just turned 22.

“It was the right time for me,” says Beck, a mother of two daughters from southern Pennsylvania. “It was always what I wanted to do.”

Blank, a mother of two in Catonsville, is equally happy about waiting to start a family. “I feel like I have a lot of life experience,” she says.

There are pros and cons to becoming a mother at any age, experts say. A younger mother might have more energy, but lack some of the financial and social stability of an older mother. An older mom might have more medical complications than her younger counterparts. But those are only generalizations. And no matter what age, spouses, fertility issues, finances and career moves may all influence the decision to start a family — or add to one.

“There are so many factors,” says Jennifer Sober, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Cockeysville, adding that there isn’t a universal “best time” for everyone.

In general, women are waiting longer to become mothers. From 1970 to 2006, the proportion of first births to women aged 35 years and older increased nearly eight times, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2006, about 1 out of 12 first births were to women aged 35 years and older, compared with 1 out of 100 in 1970.

Still, the average age of mothers in the United States is about 25 years old — 26 in Maryland.

Donna Bogash was taken aback to find she didn’t meet the requirements of one religious group she wanted to join with her two sons. It had an age cut-off of 35 for the mothers involved. She was in her early 40s at the time.

“It stung. I mean, they don’t know me,” says Bogash, a stay-at-home mom in Reisterstown. “It really hurt.”

Bogash has responded by creating a Maryland branch of Motherhood Later Than Sooner, a national organization aimed at uniting moms who are 35-plus.

“This is creating a support where none has existed,” says Bogash. “There’s a stigma to being an older mom.”

Bogash, who became a mother for a the first time at 33 years old and again at the age of 36, is considering having a third child. She is now 49.

But she was a little reluctant to mention it to her friends, most of whom are younger. Even though she is physically fit and feels energetic, Bogash says, “I didn’t want to hear, ‘You’re too old.’”

Sometimes, women don’t have a choice as to when they start a family.

Blank, for instance, didn’t intend to be an older mother. “My husband didn’t come along until then,” she says. “I wasn’t going to get married just to get married.”

The result was that she had her daughter when she was 39 years old and her son when she was 42.

Most of the time age isn’t an issue. Every once in a while, her age difference will be apparent when she’s talking with other — younger — moms. “When we talk about music and movies,” says Blank, now 45. “They’ll say something like, ‘We watched this when I was a kid,’ and I’ll be thinking, ‘I was in college when that came out.’”

Before children, Blank traveled and had multiple jobs and relationships. “Sometimes I forget not everyone has had that,” she says.

Beck says she’s always known what she wanted to do — be a stay-at-home mom. And she didn’t see the point in waiting too long after she was married.

“I’ve known forever what I wanted to do,” she says.

“I’d been a nanny for older moms and I wanted to have the energy to run around with my kids,” says Beck, who has a 22-month-old daughter and a 3-month-old daughter.

Beck also feels lucky that her parents are young enough to be active and involved with her daughters.

Medically, there are advantages to being a mother younger in life, experts say.

Advanced maternal age is considered 35 years old, because the rate of chromosomal abnormalities tend to sharply increase at that point, says Dr. Laura Erdman of Charles Street Ob-Gyn Associates.

Women over 35 years old have higher rates of miscarriages and complications including preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

Younger women also tend to have an easier time getting pregnant, says Erdman. “Their recovery is easier too,” she says.

But, Erdman says, “From a social perspective, an older mom might have confidence and be more socially and financially stable.”

How age affects parenting hasn’t been researched very much except at the extremes, in teenaged mothers and mothers over 45, Sober says.

What may have a greater influence on how well mothers adjust to their roles as parents is the amount of support they have, financially and socially. A network of friends, a strong marriage and active grandparents can all make a tremendous difference, Sober says.

“The support you have when you have children, especially young kids, is so important,” says Sober.

Average age of moms in Maryland:
In 1970 — 21.6 years old. In 2006 — 26.1 years old.
Average age of moms in the U.S.:
In 1970 — 21.4 years old. In 2006 — 25.0
Source: National Center for Health Statistics - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db21.htm#are

About the only thing similar in both experiences was I was terribly nauseated during my first trimester. Beyond that, we’re talking night and day.

At 25 I had a cute little body, tons of energy and was thrilled to finally be starting a family. I’d wanted to be a mother ever since I could remember, and I loved being pregnant.

Pat my belly? Go for it! Wanna hear about my prenatal exercise class? Isn’t this maternity suit I bought for work adorable? Feel how thick my hair has gotten since I’ve been pregnant. Want to see my sonogram?

After Danny was born, I tried so hard to be perfect. He had a strict nap schedule, I strategically timed the introduction of all his solid foods and I nursed him for 10 months. My husband and I lived in an apartment in the city and I worked days while he worked nights so one of us would always be home with the baby.

Looking back, those were good days. As parents, we had no idea what we were doing, but we did our best.

Ten years later I learned baby No. 3 was on the way. By then we’d been in our house for eight years, and I’d stopped working to stay home with our two kids. The cute body was long gone, as was my energy level. Pregnancy No. 3 wasn’t nearly as fascinating, except that this time the kids got to enjoy feeling the baby kick and watching it grow and move.

By then almost all my girlfriends had at least one child, so our pregnancy conversations mostly touched on things like indigestion, hemorrhoids, swapping maternity clothes and when to drag all the baby stuff out of the attic.

After Rosalie was born, being perfect no longer mattered to me. She usually napped in her car seat running to and from the store, soccer, basketball, gymnastics and school events. I nursed her for 6 months and she sampled soda, ice cream and doughnuts long before her older siblings ever had.

Looking back, those days were good. As parents, we felt comfortable in what we were doing and we did our best.

Check out or story on page 16 about the benefits and drawbacks of starting a family earlier or later in life. I’m sure everyone can relate to one end of the spectrum, if not both.

Last week my youngest told me she wanted a baby brother. Maybe next year when she turned 10, she said.

“Really?” I said calmly, when I really wanted to scream, “Are you kidding me?!”

I tried 25 and 35, but I have no desire to visit labor and delivery at 45.

The other night was a typical one in our house.

I left work at 5:30, picked up Rosie at an after-school activity at 6, swung by the house to pick up Lucy and headed to the station to wait for my husband’s train. (Once in a while all three of us Clemens girls like to pick up Dad together.)

Back at home, Lucy started making spaghetti for dinner, Rosie began her homework and Dan and I changed for a quick date at the gym.

Finally back at home at 8, we all sat on the couch together. I was sweaty and starving, exhausted, overwhelmed thinking about all I had to do before bed and guilty for having left the girls to go to the gym.

That’s when Rosie leaned over, sniffed my hair and smiled.

“Mama, you smell just like a freshly made Build-a-Bear,” she told me, then put her head on my shoulder.

Seems I was obsessing about everything except the gift in front of me — three of my four wonderful family members, settled onto the couch spending a few quiet moments together.

Up until then I think I was the only one worrying because it was such a “crazy” night. To everyone else, it was just a night and they were taking it in stride.

I exhaled, put my feet up and let everything else go. You know, it’s not every night I get to smell like Build-a-Bear.

Starting Saturday, March 6, Marylanders are asked to leave bags of non-perishable canned food items at their mailboxes, which will be picked up by letter carriers, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts as part of the 24th annual Harvest for the Hungry/U.S. Postal Service Food Drive.

Since its inception in 1986, Harvest for the Hungry has raised more than 29 million pounds of food to feed hungry Marylanders. This year’s sponsors include: The Maryland Food Bank, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, Boy Scouts, Coldwell Banker, Safeway, MorganStanley SmithBarney, The Baltimore Sun Media Group, WBAL-TV, WBAL-AM 1090 and Comcast.

The public can also drop-off food donations at participating Safeway stores, Coldwell Banker offices and your local post office.

In addition to the mailbox food donation collections, this year Coldwell Banker will sponsor “Stuff-a-Truck” food collection effort. Two locations for the collections will be in Ellicott City and Arundel Mills. The truck will be at the Safeway in Arundel Mills on March 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on March 13 — the final day of the drive — from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Safeway in Long Gate Shopping Center in Ellicott City.

The mission of the Maryland Food Bank is to lead the movement and nurture the belief that together we can improve the lives of all Marylanders by ending hunger. The Maryland Food Bank has facilities in Baltimore and Salisbury comprising nearly 107,000-square-feet of warehouse, refrigerator and freezer space. The Maryland Food Bank, now in its 30th year of operation, distributed 18.6 million pounds of food last year through its statewide network of food distribution agencies. The Maryland Food Bank is a member of Feeding America.

For more information on participating locations, visit www.mdfoodbank.org/harvest.

I’ll never forget one day in my teenage years when I was so angry with my mom that I told her she “sucked.” As soon as the word was out of my mouth, I was totally horrified with myself. I ran out of the house before I could find out what she would do, and didn’t return until after they were in bed. I couldn’t sleep that night I was so filled with remorse. I could not believe I had used my mother’s all time worst word against her.

Flash forward 28 years. I’m now 43, have four kids of my own and I’m still sensitive to the word. It still makes me cringe more than any cuss word in the English language. So imagine my horror when I was driving in my car the other day, listening to a popular radio station and suddenly heard the word repeated over and over again. It was a commercial for a gum or patch to help smokers quit. They talked about how much it sucked to give up smoking, how much it sucked to have a drink without a cigarette blah blah blah. They must have said the word 10 times in a 30-second spot. My jaw dropped, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When did that word enter the mainstream? When did it become so acceptable that it was ok to broadcast it across the airwaves — at 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, no less?

My only consolation was that my kids were not in the car with me. Or my mother.