We thought we've had bad experiences flying with kids. This is worse. Devorah Pasternak, of Akron, Ohio, sent us a copy of her letter to AirTran about her experience flying from Pittsburgh -- or rather, not flying. She and her 2-year-old twins got kicked off the plane when one twin wouldn't stay seated in her own seat. AirTran's response is after the letter...

Dear AirTran Airways, Customer Relations:

I am writing to inform you of my experience onboard Flight 471 (nonstop from Pittsburgh to Ft. Lauderdale). This flight was to be my first time flying with my twin daughters, Tirtzah and Rivka, who turned two years old in January. I was five months pregnant at the time and did much to prepare to fly with my girls for the first time, including several calls and/or e-mails to AirTran re: regulations, documentation, baby snacks, car seats and other miscellaneous questions. I booked three full priced tickets, given that my girls would be 2 years old, and I was told car seats were optional.

If you are a woman of childbearing age in Los Angeles, you may have heard of me. I often get introduced at baby showers as, "My friend who gave birth in a parking lot." Having a baby in a parking lot is not what I thought I would become known for, but it was one of the best experiences of my life and, luckily, I love telling -- and retelling -- my birth story.

A watched pot never boils. At three days past my due date with my second child, I knew what it felt like to be the pot. Every time I came downstairs -- in the morning, after a midday nap, before dinner -- my in-laws, who were in town for the birth, observed, "Still no baby?"

Read all about it...

Lea Lion grew up in Squirrel Hill and is now a Los Angeles-based journalist. She is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and a current contributor to L.A. Weekly and The Eastsider. She is the co-founder of Drumwordspokenbeat. She wrote this for the Huffington Post.

Blogger: The Busy Budgeting Mama, Shaler

Our girls' playroom is full of past DIY (do it yourself) projects and budget friendly storage solutions.

I love their play kitchen pieces. I LOVED playing kitchen when I was little.. so it makes me sooo happy seeing the girls love playing in that space. We grabbed them up at a Church Flea Market and a local thrift store. I think the total for the 3 pieces was $15. I had spray painted two of them white to freshen them up.

For the cafe awning, I had a HUGE cardboard IKEA box leftover. I painted it white with leftover ceiling paint... taped off stripes... and spray painted it yellow!

Read lots and lots of details about the playroom and see more pictures here.

Natalie, aka the Busy Budgeting Mama, is the mother of Sophie, Sienna and Micah and a freelance graphic designer. She runs the Etsy shop The Pretty Paperie and will use any excuse to throw a party.

Blogger: Instantly Interruptible, Mt Lebanon

On my blog, I've complained about the commercialization of Christmas, but perhaps that's to be expected. But I've noticed lately that Easter has become more commercialized as well.

As a parent who has purchased toys from Toys R Us, I get the sporadic email blast from the toy company that advertises sales and promotions. But this past week I've received emails every single day. Today, the email instructed me to "hop on in and save!"

A cute, fuscia bunny adorns the ad, making the point very clear. Parents: buy your children toys for Easter. Read more...

Julie Azzam is the mother of two young children and an ardent fan of children's literature, especially picture books. She teaches literature at the University of Pittsburgh. Her posts on Great Gardening Reads and Back to School Books were also featured on PlayGround.