My heart belongs to a sweet, precocious 6-year-old daughter I affectionately call Ladybug. Before she went and made me a mama, I could most often be found furiously tapping away at the computer on deadline for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Now I can most often be found pretending with Ladybug on the living room floor or furiously tapping away at the computer in my home office on deadline for Mitchell Communications Group, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (freelance these days), the Cooperative Extension Service and, now that Ladybug’s in “big school”, a new baby: nwamotherlode.com.

I’ve been a newspaper reporter for 15 years (counting my freelance work) in various cities across Arkansas and covered a broad range of topics including crime, courts, business and education. Before leaving full-time work to become a home-office mom, I was a K-12 education reporter at the Dem-Gaz and for five years wrote articles for Right Time Right Place, a feature in the paper’s Profiles section about how married couples met their match. I still write and shoot pics for “Classy Cook,” a monthly feature in the Food section.

While I’m not working or having adventures with my daughter and/or my husband, I love to read novels and psychology books, sing old church songs and 80s music and take walks with my black standard poodle and ice blue iPod. I live far enough away from family that I rely on neighbors, friends and virtual community to help me navigate motherhood and life.

You can read more about Shannon’s family adventures on her Motherlode blog “Life With Ladybug.” E-mail Shannon by clicking here.

I’m the mama of 3 little ones – 6-year-old Adam, 3-year-old Jack and 1-year-old Kate. But long before the babies came along, I took a job as a receptionist in the newsroom of the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I was fresh out of college and, after several months of paying my dues typing wedding announcements and school lunch menus, my boss promoted me to reporter and editor of the business section and gave me my own personal column, now known as The Rockwood Files.

After nearly four years at the newspaper, I left for a job with an ad agency, got married and spent a year working in St. Louis. My husband and I moved back to Arkansas in 2000, and I worked as director of marketing for The Bank of Fayetteville – a position I held until our son Adam was born in late 2001.

Well, one baby led to another baby who led to another baby. You know how it goes. Between all the diapering, baby burping and errand running, I’ve kept my newspaper column alive by working part-time from home. I’ve squeezed out a few freelance marketing projects here and there and published a handful of stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Boy, am I tired.

Then one day Shannon called me with this great idea and, well, another kind of “baby” was born – nwamotherlode.com. Like the other babies, it took a while to get it here. It requires constant feeding, and we’re always trying to help it grow. But just like life with my real kids, it’s an adventure, and it sure is fun.

When I’m not writing, diapering, dropping off, picking up or folding clothes, I love to have dinner out, leave the dirty dishes on the table and go see a movie with my husband and a big box of Raisinets.

Check out Gwen’s blog, The Rockwood Files, or e-mail her by clicking here.

Dear fellow mamas, you just thought you loved beauty products. But that’s before you met Amy. I might say that Amy is the most knowledgeable beauty product junkie I know, but she’s so much more than that. She’s like the benevolent queen of the beauty product junkies.

I’ve known her since we twirled together on the majorette line in college. (Yeah, we wore the sequins and the whole bit.) Since then, she completed law school, got married, passed the bar exam, worked for a Fortune 500 energy company, had two kids (Philip and Rachel, ages 5 and 2) and is now a full-time mama to them. And she’s managed to do all this and still be the most informed person I know when it comes to the latest and greatest beauty product innovations. I never go to the makeup counter without first e-mailing Amy to see what she’s using and why.

Of course, different people have different opinions about products. That’s a given. But even if Amy doesn’t know about a particular product you ask about, she’ll use her research powers to track down a good answer for you. And she’ll gather a collection of product reviews by our fellow mamas for your perusal. Enjoy. E-mail Amy by clicking here.

Amy’s Fab 5

Okay, mamas. Meet Rhonda. She’s my friend and also my hair stylist. I met her years ago through another friend whose hair consistently looked so healthy and fabulous that it was starting to secretly tick me off. So instead of envying my friend’s good hair fortune, I finally asked her who was cutting her hair. One month later, I was sitting in Rhonda’s magic chair.

What I really like about Rhonda is that she isn’t one of those fakey-fake, syrupy sweet hair stylists who will tell you exactly what you want to hear, take your Mastercard and send you on your delusional way. If you ask for her professional opinion, she’ll give it to you. She’s never brutal, but she is honest.

I asked her to host this hair forum because she really knows hair but also because she’s funny, she tells a good story and she’s got two teenage daughters so she completely understands the complexities of hair drama. When your hair looks like crap, your mood often goes right along with it.

So, if you need hair wisdom or a product recommendation or a good laugh, you’ve clicked on the right spot.

E-mail Rhonda by clicking here.