First Lady Michelle Obama visits Labor Dept.

The first lady spoke to Labor Department employees in Washington on Thursday (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

First lady Michelle Obama visited the Labor Department on Thursday and expressed "profound heartbreak" over the losses attributed to the Haitian earthquake.

"The destruction and the suffering that we see, the images that are coming out of that country are just overwhelming, and it is important for the people of Haiti to know that we are keeping the victims of this tragedy and their loved ones in our thoughts and our prayers," Obama said.

The Labor Department was the fourteenth stop on the first lady's continuing tour of federal agencies. It also served as another opportunity to show off her new hairdo, or what the official pool report described as her "sleek new bob."

Obama herself as one of the "120 percenters," who give 120 percent to the job, to kids, to family and are generally left carrying around guilt for shortchanging everyone. She called for better policies that allow parents more flexibility to balance life and work.

Her remarks were followed by a visit to the department's child care center, where she read the classic "Green Eggs and Ham" to roughly a dozen children, ages 3 to 5.

The children quizzed her on several topics, mostly about Malia, Sasha and First Dog Bo. Obama said the girls like to play on their computers and enjoyed the swing set in the snow and that the family does not own horses.

The first lady also noted that she turns 46 on Sunday.