login form on page

Hi all,
Do you know if its possible to have a login form on home page or other site pages as in CMS systems Which is how i really want to use wordpress. Username/password, login button, register – such as the login form which appears on a new page in wordpress. Ideally i want to put a login in the sidebar.

Also, prob number two: unless my installation is completly messed-up,
where is the ‘admin’ link to allow you to get into admin when you have finished viewing your site. I currently have to use the saved link in the browser address bar. Surely there should be a link on home page once logged in as admin, or something??

info: using WP 2.0.5 on XP pro, Apache 1.3.31, mySQL 4.0.18 & PHP 5.1.6