New parents Brad Pitt and Angelina are on the move with their ever-growing family. The couple recently returned to the states with all kids six in tow to hit the red carpet for Angelina's newest film The Changeling.
Angelina shared a few tidbits of news with the press. "Everybody's great," she said, "The babies are getting big and healthy and developing personalities." She also shared that they've finally hired a little help a couple of nights a week, so everyone is a little more well-rested.
Angelina has also had a little work done, ink-work that is. The mom has a tattoo on her upper arm that has the map coordinates for each of her children's birthplace. She's added Nice, France to the list to honor twins Vivienne and Knox. You didn't expect Angelina to keep a simple baby book, did you?
Finally, when asked whether they planned to adopt again in the near future, Angelina replied, "I think we're going to wait a little while." Maybe in Knox and Vivienne, Brad and Angelina have finally met their match!
A family day at the fair turned into a frightening situation in Florida recently, when mom Sheri Pinkerton found herself dangling from the "Crazy Bus" ride, nearly 40 feet above the crowd ... clinging to her two-year-old daughter. The pair had been exiting the ride when it suddenly started up again, trapping Sheri's leg and lifting them both into the air.
Sheri found herself struggling to hold on, and a group of onlookers below were urging her to let go of the child. So Sheri made a gut-wrenching decision -- the only one she could make -- and let go, forcing her frightened daughter to let go of her shirt in the process. I can't even imagine. Her toddler fell safely into the arms of bystanders, and carnival officials used a ladder to rescue Sheri and other trapped passengers.
I think every mother's instinct would be to hold on for dear life, no matter what. But Sheri had the presence of mind to realize that if they both fell together, it could end badly. It's obvious from this video that she's still struggling with her decision and from the stress of their ordeal. Fair officials think that the incident was caused by the operator forgetting to set the brake, but the ride has been closed while the incident is under investigation.
Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani and his wife Lina welcomed twins Adrian and Ariana to their family last month. The twins make three for the couple, who are also mom and dad to three-year-old daughter Luana.
While fellow celeb dad of twins Brad Pitt may complain about being sleep deprived, Tony recently said in an interview that he's surprisingly well rested. That's because his wife won't let him do nighttime daddy duty during the DWTS season. Tony, who called his wife "a fantastic person," recently told Lifeline Live: "I'll give you an example -- at 3 in the morning, I got up wanting to help and she was like, 'Go back to bed. Until the season's over, you're off the hook.'"
Somebody go and get my "fantastic person" badge, because I've been the nighttime go-to girl for FIVE YEARS. Sure, I could poke him in the ribs and tell him it's his turn, but my conscience would pay when his alarm went off. But just because a women is willing to take care of nighttime awakenings, doesn't mean she doesn't get utterly exhausted. Here's a tip for Tony and other dads who get to sleep through feedings and nightmares: An offer to help goes a long way, as does giving her a sleep-in day, doing the dishes, or just taking the baby out of the house for an hour or so while she regains her sanity.
According to the group, there is little evidence that these medications work in children. Not only that, there have been 123 deaths associated with these meds between 1969 and 2006, and 7,000 kids a year are treated in emergency rooms due to problems with OTC cough and cold medications. "In the absence of direct evidence that a product is effective," said Dr. Alejandro Necochea, a research associate with the group, "No amount of toxicity is acceptable."
The FDA isn't in a rush to ban the medications, however. Calling for more data, they fear that if children's cough and cold medications are pulled from the shelves, the problem will be made worse by parents who will give kids adult medications instead. We cleaned these kinds of meds out of our medicine cabinet a long time ago, treating colds with fluids, a vaporizer, and lots of TLC, though I do keep Benadryl around in case of an allergic reaction.
I'm not sure I'd ever want to be famous. There comes a point in everyone's life when they say something they wish they could take back, but when you say it on national television ... well, that's a problem. I'm wondering if Naked Chef star Jamie Oliver is feeling like that now.
The husband and father of two recently admitted that when conceiving his third child with wife Jools, he really, really wanted a boy. So strong was his desire for a son, he did a little experimenting. A specialist had told him that when it comes to conceiving one sex over the other, it was all about "temperature." So Jamie bought an adult diaper, soaked it in water and froze it, cut a hole, then slipped that baby on. Can you say romantic?
Whether it worked or not, the couple doesn't yet know. Jamie and Jools are already parents to Poppy Honey, 6, and Daisy Boo, 5, and have made no secret about their desire to have a son. To see Jamie make his hilarous admission to talk show host Jonathan Ross, watch the (possibly NSFW) video below.
My favorite line? "I actually didn't plan on having this conversation." I bet!
When I bought both of my daughter's car seats, I did so with the idea in mind that eventually, they would use them as boosters. Silly me. Both came with good safety ratings, sure, but earlier this month, both appeared on the "not recommended" list of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's review of booster seats.
The group recently tested 41belt-positioning booster seats. Thirteen (my two included) did a poor job of improving fit at the lap and shoulder, increasing the chance of injury in a car accident. The IIHS shows parents how a belt should fit here, and also gives an example of a poorly fitting belt. The idea is that the lap belt should fit flat against the top of the thighs, not across the soft abdomen.
The IIHS is calling for the 13 seats that didn't past the test to be redesigned. The good news is that the best booster seats are not the most expensive. In fact, my mom just bought a Graco Turbobooster (the backless model is a recommended seat) for about $19 for her own car. If you, like me, are in the market for a new booster seat, visit the IIHS's website to see their best bets and good bets, as well as those seats that are not recommended.
After a long day of work, car pooling, and errands, what most dads (and moms) would like to do is to finally sit down, maybe read the paper or watch TV. But we're lucky to be raising kids in a new era, one where dads are far more involved in their children's daily lives than in generations past. And so they brush off the fatigue to play a game of catch with their kids, coach a soccer team, or curl up in bed together and read a good book.
And you know what? All that extra time pays off. A large study that included 17,000 babies and spanned 50 years found that children of hands-on fathers grew up to be generally more successful, including a higher IQ and a better social standing. Researchers interviewed 5,700 of those original babies at age 46 to see if how they were parented affected the way they interacted with their own children.
I tell my husband all the time that our girls are so lucky that he's a hands-on dad. He's as likely to play a rousing game of Pretty Pretty Princess with our three-year-old as he is to take our kindergartner out to hit a few balls off a tee. He shrugs it off -- why would he be any other way? But as a person who spends nearly 100% of her time with her children, I can see how much his interest in their lives bolsters them, and bonds them together despite the hours he spends away with work.
Quality time doesn't need to be complicated, but if you're a dad looking for some new activities for you and your children to enjoy together, About.com has great list of links.
New relationships are exciting and overflowing with romance. But as the years pass, couples are less likely to spend time on nurturing this side of their relationship. Throw in a couple of busy kids, pets, and two full time jobs, and well ... who has time for candlelight dinners?
But a recent poll of 4,000 couples found that the key to a happy partnership is romance. Specifically, couples who considered themselves happy or very happy said that the secret to a happy marriage includes four hugs a day and seven nights together a month, including two dinner dates. Happy couples also enjoy:
two romantic walks a month
one kid-free night to the bar or movies
one gift a month, of flowers or something different
one night alone, away from each other
Am I the only one feeling a little pressure here? Two dinner dates, two romantic walks, one gift, and a trip to the movies every month? I'm not even sure we could afford all that romance! But in all seriousness, what this study does point out is that affection, romance, and just letting your partner know that they are one of the most important pieces of your busy life is key to a long, happy marriage.
It's a baby girl for actress Joely Fisher and husband Christopher Duddy. The couple recently adopted newborn Olivia Luna Fisher-Duddy. Not only are the new mom and dad swooning over their latest addition, but siblings Cameron, 22, Collin, 20, Skylar, 7, and True, nearly 3, are said to be doting on her as well. Olivia was adopted from the U.S., and out of respect to her birth mother, the family is keeping mum on the details.
Fisher plays Joy Stark on the FOX sitcom 'Til Death opposite Brad Garrett, and Christopher Duddy is a cinematographer. The couple have been married since 1996. Fisher is active in several charities that serve needy children, such as Save the Children and Kids Care Camp.
A seven-year-old breaks into the local zoo. Sure, it's an unusual story, but you'd expect to hear that he just wanted to get a closer look at the animals and that his parents were relieved to find him safe and sound.
What happened in Australia this week, however, was far more disturbing. A 7-year-old boy hopped the fence of the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australia. He then took a rock and killed several animals, feeding them to the zoo's 440-pound saltwater crocodile, Terry. Not satisfied, he threw several more live animals over the fence to Terry. In all, the reportedly blank-faced boy killed 13 animals worth over $5,000, including a beloved 20-year-old goanna. The zoo's director Rex Neindorf says that the boy was lucky not to be eaten by Terry himself.
Because of his young age, authorities can't press charges, though the zoo plans to sue the boy's parents. "I just want people to learn that they can't let their children go and run amok," said Neindorf. "If we can't put the blame on the child, then someone needs to accept the responsibility." Taking responsibility is important, that's true. But the horrific abuse this boy inflicted on the zoo animals should be a far greater cause for concern for his parents and authorities alike than traditional punishment. Children "run amok" all the time; most don't commit crimes as gruesome as this one.
Who's to blame for the demise of the nuclear family? Why, Bridget Jones, of course.
Wait ... what? A fictional character responsible for breaking up families? That's what David Willetts, who recently spoke at the UK's Conservative party conference thinks, anyway. Calling Bridget a real "phenomenon," he went on to say that more women than ever are finishing university. While that statistic is "fantastic," he went on to say that "even if men want to be the breadwinner ... they are no longer given the opportunity to bring home the bacon, and the evidence is that that is bad for families."
Here I thought I was a part of Generation X, but actually, I'm part of the "Bridget Jones generation" -- educated women who want to have it all, but are crushing the self-esteem of men everywhere and the notion of marriage and family in the process. Give me a break. Willett's attempt to pin the problems of the nuclear family on educated women, using a popular female icon, just shows that he doesn't understand the needs of a modern family or equality issues.
Besides, I don't think I'd call Bridget a feminist, would you? What do you think of Willett's comments?
Last year, when my then four-year-old decided to be a scary witch for Halloween, I said, "Right on." We love Halloween at our house, and she was getting right into the spirit. We weren't surprised, however, to hear that though her parochial preschool would be having a costume party, scary or occult-type costumes wouldn't be allowed.
We planned early on to put her in the previous year's pirate costume instead. Problem solved, until a teacher's assistant, who asked her what she was going to be for Halloween, told her in no uncertain terms that she would not be allowed to come to the party as a witch. I didn't disagree with the rule, but it bothered me that she was made to feel bad about her choice of costume outside of school.
What made it worse was that when we finally attended the party, it was decorated completely in traditional Halloween decor -- witches, monsters, and all. She was confused, and I didn't have a good answer for her.
Halloween may be a month away, but chances are your kids have been talking about it for weeks. Soon, it'll be time to make final decisions on costumes, then either start making or shopping for them. Pumpkins need to be carved, candy needs to be purchased, and did you remember to volunteer for the class Halloween party? If it's making you tired just thinking about it, get in the mood with a little Halloween trivia:
Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
The first jack-o'-lanterns were made out of turnips.
Samhainophobia is a fear of Halloween. (Samhain is what the holiday was originally called.)
In Ohio, Iowa, and Massachusetts, Halloween is often referred to as Beggar's Night.
The largest Halloween celebration -- the Village Halloween Parade -- is held in Greenwich Village.
Former First Lady Dolley Madison is said to haunt the White House Rose Garden.
The most popular costume of 2005 was Spiderman.
The first official city-wide Halloween celebration was held in Anoka, Minnesota in 1921.
Americans eat about 26 pounds of candy every year ... each. That explains why my jeans don't fit.
According to the U.S. Census, there are 108 million housing units in the U.S. That's a lot of trick-or-treating!
The biggest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
Americans spend $6.9 billion on Halloween each year.
New parents Brad Pitt and Angelina are on the move with their ever-growing family. The couple recently returned to the states with all kids six in tow to hit the red carpet for Angelina's newest film The Changeling.
A family day at the fair 
Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani and his wife Lina 
Last winter, the FDA put out an advisory warning parents and caretakers that children under the age of two 
When I bought both of my daughter's car seats, I did so with the idea in mind that eventually, they would use them as boosters. Silly me. Both came with good safety ratings, sure, but earlier this month, both appeared on the "not recommended" list of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's review of booster seats. 
After a long day of work, car pooling, and errands, what most dads (and moms) would like to do is to finally sit down, maybe read the paper or watch TV. But we're lucky to be raising kids in a new era, one where dads are far more involved in their children's daily lives than in generations past. And so they brush off the fatigue to play a game of catch with their kids, coach a soccer team, or curl up in bed together and read a good book.
New relationships are exciting and overflowing with romance. But as the years pass, couples are less likely to spend time on nurturing this side of their relationship. Throw in a couple of busy kids, pets, and two full time jobs, and well ... who has time for candlelight dinners?
It's a baby girl for actress Joely Fisher and husband Christopher Duddy. The couple 
Too busy for pen and paper? Try the 
A seven-year-old breaks into the local zoo. Sure, it's an unusual story, but you'd expect to hear that he just wanted to get a closer look at the animals and that his parents were relieved to find him safe and sound.
Halloween may be a month away, but chances are your kids have been talking about it for weeks. Soon, it'll be time to make final decisions on costumes, then either start making or shopping for them. Pumpkins need to be carved, candy needs to be purchased, and did you remember to volunteer for the class Halloween party? If it's making you tired just thinking about it, get in the mood with a little Halloween trivia:
