The Jolie Report: Adoption Addiction

Let’s talk about Angelina. By now, she has brought her new son Pax to the U.S., returned to her home, and settled into her new, expanded family life. (She has also signed on to a new about-to-go-into-production film that will likely bring a premature end to her self-proclaimed “stay-at-home” status, but I digress.)

While Angelina is doing is inherently noble, she has changed a good deed into an adoption frenzy, which, actually fits in unsurprisingly well with her addictive personality. As we have all read, in the past Jolie has been addicted to drugs, self-injury, and sex, and her newfound love of fast-paced, multiple adoptions seems to be an addiction substitution. I mean, even Brad seems to be questioning the situation by now.

I think what everyone really fears is that Angelina is simply not providing enough time for each child to acclimate to a new lifestyle and allow the family to bond before mixing things up again. Adding a new child to a family isn’t something to be rushed or taken lightly. These things require vast amounts of time, personal attention to the adopted child, other children and adjustment. So while, ultimately, she is providing a better life for these kids, we have to worry that it’s too much, too soon.

When it comes down to it, I’m really undecided about whether I should be cheering Angelina on and standing up to celebrate what she has done for these children, or simply shaking my head in consternation and wondering how this will go wrong. If it’s the former, then Angelina is doing nothing less than giving some children the gift of a life they never could have imagined, and we all commend her for that. And, well, if it’s the latter it will reach a family crisis point.

Image:  China Daily

Jennifer Garner: Changing Hollywood

Jennifer Garner has emerged a star: not of Alias, but of how one can balance being a star with being a Mom.

Married to Ben Affleck for a over a year and mother to one-year-old Violet, Jennifer has made having a family above having her name in the tabloids. She is a refreshing change from the wild child mothers who seem to be swarming Hollywood. There is just so much to admire here.

Jennifer has her Mom priorities in line. She and Ben are frequently seen together hanging low in the parks of Boston, close to Ben's family. Violet also seems to be having a normal childhood away from media speculation due to her parents grown up manner of conducting themselves. Ben and Jennifer's parenting method is in sharp contrast to the majority of Hollywood moms and dads. From Britney's abandonment of her children due to alcohol to Gwen Stefani walking her little boy Kingston in thousand dollar strollers, I have a feeling that Jennifer would probably prefer Bugaboo to Gucci.

It seems that her parenting styles are a reflexion of her girl-next-door start. Jennifer worked her way from Denison University, where she graduated in 1994, to an actress within only a couple of years. She found her love for theater at the university where she was originally a chemistry major. She chose acting not for fame or fortune, but for the love of the adventure of the business.

Finding her niche in Alias lead her to the a-lister fame she holds today, but it remarkably has not gone to her head. She was even to bring Ben down after his high profile romance with Jennifer Lopez that was tabloid fetter for months. The two have seemed to find deep comfort in each other and their beautiful daughter.

Jennifer should become the new role model for young Hollywood. Let the Kate Moses and Courtney Loves fall to the wayside and allow a truly devoted Mom take center stage.

Image: Hollywood Gossip

Anne Heche: Heartbreaker

Tabloids have recently reported that Anne Heche is leaving her husband, cameraman Coley Laffoon, for her Men in Trees costar James Tupper, who is also married. The two met on the set and were commented to have "chemistry their first day on the set."

The scandal  is reminiscent  of  Anne's past relationships. Her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres ended because of her relationship with Coley, who was shooting a documentary about Ellen at the time he met Anne. She started shooting the television show originally because she "wanted to...give [her] family a stable life." So much for stability. Now  does Anne not only have the tabloids to worry about, but also the destruction of her family. Coley has been a stay-at-home dad with their 4-year-old son Homer since Anne started Men in Trees. The two rarely visited the set, where the affair with James has apparently been going on for the last six months. It seems that Anne was not putting family first, but her own childish whims of romanticism. As James was fast becoming one of TV's newest heartthrobs, Anne seemed to take notice of his popularity as well.

My main question, what will happen to her son, Homer? Does he deserve to be dropped as quickly as Anne ends all her other relationships? This incident is one of selfishness. Homer, at four-years-old, is old enough to realize the fracture in his parents' relationship and only time can tell the repercussions. Anne must realize she is no longer only breaking the heart of an adult, but also that of a four-year-old boy. Hopefully Coley will realize that Anne's destructive behavior does not belong in his son's life and give the boy the caring support system he deserves.

Image: The Bosh

"Child"hood friends: Why Celeb Mom Cliques Are Cool

                                                            Celeb playdates seem to be the new fade in Hollywood parenting culture. Seal, Heidi Klum, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, and kids met up in London (seen here). Also, Courteney Cox Arquette is a really cool "Friend." Pictures of Courtney strolling along the sandy beaches of Santa Monica with fellow mom Cindy Crawford and their bundles of joy have been turning up, as well as snaps of Brooke Shields (pictured with Cox on a play-date) and her babies enjoying the festivities at a Courtney-hosted Father's Day bash.

Courtney isn't the only celebrity mom palling around with fellow Mommy-wood stars. Katie Holmes, pre-Suri, was spotted shopping for shoes with Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, mom to three kids and wife of one soccer superstar. Gwyneth Paltrow was seen spending more time with mom Madonna after her daughter Apple was born. And now Jennifer Lopez, who is rumored to be either expecting or hoping to expect, has been seen attached to the hip of new mom and King of Queens star Leah Remini.

Oh and I can't wait to see Jennifer Garner strolling the streets with her and Ben Affleck's adorable daughter Violet alongside Matt Damon's baby momma, Luciana Boroza and their baby girl, Isabella. I'm ready for those two celeb kids to become best friends like their dads! Isabella and Violet can be like Paris and Nicole before the catfight.

It's nice seeing celebrity moms bond. Especially because in the real world of our everyday life dramas (which should be made into a reality show or hit sitcom, but alas, are not), becoming a new mom can create fear that we will never, ever again be best friends forever with our fabulous pseudo-sisters.

Friendships, like any huge life change, are tested by a new baby and the responsibilities that come with being a new mom. Diapers and formula take the place of high heels and cocktails. It's hard to make quality time with friends when your bedtime is any time after your baby conks out. But just because time becomes more precious does not mean we must become less creative. Which is why seeing Courtney Cox Arquette with her daughter Coco strapped to her chest while walking the beach and gabbing away with good friends and their similarly strapped babies is GREAT.

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Pish Posh: Victoria Beckham Looks "Awful"

Victoria Beckham, wife of soccer superstar David Beckham and former Spice Girl, reports thinking she looks "awful naked" after giving birth to three kids. Posh tells Australian Bazaar that she has "so much saggy skin on her stomach" despite the fact that she "might fit into jeans."

Ahem, what? Is Posh Becks not the notoriously scantily clad "mum" always out and about in cut-off jean shorts, midriff baring tees and artificially enhanced cleavage out to here? Where does this full-fledge MOM get off sharing her body dysmorphia with the rest of us mortals, not nearly as lucky to be perfectly tan and glowing on a daily basis, what with the demands of three small children keeping us from slipping on stilettos, daisy dukes, and heading out the door to school?

Becks' admission that she thinks she looks "awful naked" is causing a lot of buzz in the world of gossip. But why? Because we are fascinated by a woman so obviously groomed who literally feels  awfully about herself. Is it not sad that after three children, this still young mother, one of the richest wives in the world, and possibly one of the skinniest, can't stop obsessing over her looks? Let alone the fact that compared to the average non-mother of three, she looks ridiculously thin, young, and put together.

Perhaps Victoria Beckham looks awful naked because she doesn't look at herself with a normal, mentally healthy person's perspective, but with a terribly skewed idea of what looks "good" naked. It's horrible to think that many people will hear what Beckham has to say as truth, not self-delusion, and in turn look at their own bodies naked and think, "If Posh looks awful, I must look horrendous!"

Fear not, moms. As for Posh, why the distorted body image? Of course, worth mentioning, this is a core symptom of anorexia. Now there's a question I wish Bazaar had shot back.

Image from starpulse.com

Celebrities are Obsessed... With Themselves

Tori Spelling and second husband Dean McDermott are so excited to share the news that they are pregnant with their first child together that they intend to... surprise, surprise... make a reality show out of it!

Well, not entirely. The Spelling-McDermotts have decided that the main premise of their yet-to-be picked up reality show will be Tori Spelling's moderate $800,000 inheritance from her father, the late Aaron Spelling, and how she spends it. Tori reveals that she and Dean are planning to put the money into opening a bed and breakfast. The show will chronicle the newlyweds' lives, the birth of their child and the planning and development of an Inn.

Here's what I don't understand... are they hard up for cash? Is that why a reality show pitch is in the works? Because as we all well know by now, couples putting their love lives through an editing machine to be spit back out on national television has proven disastrous for ALL celebrity couples out there! I wonder if Jessica Simpson, Carmen Electra and Shana Moakler are somewhere having a pow-wow over how to intervene on Tori's behalf...

Needless to say, the most disturbing thing is Tori's impending due date and the fact that she would be crazy enough to consider engaging in reality television behavior (it seems like a personality defect, doesn't it?) when she has yet to take on the ultimate challenge of becoming a first time mom! Breathe, Tori, breathe... a new baby can provide all the entertainment you will likely be able to handle in the coming months.

Image from usmagazine.com

Madonna to Adopt... But Human Rights says No

Authorities have officially confirmed today that Madonna has made arrangements to adopt a 13-month-old Malawi child. Media sparked rumors early last week after it was reported that the child was transported to Madonna's camp. She had been down there for a nine-day "humanitarian mission" to aid the poor orphans of the AIDs-ravaged country.

Madonna has never been one to follow a trend, though this time she seems to be taking her cues from Angelina Jolie. Unlike other Hollywood adoptions, however, Madonna's recent adoption has been ridiculed by Humanitarian Rights activists. The major difference being that the Malawi adoption system has put strict rules on international adoption. Officials claim that it is not in the child's best interest to be adopted by an international family. Hannah Pool, a Eritrean orphan adopted by English parents, wrote in the UK Guardian newspaper "I am afraid only two words come to mind: vanity project."

Madonna has donated 3 million dollars to the "Raising Malawi" campaign which aims to provide care and support for over one million orphans. Although this seems like a lot of money to the middle classes of America, it seems minuscule when compared to the $460 million Madonna is estimated to be worth. Eye of the Child, a Malawian advocacy group that is leading the protests against Madonna adopting the boy, said in a statement "It's not like selling property. It is about safeguarding the future of a human being who, because of age, cannot express an opinion." These protest have been widespread and fears are merely increasing.

A large part of these fears are spurned from the fact that normal adoption restrictions were waived due to Madonna's celebrity status. The restrictions against international adoption are instilled because of child trafficking. Hannah Pool also said "No doubt she is doing the child a favor-- but really, this is all about her. The money she will have spent on the adoption and will spend on the child could have gone to help many more in Malawi. But then she wouldn't have a cute black child to show off."

These are harsh words towards someone who has just adopted a poverty stricken child, however one must be reminded that there are currently over 4,000 orphans in the UK today, the place Madonna calls her home. So, why Africa? Why are people going outside of their own country and taking children out of their natural homes and transporting them into foreign lands? What worries me is the wave of trends in celebrity culture. It is "cool" now to adopt from Africa, but we are talking about real children's lives who must be taken care of and not just be considered a symbol of charity.

Image from msn.com

Elizabeth Vargas, Working Mom

In an exclusive interview with People magazine, Elizabeth Vargas discusses the pressures of being a working mom and  attempting to "do it all." In many ways, Vargas has become a public example of the struggle working moms face when trying to expand their brood (her second baby boy, Samuel, was born August 16) while still maintaining successful careers.

What is refreshing about the interview is not only Vargas' candor, but also her ability to admit to the world that she could not, in fact, "do it all." At least not simultaneously. And especially if, as Vargas says, that "all" includes anchoring World News Tonight.

Vargas says that it was a struggle to work as an ABC co-anchor while raising her first-born Zachary, now a toddler, and fears he may have suffered because of it. She feels that asking your child to understand the importance of your career is a difficult thing, especially when what a child wants most is time with his mom.

I think it's especially difficult to make the distinction that nothing is more important than my kids, but a rewarding, lucrative career also very worthwhile. Not to mention the personal satisfaction of growing, learning, and having adventures through work opportunities.

Vargas talks about the difficulty of making the choice to put her kids first and says that when her kids get older, she plans to work hard to attain another chance at being anchor of a daily broadcast. "I think I proved myself," she muses. "I just couldn't do it now." Ultimately, it's not that Elizabeth can't go back to work as a national anchor, it's about having a TV network recognize her ability to do so after taking an important personal leave of absence. Elizabeth can look back a generation for inspiration in Sandra Day O'Connor, who essentially left the practice of law while her kids were little to focus on raising them, only to resume her legal career and become the first woman justice on the Supreme Court.

Welcome to the world of "sequencing" in which many of today's successful moms find that "having it all" means "halving it all" and that it's not so much the glass ceiling but the sticky floor that has Moms gearing up and ramping down their careers during child-raising years. 

Image from msnbc

The Anna Nicole Show... in Real Time

Perhaps it's no surprise to find that a month after the tragic loss of her only son, following the birth of her only daughter, Anna Nicole Smith joined Howard K. Stern, her longtime lawyer and friend, in a commitment ceremony in the Bahamas. Stern has come out to the public as saying that it is he who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby girl Dannielynn Hope. Rumors also say the father is former boyfriend, photographer Larry Birkhead. In other words... Anna Nicole has not mellowed out.

Within days of announcing that Stern is the father of Dannielynn, the "couple" of sorts took part in a commitment ceremony to one another, at the same time that Larry Birkhead began filing papers suing for a paternity test. Birkhead, who insists he is the father of Dannielynn, was seen outside a Toys R US recently, carrying an attention-grabbing number of bags filled with kids and baby items.

To make matters even worse, gossip bloggers are already questioning whether or not Anna appears to be heavily medicated/sedated on the few outings she has had since the death of her son, Daniel Smith.

All I can say is that I hope someone intervenes on Anna Nicole's behalf. She is obviously in need of a tremendous amount of emotional support and guidance at this time. Furthermore, it's unclear that some of this seemingly spontaneous behavior, like the commitment ceremony, impromptu People magazine photo shoot and announcement of longtime friend Stern as the father, isn't going to harm Anna and her new child.

Only time can tell, but here's hoping that Dannielynn's middle name, Hope, offers some protection.

Image from Celebrity Baby Blog

Kate Moss and Her Daughter's Trip to Rehab!

Kate Moss is a model. Just not a smart, sensible mom model. 

Kate as of late has been taking her 4-year-old daughter, Lila Grace, along with her on trips to a drug rehabilitation center to visit her fiance, fellow Brit and notorious drug addicted musician, Pete Doherty.

Quality family time, indeed.

It's one thing for Kate to:

1) "clean" up after being caught with cocaine,

2) make a "comeback" by securing multiple advertising and modeling campaigns, becoming more famous and successful than ever, and

3) then get engaged to an infamously notorious drug addict after he has been caught by the police possessing various illegal substances. It's takes even more lack of good judgment to show up at rehab visiting hours with a small child in tow - and not the child of the one being visited.

Granted, Pete will most likely end up being Lila Grace's stepfather. But why must Lila visit him in a rehab detention center where he has been sentenced multiple times? We all know Kate can afford a babysitter. Why drag a small child into a situation both confusing and frightening? It's one thing if Kate finds reason to work through an impending marriage with Pete, who seems to be very troubled himself...but why bring Lila along for the ride? This is where you can shake your head in wonder that we require written and practical driving licenses to ensure that we can safely drive a car without endangering others, but when it comes to parenting...you are on your own. Not to say that I think we should be issuing any sort of parenting test (can you imagine the questions of the liberals v. the religious right?) But it does seem that parents such as Kate lose sight of the best interests of their children. Let's just hope that 14 years ago we do not find ourselves reading headlines about Lila's drug use as well: after all, look at her parenting "models."

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