Hollywoods Hottest Tots

All tots are adorable (outside of temper-tantrum time) and the toddlers of the famous are no exception. Forbes.com has complied a list of the “Hollywood’s 10 Hottest Tots“.

The most popular tot according to Forbes.com is Suri Cruise, the 2-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Forbes.com ranked the celebrity tots (5 yrs and younger) based on media attention and their parents’ popularity. Suri Cruise, well known for her stylish outfits and haircut appeared in more news articles and blogs than her tot peers.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s had three of their six children make the list: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, 2, is in second place after coming in first last year; Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 3, is in third place; and Pax Jolie-Pitt, 4, is fourth on the list.

The other top 10 Hollywood tots were: Sam Alexis Woods, daughter of Tiger Woods and his wife Elin; Cruz Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham; Matilda Rose Ledger, daughter of Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger; David Banda, son of Madonna and Guy Ritchie; Sean Preston Federline, son of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline; and Sam Sheen, daughter of Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen.

While it’s not clear that this attention and constant battle with the paparazzi will ultimately be a good or harmful thing for these cuties as they mature, it is clear that these tots, like our tots, are adorable.

Moms attempting to return to workforce find daunting job market

This news story in the Belleview News-Democrat covers some of the ugly realities out there in the job market, but goes on to offer some great advice for moms looking for work. Their interviews give great insight into how many moms sabotage their own efforts during the interview.

Moms find daunting job market : The nation’s unemployment rate is at its highest point in five years, with more than 600,000 jobs cut year to date. And many industries have experienced consolidation.

Getting an edge can be challenging for moms who have been on the sidelines for several years.

Sarah Palin Up Close

My mother-in-law and I attended a McCain-Palin rally in Fairfax Virginia earlier this week and it was a blast! There were tens of thousands of people there and the collective enthusiasm was breathtaking. People are really excited about this new mom on the block, Sarah.

For some reason the media that was so thrilled to report that 200,000 Germans attended an Obama rally in Berlin Germany haven’t ventured to give us an estimate of how many people were at this rally in Fairfax Virginia. One thing for sure is that there were far more Americans at this rally then there were at the Obama rally in Berlin!

I apologize for the sarcasm but I’ve had it with the flagrant hypocrisy evident in the media. It’s not new, but it’s out of control now and I think threatening to polarize our country to the point where our democracy can not function at all. Lord knows it’s already nearly impossible to get things done in Washington DC as it is now. Sadly, I’m doubtful any President and Vice President can make much of a difference as long as Congress is at war for control.

The abusiveness with which many in the media have attacked Sarah Palin infuriates me. Not because I’m a working career woman, because I am not. Not because I’m a feminist, because I am not. But because it’s just not right. The media has viciously attacked conservative after conservative for years and mostly people look the other way and let the abuse occur. But this time it’s a mom they’re attacking that just happens to have a baby with Downs. Bingo. A mom with a Downs child, that I am.

Mom Palin Chosen as Vice Presidential Running Mate

I’m not one to vote for a candidate simply because they’re a certain gender, color, or party member, but as a mom with a 19 year old son with Downs I’m finding it impossible to not absolutely love Governor Sarah Palin and respect Senator McCain for having the courage to choose her as his running mate.  Not so much because she’s “inexperienced” and almost completely “unknown”, but because he was willing to join teams with a family that has a special needs child.

19 years of raising a child with Downs has taught me that people, good people even, avoid being around or involved with families that have a special needs child, especially if the child is obviously a special needs child as opposed to an autistic child, for example. Clearly having a child with Downs in the Vice President’s mansion crossed McCain’s and his advisers minds. Clearly they’re OK with that and I’m grateful for it.

Granted I don’t know Mom Sarah Palin very well yet, but the little bit I’ve heard makes me want to have her and her family as neighbors here in the DC area. Hopefully she’ll have us over for some of her favorite dish, Moose Stew! Or perhaps she’ll come over to our place to do some fishing in our pond. One thing is for sure…, she will not let stubborn old lawmakers get in the way of rooting out corruption wherever she finds it when she’s in town! Something tells me she’s going to do great things for America and if not this election, then the next.

A Valuable Lesson Learned by California Judges in Homeschooling Case

Our brother publication, dadz.com, wrote about a California homeschooling case back in March where the court ruled homeschoolers couldn’t continue teaching their kids at home unless they became accredited teachers. Homeschoolers across the country and others concerned about the court reaching into our homes and stripping away parental rights were outraged.
Well it appears this same group of judges have learned a valuable lesson as they have reversed their previous decision and as long as parents that homeschool their children call their home a “private school” they may continue to teach them at home without being accredited teachers (i.e. unionized).

For more on the story:

A Homeschooling Win in California

California Resists Home School Ruling

California Homeschooling Case

Dara Torres!

What a mom! Dara Torres has inspired parents all over the world to rethink what they can accomplish in their lives. I assume you’re aware of who I’m referring to here, but if not here’s the Dara Torres Wiki.

When she took the silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle swim last night I couldn’t help but think that her being #2 had something to do with her having a 2 year old girl, Tessa. Yes, it was painful to see her miss the gold medal by 1/100th of a second, but my gosh… 41 years old and accomplishing what she has is mind-blowing. Would she feel better if she had lost by 3 seconds? Oh wait… she wouldn’t have even medaled if she was 3 seconds slower.

The quote below is the first paragraph of a message she has on her Website for her many fans:

“I have been blessed with amazing people surrounding me. From my family, to my coaches, training partners, stretching, strength and conditioning people and mostly my daughter Tessa. It is Tessa who I am doing this for. To show her when she is a little older that life has no boundaries if you commit to your dreams and never stop believing in yourself. Although Tessa is only 2, I feel inspired by knowing she is watching me and looking at me for guidance and direction. I can’t go a minute and not think of the positive and powerful lessons I am sharing with her.

For the rest of her message and to learn more about this amazing woman visit her Website: Dara Torres, and watch the videos below.

ABC’s Person of the Week:

41 Year Old Makes Olympic History

She has done a great service for all moms and certainly for all of us who are 40-something! We’re NOT old after all!

Mom Has 18th Child

Yes, 18. Eighteen kids. Yes, they’re all her and her husband’s children.

The Canadian couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and appear to be dead set on populating the sparsely populated areas in the “Northern tundra”.

Their oldest child is 23 years old and not surprisingly wasn’t at home for the taking of this photograph. Their newest child, Abagail, is the 10th girl and she has 8 brothers.

What an amazingly large family. If a picture can tell a story it would appear they’re just like any other average family of 20!

Brad and Angelina Give Birth to Twins in Nice France

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave birth to the “Brangelina” twins in Nice France. They now have a boy and a girl to raise.

Here’s a short (4:04) news report to get you caught up on what little details are available. Pay particular attention to the offer of $11 million they received from a magazine for the story. (I must have missed those calls when each of my four children were born!)

Do you think these babies will ever be able to hide from the paparazzi?

Baby Names are Evolving

Baby names are evolving at an increasing rate according to comparisons with favorite baby names from years past. It seems more parents are willing and even eager to give their children names that are unique to them. Although Michael, Mary, John, Linda, David, Kathy and the like are still hugely popular you’ll only see one of them, Michael, on the 2007 list below.

Here’s a list of the most popular baby names from 1950:

Boys name / Girls name

1. James / Linda
2. Robert / Mary
3. John / Patricia
4. Michael / Barbara
5. David / Susan
6. William / Nancy
7. Richard / Deborah
8. Thomas / Sandra
9. Charles / Carol
10. Gary / Kathleen

Here’s the list of most popular baby names from 2007:

1. Jacob / Emily
2. Michael / Isabella
3. Ethan / Emma
4. Joshua / Ava
5. Daniel / Madison
6. Christopher / Sophia
7. Anthony / Olivia
8. William / Abigail
9. Matthew / Hannah
10. Andrew / Elizabeth

Choosing a name is one of the more interesting tasks parents have to perform and we all handle it in our own way. Some people dwell on it for months or even years in advance of giving birth and others wait until the baby is in their arms. Neither method is better or worse then the other and most people we’ve met are OK with their given names so no harm, no foul.

Our children’s names are: Brian, Kevin, Dustin, and Colin. The dog is Pooch and the cat is Moon. Maybe not the most unique names out there, but the kids sure are and that’s the important thing, not a name.

Live Science has an interesting article on baby names worth checking out at: Baby Names.

Google Moms

I just came across this ‘tribute to our moms‘ page Google created to honor some of the moms of their staff. Very nice of them. I suppose we can call them Google Moms?

I want to know if Google is employing child laborers. The children of these women can’t be out of high school yet!

Just a few of the moms out of a bunch. Check it out at www.google.com/moms

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