Brad Pitt, who starred in tinsel town's The Mexican with Julia Roberts has allegedly contacted his former co-star to ask for some very particular advice. Pitt is due to have twins with partner Angelina Jolie in the impending weeks. Roberts has already tackled that project with twins Hazel and Phinnaeus (who are three if you can believe it!).

According to a "source" (and you know how we feel about "sources"), Brad contacted Julia to ask advice on how to deal with raising twins. The source claims Brad was "frantic," which I find hard to picture, about whether or not the rules or parenting twins are different than parenting a singleton.

The alleged response? No, it's just harder. I don't know if that is true or not--I think it depends on how you look at it. I know several couples who had twins and they've said since they never had kids before (the twins were their first) it wasn't any different or any harder because they had nothing to compare the experience to. Brad and Ange, however, already have a brood going with daughters Shiloh and Zahara and sons Pax and Maddox.

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Did you get a "push present" when your babies were born? You know what I mean -- the traditional push present (could we maybe think of a better name for that, please?) is a piece of jewelery; sometimes it is set with the baby's birthstone, but more often, at least where I live, it's a piece that the mama has chosen ahead of time. A really NICE piece, just so we're clear.

But this tops every push present I've ever seen: doting husband and daddy-to-be Keith Urban has reportedly purchased a $73,000 Cartier ring for wife Nicole Kidman. The ring in question is a trinity ring, made of three interlocking bands of pink, yellow, and white gold, representing friendship, love, and fidelity. Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise, bought one for his current wife and baby mama Katie Holmes for Mother's Day. Apparently it's the thing to have if you're a celebrity mom.

Cartier does several variations on the Trinity ring, including this simple one set with diamonds. Almost makes a girl think about getting pregnant again.

Rumor has it that the ring is a surprise for Kidman; hope we're not spoiling it (we doubt it, though).

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I admit that I am not all that familiar with Angelina Jolie's body of work. I know plenty about her body, her humanitarian work and her personal life, but I don't see many movies that aren't rated "G". I do know that Jolie gets a lot of positive press and that the only real criticism I've heard concerning her film work is that maybe she shouldn't be doing any with all those kids at home.

But someone has found something to complain about regarding Jolie in her new film, Wanted. Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, thinks Jolie is too thin to be an action hero and worries that she presents an unrealistic image of what a strong woman looks like. "A super-thin, super-cool female action hero undoubtedly influences female moviegoers to emulate her," she said. "The underlying message is that being thin gives you power over men: physical and psychological."

Dr. George Pratt, another psychologist, prefers his action figures a little bulkier, like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 and Carrie-Ann Moss in the Matrix films. "There women were represented in a way that displays strength, balance and a healthier body," he says.

Jolie is thin and not exactly what we are used to seeing when it comes to tough chicks in the movies. But it seems to me that there is another way to look at it. Like maybe skinny girls can kick butt, too? Or, it's just a movie and we all know Angelina Jolie isn't really an assassin?

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According to the rumor mill, which has been churning for a while now on this one, actress Naomi Watts is pregnant with her second child. The Aussie is allegedly four months along.

Watts is married to fellow actor Liev Schreiber, with whom she has son Alexander, who will turn one this July. Watts' best friend, Nicole Kidman, is due this year as well, just a few months before Naomi, if the rumors are true. Hey, no time like the present to get moving with making your family. Have all the kids now and then get back to your original shape and all that movie-making business, eh?

Good luck and congratulations to Naomi and Liev!

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It's officially summer. To me that means long evenings, watermelon and picnics. Preferably watermelon served all day at the picnic and into the long evening. While I never grow tired of picnic food--burgers, potato salad and pasta salad come to mind--by the end of the summer many people do. The Minimalist over at the New York Times has compiled a list of 101 ideas to ratchet your picnic dining experience up a notch. I was interested enough in trying something new to give the menu a glance, but my critical eye looked for easy, simple recipes and ingredients I'd be able to both pronounce and unearth at a local supermarket while still tending to my number one job, being a mom.

Some of the recipes are familiar or simple enough. Make egg salad and add curry powder to make curried egg salad. That sounds yummy. If I had kids old enough to eat egg salad they might freak out though. The cornflake chicken bites seem more the kid-speed. If you're going to take the time to make fried chicken you might as well throw cornflakes on it and make it bite-sized for your little ones. I would definitely give that one a try. Other recommendations include some that can be store-bought, which is simpler and easier if not cheaper. My aunt never arrives to any event without a deli-bought relish tray. Does it really make a difference if she or someone else is cutting up the vegetables? I don't think so--they crunch just the same.

The 101 ideas provide something for everyone and some recipes are easy enough to make, to modify or to buy at the store. That makes for a good picnic. The kids might be confused by the non-picnic basics though. Worst case scenario? Make some of these for the adults and stick with the hotdogs and burgers for the kids. But perhaps try to get them to try some egg salad with curry in it, just for fun. Jsut don't forget the watermelon.

What about you? Any great ideas for a little something different at the picnic that even the kids will enjoy?

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There's a lot to appreciate Maggie Gyllenhaal for--she's a great actor who tackles thoughtful roles. Perhaps the producers of her new movie appreciate her even more now that she's a mom. Gyllenhaal recently used her parenting skills on the set of the movie Farlanders to calm two of her co-stars.

Gyllenhaal is starring in the film, her first since becoming a parent in 2006, alongside eleven-month-old twins. At one point the babies were crying incessantly and unable to be stopped. Gyllenhaal slipped into mother mode and calmed them so filming could continue.

Maggie thanks her lucky stars she was a mother and had learned those skills. Says Gyllenhaal, "If I had not been a mom and known how to calm a baby, talk and hold the baby, the whole day would've been wasted." She also stated that she felt like a mom the whole day, not just at home but also on the set. Brings new meaning to the term 'working mother,' eh? good work, Maggie!

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Four months after giving birth to twins, Jennifer Lopez looks fabulous. We know she looks fabulous because she has been photographed plenty since the twins were born in February. She and hubby Marc have been spotted at movie premieres, art galleries, fashion shows and more. But wait. Where, exactly are those twin bundles of joy while mom and dad are out on the town? Lopez has insisted that she does not have a nanny, so just who is minding the children?

Former Hollywood nanny Suzanne Hansen says Lopez' nanny denial is all about semantics. She may not have an on-staff person who she refers to as 'nanny', but she sure as heck isn't hiring the teenager next door to watch little Max and Emme while she hits the town. More likely, she is making use of her other household staff to keep an eye on the tots while she and Marc socialize.

"She probably has other people-not called nannies-who are taking care of her children," Hansen says. "She has assistants, housekeepers-someone like that who probably also likes kids and who is likely keeping an eye on them."

Hansen goes on to say that by denying that she has a nanny, Lopez is insulting our intelligence. I don't know about you, but I do not feel insulted. What I feel is closer to, oh, I don't know - envy? Lopez can call it what she wants, but I know that if I had a gazillion dollars and a mansion, I would have some hired help, too.

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Many of you may remember the television show Arrested Development. While critically acclaimed it didn't get much viewership, despite being very funny and witty. Perhaps it was because the show centered around yet another dysfunctional family, this one set in affluent California. Many, however, possibly a little too much, related to the crazy antics of the family and were sad to see them go when the show was canceled after three seasons.

Now, the stars of the show have another chance to reclaim some glory as Arrested Develoment becomes a movie, like many shows before it--the Simpsons comes to mind; while Homer and Bart put the "D" in dysfunctional, their show wasn't canceled. Jeffrey Tambor, who plays the imprisoned (and escapee) patriarch of the Bluth family, is especially excited to be rejoining his fellow castmates on the big screen, which includes Jason Bateman (on whom I've had a crush since I was a kid) and Portia De Rossi.

Are you looking forward to the Arrested Development movie? Are the Bluths your favorite dysfunctional tv family, or are the Simpsons more your speed?

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Nicole Kidman is counting down to the birth of her baby, and she's getting herself ready. Among other things in her hospital bag is a special CD Kidman has created to play in the delivery room.

What's on it? A variety of pieces by Irish flautist James Galway, for one, and of course some of hubby and baby daddy Keith Urban's country tunes. Kidman has always loved Galway's music -- one friend says, "Whenever you go to her house, she has Galway on." So this is probably music that the baby has already heard, if you think about it.

Kidman is expected to give birth in July; she has reportedly reserved a private room at a Nashville hospital.

I'm curious now about what else is in her hospital bag -- is it the usual stuff that the rest of us took when we went in to have the baby? I had lots of extra socks and lip balm, but that was pretty much it.

We'll be waiting for news of Nicole and Keith's baby.

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Hey, remember Molly Ringwald? Well, she's back, and in more ways than one. The former teen star, memorable for such culture- and era-designing movies such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, is now starring in a television drama about teens. This time, however, the forty-year-old is playing mom to one of them.

And that teen happens to be pregnant. You may recall Molly is no stranger to the teen pregnancy plot. She played a pregnant teen in the movie For Keeps. Perhaps she'll be drawing from that experience for her latest project. Another project Molly has going for her is motherhood, so this role should be an easy one (as if being a mother, even playing one, was EVER easy!).

According to Molly, the key between moms and teen daughters is really communication. Her hope is to spread that message and curtail as many unplanned pregnancies as possible. The movie is titled The Secret Life of the American Teenager as is set to debut July 1st.

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"Things are different today,"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day.

-The Rolling Stones "Mother's Little Helper"

Between the proliferation of kid activities, the increased expectation of parental involvement, and the demands of work AND home, today's mothers are being pulled in more directions than ever before. How are modern mommas getting more hours in their day? It's not a pill like the Rolling Stones sang about.

A study by The National Sleep Foundation found that 65% of mothers regularly drink caffeinated beverages to make it through their day. And we're not talking just a cup or two, Sarah Kripal, mother of two from Lincoln, Nebraska admitted, "I need about four energy drinks, three cups of coffee and a six-pack of soda every day." Lindy Smith, a mom of three says, "I usually drink two to three pots of coffee a day. I am sure this is not good for me, but how do you keep up?"

In spite of research that coffee can reduce inflammation and decrease blood sugar levels, caffeine can trigger migraines, heartburn, gastrointestinal problems and put women at an increased risk of miscarriage. And unlike the original Mother's Little Helper, liquid energy requires no prescription is readily available in various sweetened and foamy forms (vanilla lattes are my weakness!) in nearly every city in the nation, making it easy for busy moms to grab a delicious cup of jet-fuel whenever energy levels sag.

No doubt about it, caffeine is a hard habit to break and current lifestyles make it hard to imagine why we'd even try giving up the one thing that helps us squeeze more hours into a day.

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If you've ever seen television or been the recipient of junk mail, you are probably familiar with the lingerie chain Victoria's Secret. In addition to selling teddies and thongs, they sell apparel aimed at the college set. Their brand, Pink, has licenses with many colleges to sell hoodies, t-shirts, tote bags and that sort of thing.

Now, one college campus seeks to remove such gear. University of Minnesota has decided to remove themselves from the 33 other colleges who sell gear through the Pink Collegiate line. At this time, Victoria's Secret is still offering the merchandise. Instead of dealing with the colleges directly, VS made a deal with the Collegiate Licensing Bureau.

Although the site I sourced has an opinion on this, University of Minnesota hasn't explicitly said it feels the ads are too racy. The school was concerned about their reputation however. A representative quoted stated the school did not feel it was in their best interests to have Gopher gear sold through the apparel giant.

Pic by Sweet~Vanilla.

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Wow, I guess it's true. After spending what must have felt like an eternity in accommodations not quite up to the Hilton Hotels standards, it seems that heiress Paris Hilton is trying to become a better person. According to hospital officials, the twenty-seven-year-old has made an "extremely generous" donation in order to help with the construction of a new building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

"The children I have met through my involvement with Childrens Hospital have truly touched my heart," said the blonde bombshell, perhaps as famous for her sex tape as she is for her family or philanthropy Hilton said in a statement. "I am proud to make a donation and lend my name to the fundraising effort to help children who are facing terribly serious illnesses."

It's nice to see the most famous Hilton doing something positive with her resources; perhaps she can serve as an inspiration to other celebrities like Angelina Jolie or Oprah Winfrey.

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Often when a family splits up, the children suffer financially as well as emotionally. I can't speak for the emotional state of Ming Lee and Aoki Simmons, but their parent's divorce sure isn't hurting their little pocketbooks. According to an agreement filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the daughters of music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons and his estranged wife Kimora Lee will each receive $20,000 per month in support payments until they reach the age of eighteen.

You may recall that the fabulous Ms. Lee filed for divorce earlier this year after nine years of marriage. In return for his hefty child support payments, Simmons will receive "reasonable child visitation ... accompanied at all times by the children's nanny and security personnel."

It's not like these girls aren't already living in the lap of luxury, but that additional $480,000 a year will allow them to line that lap in fur and trim it in gold.

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Spontaneous dancing is one of those childhood traits that you can easily take for granted and miss desperately when kids start getting self-conscious. Matt Harding has become an unlikely internet celebrity through amazingly touching videos of himself doing his signature (and endearing) primitive dance move all over the world.

I'm not sure whether it's the childlike quality displayed by Harding,or getting even a split-second glimpse at some of the amazing places all over or the world, or the reminder that anything is possible that makes me cry when I watch it, but I do.

Share it with your kids, it's a great reminder that you can a friend to dance with (even a whale!) no matter where you are.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.