Does Drew Barrymore's Mother's Day wish sound like your ideal?

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

For Drew Barrymore, Mother's Day isn't about wild adventures and grand gifts. Just hand and this celebrity mom a remote and her two daughters, and she's good to go.

"We don’t have any big plans or anything," the mother of Olive and Frankie, who recently confirmed her plans to divorce husband Will Kopelman, told People on Sunday. "I would like to start the day by ourselves, just me and the girls, vintage Tom and Jerry."

Speaking of the cat and mouse antics, Drew gushed her 3 and 2-year-old daughters "live for it! There is a real oddity to the humor, it’s kind of deep and dark and weird."

Drew Barrymore first tried watching newer cartoons before going back to the 1940s classic.

"[Tom and Jerry] was something that I could tolerate watching," she explained. "I love Sesame Street because [you go through] the Sesame Street phase, and then you go through the Dora the Explorer phase, and then you are in that mid-range. I was like, ‘Girls, I need to show you this because there is such good comedy here!’

"I was like, ‘I just need to go back, I just need some Tom and Jerry.’ And it turned out that they loved it! The physical comedy is amazing, and a lot of great animated films have such adult themes, but done in a way that children are loving it."

I don't recall my kids watching Tom and Jerry specifically, but we did go through pretty much the same thing Drew and her girls have. After weeks of 'hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog' and 'we're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship,' I needed a break. Dora and Diego aren't the worst, but they wear on your nerves after long enough! For us, Chip 'n' Dale reruns quickly became a new favorite, as well as Popeye (though some of those are a bit questionable, in hindsight).

My idea of a great Mother's Day is similar to Drew's. The husband and kids traditionally make us all a giant breakfast, the consuming of which inevitably causes us to be lazy and nap. Typically he'll then take the kids to see his mom, and I get a few hours of time to myself before visiting my own mother. It's nothing too exciting, but I'm not complaining.

What's your idea of a great Mother's Day? Is your family into any vintage cartoons?

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Photos: PR Photos

 

BabyCenter Community members show of their favorite Mommy & Me photos:

Embedding tracking microchips in kids? Brooke Shields weighs in

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

If implanting your children with tracking microchips were possible, would you go for it? Brooke Shields says yes -- and though she laughed through her recent Today interview on the topic I get the feeling she actually means it.

Take a look:

After hearing about a soccer team in Argentina that is offering season tickets in the form of an implanted microchip, the mother of two ran with the idea.

"I'm not thinking of it in terms of sports as much as I would love to put one in my kids," the 50-year-old explained. "I honestly am not completely against chipping my children."

Although Brooke Shields admitted the idea is "creepy and futuristic," she also pointed out their family dog has one in case it goes missing.

"I thought I would do it in [the kids'] sleep," she went on to say with a laugh. "'Mom, what was that? Oh, I don't know it's a mosquito.'"

"How do you find your children if they somehow get kidnapped?" the mother of Rowan and Grier went on to say. "I like the tracking device. I like a little LoJack on my babies. I want a BabyLo — a baby LoJack."

Is she kidding? I honestly can't quite tell...and I totally understand where her position comes from. On the one hand, you don't want to be the first crazy person that microchip tracks your child, but on the other you wouldn't really mind if it were already done!

As the mother of boys ages 11 and 9, I can admit I'd have to think very long and very hard about if I'd sign up for such a program if it were available. Ideally I'd say no, and have to learn to trust they'll be where they say they're going to be in the coming teen years. I'd respect it's totally creepy to implant a human with a tracking chip and somehow survive through their adolescence as parents have made it through for eons up until now.

But I also see those stories pop up on the news. Even though I try my hardest to avoid them, the kind of stories that make your stomach quiver still pop on my radar. A child has been abducted from this town and a tween has gone missing from the other. It's terrible painful to watch and imagine what the parents must be going through -- so would I really turn down the opportunity to know where my boys are all the time just in case?

I honestly don't know.

If it were possible to implant tracking in your child, would you choose to? Why or why not?

Tell us!

Photo: PR Photos

 

More on Brooke Shields, in our gallery of celebrities opening up about losing their virginity:

Bobbi Kristina's miscarriage pain: Nick Gordon speaks

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

I don't think anyone would argue the late Bobbi Kristina Brown was in distress leading up to her death, but until today it wasn't common knowledge the daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston had been pregnant twice and miscarried both times.

Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina's fiancee, has opened up about the two brief pregnancies she experienced during an interview with the Daily Mail.

"We had a couple of miscarriages," he revealed, nearly a year after the 22-year-old's death. "We would have loved to have a kid but we weren't planning on it yet and she was just such a young fragile person it took a toll on her."

Nick, a close friend of the family who came to live with them when he was in his teens, went on to say he doesn't believe that Bobbi Kristina Brown intended to take her own life. He explained, "We wanted to get clean, settle down, get married, have kids."

"The drug use was becoming more and more and we were already using a lot," he went on to say, referring to the time period after Whitney's 2012 death. "People started suggesting rehab but she was resistant, addicts are always resistant. She was mixing drugs."

Today, Nick blames himself for not saving Bobbi Kristina from her drug problems and on that fateful morning.

"I blame myself for not getting to Krissy quick enough that day," he admitted. "I can't blame myself for another addict's addiction but I feel like I failed her. She didn't make it. I wish she got help...I wish she got my spot [in rehab]. I did not protect her the way that I was supposed to, even if it was from herself."

For the record, Nick is still facing a civil suit which was brought by Bobbi Kristina's conservator Bedelia Hargreaves. The case alleges he stole from his wife, violently abused her, and "injected her with a toxic cocktail" of drugs before placing her in the tub.

"It was a nightmare all over again," Nick, who was there at the time Whitney's body was discovered, went on to say. "It was the worst thing."

Speaking of Bobbi, whom he called Krissy, he added, "I can't move on from Krissy. She's got a super special place in my heart. I don't want to move on from that."

It's all terribly sad, isn't it? I don't claim to have any insider knowledge on what actually transpired in this family, but as a longtime fan of Whitney's music it's been hear the tragedies this family has experienced continue to appear in the headlines.

Undoubtedly a loss of any kind affects a person, and so in hindsight my heart goes out to Bobbi Kristina right now triple-fold. To lose one's mother and then two pregnancies must have been extremely painful.

Check out more on miscarriage here, with 7 women and men telling their own stories.

Photos: PR Photos

 

Though I grew up on Whitney Houston music, it wasn't until just a few years ago I learned she, too, had suffered loss. A look at what other celebrities, including Whitney, have had to say about their experiences with miscarriage:

Amanda Peet gets real: "I'm not happy about my saggy boobs"

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Amanda Peet isn't proud of not loving every single inch of her body, but still won't go very far in trying to make too many alterations because she's scared. Scared of it going badly, and also scared of what her daughters will think.

"It's painfully obvious, but I'm still ashamed to admit this: I care about my looks," the mother of three recently wrote in a post for Lenny. "How else can I explain my trainer, stylist, and Barney's card? I've bleached my teeth, dyed my hair, peeled and lasered my face, and tried a slew of age-defying creams. More than once, I've asked the director of photography on a show to soften my laugh lines. Nothing about this suggests I'm aging gracefully."

So what not have a little work done?

The 44-year-old actress explains, "I'm afraid one visit to a cosmetic dermatologist would be my gateway drug. I'd go in for a tiny, circumscribed lift and come out looking like a blowfish."

"I'm not happy about my saggy boobs...But I'm afraid that if I got a surgical lift, there would be some complication from the procedure, like septic shock. I'd be punished for being an ingrate about having made it this far in one (wrinkly) piece. My daughters would someday learn that the real reason I died was because I voluntarily checked myself into a hospital to get an elective operation that I didn't need so that I could look slightly more attractive to the three people who were paying close enough attention to notice (my husband, my gay agent, and the nice man who sends me notes from prison)."

Though that last paragraph nails it home for me, Amanda Peet also noted:

"Another frightening scenario is that one or both of my daughters will do as I did in my youth: go to college, take Feminist Texts and Theory, and stop shaving their legs and armpits. As hard-core feminists, they'll write me off. I'll cry, Why aren't you coming home for Thanksgiving? And they'll be like, You're nothing but a foot soldier for the beauty industrial complex. Letting my face age naturally will be my ace in the hole. My counterclaim. Proof that I didn't pander to the male gaze."

The conversation-starting question If money were no object would you get plastic surgery? is often tossed about, and I'm never quite sure how to answer it. Like Amanda, there are parts of my body I would love to change. I can make peace with them as they are, but that's not quite the same as truly loving and being proud of them.

But still -- I don't think I could follow through with it. On the chance something could happen during surgery I could never forgive myself (if I managed to live long enough to even try) for putting my family through all that. It isn't fear of my kids' judgment that personally keeps me away from the scalpel, it's fear of them losing me.

Your turn: If money were no object would you get plastic surgery? What do make of Amanda Peet's reasoning?

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Photos: PR Photos

 

More stars who've spoken out against altering their looks:

Kate Winslet has been quite vocal about her stance on having work done. "I will never give in," she proclaimed in 2011. "It goes against my morals, the way that my parents brought me up and what I consider to be natural beauty."

Her children are daughter Mia, and sons Joe and Bear.

Kate's feelings are so strong on this topic she went so far as to create the British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League, a vow between herself and our next star mom to never get surgery.

(PR Photos)

Emma Thompson has spoken out against plastic surgery by stating, "It's not a normal thing to do, and the culture that we've created that says it's normal, is not normal."

She's mom to daughter Gaia and son Tindyebwa.

(PR Photos)

Salma Hayek has taken on the topic of Botox specifically, sharing, "Trust me, I’ve been tempted—but I resist!

"Think about what happens to your muscles and skin if you’re sick and don’t move for a few days. It all atrophies! Plus, if you freeze a muscle in your face, other muscles have to compensate. Once you stop, what does that look like?"

The actress is likely working to set a great example for her daughter, Valentina.

(PR Photos)

Judi Dench, who celebrated her 80th birthday in 2014, has earned the admiration of her peers for saying no plastic surgery.

Actress Kim Cattrall said once, "I look at people like Judi Dench, who's in her 70s, and I think, 'What the hell am I frightened of? In my life and career I want to embrace ageing because I think that's what's interesting. I think a forehead without any lines doesn't tell me they've lived a life."

Judi's daughter is named Tara Cressida Frances Williams, but goes by Finty.

(PR Photos)

Funny mom Tina Fey is planning on early retirement over going under the knife. She says, "Your choices are: Get old, or look creepy. I don't want to do it, so I feel I've got to get my money and get out of here before this thing [points to her face] blows. Because I feel like the years of sleep deprivation are going to catch up with me."

She's mom to daughters Alice and Penelope.

(PR Photos)

In 2010 Meryl Streep said, "To each his own. I really understand the chagrin that accompanies ageing, especially for a woman, but I think people look funny when they freeze their faces."

This Oscar-winning actress is mom to four! Her daughters are Mamie, Grace and Louisa, while her son's name is Henry.

(PR Photos)

“I just don’t know if I want to mess with that,” Diane Keaton has shared. “The point is, no matter what you do, you’re going to get older and you won’t be here forever. So how do you grapple with it? How do you feel good about yourself?”

Diane is mom to son Duke and daughter Dexter.

(PR Photos)

Jamie Lee Curtis: “I am appalled that the term we use to talk about aging is ‘anti,’” she once blogged. “Aging is human evolution in its pure form. Death, taxes and aging …. We are ALL going to age and soften and mellow and transition.”

Her children are daughter Annie and son Thomas.

(PR Photos)

Julia Roberts thinks of her children on the rare instance she's tempted to have something done.

“It was not a cute look for me,” she said after experiencing Botox's frozen-face syndrome. “My feeling is, I have three children who should know what emotion I’m feeling at the exact moment I’m feeling it.”

She's mom to daughter Hazel, and sons Phinnaeus and Henry.

(PR Photos)

Brooke Shields has flirted with having work done, but is careful not to go too far. In 2010 she explained, "I want laser treatment because I'm not a fan of my wrinkles, but I have to find someone with a light touch. I'm scared I'll end up looking like the Joker."

Her daughters are Grier and Rowan.

(PR Photos)

Sigourney Weaver believes "life should put lines on your face."

“I find that look scary,” she once said in an interview. “I like getting older. There’s nothing more inspiring to me than a woman in her 70s who’s full of life and still useful. I never notice age in people’s faces. I just look at the whole person.”

The Aliens actress is mom to a singleton, daughter Charlotte.

(PR Photos)

Julianne Moore is wary of having work done becoming too common. She is quoted as saying, “Cosmetic surgery itself starts to look normal, and we lose track of what a real face is like.”

This star is mom to son Caleb and daughter Liv.

(PR Photos)

In 2007, Jodie Foster told People magazine, "'It's not my thing. I don't have anything against it for other people. Whatever they want to do, I'm fine with it. For me, it's really a self-image thing. Like, I'd rather have somebody go, 'Wow, that girl has a bad nose' than 'Wow, that girl has a bad nose job.'"

She is mom to sons Charles and Kit.

(PR Photos)

When Barack Obama met Prince George (& 14 more adorable photos)

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

There were several headlines to come out of President Barack Obama's recent visit to the UK, but one of the most memorable moments of the trip - at least in terms of sheer cuteness - had to be his meeting with 2-year-old Prince George.

The President and First Lady, Michelle Obama, were invited to dinner at Kensington Palace with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, and the little prince was reportedly allowed to stay up 15 minutes past his bedtime so that he could say hello to their guests.

The only thing that could have made the moment any more adorable was if George had been wearing PJs and a fluffy white bath robe. Oh wait, he was.

Kensington Palace/Pete Souza/White House Photographer/PA Wire via REX/Shutterstock

Stop it. How cute is that?

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen Barack Obama win over a younger crowd. The dad-of-two has quite a rapport with kids - he was even dubbed "the baby whisperer" after he managed to calm a very fussy baby just by holding her at the annual White House congressional picnic in 2011.

Here are some other times the President seemed struck by baby fever:

President Obama extends an enthusiastic welcome to 4-month-old Alia Jawando in 2011. (REX/Shutterstock)

Hanging out at the White House with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes' daughter Ella in 2015. (The White House via Wikimedia Commons)

Funny faces at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in 2016. (REX/Shutterstock)

The President takes little William Jones for a tour of the Oval Office. (REX/Shutterstock)

The president has a quick face-to-face meeting with 9-month-old Josephine Gronniger, whose family was visiting the Oval Office. (The White House via Wikimedia Commons)

The President and First Lady got a kick out of the mini popemobile during a Halloween event at the White House in 2015. (The White House via Wikimedia Commons)

Getting a pat on the head from a young visitor to the Oval Office in 2009. (REX/Shutterstock)

President Obama says hello to a baby during a US Embassy greeting in Prague. (REX/Shutterstock)

President Obama gets a hug from 3-year-old Arianna Holmes during her visit to the White House in 2012. (REX/Shutterstock)

Showing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau how it's done. (REX/Shutterstock)

The President playing with his niece Sevita during a family vacation in 2009. (REX/Shutterstock)

A special moment at the White House in 2011. (REX/Shutterstock)

A game of peek-a-boo in the White House's  Outer Oval Office in 2009. (REX/Shutterstock)

The President and First Lady get into character while reading "Where the Wild Things Are" to a group of kids during an Easter event at the White House in 2016. (REX/Shutterstock)

The Obamas' own kids, Sasha, almost 15, and Malia, almost 18, have grown up so much during their family's time in the White House, a fact that the President referenced during an emotional speech earlier this year.

"When I was first elected to this office Malia was 10 and Sasha was just 7," he said at the state dinner in March. "They grow up too fast. This fall Malia heads off to college. . . . I’m starting to choke up. So I’m going to wind this — it was in my remarks — and I didn’t — I can’t do it. It’s hard.”

Politics aside, I think all parents can relate to that.

Our all-time favorite photos of William, Kate, George and baby Charlotte...

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George's first day of preschool! (Duchess of Cambridge/PA Wire/REX Shutterstock)

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Photo: Kensington Palace/Pete Souza/White House Photographer/PA Wire via REX/Shutterstock