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Here’s the thing about being a celeb: You’re in the spotlight, you have tons and tons of cash, and oh yeah — you can hire as much help as you need. That’s precisely why it’s so refreshing that songstress Mary J. Blige has specifically stated she will not adopt a child.

Can she easily follow the Hollywood trend of adopting a kid and hiring help a la Brangelina’s trendsetting ways? You betcha. On the contrary, she seems to be a hands-on parent and knows how much effort and time is involved in true TLC.

Props to Mary for recognizing that adopting children would equate to less time for her daughter and son. “I barely have time for my own children,” she told PEOPLE. By indicating it would be “poor parenting” on her part, Mary said she will try to give her time and be there for people but adoption would not be in the mix.

After all, she’s the stepmom to an 11-year-old daughter (an aspiring film director already!) and a 10-year-old son (a budding philosopher/public speaker) who seem to have pretty high aspirations of their own.

It seems every other day in Tinseltown an A-lister is adopting and, while that may be the ideal situation for them, three snaps up in a circle to Mary J. Blige for recognizing and appreciating the valuable role as a mother in knowing her limits.

Do you think adoption has become trendy in Hollywood and stars seem to buy their way to a kid?

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Miley Cyrus. Heidi Montag. Britney Spears. Rihanna. Chris Brown. If you haven’t checked out the teen and ‘tween scene in superstardom lately, you’re missing the boat. Sure, the big movie headliners will always remain a la Angelina, Brad, Katie, and Tom. But when it comes to raking in the moolah via movies, music, and television, Hollywood knows where the money is at: targeting the young ‘uns. They have spending power and mojo and, oh yeah, they’re super impressionable.

Hence, the purpose of this post. If you watched the Teen Choice Awards a few weeks ago you may have witnessed Miley Cyrus, teen queen a la Hannah Montana, on a stripper pole. Yes, a pole. Then, of course there’s Heidi Montag. The MTV reality star is promoting her new album and consequently, her body. At a recent Miss Universe pageant she was essentially wearing nada. Although technically reports said she wore a flesh colored body suit, I’m sure there were countless other wardrobe options that would have been less revealing. Need I continue?

I think I shall…

Chris Brown made headlines recently for abusing his girlfriend, megawatt Grammy Award-winning performer, Rihanna. Hopefully a positive message can come out of it such as ways to get help if you are being abused, but what if the message is misconstrued as the 20-year-old Chris certainly has tons of fans younger than him?

Okay, this is where I’ll get on my soapbox: Is anyone old school any more? Do the celebs realize they’re role models to their fans? Do they know what messages they’re sending in terms of body image? Um, hello girls, you need to apparently be a size 0, blonde, and promiscuous. And how about the message it’s sending to boys? Personally, I’m a fan of the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift as they seem talented and pretty darn grounded. Why does it seem for every few dozen stars in young Hollywood, there’s perhaps one that is a squeaky clean role model to their fans? <Sigh>

So, now that you know how I feel, how do YOU feel?  Should we be worried or is this current batch of young up-and-comers ‘tween and teen-friendly?

Startraks

I truly love this time of year. There’s a briskness to the morning autumn air as children put on their backpacks (along with their thinking caps). It seems there’s no better time to talk about education than the present so that’s why I was surprised to hear that Erykah Badu said she felt compelled to homeschool her son when he was in kindergarten and first grade.

In an interview with Babble, Badu mentions that she wanted to give her son, Seven Sirius, special attention to give him an advantage. And it seems she’s super-thankful she did: through their efforts, she mentions he learned how to “solve problems in non-traditional ways.” Now that the 11-year-old is in school, Erykah mentions he developed an edge in his schoolwork.

I’m not an expert in homeschooling and certainly don’t pretend to be, but you know what? Props to the singer for getting involved in parenting full on. Snaps to her for instilling values in him which he apparently holds on to today, like not wanting to miss school or not have things in order.

She notes, “I don’t think it matters what school you go to, but I think it’s important for parents to be involved. And to know that when school stops, learning continues, and to continue teaching at home.”

Would love to hear you weigh in: Do you give homeschooling an A?

Ok, maybe this writer has a small case of writer’s block, but here’s where I’m going with this one, so feel free to follow my train of thought — if you dare! Do you remember growing up watching reruns of Leave it to Beaver and classics like My Three Sons? Let’s not forget I Love Lucy and I Dream of Jeannie! And ah yes, The Flying Nun.

This is pre-cable, before Nickelodeon. Well, when it comes to the Jonas Brothers, or in the case of channeling My Three Sons, it seems their parents have done a really good job in raising their brood.

Here’s why: Not only are they from northern NJ, my former stomping grounds, they seriously just seem like very well-grounded guys. It’s been revealed that Kevin Jonas will walk down the aisle with his fiance, Danielle Deleasa this coming winter. Although they haven’t set a date, news is swirling that it’ll be the end of this year or the beginning of 2010.

The oldest son of the trio, the 21-year-old popped the question this summer in Danielle’s home.  While the jury’s out if Nick or Joe will serve as the best man (sidebar: why can’t rules be broken? How about ‘best men?’ *smile*), the Jonas Brothers never seem to make bad decisions or become headlines for nasty fodder. I’m talkin’ Lindsay Lohan-type headlines. Or party-hardy-til-dawn Paris Hilton headlines. They simply seem like good kids.

While they’ve certainly had a whirlwind year between performing for Sasha and Malia at the White House, headlining their own tour, and starring in their movies, it seems the larger their lives and celebrity stardom becomes, the more grounded they seem. The less likely they’ll fall when eventually their star power no longer orbits the earth.

What do you think? Are you with me on this one that the Jonas Brothers seem like wholesome kids with a good, strong family upbringing courtesy of their parents?

{Photo: INF}

Move over, Gosselins. There’s a new family with multiple births in town and boy, have they been busy. Okay, I admit I didn’t watch 18 Kids & Counting earlier in the week, but I saw the promos. And then I heard the parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, are expecting their 19th child next March. NINETEEN! That is technically two entire baseball teams with one relief pitcher! That’s essentially bigger than some homeroom classes in high school!  Stop me any time now…

But wait, it gets better. Their oldest son’s wife will also give birth this fall. So technically the newborn next spring will become the aunt or uncle to Michelle and Jim Bob’s first grandchild, approximately five months its elder.

What is going on here? I had a hard time just keeping up with all of their names and ages as indicated on the TLC website. Is that perhaps it; the shock factor for reality television? Are parents of multiples pimping out their kids via reality TV to earn some money? Better yet, is that such a bad thing; after all could you imagine what college tuition will cost?

That said, who can truly afford that many kids? And how about the health of the mother? If I did the math right, this means that Michelle has been pregnant approximately 14 plus years of her 42-year-old life. Considering she started procreating at the age of 21, factoring 14 years out of 21, she’s been pregnant more than 50 percent of her adulthood!

Ok, I’ll stop blogging now. I suppose if they can handle raising that many children by instilling house rules along with home-schooling schedules, you know what? More power to ‘em.

So, what do you think? Enough already with the multiples on reality TV? And do you think the Duggar family is way too big?

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It’s a funny thing about show biz. Sure, we know celebs certainly don’t live like the rest of us — sometimes we forget they’re people. Like what happens when a TV star’s show is canceled and all of a sudden they’re home with the family? Kinda’ echoes what unemployed folks have been experiencing (sans stress of the non-paychecks), but still, the situation is similar, yes?

This is why I found it interesting that Chris O’Donnell told the Jacksonville Observer that he’s ready to get back to work. Now, he’s not an “out of work” actor by any means. When you’re a movie star, let’s just imagine the schedule, shall we? You’re on location away from your family and working intense, long days, day after day after day.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Cry me a river! Intense schedules aside, once the filming wraps, so does their gig until, of course, they audition for another one. Well, O’Donnell will be back on set, this time on a television show for CBS, the spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles.

He tells the Observer, “I had been interested in doing television just as a general idea. I think it’s an exciting format. There’s some great stuff being done.” Logistically it seems to make sense. He’s the proud papa of five kids and says there are a lot of mouths to feed in his home.

He continues, “I like being busy to set an example for my kids. I came out of college and was working nonstop. Then I stopped for a while and had a bunch of kids. Then all of a sudden I’m sitting at home and my kids are looking at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I think I’m ready to get back to work.’ I’ve been real busy the last couple of years and it feels really good. I hope this show works out and we can do it for many years to come.”

Kudos to Chris for morphing into TV mode and setting a good example for his kids! Would you do the same? If you were in his shoes would you go back to work or become a full-time Mr. Mom assuming finances were fully intact?

Ok, so we know by now as an A-lister in Tinseltown you get photographed. A lot.

As in when your hair is in a bun as you run to Starbucks after yoga class. Or when you’re wearing something that is oh-my-gosh, so last season! Or how about when you’re in an oversized, loose-fitting, stylish dress?

Well, that recently happened to True Blood star Anna Paquin. Could you imagine for a sec that you’re seen in this pretty dress and poof! Rumors start circulating. Is she or is she not pregnant? The whole world waits to find out…

But alas, the 27-year-old actress’ rep indicated that she is not pregnant. It must be interesting and almost surreal to have something that personal be swirling among blogs and the ‘net. And you know what? What if she was pregnant? What an interesting way to break the news, huh?

As for the interesting back story? Her fiance and co-star, Stephen Moyer, has an eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. So, technically, Ms. Paquin will be somewhat of a stepmom. Other than that, a dress is merely a dress.

What do you think? Have people gone too far making assumptions based on a simple outfit?

{Photo: Pacific Coast News}

When it comes to parenting or even trying to juggle it all, the key is simply stopping.

In fact, actress Uma Thurman indicated to The Times she received a prescription from a doctor on something which was “unthinkable.” Doctor’s orders? One night a week in a hotel room. Although she didn’t follow through and couldn’t imagine doing that, she realized she seemed to be utterly exhausted. Spent. Worn out. The tank had run out of gas. Stop me any time now…

Her big wish now, she says, is to make a little time for herself. “I think many women, working women, get this. I mean, how do you justify that hour-and-a-half to yourself? When you have this to do and that to do and you want to be there… So I really want to do that. I really think it’s necessary.”

So necessary that your household will fall apart if you don’t put yourself first. If your tank is only half full, how can you possibly muster up the strength to keep it moving when it’s almost already spent? The mother of 11-year-old Maya Ray and 7-year-old Levon Roan has a new film being released this fall, aptly called Motherhood.

So this one’s a shout out to all the moms out there. Have you been able to create downtime for yourself when you haven’t felt guilty? Where did you go/what did you do? Was it a matter of a brief nap? Pedicure? Starbucks treat? Do dish!

{Photo: Getty}

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There’s a little jingle on one of the news programs here in New York by a consumer reporter: shame, shame, shame… shame on you!

So yes, this New Yorker is pointing a finger in a tsk tsk formation (yes, I said a finger, not “the” finger – get your mind outta the gutter! Ha ha). For real. If you watched the Teen Choice Awards earlier last month, you may have noticed Miley Cyrus was on stage. No surprise there. But what you may have shaken your head at and had to look twice in disbelief was the fact that she appeared on stage. With a pole.

And no, this isn’t any old pole. A subway pole? Nope. A fireman’s pole? Um, not exactly. More like a stripper’s pole! Now although there was buzz around her provocative Vanity Fair photos several months ago, it appears she’s definitely trying yet again to shed that good girl image and venture into vamp and vixen. You know what though? Last time I checked, Hilary Duff made the transition just fine. Did she go on stage with a pole? Not exactly. She forged ahead with her career, dignity and integrity intact.

Ed Norwick, general manager of SCORES, a gentlemen’s night club in New York City, had this to say: “It was just inappropriate for a 16-year-old with that fan base. What’s the message she’s sending?” Seriously. Although it’s related to Ed’s industry, he points out there is a clear distinction between what’s geared toward adults versus what’s appropriate for kids.

Furthermore, as Ed mentions, “What’s the message she’s sending to teenage girls? And how about teenage boys?”

For real. Miley, please clean up your act.

What are your thoughts? Totally uncool of Miss Miley or kinda acceptable since other stars aren’t shy about flaunting their wares on stage?