Tom Cruise is known for being an action hero of sorts -- from prancing about in his skivvies in Risky Business to chasing about as super spy Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible series -- but that doesn't mean he can't carry his kid's playthings out in public. In fact, he was spotted doing just that recently in New York.

From a stuffed bunny to a Cabbage Patch doll and from a coloring book to a baby bottle, he'll apparently carry anything his little Suri might need for a day or even a night on the town. So is he no longer the macho star he was before parenthood? Of course not! You can't get much more manly than to carry a child's toy for them, if you ask me.

No, if you want to rag on Tom Cruise, don't do it for taking care of his kid. There are plenty of other things to ridicule him for: his bad acting, the whole space alien religion thing, and his propensity for hopping up and down on talk show hosts' couches.

If you thought 'funny' lady Roseanne Barr had quietly disappeared to wherever it is that loud, opinionated comedians disappear to, you were wrong. She's still out there and she's still making her opinions known. A few days ago, she posted a rather nasty piece on her blog taking aim at actor John Voight, his daughter Angelina Jolie, as well as Brad Pitt and the kids.

Barr appears to be angry that Voight isn't supporting Barack Obama and that Jolie has said she likes McCain but is undecided as to who will get her vote. According to Barr, that makes Voight a "frightened little girl in a pink ballet tutu" and Jolie his "evil spawn." Brad did not escape Barr's wrath either as she refers to him as Jolie's "vacuous husband."

Addressing Jolie, Barr writes: "....it might be good for your Asian and African children's self esteem to know you support a brown man for the leader of the free world. How nice of Barr to be so concerned for the self-esteem of the Jolie-Pitt children. It is unfortunate that she refers to their biological children as "dunces that will consume more than their fair share and wreck the earth even more."

Of course, Barr is entitled to her opinions and her political point of view, but I am just not sure what she was trying to accomplish with this rant. Calling someone an evil spawn and referring to their children as dunces is probably not the best way to bring them around to your way of thinking.

Felicity Huffman is frazzled, ya'll. And she has every right to be. Not only is Huffman star of the big and little screens, she's also wife to actor William H. Macy and a mom. In fact, Huffman says her motherhood is probably what landed her the star's most famous role, as Lynette on television's Desperate Housewives.

Huffman left two of her three kids in the bathtub and plodded through the rain to make it to the Housewives audition. She thought she'd managed to pull it together but says those who auditioned her liked the fact that she was "a mess" and "frazzled." Also, and this is my favorite, part, her pants were dirty. Sounds like motherhood to me!

Felicity admitted to the agents that she was going crazy with the kids. According to her, the women in the room looked at her like she was crazy; but then, you know, she got the role. I don't watch the show, but from Huffman's comments it sounds like the frazzledness is just right for her character. And, let's be honest--does this woman EVER look frazzled? No. But, as a mom myself I am sure there are times when, indeed, she is.

Suri Cruise is nearly two and a half years old. Heaven knows you couldn't forget that if you tried. And while she has more fashion sense than pretty much any other tot on the planet, there is one thing that seems to still give us all pause. No, it's not how her celebrity parents could have actually spawned her, nor is it how much is spent keeping her best-dressed and -tressed. Nah--it's that thing where she's still carrying around a baby bottle.

Yes, still. It seems like this first made the news when Suri was more than a year old and still using a bottle. Like sippy cups are so great. Now she's making headlines again for still sporting the baby bottle--when she's not even really a baby. My question is this: what is the big deal? My kid is nearly seventeen months old and he still occasionally uses a bottle. We've tried really hard to break him of the habit, but, for a while, he simply eschewed the sippy cup. He could use one, sure, but he couldn't get the same amount of milk from the sippy as from the bottle. So, we let him roll with it. Eventually, he switched over to predominantly using the sippy.

I know there are standards and practices for how we're supposed to raise our children. I know that guidelines have been set to help us make our way through this crazy maze called parenthood. But with issues as large as world hunger, violence, abuse and immunizations out there for us to tackle, why does anyone give a rat's butt about whether or not Suri Cruise still uses her baby bottle? I feel sorry for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes--they're busy people who are trying to raise a kid and have full-time jobs too. it ain't easy. And not every kid fits the model she's supposed to. Is it really the end of the world if Suri still uses a bottle?

Just last month, eldest Hanson brother Isaac and his wife Nikki had their second child, a son named James Monroe. That brought the total number Hanson babies to six, but not for long. Middle Hanson Taylor, 25, and his wife Natalie, 24, have announced that they are expecting their fourth child this winter. "Each of our kids has made life richer and more exciting," say Taylor and Natalie. "We can't wait for this guy to join the party."

The Hanson brothers aren't just hanging around making babies with their lovely wives, they are also gearing up for their Walk Around the World Tour, which begins next month. The guys aren't actually walking around the world, but they want to encourage their fans to do some walking of their own. With the goal of reaching a total of 24,902 miles (the equivalent of once around the globe), the Walk Around the World campaign is working to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa one mile at a time. To learn more about hosting a walk in your town or joining Hanson on their walk, check out Takethewalk.net.

Who ever could have imagined that those cute boys who sang MMMbop would turn out to be such great family men and philanthropists?

Who knew that former party girl Nicole Richie was such a giving and charitable person? I think that the way she has turned her life around and started giving back to those less fortunate is wonderful and I applaud her efforts. And apparently she has only just begun helping children - here and around the world.

Through the Richie-Madden Children's Foundation, Nicole is launching an online gift registry that will help needy mothers and their children. Families in need can sign up through local social service agencies and submit a list of the things they need for their children. Asked-for items could include cribs, blankets and other essentials. Donors could then look at the registry and choose what they want to contribute. Initially, the registry will benefit families in New York and Los Angeles, but the hope is to take it nationally and then internationally.

I think this is fantastic idea and love the idea of being able to choose a family to give to and personally pick out what they receive. Way to go Nicole!

Have you seen these pictures of Lindsay Lohan's little sister, Ali? Look closely at her chest in both photos and you will notice a big difference. Taken just months apart, the latest picture shows Ali with undeniably larger breasts. This, of course, has the rumor mill flying. Ali has made no secret of wanting to be a star and her mom is obviously on-board with the plan. Did Dina Lohan really allow her fourteen year old daughter to get breast plants in an effort further her career? Or did Ali have one heck of a growth spurt over the summer?

Responding to a paparazzo who asked about the rumors, big sister Lindsay Lohan insists that their mother would never allow it and accuses the guy of being a pedophile for even asking.

I don't think the question makes the guy a pedophile, but it does ignore an obvious answer to the riddle that is Ali Lohan's breasts: a really great bra. Grown up girls wear them all the time and I know from personal experience that the right bra can transform an ordinary B-cup into a rather impressive C-cup. And while a padded, push-up bra is certainly better for a fourteen-year-old than breast implants, I still wouldn't let my kid wear one. But maybe Dina Lohan would.

Last thing we heard, Madonna--who, by the way, ya'll, is now officially FIFTY!--was primed and ready to adopt another child. Rumor had it the child would be a little girl from Malawi, from where Madonna adopted her third child, David. As the rumor went, the little girl's name was Mercy, she was two years old and her family didn't want Madge to adopt her.

Now that the rumor mills are in full spin mode--other rumors circulated that the would-be adoption ws causing the alleged turmoil in the Material Mom's marriage to filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie--Madonna's rep is negating the whole thing. That's what they get paid for, right? Deny, deny, deny.

Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's mouthpiece, insists the rumors are not true. Instead, she says, Madge is headed on tour in a week. Not that a busy schedule ever stopped a female celebrity from giving birth or adopting! Tell that to Angelina Jolie, Liz!

Loving someone doesn't mean you have to love the people they love. My father had five kids and his love for each and every one of them was unconditional and unlimited. I, on the other hand, can barely stand to talk to myself, let alone the other four. And so, I completely understand Chris Orbach's desire to have nothing to do with his late father's second wife.

And yet... there's the matter of the ten million dollars, of which Chris sees none until his stepmother, Elaine Cancilla-Orbach, dies. Chris sent his stepmother a letter claiming that she manipulated the elder Orbach into cutting his son out of his will. It's not about the money, though, claims Chris. "People think [the letter] was a money grab," he wrote on the First Wives World website. "For the trillionth time -- it wasn't. I do just fine as a voiceover artist."

Chris Orbach also chastised his father's donation of his eyes to the Eye Bank Association of America. Cancilla-Orbach, defends that decision, however. "Jerry always said he was so proud that, at age 69, he didn't need glasses," Cancilla-Orbach said. "He said, 'If I can give anything back, I want to give my eyes. I can't give my liver because I drank too much, and I can't give my lungs because I smoked too much. But I can give my eyes.' So, on his deathbed, when they asked if he was an organ donor, I said, 'Take his eyes.'"

I don't know... Maybe Chris Orbach has a point. After all, he is, I'm sure, making hundreds of dollars a month as a voice-over artist so he really doesn't need the money. And this isn't Jerry Orbach's first wife; it's his second wife who swooped in at the last moment, only having to spend two and a half decades with him to inherit his money. Really, if this is just about not having to visit Elaine Cancilla-Orbach on Mother's Day, drop it and don't. It's really that simple.

Actor Richard Dreyfuss is probably wishing he'd taken to heart Shakespeare's famous line from Hamlet, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." Back in 1984, Dreyfuss claims to have loaned his father and uncle a whopping $870,000 that he says was never repaid.

Now, he is suing his father and uncle for repayment of the loan. He claims to have repeatedly asked for and been refused access to financial records by his uncle, Gilbert Dreyfuss. He is accusing them of "fraud" and "malice" and wants his $870,000 back plus interest and and punitive damages.

Dreyfuss has been working pretty steadily over the years, but his career was in its heyday back in the late 1970's and early 1980's. I am not surprised that he had that kind of cash to lend, but I wonder why after all these years he is taking his family to court over it. He may be feeling the same financial pinch most of us are dealing with, but it's a shame to see a family turn against each other over money.

It's been a long time since we've heard from Britney Spears. Just over a year ago, OK! magazine attempted to sit down with the pop star, but that interview and accompanying photo shoot were scrapped after Spear's erratic behavior (and non-housebroken dog) made it evident things were not going to proceed as planned.

What a difference a year makes! This time around, with her father at her side, a healthier Britney was able to sit down and finally have that talk with OK! magazine.

Matt McConaughey's bongo drums aren't just for show; the man is earthy and he's not afraid to show it. His costars have to learn to put up with his "natural scent," since he refuses to wear deodorant. And after the birth of his son Levi in July, he saved the placenta to plant at a later date.

"It's going to be in the orchards," he told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "And it's going to bear some wonderful fruit." The new dad apparently got the idea from a trip to Australia, where he met a tribe who had a placenta tree where all new babies' placentas are buried.

Honestly, I don't care what people do with their children's placentas. But don't Matt and Levi's mom, Camila Alves live in a motorhome? Where do they keep that thing -- next to the frozen breastmilk in the freezer? I can't be sure, but I'm guessing sharing a home and parenthood with Matthew means never having a dull moment.

When parents hold differing view on basic issues like discipline, education, or medical care for their children, it can be difficult to come to an agreeable compromise. However, when the parents have been mired in a messy divorce and bitter custody battle, those roadblocks can be insurmountable.

It doesn't appear that Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards have come to the realization that they will be forever linked by their daughters Sam and Lola. According to reports, the pair remains strongly divided on the issue of immunizations, with Denise voting for shots and Charlie maintaining the opinion that they are a potential danger that should be avoided.

So when Sheen received a nearly $400 bill from his daughter' pediatrician for the immunizations they had been given, Charlie didn't just get mad, got even in his own childish way-by paying the bill in nickels.

It doesn't matter where you stand on immunizations, one parent going ahead on an irreversible thing like that without telling the other is some dirty, dirty pool that might get what you want in the short term, but opens you up to the same treatment by your spouse down the road.

How have you handled difficult parenting decision with an ex?

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Unlike other celebrity parents with new babies, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have chosen not to sell pictures of their new daughter, Sunday Rose. In fact, they would prefer that the paparazzi not photograph her at all, and are asking for a little space while they spend time in Kidman's native Sydney. The couple used decoy cars and kept Sunday under wraps when they arrived in Australia recently.

"She's like a doll," Kidman told a Sydney radio station, "She's like a little, little thing. Just (don't photograph) right in her face or in our faces, because it's scary for her."

I remember when my girls were born that flash photography made them flinch, and I was constantly telling my husband to STOP TAKING PICTURES. (Thank goodness he didn't listen, or I wouldn't have any photo memories of those early days). I can't imagine what it would feel like if strangers were constantly jumping into our faces to snap photos and making my baby cry. New motherhood gives you that mama bear feeling, and Nicole is obviously very protective. Hopefully, the paps will give them the space they're looking for. I'm sure Sunday Rose is a gorgeous baby, but really, is it that important that we all get a glimpse of her?

Little Levi Mcconaughey is certainly making the rounds. His father, periodically shirtless actor Matthew Mcconaughey recently took the newborn to his first concert. The concert was that of John Mellancamp. Levi, born mere weeks ago to the actor and supermodel girlfriend Camila Alves has already been surfing.

Now, I'm assuming this kid had his shots and a doctor's blessing to be out among the masses. I'm also assuming since McConohottie is a celebrity that he and the little tyke were able to keep the crowds at bay. They probably had special seating, etc. to ensure a little space for the newborn.

Says Mcconaughey, he wants to prepare his son to be around people and noise. My guess is they plan on taking their little one with them everywhere they go. Mcconaughey has no plans to change his lifestyle now that he's a father, and says one doesn't need to. I have a newsflash for him--parenthood DOES change you, and you cannot live the exact same life you did before (especially if you were a jetsetting, camera-friendly celebrity like McConohottie) once you have a child. Unless, of course, your child isn't really a part of your life As for Mcconaughey, that doesn't seem to be the case. He seems keen to include his son in all his favorite activities. Good for you, Matthew--that's what being a daddy is all about, right?

What do you think? Does life change infinitely and there are things you simply must give up when you become a parent, or can you simply absorb your child into your current lifestyle?