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?

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!

Remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? Sort of a cross between Pee-Wee Herman and Mr. Wizard? Well, it's been about ten years since his TV show ended, but now he's set to return to the small screen in a new show called Stuff Happens, on a new channel dedicated to green living, Planet Green. On the show, Nye will explain "what happens when we use stuff, where it goes when we're through with it, and what impact it all has on the environment and the entire planet."

It appears the thirteen-part series will target an older audience than his previous show, but with "astonishing information, easy-to-follow science, lighthearted demonstrations, expert interviews and connective story-telling to amplify growing problems in the environment and important solutions," it sounds like it would be great for any kid old enough to care about science and the environment.

The first episode kicks off the series in the bathroom, exploring the impact of what goes on in the throne room. Other episodes will cover the bedroom, the attic, dinner, and breakfast. The first episode airs September 2 at 9pm Eastern. I think we'll be checking it out.

Yes, yes, you read that right. Sad but true, the Public Broadcasting Service, better known as PBS, has decided to cut Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. If ever there were such a thing as true classic television, that has since gained cult status among us adults, it would be Mister Rogers' and that crazy red cardigan of his. He will be sorely missed by a large portion of Americans, even if out of nostalgia.

Mister Rogers is basically an institution. Like Sesame Street, the show was some of the best of what educational television has ever offered. He was a nice man that got children to actually trust men, and he always took the time to change his shoes. Comfort was big with this man, and so it is with many of us today. According to Brian Linder, the head of the savemisterrogers.com, who is spearheading a campaign to get PBS to think twice about relegating the show to member stations, the show continues to provide " a special nurturing voice in the lives of children." Yes--that's what I was trying to say! Linder believes Fred Rogers, bedecked in his red sweater (and, uhm, comfortable shoes), taught not only the young boy a thing or two, but also his parents.

Frankly, I think it's pure blasphemy to remove Mister Rogers from programming. Can someone please tell me another show that is possibly good enough to take its place? That's what I thought: SILENCE FROM THE INTERNET. So what is to be done? Well, join the campaign to save our favorite cardigan wearing nice guy. Do your part to let PBS know how you feel by visiting the website. For my part, I'm imagining Mister Rogers the movie. Clearly we need one. If something as vapid as the Smurfs can get a run on the silver screen, then by golly Mister Rogers has a posthumous Oscar headed his way. Question is, who would play him? Possibly Will Ferrell? Will is sort of a softy and a sweetheart, so maybe he's our man. Or, maybe Luke Wilson. That might not work though, as Wilson is sort of too hot to be Mister Rogers. Thoughts???

Are these shows supposed to take his place?

Former model Carla Bruni has announced she wants kids. The new wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy is keen to begin a family soon. Bruni, who is 40, has a seven year old son from another relationship and wants to provide Aurelian with a sibling if she's "young enough." Bruni and Sarkozy have been married less than a year.

Bruni also has a burgeoning career as a pop star to consider in addition to her duties as the President's wife. How will the beauty ever find time to be a mommy (again)? She has sworn off using fertility treatments to find herself in the family way, referring the matter over to a nature. AS we've all had rammed down our throats for ages, a woman's fertility begins a downhill course at twenty-seven (or so current wisdom holds).

Many women are having children later and later in life, and are therefore turning to the very thing Bruni is eschewing (at least in print) to become mothers. Being a model, pop star, or politician's wife--or all three--doesn't seem to be interfering with Carla's desire to add to her family. Will she become pregnant? Will she turn to fertility treatments? Only Carla (and mother nature) knows. Good luck to Carla and Nicolas!

As you may be aware, MTV has a show on the air called Engaged and Underage. Now in its second season, the show follows young couples headed down the aisle--couples family and friends think are too young to be doing so. Last year's season introduced us to couples facing more than just age discrimination. One couple dealt with interracial tensions from their families and another with a pregnancy. The show purports to follow the couples around reality-television style, monitoring the drama but not helping to create it.

Naturally a lot of hype surrounds this programming. Reality shows are primed to be as explosive and controversial as possible. Whether you believe in reality television or not, it's best not to question that they tend to present people in less than their best light. As far as this show is concerned, although the publicity from the show claims to simply follow these people around, I get the impression they're courting controversy as much as possible.

The question is, just how young is too young to get married? These kids are out of high school. Some of them are in their early twenties. That sounds like an adult to me. If you're old enough to get drafted, shouldn't you be old enough to get married? State laws can help a couple decide when they can legally tie the knot, but other than that it's pressure from friends, family and society that sway most couples to either get married, or, as a recent trend has continued, wait until they're much older--or not get married at all!

Have you seen the show? Do you agree with the programming or the decision to share the stories of these young couples with the world? Just how young is too young to get married?

Pic of engagement ring by Rubyran.

As the world will know soon enough if it doesn't already, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are debuting the pictures of their newborn twins today. Courtesy of People Magazine, who reportedly paid $14 million for the pictures, which will be given to a charity of the Jolie-Pitt's choice, the pictures feature mom and dad with the newborn twins and big sister Shiloh holding a babe.

Says Angelina Jolie about her ever-expanding family, which now clocks in at six, the brood is "chaos." She means that in a good way, of course, but how could it be otherwise with that many children in the house? I have one child with another on the way and sometimes wonder how I'm going to get through my day! Twins Knox and Vivienne join Maddox, Pax, and Zahara as well as Shiloh.

Jolie adds that despite the zaniness, she and the family are having a great time. She also claims her daughters Shiloh and Zahara have taken on the role of "little mommies" by helping change the twins and pick out their clothes. Perhaps she can give us some hints and tips on how to get the older kids to help out with the new ones!

Congrats to the couple, who are clearly delighted with their newest additions!

Did you ever play with paper dolls? Perhaps you did when you were young. Perhaps, even now, you continue to collect them for nostalgia's sake, or to refrain back to your old days when you didn't have kids and were one yourself. Well, in the world of paper dolls comes along a set that is fun and humorous and possibly just a wee bit controversial: The pregnant paper doll.

The pregnant paper doll is intended as a gift for the mother-to-be who has a sense of humor and doesn't mind yet one more reminder that her waist is about to become a thing of the past. There's a doll and requisite set of clothes for each trimester, including what some women call the "fourth" trimester--you know, the one after the baby is born but you still feel and look ginormous? The first trimester offers a few tummy-bearing options and some strategic layering, while the third trimester offers sweatpants, a mu mu, and, oddly, a wedding dress.

Not sure what comment the creators of the paper dolls had in mind when they decided to add that garb to the mix. Are they secretly (or not so much) hinting that pregnant women ought to get married? Maybe I'm just being overly analytical; after all they are just paper dolls. The only other thing I think is worth mentioning is that this is a kitchshy item that, while fun, will most likely just sit on the shelf. No mom-to-be is going to take time out of her busy nesting schedule to cut these out.

Actress and break-out movie sensation Katherine Heigl is too busy for children. The Grey's Anatomy star, whose recent silver screen hits include 27 Dresses and Knocked Up, says she is far too busy to consider having kids.

The newlywed's husband, musician Josh Kelley, basically couldn't agree more. According to him he's even taken some time off touring to focus more on music. Once you're married, though, inevitably comes all the questions about when you'll be starting a family.

Like many, many women before her, famous and not, Heigl is spurring on the trend of having a baby later in life (if indeed she wants kids at all). With a career as full and successful as Katherine's, I can certainly understand putting off motherhood for a while. Or, maybe the experiences she had while playing a pregnant woman in Knocked Up scared her!!!

Unless you've maintained one of your own, it's difficult to describe how addictive keeping a blog can be. Having a corner of the internet people visit just to read your words and thoughts on life and issues can make an ordinary housewife feel like an A-list celebrity.

So you might guess it would be easier for a celebrity to give up their blogging habit, as they already have opportunities in the limelight and have supporters and fans outside the internet. Rosie O'Donnell, who just announced plans to take a blogging break for the month of August, begs to differ. Her most recent blog post read:

i am taking off august
in blog-ville
2 c if i can
rosie unplugged
happy summer peeps
peace in
peace out

The opinionated former talk show host shared with People magazine, "I'm wondering if I can do it. Every time I watch [the TV show] Intervention I'm like, 'They need this show for people who need to get off their computers!' My real addiction is the computer and the blog."

Some things Rosie could do to help survive her non-blogging month:

• Take the kids to the beach
• Create toupees for Donald Trump out of craft supplies
• Prank call "The View"
• Cover Elizabeth Hasselbeck's toilet seats with plastic wrap
• Drop in on Martha Stewart around mealtime
• Volunteer

Actor Mark Wahlberg has vowed not to sell the baby pictures of his new child-to-be. Marky Mark is putting a stop to any offers from magazines before they even get started, insisting he will not be selling his baby photos like so many other celebrity parents have of late.

The actor is expecting his third child with girlfriend (and perhaps soon to be wife) Rhea Durham, who is due in September. He is already father to two other children with Durham, Ella, who is four and Michael, who is two. I don't recall Mark pimping out pictures of either of them to the tabloids either!

Wahlberg wants to keep the birth and his family private, which is a welcome refreshment to the baby picture overload we've been experiencing lately, our fascination with which is borderline disgusting! Rumor also had it that new mom Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban would not be selling pictures of their new daughter, Sunday Rose. Perhaps there is a new celebrity parenting trend afoot?

Matt Damon is the next celebrity to invest in some good old fashioned charity work, this time by working on his children's charity. The Departed star, who recently piled on 30 pounds for The Informant, is taking the summer off to lose the weight and get the charity rolling.

The charity is to be called the One X One Foundation. Its mission is to support, improve and preserve the lives of children in Canada and around the world. According to Damon, singer Sheryl Crow is set to play at one of the Foundation's events. Earlier this year pal Ben Affleck (and daddy) recently hosted an inaugural event.

Says Damon, who is a daddy himself, making calls for the Foundation are "...easy."

Marky Mark is finally ready to settle down. The former pop star and current mega-hottie actor, fresh off the lukewarm if challenging film The Happening, is preparing to marry his girlfriend after all these years. According to People, Wahlberg and Rhea Durham are ready to make it official and have baby number three on the way! Why? Well, the former head of the Funky Bunch wants his family to be as successful as his movie career. With hits like Oscar-winning The Departed to his credit, Wahlberg may have to put in some daddy overtime!

Wahlberg, 37, says he is finally ready to give up life in the fast lane and work on the things that matter in life, like getting eight hours of sleep at night. Good, luck, Mark! Clearly this man has no idea that parenting entails giving up your sleep preferences until your kid goes to college.

My question is this: Does it take a marriage to make a family? The Jolie-Pitts would say no way, no day (although who knows, they may already secretly be married if rumors are true). Many other celebrity parents have admitted they have no plans or need to marry. What do you think? Is there ever a right time to "settle down" and marry whether or not you already have a family?

I'm not especially into watching Jon and Kate plus Eight, the show that chronicles the parenting adventures of a couple with twins and sextuplets, but my wife likes to catch it. I've never been a big fan of Kate, the wife and mother; I feel that she is too obsessive and doesn't treat Jon, her husband particularly well. If you've never seen the show, there are a whole lot of clips available for viewing online.

I find it difficult to comprehend how she can deprive her kids of the joy of coloring with markers or eating ice cream or, heck, all the myriad ways kids can have fun getting dirty, simply because she likes things clean. In fact, it seems like her kids are missing out on a lot because of her obsessive nature. My kids regularly come home from school or summer camp looking like they've been allergic to soap and water their whole lives. It's one way to tell they've had a whole mess of fun.

I can certainly understand phobias and fetishes; I know I have my fair share. The problem is, she's a parent now. She can't afford the luxury of having to have everything clean and tidy -- the kids' happiness and nurturing takes precedence. She needs to put her problems on the back burner and let her kids take center stage now. In twenty years or so, when the kids leave home, she can go back to being obsessive and dysfunctional.

Well, it seems I'm not alone in my distaste for Kate. In fact, one woman feels even more strongly about it and isn't afraid to say so. She has even suggested that perhaps the show should be cancelled, at least until Kate gets some help with "her multitude of issues."

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Her reason -- Kate's incessant berating and belittling of Jon. Is he an abused husband? I'm not exactly sure, but he's certainly not treated all that well. The author, Tammy G, cites an incident at Toys R Us as an example. Kate hollers at Jon across the store and he ends up leaving in embarrassment. I'm not sure I would stand for such treatment either.

I know that Kate's physical abuse of Jon is not something I would stand for; I'm afraid that if my wife slapped me the way that and as often as Kate slaps Jon, someone would end up getting hurt. Not only is physical violence unnecessary and inappropriate, it sets a very bad example for the kids. And as if that weren't enough, when asked about the slapping, Kate actually blamed Jon for it.

Tammy G suggests that Jon and Kate are not good role models and offers up the Duggars instead. It seems to me, however, that not everything on television needs to be an example of how we should be; sometimes television can shows us how not to be. Perhaps that is the lesson we can learn from Jon and Kate -- how not to treat a spouse and kids.