Who’s The Daddy?

I’m rather amused that Neil Patrick Harris is currently best known from the hit TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother…’ but for his own kids the real-life story will be ‘how I met your father…erm, I mean…your other father’.

I know it’s not very ‘correct’ but I’m in a funny mood this morning and I have this mental image of them both saying, a’la Darth Vader, “I am your father!” “and I am your father too!”

Apparently Neil has become an absolute baby geek and is swatting up on what’s in store for him when the babies are born – oh, did I not mention they’re expecting twins; two for the price of one surrogate mum, a bargain!

I’m trying to read as much as I can, and prep as much as I can. But there’s only so much you can do because each baby is super individual and totally their own person.

According to one of those useful ‘insiders’ again (what WOULD we do without them!) Neil is planning to dump Hollywood in favour of nappies for a while…

Everything was about his career until he met his soul-mate, David. Now, with twins due in October, Neil is thinking about taking a break. Moving from Hollywood to New York City to be a full-time daddy

The twins are due next month – there are lots of new arrivals heading our Celebaby way over the next couple of months – and both Neil and David are remaining tight-lipped about who’s the daddy, back to the insider…

Only Neil and David know for sure whose sperm was used, but they are not telling anyone. For medical reasons they need to know who is the biological father of the babies, but as far as they are concerned, they are both the twins’ daddies. Legal papers have been signed making this very clear

At the risk of opening a huge can of worms, I’m going to ask: are you ok with everyone of every sexual persuasion being able to become parents?  Or is it ultimately selfish?

I don’t have any particular opinions either way and don’t see there’s a HUGE difference between these guys and single-fathers, the same for women who go down a similar route. (ohhh, I’ve just had a terrible thought! Imagine if Colin and Justin decided to jump on the daddy bandwagon!)

And whilst I think about it, WHY does it seem more acceptable for two women to bring up children than two men?  What if Neil and David have twin girls, then what?

Interesting…and best of luck to them all!

Celebaby: Who’s The Daddy? is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Mrs Bloom Blooms

Orlando Bloom and Victoria’s Secret model, Miranda Kerr, got married in late July.  The ceremony was kept so secret you can be forgiven for it having passed you by.

It all seemed to be done in a bit of a rush so, of course, the gossip mill went into overdrive and rumours that Ms Kerr was already expecting abounded.

Well on this occasion there weren’t wedding bells without a positive pregnancy test and Mrs Bloom is already blooming in her latest video which promotes her new skin care range.

I have a sneaky feeling that she’s going to be one of these women who look the same as they usually do, except for the half tiny beachball they’ve had slapped to their stomach.  Then as soon as the baby arrives, beachball gone along with any hint of pregnancy.

Supermodel mums – don’t you just love ‘em!

Tiny Tyson

Say the name ‘Mike Tyson’ and what instantly comes to mind?

An image of a HUGE and terrifying Pitbull Terrier always leaps into my head. The guy who bit someone’s ear off in a fight, an absolute monster in the boxing ring, accused of assaulting his ex-wife and so the list of unsavoury qualitites goes on.

Well I should say ‘went’ on – because it seems that Mr Tyson is now more pussy cat than Pitbull.

Married for the third time, and determined that this will be his last marriage, he was pictured with his little daughter, two-year-old Milan, at the film premier of One Night in Vegas. The movie tells the story of the murdered rapper, Tupac Shakur, with whom Mike Tyson was close friends.

A lot has changed for the former boxer – his older daughter, four-year-old Exodus, died in a tragic accident last May and he revealed recently that he’s completely broke and living from ‘paycheck to paycheck’, broke but happy however…

Celebaby: Blooming Mrs Bloom and Tiny Tyson is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Aniston on Ice

So we all know that Jen’ is desparate to be a mummy and reports from one of those ‘close insiders’ seem to suggest that she’s not going to let age put a spanner in the maternal works!

At the ‘grand old age’ of 41 (I hope I look as good when I’m 41!), if the close insider is telling the truth, then Jennifer Aniston has had some of her eggs frozen to be used at a later date which, again according the this close ‘pal’, won’t actually be too far in the future.

By all accounts there is a new man in Jen’s life – and it’s not John Mayer either, despite recent rumours – and he’s not part of the Hollywood scene either.

Here’s what the Aniston insider has to say…

She will be an amazing mother, Jen is incredible with children. For so many years she’s wanted to have children.

She’s financially positioned to bring kids into the world and provide them with an amazing life.

There’s definitely someone new in Jen’s life and he’s not a player in the superficial Hollywood scene. That’s all I can say.

I wonder if these ‘insiders’ really exist and whether Jen sits there wondering who on earth is dishing the dirt THIS time!

Can you imagine, if these are really ‘close friends’ who are spilling the beans to the papers etc! You’d have to think twice before telling anyone anything you REALLY didn’t want the world to know and how would you know who you could truly trust?

I mean, whoever the culprits were/are, they’re hardly going to tell you if you asked, “Hey was it you who told the media I’d had my eggs frozen?!” It’s enough to make you glad you’re not a celeb’!

Celebaby: Eggs On Ice is a post from: PlayPennies UK

With less than a week to go now before the the kids go back to school (unless you live in Scotland, in which case that’s already happened for you) today in Celebaby we look at how the celeb’ mums ‘do’ the school run.

Celeb’ Mum School Run

My days of doing the school run are over as all my kids get the bus – yep, even my youngest will be leaping on the bus every day.

But when I was part of this early morning rat race I went through phases of having to look perfectly groomed and suitable to be seen by other people, through to yanking my hair into a hurried ponytail and slinging on a big jumper and a pair of tatty jeans.

In the picture on the top left, Sarah Jessica Parker looks super stylish as she takes her seven-year-old son, James Wilkie, to school.

I can’t say the same for Cate Blanchett though, in the picture next to SJP! No wonder the kids are trailing behind with them both looking around furtively hoping their mates won’t spot them.

Underneath is the ever-elegant Gwyneth Paltrow walking her kids, Apple (5) and Moses (3) to school in London.

I absolutely adore the last three school run mums – Maggie Gyllenhaal, Christie Turlington and Liv Tyler are all effortlessly stunning and OHHH how I wish I could pull that off!

Maggie is pictured with her young daughter, Ramona, and will you just check out how cute her little plaits are!

Liv Tyler and her son, Milo, are clearly having fun ‘battling’ the wind on their walk back from school.

But Christy Turlington!  Will you just LOOK at how beautiful she is!!!  Can you believe that she’ll be 42 in January?! I can cross my fingers and hope to look as easily stylish and fresh-faced as she does when I’m 42…which is a fair way off still, I’ll have you know!

So that’s how the celeb’ mums do it – what sort of school run mum are you?

Celebaby Goes Back To School is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Curvey Carey

The ‘is-she-isn’t-she pregnant?’ rumours which have surrounded Mariah Carey, for what feels like f-o-r-e-v-e-r, have just reached another level.

Pictures of her during a recent performance in Brazil have got everyone (well, everyone who cares anyway) all excited again, but there’s still no official word from the Carey camp other than the odd teasing suggestion here and there.

It’s getting rather tedious, in my opinion, and before too long, if there is a big announcement made, no one will be interested any more and that would be a bit sad.

So, not only is Mariah looking incredibly round and voluptuous but WHO on earth put her in those clothes?!  Were they having a laugh?!

If you compare this possibly-pregnant wardrobe to, say, Alicia Keys’ definitely pregnant wardrobe one is far more tasteful than the other – although, there was that rather unflattering jump-suit that she wore on stage a couple of months ago. 

Anyway, have a look at the photographs and see what you think. THEN combine it with this Tweet that Mariah posted after the concert…

Seriously, I really do love it here, beautiful people inside and out! Tonite was tuff (sic) 4 me 4 personal reasons, but U got me thru!L4L

…and tell me, what do YOU think? 

Has Mariah just been at the pies a bit too often lately or is she preggars?

Celebaby: Curvey Carey is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Natalie Cassidy’s baby is due NEXT MONTH! How can time have gone so quickly? I’m telling you, there’s something strange going on with them – maybe it’s the water they drink or something!

Nearly Time For Natalie

Natalie Cassidy grew up under the glare of the media and near-constant criticism about how she looked. Can you imagine how hard that must have been, and still is – as the press seem ever-eager to comment on how terrible she looks or how fat she is.

I happen to think she looks wonderful and at eight months pregnant she’s going to look somewhat ’round’ – HELLO?! There’s a baby in there!

So anyway, climbing off my soapbox, she has a month to go and seems much more at ease with herself. Having ‘conformed’ to the pressure of being a certain size, shrinking down to it and producing an exercise DVD in the process, she has intimated that we won’t be seeing a post-baby one.

I’m out of that whole diet madness now, thank God. So when the baby comes I just won’t worry about it. If I was dead skinny ­naturally, great, but I might just as well be a size 16 mum who sits around happy and eats cake. Why not?

She went on to say,

I hope people realise that I really do have better priorities than caring what they say about what I’m eating or wearing – I just want to concentrate on being a brilliant mum

Here! Here! And I reckon she’s going to be a fabulous mother too.

I’m looking forward to being able to bring you the news of the arrival of baby Cassidy next month and have my fingers well and truly crossed that everything goes well for both mum and baby.

Good luck Natalie!

Celebaby: Nearly Time For Natalie is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Clothes by Cruise

So, Katie Holmes has been playing the proud mum with the media by saying that Suri designs and makes her own clothes. Yep, that’s right. I’ll say it again j-u-s-t in case you thought you might have misread it. In fact, I’ll quote Katie directly…

I grew up the youngest of five, so there were a lot of hand-me-downs that I would sort of change up, and Suri and I do that now with her clothes. Or rather, she does it. She says, “I want this sleeve cut,” and it’s like, “Okay, we’ll cut it.”

I cut off the legs of a pair of jeans once to make some denim shorts – can I add ‘clothing designer’ to my CV now?

I’m all for a bit of parental pride but hacking an arm off a t-shirt hardly qualifies as ‘designing and making’ your own clothes.

Katie also says that she trusts Suri’s sense of style so much that her toddler daughter is often in charge of choosing her mother’s red carpet outfits.

Tom and I went to the Met ball a couple of years ago, and I had this beautiful red gown and these royal-blue shoes that I wasn’t planning on wearing, but Suri made me put them on and so I was like, “Okay, I trust you.”

Whatever floats your boat I suppose, but with Madonna and her daughter Lourdes launching their fashion line I bet it’s not going to be that many years before we see a Cruise clothing range hitting the catwalks.

Celebaby: Wang, Gaultier, Cruise..? is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Six Months Gone

Is it just me or do other people’s pregnancies always go SUPER fast?!

It only feels like a couple of weeks ago that we were talking about the big announcement of her impending motherhood, and now all of a sudden she’s six months gone and still looking fantastic.

I wish I knew how people do that – I just looked shocking from start to finish. And I can pretty much guarantee that she’ll looke super-fantastic straight afterwards too.

Rachel’s been keeping a pretty low profile, in the grand scheme of things, and was snapped out and about running errands in London this week. She has always openly admitted that she’s wanted children for a very long time.

I’ve always known that I wanted children. I love children and I feel really calm around babies.

Rachel has also revealed that she has cravings for pizza and Big Macs!

I love margarita pizza at the moment. I also crave Big Macs – I hadn’t eaten McDonald’s for about ten years but every time I pass a McDonald’s sign my mouth starts watering.

I really hope that motherhood lives up to all her expectations, even the times where you are that tired you can’t even remember your own name or what on earth you are meant to be doing from one minute to the next. She seems so lovely, it would break my heart to think of her beng disillusioned.

Sick Lily

Don’t mention pizza or Big Macs if you happen to bump into Lily Allen though, ok?

The poor girl is suffering with hideous morning sickness and I’m sending her a ton of sympathy. The only way I can describe morning sickness is this: you’re on a boat in rough weather and you feel like you’re going to throw up at any second.

You don’t know whether to lie down or go and hang your head over the side; you wonder whether eating something might help and it does..for about 20 minutes and then you’re back to feeling queasy.

The thing is, if you’re on a boat then you have a pretty good idea when the journey is going to end and that you’ll feel better when you get off. With morning sickness (which isn’t just confined to the mornings by the way) you can’t get off! You have no idea how long it’s going to last for and there have been occasions where I thought I couldn’t stand another day of feeling that way, regardless of the reason why and the little bundle of joy that would arrive at the end.

She’s been tweeting about how she’s been feeling this week, on Tuesday she said…

Sorry, I am being grumpy today. Morning sickness, toothache, tiredness and gossip commentators trying to stir up s**t don’t mix very well.

And on Wednesday…

Car sick, morning sick, sick sick sick sick

I hope the media are going to go a little easy on Lily if she’s a little less friendly than usual for a while; feel better soon Lily!

Celebaby: Six Months For Stevens & Sickness for Lily is a post from: PlayPennies UK

On yer bike…or is it a stroller?!

Two Hollywood celeb’ dads have ditched strolling with their young progeny in favour of pedal power.

But these bike-stroller contraptions are FAR more cool and funky looking than those plastic seats you attach to the back of your normal bike – the mental image of them riding around Hollywood with one of those whilst being papped by the snappers has just amused me greatly!

Matthew McConaughey and Dean McDermott are both fans of this amazing hybrid method of parent-child transportation – I had a quick hunt around and discovered that us mere mortals can buy them here in the UK too!

The Taga 2-in-1 Stroller Bike comes with a celebrity price tag though, but if you’ve been wanting a slice of celebrity parenting lifestyle for yourself, this could be just what you’ve been looking for.

Celebaby: On Yer Bike is a post from: PlayPennies UK

Seven For Stewart

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster have announced that they are expecting their second child together.

This will be baby number seven for Rod, who will have just turned 66 when this little one arrives, and is baby number two for Penny (39).

They already have a little boy together, Alastair who’s four, and they released this statement yesterday…

We were thrilled and delighted to be able to tell Alastair that he was going to be the big brother to a little baby.

Penny is Rod’s third wife and they were married three years ago and have been together for 10. They discovered they were expecting a new arrival whilst they were away celebrating their anniversary in Portofino, Italy.

Jennifer Gets Into The Swing Of It

Can you resist having a quick swing on the swings when you take the kids to the park?

No, neither can I and it seems we’re not alone either. Jennifer Lopez was spotted having a great time on the swings when she took her kids to the park recently.

It wasn’t long before her husband, Marc Anthony, couldn’t resist any longer and had a quick go himself too – I love seeing celeb’ parents messing around at the park doing normal stuff and looking the same as the rest of us.

I wonder what it is about swinging on swings? I have no idea, but I love it…I might just have to nip off down to the park now – where are the kids?!

Celebaby: Seven For Stewart and A Swinging Time For Lopez is a post from: PlayPennies UK