On Friday, Malawian Judge Esmie Chondo denied Madonna's bid to adopt 4-year-old Mercy James.

But Malawian authorities didn't get the memo -- you don't mess with the Material Mom.

Almost as soon as the Judge delivered her ruling, Madonna's attorney Alan Chinula informed the press that an appeal had been filed.

In an unusual move, Guy Ritchie issued a statement in support of his ex-wife, calling her a "fantastic and loving mother," who "is motivated only by being a caring parent who seeks to share some of the advantages and opportunities that her life has given her." Ritchie also said that he "fully supported...her decision to apply for this adoption, and I am saddened that her application has been rejected." Pretty nice words for a woman who he decided he couldn't live with.

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Angelina Jolie was spotted enjoying a girls' day out in New York City this week with daughters Zahara, four, and Shiloh, two. The super-hot mom of six was wearing a long black trench coat, knee-high boots, and oversize sunglasses; her girls were sporting leggings and sensible shoes and security blankets.

Honestly, they looked like any other suburban family out running errands. You know, if all suburban moms were as stunning as Angelina.



Celebrity kids often have a tendency to be little fashion plates -- Suri Cruise and her wardrobe of only dresses, for example. It's easy to see how famous parents might feel the urge to turn their tots into mini-fashionistas; designers are constantly sending celebs high-end baby and kid clothes, for starters, so why not let the kids wear it all? On top of that, celebrities -- particularly Hollywood moms -- make a living looking fabulous, and it can be hard to draw the line between your own style and your childrens' style. And when you know there will be photographers waiting each time you leave the house -- especially if you're out with the kids -- it only makes sense to make sure those kids look fabulous, too.

So it was nice to see the Jolie-Pitt girls hanging out with their mommy in what amounted to normal kid clothes, rather than scaled-down couture. Both girls were wearing basic black leggings, which are practical and comfortable; Zahara topped hers off with an oversized hooded cardigan, while Shiloh was bundled in a dark green pea coat. And no sparkly Dorothy shoes here; Zahara wore leather Mary Janes and Shiloh had on some old school sneakers. These two looked ready to play, rather than pose.

Both girls were also toting their loveys; Shiloh's was a wee pink slip of a thing, easily stuffed into her mother's hand bag if need be, but Zahara was hugging a much bigger knit blanket. I love a kid with a blankie, and I can see how facing a wall of paparrazi might be a little less frightening to a two or four-year-old if she had her special blanket with her, although I think I might have talked Zahara into something a little smaller, for convenience sake. It says a lot about Angelina's parenting, though, that she was willing to let Zahara bring that gigantic blankie on their outing; she seems to be prioritizing her children's comfort over her own appearance.

What I like most about Shiloh and Zahara's outfits, though, is that they look like kids -- Zahara has her hood up, because four-year-olds are like that, and Shiloh's wispy baby hair is falling out of her ponytail. They look like typical little girls -- comfortable and warm and ready to do fun kid stuff with their mom.

Are the Jolie-Pitt girls bringing back play clothes, or should Angelina have spiffed them up a little more before she left the house? What do your kids wear on a typical day?

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Got cabin fever? Kids driving you crazy? Try teaching them to juggle or bring spring inside with an indoor terrarium. -- AlphaMom

The division of labor in family life can feel more like tug-of-war than partnership. Here's how one couple finally learned how to work together. -- Babble

Whether you're escaping winter's snow or planning a spring break getaway, here's a list of must-have items to pack in your kids' activity bag. -- BabyCenter

Just six months old and already jet-setting, twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline arrived in the Chiba, Japan airport this week ... with parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in tow, of course. -- Celebrity Baby Blog

This falls into category of why-didn't-I-think-of-that?: The Hippychick Hipseat wraps around your waist and gives baby a comfy place to sit and your back a break at the same time. -- LilSugar

Are you raising a mini-fashionista? Here are four great toys to peak her interest and get her creative juices flowing. Who knows, maybe she'll be Project Runway bound! -- MomFinds

This week, everyone's talking about octuplets. It's amazing, sure, but is it ethical? Find out what one OB/GYN thinks. -- MomLogic

Is it a crime to let kids eat the occasional bite of junk food? (Gah! I hope not). One mom, who does let her kids have the occasional treat, wonders if maybe the health food junkies are on the right track after all. What do you think? -- Work It, Mom!

The five-second rule definitely applies: Why a little dirt really is good for kids. -- The Motherhood

Gadget alert! If you or your kid are the tech-y type, PlaySavvy has eight cool new gadgets that might interest you. -- PlaySavvy

I love Kate Winslet. I hardly know her, of course, but I can't help myself. I've watched Kate in most of her movies as she's grown up right in front of me -- we are, in fact, the same age, and both have two kids. Kate, who won two Golden Globes and is nominated for two Oscars this year, has decided to take a year off from acting to be with her family. Recently she sat down with the UK's Mail to talk about why. Kate admits that being a working mom is tough, but says it's all about structure and balance. I couldn't agree more. Her children, Mia and Joe, are 8 and 5 respectively, both much older than my kids, but kids of any age seem to want the same thing -- a schedule they can rely on. Well, they need parents who love them, too, but sometimes the only way a busy family can be happy is with good structure.

It also means keeping kids and family life out of the spotlight. Both Winslet and her husband, director Sam Mendes, do everything in their power to keep their kids from knowing how famous their mother is (she's a lot more visible than Sam and I'd wager few folks would be able to spot him walking down the street), including turning off the TV when Kate's going to be on, not keeping magazines in the house and avoiding movie posters with Kate's face on them. Kate doesn't like that her profession, which is the family business, makes her so much more "publicly available" and does her best to keep her kids feeling normal -- whatever that is.

Kate's family's life is a far cry from that of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I can't think of a more famous couple whose personal life is so well on display. In fact, I'm on such Brangelina overload it seems they could have their own television channel devoted to every step they take. And the Jolie-Pitts don't seem to do much to avoid the spotlight they're kids are so very much apart of. Says Winslet, Angelina and Brad's lives are "like a walking soap opera, and the public wants to know what's going to happen next." Some would say that Ange and Brad don't want their kids to be a part of that either, but they don't stop the press from photographing them, etc. I don't even know what Kate Winslet's kids look like, but I could pick any of Brangie's six kids out of a line up. Well, maybe not the twins -- not yet.

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About once a year Brad Pitt sits down with the annoying Ann Curry of the Today Show for a grilling about both his professional and personal life. Papa Pitt is ready and eager to talk about the professional side of things--he's currently promoting his latest film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as well as his Make It Right project which builds houses for those devastated by the levees breaking during Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. When the questions turn to his personal life, however, Mr. Pitt is uncomfortable and less than enthused. This is most likely because his entire life is a spectacle, one that he helped build and which he and his partner Angelina Jolie continually seek to control. Still, while reluctant to discuss much about what goes on behind closed doors at the Jolie-Pitt house (which is back to New Orleans these days), Brad did have a few things on his mind.

For one, he hates the paparazzi. And yes, he used the word "hate." Contrary to popular belief, celebrities don't like it when they're followed every step they take, when they're hounded and their kids are hounded too. It's unsafe, it's unprofessional, it's creepy and, as Pitt strongly vocalized, it should be illegal. I couldn't agree with him more. I don't mind writing about what he and Ange do with the kids or how they're slowly saving the world one step at a time, but it really freaks me out that some jerk with a camera would just as easily shimmy up the side of their French Quarter apartment and inflict harm on the family if necessary in order to snap a picture.

On the positive side, though, Brad said that his family made him "rich." His children come from all over the world and bring so much with them in terms of culture, etc. They play together and have made a family together despite being from opposite ends of the earth. Brad said there were things he liked to keep private, in his heart, and those things are most assuredly his relationship with his partner and his kids. Brad could arguably have more money than most people in the world, but that kind of richness seems not to compare with what he gets from his ever-expanding family. Warms the cockles, doesn't it?

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Hot on the heels of bringing twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline into the world, rumors have been flying that Angelina Jolie is pregnant again. The twins joined Ange, partner Brad Pitt and four other children mere months ago, with Angelina sporting a post-baby figure few hope to achieve in the rest of their lifetimes, let alone less than a year post-pregnancy, so I'm confused why folks are seriously thinking she could be preggers again. Well, there is that thing where she sports a baby bump for months and refuses to comment on it or confirm the fact that she is pregnant. "Denial" certainly is more than a river in Egypt with the Brangelina camp.

One reason the rumor wheels are spinning could be recent comments Papa Pitt made to Oprah, as well as those made by Angelina in the past. The celebrity couple don't plan on limiting their number of kids to six, biological or adopted. Pitt's attitude is sort of "why stop now?" As for Ange, she has commented that she'd like to act less and be a mom more, a statement she naturally backed away from moments after uttering it.

Another reason is that she refused a drink at a restaurant in London recently. Well, I can tell you from experience, even though I am not pregnant (and in Ange's case, she is no longer nursing) that even if you can drink, when you have kids you don't always want to--even when you really feel like you might need a shot of something. Drinking, even one drink, can make you feel tired. Plus, Angie didn't get back down to her pre-baby size by knocking back useless calories! Part of me also likes to think the couple start these rumors themselves--hey, it assures they're always in the spotlight, hit movie on the horizon or not!

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We like to think that all the nice things we read about celebrities are true. We also, whether we admit it or not, like to read about the not-so-nice parts of their lives--such gossip, whether factual or not, makes us feel a little bit better about our own lives: money can't buy love, etc. Anyone entering the lustrous world of Hollywood knows their personal life will remain so for little longer, and everything they do will become fodder for the masses.

But that's not so for Angelina Jolie. Although she and her publicist would say otherwise, it seems pretty obvious that the star of The Changeling tries--often successfully--to manipulate the press. It has been said that Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt chose People Magazine to share the first pictures of newborn twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline because the publication agreed not to print anything negative about the family in that issue or in the future. Rumor further has it People also agreed to no longer refer to the Jolie-Pitts as "Brangelina," a moniker the couple understandably hates.

People says the rumors aren't true and that they were not told they could only get the pics by agreeing to make nice with mama Jolie and her brood. People paid out $14 million for the pics, which supposedly went to charity. It was the highest amount of money paid by a publication for pics of a celebrity baby.

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Is Angelina Jolie planning on retiring from Hollywood? The actress, who plays the role of mom a lot more often these days than she does those on screen. Now the star of The Changeling says she's planning on "fading away" from movies and Hollywood in order to focus on her family. Jolie said something similar to this a ways back before she was pregnant with her twins. Hey-she likes being a mom! She said she'd be taking a break, but it was short-lived. Now, however, with six kids between her and partner Brad Pitt, Jolie says she may be taking the ultimate break. Jolie isn't planning on leaving the scene for good, however.

Jolie says that being a working mom is tough--juggling a career and kids is never easy, but that she would be enticed back to the film industry for a choice role. I'm assuming this does not mean another stab at the horrible Tomb Raider franchise. Being a celebrity is more of a pain in the butt than anything these days, and it sounds like she'd rather be free of that too. Well, I got news, honey--once a celeb, always a celeb, especially if you're one with six kids and looking to have or adopt even more. And if your baby daddy is BRAD PITT.

Some would say Ange should leave work all together and be only a mom. Others would say she shouldn't turn her back on the working world as it will look bad for women trying to make it in the workplace. Will Ange really fade away from the limelight? I doubt it. The appeal is too strong, and she's already used to that lifestyle. Still, I can appreciate her wanting to put her family first. It seems her father, John Voight, never did, hence their estrangement. Good luck to you, Ange! If anyone can identify with your struggle, it's the parents at ParentDish (and our readers!). Having kids is hard, but it's the best, even when trying to balance family with work.

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Four years after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fell in love, effectively ending his marriage to Jennifer Aniston, the two women are still taking time out of their busy schedules to jab each other in the press.

Last month, Angelina admitted that she and Brad fell in love on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, while Brad was still married to Jen, letting slip a little chunk of truth that had to sting. Jennifer Aniston is on the cover of the December issue of Vogue, and couldn't resist fighting back.

When first asked about Angelina Jolie, Jennifer asked the reporter to turn off the tape. Oh, to be a fly on the wall then.

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You know, I might just about be on Jolie-Pitt overload. I am just about up to here (am point to my post-pregnancy double chin or perhaps my neck) with how great they are, how philanthropic and what good parents they are to their ever-expanding brood of babies. I am almost starting to believe it's true! Pitt is starring in the upcoming holiday-release The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a movie whose title certainly has me, well, curious. His costar, the beautiful Taraji Henson, is eager and ready to confirm what all of us regular folks are loathe to admit is true--Brad Pitt is a great father. Well, at least he is in her eyes. According to Henson, Papa Pitt made special time for each kid every day--either that or Angie or his parents did--on the movie set. No nannies were in sight. They were all probably cowering from the angelic light emanating from Angelina's next-to-godliness.

Seems like Brad not only likes his children but actually wants to spend time with them. I have yet, however, to hear of any costar comment on seeing him or Ange changing a poopy diaper. They may trick-or-treat with their kids and parade them around whichever town they've invaded while shooting whatever wanna-be blockbuster they have on their very full schedules, but when are the tabloids going to bedazzle me with a pic of Brad and a smelly poopy?

And just so you know, I don't really think you have to be seen in public changing a diaper disaster to be a good daddy. From what I can tell that Pitt character is the real thing. I mean, he can't be acting--although it is more believable a part, then, say, when he was in that vampire movie...(no, not Twilight). Henson also commented positively on how down to earth her costar was, insisting that she meet Angelina when Ange showed up on the set with Shiloh. Sigh. I guess some people really do have it all.

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Move aside, Duggars. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are closing in on your lead! Though this Hollywood power couple just welcomed twins Knox and Vivienne home three and a half months ago, Angelina recently hinted to Matt Lauer that they may be ready to adopt again in the near future.

When Matt asked her about adopting again, Angelina tried to demur with a simple, "Yeah." When pushed, she added, "I have something in mind." Though the pace at which they add to their family may seem shocking to us, Angelina says they're very thoughtful about the process. "You can't even start the process until any new children are 6 months old ... to see what you can absorb into a new family -- and I think that's a smart thing anyway, to understand when to bring a new child in."

Calling oldest child Maddox a "professional big brother," Angelina says the kids aren't shocked anymore by a new sibling. Still, there has to be an adjustment period, doesn't there? Is six months long enough for everyone to get settled in? And the most important question -- just how many kids is enough for the world's most famous family?

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New parents Brad Pitt and Angelina are on the move with their ever-growing family. The couple recently returned to the states with all kids six in tow to hit the red carpet for Angelina's newest film The Changeling.

Angelina shared a few tidbits of news with the press. "Everybody's great," she said, "The babies are getting big and healthy and developing personalities." She also shared that they've finally hired a little help a couple of nights a week, so everyone is a little more well-rested.

Angelina has also had a little work done, ink-work that is. The mom has a tattoo on her upper arm that has the map coordinates for each of her children's birthplace. She's added Nice, France to the list to honor twins Vivienne and Knox. You didn't expect Angelina to keep a simple baby book, did you?

Finally, when asked whether they planned to adopt again in the near future, Angelina replied, "I think we're going to wait a little while." Maybe in Knox and Vivienne, Brad and Angelina have finally met their match!

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It was bound to happen eventually. The rumor mill has consistently been putting out teasers that there's trouble in Jolie-Pitt paradise. Unnamed sources, always reliable at being anonymous, at least, say that Angelina is ticked that Brad's spending so much time away from home, while she's stuck with six kids to tend to. There are even reports that she's threatened to leave him if he doesn't shape up.

While I don't put much stock into what unnamed sources have to say, I think the timing is interesting. Life with four kids seemed to keep the couple busy enough, but now there are twin newborns in the house, which has to drastically add to both parents stress levels. While I'd never describe Angelina as "stuck" anywhere, considering her usual pace, having two nursing infants does limit her activities. For a world traveler like Angelina, I can see how that might make her antsy.

There were days during my new parenthood, when I couldn't find my way to the shower until dinnertime and my sole purpose on the planet seemed to be to nourish my newborn, when I felt insanely jealous that my husband got to go to work every day. I wonder if Angelina sees Brad heading off to promote movies and attend premieres and feels like life is moving on without her, or if it's all just rumor and she's settling into life as a -- for the moment -- stay-at-home mom to her growing family. What do you think?

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OK, this is AWESOME. Well, at the very least it's humorous. I don't know if you played with Legos as a kid, or if your children enjoy them (and if they do, presumably you do not, as they are always found under your bare feet or in your dog's mouth), but Legos have withstood the test of time, if anything. And, they've done so by continually modernizing and playing into pop culture wherever possible.

Some old Lego figures, for example, sported mustaches, when those were popular. There are plenty of female Lego people and those of color as well. Then, of course, there were the Star Wars Lego's. Nothing in the universe is cooler. Now, Legos are taking on Hollywood. They proudly offer likenesses of Madonna, complete with some sort of bullet-bra inspired corset-wear and a gap-toothed grin, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, with a mini-Lego baby attached to the front of each character. You can tell which on is Ange based on the ridiculous size of her lips.

Other celebs given the go are Amy Winehouse and the Beckhams. if you don't laugh at the Lego Posh, who is of course wearing something fashionably fabulous, then I don't know what. Seriously, I can't stop laughing when I look at these. I don't know if they're intended to be collectors items or worth the money one would pay for them just to have them underfoot and in the dog's mouth, but they are pretty hilarious on a very basic level. The lips on Ange alone are hysterical. Previously, the likes of Indiana Jones, among others, have enjoyed being made into Legos. Enjoy!

And, here's a parting question: Who would YOU like to see as a Lego?

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