Life with Brad & Angie

So relieved to hear that Angie and Brad have finally continued their repopulation and world domination plan by introducing not one, but two new beautiful people into the world. Yes, we've all just been made a little more ugly (relatively speaking) due to the worldwide Attractiveness Quotient being raised.

Apparently Mom "laughed and chatted" through her caesarian section (who doesn't?) while Brad looked on, concerned. (Listen if my girlfriend with the perfect body was getting cut in half I'd be concerned too.) Is there nothing these two can't do which doesn't make the rest of feel like hapless boobs? (And yes, this might be the only time you'll see the phrase "hapless boobs" in a sentence about Angelina Jolie.)

We'll find out how they do- prior to the twins' birth, they were often seen cavorting with their four kids...but only two at a time for some reason. They must have the same rule at their 80,000 square foot villa that I have at my suburban house - you don't get to leave the house unless you take one kid with ya.

I imagine that's all we share in common. I still haven't managed to laugh and chat about my caesarian section. But maybe in the NEXT 16 years it will seem funny. And yes, thanks for asking...they are quite hapless.

What's in a word?

I'm co-writing/editing a book with a fantastic New Zealand author, Kathy Fray. Kathy's book "Oh Baby...Birth, Babies & Motherhood Uncensored" (published by Random House) was a huge success down under and now we're bringing it to the North American market. I met Kathy through a website I write for in Kiwi-land, called "Mums On Top", and its very funny editor, Marilynn McLachlan, author of "The New Parent Code". Part of what I'm doing with Kathy is "Americanizing" the language, which has been very interesting and Kathy and I have been having fun with the differences between the cultures and the terminology.

For instance - did you know that in New Zealand, you have to sign a form at the hospital if you DON'T want to take your placenta home with you? I spoke to an ob/gyn friend of mine here, who has birthed thousands of babies, and she said she has never ONCE been asked to "set one aside." Don't get me started on the "Placenta Helper" jokes.

I was reading through a chapter yesterday which spoke about the after effects of a Caesarian section, which we in Canada call either a Caesarian, a section, or a C-Section. In NZ, they use the term "Caesar", which naturally had me thinking of a celery laden, clamato juice and vodka combo. So when Kathy spoke about women having a hard time sitting down, or standing up, especially once they'd had a Caesar, and even worse when they'd had two, I thought, yep, me too. Out of my four kids, I've only had one "Caesar", but I've made up for it with the other type, which explains my stumbling about from time to time.

Check out Kathy's website - she's got some terrific stuff there.