Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.

McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.

According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.

My father, who's birthday is on Halloween (lucky guy!) would tell you that you're really never too old to celebrate Halloween. His love for the holiday is probably the reason Halloween is my favorite day of the year. That said, we've all opened our doors to hand out candy to someone who was, in our opinion, a little too old to be hitting up the neighbors for candy. Costumes are one thing--having seen the magic and creativity of many a Halloween parade (including the likes of the famous ones in New Orleans and New York City), I can attest that you're never too old to wear a costume, parade around and have a general good time. Once you hit a certain age, the candy is generally replaced by cocktails at such functions, but what about that in between time?

I've heard people say they've turned away kids who they thought were too old for trick or treating. I've also heard people say that it's the parents' responsibility to not only take the kids trick or treating but to tell them at what age to stop. I remember dressing up and hitting the neighborhood myself when I was in middle school and getting the hairy eyeball from a parent or too. My friend, who went as a baby, actually got on her knees after pushing the doorbell and wore pigtails to appear younger. I realized at that point, once you spend any period of time thinking about how to appear younger, you need to be on the other side of the candy bowl.

What do you think? Is it more important for the parents to tell the kid when to stop trick or treating, or should it be a decision the child makes on her own? Isn't Halloween really all about rebellion, anyway? If so, then telling a child he can't go trick or treating might just get him more inclined to do so without your blessing!

Here's a newsflash--a celebrity who will have her child, or in this case, children, early! Most celebrities never make it through the ninth month or pregnancy, opting for c-sections at the eighth month in order to avoid getting ginormous during the final weeks of pregnancy. Too late, Rebecca!

Those carrying twins--celebrity or not--are more likely to give birth earlier anyway. Rebecca Romijn is both a celebrity and carrying twins, so she is expected to pop--or have her babies--sooner rather than later. She is allegedly being placed on bed rest starting in October in hopes of getting the twins she's expecting with super-lucky husband Jerry O'Connell in January through some time in December.

Romijn joins countless celebrities in recent months who've either gotten pregnant with or given birth to twins. Her husband Jerry recently commented that she was "huge" and then later apologized. Perhaps the baby hormones are affecting him too! Good luck, Rebecca! Here's to hoping you make it to the new year! I can't imagine a woman on the go like her having to deal with bed rest!!! That'll be harder than surgery!

One would think the obvious answer to that question is yes. One would surmise that exercise would help anyone stop smoking, right? After all, you're striving to do something healthy, sort of the opposite of smoking, by getting out there and running or doing yoga or whatever it is, not to mention that raising your heart rate and panting and whatnot is a little easier when you have full use of your lungs. Only problem is, smoking is touted as nearly impossible to quit--it's just that addictive.

We've been told for years and years now how bad it is for pregnant women to smoke. Children of pregnant women run the risk of a number of problems including low birth weight, asthma and increased risk of infant mortality. According to researchers, seventeen percent of British women and twenty percent of American women profess to smoke during pregnancy. Exercise is seen as a great way to assist in the cessation of the notoriously hard to kick habit and is considered a much safer option than nicotine patches, which are seen as possibly harmful to the unborn child.

In a study recently conducted in Britain, women were asked to exercise and given weekly smoking cessation counseling. Twenty-five percent of the 32 women tested were able to give up smoking before they gave birth. It has been suggested that the physical activity alleviated cravings. A new study by the same researchers will focus on a group of 850 women in an effort to uncover more data.

When it comes to parenting, don't feel the need to follow or even listen to everyone else's advice.

I read an article on babble from a mother who decided, along with her husband, to not send her child to kindergarten this fall. Instead the couple are planning on home-schooling their son, along with a group of other New York City-based parents with the same idea. Upon initial read of the article, I didn't really get much of a takeaway. In fact, it seemed like homeschooling better suited the lifestyles of the parents than serving as a decision based on the child's needs. That said, it seems like parents know their children better than anyone else, and therefore should know what method of learning is best suited for their kids. The author had her reasons for doing what she did--or, rather, not doing what she would have--and she should be given cred for making such a decision.

Some of the other parents in the homeschooling group felt that the schools were too focused on testing and not really teaching kids what they needed to know, etc. Standardized testing really has taken hold of our community, and both parents and teachers have felt the uncomfortable crunch. Parents are starting to feel their children aren't being taught how to learn anymore, just what to learn. I can see a real argument for homeschooling.

But, is that the right reason to pull a kid out of school? Is any reason good enough? Or, to the contrary, do the schools need to start proving to us they can offer more than what we as parents can do for our children? If schools aren't listening to the needs of parents and children then what is the point? I personally don't know enough about proper education and the education system to be able to make a decision as hard as keeping my child out of school. Others seem to have it all worked out, down to ordering specific, home-based curriculum to teach their kids themselves. Some prefer to let the child learn more freestyle, and eschew more traditional methods. I'll tell you right now the last thing my kid needs is for me to be his main teacher! It's terrifying to me to even begin to think about everything I think he ought to know, and then how I would get all that knowledge to him. He'd be better off learning from our weiner dog!

So who's right? Do parents know enough to be able to make decisions like homeschooling for their kids? Does the education system really serve our needs and is it really preparing our children for the future? I think the answer probably lies somewhere outside both those things, but only time will tell.

(Think that's shocking? Click the photo to see who set the record for identical births!)

A fifty-nine-year-old French woman has given birth to triplets after seeking fertility treatment. The new mom, unnamed at press time, sought fertility treatment in Vietnam after she was denied assistance in her home country.

In France, it is illegal for medical practitioners to provide fertility treatment when to women who are considered past the age of being able to procreate naturally. As a result, the pregnancy, once it became known, drew harsh criticism. from many in the French community. In other parts of the world, however, women are having children at ages much higher than fifty nine.

The woman gave birth to two sons and a daughter via C-section last Saturday. Mom, boys and girl are reportedly in good condition. In the United States women are free to seek fertility treatment whenever they want, as far as I understand. It certainly isn't illegal to provide such treatment, although some would say it is unethical.

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According to reports, Angie is in a tither over the health of twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon and is depressed. She is crying throughout the day and exhausted from sleepless nights. Well, welcome to early motherhood! Birth is a big deal, however you do it. Between the act of giving birth and all the pregnancy hormones flowing in and out of your body, crying is probably the least of it. Some women get PPD so badly they impart harm to themselves, their spouses and their children. Ange will be lucky if she gets away with just crying.

Having been through a milder form of PPD myself, I can say that sometimes the crying seems as if it will never end. The sadness seems insurmountable and the lack of control overwhelming. But, hope is around the corner--women and their doctors are more aware of PPD and how to treat it. Even superwomen/supermoms like Angelina Jolie are not immune to PPD or other post-natal symptoms. Let's hope that's all it is, and that she is able to get the help and understand--and support, especially from Brad--she needs in order to get better!

Ok, who knows if this is really true, but it's certainly cute. According to Victoria Beckham herself, she cooks for her family. Many moms accomplish this task, but I'd wager few are as busy as Posh Spice, who spends her time running her fashion lines of jeans and clothes as well as modeling and being a fashion plate in general. Posh also recently released yet another fragrance she's been promoting.

Posh, who is vegetarian (perhaps that is how she keeps her trim figure?) says she makes a good mincemeat pie though. Posh also says she cooks dinner every Sunday for her family, which consists of husband David--international soccer star and megahottie--and three sons, Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn. The menu includes Yorkshire pudding and Dora the Explorer cakes--I'm guessing those are David's favorite???

Victoria was under recent speculation that she might be adding to her family but has done her best to quell those rumors by wearing tight fitting clothes and telling everyone she is too busy to consider another child at this time. Part of the reason she is so busy is spending some time suing magazines for claiming she takes dieting pills. Maybe she just doesn't like mincemeat pies!