“Nicole Richie served 82 minutes of a four-day sentence for DUI on Thursday due to jail overcrowding, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.” (People)

I had to begin this post with a headline from People Magazine’s website. You may remember back in December that Miss Nicole Richie was arrested for driving her black Mercedes SUV the wrong way on an L.A. freeway. She was previously convicted of DUI in June 2003. She also admitted to being under the influence of drugs at the time of her December arrest. I have a few things to say here, so hold on to your butts.

First off, I always found Nicole Richie quite humorous on “The Simple Life”. I’m sure it was all an exaggerated act, but when she and Paris Hilton put “Anal salty wiener bugers all day” on the sign at Sonic, well it was pure comic genius. I mean, come on people, did you really expect two spoiled, pampered, rich girls to take a job at a fast food restaurant seriously?! I also feel some sympathy for Nicole right now because she is expecting a baby, and I can not imagine the thought of going to jail while pregnant. That must be terrifying. Well, terrifying if you don’t have someone else’s millions to bail you out! What did Nicole, or anyone else for that matter, learn from this experience? My guess is money talks. Very simply, if you have money, you can get away with anything. Yeah, you hear me OJ. What a terrible example for young girls that look up to celebrities. Can you imagine a bunch of Lindsay and Paris posers out there? How very sad.

Now on a more personal note: about 3 years ago, my good friend and I were coming home from a girl’s night out and were hit, head-on, by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the interstate. My friend was not intoxicated, and was able to react quickly enough to keep us alive, and for that I will always be grateful. I had a baby sleeping at home, one that may never have known her mother had I not survived. I had a two and four year-old that depended on me for everything. I think saying we were lucky is an understatement. The drunk driver hit five cars before he was stopped by a fire truck turned sideways on the interstate. He exited his car, extremely intoxicated and full of prescription drugs, walking on a broken hip and slurring excuses to the police. Thankfully, no one else was seriously injured: My husband and children picked me up a few hours later and my friend spent few days in the hospital for observation. I am reminded constantly that I may have never seen my children again. I wouldn’t have seen them grow up, heard them laugh, sent them off to college, and it makes me regret ever leaving the house. I went through a phase where I blamed myself: I shouldn’t have been out. Then I realize it wasn’t my fault. My friend and I took one night out to unwind. We are not party animals; we don’t go out, get plastered, and do drugs or anything crazy like that! It was the fault of the drunk driver. He was the one that did those things and then endangered our lives.

When it came time for him to go to court, you had better believe my friend and I were there to testify. I stood with her before the judge and told him that I had three beautiful children that almost lost their mother that night. I cried when I said I couldn’t imagine how their lives would have changed without me. In the end, I think the driver faced house arrest and heavy fines: not enough in my book for what he could have done to us, and all the others involved. Maybe I’m a little jaded, but pregnant or not, Nicole Richie got off way to easy. She could have hurt or killed someone and even Daddy’s money can’t erase that. I hope all parents take the time to tell their children how dangerous drinking and driving can be, and that these celebrities are in NO WAY role models for them. For goodness sake, find a positive, strong person to look up to, not someone that made their fortune selling sex tapes of themselves or leeching off their friend’s fame!

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Have you ever watched the Baby Einstein series? Those obnoxious videos with a toy on the screen while Bach plays or Shakespeare is recited? I can’t stand those things and especially creator, Julie Aigner-Clark. That condescending, soft voice of hers is enough to drive you crazy! Nevertheless, I bought into this fad, only to find out it may have done more harm than good:

A new study quoted by the LA Times says that the popular “Baby Einstein” videos don’t work—and may even stunt your child’s vocabulary.
From the LA Times: For every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as “Brainy Baby” or “Baby Einstein,” they knew six to eight fewer words than other children, the study found.

I purchased a slew of these videos when my eldest was a baby. I thought the classical music, foreign languages and stimulating colors would help jump start his development. Now I find out that it didn’t, and may have hurt his progress? Curse you Julie Aigner-Clark! Curse you and your homemade, baby mind-dulling tapes!

Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those “Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses. New York Times

I have to say that my children are geniuses, and sure I’m being partial. Then again, I’ve seen them around other children their ages and they really do seem more advanced. I think one of the best things we did was severely limit television and read with them as often as possible. One of our favorites is Shel Silverstein’s, The Giving Tree. We read that one so often that my son knows it by heart. We also paint and make crafts regularly. I know, I know, we sound like the perfect family. Far from it, but interaction is very important to us.

Anyways, I guess it just goes to show that the classics always work and these new fads, along with that platinum haired devil, Aigner-Clark, just come and go. So what are your thoughts? What do you enjoy doing with your family?

News feeds about Baby Einstein
Newsweek: Turn It Off, Baby
theage.com.au: Parents tricked by Baby Einstein
Salon: “Baby Einstein” will turn your kid into anything but
Wired News: Baby Einstein Turns Kids Into Baby Homer Simpson

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