How would you describe your marriage? Happy? Satisfying? Meh? Does it depend on the checking account balance? Or how the kids are behaving? Or just on the weather? You know, divorce is always an option. And according to Ellen Tien, it is an option that many of us fantasize about on a regular basis.

In an essay titled "She's happily married, dreaming of divorce" originally published in the May issue of O Magazine, Tien describes her own marriage as "Less than bliss, better than disaster." She says that she and her husband "remain if not happily married, then steadily so." In other words, they're not divorced. Yet.

But, she claims, she thinks constantly about the possibility of divorce, acknowledges it as an option. It is just an option she has not yet exercised. In this, she says, she is not unlike other women her age and class -- we are all dreaming of divorce despite the fact that we claim to be happily married.

He may be embroiled in one of Hollywood's dirtiest custody battles (with ex-wife Denise Richards), but Charlie Sheen isn't going to let that stop him from moving on with his life. The actor announced today that his wife, Brooke Mueller, is pregnant with their first child.

"Brooke and I are thrilled," he said in a released statement. "She's the best step mom Sam, Lola, and Cassandra could every hope for. Seeing her love and affection for those three, I'll know she'll be an amazing mom." (Awwww. It's almost enough to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but yet....) Sheen is referring to his three daughters: He had Cassandra with ex-girlfriend Paula Profit in 1985, and daughters Sam, 3, and Lola, 4, with Richards.

Maybe this is a sign that Sheen really is moving forward with his life and is ready to let the healing begin between him and Richards. No word on what she thinks of the couple's exciting news, but if she's not happy about it, there's no doubt we'll be hearing about it before too long.

We've all seen swimmer Micheal Phelps' mother and sisters cheering him on from the stands as he makes history at the Beijing Olympics. Conspicuously missing from this family picture is his father, Fred. Not only is Fred absent in China, he hasn't even spoken to his son since the games began.

"He's so busy, I'm sure not even his agent can get a hold of him," Fred said. "I'm very proud of him and all he's done. This is not about me, it's about him."
Michael's parents were high school sweethearts who divorced when he was just nine years old. "It was like a storybook [marriage], but sometimes chapters go in different directions," says his mother Debbie. "We were close, but we grew apart."

Clearly Fred Phelps grew apart not just from his wife, but from his son as well. When Fred showed up at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Michael admitted that up until that point, he hadn't been in contact with his father since he graduated high school. He also revealed that his father hadn't even reached out to him after he set his first world record in 2001. "There are reasons and I really don't want to get into that," Michael said.

Whatever those reasons were, they clearly were not resolved. After the 2004 Games, father and son became estranged once more. And while Fred Phelps watches from afar, Michael Phelps gives credit for his success where credit is due. "The person I love the most is sitting in the front row - my mom - for everything she's done," Michael told reporters in Beijing.

Looks like being married doesn't necessarily make you healthier than being single. A new study from Michigan State University points to the gap narrowing between married men and their bachelor counterparts with regard to health. Those who are confirmed bachelors should perk up at this--according the results of the study they have as much longevity as married men.

Widowers, however, claimed to be in poorer health than their still-married counterparts. The study also suggested that both widows and widowers need to be ingratiated into the community in order to sustain themselves emotionally and physically.

The study covered over a million surveys taken from people between the ages of 25 and 80 with a time span covering 1972 to 2003. During those approximately thirty years a lot of notions about marriage have changed. People are getting married later in life or not at all and divorce is more common place. No word on whether these factors were considered in the results, which showed more never-married men confirming each year they were happy.

It's been a long time since we've heard from Britney Spears. Just over a year ago, OK! magazine attempted to sit down with the pop star, but that interview and accompanying photo shoot were scrapped after Spear's erratic behavior (and non-housebroken dog) made it evident things were not going to proceed as planned.

What a difference a year makes! This time around, with her father at her side, a healthier Britney was able to sit down and finally have that talk with OK! magazine.

When parents hold differing view on basic issues like discipline, education, or medical care for their children, it can be difficult to come to an agreeable compromise. However, when the parents have been mired in a messy divorce and bitter custody battle, those roadblocks can be insurmountable.

It doesn't appear that Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards have come to the realization that they will be forever linked by their daughters Sam and Lola. According to reports, the pair remains strongly divided on the issue of immunizations, with Denise voting for shots and Charlie maintaining the opinion that they are a potential danger that should be avoided.

So when Sheen received a nearly $400 bill from his daughter' pediatrician for the immunizations they had been given, Charlie didn't just get mad, got even in his own childish way-by paying the bill in nickels.

It doesn't matter where you stand on immunizations, one parent going ahead on an irreversible thing like that without telling the other is some dirty, dirty pool that might get what you want in the short term, but opens you up to the same treatment by your spouse down the road.

How have you handled difficult parenting decision with an ex?

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When Janna Mintz wanted to become a mother, she turned to her friend Kevin Zoernig for help. Zoernig agreed to donate his sperm, and through artificial insemination, a boy was born shortly after. Zoernig found himself caught up in fatherhood and the two soon worked out a visitation schedule. It was all going so well, that he agreed to be a sperm donor for Mintz a second time, and a daughter was born.

But when Zoernig wanted a voice in their children's upbringing, including where Mintz could live, things started to go wrong. Eventually, Mintz took Zoernig to court for child support, and after an eight year battle, the court ruled in Mintz's favor.

If the name Mary Winkler doesn't ring a bell, perhaps her crime will. In 2006, Winkler was convicted of manslaughter after shooting and killing her husband, Rev. Michael Winkler. She avoided a murder charge by convincing a jury that she had suffered years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband. She was sentenced to three years in prison, but in the end served only a small fraction of that time, some of it in a mental health facility.

Upon her release last year, Winkler immediately set about trying to get her three children back. While she had been allowed visitation rights since her release, the kids, ages 11, 9 and 3, remained in the temporary custody of her slain husband's parents. Dan and Diane Winkler had initially hoped to end their former daughter-in-law's visitation rights and gain permanent custody of their grandchildren, but it seems they have changed their minds. On Friday, Diane Winkler got her kids back, apparently through an agreement with her former in-laws.

While this move doesn't give Winkler permanent custody of her children, it certainly looks like that is what the future holds. Rachael Putnam, a custody attorney, sees this development as a positive thing for all involved. "It should be seen as a sign that the family is healing," she said. "It's a good thing for everyone."

I sincerely hope it is a good thing for those children. After the nightmare inflicted upon them by the gruesome murder of their father, these children deserve a shot at normalcy.

There has been much discussion here about unusual baby names. From Superman to Metallica, we've covered them all. Today, I bring you yet another one: Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. Other than her parents, I can't believe anyone would think that a suitable name for a child. A judge in New Plymouth, New Zealand clearly disapproves. He not only ordered the name changed, he had the poor child temporarily placed under court guardianship until a suitable name could be chosen.

This story is a little different from most in that this child is not a baby. She's a nine-year-old girl whose unusual name came to the attention of the court during a custody hearing. Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt was appalled and concerned for the girl. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," he said.

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii's parents might be too dense to recognize the impact a ridiculous name can have on a child, but Talula herself is not. Her attorney says that she has never told any of her friends her real name and that she instead goes by "K".

This all took place back in February, but apparently Judge Murfitt was so disturbed he went on a fact-finding mission looking for another inappropriate names in New Zealand. He discovered a Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence and Benson and Hedges (twins).

Actor Ethan Hawke welcomed a baby girl into the world July 18th, according to his representative. Hawke and his wife, former nanny (to his kids with Uma Thurman) Ryan Shawhughes, are proud parents to Clementine Jane Hawke. Clementine is the first child for the newlyweds and joins siblings Maya Rae and Levan Roan, Ethan's kids with Uma Thurman.

Mara Buxbaum confirmed the happy news. Hawke and Shawhughes married a month ago. Hawke split from Thurman in 2004, and it is alleged that she may be pregnant as well.

Congratulations to the couple!

I couldn't imagine being romantically involved with someone whose beliefs were diametrically opposed to my own, let alone plan on raising children with them. Sure, my own parents were a mixed Catholic/Jewish couple, but my dad wasn't as adamant about practicing as my mother, so it worked out. But even so, Judaism and Catholicism at least share a common basis. Heck, we even attended a few Jews for Jesus gatherings.

Christianity and Satanism, however, are so different that one wonders how a follower of each would meet, let alone decide to marry. And yet, Kristie and James Meyer not only got married, they had three children together. Now, however, they are separated and are at odds over the religious upbringing of the kids. He, the Satanist, has custody of the kids on the weekend, but she, a Christian, wants to curtail that so she can take the kids to church on Sundays.

Now it's up to a judge to decide. The judge, of course, cannot render a decision that favors one religion over another. Mr. Meyer may be asked to prove that Satanism is a real religion -- easy enough: the IRS says it is -- while Mrs. Meyer would have to show that his beliefs are more harmful to the kids than her own.

Wow. I'd say it's one big mess. I'm not sure what the right answer is, other than that he should get to do what he wants with his time with the kids just as she is free to take the kids to church on her time. Sadly, I don't think it's really that simple and the ones that lose out are, of course, the kids.

When it comes to divorce rumors, it's not like Madonna can blame us for speculating. First there was that meeting with the high-powered divorce attorney. Then there were those late night visits from friend Alex Rodriguez, which apparently put A-Rod's wife over the edge.

Cynthia Rodriguez is blaming Madonna and Kabbalah (in a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back sort of way) for ending her five-year marriage to the Yankees star. Family friend Dodd Romero recently said of A-Rod, "Alex, God bless him, is lost. I think he got pulled in by the dark side, if you can say that nicely. He's totally brainwashed."

Though usually mute on rumors and speculation, the whole messy affair apparently got to be too much for Madonna over the weekend. In an exclusive statement to People, she denied both the allegations of an affair between her and Alex Rodriguez and that there were any marital problems between her and Guy.

Often when a family splits up, the children suffer financially as well as emotionally. I can't speak for the emotional state of Ming Lee and Aoki Simmons, but their parent's divorce sure isn't hurting their little pocketbooks. According to an agreement filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the daughters of music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons and his estranged wife Kimora Lee will each receive $20,000 per month in support payments until they reach the age of eighteen.

You may recall that the fabulous Ms. Lee filed for divorce earlier this year after nine years of marriage. In return for his hefty child support payments, Simmons will receive "reasonable child visitation ... accompanied at all times by the children's nanny and security personnel."

It's not like these girls aren't already living in the lap of luxury, but that additional $480,000 a year will allow them to line that lap in fur and trim it in gold.

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Christie Brinkley's divorce proceedings aren't even underway yet and already the spectacle has begun. You may recall that the 54-year-old Brinkley filed for divorce from hubby Peter Cook after catching him cheating with a 19-year-old office assistant two years ago. If that wasn't humiliation enough, Brinkley now has to deal with Cook's new love inserting herself into the sure-to-be messy divorce proceedings.

After Brinkley kicked him to the curb, Cook began dating single mom Suzanne Shaw. She's the former lover of a Park Avenue dentist who dumped her when she was six months pregnant. Because of that experience, she says she sympathizes with Brinkley. "I've been there, and I feel for her," Shaw said.

However, Shaw is concerned about the public beating she is sure Brinkley has planned for Cook and would like the former supermodel to back off her boyfriend for the sake of the kids. "He obviously made a mistake," she says. "But one mistake doesn't erase years of being a good person.

"She's doing this to publicly flog him," she continues. "This shouldn't be about her. It should be about their kids, [and] it will mean long-term, protracted damage to them."

I understand Shaw wanting to protect her man, but I think she is way out of line here. This is about Christie Brinkley, her kids and her cheating ex-husband. Shaw is entitled to her opinion, but should seriously consider keeping her mouth shut. If I were Brinkley, Shaw's comments would infuriate me.

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Gee, I hope my kids don't read this story -- I don't need to show up in court every time I send them to sit on the stairs. You see, a twelve-year-old girl in Quebec, Canada didn't like being grounded -- and missing a graduation trip with her elementary school mates -- so she filed a lawsuit. Just over a week ago, Quebec Superior Court Judge Suzanne Tessier ruled that the father's punishment was out-of-line.

At first, the punishment was simply that the daughter was not allowed to go online because she had posted pictures of herself on an internet dating site, but then, when she got into a fight with her stepmother, the dad brought the hammer down -- "OK, it's final. You're not going," he told her, referring to the school trip. The girl took off and went to stay with her mother. She filed a motion asking the court to overturn the punishment.

The Judge's reasoning was that the girl had already been sufficiently punished and that, since she was currently living with her mother, the punishment wasn't really applicable. The father does have custody, but in Quebec, parents do have "joint parental authority," according to Miriam Grassby, a Quebec family lawyer, regardless of who has custody.

I don't know all the details of the situation, and it does seem that everyone considers this to be an anomaly, but I'd hate to see the already over-worked courts dealing with disgruntled teens on a regular basis. What do you think?