Keeping her marriage strong
Gibbons is the first to admit that starting a family quickly changes the dynamic between husband and wife: “I think sometimes Steve gets the short end of the stick. But I remind myself, constantly, to make time for him and time for us. We give so much to our children that it’s hard to have anything left over, but we try. We make dates, spend a few hours a night alone, just talking.”

Relationships take nurturing, she insists. “Having a good marriage is work, but it’s worth it,” she adds. “You have to have people you love in your life to share all the sweet stuff with. Steve is my support, my sounding board and my partner in this adventure called family life.”

How to talk to your kids
about anything

1. Be honest. “A child knows when you’re lying — they can sense it,” says Gibbons. Be open, even if the topic makes you uncomfortable. Explain things in simple terms they can understand.

2. Be calm and cool. “Never get angry at a child for asking you something,” she advises. Kids are naturally curious and may be hearing things from peers or seeing things on TV or in the movies. “They’re exposed to so much these days,” she adds. “And they’ll turn to you for guidance.”

3. Establish an open-door policy. “My kids know they can come to mommy with anything,” Gibbons says. Creating trust early on is key. “If my children are ever in trouble, I want them to know to come to me without fear. Whatever it is, we could work it out together.”

4. Encourage questions. “Curiosity is a wonderful thing and not something to be afraid of,” Gibbons says. Inspire your child to wonder about the world around them and come to you with any questions. “Teach them early on that a thirst for knowledge is a something to be admired,” she adds. “It will help them grow and thrive in the future — just watch and see.”

“After three kids, I think I could write a book.”Finding balance
The 42-year-old former Entertainment Tonight reporter is the mother of Nathan, now “a little dynamo on legs,” Lexi, 10, and Troy, 7. She and her husband, actor and architect Stephen Meadows, have been happily married for eight years (Gibbons had been divorced twice before).

“My life is about balancing,” she admits. “It’s so rich, so blessed, but there’s always this nagging concern: how do I not compromise my family?” Besides her show, she hosts two radio programs and is involved with a production company that plans to market child-development products and produce TV specials. Last year she also was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It’s ironic that her Mediterranean home in the Hollywood Hills was once owned by Mommy Dearest Joan Crawford: Gibbons is quite clearly the epitome of a mom par excelence.

“I do my best,” she says. “I adore my kids, and one day, I hope they have kids of their own so they can understand how much joy they brought me.”

A special delivery
Nathan Daniel Meadows wasn’t too eager to enter the world. “He had twisted himself up into a breech and I was able to right his direction with massage,” Gibbons recalls. “Then he flipped back again.” Doctors worked diligently to place him in position and induced labor.” Thirty-six hours later, Gibbons was exhausted and Nathan still hadn’t delivered. “They finally had to do a cesarean section,” she says. “I remember feeling just terrible about it. I had delivered both of my other kids through natural childbirth, and somehow, I felt like I had failed him.”

Those feelings evaporated the minute she held her new baby in her arms. “I cherish him more than I ever dreamed,” she says. “I was a lot older when I had him and this was the last one for me. So it was all so powerful. I was overwhelmed with how much he touched my heart.”

Time is precious
“There are just not enough hours in a day,” says Gibbons. “I always wish for more precious time to spend with my family.” She minimizes “Mommy Guilt” by packing in quality time with her kids in any way she can. Home is an eight minute commute from her studio, allowing for a quick trip home to dispense goodnight kisses when taping stretches into the evening hours.

Welcome to the world of people with a definite style. If I told you how many pairs of black pants I own that are exactly the same, you’d think I was certifiable. If you’ve got any sense at all, when you go shopping, you buy something you look good in. And that usually means something similar to all the rest of the stuff you already own.

There are plenty of risks in purchasing something that is not like the rest of your wardrobe — you’ve got nothing to go with it, you don’t feel like yourself, etc. You have to get over it. Make yourself buy something that has the same cut as all your favorites but maybe is in another color. You probably won’t wear it as much as all your standard faves, but you’ll make progress towards becoming a more versatile person.

Now, if I really believed that, I wouldn’t be sitting here in one of my seven pairs of identical pants writing this. Truth be known, you can do something a little more subtle and still get the desired effect. Buy new shoes. Dye your hair.

A chemical called octyl methoxycinnamate, or OMC, is found in more than 90 percent of sunscreen products and filters out damaging ultraviolet rays. But Norwegian scientists found that when they combined OMC in the lab with simulated sunlight, it killed animal cells, prompting suspicion on what it may do to humans.

The troubling finding, according to these scientists, is that OMC itself is a very important component in sunscreen. Yet, when it is combined with light, the byproduct is twice as toxic than OMC alone.

Some American scientists say this study should not discourage patients from using sunscreen. They say that you’re putting sunscreen outside of skin on the dead layer of surface, therefore not penetrating or harming the skin at all. Another reason to hold on to your bottle of sunscreen is that this is only a lab study. Even the Norwegian scientists insist that this should only raise a “small alarm.” People are more protected with sunscreen than without.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there are one million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths.

Deepen and Condition Your Hair With Natural Color! Take about 1 cup of high quality henna powder. (Rainbow brand is a good one as it has no metallic salts in it.) Boil about 1/3 cup of distilled not tap water. When the water is boiled, add it to the henna and use a ceramic or glass bowl- not metal. Add to this about 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil and mix well. For scent and added hair benefit add a few drops rosemary essential oil. Let the color develop. Should it be too thick you may add more hot water. Once it is still warm but not too hot to handle, prepare your hair while brushing it through to help impart the color evenly. Dampen hair slightly or mist it which also helps it to absorb color but you do not want it “wet” as in just washed. Now, with gloves on (henna stains skin) apply the paste to your hair in sections until all hair is covered. You can wrap it in a towel or use a plastic wrap to facilitate the color and conditioning. After about 40 minutes rinse your hair in the sink, then wash it out in the shower. Henna is a wonderful plant for coloring and conditioning that has been used since ancient times for keeping the hair youthful, vibrant, elastic and glossy.

A Sensual After Bath Moisturizing Oil Take about 1 cup of expeller pressed (cold pressed) sweet almond oil. Add to it about 2 tablespoons of wheat germ oil. To this add essential oils to the strength of scent you want as follows: Rosemary, rose, patchouli, ylang, carrot seed, lavender and Myrhh. To fix the oil so it is longer lasting try adding grapefruit seed extract, or benzoin resin oil. Funnel into a clean glass bottle with a stopper and Wallah! You have a noursishing skin oil that smells delicious and is great to apply on wet skin right after the bath!

Everyday Easy at Home Face Cleanse and Exfoliator: Take equal quantities of steel cut oats, (or regular oats but I prefer steel cut), almonds, lavender flower and powdered milk. Grind everything using a coffee grinder separately except of course the powdered milk. Blend together and add a few drops lavender oil. Put into a jelly jar or other glass or ceramic container with a lid. Keep next to the sink so you can wash your face anytime! Just mix with a little warm water in your hands and apply.