Here’s the latest and greatest from TV by the Numbers.  Look carefully.  Will your favorite TV show be returning?  Or are you upset that Smash is no more? (Like me.) I’m super excited to see Parenthood, New Girl, Grey’s, Modern Family, and Nashville on the renewed list.

Which one of your favorite shows made it on the renewed list? (Glee?) What canceled show do you wish could have been saved?

Let us know!

Welcome back, Parenthood! Woo Hoo!

***Every week I send out my Pop Kids Report newsletter. It has all the latest information on kids movies, music, DVDs, TV shows, apps, and more. If you haven’t already, sign-up here.

I personally want everything on this list. But there are 37 items and I only have two kids. Plus, I know they have already made me cards in school. Why don’t they teach kids how to make Tory Burch bracelets?

***Every week I send out my Pop Kids Report newsletter. It has all the latest information on kids movies, music, DVDs, TV shows, apps, and more. If you haven’t already, sign-up here.

Well, this weekend was no exception because I was able to hang out with one of my favorite singers/songwriters/ musicians, Taylor Swift.  My husband is a morning radio host so we have amazing opportunities to meet some of our favorite artists and musicians.  I have always loved Taylor.  (I have written about her over 15 times on PopMommy.com.)  She is a sincere and genuine person, a great role model for little girls (including my Annabel), and a super smart cookie for writing all of her own music AND managing a tour of over 200 people and a fleet of stage trucks and tour buses.  Her mom, Andrea Swift (also known by fans as Mama Swift), told me that she was so proud of her daughter’s ability to really manage and take control of the entire RED tour.  And this is a tour that will finish up in the US and then go overseas to New Zealand, Australia, Europe, etc.  Andrea Swift spends time backstage with all the fans and she is also the leader of a backstage tour where I had the chance to see all of the secret pop up doors, costume change areas, and get up and close personal with one sparkling red piano.

Taylor decorated backstage like a cool lounge hangout called “Club Red.” It had funky decor and lots of snacks and Diet Coke (her latest sponsorship opportunity.)  When she came out to the meet-and-greet area, she was very casual and laid back as always.  I met her once before and she was exactly the same way.  She gives you a hug and wants to know who you are and what songs you like.  I told Taylor that I loved “I Almost Do” off her new album, RED.  I asked if she would be singing it in the show that night.  She told me that she has an acoustic set that is on a second stage and she would play it there since I requested it.  Really? I kept saying.  Really? That would be so cool. Then we talked a little about her latest Disney World trip.  Talking to Taylor is like catching up with an old friend.  She signed a magazine for my daughter Annabel.  She then took a big group photo with all the radio peeps and said she had to get ready for the concert by “changing my dress and putting on a little more makeup.”

The RED show was a huge production from start to finish with amazing stage dancers, fireworks, and jumbo screens to watch Taylor from every possible angle.  There were so many cool costume changes and set changes.  She engaged the crowd and her voice sounded great. She even made her huge hit, “You Belong With Me” into a 50′s do-wop version.  But the BEST part of the night (for me) was when she kept her promise and played “I Almost Do.”  AND, before she played it, she gave me a little secret shout-out.  I’m the “lovely girl” from the meet-and-greet.  Thank you, Taylor, for an incredible night.  And YOU are truly the loveliest girl of all.

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Luke was also the co-host of the evening with his good buddy, Blake Shelton.

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They did a great job, but I was too distracted by Luke’s black jeans and white teeth.  He really should do an Italian salad dressing commercial.  Right? It would be HUGE!

Hee.  Luke was so emotional when he won the big prize that he was choking back tears.  He was staring at his wife in the audience and it was adorable.  And wedding rings are always sexy.  He’s just going to get more popular now, so I might have some trouble getting those concert tickets.

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My girl Taylor did not win any awards, but she looked gorgeous as usual in some awesome gown changes. My favorite was the one she wore when she sang her brand new duet with Tim McGraw called “Highway Don’t Care.”  Keith Urban also plays guitar on the single.  It’s a great song and Tim can never do wrong in my book either.  He looks yummy in that gray suit.

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Miranda Lambert was the big winner last night with three ACMs and she is always so sweet and sincere when she accepts any award. She deserves all the success. The song she cowrote with hubbie Blake Shelton, “Over You,” is just heartbreaking. And I was excited to see my man John Mayer make an appearance with Brad Paisley.  He played guitar and sang a little bit.  It’s one of the first times we’ve heard him since his throat surgery last year.  I loved his new neck jewelry and I was happy to see him without his signature hat.  Lookin’ good, JM!

Finally, props to Hunter Hayes who is becoming the Justin Bieber of the country world.  Well, Justin Bieber without the nudity and club hopping. Hunter has a huge hit with “Wanted” right now and he introduced us to his new song, “I Want Crazy” and then sang along with R&B icon Stevie Wonder on “Sir Duke.”  He’s going to be the one to watch at next year’s award show, for sure.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful day together.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

I have two little athletes now and we are busy, busy, busy.  Two weeks ago, Daniel was still doing basketball while he was starting T-ball.  And Annabel has dance class once a week and she just started her very first team sport…soccer!  I’m very thankful to have a husband who can be available in the early evenings to help with practice shuttling.  We are now booked every single Saturday with a game or a practice or birthday party. (Yeah, let’s just throw those birthday parties in there too.  My kids are WAY more popular than me or my husband.  My social life now consists of catching up with all my Mom friends in front of a bounce house.)

My husband and I have also started using these team sports to reinforce our family rules.  It’s more of a family motto: Be kind, helpful, hardworking, and fun.  I say it in the car each morning before school drop-off: Kind, Helpful, Hardworking, Fun.  And it really works for school.  They come home and tell us how they were kind, helpful, hardworking, and fun that day.   I’m hoping it reminds them to make good choices and enjoy learning new things.  And now we’ve modified the motto a bit for these team sports.  It’s especially important for my Annabel who is just entering this new arena.   She had a bit of a rough start with soccer practice because she didn’t want to run and work hard for an entire hour.  She tends to get a little lazy and was more interested in the “water breaks.”  But we reminded her that she wouldn’t get a star on her “star chart” if she didn’t follow our new family SPORTS rules:  No Crying, No Whining, Always Do Your Best, and Have Fun.

And it’s been working.  It worked great for this past Saturday’s game when Annabel fell and scraped her elbows and her knees.  First, serious props to her amazing coach who won’t let them quit!  I almost ran out on the field because she was limping and crying.  But in the end she was fine, just a little shaken and unmotivated.  During a break I reminded her about our new rules:  ”No crying” and “no whining” and that she had to finish the game by “doing her best” and “having fun.”  She dried her tears, took a sip of water, ate a few goldfish crackers, and was back in the game.  She finished with a smile and, not only was I super proud of her, but she was proud of herself.  She was just so happy.  (Okay, it also could have been that cookie with icing from the snack mom, but I’ll take it!)

And with Daniel, these sports rules help to continually motivate him to do his best.  Sure, I know my little boy is motivated by the fact that he gets a new app for his iPad after he earns a certain amount of sports stars, but he has improved SO much since last year.  He’s confident, happy, and really loving his time on the basketball court and baseball field.  He works hard out there.  He gets so focused that he might get too competitive sometimes, so our new thing for him to work on is to support and cheer on his friends and not be a sore loser.

I always knew competitive sports would be a great way for my kids to stay healthy and learn to work with others, but I’m loving what they are learning about themselves.  That they’re stronger than they realized and that things that start off hard can turn out to be really, really fun.  Go, team!

It was the first year she only invited her little girl friends and she was so excited to have her very first tea party. Of course we had to include Hello Kitty – her absolute favorite.  I was excited to plan the details because I love Hello Kitty and tea parties too!

Our plan was to have the affair outside in our backyard.  But as the big day approached, our Florida weather was not cooperating.  I didn’t want to stress and make changes the night before the party, so we decided about a week out to change our plans and have everything indoors.  It was a bit challenging because our house has a bunch of tiny spaces rather than large rooms, but we made it work by creating separate party centers.  The only thing we had to eliminate was my pretend tea party play area with PINK sand (which was a tough find!), but I got over it.  We were able to create a really cute tea party space which we kept off limits and very “VIP” until it was tea time.  That was super fun.

Here’s the tea party set up in our dining room.  We had to move all the furniture out and we ordered a long kids table and small chairs from a local party rental company.  We kept the piano in place because 1. It was impossible to move and 2. It added a cute background feel and was the perfect spot for Annabel to display her three favorite Hello Kitty dolls.  I ordered the adorable banner from Etsy.  I love supporting home-based businesses and they have the best custom banners around.

My new favorite flower arrangements are colorful carnations in mason jars, so I put those on the lace table runner.  I also placed tumblers filled with baby’s breath flowers all around to add to the tea party “lace” feel. The party colors were light pink, bright pink, yellow, and splashes of turquoise.  I picked up the paper party supplies at Party City.  I usually shy away from the “themed” paper products and instead buy everything in the party colors and just use the theme (Hello Kitty, Tea Party) as accent decor.

The side room was set up for all the moms to watch the tea party while they enjoyed a special “Moms buffet” of pasta salad, green salad, cheeses, and raw veggies.  The girls’ tea party menu included: Peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches cut into mini hearts, turkey and cheese sandwiches cut into mini triangles, mini chocolate chip and blueberry muffins, fruit cups, apple slices, mini sugar cookies with pink sprinkles, white chocolate covered strawberries with pink sprinkles, and strawberry cupcakes as the birthday finale.

We also had colorful cups of pretzels and pink popcorn (bubblegum and watermelon flavored from our local gourmet popcorn shop) as snacks before the tea party.   The drinks were pink lemonade and water for the girls and iced tea for the moms.

Our four party centers were Hello Kitty face painting where the girls could choose a Hello Kitty design on their face or a glitter tattoo for their arm, a craft table with Hello Kitty bead necklaces and wooden picture frames, an “Annabel’s Dance Party” karaoke space with dress-up, and a Hello Kitty coloring table.  I recruited my two babysitters to help with the centers which was key for me to enjoy the party and socialize with the moms and girls.  Annabel was so excited when her friends arrived.  They were greeted by a special Hello Kitty wreath on the front door and then they jumped right into the fun.

We then played “Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty,” “Musical Chairs,” and “Freeze Dance” before we lined up the girls for the tea party.

The girls found their seats by looking for the pink Hello Kitty with their name tag.  Each place setting had a tea party tiara, a napkin with a tea party ring, and a real china tea cup for the blueberry tea – Annabel’s favorite.

At the end of the tea party, I gave the girls cupcake sticker sheets to play with while we wrapped up their Hello Kitty dolls and tea cups to take home in personalized white craft paper goody bags.  The goody bags also had a Hello Kitty sticker sheet, pink lollipop, and any other sweet treats they wanted to take home from the party.

Annabel had a blast.  It was a little strange not to have her big brother at the party, but he was upstairs with his good buddy having a fabulous “boys time” in our playroom.  Daniel was thrilled to help Annabel open up all her presents and play with all her cool art gifts after everyone had left.  It was an awesome day.

You can see Annabel’s 4th Birthday Shabby Chic Pony Party HERE.

Jessica Chastain in Giorgio Armani

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Couture

Naomi Watts in Giorgio Armani

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino

Charlize Theron in Dior Couture

And my absolute favorite of the night.

Jennifer Garner in Gucci

Jennifer and her hubbie Ben Affleck also win my vote for best looking couple of the evening.

Jen and Ben! Love them.

And to continue with the theme, my favorite moment of the night was Ben’s equally emotional and uplifting acceptance speech for Argo‘s Best Picture win.  He didn’t get nominated for best director, but this was his best director acceptance speech.  Here’s a clip where he talks about not holding grudges (Amen!) and he ends with a teary shout-out to his three children: Violet, Sam, and Seraphina.

I adore you, Ben.  HUGE congrats.  You deserve it.  I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Also check out my other Oscar recaps!  Click for more gorgeous gowns and major moments through the years.

Oscars ’12

Oscars ’11

Oscars ’10

* makes me so uncomfortable that I literally look away from the television set and then I have to rewind to see what I missed and then I look away again.

* makes me nostalgic for my early twentysomething days living in Manhattan.

* makes me so incredibly thankful that I’m married and my life is nothing like these twentysomethings living in Manhattan.

* has the most amazingly flawed and real characters on television today.

* takes taboo topics (hard drug use, one night stands, abortion) and throws them in my face in such a way that I understand and sympathize even when I’m often completely horrified or offended.

Lena Dunham, who created, executive produces, and stars in Girls, takes her clothes off A LOT.  She doesn’t have the “perfect” body.  That’s what makes it perfect.  She’s the bravest chick on television.  The characters she’s introduced are sometimes confident, but mostly vulnerable.  They sometimes know what they want and they sometimes discover what they want along the way.   And what Lena has done for generational television, for “girls” in general, is so important.

Watch it with me? (With, or without, one eye closed.)  Sunday nights at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

From left to right: Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Lena Dunham and Zosia Mamet star in HBO’s “Girls.”