Chalke welcomed baby boy Charlie Rhodes, her first child with her fiance Jamie Afifi, on Christmas Eve (24Dec09) and Braff insists the actress is “very happy” with the new addition to her family.

He tells People.com, “She’s doing great and she’s a great mum! He’s a really great looking kid. I have not met him in person yet but I’ve seen lots of emailed photos and he’s adorable and gorgeous.”

But Braff isn’t surprised the actress is taking motherhood in her stride – he knew she was ready almost a decade ago.

He adds, “I met Sarah nine years ago and she was ready to become a mom even then. She’s a very maternal, loving person so we knew the second she left the set of Scrubs … she was ready to become a mum.”

From Contact Music

“We had lots of babies around and I’ve always known I want to be a mother,” the Scrubs star tells Fit Pregnancy.

Even so, Sarah didn’t believe the news when she first discovered she was expecting! Unable to “wrap my head around, that there [was] a baby living inside me,” she stocked up on pregnancy tests until she was truly convinced.

“I did four pregnancy tests because I didn’t believe it, then there’s the ultrasound and they give you a due date!”

“It all feels pretty miraculous, especially feeling the baby kick,” she notes, despite enduring a rough first trimester that included all-day nausea. Once over the bump, however, the rest of the time was a breeze, with the expectant mama taking time to indulge in her intense cravings!

“When I first got pregnant, about a week before the morning sickness kicked in, I was just starving all the time,” she admits, adding that she often looked for “bland, simple foods like carbs” and salt-and-vinegar chips.

Always up for a bit of ice-cream, Sarah quickly developed a newfound love of her sister’s baked goods. “I remember talking to my sister while she was making chocolate chip cookies and I just couldn’t stop thinking about them,” she laughs.

And although the homestretch proved to be a bit nerve-wracking — “like I [was] cramming for exams” — the biggest surprise came in the form of sleep — or lack thereof! “The insomnia! I’ve never had trouble sleeping before,” she insists.

“I [would] wake up and go and do stuff — check e-mails, clean closets, steam some milk and go back to sleep — I guess this is nesting, and also my body preparing to be up at night.”

While she approached Charlie’s birth with an open mind — with her goal to go “as natural as possible” — Sarah never thought twice about her stance on breastfeeding.

“I think it’s such a cool bonding experience and it also feels like you are giving your baby a better shot at health. And it’s so much easier.”

After staying fit with prenatal Pilates, Sarah understands the pressure put on her by Hollywood to bounce back after baby. However, she is determined to shed the pregnancy pounds in her own time.

“I want to spend time getting to know my baby,” she explains. “I can’t wait to put the baby in a carrier or buggy and bring him to a mommy-and-me class.”

Sarah will take the same laid back approach when it comes to heading back to work. Ready to “play it by ear,” the new mama recognizes the opportunities her job as an actress has to offer. “I feel lucky that in my line of work I can have both the career and the family.”

Stocking her closet with an eclectic mix of maternity wear — from Isabella Oliver to Liz Lange for Target — Sarah is looking forward to now putting her efforts toward shopping for baby. “I tossed any skin care products with parabens and just use natural stuff like Dr. Hauschka and Josie Maran’s line,” she says. “And it’s fun to find natural stuff for the baby, like Rosie Hippo, Kicky Pants, and Serena & Lily’s organic bedding.”

A first-time mom, Sarah is confident that she and Jamie will be nothing short of great parents. After being raised with a “no unnecessary no policy” in which no’s were kept for “really important things,” Sarah is ready to let baby Charlie find his own way.

“You need to find that balance, so that your kids respect you and still have a relationship that feels right,” she notes.

“One thing is for sure: I’m gonna love the crap out of this kid.”

From Celebrity Baby Blog

Sarah Chalke voices Magee, a no-nonsense elf who is head of the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center. Magee spends 364 days a year working to ensure Santa’s gifts are delivered to the right house on time. She and her elite team of elves prep the houses before Santa even arrives—hers is a behind the scenes kind of job that requires a certain kind of elf to pull it off. Sarah describes Magee as a “perfectionist [who’s] high-strung and super into her job.” How does Magee get through those tougher days? “She talks really fast and chugs egg nog lattes to stay awake,” Sarah admits, laughing.

You can check out Sarah’s jittery elf voice when Prep and Landing airs on ABC on December 8th.

Christmas TV Tradition

Sarah says: “To be part of a Christmas special was really fun because I remembered so much that as a kid growing up, you sit down altogether with your family and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Those [Christmas specials] really stick out in my mind as strong Christmas memories, so get to be a part of that is really cool.” Prep and Landing was executive produced by John Lasseter, one of the big names behind Pixar, so with that kind of pedigree there’s a good chance Magee and crew will be around for many more Christmas’ to come.

Special Delivery

Sarah is expecting her first child, a son, on Christmas Day! “When I started recording [the voice for Prep and Landing], I wasn’t even pregnant, so it’s fun to get to do something that will effect your kids.” Is Sarah as prepared for Christmas as Magee? “I only have a month left, so it’s kind of crazy,” Sarah admits. “We have a couple names [picked out], but I don’t think we have it yet. We’ve got to meet him first!”

Remember to check out Sarah in Prep & Landing on December 8th on ABC!

From Kidz World

Prep and Landing airs December 1 at 8:30 pm and takes viewers inside the world of an elite unit of Elves that secure Santa’s journey each Christmas Eve. Think of Prep and Landing’s crew as Santa’s Secret Service.

SheKnows: What was it like for you to be a part of a holiday film — something that can and will be played for hundreds of years now?

Sarah Chalke: That was the thing that was so cool about this is when I think about Christmas memories as a kid, one of the things that stands out is me and my sisters all on the couch watching Charlie Brown. I feel like it’s amazing to be a part of one of those and to have something for your kids to watch that you did.

SheKnows: I know you grew up in Canada, what first brought you to Los Angeles, or New York…what brought you to the US?

Sarah Chalke: I grew up in Vancouver which was a cool spot to grow up if you wanted to act. Because, it was Hollywood North and it still is now. There is so much that is shot in Vancouver.

SheKnows: Yeah, much more than the X-Files…

Sarah Chalke: (Laughs) It’s a great place to start as opposed to this giant pond (Los Angeles). It’s good to figure stuff out, which still felt giant-like to me, it was nice to have a resource that I felt when I got here I had a tiny bit of experience under my belt. What brought me down here was I auditioned for something that they told me was for a new show. In fact, it was for Becky (from Roseanne). So, I got a part on Roseanne. That was the first time I came to LA and ended up working for four years without fully moving here. I just kind of went back and forth to Vancouver because I was 17 and still finishing high school. I worked in Canada for a few years after that and then decided at 24, OK, now I’m like I’m ready to move there and my best friend just finished film school. We packed up her truck and got a six-month sublet down here — that was all we could wrap our heads around. “OK, we can do this for six months.”

We both laugh.

Sarah Chalke (continuing): Then I had the Scrubs audition after about a year.

SheKnows: Besides Scrubs, another favorite of mine that you have been a part of is How I Met Your Mother. I know the character of Robin (Cobie Smulders) is made fun of all the time because she is from Canada. Does that part of the show ever get to you as a Canuck?

Sarah Chalke: (Laughs) Are you kidding me? I love it! It’s so good. It’s nice to see these little homages to Canada. I see them as more (laughs) homage than mocking. I think it’s absolutely hysterical. She’s from Vancouver as well.

SheKnows: Cobie’s representing!

Sarah Chalke: I love all the hockey references…

SheKnows: …and the Hoser bar.

Sarah Chalke: (Laughs) I know! And the Canadian words that we all get completely messed on all the time. You’ll be in a conversation with somebody and you’ll be dropping words like parkade, or garburator, or tuke and they look at you like you’re crazy.

SheKnows: (Laughs)

Sarah Chalke: It’s another land.

SheKnows: I know I asked about the importance to you as an actress to be a part of a holiday movie. But, what about having a role in a Disney movie? What did that aspect mean to you?

Prep & Landing: inside Santa’s journey
Joel D Amos

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Disney’s Prep and Landing is ABC’s premiere TV special completely overseen by the iconic Walt Disney Animation Studios. Prep and Landing star Sarah Chalke gives SheKnows a call for an exclusive chat about her role in both the holiday film and Disney legacy as well as how this talented Canadian performer landed in Hollywood via an audition for a “new” show that turned out to be Roseanne.
Sarah savors the Lassiter legacy

Sarah Chalke: It’s an honor to be part of a John Lassiter project too.

SheKnows: Oh, absolutely.

Sarah Chalke: His movies are my favorites. Up…just floored me. The way that he combines the funny and the heartwarming on Up, you’re laughing and crying within the first 10 minutes. There’s always something fun for the whole family and every single age group, too. He incorporated that into Prep and Landing as well. We grew up being obsessed with Disney movies. It was really cool to be a part of.

Prep and Landing airs December 1 on ABC

SheKnows: I know the voice acting element is a bit different having been there, done that. How did you find that challenge as opposed to live action like on Scrubs?

Sarah Chalke: Yeah, it’s so different. It’s really fun. You go in there, not with the other actors. It’s just you.

SheKnows: Yeah…

Sarah Chalke: You’re not doing a scene with them going back and forth. You go through your character line by line. It’s kind of fun. Whereas when you’re filming something you might have a few different takes to try different stuff. There’s going to be a finite number of takes whereas with animation, it’s just you and the writer and directors and the microphone. You can really take a line and go through it 20 different times. You’re just doing fun thing with your voice. It’s a really interesting, fun and different way to work. I also love the whole premise of the story.

SheKnows: Seriously, Santa Claus doesn’t just take off and land without help!

Sarah Chalke: It’s the untold story of these elves that go to the homes and establish things on a whole nether level before Santa even gets there. These elves make sure everything’s going to be perfect for him.

SheKnows: Like the Secret Service advance team.

Sarah Chalke: Yeah, totally (laughs)!

SheKnows: When you first saw yourself in animated form, I don’t know if you first saw a sketch before laying your tracks, what was it like when you saw yourself drawn?
Sarah sees herself in a new light

Sarah Chalke: One of my favorite parts of this character is that she’s adorable. She has this homemade jingle bell jewelry, jingling around all the time. She’s chugging egg nog lattes so they can be awake for these crazy shifts they have to work. She’s such a perfectionist and so high strung. I thought she was the cutest thing when I saw the drawings. It’s really fun because I had no idea what she was going to look like – then it was fun to see the drawings and then the storyboards, each time we would go in, they would let us take a peak at the next layer of animation that had been done. That was so cool to see the different stages that it goes through. It’s an amazing process. The writers and directors are working on this for the past few years.
Sarah chalke’s holiday traditions

SheKnows: Do you have any personal holiday traditions you could share with our readers? Maybe some you’ve have kept from your childhood…

Sarah Chalke: Yes! One, that I’m going to promise my kids that we have to carry on, is my favorite was my grandmother made this amazing thing, German soup, called Heinz Chocolate en Faxen. It was hot chocolate soup with whipping cream. You can imagine as a kid, that’s Christmas morning breakfast.

SheKnows: Yum!

Sarah Chalke: (Laughs) So, getting to sit down to a hot bowl of melted chocolate with whip cream on top at eight in the morning (laughs)…you’re head will explode!

SheKnows: (Laughing) The kid in me cannot even wrap his head around it.

Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke in Scrubs

Sarah Chalke: I know, it’s pretty nuts. I’m definitely going to carry on that. But, my favorite thing to make and eat in the world is pumpkin pie. That is something I’ve made in different incarnations throughout my life. I was a vegetarian for a while. I was a vegan for a while. There was a soy, maple syrup vegan version. And then there’s the full-on, yummy, delicious one with pumpkin – that is a tradition that I will keep doing too. We also have a tradition in my family called Desentera. My mom grew up with them and we did as well. It’s sort of like this little plate of…German deserts.

SheKnows: Again…yum!

Sarah Chalke: But, they’re all kind of…you kind excited as a kid because you get this plate of candy. We would never get candy. I grew up in a house with no-sugar cereal — none of that. So, you get this plate of candy but everything is all Marzipan and all…(laughs).

We both laugh.

Sarah Chalke: (Laughing) It’s a little anticlimactic. I think I need to carry that one on with my kids, too.

SheKnows: You’ve got too! Well, Sarah, happy holidays to you and thanks for visiting with SheKnows.

Sarah Chalke: Thanks for having me, Joel.

From She Knows

“I was actually kicked out of the choir when I was in Grade 5,” she says. “My sister and I, we’re not very musical, so our choir teacher would say, ‘Chalke girls, just mouth the words for this performance.’ And this was not a professional choir, this was all the kids from the class going to the mall and singing. Like, ‘Is it really gonna hurt if you have two people who are not in tune?’ We were so excited about Christmas and excited about this mall performance, so there we were mouthing the words to ‘Here Comes Santa Claus.’ For some reason, that song just really brings that back. And it scarred us for life. The reason I wanted to go into acting was because I wanted to be Eponine in Les Mis, and then that just kind of had to go by the wayside.”

Is there a holiday song for which you harbor a secret, irrational hatred? Because we know you’ll share, we’ll give you a gift after the jump: Chalke’s equally mortifying hilarious answer to the question “What’s the most embarrassing song on your iPod?”

“The most embarrassing song on my iPod is ‘Baby Got Back’ by Sir Mix-A-Lot. And what’s more embarrassing than the song is probably the number of times it gets played,” she says. “For Grad Parent Night in Grade 12, a lot of the kids played violin or did, like, a skill. Ten of my girlfriends and I did a dance to ‘Baby Got Back.’ I know every single word. That’s my karaoke go-to, because I can’t sing anything with any sort of a melody. Not that ‘Baby Got Back’ doesn’t have melody, ’cause it does. I take it very seriously.”

From EW.com

Sarah Chalke has been enjoying being back in her “Scrubs” gear as Dr. Elliot Reid filming shows for the series’ Dec. 1-debuting new season “that’s centered around a med school with all these young cast members, John C. McGinley’s character (Dr. Cox), and Turk (Donald Faison). It’s been so much fun to be back and see everybody,” she says. “I’m doing around four episodes and then I’ll go have the baby. I was tired at the beginning of the pregnancy, then loaded with energy in the middle. I can feel that tired is starting to come back now.”

Chalke, who is expecting next month with her fiance, attorney Jamie Afifi, says that the show “definitely parallels real life” in terms of her pregnancy. She and Zach Braff are on hand to help launch the new version. He’s reportedly aboard for six episodes. And his character’s flash-forward at the end of last season has become true — J.D. and Elliot have married and are expecting. Chalke smilingly notes, “That flash-forward — I was obviously not pregnant at that time because we filmed it over a year ago.”

The beautiful Chalke will also be heard Dec. 1 as the voice of the elf who serves as Santa’s command center coordinator on the animated Disney special “Prep & Landing.”

“My character is a multi-tasker; she can do 10 things at once. She wears jingle-bell jewelry. And she has an obsession with scalding hot lattes — she chugs eggnog lattes in giant bowl mugs. She’s up around the clock,” describes the actress. Dave Foley also provides a star voice for the special — the first Walt Disney animation special for ABC, produced by John Lasseter.

“I have never tap-danced in my life and I was kicked out of the choir in the fifth grade because I can’t sing, but for this movie I had to tap-dance and sing in one scene … when I was supposed to be nine months pregnant,” Chalke told the Daily News. “So I had tap shorts over fishnets around a fake pregnancy belly, and when I put my arms up to tap-dance in front of 300 people, my pants fell down. It was like embarrassment laid on top of embarrassment laid on top of embarrassment.”

“Maneater,” a miniseries premiering this Saturday and Sunday at 9, is based on a book of the same name by Gigi Levangie Grazer, who also wrote “The Starter Wife.”

Chalke plays Clarissa Alpert, a shallow, 32-year-old (who only admits to being 28) socialite who starts planning her wedding to Hollywood’s hottest new producer before they’ve even met.

Though Chalke says she doesn’t have much in common with Clarissa (except that they’re both planning weddings, though Chalke has known her fiance for some time), she was eager to play the part.

“I devoured the book in one sitting and thought it was fantastic. Then I read the script right after and loved it because I thought it was a great combination of funny and heartbreaking,” said Chalke. “I laughed out loud and cried at the end.

“To play a character who, in the course of four hours onscreen, goes from being this gold digger who thinks that all you need in life is the right hair, makeup, clothes and money to realizing what’s really important – I knew it would be a crazy journey,” she added.

Chalke, who previously starred in Lifetime’s “Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy,” is hoping “Maneater” sees the same kind of success as “The Starter Wife,” which was eventually turned into a regular series on the network.

“We’ll see how it does,” she said. “I think it would be fun [to do a series], and I think the material lends itself to that well because of the way it’s set up.”

Meanwhile, Chalke’s other show, ABC’s “Scrubs,” has been renewed for a ninth season.

“I don’t really know what’s going to happen with that yet, but it’s so exciting that it’s going to go another year,” Chalke said. “For all of us, it was such a gift that we even got to do an eighth. After the writers strike, to get to come back and do a proper finale was really cool.”

From the NY Daily News

Sarah has been engaged to entertainment lawyer and fellow Canadian Jamie Afifi since December 2006, when Jamie popped the question while the couple was on vacation in Hawaii, but the couple has yet to marry. That may be changing soon, as Sarah reveals to ET that when she tried on a Monique Lhuillier wedding gown for her role as Clarissa, she found the perfect dress.

“I loved the one I got to wear so much that I asked the costumer, ‘What do you think if I get married in this one, and we find a different one for the movie?’” Sarah tells ET.

Those who have read the eponymous book by Gigi Levangie Grazer know that Clarissa begins planning her wedding to Aaron (Philip Winchester) before she even meets him — and then she plots with her BFFs to make it happen!

“Where the similarities between Clarissa and I end is that we’re both planning a wedding, but I met my fiancé through friends on a ski trip, and she stalked hers and picked him out and planned a wedding before she even met him,” Sarah explains. “I hadn’t tried on wedding dresses yet, so it was actually really fun to do that for the part, and I got to try on a ton of these beautiful Monique Lhuillier wedding dresses.”

“Maneater” is the second book by Grazer that Lifetime Television has turned into a mini-series. The first, “Starter Wife,” went to series. So is Sarah up for that if lighting should strike twice?

“‘Scrubs’ did get renewed for season nine,” she points out. “I don’t know yet what [my involvement] will be, but regardless, I’m so glad that it got picked up.”

As for a return to “How I Met Your Mother,” she tells ET, “I actually don’t know the answer to that. “It was just supposed to be for a few days, and then it just kind of evolved into more. The creators of “How I Met Your Mother, ” Craig and Carter and then Bill, the creator of “Scrubs,” were just really generous to let me go back and forth for a little, which was very fun, but I didn’t sleep for about five weeks. I guess we’ll have to see what ends up happening with “Maneater.”

Part one of “Maneater” premieres on Saturday, May 30, followed by part two on Sunday, May 31, both at 9 p.m. on Lifetime Television.

From ET Online

As with “City,” this one started with a book: “Maneater” by best-selling author Gigi Levangie Grazer, who also gave us “The Starter Wife.”

At its core is a plan by the female lead, Clarissa Alpert, to snag a handsome, up-and-coming Hollywood screenwriter/producer. Our heroine is so fun to watch, however, that you’ll find yourself not really minding how dishonest and manipulative she appears to be.

Besides, there’s more to this would-be trophy wife than we see initially. Before the many twists of the plot wind to a close, we discover a different Clarissa, one with heart and values.

More good news: Clarissa is played with panache by Sarah Chalke, one of TV’s most appealing actresses. Chalke not only has range, but as she’s exhibited on “Scrubs,” she’s as adept a physical comedienne as you’ll find on either the small or big screen today.

Best news? Her tour de force in “Maneater” may not end Sunday. If the mini does well, there’s talk Lifetime may turn it into a series just as USA Network did with miniseries “The Starter Wife” starring Debra Messing.

“I think the setup on ‘Maneater’ kind of lends itself to that because you’ve got the close group of girlfriends like ‘Sex and the City,’ ” Chalke said in a teleconference call.

She says she loved playing Clarissa’s transition from “the gold digger with the world by the tail” to the woman who watches this world she’s built begin to fall apart.

One way they’re alike, she added, is they’re both planning a wedding. However, they go about it differently. Clarissa does everything “in the wrong order,” Chalke said. She plans the wedding, even books the hotel, before she even gets to know the groom.

In real life, Chalke has been engaged to fellow Canadian and entertainment lawyer Jamie Afifi for more than two years; they plan to marry this year.

It was kind of a thrilling rehearsal, she said, to wear a fabulous wedding dress — from Monique Lhuillier — in the movie. In fact, the clothes in general were a nice change for Chalke given her character on “Scrubs” is in, well, scrubs much of the time.

“Fashion was such a fun part of it,” she said, singling out the stunning purple dress from Zak Posen that her character wears to meet her intended husband.

Chalke also got a kick out of a scene in which she sings and dances with her mom — considering “I got kicked out of the choir in Grade 5.”

The actress who plays her mom? Maria Conchita Alonso, a surprising choice considering how fair Chalke is.

“We went back and forth on that. Should it be explained? It was decided it wasn’t necessary,” she said.

Clarissa’s dad is played by Gregory Harrison, and “lots of people have parents of mixed heritage,” she said.

Though Chalke seems eager to take this role to series, she’s also happy that “Scrubs” was renewed for a ninth season on ABC. She’s committed to six episodes.

As for how her character, Dr. Elliot Reid, will fit in, Chalke indicated that was still up in the air. “I actually don’t know yet what I’m going to do,” she said. “But I’m excited it’s back.”

From My San Antonio