Mar
16
The Cranky Con children’s television viewing guide
March 16, 2010 | 9 Comments
Being the parent of a young children means that you get to experience whole new things – the child’s development, seeing her walk the first time, changing diapers, the joys of seeing them laugh themselves silly.
And of course it also means watching children’s television programming.
To those who are not subject to modern children’s shows, I [...]
Aug
15
Random Observations at the Airport
August 15, 2009 | 4 Comments
- Normally when you go out in public with a baby, you get a lot of smiles directed in your direction. At the airport, people avoid eye contact and generally look frightened, as if thinking, “Oh, crap, this thing’s gonna be screaming on my plane for three hours.” Mercifully, she didn’t.
- There is a sign [...]
Jul
17
A scary precedent
July 17, 2009 | 3 Comments
I am sure – or least I hope – there is more to this story and legal case. But an appeals court upheld a decision to deny a mother custody of her child because of her refusal to have a c-section and for other supposedly erratic behavior like, gasp, refusing a fetal monitor. Here’s a [...]
Jun
29
Gettysburg
June 29, 2009 | 5 Comments
It only took me nearly 8 years of living within an hour and a half drive of the place, but I have finally been to every Civil war buff’s personal mecca: Gettysburg. Some attractions do not live up to the hype. This one exceeds it.
It is remarkable that when so many smaller Civil War battlefields [...]
Jun
18
Baby’s first ball game
June 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Last night we drove (or, more accurately, crawled very slowly) to Baltimore for The Mets-Orioles game. We arrived late, so we missed another first – Matt Wieters’s first major league homer, but I can tell Bernadette that first homerun she ever witnessed in person was hit by Gary Sheffield, who has 507 more than Wieters.
Amazingly [...]
Jun
2
Truly revolting
June 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I really hope that if I were ever 1/10 as abominable as the mother the Cranky Prof encountered in Church the other day, somebody would slap me. It is unconscionable to do this a child, doubly so at Mass of all places.
May
28
Hey, was that a ringwraith?
May 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Nope, just the baby making a cooing sound that the neighbor’s dog just heard. And by neighbor, I mean our neigbors back at our old house.
That was proceeded by what seemed to be rehearsal for the opera.
Happy babies make such wonderful noises.
May
20
Sleep is for the weak
May 20, 2009 | 2 Comments
Could we have kippers for breakfast
Mummy dear, mummy dear
They gotta have them in Texas
Because everyone’s a millionaire
A bunch of random personal items, because most other subject matters are too depressing to mull.
- Here’s a new way to comfort of out of control crtying baby: take her outside. In my case, it meant going for a [...]
May
19
Michelle Obama was at the re-opening of the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday, and relayed this anecdote.
“Thank you for reminding me,” she said. “You know, after 20-some-odd years of knowing a guy, you forget that your first date was at a museum. But it was, and it was obviously wonderful; it [...]
May
18
Some people attend their graduations because their parent make them go. Then there are people like me, who are not really sure why they’re going to their graduation, especially six months after finishing school and four months after actually getting their diploma. But I went anyway, and I guess I’m glad I did.
The rain basically [...]
May
7
Jenny McCarthy and autism
May 7, 2009 | 5 Comments
Jonathan Adler links to this story about a deal between Jenny McCarthy and Oprah Winfrey.
McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. to develop projects on different platforms, including a syndicated talk show that the actress/author would host.
The first collaboration under the pact is a blog by McCarthy on Oprah.com, which launched [...]
May
6
I never thought I’d type these words
May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment
But kudos to Marion Barry, the only member of DC’s City Council to vote against recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
The council passed the measure by a vote of 12 to 1. During the debate, council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) accused Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who cast the dissenting vote, of having [...]
Apr
23
The jerkstore just called and they’re running out of you
April 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
As I may have mentioned in the past, my wife and I have a small (fe)ebay business. Mainly it involves a bunch of pottery and collectibles she inherited from her uncle. We’ve shipped as far away as Australia, and the buyers have been content to pay the fees associated with international shipping.
Today we received a [...]
Apr
20
New mama’s new blog
April 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The crankywife has started her own blog. It’s decidedly unpolitical, so take a look at String, Stitches and Stains. And there’s a picture of the baby there, so you have to click on the link in order to see it.
Apr
2
Behold the light
April 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It’s never too early to put my daughter to sleep enrapture my daughter with some bible reading.
Mar
31
Long Way Home
March 31, 2009 | 1 Comment
It’s funny how a ten mile, 30 minute car ride home can seem like a 3,000 mile, 10 day drive home when you have a crying baby in the back seat.
It’s also amazing how such a journey induces one to think evil thoughts of the complete idiots who were responsible for setting the timing system [...]
Mar
29
A daughter of God
March 29, 2009 | 6 Comments
Whew.
That’s the sentiment that comes to mind as this joyous yet exhausting weekend comes to a close. Despite the fact that the Zummo family kept shedding numbers to the point that only one of my brothers along with my mother made it down, it was a good to see everyone.
Bernadette Lily, as the title of [...]
Mar
26
At least I don’t have to hop in the car
March 26, 2009 | 5 Comments
So, evidently one of the ways to sooth my screaming daugther is to walk her up and down the stairs. She can be hollering with all of her might, as though I had just plucked an eyebrow from her head, but as soon as I hit those stairs all is right with the world.
I wasn’t [...]
Mar
19
Rambo
March 19, 2009 | 3 Comments
My mother finally had to put her dog to sleep a couple of days ago. He died just shy of his 16th birthday. He was a scrappy little thing, and I’m sure it will be very tough for my mother.
We got him when I was 16. I still remember the day when he came into [...]
Mar
18
Parenting and monster movies
March 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Creative Minority Report’s Matt Archibold ties various stages of parenting to horror movies. I already feel like The Ghost.