Arnie Terminates Same-Sex Marriage in California

On Thursday, as promised, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the same-sex marriage bill that had passed the California state legislature. He cited constitutional confusion that would result if the bill passed, since a state appeals court is already considering the constitutionality of the state’s same-sex marriage ban. Schwarzenegger did speak out in favor of domestic partnerships, which the state recognizes and which are under fire from conservative groups. Unless the appeals court ruling finds the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, the one remaining hope is that voters will support same-sex marriage in an upcoming (but not yet scheduled) referendum on the bill.

Better Gelatin

Here’s a tip for decreasing sugar and artificial flavorings in your kids’ treats (if you care about such things): Adding natural fruit juice to plain gelatin takes about the same amount of time as adding plain water to pre-flavored gelatin dessert powders, which are typically artificially flavored and highly sweetened. Plain gelatin can usually be found in the supermarket next to the flavored stuff; Knox is a popular brand, but I’m sure there are others. If you use a juice that is naturally quite sweet, like orange, you probably don’t need any additional sugar at all. For tart, plain cranberry juice or the like, you may want to add some–but you can control how much.

Even if you’re less than adept in the kitchen, you can do many fun things with gelatin and a little imagination. Put it into ice cube trays for convenient blocks, or pour it into a large rectangular pan and cut it out with cookie cutters once it cools. (Avoid molding it into Bundt pans with cans of fruit cocktail, or you’ll just come across as way too 1960’s-housewifey.)

Transforming Education: Wikis, Laptops, and Learning

I’ve posted a long entry on my Salty Snack: Science and Technology Munchies blog titled Transforming Education: Wikis, Laptops, and Learning, about some of the ways electronic books and online access are transforming classroom resources and traditional textbook publishing. Hop on over if you’re interested.

Banned Books Week

The American Library Association (ALA) is sponsoring their 14th annual Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, September 24-October 1, to remind Americans not to take intellectual freedom for granted. In observance of Banned Books Week, the ALA publishes a list of the most challenged books and authors of the previous year. A challenge is a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.

Three of the “Ten Most Challenged Books of 2004″ (out of a total of 547 challenges) were cited for “homosexual” themes, the highest number in a decade. One is the fairy-tale-like children’s story King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, about a prince who falls in love with another prince. Other children’s books dealing with issues of lesbian and gay parenting that have appeared over the years on the Most Frequently Challenged Books list include Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate.

Some of the challenges have nothing to do with issues as divisive as “homosexuality”: J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is number four on the list of “Top Ten Challenged Authors 1990 to 2004.”

Visit the Banned Books Week site to learn more about the who, what, where, why, and how of challenged and banned books. And support your local library!

Finding Leverage: LGBT Rights and the Unbiased but Unknowing

I was talking recently with another local mom, who has a toddler about the same age as mine. She’s straight, but has been totally accepting of my relationship and our family. She’d recently enrolled her child in a daycare program that she liked, and wanted to know if I’d be interested. It turned out that the program was run by a local church. “Hmm,” I said. “I’d have to look into that. I don’t know whether that denomination or that particular church might have issues about our family.” The other mom looked puzzled, then shocked. “I never would have thought of that,” she said.

It struck me then, that this is a vast area where the LGBT community can make inroads: educating the unbiased but unknowing. Read the rest of this post »

Essential Tool: A Rubber Mallet

One in an occasional series of essential household tools: A white (non-marking) rubber mallet. Whether it’s assembling a rocking horse, fitting shelves into a bookcase, or flattening chicken breasts for Poached Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach (cover the chicken in plastic wrap first), this is a tool you never knew you needed that you’ll use all the time. Gentler than a metal hammer, but still with heft behind it.

How Kids Can Help in the Kitchen

Managing meal preparation and toddler(s) simultaneously can be a daunting task. You can make it easier by having your little ones help in the kitchen. Instead of having to cut playtime short so you can go cook (the cause of much toddler angst), start cooking a little earlier and call it playtime. Here are a few things I’ve found even my two-year-old can do:

• Pour. With plastic measuring cups and a guiding hand from an adult, kids can fill bowls with all kinds of things, and improve their hand-eye coordination at the same time. Sometimes it’s best if you pre-measure everything first, and have the cups all lined up, ready to go.
• Mix. Spoons and pots, even empty, are natural kids’ toys. When you’re ready to try the real thing, use a larger bowl than you normally would, and stand by to block splashes and ward off random tastings.
• Knead. This has the same appeal (if not the same colors) as Play-Doh. Dust your kids’ hands with flour, and go at it. (You’ll probably need to do a minute or two by yourself at the end, to make the dough really form a ball.) I’ll sometimes knead up a dough with my son before his afternoon nap. While he’s napping, I shape it and give the bread its second rise, then put it in the oven in time for dinner.
• Snap. Green beans are great for this. Trim the ends as needed, yourself, and let junior break the beans into two or three pieces and put them in a bowl. Fresh beans with a good “snap” sound are particularly satisfying.
• Shake. Making salad dressing? Put the ingredients into a small plastic container with a tight lid, and your child can shake it up.
• Season. Shaking spices on or into dishes is great fun. Stand by to grab the container if your child gets too enthusiastic, or make sure your recipe can handle a little extra oomph. (Don’t try this with chili powder.) A squeeze-handled pepper grinder also works well.
• Snip. Once your child is old enough to use kids’ safety scissors, you can buy a pair just for food use, and let your child cut up parsley, chives, and other herbs.

Who knows? You could be raising the next Julia Child or Wolfgang Puck.

Science for Kids

As a sometime astronomer and historian of science, I’m often prowling sites in those areas. My own son is still too young to start learning “science” per se, although his facility with latches and love of anything with a motor makes me think he’ll be an engineer like his other mom. Still, I was pleased to find a few good sites with home science experiments for kids.

• I particularly like ZOOMsci from PBS Kids. Not only is the site clear and compelling, but the experiments are well explained and cover topics in both science and engineering. I’m just not sure whether I’d rather make a Sneaker Launcher or Electric Gelatin.
• Science Explorer from the San Francisco Exploratorium is also quite good, with clear instructions and good explanations of the science involved.
• Finally, the ever-interactive NASA has a number of space-related projects at Space Place, and a shuttleload of other off- and online kids’ activities at NASA Kids. We hope they put as much thought and effort into their new spacecraft.

While there’s a lot of great stuff on all these sites, I wish they’d give some indication of the age ranges for the various projects. Read carefully to make sure your child can handle them, help if necessary, and have fun. After all, what could be more exciting than lemon juice rockets?

LGBT Family News, Good and Bad

Ontario Christian School in California has expelled a 14-year-old student because her parents are lesbians, the Associated Press reports via Yahoo! News. School policy dictates that at least one parent must avoid actions “immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style, such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship.”

The parents should change schools, you may say. Certainly after this episode they may want to, but is it really that simple? Maybe they want their child to be in a Christian school to learn positive Christian values such as loving one’s neighbor. Maybe their local public school is not as good academically as Ontario Christian School. (I know nothing about the public school system in Ontario, CA; I’m generalizing because this could happen anywhere.) Let’s hope they find a solution that’s right for their family. (And hey, I’m sure they’d take care of the “cohabitating without marriage” problem if they could.)

The whole idea of punishing a child for the habits (good or bad) of the parents is ridiculous, if not stomach churning. To counter this, there’s also a bit of good news today: an editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution arguing that a proposed state ban on adoption and fostering by gay and lesbian parents would be detrimental to the lives of the many children waiting for placement. It also cited evidence by several respected medical groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, indicating that simply having lesbian or gay parents is not detrimental to a child’s welfare.

Thanks to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund’s SmartBrief for the heads-up on these items.

Lifehacker

Thanks to Lifehacker for covering our Lesbian Parenting Hacks post today.

Lifehacker is a great site with tips for making our lives more productive and efficient, something we moms certainly value. If you haven’t visited it already, I highly recommend doing so. They always seem to have something useful.