“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 92

Helen and I discuss the second volume of LGBT parenting essays to come out of Canada this year, one that explores the many new and unnamed family connections that are created when one uses a known donor. We also offer some advice and suggestions for those buying gifts for children (or their parents) this season. (We made the podcast with our After Ellen viewers in mind, who are less likely to be parents themselves than those of you reading here. If you have your own ideas for kids’ (or parents’) gifts, please leave a comment.)

(If the embedded video above doesn’t work for you, try it at Dailymotion.)

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Happy Turkey Baster Awareness Day!

A very happy Thanksgiving to all of you celebrating it this week. Remember to make the turkey baster jokes before your relatives do.

Posting will be light here for a few days as our family will be stuffing ourselves with poultry and pie.

What’s Cooking?

It’s Thanksgiving week once again, which means it’s time for me to be whipping up a batch of my family-famous Cranbanero Sauce. Not for the faint of palate. (Recipe after the jump, along with a milder one.)

What are you cooking and/or looking forward to eating for the holiday? Read the rest of this post »

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 91

Helen and I assert that, contrary to recent headlines, lesbian parents are not better than straight ones (although we’re certainly no worse). We also discuss Thanksgivings past and future and some of our favorite holiday crafts and recipes. (Share yours in the comments!)

(If the embedded video above doesn’t work for you, try it at Dailymotion.)

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Family and Food Songs from Erin Lee and Marci

Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family.

Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org.

If you’re in or around Philadelphia this coming weekend, you can also catch them at the World Cafe Live on Saturday, November 7, at 11:30 a.m. See the venue Web site for details; here’s an excerpt of what it says about the duo:

The Indigo Girls meet The Smothers Brothers and sing for kids – that’s Erin Lee & Marci. . . . Disney’s Family Fun Magazine calls them “irresistible!” and Time Out New York named their live performance at Madison Square Park as the “Best Family Event” of the summer.

Their original songs reflect a kid’s eye view of the world that is sometimes poignant, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but always right on the mark. Their first CD, Someone’s Gotta Wanna Play, was awarded Best Recording 2005 by the Children’s Music Web, the national music award chosen by children. Their follow-up, Snowdance, was debuted on Rosie O’Donnell’s R Family Cruise to Alaska, and went on to win two ASCAP Awards for excellence in writing and the Family Choice Award for 2006.

I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads, when available, for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.) I also have a widget after the jump that will let you preview most of the songs without leaving Mombian.

It’s Thanksgiving! To us, that means two things: Family and Food. So here’s a song about each: Read the rest of this post »

Ellen’s Ideas for Kids’ Halloween Costumes

Enough of the serious political posts. We’ll have enough of that next week for the election. Here are Ellen’s ideas for kids’ Halloween costumes:

After the jump, The Onion’s video on “How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son”: Read the rest of this post »

Halloween Songs from Erin Lee and Marci

Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family.

Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org.

I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads, when available, for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.) I also have a widget after the jump that will let you preview most of the songs without leaving Mombian.

It’s Halloween…our favorite time of the year! Creepy costumes, spooky stories, lots of candy…and, oh no! Another party has ground to a halt because somebody put dance music on and the only creepy dance music on hand was The Monster Mash! Brilliant, we love it, but all too frequently overused. Don’t let that happen at your party! There’s lots of monster music out there that’s perfect for dancing, stomping and sneaking. Here are two of our favorite not-too-terrifying tunes: Read the rest of this post »

Happy Birthday, Louise Brown!

Today marks the birthday of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test-tube baby.” Her birth in 1978 heralded a new era of fertility services for many women, including lesbians. Helen and I conceived our own son this way, using my egg and her womb, so we bear a personal debt to Ms. Brown, her parents Lesley and John Brown, and their doctors, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Thanks! You’ve helped create many happy families.

Have a Good Holiday!

No Weekly Political Roundup this week, as I’m spending the time with my family for the holiday, and I suspect few of you will be around either.

Have a good holiday, if you’re celebrating it!

40 Years and Counting

On June 28, 1969, a group of LGBT people fought back against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.

In many ways, it was the beginning of the LGBT civil rights movement—but if there’s anything I’ve learned as an erstwhile historian, it’s that beginnings are seldom as clear cut as they first appear. One cannot often reduce such broad social changes to a single event, catalyzing as it may have been.

Joan Nestle, who founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives in 1975, perhaps said it best when she wrote:

I certainly don’t see gay and lesbian history starting with Stonewall . . .  and I don’t see resistance starting with Stonewall. What I do see is a historical coming together of forces, and the sixties changed how human beings endured things in this society and what they refused to endure. . . . Certainly something special happened on that night in 1969, and we’ve made it more special in our need to have what I call a point of origin . . . it’s more complex than saying that it all started with Stonewall.

(In The Question of Equality: Lesbian and Gay Politics in America since Stonewall, ed. David Deitcher.)

We are at another coming together of forces in LGBT rights, I believe, a confluence of awareness, activism, and impatience that may serve as a historical milestone for those looking back in another 40 years. We build on the achievements of our predecessors, and we hope to leave the world a little better for our children and their peers.

A joyous Pride to all of you.