Cancer From the Kitchen? New York Times, December 5, 2009 Recent op-ed piece in the NY Times by Nicholas D. Kristof positions some compelling evidence about everyday kitchen chemicals and usage within the national health care debate.  He begins by pushing for more exploration and research into the potential causes of cancer, which tend to be one of the most devastating diseases, both physically and financially. While...

Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Piggy Bank: At first my daughter got frustrated with this toy because it was difficult for her to put the coins in the top slot of the bank.  For about a month she had to use 2 hands and go very slowly to get one into the bank.  The next month she was using one hand on the coin, but still going slowly.  The following month she was throwing them into the bank like it was no problem....

My wife, daughter (21 months at the time), and I recently flew on JetBlue out of their brand new Terminal 5 facility at JFK Airport in New York. I’ve always been a fan of JetBlue and a steady customer since they first popped up as an airline. There’s not much not to like – flights with more legroom, leather seats, TVs in every seat, cheap flights, etc. So, it was only fitting that when they recently...

Postpartum Depression Strikes Fathers, Too New York Times, December 7, 2009 When reading this article about how some fathers develop a postpartum-style depression after their child’s birth, I was sympathetic with the Dads who were subjects of the story.  Clearly, they had issues they needed to workout long before they had a child, but it just happened to manifest when the newborn was drawn into the picture. However,...

Came across this new YouTube video posted by The Muppets Studio and showed it to my daughter (22 months) who cannot get enough of it.  She’s a big fan of the Muppet films already, so the fact that this is new footage of the Muppets (posted 23 Nov 2009) is both exciting for her and refreshing for her parents.  She particularly loves Animal’s solo singing the “Mama” section of the song. My daughter...

During the first trimester of pregnancy with our second child, an early test of my wife’s blood indicated a potential for a Toxoplasmosis infection.  I had heard of Toxoplasmosis before – we have a cat and it’s usually something the doctors will tell cat owners or an annoying family member will shout out when trying to show-off their knowledge of pregnancy facts and grill you about owning the litter...

One of my favorite tips for parents travelling on a plane with a toddler is to buy an extra seat and bring their car seat on the flight.  It goes without saying, but this is only a useful tip if you can afford to purchase the extra seat for your toddler.  Children under the age of 2 can be held on your lap and you do not have to pay for a seat.  I still recommend buying the seat and bringing the toddler’s car...