Rock-a-Bye Baby in Yo Phat Crib…

Sep 3, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News | Tags: Weekly News Roundup

Because nothing says “precious newborn” like the woman who sings “Queen B*tch Part II.” [Regretsy]

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney welcome a son, Axel Lee, after going into labor during the Dodgers/Phillies game. Man, the lengths kids will go to for a Dodger Dog… [People]

Breast cancer awareness bracelets proclaiming “I [Heart] Boobies” causing a controversy in schools. “I Heart Balls” necklaces for testicular cancer can’t be far behind. [ABC News]

Lindsay Lohan allegedly clipped a baby stroller with her Maserati and kept driving. If she had hit MY baby and kept going…? I would’ve called the Po-Po faster than you can say, “Lindsay drives a Maserati? LIFE IS NOT FAIR.” [The Frisky]

Breast is best… behind closed doors? [Teeny Manolo]

No link between Pampers Dry Max and diaper rash, says Safety Commission. “I totally disagree,” my child’s behind proclaimed in response. [NYDN]

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Exclusive Interview: ‘Curious George’ Producer Dishes on The Man with the Yellow Hat’s Dating Life, Style

Sep 2, 2010 | Filed Under: Pop Culture,Television | Tags: Exclusive Interview

Like so many other monkeys in Hollywood, George also dabbles in music in his spare time

CG: ® & © 2010 Universal Studios and/or HMH. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PBS KIDS (R) Public Broadcasting Service. FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY

With the fifth season of Curious George premiering this Monday, September 6, on PBS KIDS (check local listings), The Laughing Stork attempted to get in touch with George to get the scoop on the new episodes. Although George was too busy chatting with the likes of Access Hollywood‘s Billy Bush about his recent Emmy win for “Outstanding Children’s Animated Program,” we were fortunate enough to land an interview with the fabulous Dorothea Gillim, executive producer of Curious George for WGBH Boston.

LAUGHING STORK: I think we can all agree The Man with the Yellow Hat looks dashing in his signature color; however, he seems to be in a bit of a style rut. Would he ever consider mixing it up with, say, a more camera-friendly color such as blue? Or perhaps a trendy fedora?

DOROTHEA: The Man with the Yellow Hat would probably describe others as being in a style rut. Yellow rules! He’s a trendsetter. One day, the whole world will be yellow. Such a cheery color!

LAUGHING STORK: George’s curiosity is always getting him into mishaps. Are you afraid that his penchant for mischief – and obvious celebrity — will make him fall prey to the dark side of Young Hollywood like other stars and starlets?

DOROTHEA: One of the truly wonderful things about George is his eternal innocence, so no, we’re not worried.

LAUGHING STORK: In the first season of the show, George accidentally bought one-hundred dozen donuts and did not know what to do with the extras. Could you please give him my contact information in case he makes that mistake again?

DOROTHEA: Sure thing. He’ll probably mess that up too, but innocently and all in the name of fun and education.

LAUGHING STORK: George sounds just adorable when he communicates; however, I can’t understand a word he says. How did The Man with the Yellow Hat become fluent in George-ese?

DOROTHEA: We work hard to make sure George conveys a lot through his tone and body language. Hopefully that’s how the Man and kids at home understand him. And if his thoughts are too complex, we throw in a thought bubble or two.

LAUGHING STORK: Despite his style rut, The Man with the Yellow Hat is quite a catch. He is an explorer, drives a convertible, flies a plane, has a pet monkey, is a doppelganger for Stephen Colbert and must be rather wealthy considering he has a nice apartment in “The City” and a country house. However, we don’t see or hear anything about his dating life. A theory on a lot of the gossip blogs: he is secretly seeing Professor Wiseman. Can you comment on the speculation? They do spend an awful lot of time together.

DOROTHEA: The Man with the Yellow Hat is a very private cartoon character. He prefers to keep his romantic life from the public eye.

LAUGHING STORK: Any insight into George’s misadventures this upcoming season of Curious George?

DOROTHEA: George is making a new friend this season — Marco, an 8-year-old boy who plays the drums in his family’s Pan-Latin band. George and Marco will go on lots of (mis)-adventures this season and, in the process, our audience will learn about Hispanic customs and culture. George will also get lost on the subway, learn how to barter, and meet the Vietnamese family that opens a store across the street. These episodes and others support this season’s theme of exposing preschoolers to social science. Of course the show will continue its mission to foster understanding of science, math and engineering through lots of monkey mayhem.

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Sign of Mommy Brain #1273

Sep 2, 2010 | Filed Under: Candy's Column | Tags: Mommy Brain, Stylin'

via Candy’s Crapcam

You return home from a morning of running errands around town and dropping off your child at daycare, only to realize you have been wearing ONE EARRING the entire time because your child nearly ripped your earlobe off trying to grab the earring earlier in the morning, so you stuffed said earring in your pocket and forgot about it.

This has been your important Mommy Brain Update and Seemingly Endless Run-On Sentence of The Day!

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The Wife Should Have Just Used Bounty: The Spider Picker-Upper

Sep 1, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Weird But True | Tags: Headline of the Day

HEADLINE OF THE DAY: A husband who tried to ‘save’ his wife from a scary spider ended up needing treatment for burns after nearly blowing up his bathroom.

Baby Shower Cakes Only a Mother Could Love

Sep 1, 2010 | Filed Under: Food | Tags: Baby Shower Cakes

OMG, I didn’t even know Chuck Norris and Curious George were expecting!

Just… precious. Congrats, guys!

Lily does not look pleased to be stuck with that huge icing load in her diaper. Also, isn’t she a little young to be wearing all of that makeup? Geesh.

[Source]

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Woman Versus Stroller

Aug 31, 2010 | Filed Under: Candy's Column,Musings | Tags: The Idiot Mom

There are countless beautiful moments in a mother’s life, none of which involve standing in the middle of a mall parking lot screaming, “HOW THE HELL DO I COLLAPSE THIS STROLLER?!”

Which is to say my afternoon was, well, somewhat ugly on Sunday.

Mr. Candy had already left on yet another one of his “business trips.” I use quotation marks not because I suspect he is doing something seedy, but because I am convinced he is just holed up in a hotel down the street somewhere and sighing contentedly, “Finally, I’ve escaped the madness!” I couldn’t blame him. It is a bit of a madhouse around here lately, what with a moody toddler who’s laughing one minute, angrily pounding on the floor the next — and a wife who is prone to doing the same. If I ever find out that Mr. Candy’s business trips are actually mental health breaks, I will have no choice but to grab him by the shoulders and scream, “IT’S MY TURN NEXT TIME!”

With my husband on the road — allegedly — and no family within a two-thousand-mile radius, I was unable to live-blog the Emmys because I had to watch Skye and make sure she didn’t do something unwise, like pull a TV on her head. It was a beautiful day here in Los Angeles, so naturally I took my one-year-old out to get some fresh air at, um, Bloomingdale’s. (Hey, sometimes Mommy needs to go to her playground, too.) Skye and I had a lovely time together. I got my much-needed Bloomie’s fix. She got to partake of her favorite pastime: people-watching. And she has no qualms about openly staring at folks for minutes on end, to the point that I feel the need to interject: “Ha, ha! She hasn’t learned her manners yet!”

Of course, what she really needs to learn is that is why sunglasses were invented.

When Skye started wrinkling her nose (loose translation: Nap. Now. Woman!), we headed out to the car, weighed down with brown Bloomingdale’s bags. Glorious, brown Bloomingdale’s bags. I rarely get to the mall these days, so I was feeling quite giddy UNTIL… I tried to collapse the stroller. It is a fairly new Maclaren umbrella stroller that Mr. Candy, our Official Baby-Thingy Expert, had always handled before. You see, I am not one of those super-moms who can install a car seat with one hand, while juggling a baby and conducting a philharmonic with the other. Heck, I was prouder than Dina Lohan on prison talent show night when I figured out how to open the stroller — after only fifteen minutes of jiggling and pulling every part of it. Unfortunately, that same approach did not work with closing Skye’s “simple” umbrella stroller. I kicked it. Punched it. Gave it a time-out. Nothing worked. So I did what any mother with a tired, screaming toddler sitting in the backseat and ornery stroller would do: I tried shoving it, as-is, in the passenger seat. And when it did not fit there, I scanned the parking lot for my savior. To my great relief, it did not take long.

PAN OVER TO: A family of five, with a FATHER PUSHING A MACLAREN STROLLER!

ME: (SENDING UP SMOKE SIGNALS) Excuse me? Help! Help!

THE FATHER: (SPOTS THE STROLLER TAKING A TIME-OUT IN THE CORNER) Just a sec. Let me get my wife.

This woman, I kid you not, had that stroller collapsed in two seconds flat. And it probably wasn’t even her best time. Her hands and feet did things to that stroller that cannot be legal in most states. Thankfully, however, this is California where those things are not only legal, but encouraged. I wanted to hug that woman with the mad mommy skillz and dexterous limbs. But I did not want to frighten her so I simply cried, “THANK YOU! OH MY GOD, YOU SAVED MY LIFE, THANK YOU, THANK YOOOUUUU!”

Oh yeah. Much more normal.

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