What does a baby really need?

Well I find myself blessed with my fourth babe. He's due to make his first appearance in September.

My third is now five years old and I have spent the last couple years of getting rid of everything baby related. I gave bags and bags of items away. Now I have a baby on the way and I have to ask myself the question: "What does a baby really need?"

With my first child I had way too much. I didn't use most of what I got. The crib became a very expensive diaper changing station. The expensive stroller was used less than the $40 baby sling. The high end high chair was cute but it really cluttered up the kitchen. The $20 bouncy seat was a life saver.

I got so many hand me downs when I had my daughter that she had an outfit for everyday. I didn't really buy anything except a double stroller. The $40 sling got some more use, so did the bouncy seat.

By the time the third came around I had learned my lesson. There is just too much plastic already in existence that buying something new seems wrong. I had given away the bouncy seat but it found it's way back to me. The sling was looking a little faded but it was still put to good use. I only kept the clothes that I really liked. Liam wore these cute Robeez monkey shoes for the first two years of his life.

Now I need to make a list for my fourth. I'll have have to think about it. I have to go into the basement and see if I can patch up that old sling enough to at least use it around the house. That sling is now 10 years old-what a great investment.

The world has gone crazy...

I was laid out with a nasty cold for a few days and when not asleep on the couch I was flipping channels. I came across the show

Sex...with Mom and Dad

This is what MTV has to say: "Dr. Drew's groundbreaking series on MTV, Sex...with Mom and Dad, is back for a second season to help 20 more teens, and their parents, get to the root of their problems when it comes to the taboo topic of sex."

The title itself is bad enough. (Nothing better for getting the public's attention than to infer that your show is about incest.) The episode I stumbled upon featured a sixteen year old girl who did not feel comfortable discussing sex with her parents. The mother wanted to share with her daughter the intimate details of her own sex life- but guess what? The daughter just didn't want to hear it.

I couldn't stomach the whole thing but apparently the parents were worried that their daughter was too uptight. I flicked back at the end and the girl had been "healed." She learned to loosen up her views and be open to being sexual and to talking about it with her parents.

The world world has gone crazy when a girl clearly conveys to her parents that she is not interested in talking about sex and her parents take her to a therapist so that millions of people can pity the poor girl.

Did the parents consider that perhaps she doesn't want to talk to them because she doesn't share their views? Perhaps she's not even considering entering the realm of sex? Have they realized that most people really don't want to hear about what's going on in their parents bedroom?

What if she's really "crazy" and has decided to wait for marriage? What are her parents going to do then -stage an intervention or perhaps institutionalize her.

Welcome to my Cranky Catholic Lady Blog

I was in the car with my husband and I was complaining about something and I finally blurted out, "I'm going to start a blog called the Cranky Catholic Lady." The idea stuck, so here I am typing when I should be making dinner or cleaning something.

Why call it the "Cranky Catholic Lady?"

Cranky- I am cranky, not all the time but I do have my moments. It's the part of myself that I'm always trying to improve or get a handle on. Putting it in the title will remind me daily of what I'm trying to improve.

Catholic- I'm what they call a revert. I was away from the church for a long time. It's become a big part of who I am in the last couple of years and it's the part of me that I do not want to change.

Lady- I don't like the word girl anymore, it doesn't seem to apply. The word "chic" is lame. "Woman" makes me think of "womyn" which makes me think of the 70's. I'll eventually become one of this little old ladies that can be found in the pews of every Catholic church. I might as well claim my title now.