Category Archives: Cranky mommy blogger

Why My Kids Will Never Play Carnegie Hall

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

Ever since Amy Chua’s explosive book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother  came out, I have been thinking a lot about what kind of parent I am, and whether it’s my fault that none of my kids excels at anything in … Continue reading →

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More Popsicles, Please

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

Postscript: Today’s New York Times reports not only that scientists found no correlation between dyes and hyperactivity in most children, but that food without coloring isn’t any fun. And for my 8-year-old, fun is pretty much the key ingredient of life. I … Continue reading →

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It’s Grandma! Hide the Froot Loops.

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

When I got out of the shower, there was a message from my mother. “Call me when you get a chance,” she said, serious-sounding. “I want to talk to you about something.” I felt a twinge of foreboding. So I … Continue reading →

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Bring Back the Talent Show

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

I made the mistake of seeing the Broadway production of “Billy Elliot” while helping my eight-year-old plan her act for the annual elementary school Variety Show. No matter how self-righteously I  deride those theater parents for pushing their children too … Continue reading →

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The Co-Ed Sleepover

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

My 16-year-old was in a van heading home from Johns Island, SC, where she’d been on a school-sponsored house-building trip when the first text came in:  could her friend, who I’ll call Taylor, sleep over the night they got home? They wanted … Continue reading →

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After the Bar Mitzvah: Spending the Dough

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

For his bar mitzvah, my son asked guests to make donations to the Anti-Defamation League in lieu of gifts, but a lot of people have given him cash instead, or in addition. Naturally, he is thrilled. He gets the best … Continue reading →

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Leaving No Panty Line

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

I was helping my 16-year-old daughter do her laundry the other night–in a hurry, as she was packing for a spring break house-buildng trip to South Carolina–when I noticed a small piece of red fabric caught in the bottom of … Continue reading →

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Countdown to the Bar Mitzvah: The Day After

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

Well, I made it through my son’s bar mitzvah without killing a single member of my family. Mazel Tov! Not only did my husband’s back go out two days before the blessed event, rendering him completely useless in all the last-minute … Continue reading →

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Countdown to the Bar Mitzvah: The RSVP

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

We’re at BM minus 16 days–otherwise known as the period when I bolt awake in the middle of the night, panicked about things that seem utterly manageable in the daylight hours, such as flowers. Or cake. Lucky for my son, … Continue reading →

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Happy Sweet 16, From Far Away

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Susan H. Greenberg

Today my dear, sweet, firstborn daughter turns 16, and I am away on a business trip. This seems entirely fitting,  since I wasn’t around 15 years ago when she took her first steps, either. I was at work in the Newsweek … Continue reading →

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