I’m reporting to you live from the site of the Candy Land World Championships, where our resident Grandmaster is napping before he takes on his next challenger. My son finally gained the patience to play a board game a few weeks ago. My partner and I are avid (though not obsessive) gamers, and already our […]
I’ll take a weekend break from writing about our real children to pay homage to our furry companions. For all you dykes with cats and toolboxes, here’s how to build your own cat tree. (From PandE Cats via Lifehacker.) The instructions are a little sketchy, and some additional pictures would help, but if you have
We’re back from our trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, the second of what promise to be yearly excursions to national parks with our extended families. I don’t want this to be a “what I did on my summer vacation” essay, though, so I’ll constrain myself to a few observations that may be of
It’s Martha Stewart’s birthday. I’ve always been pretty neutral on Martha: admiring her as a powerful businesswoman but never really getting into her obsessive domesticity. And no, she’s not to my knowledge a lesbian, though I’ve heard the occasional, perhaps wishful, rumor. I mention her birthday here for two reasons. The Kids section of her
For those of us experiencing extreme heat in our parts of the world right now, two items of note: The Extreme Heat Prevention Guide from the CDC. Includes useful tips on how to keep cool and how to recognize signs of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and other heat-related ailments. (And don’t forget: Never leave your
From ParentHacks comes a note about writer Barbara Aria, who is seeking stories about how to take young children on “grown-up” outings—to museums, restaurants, shopping, etc. She’s using them in an article for an unspecified women’s magazine. I think it’s important for us lesbian moms to have our voices heard on general parenting issues, as
There are a ton of kids’ coloring pages on the Web. Google “coloring pages” and you’ll get enough to use up an entire box of 64 colors (or 96, or whatever they’re up to these days.) The quantity can be overwhelming, so here’s a roundup of some topic-specific pages I particularly like. The Official FDNY
A new federal law that took effect July 1 requires schools to meet certain wellness guidelines in an attempt to reduce childhood obesity. Schools must provide healthier meals, fewer sweets, and more physical activity. At the same time, as the Associated Press notes, the new rules don’t come with any consequences if schools don’t comply.
My son, like most preschoolers I know, goes through phases with his book, CD, and video interests. For the past few days, his video of choice has been Sesame Street’s Learning About Letters. I love this video. I was part of the first generation of children to grow up with Sesame Street, and many of
One in an occasional series of travel essays for families with kids: When most Americans think of our National Park Service (NPS), we have visions of forests and mountains, rivers and seashores. Not 1.2 million pounds of iron and steel churning out 6200 horsepower, capable of hauling 120 freight cars over mountains at 40 miles
