Category Archive

Families

Our sister site Offbeat Mama launched in 2009, became Offbeat Families in 2012, and was merged into Offbeat Home & Life in 2015. This archive contains all the posts ever published on those sites! We believe that while children change your life forever, being around kids doesn’t necessitate abandoning your identity. We believe in supporting and inspiring parents and caregivers who are moving beyond mainstream visions of parenting. We welcome anyone who’s interested in families, whether you’re pre-parental, in the process of becoming a parent, or choosing to live childfree.

Mother’s Day Grief: dealing with the day after infant loss

I am feeling like a small canoe lost at sea. I am floating around, and I look rather normal up close. It is only unless you look a little longer and see the bigger picture do you see just how lost I really am. So here I go lost and floating around out into the greater world waiting for that stranger to boldly wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. I will smile and say, “Thank you.”

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts they’ll actually use

ays been pretty utilitarian. For instance, they used the box of luxury chocolates I bought to store sewing kit essentials. So I’ve had to get creative with coming up with gift ideas for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day that I know they’ll actually use and appreciate.

How to help someone after a miscarriage in 5 simple ways

While miscarriage is a normal part of pregnancy journeys, it doesn’t mean it feels normal. After my miscarriage I felt like I was going insane. And all through that I experienced everything from the most amazing support to shocking insensitivity. So I’d like to tell you how to help someone after a miscarriage in these 5 simple ways…

Working parents: how to magically “level up” during quarantine?!

I am a working mom. I love my two-year-old daughter more than light, but ever since she was 11 weeks old, my husband and I have had help of one variety or another… that is until COVID-19. Now we’re all at home, alone together, working, and trying to wade through this mess…

One woman answers the question: should I stay in a marriage without chemistry?

Several years ago, I wrote the Offbeat Home post I’m not attracted to my husband: Marriage without chemistry? After 6 years of working on myself, finding myself, and trying to do absolutely everything I could to save the marriage… I finally had the strength to call it quits.

Our laid back family photo shoot at Grandpa's hardware store

Our laid back family photo shoot at Grandpa’s hardware store

This beautiful family decided to take advantage of all the nooks and crannies at grandpa’s hardware store in Wisconsin for a dynamic family photo shoot.

Let’s see the magic that they created and learn a bit about the inspiration from the family…

A tale of unconditional love this Father’s Day

Father’s Day is this weekend and that can always be a complicated time for a lot of us.

But here’s a tale of divergent personalities coming back together to celebrate a birthday (and father’s day!) with love and compassion.

When children are not our "mini me": accepting your child as they are

When kids are not our “mini me”: accepting your children as they are

When you become a parent, I think it’s natural to have expectations and preconceived ideas of what the little person you have created is going to be like. Imagining the future and what that could look like is perfectly natural. But as they grow, you begin to see them become this little person who is unique and special in their own ways. At that point, you should let go of the ideas and expectations you had in your mind at the beginning…