Convincing my five-year-old daughter that boys can like pink
We’re friends with a family with a somewhat gender-variant son, Q, who likes pink and wears his hair long. Our five-year-old daughter, Leigh, has played with Q a few times, and thinks he’s fabulous, and specifically asks if we can play with him again after we see them. She also insists that he is a girl.
DIY your own foam battle gear for your little ninja
I have discovered that foam is an awesome replacement for what could potentially be a dangerous object. It’s malleable, flexible, strong, lightweight, and unless you take it directly to the eye (which could happen with any toy), it’s pretty darn safe. I like to use either thin pool noodles, which are readily available at most discount chains during the late spring and summer, or pipe insulation foam, which is found year round at the hardware store; it comes in a variety of thicknesses so you can choose the one that suits you best.
A Sweeney Todd photo shoot — starring kids
I’ve always wanted to do a Sweeney Todd photo shoot, but starring myself — it’s never occurred to me that KIDS would be even more awesome! Check out these photos…
If I have my baby at home, what will my neighbors think of the noise?
Ideally, I would like a midwife-assisted home birth, but we live in a condo unit where the sound carries through the ceiling. What steps should I take to ensure we are good neighbors should we decide to go through with this?
Swedish goth moms blog too, y’all
We got a link a few weeks ago from reader Tearsong about Adora BatBrat, a “self-proclaimed goth version of Martha Stewart.” SAY WHAAAAAAAAAT! She’s named her kids after synthesizers (Synthia, Fairlight, and TeeBee), and blogs about everything from having a goth party for her eight-year-old to being a model, so a lot of ground is covered.
Breakfast at our house: a photo-documentary shoot with Jenny Jimenez (+ bonus Care Bear onesies for the whole family)
Some of you who’ve been reading for a while may be familiar with the family portrait shoots I’ve done with Jenny Jimenez in the past — she did our maternity shoot, and then a shoot with Tavi at six months last spring. To say I love Jenny’s eye is an understatement — I trust this woman to capture some pretty pivotal moments in my life. She is amazing.
So when Jenny contacted me a couple months ago wanting to do a different kind of photo shoot, I was all ears. She wanted to do a shoot that was more photo documentary style — no posed shots, no forced smiles. She wanted to capture our family just doing what we do.
Celebrating thirty-nine weeks of a day-glo pregnancy
Remember Katie and her spectacular day-glo maternity photos? Well, she took ANOTHER round at 39 weeks, this time with her family and plenty of stripes in tow. This set was also shot by Tampa-based Evol Photography, so all you Floridians may want to look into her work!
Let’s ditch the “one size fits all” model of parenting
Like life, parenting is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Maybe it’s the idealist in me, but on this front I’m pretty much middle of the road on the stuff that seems to make parents pull out knives on each other. I don’t understand the obsession we seem to have, or at least that the media thrusts upon us, with tar and feathering one another. My motto is: make sure you’re educated, informed, evaluate your life and circumstances, and then get to the business of doing what works best for you and yours.