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.

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Wanna make a rockabilly head scarf for your baby? Here’s how you do it

I was in the middle of making a headband for my daughter when I started playing with the excess fabric and ended up making her a head scarf — I liked the result, but wanted to make a pattern so I could produce something a little more polished. Here’s what I came up with.

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I had to ground my step-son for the first time and it made me feel like a “real” parent

I love my little man. He’s seven, and while not mine by birth, he sure as hell is mine by love. The four of us parents, (mom, step dad, dad, and me — step mom) get along pretty well, and while we disagree on some things, we try to compromise and present a united front. Usually, this isn’t too hard — he’s a good kid, hardly ever misbehaves, and for the most part a good talk will prevent any major infractions of the rules. That is, it was easy until yesterday.

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Is it even possible to decline my work’s baby shower?

I work in a small corporate office and we celebrate birthdays and things, including baby showers. I don’t want a baby shower thrown for me for the sake of being consistent by my co-workers who complained about me, and my family and friends are both planning two already; this would also be a bit superfluous.

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I turned a coffee table into a chalkboard canvas for my toddler

I love to encourage my little girl to draw and be creative as much as possible. I’ve looked into a lot of options for her, but wasn’t very happy with what was available — besides, my daughter needs a BIG canvas. When my husband brought a pretty grody-looking coffee table home a few weeks ago, I ignored it until I realized what I could use it for — the coffee table could be transformed into a canvas for our kid.

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A middle of the night home birth with dad playing midwife

The final day (June 25, 2012) of the 2011-12 school year passed without an event. The typical feelings relief and accomplishment were strong, but overshadowed by the impending arrival of our baby. On June 27, I prepared a smoothie and the second dose of castor oil for my wife, who had chosen to sleep on the couch due to its close proximity to the toilet, before heading to bed. At 12:15 AM, I heard her…

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Darth Vader and son: a new book about that special father-son relationship

Cartoonist Jeffrey Brown has released a new book called Darth Vader and Son that’s going to melt the hearts of Star Wars fans everywhere…

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Turn a baby gate into a laundry drying rack

Over on Home Talk, blogger Erica showed off her great idea for a DIY wall-mounted clothes drying rack…

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Finding freedom in infertility

I got married at eighteen (as a lot of women from my culture do). A husband and two kids by twenty-one was the only path that women I know were ever expected to walk. I, however, shunned the cultural expectation for me to get pregnant. Fast forward three years later and you would find me on an operating table having my lady organs snipped and burned and moved about. For me, infertility means freedom. Beneath the hurt, the fear, the hope and the confusion about why THIS thing happened to me… there is freedom to choose.