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.

Cycling with contractions — would you ride your bike to the hospital while in labor?

So, you thought labor was hard when you had to DRIVE to the hospital during contractions, right? What if you were RIDING YOUR BIKE?

A thrift store play kitchen makeover for a little kid’s room

I started the makeover by deciding what I wanted the kitchen to look like. I had already used apple red spray paint when I created Jax’s chalkboard, so I chose that for the main body. His table and chairs are aqua and lime (as well as the shelves I recently put in), so those became the accent colors. I had some leftover glitter paint from a Christmas ornament project, and I knew that would be perfect for hiding any water damage I couldn’t sand out.

Why sperm donors deserve recognition and honor

It is time to change the conversation around the term “sperm donor.” “Donor” does not equate “deadbeat dad.” A donor, whether a dear friend or a random person who grabs a magazine, a cup and heads for a small room at a sperm bank, is a wonderful person. He is the person who gives us our families, and no matter who he is, gay and lesbian families are grateful.

Greeting a returning Marine — in photos

This session was shot recently by New Jersey-based Megan Gray Photography. Three members of the Caballero family were getting ready to greet their fourth, who was returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, at the airport. The father had never met his recently-born-son, and this was his first major deployment away from his three-year-old daughter. As you can imagine, much happiness and tears ensued.

Alternative club ideas for your offbeat high schooler

I recently asked those of you who follow us on Facebook what kind of clubs you participated in high school — Newspaper is a pretty standard offering at a lot of schools, like Science Olympiad or something athletic. I was looking for the good stuff, the crazy shit that you guys made up as clubs when you were teens that you actually loved participating in.

What kinds of books are best for encouraging multi-lingual kids?

My husband has German as a mother tongue and we’re planning on him speaking in German to the future kids. While not pregnant yet, we’re tight on budget so we’d love to stock up on books slowly so we have one less expense when the time comes.

How a purple fairy helped our son ditch his pacifier for good

I noticed that my son’s addiction and attachment to his binky/pacifier (“smukk”) was starting to become just as much of a security blanket for me and my husband as for himself. We had great plans of keeping it to night — and naptimes only, but often it was brought out during extenuating circumstances like boo-boos, travels, car-rides, transitions times etc. Then it became a fight. We were not consistent about our rules, so the screaming and tantrums would often elicit more willingness to dig it out of the pocket.

Indigo’s woodsy-natury-hippie baby photos

Some of you may remember Alexandra’s rainbow-themed baby shower from a few weeks ago — who could forget that incredible-looking rainbow cake? Luckily for me (and you!), Alexandra lives in my city! Along with my friend/biz partner Ashley, I was recently able to snap a few photos of Alexandra and her daughter, Indigo.