How did having children change your career path?
I am coming to the end of my maternity leave with no job to return to, as I was in a contract position that is now over. Realizing that childcare is expensive, we need more income to survive, and that the economy sucks and doesn’t support my chosen field of expertise, I am examining new options.
So you’ve flown internationally with your baby — here are 4 tips on traveling with your toddler
Plenty of parents have written about plane travel with wee ones, and I’m grateful: I learned a lot from their experiences. An international flight is so daunting I feel like contributing to the conversation. My daughter’s godmother lives in Ireland, and last fall we took a two year-old in a plane ride over the ocean. What an undertaking!
Rewind to autumn with this Canadian engagement-meets-family-meets-maternity session
Not so long ago, temperatures were significantly warmer in much of the Northern hemisphere. Like, warm enough to wear a dress WITHOUT A COAT, if that’s your thing. Since those days are gone and it sometimes seems like winter will never release its icy grip (see also: I live in the Pacific Northwest), this sunny family portrait session from Samantha Clarke Photography seems like just the thing to warm your cold, bitter bones.
How beating up a sack of potatoes helped me deal with my father’s illness
My mom spoke in a tight, scared voice as she told me Papa was being airlifted from their small town to the capital city where I lived. His heart condition had triggered acute kidney failure and he was in and out of consciousness, rapidly sliding closer to death. I said yes and hung up in a daze.
My niece and nephew are getting into drugs — how do I talk to them about it?
I have a niece, 20, and nephew, 16, who do drugs regularly. It started with pot, but now they’re into Molly, popping and snorting crushed pills, mushrooms, and taking cold medicine to get high. I know this because they’re pretty active on Twitter and post references to it and photos of their dilated pupils. They’ve also told me and other family members.
An Offbeat Auntie’s perspective: 5 maybe-obvious things I’ve learned about kids
I would like to start off by saying that I have no idea what it’s like to be a mom (yet). I have no idea what 24 hours a day, 7 days a week responsibility for an ornery, screaming, time-demanding tiny human is like. All I’m saying is that becoming an aunt has given 10x more insight into it. I also got lucky with the BEST niece and nephew ever, not every kid is as cool as them. Here are some things I’ve picked up.
The world’s best playground might be London’s Diana Memorial Playground
On a good day in London, on our local playground where race, class, school uniforms and linguistic boundaries may as well have been built out of concrete, I was a cynic. Visiting the Diana playground was a most welcome respite from all of that. And, though I am wary of entering the treacle zone, it is a testimony to the spirit of the Lady who inspired it. This playground exists in an unlikely place and it gives some pointers, some idea of what our society could be like. Maybe even our world.
Bath time + Valentine’s Day = an awesome mess-free, water-friendly craft
I set up the fun bath for my two preschool-aged children by tracing foam hearts on the walls around the tub using bath crayons. Inside the hearts, I wrote short words and phrases, very similar to the candy hearts you can buy around Valentine’s Day.