Relationship hacks for communicating under stress
Fighting sucks, especially when it’s with someone you love. All you want is for the dishes to be rinsed before they’re put in the dishwasher and the next thing you know, both of you are saying hurtful things. How can you have conflict without being hurtful? How can you build your own hacks?
Let’s talk about baby memorial tattoo ideas
I had my first miscarriage June 21, 2011 at 16 weeks. My second miscarriage was April 15, 2012 at 11 weeks. I want memorial tattoos for my babies. I’d love to know what ideas you guys have for memorial tattoos, and what some of you have used in the past.
How I decided what to read when preparing to conceive
When the hubs and I first got serious about going off the pill, I did what I always do when I am facing a new and exciting challenge: I started reading. As fast as I could download them onto my e-reader, I snatched them up: books on pre-conception health, on the challenge of balancing work and family life, and on maintaining a happy marriage after having a child. I couldn’t wait to begin thinking through what it would mean to have a baby in concrete terms.
Will “older parenthood” really upend American society?
Judith Shulevitz of The New Republic recently wrote a piece claiming the trend toward older parenting will “upend American society.” The article itself is long and comprehensive — Shulevitz discusses the rise of developmental disabilities and delays, men’s declining fertility, and genetic mutations — but definitely worth a read if you’re at all interested in genetics and fertility.
Photos of a tattooed mama and her little dragon at a carnival
If you were just musing to yourself about how it’s been TOO LONG since you’ve seen an adorable mama-and-baby photo session set in a fair (just me?), MUSE NO LONGER. This session from Meggan Joy Photo is the realization of all of your fair-themed dreams.
Plans have a way of unexpectedly changing when you’re part of a military family
The ability to live in the present is especially important for those of us who are dependents of military members because we have to live our lives in short increments. Our spouses are pretty much property of the U.S. Government, and we can’t really look too far into the future. So I am always starting some new project, volunteer job, or like now, searching for a real, paying job. If you asked where I see myself in five years, I have no idea — where do you see the U.S. Economy in five years?
Where can I go to find answers to all of my non-biological family planning questions?
I have been pregnant. I have had a child. He has reached his first birthday, and passed it by a few months. I feel that now is the time to start thinking about if, when, and how I might add a sibling for him. re there any Offbeat Mamas (or Sponsors!) who know how to find a family planning counseling or advice service for people who are looking to have children in a less conventional way?
Monsters aren’t real… but sometimes they are
I say, “I am just down the hall. You have nothing to fear. I am here and will protect you . I always will,” I tell her. “There are no monsters lurking in the dark.” I say these things. Even though a very big piece of me cringes. I promise her she is safe and that there are no such thing as monsters, but even as I say it, I feel the bitterness of the lie on my tongue.