“Unfucking” your habitat together: 5 ways to get your partner to help clean house
I’ve lived with my spouse for four years. In that time, through several apartments and sets of roommates, I’ve learned that we are in fact Dirty People. Rather than keep each other motivated, the two of us tend to wallow in our own filth. This is how the blog Unfuck Your Habitat taught me the 5 ways to help get my cleaning-impaired husband to pitch in on the cleaning duties.
A stepdad success story
My children don’t share his genes, but you’d never know by watching my dad interact with my two-year-old daughter. He holds her with tender arms and listens to her stories with the contentment of a proud and happy grandfather. When I watch her giggle as he scratches her cheek with his whiskers, I’m reminded that my family is not bound by biology, but by love and commitment, two values that he helped instill in me.
On saying no to a second foster child
For weeks now, I’ve been feeling this slow and steady ache growing — the feeling that I am not doing enough, can never do enough. I know, rationally that most of us only have the time and resources to do a very little bit. But the idea that there are 16,000 foster children in NYC alone, each as unique and precious as my foster son, each needing stable, loving homes both temporary and permanent, actually hurts me when I think about it, makes it hard to breathe. I can do so, so little.
Deciding whether or not to go back to work after my child was born has made me a less judgmental person
In the United States a woman who has a child can take up to 12 (unpaid) weeks off under FMLA. Today is the start of my 13th week. I was supposed to go back to work, but I stayed home. I simply decided it did not make sense for me to return to work.
I skipped my baby shower: how to save money when you’re buying your own baby supplies
There could be any number of reasons why someone wouldn’t have a traditional baby shower — not living close to friends and family is a good one. Logistics may be another; pregnancy is tiring, and finding the time or energy to host a party can be impossible. Then there’s my personal reason for avoiding a baby shower: I just can’t stand the idea.
4 Halloween crafts your kids can make out of recycled materials
I was recently inspired by this list of kid’s Halloween crafts you can make out of recycled materials — so much so that I decided to let my three-year-old try out one of the suggestions.
Hack your clock to help your kids tell time
Remember Tina’s punk rock dining room moment? She’s back with a clock hack idea that will help your kids learn to tell time…
Dykes and Tikes on bikes: celebrating Pride with my family
We celebrated Pride weekend in August this year, and it was a hot one. Saturday was the Dyke March, which we tapped into later in the day. I had zero intention of braving a crowd of 650,000 people with a fiercely teething and mobile infant and his fearless three-year-old sister and decided to lay low. Back in my twenties, Pride was about volume. Do more, see more, flirt more, be more queer.