How buying heirloom seeds defends our habitat from invasion
IN THIS POST: Where do seeds come from? Why are seed banks important? Where can I buy heirloom seeds in my area?
Banishing guilt to be better: let’s chill out and trust ourselves
You may have seen the Wall Street Journal article that’s now circulating called Why French Parents Are Superior. If you haven’t, I’m sure it will pop up on your Facebook feed sooner or later. In it, Pamela Druckerman, an American ex-pat living in France, talks about how French children seem better behaved than American children and French parents seemed much more relaxed.
Traveling with a baby: about my trip to Machu Picchu with my 4-month-old
I recently traveled to Machu Picchu with a few friends and my son, who was four months old at the time. Everyone thought I was crazy for taking him. I am not sure what they were afraid of… malaria? Too high. Water-borne illness? Breastfeeding. Ear pain on the flight? Exaggerated. Consistent nap time? Overrated. It was during this time that I realized that children are extremely adaptable. It is adults who are not.
How can I get doctors and nurses to include my partner at check-ups?
I recently had a pre-term baby and much of our lives have been spent in the NICU. Since then I’ve noticed the nurses, doctors and lactation consultants expect my husband to be a poor father to our baby. It irks me. For example, whenever the doctors or nurses come to talk to us about our baby they always speak to me only. They only ask me about the baby’s feeding habits. The nurses are surprised when my hubby gets up to change the diaper and does well with it. The lactation consultants ask me about my milk supply even though he is the one processing and keeping record of volumes. It is like they expect men to be uninvolved and distant. It is a shame.
How to go from an apartment set up to a functional furnished house
When we moved from an apartment to a house, things started to slip away from us. We tripped over boxes, forgot to clean anything, and we floundered. Until I came up with a plan — and a tool that you might find helpful, too!
No, it’s not for the kids: what I want is important, too
Sitting in the corner where I intended to nurse my second baby, I looked around myself and thought, “The kids sure would love a fish tank here.” My older son could watch the fish when I couldn’t play with him while nursing. The baby would love the calming gurgle of running water. As an added bonus, I could enjoy the inhabitants during those hours stuck underneath a baby.
The all-red house and a painted doorway in India in this week’s reader photos
Start your week with our collection of interesting articles on the web and photos from our readers. This week: an elephantine bathroom and a twinkling cold frame for winter veggies. In these Clicky Links you’ll find lots of sites to waste a little time on.
Click through, too, to find our links on submitting YOUR stuff to Offbeat Home!
Becoming a parent made me better at my job
As I was approaching my last year of grad school for my Master’s in English, I had been dating an awesome, goateed, tattooed locksmith for a few months. That Christmas, as I was choosing my thesis advisor and getting ready to embark on the challenge of writing a full short story collection, my body started to feel a little weird. What I thought was nerves over the impending thesis, we came to find, was actually our little droidlet beginning to grow. Surprise! The following August, my son was born.