I’ve been a fan of Charles de Lint’s work since I was a young teenager and picked up a copy of Moonheart. Moonheart probably isn’t for younger readers, as it includes some pretty graphic sexual descriptions and some pretty dark situations, but minus the fairly adult sexuality most of de Lint’s work would easily appeal […]

Amy at MotherLoad describes how to make cool glass fridge magnets. I’ve actually been making these for years, and I can attest, they are way fun and really easy. I use silica glue instead of Modge Podge to stick the magnets and glass marbles together, but otherwise I follow the same directions she does. […]

Carrie Kirby of the blog Wise Bread shares some advice on responding to toy recalls with a little more rationality and less panic in How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Recall. The recent rash of toy recalls sucks, absolutely, but with a little knowledge and patience you can minimize your children’s risks […]

No fair me taking credit for this one since I learned it from the kids’ mother; then again, she can start her own blog, right?
Here’s the hack: we always keep 4 or 5 juice packets (Capri Sun) in the freezer. She started doing it for the kids’ lunches — it would keep everything in […]

One of the trickiest aspects of being a step-ad is that, unless your partner is a widow or has absolutely no contact with her ex-, you are automatically locked in a relationship with her ex. And, given that your partner left him for a reason, chances are he’s a jerk.
I’m lucky enough to have […]

This is pretty cool: Kids Off The Couch offers a weekly newsletter that recommends a good movie to watch with the family along with an “adventure” to go along with the movie. For instance, they pair a viewing of Raiders of the Lost Ark with a trip to a local museum of antiquities. […]

The Wall Street Journal had an article recently about child art collectors, whose wealthy parents supply them with the cash to buy works by classic artists like Cezanne, Pissaro, and Rembrandt as well as contemporaries like Jeffrey Koons, Nao Matsumoto, and Michael Vasquez. We are treated to the somewhat unseemly sight of art gallery owners […]

A few months ago, our 11-year old girl came home from spending the weekend at dad’s with a proposal. Her 11-year old step-sister, a competing martial artist who spends a lot of time out of town at competitions, was going to be homeschooled and her step-mother thought she should join them.
Now, there’s some history […]

I cam across this post on a site called “Modern Non-Aligned Fatherhood”: Things to Consider Before Becoming a Stepdad. The site has all the hallmarks of something that seemed like a good idea at the time but really wasn’t; there’s only three posts, all from last May. Which is a shame, because the posts are […]

I have launched a forum so you can discuss amongst yourselves. Enjoy!