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A toddler reaching for a tiny green amphibian in a muddy backyard puddle

The Day We Brought A Swamp Creature Into My Kitchen

It was exactly 7:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was standing in my kitchen wearing my husband’s ten-year-old college sweatshirt with a mysterious bleach stain on the sleeve. I hadn't even taken my first sip of lukewarm oat milk...

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Stressed mom holding toddler on hiking trail looking for wildlife

Why That Cute Baby Moose Is Actually A Hiking Nightmare

I was holding my breath so hard I thought I was going to pass out right there on the gravel trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. We had blown our vacation budget driving up from Texas just to get out...

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Stressed dad holding a meat thermometer next to an 11-month-old eating meat.

Yellowstone Panic, Iron Deficiencies, And Cooking A Baby Bison

I'm sweating entirely through my gray t-shirt. The ergonomic carrier is digging a trench into my left shoulder blade. My 11-month-old son is happily attempting to rip my nose off my face, completely oblivious to the threat matrix unfolding exactly...

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Toddler watching a video of a baby wombat while wearing an organic cotton bodysuit

Why a Baby Wombat Video Ruined My Tuesday (And Other Lessons)

It's exactly 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I'm standing barefoot on the freezing kitchen tile wearing my husband Dave's oversized tech-conference t-shirt from 2016, trying to explain to my weeping four-year-old why I can't sew a pouch onto her...

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A small green baby turtle resting on a wet rock under a UV heat lamp

Why Getting A Baby Turtle Is Actually A Terrible Idea For Kids

My index finger is pressed against the remarkably smudged glass of a terrarium at a strip-mall pet store in Beaverton, desperately trying to explain the concept of a "shell" to an 11-month-old who's currently attempting to eat my shoelaces. It...

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Toddler in organic cotton pointing at a pink baby rose bush in a Texas yard

Dear Jess: Please Stop Panicking About That Prickly Baby Rose Bush

Dear Jess from six months ago, I know exactly where you're right now. You're standing at the kitchen window, staring out at the sweltering Texas yard with a cup of coffee that went cold three hours ago. You’ve got a...

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9-month-oldearly developmenteducational toysnature learningoutdoorparenting humor
A tiny green baby praying mantis crawling on my finger while my 11-month-old tries to grab it in our kitchen.

Surviving a Baby Praying Mantis Hatch With an 11-Month-Old Kid

It was 6:15 AM on a Tuesday, and I was staring at a plastic mesh butterfly pavilion on my kitchen counter like I was waiting for a server to reboot. I held a plastic spray bottle in one hand, completely...

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A toddler staring very intensely at a patch of grass in the garden.

What to do when your toddler finds a bird in the garden

It was a Tuesday afternoon, roughly forty-five minutes before I usually cave and put the television on, when Florence trotted up to me holding what appeared to be a very angry, moldy tennis ball. She deposited it directly onto my...

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A toddler sitting in the grass looking very closely at a tiny bug on a leaf.

The Truth About Baby Ladybugs (And When Your Kid Eats One)

I was sitting on our patchy backyard lawn in my stained grey sweatpants, holding a mug of coffee that had been microwaved three times since 6 AM, when Maya ate her first bug. She was about eight months old, right...

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