Magazine

Exhausted mom sweating on Ashlyn Peaks trail with baby gemini in carrier

My Chaotic Baby Gemini Hiking Story On The Ashlyn Peaks Trail

Whatever you do, please learn from my colossal screw-up and avoid attempting the south ridge trail at Ashlyn Peaks with a six-month-old Gemini strapped to your chest while wearing non-breathable Lululemon knock-offs, because it'll end in chafing and tears. Mostly...

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Toddler eating messy barbecue ribs on a summer patio

How Long to Smoke Baby Back Ribs Without Ruining Saturday

It was 5:42 PM on a Saturday in July, and I was sweating through a gray tank top that already had a suspicious smear of Sweet Baby Ray's on the hip. My husband was standing on the patio, staring into...

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Portland dad holding a baby back rib next to a messy 11-month-old at a summer BBQ

Troubleshooting BBQ: Baby Back Ribs vs Spare Ribs for Babies

There we were in our backyard, forty-five minutes into a rare sunny Portland afternoon, when I casually handed my 11-month-old son, Leo, a massive, sauce-drenched spare rib. In my sleep-deprived brain, this seemed like a brilliant Baby-Led Weaning victory. I...

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A messy toddler eating shredded pork from a suction plate at a family barbecue

Surviving the Chaos of Smoking Baby Back Ribs With Toddlers

It was 4:13 PM on the Thursday before Memorial Day, and I was wearing my absolute favorite, completely impractical white linen top from Zara. I don't know why I wore white. It was an act of extreme hubris. My husband,...

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A cardboard box tied to an oak tree in a Texas backyard

What to Do When Your Kid Finds a Baby Squirrel in the Yard

"Drop the Similac, Tucker!" I yelled across the patio, lunging over a scattered pile of wooden blocks while clutching a squirming newborn to my chest. My oldest sonβ€”bless his animal-loving, highly impulsive heartβ€”was kneeling in the damp Bermuda grass, holding...

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A baby gnawing on a large spare rib bone while sitting on a patterned bamboo blanket

The Great BBQ Debate: Ribs and Baby-Led Weaning

Summer in Chicago means the lake breeze is sticky and someone is always firing up a smoker in a park. We were at a family cookout near Montrose Beach last July when my husband's uncle handed my eight-month-old a massive,...

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A soft bamboo baby blanket with a blue woodland pattern draped over a nursery chair.

The Woodland Nursery Trend That Almost Gave Me a Heart Attack

It was late July in 2017, and I was standing outside a strip-mall Starbucks wearing high-waisted yoga pants that I had absolutely no intention of doing yoga in. Maya was exactly three months old. I was holding an iced Americano...

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Twin toddler girls wearing organic cotton short sleeve pajamas on a bed.

Escaping Sausage Casings: short sleeve pajamas toddler edition

It's 7:14 PM on a damp Tuesday, and I'm currently employing a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu move I saw on YouTube just to get my two-year-old's arm into a pajama top. Elsie is howling indignantly; her twin sister Maya is standing on...

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Baby wearing a long sleeve organic cotton bodysuit crawling on a living room rug

Why standard infant long sleeve shirts are a complete lie (until yo...

It was July 2020, roughly 88 degrees outside with 90 percent humidity, and I was sitting on the concrete patio of my neighborhood coffee shop sweating through my own shirt while three different people offered me completely contradictory opinions about...

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