Magazine

A mom looking out a window at her backyard while holding a coffee mug

The Absolute Panic Of Finding Cute Baby Foxes In Your Backyard

I was standing on our back patio in my husband's hideous oversized college sweatpants, holding a lukewarm mug of French roast that I had literally just microwaved for the third time, when seven-year-old Maya started screaming bloody murder. She was...

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Toddler sitting in the grass wearing an organic cotton romper covered in mild dirt

From Sterile Nurse to Farm Baby Mama: Why I Let My Kid Eat Dirt

I'm sitting on a slightly damp bench in Lincoln Park watching my fourteen-month-old son actively consume a handful of topsoil. He pauses to chew, looks thoughtfully at a passing golden retriever, and goes back for seconds. A year ago, I'd...

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A cardboard box on a kitchen counter prepared with a warm towel for a rescued backyard bird.

Finding A Baby Pigeon In Your Backyard (And What To Do Next)

"I need you to put the coffee down," my husband Dave said at exactly 7:14 AM on a Tuesday, wearing only one sock and looking like he'd seen an actual ghost in our hydrangeas. He was holding our seven-year-old, Leo,...

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A tiny infant bird sitting in the damp garden grass next to a toddler's shoe

Dear past Tom: So your toddler found a bird in the garden

Dear Tom from last May. You're currently standing on the patio in your dressing gown, holding a lukewarm mug of instant coffee while watching Maya and Lily enthusiastically poke at a pulsating lump of grey fluff on the lawn, so...

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A toddler pointing at a patch of grass in a backyard

The Truth About Baby Bunnies and Toddlers (A Survival Story)

I was knee-deep in packing tape, desperately trying to get three Etsy orders boxed up before the mail carrier arrived, while balancing my sweaty four-month-old on my hip. That's exactly when my oldest, Jackson, came sprinting through the back screen...

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A tired mom packing organic infant clothes and a wooden play gym for a nature trip with her little bush babies.

Raising Little Bush Babies: The Wild Truth About Newborn Care

When I brought my first son home, the hospital sliding doors hadn't even closed behind us before the contradictory advice started rolling in. My own mother leaned over the infant car seat in the parking lot and declared I needed...

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Toddler pointing at a tiny spiderling in a plastic container on a kitchen counter

Spiders, toddlers, and the absolute chaos of eight-legged pets

My brother-in-law told me a spiderling is the perfect first pet because it teaches quiet observation. My son's preschool teacher said bringing an arachnid into a house with a toddler is basically child endangerment. The guy at the local reptile...

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A muddy shoebox holding a nest of wild baby bunnies on a messy kitchen counter

What Do Baby Bunnies Eat? A Texas Mom's Guide To Not Panicking

It was 10:43 on a Tuesday morning, I was knee-deep in packing tape trying to get my Etsy orders out before the mail carrier showed up, and my four-year-old son Tucker walked through the back door holding a dripping, muddy...

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Confused dad sitting on lawn next to an 11-month-old baby, staring into a cardboard box.

What Do Baby Birds Eat? A Dad's Guide to Backyard Rescues

It's 2 PM on a Tuesday, I'm supposed to be pushing code to a staging server, and instead I'm on my knees in the dirt staring at what appears to be a raw chicken tender that has somehow sprouted a...

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