Bunchland

Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values

Ahh, America. A vast country, full of resources, and complexities. Including material for this blog. Take one of the States’ more prolific homophobic zealots: Dr. Micheal Brown, a man who self-publishes books about the dangers queers bring to his country, has a radio show called “In the line of fire” (enough said), and now has a new video out, which is a comedic warning of the dangers of same sex parents.

Apparently, gay dads burn breakfast and lesbian moms kiss their kids too much before saying goodnight. And oh how the children suffer.

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What we’re reading today:

1. A gay dad talks about adoption and the super-great program at Toronto’s 519 Church Street Community Centre.

2. How do you pass on survival skills to your kid when you’re an indoor-type person? Dad and 3-year-old attempt camping.

3. Should MTV be doing something about the Teen Moms?

4. No surprise here, Pippa is now a trendy name. (And we’re guessing it’s probably not because of author Philippa Gregory) Other top names for this year: Luna, Asher, Hadley, Arlo.

5. And just in case you were concerned, the Old Spice Guy remains the Old Spice Guy and won’t be replaced by Fabio.

Photo by Sweet One via Flickr

Family self portrait

Today’s Postcard from Bunchland comes from eyeliam in Portland

Catherine Romano blogs about crafty projects for kids and parents

A few weeks ago, I created a Make It! post about letter writing for kids.  The post got me thinking about my own letter writing. Email and text messages are efficient and almost effortless, but sitting down to write a special note takes time and focus. So, I came up with something in between traditional letter writing and a quick email – a simple postcard.

Because I like to stay connected with international friends, I thought this would be a great way to share a little about our life in Toronto. However, instead of picking up a postcard of Toronto’s skyline from a Yonge Street souvenir shop, I decided to design my own postcard. It was quite a quick process, and the results were so much more satisfying. Check it out.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. This mom ditched her six-figure income to be a stay-at-home mom. We’re dying to know who her ass of a general manager was.

2. If you feel like you’re having a girl, you’re probably having a girl. If you’re hungry all the time, you might be having a boy.

3. Cellphone will not give your kids cancer. A new study has found no links between the use of cellphone and brain tumors in children.

4. Are the last few weeks of summer the most stressful childcare-wise? Wait. We’re already calling summer almost over at the midway point?? Now we’re stressed.

5. Watch this kid choreograph a dance to Lady Gaga:

Photo by karmalize via Flickr

Dad and his fairy princess

Today’s Postcard from Bunchland comes from josstyk in Pasadena.

What’s the best fest for you?

From St. Louis and Seattle to Ottawa and Australia, festivals are taking over the world this summer. “Osheaga,” “Glastonbury” and “Lollapalooza” might conjure up images of the tipsy and tattooed rocking out all night, but lots of festivals have something – or a lot of things – for families. You might not want to keep the kids dancing ’til dawn, but introducing them to your favourite fests can be an awesome midsummer activity. Some of the bigger festivals have kid-centric sites with activities and performances for the under-12 set, while at the quieter ones, older kids would have no problem jamming with the adults.  Read more...