Happy Father's Day

The role fathers play seems to have changed so much over the past several years, or maybe it just seems that way since I have become a parent. When I was a child, I never knew a father that stayed at home while his partner worked, now I know several. Not that staying at home is the only way that the father role has shifted, but it is illustrative of the changes that I have noticed. I hesitate to say that fathers are more involved these days because I do not think that would be accurate; it is more about how fathers are involved rather than how much.

Whatever your role, fathers, Happy Father's Day!

Here are a few Father's Day goodies:
DIYfather is a blog by fathers for fathers with clips from the Evolution of Dad film maker's documentary for Father's Day of interviews of people in NY talking about their dads.

Doodaddy is a blog by a stay at home dad with a young daughter and one on the way.

For all of you radical dads, Rad Dad is a blog that provides information about Rad Dad the "zine about fathering in dangerous times".

I Hate Snaps is a daddyblogger who writes about being a dad, his continuing quest for green parenting, and more.

Happy Mother's Day

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

To all of you who are walking around with your hearts on the outside, Happy Mother's Day!

What does Mother's Day mean to you? Christy over at LilyToad wrote in her recent newsletter, "For those of you who think Mother's Day is a hallmark holiday, I would like to share some information that turned me around on the subject. Turns out, Mother's Day was introduced in the United States as a call to unite for peace and disarmament. You can read more about the history..."

If you are looking for something different to do for Mother's Day, Hip Mama, the parenting zine, is hosting a Mother's Day Party and Variety Show. It is a fundraiser, relaunch, and welcome to the new editor, Kerlin Richter. Urban Mamas also has a list of a whole weekend worth of family-friendly activities in their weekly Weekend Warriors post. There are a bunch of Mother's Day brunches happening around town, Fran Zimmerman describes several of them at Associated Content. For single moms, About.com has some ideas of ways to celebrate your labor of love. And at PSU, the Women's Resource Center and Student Parents has some treats planned for you.

If you are looking for alternative ways to honor the mother in your life, Activistas connected to Urban Mamas has a few suggestions.

Whatever your plans, we hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. Celebrate Mother Earth. It is a great day to take some time to educate yourself and/or teach your children about the earth and how to preserve her beauty. The Arbor Lodge New Seasons has several Earth Day special treats today including free re-usable bags, tree root seedlings from Friends of Trees, and more...