Let Them Eat Dirt
“Ninety percent of the genetic material in your body is not yours.” Wait, what? Well whose is it, then? According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, who runs the world’s most-visited alternative-medicine […]
The Boy in The Bottle? A Dreamscape of Nighttime Terror
I hear moaning and mumbled words of protest from the boys’ room, but I don’t go in until the moaning turns to wailing. “No, nooo, I don’t want, I don’t…” […]
Excuse Me, Waiter? I’ve Been Waiting for My Tapas for 5 Months Now
We said goodbye too soon. When my wife was offered a job in Spain back in January, it was all I could do to wait until her colleagues had been […]
Someone Around Here’s a Guerrilla
A little while back I posted an article about guerilla gardening. Well this weekend we were out and about in the city, and I noticed that somebody had been doing […]
Do You Believe in Magic?
“Daddy, is magic real?” Oh man, how do you field this one? How do you maintain the delicate balance between preserving childish innocence and imagination and providing a realistic view […]
Before Having Kids, I Never Thought I’d…
Before you have kids it’s easy to pass judgement on the parenting of those who do. Although I did learn a few things about what I did and didn’t want […]
A Morning in the Garden
Yesterday was a bit showery (we had outrageous thunderstorms in the evening), so G and I mostly just played it cool at home. During a break in the rain we […]
Life Lessons from Walt Whitman
When Walt Whitman first sounded his “barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world,” it was 1855 and much of the Old World did indeed consider the citizens of the […]
Word a Week Photo Challenge: Mountain
I haven’t participated in A Word in Your Ear’s photo challenge in a while, but when Sue’s dictionary dealt up ‘mountain’ this week, I got very excited indeed. What is […]
It You Love Them, Let Them Fail
Never, it would seem, have we been more anxious about making our kids happy, and never have we been doing such a botched job of it. We pamper them, overprotect […]
Pacifism 101
There is a citadel atop Gellert Hill in Budapest called aptly – if unimaginatively – enough, The Citadel. It’s a squat, unlovely building, hunkered upon the highest point along the […]
Planting for Pollinators
Reblogged from Little Home in the Big City: Did you know that honeybees are endangered. Well, they are. This is a pretty scary thing – pollinators play such a huge, […]
Nature: It Might Just Save Your Life
Normally I don’t publish material from other sources, but when this Facebook friend’s post popped up confirming many of the things that I’ve felt intuitively (but, sadly, without solid science […]
A Dozen Reasons to Take Your Kids Fishing
I stood on the mossy bank of a northern New England stream tinged green-tea and gold with fallen leaves and filtered light, a long, deep pool stretching out above me, […]
Memoirs of a Fisherboy
I was eight years old, and too small and weak. Two of my brothers worked on a deep sea fishing boat. The older, Tim, was a mate, helping gaff monstrous […]
Turn Your Kids into Guerillas
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the last person who would advocate teaching our kids to engage in illegal activity. More or less. But I was raised by parents who […]
A Farm-to-Table Food Frolic at Underwood Family Farms
We’re pleased, nay, proud, to have Jennifer Fontaine with us today as a guest blogger. Jennifer writes the amazing Mommy Hiker blog, with travel tips, recipes, environmental stewardship, and much, […]
Diggin’ The Dirt with Your Kids: A Child’s Garden
So our last post helped nudge you in the direction of doing a bit of gardening with the kids. Great! But a lot of folks may be new to this, […]
9 Reasons Why You Should Garden with Your Kids
It was called The Cultivator, and it was an instrument of torture. A creaky, curmudgeonly metal wheel in front of four plow blades that we would muscle through reluctant spring […]
Super-Groovy Easter Eggs 2013
We colored our Easter eggs today, using home made dyes and leaves and blossoms gathered from the garden. (You can find the full instructions in this previous post.) Unfortunately, this […]
Up on the Farm: Agritourism with Kids
Petting furry farm creatures, collecting your own eggs, having a go at milking a cow, getting to ride on a pony or a tractor, picking tomatoes from the vine and […]
Easy Science Experiments for Kids: Air
Stuck in the house today due to a combination of unseasonably frigid temperatures, gray skies, an ear infection, and general inertia. Determined not to have the day be a complete […]
Guest Post: On The Border Line – Strung Out in Singapore
We’re very pleased to have Sarah at Going Walkabout contributing to FNFF today! Check out her blog for the latest on her family’s peripatetic adventures (and misadventures) around the world. […]
The Haftapee – A Children’s Story
I’ve written a kids’ story. Well, I’ve written a few, actually. I’d like to get them published, but haven’t had any luck thus far. Anyway, I thought I might share […]
Earth Hour 2013: Turn Out the Lights and Enlighten Your Kids
A symbolic gesture, to be sure, one not likely to immediately stop Superstorms or save the polar bear or stem the rising tides threatening to swamp our coastlines, but it’s […]
Guest Post: Pelion, Greece – Sun, Sea, Sand and Snow at this Year-Round Destination
We’re honored to have Tatiana, from Wonderland By Tatu with us today as a guest writer. Check out her blog for funny and informative posts about the “everyday bits and […]
The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth
My oldest son squirms and mopes in his economy class seat, flouncing like a 1920′s film starlet and sighing deeply enough to drive a small wind turbine. He’s bored. He’s […]
How to Make Super-Groovy, All-Natural Easter Eggs
Last year I was searching for something different than the tired old Easter egg packets with the tablets, something that would get the kids more engaged and that would use […]
Off the Tourist Track on Corfu’s North-East Coast
A weak late-winter sun is shining outside, but the cold weather still clings here in Hungary. This is a time of waiting, when the bare brown landscape has yet to […]
Rough Housing and Boys – Is it a Good Thing?
I’m thrilled to be Guest Blogging here on Field Notes from Fatherhood. I’ve been a follower of Matt’s since the first time he got Freshly Pressed, and eagerly anticipate seeing […]
Wanna Write for FNFF?
We recently announced that we’d be packing it up here in Budapest and moving, and posted a few teaser photos of our new home for folks to guess. Well, Wonderland […]
Word a Week Photo Challenge: Zoom
Sue over at A Word in Your Ear has selected “zoom” as this week’s photo challenge, so I’ve skimmed though our archives and picked a few of my favorite zoomy […]
FNFF Is Taking to the Road, And We’d Love it if You’d Come Along
Those of you who regularly follow the blog may have noticed that we’ve not been posting as regularly of late. There is a reason for this. After ten years of […]
Snowflake Wishes and Ladybug Dreams: Taking Back Childish Eyes
Two women weave unsteadily down the middle of the street. A week or so ago, our six year-old was browsing one of our bookshelves, and came across a battered leather-bound […]
Word a Week Challenge: ‘Garden’ – The Need for Green
I pined, I yearned, I whined. A small garden plot, that’s all I wanted. Not much to ask, just a sunny spot, maybe 3×5 meters. I ached, chafed, coveted, craved. […]
So What is Sex Like After the Baby is Born?
I wouldn’t know. I’ll say this, it’s different. And by different I mean it ceases abruptly and absolutely for an indeterminate period of time. It’s understandable, certainly, since your wife, […]
The Family Travel Photo Contest is Now Over, and the Winner Is….
With 1,164 votes cast, we can now announce a Grand Prize Winner in the Family Travel Photo Contest! And the winner is… Lynn at the Wanderlynn blog! Her “Boy Hugging […]
Amazing Anise Ribs Recipe
I don’t share many recipes here, but this one is simply too incredible not to spread. These ribs can be prepared ahead of time and reheated – in fact they’re […]
A Colorful Food Chart to Get Your Kids to Eat a Balanced Diet
Recently a fellow blogger reposted one of our articles, and commented that she’d chuckled when she’d read in the ‘about us’ section: “Yes, it’s wonderful to know 16 Ways to […]
Final Five in the Family Travel Photo Contest! Vote For the Grand Prize Winner!
With 278 total votes cast for the 12 Finalists, that round’s voting is now closed. Here are the FINAL FIVE! Now’s the time to choose the Grand Prize Winner, who […]
Word a Week Photo Challenge: Weather
This week Sue’s dictionary dished up ‘weather,’ and since I’m something of a freaky weather geek I couldn’t resist. Check out A Word in Your Ear for details on the […]
The Family Travel Photo Finalists Are Here! Vote for Your Favorite Shots!
We’ve had a lot of really excellent entries in the Family Travel Photo Competition, and it hasn’t been easy whittling it down to this final batch of photos. Check out […]
Meet the Kwakkers: The Unexpected Twists of Mixed-Race Marriage
Shabby. Shabby was my treatment at the hands of my future in-laws. I’m not complaining, they had every reason to be wary. They didn’t know me. I had suddenly swooped […]
My Kids Are Germishenglorean (But They’re Okay Anyway)
I’m a white dude. Well, more pinkish if we’re talking skin tone but you get the idea. German is the swarthiest blood in my veins, commingling with Irish and English […]
Be Nice, You Rancid Little Punk!
“JUST RELAX!” I snarl at my son. Now, the perceptive reader has no doubt already noticed a smidgen of irony in this, just a soupçon of hypocrisy. I am admonishing […]
Tips For Taking Kids Skiing
The skiing experience involves much more than simply carving turns on steep grades. A ski holiday means snowy peaks and spirit-expanding vistas, lunching on rib-sticking fare in panoramic mountain huts, […]
Word a Week Photo Challenge: Clouds
Well, I was going to take a break from this week’s photo challenge from A Word in Your Ear, but the theme proved simply too alluring, and I’ve seen some […]
On the Kindness of Strangers
A couple of months back I suffered through what I have lamentably come to think of as a ‘typical’ Hungarian day. In short, I had encountered surly service personnel, walls […]
One Week Left for Photo Competition!
Now that the hubbub of the holidays is over, it’s time to go through your photos and pick your finest to enter in the Family Travel Photo Competition. There’s only […]
Word a Week Photo Challenge: Glitter
Skinnywench at A Word in Your Ear has dipped into her dictionary and drawn out this week’s word: Glitter. Obviously when looking through our photos, we came across quite a […]
