It’s Reader Appreciation Day, an event organized by Robin Reagler of The Other Mother. I thought it would be appropriate, therefore, to have another giveaway, this time of Abigail Garner’s must-read book, Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is. Abigail writes from her own experience of having a gay dad who came out to her when she was five years old, but includes the voices of many others. It was an eye-opening book for me and brought up a number of issues I had never considered, like the fact that children (LGBT or not) of LGBT parents must go through a “coming out” process similar to our own, as they decide how much to share, and with whom, about their families.

More on the giveaway in a moment. First, let me say that I do very much appreciate all of you who stop by Mombian, especially those of you who keep coming back. What started as a hobby while my son was napping has grown, like him, into something more than I could have imagined. I’m pleased to see the number of comments going up, too; I hope this site sparks conversations among us. We all have much to learn from each others’ perspectives and experiences.

The book will go to the first person who leaves a comment with the correct answer to the following question. Please note rules and restrictions below. Read more »

A big welcome to those of you visiting after reading the profile of Mombian in The Advocate! Please have a look around. My goal here is to offer a blend of parenting, politics, and lesbian culture, including:

• New LGBT-inclusive children’s shows and books;
• LGBT visibility in mainstream children’s media;
• Commentary about family creation and family law;
• Interviews with a pioneer in lesbian reproductive services and a researcher studying LGBT families;
• An ongoing Family Voices series (in hiatus through the holidays) of interviews with LGBT families (both parents and adult children);
• News about initiatives and media to create welcoming schools for all families;
• Occasional kids’ activity ideas and craft projects, plus much more to inform and entertain.

I’m glad you’ve stopped by, and hope you’ll return.

I’ve updated the Mombian Shop with more recommendations for LGBT-friendly children’s books, books about LGBT parenting, and some general children’s books and music I like. There are also links to automatically generated lists of baby products, household goods, tools, toys, and more—making it easy to do all your holiday shopping. I do get a fee from each product you buy, but it helps me maintain the site. Thanks for your support!

For those of you observing Thanksgiving this week, here’s wishing you and your families a very happy time. Don’t let the extended family get on your nerves—just show them these cute Orka basters from Target (via Amazon), and tell them you hope using the right color will influence the gender of your next child. See how long you can keep a straight (!) face.

I’m planning to be offline through the weekend, although I can’t promise I won’t put up an item or two if I can keep the pumpkin pie crumbs out of my keyboard. Have a great holiday!

A big congratulations to Joe. My. God., winner of “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2007 Weblog Awards. A thank you, too, to all my co-finalists for a fun and civil competition. Everyone was very thoughtful about linking to the entire list of finalists in the category, not just soliciting votes for themselves. It’s an honor to be in such a group.

A special thanks, though, to all of you who voted for me. Your support means a lot, and inspires me to keep blogging!

There are less than 24 hours left to vote for Mombian (or anyone else) as “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2007 Weblog Awards. Polls will close Thursday November 8, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is 5:00 p.m. (EST) and 2:00 p.m. (PST).

Remember you can vote once every 24 hours during the competition—and can do so right here:

(Give it a moment to load. Click through to the Weblog Award site if it’s really slow. They’re getting lots of traffic today.)

You can visit the other fine finalists (whom I thank for a spirited yet respectful competition) at:

• Average Gay Joe
• The Bilerico Project
• Fetch me my axe
• Gay Patriot
• Joe My God
• Keith Boykin
• Mombian
• Pam’s House Blend
• Republic of T
• Susie Bright’s Journal

Thanks for your support!

A quick reminder that Mombian is a finalist for “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2007 Weblog Awards. Thanks to all of you who have voted already—and a reminder to everyone that you can cast a vote once every 24 hours until polls close November 8. Mombian doesn’t have as much traffic as some of the other worthy blogs on the list, so the only way it’ll make a good showing is if you vote as often as you can. Thanks for your support!

Voting is now open at the 2007 Weblog Awards. I hope you will vote for Mombian as Best LGBT Blog today and every day until polls close November 8. (The multi-day voting is an attempt to reward blogs for reader loyalty.) I also urge you to check out the other worthy LGBT finalists and explore categories you wouldn’t normally read. Who knows what you might discover?

I’m honored to announce that Mombian has just been named a finalist for “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2007 Weblog Awards. The other fine finalists in the category are:

• Average Gay Joe
• The Bilerico Project
• Fetch me my axe
• Gay Patriot
• Joe My God
• Keith Boykin
• Mombian
• Pam’s House Blend
• Republic of T
• Susie Bright’s Journal

There are also terrific blogs to check out in the other categories, and of course, lots of great ones that for whatever reason were not nominees or finalists. I’ll be the first to say that contests like this are always somewhat subjective, and no selection process is perfect.

Voting will begin sometime in the next twelve hours has begun at the Weblog Awards site. I hope you will take a moment to do so. Over the course of the next week, you can vote once per day in each category. This is an attempt by the organizers to reward blogs for reader loyalty as well as sheer numbers—though I still think numbers give an edge to the more high-traffic blogs. Nevertheless, it’s an honor to be in their company. Thanks in advance to all of you who vote for Mombian, especially those who make the effort to do so every day during the voting period.

Winners will be announced at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas on November 8. Whichever blog wins in the LGBT category, the Awards are an opportunity to raise visibility for our community among the voters everywhere who explore our sites as part of the process. As I see it, everyone wins.

I’m proud to announce the launch of a new venture here at Mombian: the “She Got Me Pregnant” video blog. Published in partnership with After Ellen, the vlog will focus on the intersection of lesbian parenting and popular culture, covering children’s media, depictions of parenting in pop culture, and celebrity lesbian moms.

I convinced my partner Helen to join me in this effort (how, I won’t say), so she’ll also be providing her perspective and commentary on matters Mombilicious. In our inaugural effort, we review Dottie’s Magic Pockets, a new TV series for children of LGBT families, wonder where Dottie gets all her free time, and debate the merits of a parallel universe in which only gay people exist. We also compare Melissa Etheridge and Britney Spears as parents, and highlight a song that could be an anthem for LGBT families.

The film editing won’t win any awards at Sundance (as with parenting, we’re learning as we go), but we hope we’ve put together an enjoyable ten minutes for you. You can tune in to a new vlog every Thursday, crossposted here and at the After Ellen blog. Thanks to the fine women over there for giving us this opportunity.

If you came here from After Ellen and are visiting for the first time, welcome! Hope you’ll have a look around.

Online Videos by Veoh.com