Category Archives: Sunday Surf

Happy Sunday!  Let me say that I am very glad that November is over.  I am so ready to welcome December, even though we’re not exactly having typical Wisconsin December weather right now – we had a thunderstorm tonight.  The snow will be here soon enough, I’m sure.

On to the Sunday Surf.  Lots of great reads this week – some news, some blogs, some just plain fun.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve only heard of “The Farm” in Tennessee in the context of Ina May Gaskin’s renowned midwifery center.  I didn’t realize it was a full blown commune with third-generation residents living and thriving there.   The Daily Mail had a great piece on The Farm on Friday.

Speaking of midwives, of local interest is the Well-Rounded Maternity Center‘s big news:  it opened its new Babies and Bellies Boutique in Bay View (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) this weekend.  I wrote a review of their original location a few years ago and couldn’t say enough positive things about it.  I wish them well in this new venture.

File this under “the crazy stuff you find on Pinterest.”  Apparently someone did some creative sheet-folding at their hotel.  If I had been the maid, I’d have died on the spot, no doubt.

Photo Credit: Kalyn's Kitchen

Mother Earth News reposted a lovely old article on sourdough bread recipes this week.  Coincidentally, I’m babying a sourdough starter from Cultures for Health this week.  I have high hopes but not a lot of skill when it comes to breadmaking, so we’ll see how it goes.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds‘ 2013 seed catalog arrived in the mail this weekend, so I’ve been busy making my list and planning my garden for next year.  Their catalog is full color, very informative, and even includes some recipes.  Of last year’s seeds, I think the Amish Deer Tongue (a very tender variety of lettuce) was my favorite purchase from Baker’s.  They surely made the cut for this year’s list.  I’m going to need a bigger garden.

I am loving this list of 90 No-Heat Lunches for Taking to Work from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Look at the photo to the right, and then imagine 89 more lunch ideas that are equally awesome.

I enjoyed Buzzfeed’s roundup of 8 Banned Toys of Yesteryear.  Of course Jarts are on the list, but the real winner is the ATOMIC ENERGY LAB.   Incredible.

World AIDS Awareness Day was Saturday, December 1.  Buzzfeed (again, sorry!  They’re on a roll this week) had two great posts – 14 Intimate Portraits of People Living with HIV and AIDS and 31 Years of AIDS and HIV Awareness Posters.

Finally, citrus spiced mulled wine.  Clearly, I can’t top that, so I’m going to conclude the post right here.

Have a wonderful week!

I’m joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

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This guide to avoiding crappy children’s books is both hilarious and absolutely spot-on.  I wish I could have read it before I picked up this really gross book about cows.

Despite this week’s snowstorm it really is starting to look like spring around here.  I’m using Sprout Robot to organize my seed starting and planting.  You input your ZIP code to Sprout Robot along with what you plan on planting and it will tell you when to start your seeds, how to start them, and when to plant/transplant them.  I’ve never used it before but I do have high hopes.

I love poetry.  LOVE.  Yet somehow, I only just now heard “Shake the Dust.”  I fell in love with the line: “For the two year old, who speaks half  English and half God.”  It will take three minutes to listen to the recitation – do something nice for yourself for three minutes, right now.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.

I have enjoyed these two posts on Elephant Journal about education:  When School Goes Against Your Very Nature and Schools Kill Creativity?  I can’t believe it has taken me so long to realize – and I mean generally, not just in the context of education – that just because something has been done a certain way for a long time doesn’t mean it is the right way or the only way to do them.

Finally, a little love for the boys.  All For the Boys is a blog featuring crafts and activities aimed towards boys, including a really cute feature called Fort Fridays.  There’s some serious creativity going on at that blog, and I daresay that girls will enjoy it too (I know I would have…er…will).

Happy Sunday!  Let’s make this a beautiful week full of amazing things!

I’m joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

I always love Hobo Mama.  She’s one of my natural parenting inspirations, and I often find myself nodding in agreement as I read her blog posts.  Her recent post this week for the Family Size Blog Carnival really spoke to me.  The photos are beautiful (and the captions are hilarious!) and her points are well-made.

Surely you’ve seen lots of the “Hey, Girl” meme by now, right?

I loved that one.

Even though I just finished my first half marathon two weeks ago, I’m already looking ahead to my next which is in less than two months.  Since I’ve been so sick I haven’t done a bit of running in nearly a week, and the running that I have done has been junk.  I know I have plenty of time to train, but that hasn’t stopped me from being agitated over it.  I needed this reminder from Running A Life that sometimes, it sucks.  While the post is specifically about training, it isn’t hard to see that the sentiment applies to everything.

I’m really looking forward to this upcoming blog carnival, I’m a Natural Parent, But….  It is going to feel a lot like confession in that blog carnival as we talk about the things we do that are not in line with natural parenting principles.  I already have my post written – it was actually sort of cathartic.

Back Porch Threadz

I am presently in love with every item in this Etsy Store: Back Porch Threadz.  I bought a pair of gauchos from her and now I want to own everything she makes – the dresses, the messenger bags, the skirts.  Her children’s clothes are adorable too.  She has a website with a beautiful gallery of her work, too.  I rarely do more than window shop on Etsy, but when I see something really special I make an exception, and I’m really glad I did here.

As of this weekend, I am a committed neti-pot fanatic.  After this week of being sick I would have tried anything up to and perhaps even including small animal sacrifice to feel better (kidding, kidding!) and the whole nasal irrigation thing actually did the trick.  Who knew?

Finally, as of today I have 79 days left in my campaign to raise $1,200.00 for the Little Free Libraries in Waukesha.  We’re up to $160 which means we have a long, long way to go.  Every single dollar helps – please do check out the site and see what it’s all about.

I’m writing this in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  I wasn’t planning on doing a Sunday Surf post this week, but my son isn’t feeling well and somehow his illness has given him the magical ability to stay WIDE AWAKE.  So here I am, posting.

Of course, I need to lead off Sunday Surf with a plug for a project I’m working on:  The Little Free Libraries in Waukesha County.  The Little Free Libraries are small “take a book, leave a book” structures.  I have one in front of my home, and it is a wonderful way to meet neighbors, exchange books, and generally get excited about reading.   While these structures are really fun to have in front of residences, they are really useful in locations for the public good like food pantries, shelters, and community rooms.  This week we obtained a Little Free Library for the local food pantry, and they are using it to promote the exchange of books at the pantry as well as to promote the various literacy and tutoring programs available in the county.  The structures themselves cost money, though, and that’s where I have asked my readers to step up and contribute.  Every dollar helps, and each donation qualifies for a fun perk – check out the funding site for some details, and if you decide to donate, thank you so much.

If you can’t donate, please consider sharing the above link on your Facebook page, tweeting it, or telling a friend.  Also, I have just created a Facebook page for the Little Free Libraries in Waukesha County – if you’d “like” the fan page, I’d so appreciate it.

And on to some other posts this week that tickled my fancy…

Momma Jorje wrote my favorite post this week – in I did not Birth a Syndrome she discusses her own emotions regarding the birth of her son Spencer, who has down syndrome, and the very different reactions of her family.  It is a really moving piece.

Hmm, did I mention here that I ran a half-marathon a week ago today?  I ran 13.1 miles at the Disneyland Tinkerbell Half Marathon on January 29, and it was fabulous.  And because I love you guys, I’ll share with you my Shrek-tastic photos from the race.  (Race photos are generally awful – when you are running, you aren’t exactly concentrating on being camera-ready.  You may feel powerful and strong and awesome when you run, but for the most part, everyone looks a lot like Shrek).  Laughing is allowed.  Some of them are really awful.

Here’s an interesting look at how the human psyche works:  by adding pictures of veggies to school lunch trays, more kids chose and ate veggies.  Awesome.

The Star Tribune was on a role this week, with these 8 Things to Know about the Komen Funding Uproar.  Pay close attention to the statistics about the services that Planned Parenthood provides:

Komen paid for just 170,000 of the more than 4 million clinical breast exams Planned Parenthood performed nationwide over the past five years, and just 6,400 of Planned Parenthood’s 70,000 mammography referrals in that time. Planned Parenthood doesn’t follow the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, which do not endorse clinical breast exams and recommend mammograms only every other year starting at age 50. Instead, Planned Parenthood does a physical breast exam on any woman of any age as part of a regular physical, and refers for mammograms any women 40 and older. Yet for some, this simple exam has helped spot breast cancer. And because many of the clients are poor, young women — about 80 percent of its clients are younger than 35 — who may not see other doctors, “we are encouraging breast self-awareness” so that if a lump is found, they’ll seek help, said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, a vice president with Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

And if you aren’t following me on Pinterst, you should be.  My Pinterest boards are pretty epic, if I do say so myself.  I now have boards for Chicken Coops, Green Living, Food, DIY, Activism and more.

I’m joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

Happy Sunday!  Here is a roundup of some links that I have loved this week.

But first, will someone please take this granola away from me?  I made a batch yesterday and it is soooo good.   I am never going to be able to eat granola from the store anymore – this is so much better than any I have ever had before.

Oh, how I love this post!  My son is only two but I sometimes feel like the heyday of attachment parenting in our relationship has passed because he is quickly becoming such a big boy.  Not so!  Momioso assures us that it isn’t too late to start (or continue) an attachment parenting relationship with an older child.  Music to my earss.

Modern Alternative Mama has written a piece on using essential oils.  I have a ton of essential oils and have only recently started to explore their uses.

Just because I am obsessing on chicken coops lately, look at these gorgeous chicken coops.  Doesn’t this make you want to raise chickens?

I promise I am absolutely not being compensated in any way for this plug, but thanks to a reader’s comment this week I was turned on to Northern Essence for natural beauty, cleaning and baby products.  Wow!  I ordered some lip butter (Cucumber Melon and Banana Pudding)- it was inexpensive, arrived in two days, and is far better than any storebought lip balm I have ever used.  I can’t overstate how impressed I am.

Finally, I just got Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal as a gift, and I cannot put it down.  The book is written by a farmer who makes a wonderful argument against all of the government intrusion into our food production.  I was outraged by the end of the first chapter.  So far, I absolutely love it.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Have

Happy Sunday!

If you are a parent, you’ve probably found the joy of reading a book to your child sixty-bajillion times.  For some reason, The Going to Bed Book just doesn’t get old.  If you’ve found yourself pondering some of the pressing questions unanswered in some good children’s classics, look no further than the New York Times for some scientific answers.

Mothering featured this wonderful tongue-in-cheek piece on public breastfeeding guidelines.  So very well said.

This is what happens when you give thousands of stickers to thousands of kids.  I like it.  The transitional photos are wonderful.

Team Studer posted a very poignant piece on 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons.  Points beautifully made.

Conscience Parenting tells us where  cosleepers “do it.”  Complete with an illustration.

And finally, the greatest Amazon.com product review ever.  Be warned, it is for a Diva Cup menstrual cup – if those very words made you cringe, you may want to skip this link.

Finally, observant blog readers will notice a new sidebar on the right side of the blog:  my recent Pinterest pins.  If you haven’t discovered Pinterest yet, do it.  If you already have, I have a few boards that will be of interest to my blog readers:  Be Green, For my Little Boy and Giggles.

Happy Sunday!

So many great links this week!  It was hard to narrow them down for Sunday Surf.

Not technically new, but Hybrid Rasta Mama’s Best of 2011 post gave me a lot of great reading material this week (and it reminded me that I need to read her blog regularly so I don’t miss posts like these).

Also on the “Best of” front, Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama each posted a roundup of their favorite posts from the Carnival of Natural Parenting in 2011.  So many great reads in both links.

If you are reading this blog, you probably know about Fine and Fair‘s virtual fundraiser to help Momma Jorje offset the costs of caring for her newborn son who remains in the hospital.  Joella updated the fundraiser information – the money raised has surpassed what everyone imagined. Spencer remains in the hospital though and the costs of keeping Jorje close to him so they can continue breastfeeding are ongoing.

I love this not-so-Wordless Wednesday about Bringing Breastfeeding Back to the Street.  There used to be so many great examples of breastfeeding on Sesame Street – where did they all go?

And finally, two links that aren’t really natural parenting or even parenting related, but both were too good to leave out.

I loved this video:  “Sh*t yogis say.”  You don’t have to practice yoga to appreciate a lot of these.

And if you are an avid Kindle user, you probably already know about this link, but if you just got your Kindle for the holidays, you need to know that Amazon has a Deal of the Day on Kindle.  I have gotten a bunch of great books this way for just 99 cents, but my problem was that I don’t always remember to check for the new deal each day.  Now Amazon gives you the ability to subscribe to the Kindle Deal of the Day, so you’ll get the information right in your inbox.  Love it.  (Look for the “Subscribe” icon in the right-hand column of the link above).

Have an amazing 2012!

I love that the word "messy" appeared in here.

Before we surf, I wanted to announce a new feature on the blog:  Fit Friday.  If you’ve been reading the blog for any time now, you’ve probably noticed my growing obsession with fitness and running. I generated a “word cloud” for the blog, and while natural parenting is still obviously the focus, lots of running words are creeping in.

I do want to keep the blog focused on natural parenting and my son’s toddler antics, but I’d also like to have an outlet to talk about running and racing without making my regular blog readers groan about me jabbering on about Garmins and 5Ks and fueling.  While I toyed with the idea of setting up a second blog, I decided instead to add a Fit Friday feature to the blog which means that on Fridays my posts will be focused on running and fitness.  You’ve been warned.  I even have a graphic for it:

You know I'm serious about something when it gets its own graphic.

Without further hesitation, onto the Sunday Surf.

I have found so many wonderful craft ideas on Pinterest this week.  My favorite so far is this how-to on tinting Mason jars.  And because spring is around the corner (what?  I can be in complete denial about the impending winter), here is an easy way to beautify a fence using marbles.  I loved this great list of toddler activities too – finally, something to do with the old baby wipes box.  Of course, no Pinterest summary can be complete without some decadent food ideas, so here are some wonderful fall treats:  caramel filled apples, homemade canned apple pie filling, apple cider caramels and the perfect way to roast pumpkin seeds. and pumpkin bars.

And in non-Pinterest related links…

What a cool blog – reviews of children’s books.  God knows I’ve bought some real letdowns, so it is nice to know where to go for good review.

I stumbled across this photographer’s Facebook photo collection called “The Extra Chromosome Club.”  What gorgeous kids, and what great photos.

A visual, visceral criticism of routine circumcision.  I have a hard time with this topic.  This post left me shaken.

On a happier note, I love this list of twelve exercises for more mindful parenting.

If you have some time to spare some positive thoughts, this blogger – an avid runner and inspiring triathlete – had a terrible accident on her bicycle.   Her recovery is going to be long and difficult but her spirit is amazing.

Have a wonderful week, everyone.

What a day!  As I type this, it is Saturday night, and we are home after a full day at the State Fair.  We had all kinds of unhealthy, fun fair food, we got rained on, we walked miles and miles, and we had a fantastic time.  It was all a little too much for the toddler.

He never sleeps in his stroller anymore, but today was pretty epic, so he made an exception.

It has been awhile since we’ve Sunday Surfed around these parts, and this week has been full of good reading.

MaMammalia has these handy “refrigerator lists” of gentle parenting tips for addressing the challenges of toddlerhood in a mindful manner.

Are you thinking about fall yet?  Hard to do when the thermometer still says 80, but you know those changing leaves are right around the corner.  (Unless you are in California.  Go enjoy your beautiful mountains, picturesque beaches and perfect weather.  Fall colors are really a small consolation for the rest of the weather here).  How about this for a gorgeous fall craft:

Modge Podge + Autumn Leaves + Tea Light = Lantern

I found that on Pinterest.  Is there still anyone out there without a Pinterest account?  I have invites – leave me your email address and I will send you one.  Fall cooking/decorating/party planning is right around the corner, and Pinterest is going to be such an inspiration.

Are you familiar with Richard Scarry’s “The Best Word Book Ever?”  It is a great children’s illustrated vocabulary book which has been around forever.  This link has a very interesting side-by-side comparison of the 1963 version versus the 1991 version.  Lots of changes for politically correct reasons, along with some interesting updates.  The changing role of women is the most notable, although there are many other changes too.  I’m a little sad that they don’t show “cowboy” in the “when you grow up” section anymore.

Code Name: Mama has some wonderful advice (when doesn’t she?) about preschoolers and balancing potential frustrations with successes.  She always has great insight.

Making felt food seems to be a favorite passtime of about 2/3 of my Facebook feed, as I keep seeing lots of cute creations.  What’s felt food about?  Check out Child of the Nature Isle and her sweet felt sandwich, One Inch World and these gorgeous little felt tomato slices, and then there are graham crackers, pie, pizza (try not to die at the cuteness there- wow!), and so much more.  If only I had an ounce of sewing talent, I’d give some of these a try.  And if you find yourself asking “why would anyone want to make felt food?” do check out this list of ten great reasons, by Mama’s Felt Cafe.

Have a safe and wonderful week, and enjoy this parting thought:

Happy Sunday!  This is the first weekend that we’ve had actual summertime weather here in Southeastern Wisconsin.  We have been enjoying our weekend to the fullest, and today is no exception:  it will be my first horseback lesson.  Yes, I am living the dreams of my twelve-year-old self.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

Despite this weird too-rainy, too-cold, very humid and occasionally tropical weather, our garden has been pretty amazing.  Every day things are looking bigger and better.

And now on to Sunday’s Surf:

This list of the top 100 children’s books inspired me to open up Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are for the first time since my childhood.  It is a good list, although I saw surprised to see that Dr. Seuss’ And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street did not make the list.  I have always thought that was Dr. Seuss’ greatest contribution, far better than his more popular Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Hybrid Rasta Mama has been all about coconut oil this week.  First she posted 80 Ways to use Coconut Oil, and followed up with a post answering readers’ questions about coconut oil.  In between reading these two posts I happened across an item on Pinterst on making coconut milk, and then a recipe for using coconut milk plus castille soap as a shampoo.  I’m taking all of this as a sign that I need more coconuts in my life.  I should probably start with a Bahama Mama.

Just West of Crunchy has been very busy examining what she calls the Ugly Side of Milk Donation.  She discusses the fact that Prolacta is profiting from turning donated mother’s milk into a profitable product sold to hospitals.  She directs a lot of her outrage at Prolacta, but I wonder whether the real culprit is the milk banks that don’t fully disclose their relationships with Prolacta and don’t make it fully clear that donated milk isn’t going directly to a  baby in need, as the donor mother might imagine.

I’m probably late to the game on this one, but I’ve never heard of a chicken pox party.  It makes sense, I guess.  I don’t know how to feel about it but I feel compelled to think on it.  Do any readers have strong opinions one way or another?

I finally purchased a Road ID.  I highly recommend one for anyone who does any solitary physical activities away from home.  I run alone and I do a lot of biking with Jack, and I rarely carry identification on me when I do either.  Should something happen to me, I want to have some way for a first responder to identify me and contact my husband, and a Road ID sounded like a good investment.  My Road ID has both my information and Jack’s data.  Road ID gave me a limited-use coupon to share for $1 off the regular price of $19.95.  Enter the code  “ThanksJennifer7321369″ (without the quotation marks) at checkout.

The July Carnival of Natural Parenting is around the corner.  This month’s theme is “parenting philosophies.”  The #CarNatPar was my first and is my favorite blog carnival so I always look forward to writing for it.