Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sunday Surf: All the links I can cram in before we go for a Sunday drive

Welcome to the Sunday Surf! Here are some of the best links I've read this past week.


We're hoping to visit a waterfall today. I don't know which one, as this is Sam's trip to plan, but I'm excited for a little excursion. To that end, here I will quickly assemble some of the many links waiting for me. I think I really need to prepare my Sunday Surf on, say, Friday, because I have the worst time getting motivated on the weekend to do anything. Other than swan about at waterfalls, of course.


  • It's cheating to start off with this, but did you notice we had an awesome July Carnival of Natural Parenting? It was all about food — the choices we make, the choices we wish we made, the choices we're going to make once we have enough money… Read and find yourself in one of those categories, and be inspired to make a few new changes of your own. (I know I am!)
  • "Balancing the Parenting Emotions" from It's All About Balance: Probably the best answer I've read to my question of why we parent, even though it's hard in this culture (with so little support and so many obstacles). But also because I feel like this, we all feel like this, from time to time: "My recent breakdown wasn't because I thought my kids were the problem, but because I was. Or I thought I was, I felt I was, whatever. … See, because parenting isn't just about getting them through the day; it's about trying to give them the tools to go out into the world and being able to cope and overcome all the struggles that come their way. It's about hoping that they learn to love their lives the majority of the time. And I really won't know if I've done right by them until it's too late."
  • "In which these are the instructions for the morning" from Emerging Mummy guest posting at 5 Minutes for Mom: A beautifully written piece celebrating those early-morning minutes between wake and sleep, and how a couples' bed can become a family bed as each day begins. "Cling to the side of the bed while your husband clings to the other side, curving a parenthesis to hold them between you. Navigate the transition from sleepy snuggles to puppy-dog wrestling matches before they all fall out of the bed to start the day again." (Via Emerging Mummy herself, who kindly featured our carnival in her links list, along with some other wonderful articles to explore.)
  • "I'm breastfeeding a toddler (and I don't care if you don't like it)..." from Fairy Tale Forgotten: A lovely encouragement to people who breastfeed (or don't) everywhere, really lovely.
  • "I don’t know" from PhD in Parenting: We have just entered the Why phase. I thought this was a nuanced view of why we sometimes don't have the answers, and why we sometimes choose not to tell them.
  • "Sea Pearls (menstrual sponges): a review" from Raising My Boychick: Another natural menstrual option: sea sponge tampons for those who want an insertable alternative to a menstrual cup. It's a thorough review. I love thorough.
  • If the last article didn't embarrass you, might as well move on to "Let's just call it my 'sonic screwdriver'" from Tales of Kitchen Witch Momma: Ha ha ha ha ha.
  • "Does Breastfeeding Cause Divorce?" from mollybaker at BlogHer: I like the comments to this article much, much better than the article itself.
  • "Forty boys killed in botched circumcisions in South Africa" from the Herald Sun: A reader named Nella sent me this horrifying story of the potential negative effects of traditional circumcision: "Mr Kupelo said practitioners of the rite are often not trained to carry out the procedure and can circumcise up to 50 boys with the same knife without sterilising it in between. 'In some cases boys were not circumcised but mutilated.'"
  • "inter-netz asshattery roundup": I am liking and learning a lot from Kelly Hogaboom. You have to enjoy her comment responses as well.
  • "It’s Only Natural" from MariaMontessori.com: Kelly of KellyNaturally pointed me to this article about how a preschool teacher avoided using a time-out after our son received an unexpected time-out in preschool and was very upset by it. The thing I took away most was how much repetition and thought it required of the teacher to choose the more peaceful method. I think too often parents and teachers will see the peaceful method not work the first one to three times and figure it's never going to and then go back or move on to the harsher methods (which are also ineffective but somehow feel like there's going to be more of a pay-off). I try to remind myself: Persistence! Persistence!


And that's all I (and you, I'm sure) have time for today! Off to the falls!

I think Mikko's going to be very disappointed. I told him we were driving our car to the waterfall, and he said, "Like a boat?" And I said, "Yes! Except it has wheels! And is just a car!" And he said, "Like a Duck Boat? And it swim in the water?" Oh, dear. Our 1997 Ford Escort is not going to live up to these expectations. Let's hope my description of a waterfall as "like a shower, only you just watch it" piques his interest even more. You can find more shared items during the week at my public Google Reader recommendations feed when I remember to update it.


Check out Authentic Parenting, Baby Dust Diaries, Maman A Droit, and Navelgazing for more Sunday Surfing!


Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments. Happy reading!

We are not going to any of the falls pictured.
But I don't have a picture of the mystery falls in advance, see?

9 comments:

Simply Being Mommy said...

I'll have to check these out! Thanks so much for sharing.

Mommy Emily said...

love that you take the time for waterfalls... thank you for these links.

Cassie said...

I think i've been to that waterfalls when I used to live in Seattle. Cool.

Thanks for the links.

Cassie said...

lol, nevermind, I just read the caption. But I have been to waterfalls there.

Dionna @ Code Name: Mama said...

Thank you for pointing me to kelly.hogaboom - lots of awesome there!!

Lindsay said...

I updated mine so it links to you, and of course I would love it if you ever get the urge to link to me!

Have you been to Snoqualmie Falls? We went when I visited my parents in Seattle (my Dad was doing a project for Boeing at the time) and it was gorgeous!

Lauren Wayne said...

I've added a couple more Sunday surfers at the end for everyone to check out: Maman A Droit & Navelgazing. If anyone else does a weekly link-up (whatever you call it), let me know and I can add you as well.

Our trip to the waterfall was awesome! We went to Franklin Falls near North Bend, WA, and it was a great gentle climb for even a three-year-old (albeit a long hike, for us — about 3 hours total), because we were going at a 3-year-old's pace, who wanted to stop at every bridge to see if there was a troll. (There was, in the form of his father. Much hilarity always ensued.)

Pickle: One of the waterfalls pictured is Sol Duc, which is in WA, so you might have been there, or — well, frankly, waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest all look similar. :) The other (bottom picture) is Multnomah Falls in Oregon. I raided my family photo stash for anything recent and waterfall related I could get my grubby mitts on in a hurry. ;)

Dionna: I know, right?

Maman A Droit: We were debating going back to Snoqualmie Falls instead because we enjoyed our first trip there a few years back. It's lovely, and we will get there again soon!

Thanks, everyone!

Forgotten said...

Thank you so much for the link!! You are such a sweetie! I'll definitely have to check out the other links you provided. :)

Thanks again,
Forgotten

Sarah Bessey said...

Fantastic links! (And I don't just say that because I'm featured. But *thank you* for that, too!) I'm a pretty new subscriber and have loved getting to know you and your blog.

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