"This means, when I’m reading The Lorax to the kids for the eleventy-fifth time this week—overdue and accruing library fines like dust on our ceiling fans—that I won’t be plotting e-mails or dinner plans. I will be attentive enough to notice how Rose’s eyebrows rise into crescent moons when the Lorax first appears. I will breathe in Col’s childlike awe, his marveling at the pure wizardry of reading."

• Crafting my Life, a new 12-week online course about living with intention from the delightful and insightful Amber. You can enter to win a free course.

• "Of Parents and Poop": Ha ha ha ha ha…so true! I used to swear I'd never be one of those parents who talked about their kids' poop — yeah, that lasted approximately zero days. And I wonder when the next time will be that I consistently get to go to the bathroom by myself.

• "Attachment Parenting with Older Children": For those whose "babies" have moved past the clearcut phase of attachment parenting — simple and meaningful ways to continue the connections when you're beyond the Baby Bs. (Written by Shae from Yay for Home!)

• "Weaning and the Changing Role of Mothering": A timely message for me as Mikko and I navigate this no man's land of disappearing milk supply and growing preschooler — I know we're heading toward weaning, whether it happens sooner (i.e., before the new baby's birth) or later (at whatever point afterward), and it's good to hear where mothering can go from there. (Written by Kelly from KellyNaturally.com.)

"But by doing it -- by getting on here and laying it out -- I can process it. I can understand why I was so frayed, what it was I could do differently. And also, I can admit it: I am a human. I am not perfect, and I make mistakes. I also love my child, and recognize my limits."

• Modest Middles nursing tank top $30 {1.14; US}: If what you hate most about nursing in public is the squeamish thought that someone might see your tummy and stretch marks (raises hand), this cami is for you! What I love about it especially is you can wear any nursing bra with it, so it's perfect for large-busted ladies in particular who won't do as well in a typical nursing tank top (raises hand again).

• Playful Parenting (Paperback or CD) $19 {1.29; US/Can}: Win the paperback or CD of Dr. Larry Cohen's #1 parenting book. This is a phenomenal book to get you down on the floor, communicating with your children in their most natural way — play! Playfully parenting can help ease discipline issues, smooth sibling rivalry, and foster trusting connections between parents and children. The book gives you specific ideas to put play to work for you and your kids.
            For a thematically related post, go to The Mahogany Way to read "The Importance of Play" (picture from Darcel's post below). I'm not great at play. I've said it before and I'll say it again — I get bored playing. But I can see, especially as Mikko gets older and can verbalize this to me, how very, very important it is that he play — and that the people he loves participate in that play, on his terms. Today, for instance, we did multiple rounds of "presents." He would hide trucks, trains, and a stuffed octopus in an empty cracker box, and I would exclaim and pull them out, naming each one. Then he would promise me that he could "share" them. Well, of course, kid. He also delighted in giving me the box empty and cracking up over my feigned dismay when I opened my "surprise." What does he need from this play? Who cares. It was his choice, so we played it. Over and over. And over.