Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the best blogposts I've read throughout the week.

Celebrating with a free sundae for my FIVE-year-old!

Well. It's been an eventful past couple weeks. I missed last Sunday Surf because my computer died. As it turned out, it was an $18 fix, but several days in the making.

Alrik and I had taken the bus to Portland to visit Ms. Amy Anktangle (yes, that's her real name),¹ so when my computer went kablooey, I just had to chill out, disconnect from blogginess, and help her with her garden and enjoy her lovely family. (Can you tell I wasn't too sad?)

In the meantime, two more occasions joined Alrik's first birthday: Mikko's fifth birthday, and Sam's and my fourteenth anniversary. So yesterday we had a beach party to celebrate it all!

Despite the sunburns for the pale folk among us, and sand in strange places, it was a supremely lovely time. I just can't believe I have a five- and a one-year-old!

The links! Lots and lots of goodness saved up for you all:

1 day ago

#attachment parenting
#poems
#poetry
#babywearing
#breastfeeding
#gentle discipline
#cosleeping
Anktangle: Mom, I Am Remix: Seuss Style →
You will LOVE this Dr. Seussian poem by Anktangle outlining all 8 principles of Attachment Parenting! Funny and touching.
For instance, this is Feed With Love and Respect:
When you feed me, Mama, dear:
How? And where? Do let me hear!

I’ll feed you—nurse you—anywhere!
with a bottle
at my breast
at our table.
You know the rest!
I’ll feed you full and feed you strong
You’ll feed yourself soon, not too long.

I nourish, fill you.
Mom, I am.
1 day ago

#breastfeeding
#extended breastfeeding
#long-term breastfeeding
#weaning
#videos
“Many women have shared with me that they did not feel like they could talk to anyone about their emotions and anxiety due to the weaning process. In other words, they wish they’d had more support. In this video, several of my breastfeeding friends talk about support they had (or wish they had) while weaning. One of the most important things I have taken from this Carnival and this video series is that we are not alone – every breastfeeding mother experiences a loss and accompanying emotions after their nursling has weaned (and/or anxiety before and during the weaning process). Reach out to someone to talk about weaning. Working through your emotions can do so much to make you feel at peace with the end of your breastfeeding journey.” (via Weaning Video Series #2: Support During the Weaning Process | Code Name: Mama)
1 week ago

#breastfeeding
#babywearing
#nursing in public
breastfeeding in a carrier: amazingly auspicious advice | Organic Baby Atlanta →
If you’ve never tried nursing upright in a carrier, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Here’s an article that tells you how to make it easy peasy!
1 week ago

#play
#messy play
#sensory play
» Messy Play…Made (Slightly) Less Messy Positive Parenting Connection →
I’m a mess-averse mama living in a small, carpeted space … who knows little ones crave messy exploration. I so needed this list of ideas for making it manageable.
1 week ago (1 note)

#breastfeeding
#lactivism
Is Breastfeeding the "Cause of an Outside Organization"? The Case of Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform | PhD in Parenting →
Interesting conversation in the article and the comments about the US Air Force’s stance on the pictures of service women breastfeeding in uniform.
1 week ago

#gentle discipline
#independence
KellyNaturally.com | Fostering Independence by Asking Instead of Telling →
Love this idea for including children in the decision-making process.
I can think of many scenarios in which we parents may feel the need to just step in and DO or TELL our kids WHAT to do, when they are perfectly capable of figuring it out themselves. How about: 
GETTING WEATHER-APPROPRIATE CLOTHING ON: It’s pretty wet outside. What do you think we should wear to stay dry?
…
TIME MANAGEMENT: Remember that you have piano lessons on Friday. What’s your plan for practicing this week?
(Further helpful examples are in the post.)
1 week ago

#breastfeeding
#long-term breastfeeding
#extended breastfeeding
What long-term breastfeeding really looks like.
(via Putting a Face on Extended Breastfeeding | Code Name: Mama)
1 week ago

#bravery
#natural learning
#unschooling
#continuum parenting
Propson Palingenesis: and I'm a goddamn coward but then again so are you* →
On the bravery of children. I really love this picture of how our young ones strive, undeterred by obstacles.
1 week ago (2 notes)

#homeschooling
#deschooling
#unschooling
Beneath the Rowan Tree: Homeschooling :: De-schooling and Beyond →
Really interesting look at the process of “de-schooling” (when a child moves from a school setting to homeschooling or unschooling), and how the transformation period affected this whole family.

At LaurenWayne.com:

Flack vs. Flak

Giveaways:

Find lots of wonderful giveaways at my Natural parenting giveaways linky! Add your own, and enter some good ones.

Surf with us:

We love following along with fellow Sunday Surfers. If you have your own post of reading links to share, please link up your post on Hobo Mama or on Authentic Parenting. The linky will go live every Sunday, and you can link up any day that week. If Sunday doesn't work for you but you do a links list another day, feel free to play along. You only need to add your post to one of the sites, and the linky will automatically show up on both sites.

You can get the Sunday Surf button by Jenna Designs and some code to add to your post from my Sunday Surf page.

Check out previous editions for good reading, and you can find more shared items during the week at my Tumblr blog, Hobo Mama's Shared Items.

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1 Not really. Stay tuned for pictures!^↩