Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
My sweet boys
See that badge sticker Mikko's wearing? We were eating out when he saw a traffic enforcer from the Seattle Police Department eating at another table.
"Is that a real policeman?" he whispered to me.
"Yes," I whispered back.
He stared at him through our whole meal. As the man was cleaning up his place, I said to him, "My son thinks you're cool, by the way."
That stopped him in his tracks. "I don't get that very often!"
Mikko followed him across the room as he left the restaurant and went to his traffic buggy (Seattle uses
little three-wheeled vehicles), and so we stood at the window gazing out into the parking lot while the parking enforcement officer rummaged in the back storage compartment and I answered questions about the vehicle. Mikko thought it looked really cool and wanted to drive one someday; I have to admit, it looked the perfect size for him.
Next thing we knew, the parking officer came back in with badge stickers reading Junior Police — one for Mikko and one for Alrik. You could tell from the way he had to dig for them that he doesn't often get admirers to hand them out to!
I was glad we made a traffic cop's day, and I was glad Mikko is learning such respect for the police force and the varied jobs people do.
(Now, talk to me when I get a parking ticket…)
I have so many links saved up. I'd better let you get reading:
My first couple years of gardening, I couldn’t figure out why anyone ever talked about having too much to harvest. Now that my garden is finding its stride, I’m realizing: There’s no way our families can eat all this produce!
Shannon of
Pineapples & Artichokes found me this list of resources to help find a place to donate extra garden harvests. I used
AmpleHarvest.org (just input a ZIP code) to discover that the food bank nearest me accepts donations of produce. I wrote the director and discovered I can bring over my tons o’ garlic and greens next Wednesday morning.
About a third of the garlic harvest
Copying
my own comment for this post & her earlier one:
“How pushy is too pushy?”:
These posts you’ve written on pushiness have come at just the right time for me! I was just moaning to my husband about whether I should just give up entirely on non-native bilingualism in German, since my older son (5 years old) wants nothing to do with it. Despite my conversing with him in German since birth and two years in an immersion school (he stopped about a year ago), he claims to understand zero German, and what’s so frustrating to me is that I fear it’s true! He doesn’t seem to understand anything I say to him in German, and it’s bumming me out. I’m not as consistent a German speaker to him and his brother as you are with French, so I’d started wondering if it’s hopeless.
But…encouragement. I like the idea of “persisting,” as your commenter put it, and your tale of a breakthrough once you’d persisted enough! Also, I have some hopes still for his little brother…
(Yes, there's swearing. Appropriate swearing.)
Because: yeah, it would be nice if the kids were fully dressed whenever was convenient for, you know, other adults, and if I was on that 100%. But it would be even better if other grownups understood that caring for babies and small children is demanding on every plane – spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical – and the primary carer needs as much help as he or she can get. Have a little grace, people.
Aside from a few quick glances, I had never seen a woman nurse a baby until I did it myself. And that’s a problem. Breastfeeding is a skill that must be learned by mother and baby. If we are never exposed to it, it is harder to learn. And seeing nursing isn’t just important for nursing mothers – when everyone sees breastfeeding, breastfeeding becomes the cultural norm – the way babies are supposed to be fed. When we see nursing mothers on TV, in movies, on billboards, in magazines – and more importantly in the places we regularly go – it sends the message that breastfeeding is normal, not weird, and not something that needs to be covered up and hidden. When children grow up seeing women breastfed, it becomes natural for them to decide to breastfed their own children or to support their partner in doing so.
I like it when businesses are quietly and openly welcome to breastfeeding parents. Wouldn’t it be fun to see an international breastfeeding symbol decal in every shop window?
Nothing is free at hospitals. Nothing. They charge you for drinking water, diapers, gowns, and maxi pads. The only thing that’s free to a birthing woman at a hospital is formula, which many women don’t even want. And it’s not free because the hospital is concerned about the well-being of hungry babies. It’s free because formula companies pay for it — out of their marketing budget — and give it to hospitals. Because they know that babies who have formula during the first few days are much, much more likely to become long-term customers. How is that ethical? How is that choice?[…] In New York City, 90% of women walk into the hospital stating they intend to breastfeed. But only 39% of newborns are exclusively breastfed. That means around 50% of mothers are not succeeding in their chosen plan. They’re not formula feeding because they want to — they’re formula feeding because something went wrong.
Taking formula off your bedside table does nothing to change your ability to choose for yourself. If you are not handed a formula sample in the hospital there is NO EFFECT on your ability to give your child formula when you get down to the lobby, when you get home, a week later, six months later. None. If you are given formula in the hospital we know (based on formula company research) that women are less likely to breastfeed. This means that being given formula in the hospital narrows our choices. Not being given formula, no restriction on choice. Being given formula, restriction on choice.
Do you have tattoos or piercings? Heather shares hers and then adds helpful tips related to mods during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
As one of the self-employed people who pays for crappy private health insurance (e.g., no maternity care—hello), I both appreciate and envy this glimpse into life and healthcare in Canada.
I want women and birth to be as safe as it can be, while allowing freedom of choice in birthing location. I loved my homebirth and felt comfortable with my midwife’s experience and training, but want to know midwifery care is a safe option on a national level.
This:
Right now I stand for more strict standards across the board for CPMs. More education and experience requirements, and apprenticeships with multiple midwives, if possible. A national standard so that the term CPM can actually mean something.
I like the idea of making natural hair products, though I’ve had the same experience as this reviewer: They’re a little less convenient and a lot COLDER since they have to be refrigerated. Now that we have neighbors with floor-to-ceiling windows next door abutting ours, I’m a little more hesitant to run downstairs in the buff to get my natural gel out of the fridge.
THAT SAID, this recipe seems like one of the easiest hair gels I’ve ever seen (gelatin + hot water), and I bet you could fancy it up if you wanted to experiment (essential oils? would that make it not set?). {Editor's note: I recently found out gelatin is what synchronized swimmers use to keep their hair slicked into place, albeit in more copious amounts. Be careful not to use too much or you'll need a lot of hot water and patience to wash it out!}
FURTHERMORE (heh heh heh), I love the idea of this blog in general. Someone doing green experiments so we don’t have to! It’s a blogger after my own heart. (Hey, I’m still sticking with family cloth!)
Hee hee hee. How did you rate? I’ve got 9 out of 12 covered. I might just be a hippie.
From Natural Parents Network:
At LaurenWayne.com:
Book review: Tempting Juliana, by Lauren Royal
Fun to read, but boy golly, learn to stick with historical accuracy!
Giveaways:
Jessicurl Haircare Light & Luminous Collection $36 ARV {8.14; US}
This one
ends SOON and is a fabulous giveaway for my favorite haircare products. Jessicurl brings out the natural wave in my hair and is gentle enough to use on Mikko, too!
In-flight diaper disaster & Boudreaux's Butt Paste to the rescue! = $100 GC {8.31; US}
This one is NEW to the Surf! Read my
Mount Ve-poo-vius story and my positive experience with Butt Paste, and enter to win $100!
Fresher skin with Dove VisibleCare Toning Body Wash & giveaway for $500 spa gift card! {8.22; US}
Read about my experience with Dove body wash and enter to win a
relaxing getaway!
Find lots more wonderful giveaways at my
Natural parenting giveaways linky! Add your own, and enter some good ones:
ERGO baby carrier, swim diaper, wet bag, cloth diaper, water wrap, & more — ready to win!
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.
This linky list is now closed.
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
1 comments:
Aw, that's a great story. I bet you made his week!
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