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



We have been partying hearty lately. When my friend Rachel was visiting, we were at a birthday celebration, and Alrik didn't think it was fair that the adults were hogging all the sangria. If he'd actually developed the finger dexterity necessary to push that cooler button, I think I'd have let him reward himself with a gulp…

Here are some links for you this fine week:

8 minutes ago

#rape
#attachment parenting
#slut shaming
#victim blaming
#feminism
#sexual assault
#women's issues
#activism
Rape and Attachment Parenting | ourfeministplayschool→
A response to the slut-shaming/victim-blaming remarks that spewed across my Facebook page (ugh), as well as an honest and hopeful recounting of how attachment parenting can heal.
35 minutes ago

#breastfeeding
#LGBT
#activism
#LLLI
#transgender
Strocel.com | Today I am Disappointed in LLL →
On Trevor McDonald’s bid for LLL leadership being turned down because he’s transgender.
One of the issues that LLL raised in their response letter, as posted on Trevor’s website, is that some women may be uncomfortable receiving breastfeeding support from a man. They say that a leader must be able to help all women with breastfeeding. This seems patently unfair to me, because it places the onus on a potential leader to be non-offensive. Would we respond in the same way if, for instance, a woman of one race was uncomfortable receiving help from a woman of another race? What about if a potential leader had a lot of tattoos? Those make some people uncomfortable. What if she had a disability? While a mother certainly has the right to seek support from someone she can communicate effectively with, it’s discriminatory to exclude someone from a volunteer role simply because someone else may be uncomfortable.

This is the crux of things for me. I understand that Trevor’s application is pushing the boundaries, so to speak. I understand that some people hold strongly-held beliefs around gender and sexual orientation, and may struggle to receive support from Trevor. If that’s the case, I would hope that they would contact another leader. But this doesn’t change the fact that a secular group that seeks to be welcoming to all breastfeeding parents must be prepared to adapt. If you believe breastfeeding is important, then it’s important for all babies, not just for babies with parents you approve of. You simply cannot say that you’re supporting LGBT parents, while excluding them from certain roles. That’s not a supportive action.
52 minutes ago

#menstruation
#personal care
#green living
#frugality
#sewing
#patterns
#tutorials
My Frugal Baby Tips: Make-Your-Own Frugal Cloth Menstrual Pads →
In this low-spend month, I’ve been so glad to have my DivaCup and cloth stash for my period so I don’t have to worry about buying menstrual products. If you want to make the switch to cloth but want or need to make your own pads, this pattern looks like a good one that would be fairly simple and effective and could be made with materials you likely already have.
1 hour ago

#cleaning
#organizing
#housekeeping
#homemaking
Participation without coersion. Phase 1. - Clean. →
And Phase 1, continued.
Rachel’s family’s continuing adventures in creating a cooperative environment of participation in household tasks — without coercion, punishments, or rewards. I’m so excited to hear how things are going and thinking wildly about how we might adapt her family’s ideas.
This story gave me hope for how Mikko might (eventually) respond. Sage is a little older (turning 10), but I know Mikko already has plenty of resistance to the very idea of chores.
Sage was feeling the shift away from endless free time and into more participation.
He (very politely) complained about it. “Mama, I don’t really feel like I have any free time anymore.”
So he and I came up with a plan. We each made a chart. We divided our activities into three categories: chores, free-time, and work/homeschooling. Then we kept track of how we spent our time throughout the day.
At lunch time we totaled up each column and compared our charts. Sage was both amazed by how his own days balanced out and also by how little free time I took that day.
I didn’t say a word. He looked it over, noted the surprises, and tossed the charts. He hasn’t brought it up since. Because he saw how much free time he still has. He understood that he is both helping out and chilling out. It’s all in balance.
1 hour ago

#athletics
#body image
#women's issues
#femininity
#feminism
#sexism
#Olympics
#running
Why Alysia Montaño wears a flower in her hair during every race : Stltoday →
I loved (and miss) the Olympics. I love seeing these athletes push themselves to the limit of what the human body can achieve. I love seeing all the different body shapes and learning which type of body works best for which sport.
I tend to stay away from negativity and cattiness with regards to the athletes, but I did happen upon some trollishness about certain female athletes not looking “feminine” enough. That makes me mad, because what does that even mean? Feminine looks like a lot of things, yo.
So I was happy when I heard athlete Alysia Montaño’s reason for wearing a flower in her hair when she runs. It was a sign to the kids who used to mock her that, yes, she was a girl, and yes, she could still run fast.
1 hour ago

#athletics
#health
#women's issues
#body image
#sexism
#feminism
Nike: “Voices” (by NikeWomen)
It’s possible I am a total sucker for getting emotional over Nike commercials. But seriously — love this look at 4 women athletes who know that being a girl can also mean being tough.
“They used to say, ‘That girl is crazy.’
“But then I just kept winning.”
1 hour ago

#cosleeping
#bed sharing
#room sharing
#sleep
#humor
Big Bed | The Honest Toddler →
Daddy, this post is specifically for you as I can tell you are struggling with your place in this family during the night hours. The question looms every single evening: Who does mommy belong to?

It’s easy for me to point out the obvious fact that she and I are blood relatives while you two seem to have some sort of contractual relationship, but I want to acknowledge your emotional problems. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle with her? She’s soft and smells great.
1 hour ago

#cleaning
#organizing
#FlyLady
#Montessori
#home
#housekeeping
#homemaking
How FlyLady and Montessori Help Me Keep My House Clean | LivingMontessoriNow.com →
Deb linked to this archive article recently comparing how both FlyLady & Maria Montessori help her keep her place clean and organized. I love the connections she’s made and the reminders it’s given me for simple ways to improve my own sense of order.

At LaurenWayne.com:

I've got a couple updated Blogger tutorials for you that will make your carnival participation so much easier (thanks for listening, Blogger!).

How to find (or change) your permalink in Blogger {updated}
This is the biggie, because how annoying was it before to try to work out your Blogger post URL? Really, really annoying. Blogger has now made it simple. (Yea!)

How to schedule a post in Blogger {updated}
You can also still schedule your posts, and it looks a little different, so here's a tutorial with updated screenshots.

Let me know if you need any other blogging how-tos — or want to contribute any! I love guest bloggers.

From Natural Parents Network:

• Wordless Wednesday: Imagination
• Genealogy for the Homeschooler, Part 1: The Research
• Genealogy for the Homeschooler, Part 2: Projects
• Beginning Parenthood on an Island
• No Siblings? No Problem!

Carnival news:

Carnival of Natural Parenting: We have posted topics through June 2013! So you can start planning and writing ahead. We're taking next month off but will see you in October for Instilling a Healthy Self-Image.

I'm a Natural Parent — But… Edition 2: Hosts: The Artful Mama & Our Feminist {Play} School.  Topic: How the mainstream affects your natural parenting skills. Deadline: Aug. 31.

Deals:

Back 2 School BOGO sale at BabyLegs.

What: Buy 1 Get 1 FREE on all Warmers, Tights, Socks and Newborn.
Sale: Back 2 School BOGO! Code: FALLBOGO and FREE SHIPPING on orders $50+ Code: FALLSHIPFREE
Excludes Gift Certificates and VIP memberhsips.
When: Starts 8/23/12. Ends 8/31/12.
Coupon code: FALLBOGO and FALLSHIPFREE
Where: www.BabyLegs.com

Plus? My favorite baby socks are on clearance for only $2.50 for 2 pairs. I don't mean my favorite type of baby socks (though they are that as well); I mean my actual favorite pair: those green stripeys. Aren't they adorbs?

All weekend long at Kelly's Closet: Save 15% off on Thirsties brand cloth diapers, covers, and accessories (does not include packages). No coupon code necessary. Offer ends 9 a.m. Eastern on Monday, 8.27.

Green back-to-school savings at The Ultimate Green Store:

FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50 with code: TUGSFREESHIP
or
10% OFF any order with code: ECOSCHOOL

Melissa & Doug have opened up an outlet store where you can save up to 40% on their wooden, classic, & educational toys. Or use code FREESHIPFIFTY for Free Ground Shipping on purchases over $50.

Giveaways:

In-flight diaper disaster & Boudreaux's Butt Paste to the rescue! = $100 GC {8.31; US}
Read my Mount Ve-poo-vius story and my positive experience with Butt Paste, and enter to win $100! This one ends SOON.

• Giveaway: L’il Baby Chaps and Prefold Belt from EC Wear — $28 ARV {9.8; Worldwide}
• Giveaway: A Mother’s Boutique Tanya Dress – $119 ARV {9.2, US/Can}
• Giveaway: Thirsties Duo All-In-One Cloth Diaper Plus Hemp Inserts — $25.75 ARV {8.25; US/Can}

Find lots more wonderful giveaways at my Natural parenting giveaways linky! Add your own, and enter some good ones! Right now you can enter to win a felt doula kit (sweet!), a Beco baby carrier, a swim diaper, wool dryer balls, and several cloth diapers. Head on over!

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. Hobo Mama = Sangria, housekeeping, and womens voices