Cousins. I know it's out of focus, but: Aw!

In lieu of our regular Sunday Surf, I thought I'd catch you up a little on Things That Happened While I Was Away. I promise, they're pretty exciting!

For the past two weeks, our family's been tootling around the Midwest from the BlogHer 2013 conference and on through four states and multiple family gatherings.

We had a great time, but I'll tell you, I am so glad to be back home — and I could really use a vacation from my vacation now! Does someone want to come unpack for me? Thanks.

Interview with Hobo Mama at tooMODmama

First of all, I'm so pleased to have had tooMODmama interview me all about how to balance working from home with parenting. If you have ever considered working from home or are interested in learning more about it, here's your FAQ for how it works for our family and how it might work for yours.

I admire Lauren’s  candid writing about motherhood while juggling all of the other challenges of life brings. With this interview we dive a little deeper into her day-to-day routine running a business from home as well as her take on natural parenting.

As a mother and successful family business owner –  What does a typical day look like for you? Can you share how you balance your desire to spend time with your family while growing your business?

It can definitely be a challenge if you want to work from home and care for your kids, so we’ve had to think hard about our options and how we could make this lifestyle work. My husband, Sam, and I both knew we wanted to raise our kids yet continue working and pursuing our passions. Since having two kids — Mikko’s 6, and Alrik’s 2 — we’ve had to work out more intentionally who’s working when. Sam gets up really early for some pre-kids writing time. Then the rest of us roll out of bed for breakfast and waking up. (We’re not morning people, so that takes awhile!) Previously, we had a routine where I took the kids most afternoons and evenings while Sam worked in the family business (selling DVDs online), and then I did my own writing work late into the night while he put the kids to bed. Lately, we’ve been trying out a different schedule that allows for more socializing during daylight hours with other parents and at kid activities, which tend to be in the mornings. So now we alternate days, so we each have three “working” days a week and three “kids” days, plus one family day to do something fun all together.

{Continue reading my answer there!}

I also get to delve a little into what natural parenting is (or isn't) and what "hobo parenting" might be.

Do you have any tips for moms-to-be who feel intimidated by “natural parenting”. And what does "natural parenting" mean to you?

I’m sure natural parenting really can sound intimidating to the uninitiated! I know I was intimidated by crunchy types as I first dipped my toes in the water. Certainly there are some gatekeepers in the natural parenting world who think they own and enforce some sort of rulebook, but there are many more natural parents who are welcoming and accepting of wherever you are along your journey. I try to be one of those types and let criticisms from the other type roll off me.

My definition of natural parenting is attachment parenting combined with green living. However, that can be whatever it means for you. I fully encourage people to take the elements of natural parenting that resonate with them and leave the rest, and not feel like they have to live up to some crunchy ideal before they can seek out the community and inspiration of other natural parents. Pretty much none of us are that ideal, anyway, and most choices we’ve made have happened over time and with a lot of encouragement.

{Continue reading my answer there!}

I'd love to chat with you in the comments over at tooMODmama! Ask your questions about how working from home might work for you, tell me your own definitions of natural parenting, or let me know your own experiences of either.

Chub rub making headlines in the UK

I was standing in line for a roller coaster when I decided to check my email on my phone. An alert came up that my blog had been mentioned in the online UK tabloid The Daily Mail. "A cure for 'chub rub'? New product promises to help women who suffer from 'embarrassing' inner-thigh chafing." Excellent! The fact that my chubby thighs are being discussed across the pond was pretty much just as thrilling as the roller coaster ended up being. (P.S. Do not read the comments.)

Naturally, they just lifted straight from my sponsored Bandelettes review:

A new 'wonder' product has hit the market for women who suffer from painful inner-thigh chafing. 

Bandelettes are six-inch thick, garter-like lace bands that fit around the upper thigh to stop skin-to-skin rubbing under dresses, skirts or shorts. 

Similarly Lauren Wayne, a mother-of-two from Seattle who runs the parenting blog Hobo Mama, gave 'bandelettes' a big thumbs up. 

'They covered amply all the areas that would normally swish together when I walk,' she explained.

'I had no irritation, no heat rash, no little bumps. In short, I was comfortable and carefree all day long! I was so pleased, I even wore them indoors with just a long shirt on while I was doing sweat-intensive home improvement projects.'  

She also said that as soon as she slipped them on she felt 'kinda pert [and] saucy.'

For some reason, it sounds more scandalous on a news site than just me nattering away on my blog.

Remember, you have a chance to win one of THREE pairs of Bandelettes thigh bands! If you're like me and a thigh gap is beyond your dreams (or desires) but you still want to enjoy your summer skirts and shorts without irritating thigh rub, this is your elegant solution. Enter to win before August 22! There's also a coupon code — enter Hobomama for a 15% discount off the $15 price — if you want to just buy some now now now.

Raising daughters by The Mahogany Way

I'd also like to highlight a gracious guest post that made its appearance in my absence. Darcel of The Mahogany Way told us what it's like to raise daughters to be who they are:

My oldest daughter started watching iCarly just before the show went off the air. Now it's on Netflix, and she can watch from beginning to end. Her new favorite shows for the tween age group are A.N.T Farm, Jessie, Austin and Ally, and Good Luck Charlie. I watch all of these shows with her, and one thing that really bothers me about all of them is the female lead is tall and thin. Austin and Ally and Good Luck Charlie really throw me because their best friend is ethnic and on the curvy side. I've kept these thoughts to myself. I mean, I should be happy that there are any people of color, right? My girls need to see someone who looks like them, so why am I complaining? I have nothing against women who are on the thinner side, but what would be wrong with a show for our young girls where the main characters were a size 10+ and not a size 2?

Again, I'm not relying on the girls in these shows to be role models for my girls, but it is more likely for them to choose a human being over a doll to model themselves after. I do my best to let them know that women come in all shapes and sizes and real beauty comes from within. I don't mention my strong dislikes to them because I don't want to push the way I feel about these characters off on them. I think that right now they are watching strictly for entertainment purposes, and it's so sweet and innocent.

Read more at Darcel's guest post, and leave a comment to let her know you were there!


So to sum up, visit tooMODmama for my interview about blogging, writing, owning a home business, and yet still managing somehow to produce and raise kids (how do I do it? Oh, right — by never cleaning). Soak in Darcel's thoughts on raising daughters authentically in a sometimes inauthentic world. And visit my Bandelettes review to enter the giveaway!

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. 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.