Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
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| A day at the beach in 40˚ F weather … but indoors, at Sandbox Sports! |
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| Great chance for digging & sand angels! |
Some reading for you!
Breastfeeding advocacy doesn’t need to start and end with the timespan of actively breastfeeding one’s children. This is a rousing article from Destany calling everyone to support breastfeeding.
When I was a breastfeeding, I didn’t know many women who nursed. […]
I had decided, therefore, that my days as a breastfeeding advocate would not be limited to the days that breastfed my children. I know that when we wean, it sometimes feels that it’s not our battle anymore. I have indeed found myself in situations, vehemently arguing (over the internet) about the rights of breastfeeding mothers, and when I mention that I am not currently lactating, my argument seems to lose validity and I am left in the lurch as the person I am arguing with smugly stalks away.
I continue to argue and to stand up for nursing rights, however. Why? Because one day, I may have a daughter who breastfeeds. Or my nieces. Perhaps one day I will nurse again. Perhaps not. But my friends do. And my sisters and cousins. And so do many, many women who I do not know, but should not have to stand up alone. As women, we must support each other, even when standing up for things which don’t affect us directly in the here and now.
I want to make it clear to women (and men) that we do not have to be a nursing mother to stand up for the rights of others to breastfeed. Even if you have never breastfed. Even if you do not have children yourself. Even if you’re not a woman, but a man who supports not only a woman’s right to breastfeed, but infants right to nurse and to eat when they are hungry.
If you’re a non-lactating breastfeeding supporter, grab one of Destany’s buttons! (code on
the post)
Paige writes movingly and honestly about her journey away from a Christian faith. Since I’ve shared a
similar path, I found this incredibly meaningful.
Not a new post, but I appreciate how this brings together a lot of the specious arguments seen over and over whenever the topic of racism comes up.
I don’t usually share things with a lot of rough language, so be forewarned if you’re sensitive to that.
I really like these suggestions for getting kids to eat a different way (specifically paleo, but they can be adapted to other eating styles as well).
I’ve been looking for some good resources on transitioning kids to a different way of eating, as it’s always been a struggle with Mikko (5.5) to encourage him to eat the foods I wished he ate (there’s a much longer story behind that, but I’ll keep it there for now), and now Alrik (1.5) is getting his own pickiness. Due to some reading I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been convicted that grains aren’t doing us any favors and Sam and I have cut them out, but we’ve had differing opinions on whether the boys should also lose them (I’m in favor; Sam’s on the fence) and just how to do it if so. I like the general idea of a gradual, kid-friendly approach, taking it slowly and in phases. (We’re not eating strict paleo, and I think the idea of gradual transitioning could work for any diet, except when immediate health concerns force a sudden change.)
Yea! It feels more doable. Wish us luck…
A practical, respectful answer.
Welcome to the Festival of Food Carnival. In celebration of the New Year and Healthy Starts, we're sharing recipe ideas for healthy, nourishing recipes or anything you would enjoy this time of year. Hosted by Diary of a First Child and Hybrid Rasta Mama, you're welcome to join us next time, or if you have a previously published recipe you'd like to share, add it to the linky below.
A few months ago, Sam and I decided to try out a new eating habit:
no grains, limited sugar. It's been a trip — one I
never thought I'd go on, and one that has been surprisingly easy (!) and satisfying (!!). Like, not satisfying in some sort of holier-than-thou superiority-complex asceticism, but satisfying in the sense of
tasting good and
being kinda fun. I know! No one's more shocked than I am.
But at the risk of boring y'all talking diets (blah blah blah) and setting myself up for ridicule if in another two months we've moved on from it as a fad, I'll just present one of the dessert recipes we've tried out recently. This is still a treat, but it's not quite so sweet, so
if you're in the mood to kick your own sugar habit as a resolution, here's a good, decadent choice to start with! If you feel like you overindulged over the holidays, enjoy the subtle sweetness, rich nutty taste, and cakey texture as you tell yourself they're "health cookies." Yeah, that's it.
This cookie is
chewy, chocolately goodness, with
all-natural sweeteners, and is
grain-free. Mikko's favorite cookies are rich peanut butter cookies, and this is a nut (almond) butter version of the same.
(Note: He will not eat this version. More for me.) These cookies taste good even if you're not into being paleo, so anyone can enjoy them (except Mikko). Plus, they're
gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free so are safe for people with those sensitivities. They still contain sugars in the form of honey, but you can use less or substitute with
stevia as you need to — you'll likely have to play around with the recipe somewhat, since the honey adds moisture; maybe add in some coconut oil?
(In the title I'm using the word "paleo," since this recipe is paleo-centric. Our eating isn't strictly paleo, since … it isn't. I've also heard the terms primal and primarian kicked around, as well as good ol' low-carb. These are all loosely related, and the recipes we use now fit under one or more umbrellas.)
Cocoa – almond butter cookies
Based off Paleo almond butter cookies at Intentional Consumption with thanks
Ingredients
Dietary/allergy notes:
Vegetarian, vegan if maple syrup is used in place of honey, gluten-free, paleo/primal, low-glycemic.
Directions
Welcome to the
Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at
Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at
Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at
True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at
Fine and Fair. Continue your reading read on at the bottom of this post by clicking the links to the other participants' posts.
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| You don't have to be a superhero to be happy. |
There are a lot of things that simple living means to me, but that's not very simple. So I'll go with one aspect that's occurred to me recently:
I'm happy being happy.
I used to feel a driving need to be great, to
make something of my life … and I've downscaled my own expectations. And you know what? It's fine.
All my life, I've had this inkling
I should be somebody. Maybe because I was really smart as a child, I felt bad that I wasn't in fact a child prodigy. I felt sheepish thinking about Mozart (the overachiever!) or even fictional protagonists like Doogie Howser (a doctor at age 14! how can I compete?). I remember watching Jennifer Capriati play tennis at 16 or so and finding out this teen phenom was my age and hearing my parents josh that I hadn't accomplished anything so epic — and taking it to heart, even though I stank at tennis.
I was awarded all sorts of minor scholarships and honors when I graduated high school, but one that stood out to me was a music scholarship. Out of all the highly talented seniors in my musical groups, why had
I gotten the music scholarship? I wasn't even planning on a career in music;
was I worthy of such a prize? (Clearly no.)
Then there were the teachers and professors (and my mom!) telling me over and over again that I had it in me to be a writer, that I shouldn't let that gift go to waste. So as birthday after birthday passed without a novel on Oprah's list or a multi-million-dollar movie deal, I felt disappointed in my own stagnation.
It was all a sort of
megalomania without a purpose: a lot of narcissism without much sticktoitedness.
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
