Becoming Crunchy

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So yesterday I posted about gratitude and how it hadn’t been a very gratitude-feeling week for me but that I planned to be more intentional about it this week.

Last night, for the 3rd freakin’ night in a row, Bean took FOREVER to go to sleep – to the point that the husband and I have been alternating staying up there with her for an hour at a time.

I cannot even begin to convey to you how much this pisses me right off.

Anyway, as I was going through my anger sleep routine with baby once again…I just started begrudgingly listing in my head things that I am grateful for. I listed some, and I listed more, and I listed more, and very, very gradually I calmed down.

And Bean dropped off to sleep.

Coincidence? I think so.

Still…it did help me to not be so irritated. Guess this gratitude thing really has something going for it!

And now, to share some of the awesomeness from the bloggy world over the past week (some of it wasn’t exactly written last week – that’s just when I read it).

Oh – and a slight disclaimer – I don’t always agree 100% with things I post in the Sunday Surf – but I do like to share posts that have given me food for thought (the placenta one below comes to mind – I currently have no idea how I really feel about the idea of consuming your own placenta) - so yeah…just so you know.

• “…I fully trusted that my pregnancy and impending birth would be respected by whichever professors I ended up with in the second session of the Spring 2011 semester. I felt that my outstanding academic record would illustrate what a committed student I am, and that the professors and administration would not only be understanding, but also accommodating, when I needed to take a week or two off to have my baby. At 40 weeks pregnant, I discovered I was wrong.” Did You Know That Pregnant Students Have Rights? Neither Did I from The Feminist Breeder
• “By now I am well indoctrinated into the world of natural birth. At first, things like eating your placenta seem pretty wacky. Then you hear of lotus birth, free birth, nursing toddlers, rear facing car seats until the age of two- you know- the list of crazy “natural” stuff just keeps getting longer.“ Cannibalism, Placentas and Postpartum Depression from Mama Birth
• “I’m still not the perfect parent I think I have the potential of being, I’m still getting in the swing of things finding the balance with 2 kids, housework, my hobbies/me time, but I’m really happy with my life. I don’t see the ‘bad things’ as ‘bad things’. SD and I have a term for those things, which may affect our attitude – just like the language you use in birth affects your experience ie. ‘surges’ as opposed to ‘contractions’. This term, and you are welcome to adopt it into your own language, is SAUSAGENESS.” The Perfect Parent from Sausage Mama & the Sausagettes
• “My main strategy has been to replace products as I use them up. Initially this meant I was purchasing safer, more natural products than the conventional ones I had been using. But, as I referenced above, it’s hard to know whether these things ARE really non-toxic. A lot of times these products can cost a lot more as well.” Cleaning the Natural Way by Julia of A Little Bit of All of It at I Thought I Knew Mama
• “I will no longer be purchasing chickens from your store if I am forced to get them in a large unnecessary plastic container, that can leach chemicals into the food (it is known to do this with temperature changes…as in a hot chicken under a heating device). I would like to make it noted that I do not shop at Sprouts for the simple reason…they push plastic on me.” Activism at the Grocery Store…Battle of the Plastic Chicken Dome from Cloth Diapering Mama Natural & Green Parenting
• “If you give a child blocks with letters on them, the child has infinite possibilities. When you teach them to spell, their possibilities are suddenly limited, restricted. This is how I feel about Heidi “knowing her numbers and colors.” Right now, she has endless possibility in her life. She has the rest of her life to conform to the rules society imposes on her and know the things she’s “supposed to know.” I will not limit her potential (yet) with these finite rules.” No, She Can’t Count to Ten from Let’s Take the Metro
• “How often do parents expect kids to respond immediately to their demands? We might even say “I am asking you to cooperate with me to get the house clean (or get ready to leave, etc.).” But the error in this sentence is the word “cooperate.” If we expect kids to respond immediately, we are asking for compliance, not cooperation. And what part of cooperation requires one party to automatically do the bidding of another?” The Problem With Expecting Children to “Cooperate” from Code Name: Mama
• “One would assume that the FDA regulates the ingredients used in cosmetics, shampoos, perfumes and other personal care products, just like it monitors food and medicine. But the cosmetics industry is largely “self-regulated,” operating under legislation that hasn’t been updated since the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938…” This Is Why Even Doritos Could Be Healthier Than Your Lipstick from Blisstree
• “Interestingly, the things I am most disciplined about appear to have absolutely nothing to do with any type of punishment I received as a child.“ A Respectful Approach to Discipline from The New Mommy Files: Memories, Milestones & Missteps
• “What if all of the believers here began to see themselves as citizens of Heaven? If our status on Earth was simply that of Temporary Resident, and the peoples of other nations our brothers and sisters in Christ, would we do anything differently? Would it change our views on consumerism? Would we feel as entitled as we do now to the resources we use? Could it affect our views on immigration policies or how foreigners are treated? Perhaps even our view of military involvement?“ Patriotism and Piety from Dulce de Leche

What are some of the great posts you’ve been reading this week?

For even more Sunday Surf goodness, check out: A Little Bit of All of It, One Rich Mother, Karen’s Healthy Lifestyle, Adventures of a Thrifty Mama, Touchstonez, The New Mommy Files, Fabulous Mama Chronicles, Blacktating, Adventures in Mommyhood, Greener Cleaning Mums, Child Organics, I Thought I knew Mama, Monkey Butt Junction, Motherhood Moments, Mama and Baby Love, Gems of Delight, Enjoy Birth, Breastfeeding Moms Unite, Domesticated Women, This Adventure Life, Maman A Droit, Hobo Mama and Baby Dust Diaries.

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