Sunday Surf: Scatterbrained

I'm so scatterbrained (we'll call it pregnancy brain!) lately that it is difficult to stick with one page to read all the way through an article in the first place. And then once I do find some pages worth sharing, getting myself to focus for long enough to put my SS post together... even harder! Here is what I've collected for you this week...

• Did you know that there is a physiological reason that mothers kiss their newborn babies?! I had no idea, but it makes sense! Check out Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies at Birthing Magazine. Apparently old news, though, as the article was originally written in 2001.
  
  
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  Fred & Friends is this little company that offers strange and fun products for around the home and office. "Like what sort of things," you ask? Like notepads that the back of the paper is printed like various sport balls. So when you wad up your page to throw into the recycle bin, it looks like a ball! Or pens that have real size eating utensils on the lids! How about an ice mold in the shape of the Titanic? Or kitchen tools shaped like Russian Nesting Dolls?! As a minimalist, I do not need these things, but they are so cool!
  
  
• From Nickelodeon's Parents Connect, comes an amusing tongue-in-cheek piece titled 10 (Cheeky) Tips for New Moms. It is cute and funny, enjoy! For example, she suggests that a good gin and tonic will help with getting your milk to let down!
  
  

  this pic is so bittersweet it makes me want to cry

  
  
• I originally stumbled upon a blog entry about this photo. The writer was pointing out that this innocent toddler was simply curious and exploring while this black police officer was protecting the KKK's right to gather. How torn must he have been about even having to work this event?! How absolutely sickening is it that people are out there teaching their children such hatred?!
  
  The actual source of this photo is a publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is a community response guide: Ten Ways to Fight Hate. Go read it. Learn some small (and not so small) ways that you can battle the hatred in your own town.
  
  
• And so as not to end on too sour a note, I've enjoyed a timely re-post from Authentic Parenting on giving chores to children. It is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately. My 13yo has only lived with us a couple of months so far, but she complains about having to do her own laundry and emptying the dishwasher. Compared to my own workload at her age, she has it pretty easy! You can even see a lengthy comment there from me, looking for more ideas. Got any? Chores: Great Idea Or Epic Fail? (rerun)
  

I hope you find some material here that you enjoy. This week was also spent preparing for my older daughter's 2 weeks away at camp. We had to buy some supplies and pack, mostly. I delivered her today. I'm so psyched for her and miss camp myself!