On the Road Again

Life has been crazy. Crunchy, but crazy!  Lots of big changes here, and I haven't blogged regularly in way too long. But I'm home now, home-schooling my daughters, Kaylicious, who is 6, and Zazu, who just turned 5 yesterday. And I'm planning to begin blogging regularly again.

My kids are a little older and my life is a little different, but more on that later. Right now, I'm just excited to say I'm back and looking forward to travelling the Road to Crunchville with you again!

Foreskin: Don't Go Commando Without It

Just wanted to share some anti-circumcision graphics that I came across recently and a quick anecdote.

First the anecdote: So I'm recently divorced, and have started dating again for the first time in eleven years. Since I began dating, I've quickly come to the realization that early-twenties me knew who she was and what she wanted and talked openly about those things.  Mid-thirties me really knows who she is and she'll talk about anything important to her including intactivism, even on a first date.

Here's kind of how the conversation went:

Date: Tell me some things you are passionate about.
Me: Of course my kids (that's pretty much a given), health and wellness, natural living, eating organic/whole foods, vegetarianism, avoiding toxins, libertarianism, circumcision . . .
Date: You're passionate about circumcision?
Me: No, I'm highly against infant circumcision. Are you circumcised?
Date: Yes
Me: Did you know that when babies are circumcised they don't receive any pain medication and the foreskin that is removed, for no medical reason whatsoever, has 20,000 highly sensitive nerve endings?
Date: I had no idea. 20,000 nerve-endings gone? 20,000 nerve endings cut with or without pain meds sounds horrific.
Me: I know. That's one of the reasons why I'm so against it and why I feel so passionate about it.
Date: I heard they circumcise baby boys, so they are easier to clean.  That has never made much sense to me.
Me: One of the reasons that infant circumcision continues is because doctors, heedless of their vow to do no harm, make big money off the procedures, and then they can sell the removed foreskin tissue to labs and cosmetic companies for even more profit.  It's all about the money.
Date: That is really messed up.
Me: I know, right?

Then, the date proceeded like we had just been talking about movies we liked or something equally benign.  Later, he asked me out again.  I'm not sure if I'll go, but I like that I was able to speak my crunchy, little mind to someone I had never met before, and he didn't say I was crazy. HE ASKED ME ON A SECOND DATE!  The End.

Now on to the graphics:   
This great anti-circ graphic is from Intact OH.  "Foreskin: don't go commando without it.  The foreskin protects the glans from injury, and the urinary meatus from contaminants.  So play outside with no pants on.  It's got you covered." 

And, I found another anti-circumcision someecard on Mama's Milkies to add to my collection.

Ash writes, "This argument has always confused me. 'My son is circumcised and he is just fine!' But... He was just fine at birth too and you still had him restrained and had part of his penis amputated, so... You can't really use that as your defense. That's MY defense. He was JUST FINE when he was born too. So why mess with it? 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'" I agree, Ash, I very much agree!!!

Fair Trade Cloth Diapers?

This morning I was reminded of this Benjamin Harrison quote, that I first saw on my friend Christy's facebook wall a few years ago. It really struck me as being timeless . . .a bit of wisdom from a 19th century American president still very relevant to our 21st century society.

I don't have a lot of money, so I really have to make the money I do have count. I understand the desire to be frugal, I really, really do.  However, for me, the peace of mind of buying fair trade and knowing where what I buy comes from is well-worth it. As I've said in previous posts, I believe that every dollar I spend casts a vote for the way I want things to be.

Quote: Scott Umstattd     Image Source: Fair Trade Wire

Here's how I want things to be: I want all people to have the opportunity to make a fair living.

Here's what I don't want: I don't want to purchase items that were made by child labor, slave labor, workers working in deplorable conditions and/or making pennies a day.  I don’t want anything that allows the few to get extraordinarily rich on the backs of the very poor.  If I can’t afford something fair trade, I’d prefer to go without than to buy something cheaper that I know was produced by an exploited labor force.

Cheap Knock-off Cloth Diapers from China

The discussion that spurred my memory of Benjamin Harrison’s wise words was about knock-off cloth diapers from China. It seems some cloth-diapering mamas are frustrated that they can no longer get inexpensive, Alva diapers from China, because they violate a Pending U.S. Patent held by Julie Ekstrom of Kanga Care the designer of Rumparooz, Lil Joey, and Eco-Posh cloth diapers. While I applaud them for choosing cloth diapers over disposible, my questions to these moms are these:

• Is the little bit of money you saved by buying knock-offs from China, really worth it  knowing that 
  . . . the design was stolen from a working mother from Colorado? 
  . . . the labor practices and conditions where these knock-off are produced are questionable at best?
  . . . the quality and fit is not as nice as the real thing?  
  . . . they are made in china? 
• Do you really want to trust something made in china to lay against your baby’s skin night and day?
• Why not spend a few more dollars, have a few less diapers in your stash, make your own or buy your diapers second-hand?  

Want to know more? Here's a more detailed explanation from One Lucky Mama about  why not getting knockoff diapers from China is not a bad thing: Why I Won’t Sell Chinese Cheapie Cloth Diapers

35 Uses for Coconut Oil

Crunchy Mamas Do It With Coconut Oil!

35 Uses for Coconut Oil

1. Body Lotion
2. Oil Pulling -- This is a great way to detox!
3. Splinter Removal -- Put on a small amount of CCO and cover with a bandage. The oil soaks in and the wood pops out overnight.
4. Shaving Cream -- Leaves skin feeling so smooth and soft.
5. Deep Conditioner for Hair and Scalp -- Rub into hair and scalp, leave it for as long as you can, then wash it away.  You may have to rinse and repeat to clean away all the excess oil. 
6. Cuticle Oil
7. Diaper Rash Ointment. It's cloth diaper safe!
8. Rub on Newborn's Bottoms to Keep Meconium from Sticking to Baby's Skin
9. Massage Oil
10. Ditch the K-Y and use it as Lube!  You're going to come back and thank me for this one :-)
11. Feed it to Cats to Alleviate Hair Balls
12. Feed it to Dogs for a Healthier, Shinier Coat
13. Face Wash and Moisturizer in One
14. Lip Balm
15. Topically CCO Helps Heal Canker or Cold Sores
16. Hemorrhoid Cream
17. Use on Underarms as a Natural Deodorant
18. On Baby Bump or Stretch Marks
19. Make Miracle Soup when your not feeling well --saute a small sliced onion with at least 6 cloves of garlic in 1-2 TBSP of coconut oil, stirring occasionally, until soft and as brown as you like. Add 4 Cups Veggie Stock and 4-6 peeled, cubed potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through, then mash with a potato masher until smooth-ish. Salt and pepper to taste.
20. Spread on Toast instead of Butter
21. Replace Unhealthy Oils like Vegetable, Soy, Corn or Canola Oil in Recipes
22. Use it to Make Homemade Body Scrub -- Here's my recipe: Organic Grapefruit Body Scrub
23. For Dry or Cracked Heals -- Rub it in at night, put on wool or cotton socks, go to sleep, wake up softer.
24. Hair Gel -- This works well for short wet-look styles.
25. Hot Tea or Coffee Creamer
26. Make-up Remover
27. Natural Sunscreen - SPF 4
28. Use on Perineum for Healing after Childbirth
29. Athlete's Foot Ointment
30. Use with Apple Cider Vinegar to Kill Head Lice
31. Whiting Toothpaste -- Just Mix with Baking Soda
32. Natural Laxative and Stool Softener
33. Whip 1 Part Cocoa Butter: 4 parts CCO for a Soothing Body Butter
34. Use it to Make Natural Vapor Rub
35. Cure Thrush -- Apply to Breastfeeding Mom's Nipples and in Baby's Mouth

Leave me a comment: What are your favorite healthy uses for coconut oil?

Let's see how many different uses we can come up with!

Human Rights are for ALL Humans

. . . and a few other thoughts about circumcision. I know last night I said I was done posting for GENITAL INTEGRITY AWARENESS WEEK.  The week may technically be over, but it turns out I still have more to share. As you can probably tell, this is an issue about which I am quite passionate. I think many people really haven't taken the time to research or even consider the pain and violation circumcision inflicts on babies and the life-long damage circumcision causes. Human Rights are for ALL Humans, male and female, young and old.  Our bodies are our own and no one else's.
 

Image Source: Anita Cleaver via The Whole Network

Image created by Kimberley Smith. Also available in a handy printable format: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o311/MissSpiderSmith/obviousprintable_zps585c2f27.jpg

Strapping down a NEWBORN to RIP APART fused tissues so they can be CRUSHED & SLICED away from his HIS GENITALS WITHOUT medical cause while he is AWAKE & can FEEL IT is WRONG!!! Even if that poor, sweet baby was sedated or numbed so he couldn't feel it while it was being done (which is not how it's done), it is still wrong, wrong, wrong!!!  

Image Source: The Whole Network

Another Circumcision Somee-like-card . . . "I loved comparing penises with you as a child, father. Thank goodness we match. Said no man ever." 

I'm going to go back and add this one to my post from the other day. Since I already knew long before we met, no child of mine would ever be mutilated, violated and tortured via routine infant circumcision, my ex-husband and I discussed circumcision before we were even married and many years before we had children. This very thing was one of his first objections to leaving our future sons intact. He wanted his sons to look like him. Fortunately, with a little discussion, science and logic, I brought him around to my way of thinking pretty quickly.    

A quick, but staggering visual to help convince the future father of your children or anyone else who thinks circumcision is a quick snip, just cosmetic, minor, painless, removes just a little extra skin, etc. You don't even have to have the card.  Just about anyone can picture the size of an index card in their mind. 

image source: www.norm.org/lost.html

An index card is 15 square inches.  Would you like to be missing that much tissue (not to mention up to  20,000 sensory nerve endings) from your genitals? That's how much the average adult man is missing thanks to circumcision.  Bring your son home whole.  Find out what else is lost: www.norm.org/lost.html.

Changing the way you've always thought about things can be so difficult.  If you or someone you know has hit an obstacle along The Road to Crunchville, I want to leave you with one last thought for tonight:

Image Source: http://www.Facebook.com/TraceyRoseLIVE

"Just because something is ingrained in you doesn't make it true. 

Remember, we once believed the world was flat."  ~Louise L. Hay