Yeah, pedophile manual.

But I have an opinion! And since it hasn’t been said yet in 47 other blog posts- here it is.

Leave amazon alone.

Yup.

THAT is my opinion.

You can buy a book on how to make bombs. You can buy books that outline how to make meth. You can buy a book written by Lauren Conrad. Scary things are afoot. But when you take away someone’s RIGHT to say something, you do a disservice to everyone.

Sure, pedophiles are disgusting. The idea is disgusting that someone would write, then sell & presumably make MONEY off a book of that nature. But the author? He has the right to say it. And while a company has the right to not carry a book on the subject of pedophilia, the fact that they do carry it doesn’t make me want to boycott or storm their twitter or call them & generally carry on like this e-book is the end of the fucking world.

You can buy The Anarchists Cookbook & learn to make homemade bombs.

You can buy Mein Kampf.

It could be argued that THOSE books would be something to boycott over. But you weren’t boycotting. So why start now? Just don’t buy the book & thank god that you live in a country where if you WANTED to write a book about pedophilia- you could.

I love all the ladies I make exchanges with on Twitter on the day to day. I love sharing joys & triumphs- and having someone tell you shit is normal or that it will be OK when you kid is sick, etc.

But you know what SUCKS? Comparing. And guess what? We all do it. We also think we are ALL right. I find myself rolling my eyes at LEAST 100 times a day while reading tweets.

I may not be right all the time. I am only 20 months into this motherhood thing. I have only had two pregnancies. I don’t know everything. In fact, I probably don’t know much.

I do know what works for me & my family. I do know how my experience with motherhood is going. & for me? It is really, really difficult to read the amount of complaining on Twitter.

Sure, I have done it myself. Sometimes, I am crabby with my husband. Sometimes, teething is a bitch. Sometimes, the babies cry & I want to tell someone- anyone- HEY THIS SUCKS! But- I’d say once a week I have a negative thing to say. Maybe less than that? And it’s one or two tweets. Not a dissertation on how hard everything is.

And I think a lot of moms utilize twitter as a way to say what you need & what you think so your real life family & friends don’t think you are completely unhinged. But the problem is I feel like it’s become some sort of pissing contest on the web to see who has it THE WORST.

My husband is less hands on.
My job is harder.
My kids are more difficult.
I get less sleep.

I want to scream sometimes. I want to unfollow people I really, truly care about because I cannot take the constant bitching and complaining.

Life is hard sometimes. Kids are hard. period.

Twitter & blogging have done awesome things for motherhood in the way that you can get personalized advice from people you trust. You can discuss your favorite shows. Laugh & learn. Many of the people in my age group (I’m 27) that I talk to on twitter seem to be the first in their “groups” to have children. For me? I love blogging and twitter because I have more “Mom friends.” While my friends in real life are my everything, until they have children, I don’t want to scare them off anymore than I already have with all the baby talk ALL THE TIME. My twitter friends are great for commiserating on all things motherhood.

And a bad day? deserves some complaining. But, I think the Moms on twitter should probably take the time to type the tweet. Stop. Read it. And think how it makes them look to the world. Think of the unerasable digital footprint you are leaving. Especially for our children to one day discover.

At the very least, you will drive traffic from your blog & lose followers on twitter- but the negative mindset does a lot more damage. Positivity can help in any situation.

The conference was cool. I got to see some blog friends & meet new ones. The socialization was the highlight.

Oh, and this view:

I guess that alone was worth it. Although, 38 floors above Union Square meant I had to take an elevator THIRTY EIGHT FLOORS. Did I mention elevators seriously scare the bejesus out of me? no? Well, they do. I played it cool but I was freaking out on that ride!

I got to go to dinner after the conference with the lovely Eileen, Nichole, Loni & Lori at Burger Bar and it was delicious. It was such a pleasure to meet so many chicks into the same shit as me (well, at least in regards to sharing our lives with anyone with an internet connection). I met some great women.

But, since I got like 2.5-3 hours of sleep prior to the conference, I was dragging my ass by the time I got home and by 8:30pm I looked like this:

I’m already stoked for Blogher 11.

I am so interested in the human dynamic. In the dynamics of women. In the dynamics of blogging women. Of MOMMY BLOGGERS.

On the internet we are just a footprint of ourselves. Just as a pedophile can be a 16 year old boy looking for a 16 year old girl in a chat room. Seriously. How much do we REALLY know about our fellow bloggers?

Yeah, they seem picture perfect on the internet but what if you meet and suddenly the witty quips of the internet are stripped away. What if they look different. What if you are just well, NOT COMPATIBLE?

I mean- I know no ones looking for a date here. So, I suppose it’s different but how well can you really know someone you’ve never met?

I am so interested to see in the future (Blogher11?) how it plays out for me. I wonder if the women I have come to love on the internet will be just as easy to love in person. If our conversations will have awkward moments or if it will be like we’ve known each other forever.

Part of me is excited to see everyone’s tweets that are there in NYC sharing the excitement. To see their photos and blog posts. And mostly- to see how the dynamic of the “group” will change once people have met. Is that strange? Will certain people be closer? Will certain people who were online BFFs suddenly stopping loving each other so much?

It’s like a soap opera. And although I wish I was there living it, I am certainly content to watch it unfold from the privacy of my own home. Where I don’t have to compete for cutest business card or cutest shoes or most blog hits or you know- that kind of stuff.

Also? I want to know who gets awkwardly TOO WASTED and alienates every one. And who tries to get everyone to smoke a joint and who actually smokes. (FYI, I would.) Who is prettier in person? Who is a bitch in person? Who is most like themselves online and who is putting on a great show? Who didn’t disclose that their blog pictures are 10 years old and they are really 40 & 300+ pounds?

Blogher. It’s exciting!!

This may prove to be a stupid decision, because clearly, those lists give you traffic. But, I am hoping that my bloggy friends & people who read will continue to link me in their blogrolls & visit & comment & share my interesting posts- and maybe, maybe- I wil be able to grow the readership of this blog through actual merit & not how many people I have badgered into voting.

This is totally not in response to anyone- I’ll just make that clear right now. I just want to write what I want to write & if people like it they will come. I don’t need a #4, 8, 25 or 37 to tell me what my writing is worth. You also don’t see the big blogs listed on top lists. So, maybe there is something to stepping out of the race?

I’ll let you know how badly my visits fall after this- but I hope that I’ve gained enough friends & readers that I can continue to “grow”.

<3

Congrats to Alena! I hope you have fun shopping!! I’ll forward your info to the company & you should hear from them soon! Thanks everyone for entering!

I recycle.
I compost.
I cloth/compost diaper.
I use reusable wipes.
I make my own organic baby food when needed.
I rarely drive a car and only fill up once a month usually.

It’s funny since I am probably the most unlikely candidate to do ANY of these things. Ask my friends. I won’t get into politics or even the environment. But, let’s just say that being a parent definitely changed me in that respect.

While it is perfectly OK for me to go to Taco Bell for myself when I am too lazy to cook- I’d never offer Taco Bell to Hudson. (ok, except the rouge cinnamon twist. They are practically air)
And while I can drink out of any old cup- the kids use glass everything when possible or at least 100% BPA free plastic when glass isn’t an option.
And while Hudson owns MANY plastic toys- I much prefer the beauty & healthfulness of a classic wooden toy (or felt, wool, etc). No noises. No batteries. Just imagination.

So when Franklin Goose contacted me & I had a look around their site I was STOKED. The have a baby safe promise which I LOVE. I love being able to fill my cart up on their site & be confident that we are getting products that fit our parenting style. They are HEAVY on the cloth diapering which is great! I had a field day in that section!! They are also happy to share information on why cloth diapering is a better choice for both baby AND the environment. Check out their Pro/Con list! They are a GREAT resource in regards to cloth diapering. I think if you are on the fence about making the switch- this site & their rich information coupled with their ADORABLE and functional cloth diapering products could probably sway you.

I am pretty much in love with this site. I have a mind-cart going.. and these items? ARE DEFINITELY IN KIDS FUTURE!

HOW FREAKING ADORABLE IS THIS DIAPER COVER?!?!

And this one?? I am dying!
And promise not to totally flip out looking at this next item:

GAHHH! Sawyer NEEDS this dollhouse. NEEDS.

They carry some of my favorite brands such as Plan Toys & Green Toys. And they have a very reasonable price on the Thirsties Duo diaper cover which is what we use in our house right now.

Basically- I have a new favorite internet shop for all my eco-friendly baby needs. Run- don’t walk to go check out the site. And feel free to do a bit of shopping while you are there!

Anddddd: Luckily! Franklin Goose is offering one lucky Emmie Bee reader a $25.00 gift certificate for the site!!

**To enter?**
Visit Franklin Goose’s awesome website & have a look around. Then come back here and tell me what you’d buy with your winnings! That simple!

You can always be awesome and follow Franklin Goose on Twitter & Facebook as well.

Contest ends July 9th.

Anyways- that part is cool. I mean- I don’t care. 100+ comments and basically most of them are people telling me I’m an asshole. I can totally hang with that though. I would prefer 800 comments that say I’m an asshole than 800 comments that say a whole lot of nothing. because the people that I talk to all the time? The people who I care about their opinions? The maybe 20 bloggers with whom I have built friendships- I read their blogs and they read mine. We send gifts & cards & love & support basically all over the continent. Those people? They got it. They GET ME. Like, even when we totally disagree on something- they can read between the lines and understand what I mean when I say it- because they have taken the time to actually ‘know me.’ And those friends can knit you hats from scratch. And invite you to their weddings. And craft amazing things.And send you hand-me-downs. And just be real people. They can tell me they think I’m wrong- but at least I know they are disagreeing with the WHOLE PICTURE.

The thing I hated MOST about last week was some bloggers’ need to be accepted in all circles. It’s not a “sides” thing- but I follow the blogs which I sited in my now infamous post- and have read ALL the comments on the posts which sparked mine. I hate people who cannot just say what they think. It is SO annoying when I see comments that are totally contradictory. Like the same person leaving 5 bloggers comments and basically just being FAKE. I loved SEVERAL comments I received that were like “I totally get you. But I totally see why other people didn’t.” It should have said “I think you’re an asshole- but I still want you to link my blog. I have to keep up appearances, you know?”

Blogging is about relationships and while I love the relationships I have cultivated that mean something to me- I cannot help but feel less than stoked on people who only “tolerate” you for reciprocal links or various other lame reasons. People who want to please everyone. People who are so scared to just be REAL. To say what they want to say. To stand behind what they believe in. To not need to be “in” with everyone. And that’s not to mean you cannot be supportive of people with differing opinions or stories- just that you have an IDENTITY. I read not-so-long-ago on another blog (I cannot remember which, otherwise I’d site them) a quote:

“Never trust somebody that everyone likes.”

…or something of that nature- because HELLO?! It’s impossible. You cannot please everyone. EVER. And if you do? You are clearly being less than 100% truthful and less than 100% yourself.

Be supportive of others. Try your best to be nice. But don’t be afraid to be yourself. To have an opinion. To stand up for what you think. To piss a few people off.