SWEET SURRENDER

winding down

Wow, I can barely believe it, but I only have two weeks left and I will be done with my yoga teacher training.  Almost every week since February, the boys and I have made the trek down to Indy, so that I can attend my program on Thursday evenings. 

I never could have imagined how this would change the dynamic of my week until I experienced it.  The things that I didn't think about were that in the time frame between Monday and Wednesday, we had to get laundry done and folded (including diapers and diaper covers), errands ran, and food prepped for the trip.  The food prep was really my own added stress.  Steve's mom and dad (who graciously took us in with shelter and childcare every week) would have been happy to feed me, I just have quirky dietary standards.  So, the packing and unpacking each week took a portion of our three free weekdays where we had to also fit in yoga practice, social functions, home school activities and learning, house cleaning, oil changes, hobbies,etc.  This was one aspect that was unexpected.  Oh, yes each week was packing for not only myself, but the two boys.   The other thing that threw me off was how tired I would feel on Friday nights when arriving home, I suppose from all the travel.  Eating  a bunch of raw food through the middle of this training helped a lot in that aspect though.  The other thing that surprised me was how quickly the time passed from Saturday to Wednesday when once again I had to prepare to leave.  It was a saving grace that I took practically the whole summer off from teaching.  Because now that I am teaching 2-3 classes a week again, it makes that 5 days in between go even faster!

I think that I now have a deeper appreciation of how much time there is in one week when I don't have to go away.  On the weeks that I had a break, I was amazed at how much more space an extra two mornings, afternoons, and evenings can create.  I think at first, when I get to reclaim this space for other purposes than ytt and traveling, I am going to thoroughly appreciate the time.  I wonder how long it will take before I forget and begin to feel like my week goes too fast and that there is not enough time.  I hope that I will savor the space for awhile. 

I am looking forward to focusing my energies in other areas of my life that have been on the back burner.  Completing my Birthing from Within certification and attending more births.  I have really missed doulaing this year.  I couldn't be on call, so I couldn't take any births.  I am also excited about growing my business and networking with others in my area, so that my birthing from within classes and Itsy Bitsy yoga classes can take off.  I am so thankful for all the clients and students I have had over the past few years that have found their way to me (without much advertising on my part) and have supported the expense of all my training and learning.  And now I am ready to watch my business of service to pregnant women and their families grow.  I actually feel like I am about to graduate from college finally.  It is funny how this alternative route to education which has entailed me to work my booty off doesn't get the same recognition as a college degree.  It doesn't really matter to me so much, it is more of an observation.  I am just addicted to learning!  I can't wait to attend more yoga workshops and Birthing From Within retreats, but at least for awhile when I do these things, they won't require any more home study. 

So, I am feeling it.  I am ready to tackle my last 5-6 months so that I can send in my advanced home study for Birthing From Within and I will be done for awhile.  Yippee!!! 

Morning Glory delight

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

A day at the beach

As the weather stays consistently cooler, I am so grateful of our spontaneous decision last Monday to make the most of what might be (or have been) our last 90 degree day of the year and spend it swimming and climbing dunes.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

We started off with dune climbing.  I have to say that by the time we made it to the top, I was proud of two things.  The first being that I carried Rowan about the 2/3 of the way up it and the second being that Rowan actually climbed 1/3 of it.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingThis is looking down from about 2/3 of the way up.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingAs you can see, the sky merged with the water on this day, but I think you can get the sense of the vastness of Lake Michigan.  It is a big body of water.  I am glad we decided to climb the dune before going swimming.  We took a bit of time at the top of the dune to do jumps off the back of it.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingIsn't it amazing that these trees grow out of the sand!?So, we spent a lot of time swimming, walking down the beach, and building houses for the beach fairies.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingWe also met a woman who had a hobby of collecting fossil rocks from the bottom of the lake.  She taught us about crinoid fossils and helped us find a few.  That was pretty fun and I think Silas may enjoy looking for more at some point.All and all, we had a marvelous, wonderful day full of love, beauty and bonding. 

Pumpkin Patch

I am not sure how time passes so quickly!  Could it be because we homeschool and go out of town each week?  Perhaps.  We had two fun outings at the beginning of this week.  We were having incredibly warm weather and thought we should take advantage before it got cooler which it has.  It is hard to believe that only four days ago we were swimming in Lake Michigan and today I am in jeans, a long sleeve and sweater, plus socks to stay comfortable.  I am going to post some pictures of our pumpkin patch trip today and will post some pictures from our beach adventure in the next couple of days. 

The boys loved the trip to the pumpkin patch and can't stop talking about it.  We went to a small organic farm where they have activities set up for fun.  I was a bit disappointed with the patch only because I had visions of cute pictures with Rowan inspecting big, round, orange pumpkins with delight now that he is old enough and the reality was a bit different.  The pumpkin patch is one of my favorites places to be on a brisk autumn day with the sun shining.  Anyhow, this year's trip turned to be very educational.  We got to witness first hand how the weather can affect crops and this year's weather was not conducive to growing pumpkins.  We had a long dry spell and then a spell with too much rain all in the wrong months.  Because of this, many pumpkins were rotting in the field which made a not so pleasant smell and attracted small bugs.  We took a hay ride out to the field which the boys enjoyed, but we couldn't find a good pumpkin in the spot of patch we were in.  The others on the hay ride had more success where they were looking.  However, the owners of the farm had picked a lot of good pumpkins and had a large selection to choose from, so we went that route.  Especially since Rowan was enjoying making attempts at smashing the rotting pumpkins with his hands.  So, Silas and I made good observations about weather and this year's patch in comparison to other year's patches. 

The farm had an out building where they had activities set up for the kids.  Face painting, what I would call corn kernel shucking, and making corn husk dolls.  Plus lots of animals to enjoy-chickens, horses, a bunny, goats, dogs, and a kitten.

Here is Rowan getting his face painted-

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingAnd Silas pulling the dried corn kernels off the cob which he immensely enjoyed.  He worked on several ears.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingRowan got in on the action too.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingThe corn husk doll making was a lot of fun.  I didn't get any photos because I was making one too.  Silas really enjoyed that too.  That got me excited about reintroducing handwork to him.  The owner showed us how we could make corn husks angels for our Christmas tree and gave us some extra husks to take home.  That night when I asked Silas what he wanted to do the next day, he said "Go to the pumpkin patch again!"  Unfortunately, they were closed.  Fortunately, we got to spend a marvelous day at the beach instead!

Someone's two- Can you guess who?

My little one is no longer so little.  We had birthday celebrations for Rowan over the weekend.  His official birthday was yesterday.

When he woke up yesterday morning, I reminded him that it was his birthday.  We had been working for a few days on the idea that he was going to be two.  He definitely understands the math concept of two, but I am not sure if he really understands he has been here for two years.  He enjoyed opening birthday cards sent in the mail last week and when you ask him how old he is now, he says "Two!"

I asked him if he wanted to have a special birthday breakfast and he said yes.  I then asked him what he would like for me to make and he thought about it for a moment and then proclaimed "Cookies!"  I was surprised, but it was cute!  We settled on whole grain, blueberry pancakes. 

I made him a birthday crown ala Soule Mama.  I hope to post a picture later, but don't have any right now.   

I wanted to share the letter Steve and I wrote to Rowan while I was pregnant with him in honor of his birthday.

Dear Future Loved one,

Welcome beautiful spirit!  We invited you into our hearts and home one stormy morning.  As a seedling plants its roots in the soil in the spring, you too planted yourself within my womb.  Your presence brought great joy to our family and we felt blessed.

As the natural world unfolded around us through spring, summer, and autumn, we observed and traveled through a world that is unseen.  With our hearts and minds, we came to visit you, knowing that a great miracle was unfolding within the womb, your home.

As the summer comes to end, the harvest is reaped.  With the Autumn Equinox, we are reminded of how your life within is, too, coming to an end and you will begin your own life journey on this earthly plane.  Follow the light to a warm, loving welcome.  We will do our best as guides for you.  We do this knowing that you have come as another Libra teacher, helping to bring balance into our family and LOVE to the world.

We love you little sprout!  Mama and Papa

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingI can't believe how young Silas looks!  He has grown so big in the past two years.  We did a lotus birth with Rowan which is when you allow the placenta and umbilical cord to fall off naturally.  In the first picture, you can see how it is thicker and more gray and then over the course of a couple of days, it really shrivels up.  You can see that in the lower picture.

Angela Stoke's response

I wrote a comment on Angela Stoke's blog asking her to comment on eating local raw foods over the winter.  She graciously responded and gave me lots to ponder and think about and good resources to look into, so I am passing the info on here.

Here is my question-

“I was wondering how you felt about eating only local raw foods, especially if you live in a 4 season climate with longish winters? I experimented with a lot of raw foods this summer and it has been wonderful, but this question remains in my mind about whether the raw food diet is the right diet for the planet. Providing food from your local region seems to make a lot of sense to me and feel really right and indeed, most of the food I ate this summer was purchased from local farmer's markets. I noticed a lot of raw food super foods are definitely not local. Avacados, something I enjoy a lot are not local. I have thought of sprouting sunflower and buckwheat greens during the winter, but do you have any other tips on winter fare that is raw and local? I have frozen some blueberries and peaches picked fresh this summer from nearby farms. Also, i am transitoning to all of this and while I do enjoy more simple fare, I am far from the place in which you enjoy meals (after several years raw and a long juice feast). I would really, really appreciate it if you are able to find time to respond. Thanks and Namaste, Sara”

And here is her response-

MMmmmm-Hmmmmm, I hear you, sista Sara ;) Hmmmm…the perpetual pesky issues of local vs tasty vs sustainable vs healthy vs organic vs environmentally friendly and so on…many factors to consider here ;)
Here are my thoughts…in practical terms, I LOVE the Native American wisdom that everything you ‘need’ to feed yourself and your family is within 5 miles of you (or smthg to that effect)…many people simply don’t know enough about foraging to make that a viable option for themselves however… plus, yes, cold climates, winter, snow etc hardly lend themselves to an abundant local raw lifestyle…so, I love that you’re thinking abt indoor sprouting/growing greens through winter, that you’ve been freezing stuff in preparation and so on – GREAT steps, good for you :)
In terms of the question of whether this really makes sense on a global scale for humans, my feeling is this – humans have done a pretty remarkable job of spreading ourselves out and adapting to climates ALL over this globe, from starting out down round the middle, where fresh raw produce was in abundance, straight from the Earth and it is WARM…we’ve spread ourselves out and ‘made’ it work for us to be anywhere with processed/cooked foods/imports etc…and then some of us out in those colder places start to want to eat raw vegan…which just doesn’t seem to fit that ideally in the colder months in those places if you also want to eat locally…it’s like a monkey native to Costa Rica going to live in Chicago and demanding that he gets exactly the same bananas there as he used to get in the jungle…SO…hmmmmm…what to do…??? Well, indeed, you could follow other people who have spread themselves into those colder places and eat raw meat/fish to keep yourself tanked up over winter time…OR you could say ‘dickens’ to eating local/pollution issues and live on goji berries, durian and mangosteens all winter OR you might enjoy to try out some of the following:

*Focus your attention on: sprouts, dried foods, frozen foods, foraging skills and fermented foods.

*Listen to the interview with Steve ‘Sproutman’ Meyerowitz on RawVeganRadio (who have a fantastic new-look site by the way). He talks about how by growing and using our own sprouts, it’s possible to really live anywhere raw – even in isolation on a hillside with nothing growing on the land…it’s cheap and easy…a very inspiring interview…you can also see his wonderful sprouting books HERE.

*I would also HIGHLY recommend you check out the books and work of Helen and Scott Nearing and Eliot Coleman - these people work together on INCREDIBLE farms in the States, growing and harvesting year round with systems they've developed - I'd especially encourage reading 'Four Season Harvest' and 'Winter Harvest Manual' by Eliot Coleman - you can see those books HERE.

In the end, I feel we’re all just doing our best – so, whatever that means to you in terms of eating local, I hope you ENJOY it ;)

It looks like the links she put in her response to me are going to work.  If not, you can visit her rawreform store here.