Letting Our Children Be Themselves - Guest Blogger

Renee is my last guest blogger for this series. She is the mother of 14 beautiful children and writes about homeschooling, positive parenting, photography, adoption, knitting, cooking, and so much more. She reminds me that, though life is busy, it is good! And I love her writing style. I invite you to read her take on what it means to be a conscious parent:

I wasn't sure exactly what aspect of conscious parenting I was going to write about, until talking to a friend the other night. She brought up something that has come up a lot over the last couple of years. People seem to find it surprising that we allow and encourage our children to follow their individual interests.

Perhaps people assume that since we are a large family, we can't take each child's individual passions into account. It's true that in a family our size conformity often rules the day: the children get up at the same time, we eat the same breakfast at the same time, we eat lunch together and start school together. But I view each one of my fourteen children as individuals. It comes in to play when I dress them, spend time with them, give them haircuts and plan out their education.

I recently asked Adalia (15), Judah (13) and Tilly (12) to write a research paper on a topic of their choice. The selections? Major WWII Battles, Ice Cream, and Breast Milk vs. Formula. I'll let you guess who wrote what.

For the rest of her story, read here.

Midwive's Diner

This morning I am on Whole Mother Radio talking with Pat Jones, my lovely CNM friend who works with moms having homebirths in the Houston area.

For a little fun:

You Are What You Eat

I always used to wonder, as a child, why my grandma would tout 'you are what you eat'. But, as I get older, and learn more about nutrition and how our bodies work/what we need to function optimally, I am beginning to realize just how wise my granny was.

Part of my role as a parent is to make sure that my children grow healthy and strong for their current health and safety as well as their future lives and health. As such, I try my darnedest to make sure that they make healthy choices and have positive eating habits.

Now, I can even fall back on my grandma's wisdom: they are what they eat... but I understand that now on a whole new level!

I have seen this email a few times, but, in case you, my reader, haven't, I wanted to share it here. I have added additional information to make it 'post worthy', but it shows how, if we only pay attention to what we are eating, we will see what it will truly benefit in our own bodies.

Nutritional scientists have a word for this occurrence. It is called 'teleological nutritional targeting' - the idea that every whole food has a pattern that resembles the body organ or physiological function that it directly benefits.

This believe stemmed from the Doctrine of Signatures, a belief that God left signatures all over his creation on how it can best be used. This was instituted and studied from the early church and Roman times up until now, and now we have science to support many of these claims.

A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the  eyes.

Apples and Star Fruit are both known to contain components that increase neurotransmissions and strengthen the brains neurons. When sliced, both apples and star fruit create a star pattern, just like the neurons of the brain.
 

 

A  Tomato has four chambers and is red. The  heart has four chambers and is red. They both grow with 'lobes'...  We now know that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine, which translates into heart and blood food. 

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food. 

A  Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen  neuron-transmitters for brain function. 

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. 

Avocados,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them). 

Figs are full of seeds and hang in clusters. They also hang down, heavy, from the branches that they grow on. They look very similar to a man's scrotum, or, more specifically, the testes. Figs increase the mobility of sperm and increase the numbers of sperm. This increases the probability of overcoming  male sterility. 

Sweet Potatoes/yams look just like the human pancreas. Interestingly, sweet potatoes/yams actually help to balance the glycemic index of diabetics, as well as increase the functionality of the pancreas. 

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries and are similar in shape to them.  Additionally, they are a huge source of Vitamin E, which aids in the health of the cervix, reducing the chances of cervical cancer and vaginal dryness. Interestingly, anyone who has seen or felt the external os of a cervix can attest that olives are very similar in feel and sight. Finally, during pregnancy, eating olives packed in their original oils increases the chances of the cervix being favorable to dilation, when the body is ready to start labor.

Yeah, we all know what a banana looks like. The banana contains 3 natural sugars which are sucrose, fructose and glucose. These natural sugars combined with the high fiber content in a banana help to give an instant sustained and substantial boost of energy. Popular research has proven that just by eating two bananas is enough to provide energy for a strenuous 90 minute workout. Which is why some may consider it a sex food due to the additional energy it provides to keep a mans erection going, and going, and going....

Zucchini looks like the trachea, complete with the larynx at the end. Because of the presence of high level of vitamin C, vitamin A, copper, fiber, phosphorus, and potassium in zucchini, it is said to be a natural cure/medicine for both season, situational, and chronic asthma sufferers.

Peanuts come in pairs and grow in an enclosed space, very much like the testes that reside in a man's scrotum. Peanuts, not surprisingly then, have a profound effect on male sexual libido.A funny tidbit of history, the church of the Middle Ages forbade men to eat peanuts. Why? peanuts increase the production of testosterone as well as contain arginine, the main component of Viagra.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. 

 
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Part of Conscious parenting and being a conscious family is being conscientious of what we consume, our diet. So, next time you make your family a spinach salad topped with celery, onions, tomatoes, walnuts, and chopped star fruit, know you are not only feeding their bellies, but their bodies! 

Conscious Family Giveaway #8

As stated in a previous post, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as I stated prior, we will be having some fun giveaways during April.

Giveaway #1 can be found here
Giveaway #2 can be found here
Giveaway #3 can be found here
Giveaway #4 can be found here
Giveaway #5 can be found here
Giveaway #6 can be found here
Giveaway #7 can be found here

Alexis owns Worts and Cunning Apothecary. She  was happy to hear about our event and is a lovely shop owner who understands conscious choices, as it is evident in her product line. :) It was wonderful reading her interview answers and I enjoyed getting to know her a little more in the process. I'd like to introduce to you, Alexis:

When looking back at little me and tracing the path that has led me to becoming an herbalist, I often think of two important and formative events in my life. The first involved my ever-expanding identity politics which included identifying for many years as a koala bear. On a fateful family vacation to New Zealand I had the opportunity to hold a koala bear (you know, cuz wild animals and children are meant to snuggle) and realized immediately that the koala bear was kin. I proceeded to ride my tricycle around our neighborhood eating leaves of the trees and learning about the properties of plants (which ones were poisonous, which ones stung, which ones tasted sweet) through my koala girl escapades. A relationship with the plant world had truly begun and was further developed by my additional identity as a psychic mutant who was brewing a super potion in toy buckets in her backyard fort. Both of these habits – eating plantlife and brewing them in buckets – continued to evolve over the years, I dare say, matured, and led me to realize that one of my callings in life was to serve my community as an herbalist. So an herbalist I became and I am continuously becoming.

Worts + Cunning Apothecary started as a way for me to not only share herbal remedies that I have been creating for my family, friends, and community, but also was the first step towards building a sliding-scale health cooperative with other health practitioners. While Worts + Cunning Apothecary is still a wee business, it is supported by a big vision and lots of passion for serving the health needs of whatever community I find myself in.

As you’ve probably begun to suspect [from the above] I was a kid who dedicated a lot of energy to developing the fine muscle of imagination. I was born in Southern California, moved to Japan for my formative years, and then back to California. Living abroad has shaped the way that I perceive the world as well as living in the multicultural communities of California. Diversity has always been a given in my life, not a quota. It wasn’t until I moved to areas of the country that consider themselves to be less diverse that I began to better appreciate the experience I had of growing up in a world of complicated, cross-cultural identities. Such an environment allowed me greater room to stretch and grow even though at the time I was often seen as the “weird” and not the most *ahem* popular kid in the school. Today, I am someone who relishes in the complicated, delights in the simple, and practices keeping open to all the ways we choose to identify ourselves. Working with plants is a constant practice of exploring perception, questioning it, and ultimately learning to listen with more than just the funny things aside our head.

Important moments for me have always been the ones in which I feel like a veil has been pulled back or something falls away to reveal a deeper, if often simpler, connection to that which dwells between, beyond, and within us. There was a point a few years back when the economy was nose-diving, jobs were scarce, and I was still pretty fresh out of college when I realized that I was not built to work behind a desk every day from 9-5. Koala bears don’t care for florescent lights and mutants have low tolerances for sassy copy machines.

Looking back at my early childhood career choices (mission specialist on a space shuttle to Mars, private investigator, Amazon warrior) I realized that I always imagined myself running my own business (often with super-powered allies) and recognizing my kinship for the green realm, I began my studies as an herbalist. While I am still working other jobs to pay the bills and support my love who is becoming a midwife, these are extra-curricular activities, and will eventually fall away as the Apothecary grows. It’s a pretty darn lovely place to be in.

Plants are our allies in healing and so I have developed and continue to develop the Apothecary in ways that affirms our relationship to the green world, seeking to be part of re-enchanting the world, not exploiting the gifts of the earth. As a Pagan who believes in both the immanence and transcendence of divinity, I seek to treat the earth, the air, the fire, the water of our universe as I would treat a beloved. I still have a way to go in creating a carbon-neutral company, but I feel confident in the foundation I have built that is invested in sustainable practices.

The Apothecary is a quirky place and I hope that those who visit feel invited in to a world of herbal medicine that is sometimes simple and always a bit mysterious. For me, herbal medicine is one of many ways for folks to participate into their own healing. Our green allies don’t heal us, they heal with us and that is a profound shift in understanding the ways that we achieve and maintain health. Herbal medicine is also an excellent way to drink lots and lots of lovely cups of tea - always a good thing in my book.

And just a little 'non business'

I was raised on a healthy dose of sci-fi thanks to my Dad and Grandpa and one of my favorite movies of all time is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. There is really no way to properly describe this movie or my continued implausible hope that they will eventually make a sequel. Buckaroo Banzai is a good visual representation of the bizarre (or true?) ways I found myself imagining the universe and the way I might fit in to it. The closing scene, complete with a montage of “check us out, we’re so cool” walking, is a visual genre we left behind in the 80s, but we can always hope for a revival.

 As you've probably noticed, she is not just an awesome herbalist, but a really wonderful writer! She owns a blog here, and she is in the process of building an independent website here.

THE GIVEAWAY
Alexis is offering one lucky reader a Pregnancy Tea Blend Trio! It is such a neat gift. Her trio is comprised of Budding (pays special attention to building up nutrients in the body and relieving morning sickness), Blooming (brings in herbs that are especially strengthening and tone to the uterus, as well as calming herbs like Chamomile, to regulate and sustain energy levels.), and Blossoming (continues to tone the uterus and also includes herbs to help bring milk and the development of colostrum).

This gift is worth over $25. So, whose going to win it?!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Worts and Cunning's Facebook page, leave a comment on her wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Go visit her blog, then both leave a comment on her blog saying hi AND leave a comment here telling me what you learned/liked/etc.. from her posts.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Worts and Cunning's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to her etsy shop and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
    

Entries must be received by May 5th at midnight. Drawing will occur in that first week of May. Good luck!!!

OP Baby

Very cool. This short, close-up video shows an occiput posterior (sunny side up), waterbirth baby, born with the caul over his/her face, and shows baby being active at the perineum (blinking, wiggling, etc..)

Conscious Family Giveaway #7

As you now know, this month is dedicated to the Conscious Family. And, as such, we are having some great giveaways during April.

Jamie, of Pat-A-Cake Baby, is our seventh business owner in our Conscious Family series giveaways.

In addition to the donation they have given, Jamie is offering a 15% discount code to you, the reader! Simply go to their website and enter the discount code of: GRAND

Have fun getting to know her and take a look at their business offerings.

THE INTERVIEW

Can you tell me a little about you, as a person, and then a little about how you, the business owner, came to create your store?

I am a busy mom of two girls, Sophia, 3.5 and Scarlett, 13 months. I’m a bit of a type-A personality when it comes to keeping my house clean and organized…this has been one of my hardest obstacles to overcome, as this just isn’t much of a possibility anymore with two littles, a busy business and a husband who works 60 hours a week! I live in North Idaho and love to be outdoors in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I pretty much hibernate in the winter, especially when it is -18, like today. I am a past teacher of bilingual education and English as a second language, but I didn’t teach for long, as I wanted to be home with my children.

I started the Pat-a-Cake Baby during my hubby’s second semester of law school in 2008. He was up all night studying and I don’t do well going to sleep by myself, so I just taught myself to sew. I put my designs on Etsy and started learning about designer fabrics. A few months later and we had our first wholesale order and I just couldn’t keep up (plus I am not a very good seamstress!). I hired my first local seamstress in May and built a website. By November, I hired a second seamstress and the following year I hired another as backup and I also have a full time packager/snap applier, etc. Although I’ve been contacted by numerous factories overseas, I like to keep my business model of local, handmade products. The attention to detail is far superior and our products are always triple checked. First by the seamstress, second by the packager and third, by me. Of course, this makes for higher prices, but people who want heirloom quality baby products that aren’t factory made are happy to pay a higher price.  

The Pat-a-Cake has grown so much with minimal marketing, just word of mouth by all the awesome parents out there. It is now in the hands of celebrities from Tori Spelling, Ali Landry and John Travolta. I got to meet my childhood idol, Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie from Full House) at a gifting event in L.A. (see our “Press” page on our website for pics) and have our products listed in my favorite pregnancy magazine, the one I used to read way before I started Pat-a-Cake. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen! It’s been a fun ride and I love being able to make an income while being home with my girls…it is the best of both worlds, although extremely stressful at times. For the last 3 years, I’ve had all my emails directed to my Blackberry. 

It took that long for me to figure out that that was wrong. Just last week, I disabled it for good and I think my blood pressure has gone way down J While, I don’t have set office hours, I am not at the beck and call of anyone, but my children. I don’t feel as much pressure to respond to an email immediately. What a liberated feeling! Although, I am still trying to break the habit of checking my phone.

What were you like as a child?
I was very independent, creative and super busy outside. I didn’t watch much TV and still could live without it, if someone took our TV away (although, I might miss NBC’s Thursday lineup!). We didn’t have a lot of money, so we spent vacations camping in the great outdoors, which beats Disneyland any day! I was a very good student and always gave 100% to my school work. I’ve had a job since I was 14 and worked 20-30 hours all through high school and college. The work ethic of a lot of teenagers these days makes me sad. I’m glad I worked hard for everything I have ever owned, from my first car to my first house. And although, my own children will grow up a bit differently, they will always work for and earn the things they desire.

If you had to pinpoint one turning point in your life/career, what would you consider that defining moment/event?
Definitely becoming a mother and forever wearing my heart on my sleeve! My political viewpoints have changed greatly and my “mother bear” instincts are always at the forefront. I think I would be a completely different teacher, now that I’m a mother, perhaps a little less energetic (children do that to you), but more compassionate than I already was. I mean the children in my class were somebody’s babies, someone’s lifeblood and livelihood. I don’t think that that can be completely understood until you have children.

You offer go green cloth wipes, very cool - obviously you see the need for some more eco-conscious options, so tell me why these things are important to you both personally and professionally.
Well professionally, they make business sense, as they use up our scraps :) Personally, I cloth diapered and loved being able to reuse the diapers and wipes we had. Our wet bags were also developed during my cloth diapering days. Cloth wipes work much better than disposables anyway and you don’t end up using as many. I have to be honest though, with my second child, I haven’t been as good at cloth diapering. I just don’t have enough hours in the day to do that type of laundry anymore…if I only could have a nanny.

What do you hope your clients get from your products?
I hope that they enjoy going out in public and stealing the attention from other mom’s because their littles have quality made products that are top of the line in design, practicality, and trendiness. They can be happy that they are supporting a mom-owned business that still keeps products made in the U.S.!

Anything else you want to share with my readers?

We also have a newsletter and send out about 6 letters a year with news and discounts.

THE GIVEAWAY

They are offering a $25.00 gift certificate to their store, very cool! This way, you are sure to find something applicable to your stage of parenting!

Again, don't forget the rules. So, read below CAREFULLY for the rules to enter!

RULES FOR ENTERING:
To enter, you MUST complete #1 on the list. After that, feel free to enter as many additional times as you would like (#2-#5) and in any particular order you so choose. You must leave an additional comment for each entry for it to be valid. Please don't forget to leave me some way to get in contact with you if you are the winner.

1. Like Pat A Cake's Facebook page, leave a comment on their wall saying that I sent you, and come back/comment here to let me know you did. :)
   
2. Like my Facebook Page, then come back and let me know you have. If you are already a liker, let me know. :)
   
3. Share this giveaway on your own blog, then come back here and comment, sharing the link to that post in the body of your comment.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook wall, tagging my or Pat A Cake's FB pages, then come back here and comment, letting me know you did. 
   
5. Go to their main website and browse around, come back here and let me know what item you like the most.
    

Entries must be received by May 3rd at midnight. Drawing will occur in that first week of May. Good luck!!!

Wordless Wednesday