Archer fell asleep on our bike ride through campus. He's still asleep in the booth while we wait for food!

The boys blowing bubbles at Grandma Susan's.

The cousins catching lightening bugs!

We have 2 beautiful chickens in our back yard!

Friends helped us build the coop.

The cousins looking out at the lake.

Friends were made at Fiddlers!

Early morning adventures downtown!

A live show right outside of our camper at Fiddlers!

Archer at the fountain!

Playing tunes at Grandma Susan's!

Our house painting project!

And there’s so much left of summer!

Today has been fantastic. John and I took the boys to the Triple XXX for the first time EVER. We were always leery about going there due to the seating arrangement they have. It’s only bar stool along a counter seating, which doesn’t work well for kids that sit in highchairs or have issues with sitting still. (Um, I don’t know about yours kids, but mine have NEVER stayed in their chair for an entire meal.) Which, by the way, our kids have always HATED high chairs. They both used them for a short period of time, until they caught on to the lack of freedom you have sitting in one of those things. So, when we go out, we hope for available booths to cram the boys in on the inside seats. Now that Archer can hold his own on a stool, we decided to give Triple XXX a go. And, I am so glad we did! I had missed this place! The coffee is probably Folgers, but when it’s poured into those brown plastic mugs, it tastes like gourmet coffee from Brazil. The charm that this restaurant possesses is amazing. It’s a hole in the wall, that I will always love. It’s a diner, and I am in love with diners.

After quitting my last full time job, I’ve had the goal to be self employed.  I really have the “entrepreneurial spirit” in me, and I can’t shake it!  What can I say?  I’m driven!  So, after being blessed enough to stay home with my 2 amazing boys and focusing on them, I am now ready to start working!  And the options are abounding, lately.  Along with my Doula training I am also working towards all the certifications I need to be a birth assistant to a Midwife.  I have a few things left to learn, and then I will be on the team of the Midwife who attended Archer’s birth.  This opportunity is more than I could ask for.  I admire my Midwife and her practice so much, and I feel very lucky to be apart of it.  I will learn so much!

My plans are not set in stone, though.  I will be seeking out women that would like a Doula in order to meet the requirements for the DONA Doula certification, but I’m not yet sure that I will be continuously serving as a Doula.  I’m not quite sure my family is ready for me to be on call ALL THE TIME.  The plan as of now is to work more with my Midwife and see where that goes.  I really love homebirth and would love to work closely with a Midwife.

On top of the Doula and Birth Assisting,  I am also getting Placenta Encapsulation Clients!  So awesome!  And slings are still selling!  Double awesome!

I can’t express the excitement I have about all of this.  Things are all coming together, and I am so thankful.  Most of all, I am thankful for John.  He has been supportive through all of this.  He encourages me, and he pushes me.  He listens to me ramble.  He is helping me to fine tune plans.  He’s even offering to deal with the accounting aspect of my business.  THAT IS AWESOME.  I’m not really sure I have it in me to keep track of all that tax stuff.  Anyway, John rocks.  My family rocks.  I love me life.  So there.

*In this case “a few” really means “a lot”. I really tried to cut down the number of pictures in this post, but I’m seriously in love with the colors!

Another wonderful thing happened! Two ladies came up to my table and one was explaining to the other about how you use a sling. I stepped in to help out with the explanation, and discovered that the lady inquiring about the slings was blind. I immediately got excited! I was previously a Braille Transcriber and have had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful people in the blind community. So, I explained to her how to use the sling and told her about how I loved working in Braille. I miss parts of that job … sometimes. And most of all, I miss talking with people in that community.

So many nice people came to my table that day. A couple good friends came by. It’s so nice to have support from friends and family. Although the sales were minimal, the people I met and saw again totally made up for it. This festival was fantastic!
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A few months ago, I contacted a girl that was offering Placenta Encapsulation services for the Indianapolis area. After having my own Placenta Encapsulated, I became pretty interested in the whole thing. It tremendously helped me through the early postpartum days. After I gave birth, the birth attendants boiled my (or Archer’s) Placenta down and put it in our refrigerator. I had expressed my interest in encapsulation, so they got it prepared for that. A week and a half later–after the initial high from a baby coming out of me in my own home with no intervention wore off–I was feeling quite down, and decided that we really needed to put this organ in our fridge to good use. John took care of the whole process, and when the Placenta was all ground up, my friend and I got to put it all in capsules. After taking them I really noticed a difference. They became my natural happy pills. So, after first hand experience with using my Placenta, I thought about offering this service to other moms. After a training session in Indy with a very special client of Anna’s (The Placenta Girl), I am now going to offer Placenta Encapsulation services to our area! I would also like to pursue getting certified as a Postpartum Doula, eventually. My Placenta service would mesh well with those of a Postpartum Doula. I’m really excited about all of this because it allows me to keep a tie to the childbirth community while following my career dreams. I have no set in stone plan for my career, but I do know that these services will definitely get me off to a good start in the right direction. These services also will work out great since I’m staying home. I am also getting a bit antsy to get out of the house and start working. Slowly stepping back into working will be better for all of us, though. I’m hoping for a few clients a month for my Encapsulation Services and of course the continued sales of my slings. Then, as the boys get a bit older I can start on my Postpartum Doula training. After Archer is in school, I still plan to become a Birth Assistant to a Midwife. With a more open schedule, I’m hoping that career choice will work well for our family. But, who knows where we will be in a few years. Plans always change.

Jackson and Archer have bunk beds (Thanks Annie!)
My house is clean
The yard is mowed
I just grabbed a bag full of things that were ready in the garden (the basil is gorgeous)
Coffee
I bought a dehydrator
John and Jackson’s hair cuts
Laundry is almost done
We might be business owners in a month (!)*
John is off of work for a week
Family is coming to visit
The weather is gorgeous
Tonight we are leaving for the lake
AND … we are officially on vacay! Yep, that’s right, vacay.

*More about the business soon. All I can say is if you read this, PLEASE cross your fingers for us!

Also, something is really wrong with something or other because all this extra space in my posts shouldn’t be there. Grrrr.

More food references:  watching Food Inc. on PBS last night.  Wow.  I knew about the crazy industry treating animals in ways I can hardly think about without tearing up, but seeing this film and being reminded of it was something I was in need of.  Seeing these poor animals and farmers being brought into this horrible machine of get-the-most-food-by-any-means-necessary-for-big-profit totally sickens me.  And seriously, I want to cry thinking about it.  So, I try not to, but I do act on my feelings.  We already have cut meat out of our household, but we do eat it when we are out.  Now?  After watching this film and seeing not only the horrible treatment of the animals, but these messed up, money hungry, and also GIGANTIC companies running the “food show”, I really want no part of it.  I want nothing to do with a company that treats animals this way.  I want nothing to do with a company that treats their employees this way.  (I’m referring to the companies rallying Mexican immigrants to the U.S. to work for them, and then turning a blind eye when these fine folks are getting arrested for illegally being in our country!  Infuriating!)  And, I really want nothing to do with a company selling this crap they call “food” to consumers.  So?  No meat for me.  I don’t even want to buy anything in a box after seeing this movie!  Veggies all around for me!

Oh, and one more thing!  Check out the Eating Locally page I added to another website I write for with great ways to eat local and organic food.  (For the Lafayette/West Lafayette folk, of course!)

1. Reduce Waste

• Use re-usable shopping bags
• Use loose tea as opposed to bags
• Buy local milk and re-use container (preferably glass)
• Buy snack foods and cereals from bins and use re-usable bags
• Re-use glass jars
• Make our own bread
• Use mainly produce for meals
• Buy local cheese
• Ask for re-usable glass/plate/silverware at restaurants (Snobby?  I think so!)

2. Less Electricity Use

• Wash clothes by hand (in bath tub) (This won’t be the heavily soiled loads, such as dirty diapers)
• Wash clothes after a few uses as opposed to one day of wear
• Dry clothes on line outside
• Use less lights/Use more candles
• Look into occasionally eliminating our need to use the refridgerator
• TV only on in the evenings

3. Store Rain Water

4. Catch water in sinks and use for clothes washing and toilets

5. Buy only used clothing (Not very hard for thrifters like us!) or any other necessity

6. Can or Freeze vegetables from garden

7. Ride our bikes more often

8. Make safe household cleaners/personal hygeine products

• laundry soap
• dish soap- Castile Soap with Rosemary and Peppermint
• dishwasher soap
• bathroom cleaner
• floor cleaner- Vinegar and water
• shampoo / conditioner
• body soap- Castile Soap with whatever essential oil combination I’m in the mood for!
• toothpaste