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Size Choices …

Medium: 74″
Large: 80″
XL: 86″

If you are interested in vending, you can download and application here!

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!

It’s been a while since my last post. LOTS has been going on, and I feel it’s time to empty the contents of the the “going-ons” into a blog post … into this blog post, even. Ready? Okay.

So, it all began last summer. Rachaela (my partner in crime with anything birth related, and also good friend) left for a summer away in New Orleans, leaving me to take care of organizing the CHOICES meetings while she was gone. Part of what I did that summer was re-vamp the website, and added a blog. I also started a facebook page. I wanted to create a place for local people to go to find any sort of pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting resource. And if there was something we couldn’t offer, then we would try to find something that would help. So, the traffic to the website grew, and all was good.

I’m not sure when the idea came to me–it could have been after discovering BABS and gasping at how amazing their center is and how absolutely wonderful it would be to have something like that in Lafayette. That must have been the beginning of the plans. I decided that summer that I was going to convince Rachaela to work with me to open an education and resource center for families and women in the stages pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting. So, when Rachaela came back, I proposed the idea at Greyhouse Coffee! The convincing worked, and we decided to do it! We also decided that if we were going to open a center, we would need to work hard and quickly to make it happen. And that is what we have been doing.

It’s looking like the center will be open this summer. We have had our eye on a really great spot on Main Street downtown. It’s the location that Helen Magazine once used. The set up inside is very near perfect for what we need. There is a desk at the entrance for checking in, and lots of room for classes and workshops. There is also a nice sized office in the back for a desk and storage.  AND, an entire wall with chalkboard paint.  That might be the selling point right there!  Anyway, this is what have going on so far.

Right now, the services we offer are:

• Birthing Naturally, Natural Childbirth Preparation
• Bradley Method, Natural Childbirth Preparation
• Dancing for Birth, Prenatal Exercise/Childbirth Preparation
• C.H.O.I.C.E.S. Natural Birth and Informed Parenting, support and educational group
• Mama Kate’s Placenta Encapsulation Services
• Mama Kate’s Birth Doula Services
• Infant Massage, one day class
• Breastfeeding 101, one day class

And services that will be available when we open …

• Prenatal Photography
• Traditional, Prenatal, Mommy & Me, and Postpartum Yoga
• Birthing From Within Childbirth Preparation Class
• Birth Art
• Reiki workshops
• ICAN Support Group
• Nutritionist Consultations
• Prenatal massage
• Breastfeeding Cafe, Breastfeeding Support
• Le Leche League
• Belly Casting and Henna Art Parties
• Green Baby Shower/Blessing Way planning and hosting

So what do you think?  It’s going to be great, right?  I think so, too!

Here is where I ask you to donate!  Get ready!  We are a non-profit, which means we need donors to keep us going–and especially, now as we are trying to gather enough money to cover rent (at the very least) for the next 2 years.  Would you like to help us open and offer this wonderful service to the people of Lafayette?  We would very much appreciate any and all donations!  Here is the link to donate through Paypal. Or, if you would like to send a check, here is our address:

Natural Parenting Education Network

P.O. Box 2912

West Lafayette, IN 47966

Photo by catsper

CHOICES of Lafayette is

GOING RAW!

Ready for the growing season? Well, we are! We are happy to be hosting a raw foods presentation and demonstration on Monday, April 18th at 5:30pm at the Tippecanoe Public Library in downtown Lafayette to show our enthusiasm for fresh foods! With the Farmer’s Markets, your own gardens, and CSA’s on their way in, NOW is the time to start thinking about how best to use all that wonderful food. Many people are curious about raw foods for increased energy, detoxing and an all-over health boost. This presentation will cover raw basics and give you simple ways to incorporate raw foods into you and your family’s life! As always this is free and open to the public, we are looking forward to seeing you there!

RSVP, if you would like!

Some of you have become intrigued by all of this, so I thought I’d share the oh-so-exciting meals we’ve been consuming. I’m trying really hard to balance everything, and I hope I’m doing an ok job.

First of all, here are the staples:

• Spinach – we use this in every salad, not only because spinach rocks, but it has a descent amount of protein content.
• Arugula – not sure what nutrients this holds, but it tastes amazing.
• Apples
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Pomegranate
• Avocado
• Almonds
• Soy Milk – not sure if that’s considered raw, but we are going with it! Plus, we still do Kefir smoothies, so diary is out and soy is in!
• Granola
• Soy Yogurt – again, not sure about its “rawness.”
• Peanut Butter

So, what do we eat?

Breakfast has been 2 key meals that really haven’t gotten old:

• Yogurt with granola, strawberries, and blueberries
• Apple, Banana, and Flax seeds (soaked overnight) blended to make a sort of oatmeal looking dish. With cinnamon and nutmeg.

Lunch / Snacks:

• Spinach and Arugula salad with avocado, pomegranate, sunflower seeds, strawberries, blood oranges, and blood orange juice squeezed for the dressing.
• Celery and Peanut Butter
• Almonds
• Apples and Peanut Butter
• Broccoli Salad I’ve found quite a few recipes on Gone Raw.
• Hummus with Red Peppers

Dinner:

• Pesto with whole grain pasta (Pasta was cheating … meh)
• Guacamole with chips (I cheated with the chips, John did not, because he is hard core!)
• Zesty Lime Corn Salad
• Spinach Salad with any variation of fruits and veggies, nuts or seeds, and any citrus juice from a lemon, lime, or orange (we’ve done it all!)

And things I want to make:

• Cucumber Fennel Salad
• Zucchini Mexicali
• Sunrise Salad

Overall, we are eating really good stuff. That plan is to stick to mostly raw for a month or so, and then add in a warm meal for dinner. It’s pretty easy to get used to eating like this, so the idea is to stick with this even after the challange. But, we won’t be so strict!

I received a call from one of the Midwives I work with, and she asked me to go be with a laboring mom. This mom has had a history of fast labors, and with the Midwife being a tad far away, she thought it would be a good idea to get someone over to this mom’s house. I agreed, packed up my bag, changed into scrubs, and kissed my babies and husband goodbye for the night–ready for a long haul. On my drive over to the house, I was having a little chat with God about the upcoming situation I was getting myself into. I was praying for “no baby until the Midwife arrives! please! but if baby comes, please guide me to do everything I can for this family.” So, I then arrive at the house. I was greeted and directed to join everyone upstairs. In a tiny bedroom was a room full of wonderful people. The mother’s closest friends and family were there to support her during her labor and birth. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere they had created, and was so happy to be apart of this. Mom seemed to be contracting pretty well–there was no question about whether she was in labor. I assumed things would slowly progress and was ready for a long night. Well, things then changed. Mom’s contractions began piling on top of each other and were getting really intense. She was having a hard time dealing with them, but was so lucky to have a close friend as a Doula and room full of wonderful people praying for her as she went through this tough time. To say the whole situation was beautiful is an understatement. I had tears in my eyes from witnessing the love and support in that room. Mom’s Doula noticed her fighting the urge to push and directed her to go with it, if that’s what she felt was right. I still was in disbelief that she was this far into labor! I remember telling mom to push, and if it felt good, go for it! And if any part of her told her that it wasn’t right to push, just breath it out. I think this was the point when something new inside of me that I’d not experienced before clicked on. My instincts kicked in and I was on auto pilot. Turns out pushing was feeling good, so it was time to have this baby! The baby’s head was crowning, so I reached down and placed my hand on baby’s head. Soon the entire head was out. Baby was in the water sack! I yelled this out to the room, because it is great for baby to be still en caul when being born. My son was born the same way. Mom took a brief rest between urges to push and then pushed the rest of baby out with ease. After asking her if she wanted to catch baby, she directed me to. And that is what I did! I caught baby boy and brought him up to his mom. I reminded her to keep baby lower as to avoid pulling too hard on the cord. After checking the cord, it appeared that she had quite a long cord and was nowhere near pulling it too tightly. At this point I was a bit worried because baby was so blue. After the fact, I found that babies are most often blue right after birth. I am so new to all of this, that I was a little more concerned than I should have been. But! It’s hard to not freak out a little when this is your first time doing something like this! Baby began pinking up quickly and we all helped mom and baby move to the bed to relax a bit. Mom birthed the placenta and was feeling fabulous after all of the hard work. She was awesome!

I could not help but be totally and completely inspired by this. I am so honored and thankful to have been apart of this birth. From the minute I was sure I’d be the one helping this woman while she gave birth to her baby, I was forever changed. To experience this was absolutely amazing, and something I will never forget. Not only was witnessing this birth amazing, but the lesson it taught me was quite astounding. I’ll go back to when I was training to be a birth assistant. During one of the workshops I attended, I was a bit freaked out. Most of the others that were attending this workshop were nurses. I am not. Never even thought about becoming a nurse. It seems to me you have to be of a certain “breed” to be a midwife, nurse, doctor, EMT, etc, etc. I’m beginning to see that I might be of that “breed”. And, I especially am someone that wants to be there for women having their babies. If there is ever a time to feel God in the room, it’s when a baby is born. And God was definitely there that night taking care of me, the mom, the baby, and the whole family. It. Was. Beautiful. So, what I learned was that I’m in the right place. When you have a sense of peace about a choice you’ve made or a situation you are in, you know it’s right. At this birth, I felt like I was right where I needed to be, and that feeling is incredible.

So, who knows? I might be on my way to Midwifery …

Another really cool tid bit about this, was that the mother caught on to this being a defining moment for me. When I went to her 48 hour home visit, she asked me about how I felt about the whole situation. I felt that was very perceptive of her. I’m not sure I would have noticed something like that. You get so sucked into having the baby and then getting acquainted with your baby, that what everyone else is doing becomes a blur. So, when she asked me this, that was another confirmation that I was right to feel this situation was a lesson for me. Thank you to this wonderful family, I will never forget that wonderful night!