Starting off at Montessori

So, we did this in stages. This is L on her "first day" at school. Really, it was a 1-on-1 meeting with her teacher for an hour. I didn't find out until afterward that L thought of it as her "first day".

Her are pics of us on her "second day" but really her first with other kids. This day she had "New Student Orientation" with all the other newbies. This is the fancy dress I bought for her "first day" but wasn't planning on that for another week. Little did I know that a day at school with the teacher and other kids feels like "school" to a 3-year-old. Duh!

OK, this is her first "official" day of school at Montessori. She stayed for lunch that day because of her new super-cool lunch box Grandma got for her. We called it the first day with "big kids". To complicate matters further, she does not consider herself a "new kid" because she went there a few days two summers ago when Stephen was the daycare guy. She is getting the hang of things, though.

This just in!

So, I generally try hard to keep work/life separate-- challenging because some of my best friends are also co-workers. We do digress occasionally but most of the time can have a good time WITHOUT talking shop at all.

Anyway, since most of the people in my non-work life has virtually no idea what i do for a living, I thought I would share this. It is a video about our program hot off the presses. I love it and am so excited to have this tool to share with folks. I like to think our program is pretty unique and I am not always so good about tooting my own horn. Now I don't have to. I can just hand over a DVD. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxSr0dquSpg

Our Very Own Red Tent

My birthday was last week. for my "girls' night out" portion of the multi-week celebration, I wanted to host a Red Tent Event. Really, I had finally gotten my hands on the library's copy of "The Business of Being Born" and wanted to host a viewing of it. I have a few friends who are pregnant (well, one just had her babe yesterday) and obviously, I was interested in seeing the film again with a different (read: pregnant) perspective.

So... I invited a bunch of women over for a Sunday night viewing. Stephen made heaps of fresh popcorn (he makes FABULOUS popcorn), put the kiddo to bed and made himself scarce.

Strangely enough, the women who showed up were not all from my normal little circle nor were they women who knew each other (rare for little ole Kalamazoo). There were several women from the neighborhood and some of my normal posse-- all of them VERY cool women with very different childbirth stories.

We watched the film, ate tons of popcorn, drank some red wine and then had an amazing conversation following the film. We all stayed up WAY too late considering it was a Sunday and most of us (but not all) had kids to get to school the next day. We shared our various stories, ranging from many medical interventions to smooth home births, from one pregnancy that ended in miscarriage to those who swore they would NEVER go through childbirth again.

I shared my perspective of near orgasmic euphoria during and after the birth. I loved it, I really did. I feel like I loved every second of it. Every once in a while, I check in with Stephen or with my dear friend Gina who was there with us. They assure me that I did love it. I did not block out any traumatic moments in which I screamed for drugs or cussed out Stephen . They assure me that it was hard but I just kept working and they corroborate my own stories of really digging on being pregnant and giving birth. I feel really lucky.

I attribute a lot of that experience to Ina May Gaskin. I am sure I am not the only one in the world as that woman has helped 1000's of women find their power. My connection feels unique to me in that I had never heard of Ina May. When I found out I was pregnant, I went immediately to my source for information--- the public library. I looked up birth and went to the general section. I had been warned by someone to stay away from those "What to Expect" books as they were supposedly filled with terrifying "what if's". So, I just started looking through the second floor stacks. I saw an older version of Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery and loved the beautiful cover. I grabbed that one and plopped right down in the aisle and started reading. Although I chuckled at first at the photos of all the HAIR, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the amazing, powerful birth stories. I decided right then and there that was the kind of birth I wanted and I spent the rest of my pregnancy reading the stuff that helped me get there and staying away from the more mainstream stuff that I felt might get in my way. That first day, I learned about "horse lips" and the Sphincter Law. I truly believe that Ina May's crazy ideas about making out during labor and "loving the baby out of you" are where it's at.

On a side note, I went home and gushed to Stephen about my new discovery. I showed him some photos in the book. He said, "I think I went there when I was a kid. Yeah, I did. We went to the Farm. I remember lots of kids and we all just ran around together free." There is a great photo in that book of a little naked long-haired blonde kid running away and it could very well be my little Stephen-- naked and free.

Family Holiday... Finally!

I received one of those kinda spammy emails on the Wednesday before Labor Day (from a rental website I have used before). I called and booked the sight unseen cabin on Thursday and we hopped in the car by 5:30pm on Friday after Stephen got home from work. I packed to much food, forgot the kid's life preserver and Stephen's sandals, but other than that, we were OFF!

We stayed at a lovely little spot just south of Traverse City on small to medium lake called Spider Lake. It was so perfect! The cabin was clean and rustic. It really met all of our needs. I wanted something quiet and off the beaten path. Stephen wanted something that would keep us dry and safe in the event of a thunderstorm. L wanted somewhere she could play, play, play.

The lake was sandy and warm (warm enough for me to get in and hang out!). The beach had shade AND sun, a porch swing, a treehouse, tons of sand toys and even a couple of swingsets!

We will definitely be going back to this little haven. We had not gotten away at all this summer and we all really seemed to need it. I know I was beating myself up for not doing "enough relaxing" this summer (how backwards is that?). Getting away and floating hand in hand with my little one on pink floaties is EXACTLY what I needed to face this fall's busy season head-on.

My Man-- Mr. Vine

I really love this photograph of my lovely partner. Looking so cool and relaxed on our little family holiday up north. He really wasn't posing-- just watching the kid on the swingset at the public beach in Empire, Michigan.

By the way, he designed that t-shirt. Yes, we drink a LOT of Vernor's around here.

First Day Jitters

"You OK, honey?" I ask as I glance back at her on the way to school this morning.

"Yes. This is just what my face looks like when I am kind of scared to meet all the other kids."

A pep talk followed and she went off to her new classroom with her brave little self. Do you think it is possible for a person's heart to explode with love for another person?