What just happened?!?

Welcome to the middle of the story.

Life is messy. Life is hard. Life is glorious and grandiose and full of shit that happens and times that may bore us to tears. Whatever your life is, mine went completely insane.

As I was contemplating a rebirth, a renewal, a re-energizing of my personal life in Northern California, I found out I was pregnant. (This was early Spring 2014.)  Dang it! I thought I was DONE with the whole birth world and babies and diapers and that whole "no sleep" thing! AND I was away from my support system! This is probably what scared me the most. My parents and In-laws were 3,000 miles away.

Please do not get me wrong: this pregnancy was certainly NOT according to OUR plan; but was this child unwanted? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! This was certainly God's Child. From that point on, I had to put "my plans" on hold and let God have a turn at the wheel. Once the pregnancy was confirmed, I knew I had to find a support system: birth team, church, friends. For an introvert, this was going to be tough!

In December 2013, we moved into a small 120+ year old house in the second floor unit near downtown Petaluma, CA. It was within walking distance of anything we needed! A small Whole Foods was half a block away. A Target, Sprouts, and surrounding shopping center was four or five blocks east of us, while beautiful, downtown historic Petaluma was about a mile west of us. Should you ever wonder, "Petaluma. Should we stop and check it out?" You need to answer, "YES!" It is full of cute little shops for everyone! Loads of restaurants and snack stops, a yarn shop, several well-stocked thrift stores, a natural toy store in the theater district, a well-stocked candy store, and tons of historical architecture! A majority of these buildings were from before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Walnut Park is a great little park with a playground that the girls liked located on the south end of downtown. And look up the long list of movies that were shot in and around Petaluma over several decades! ( here, here, and here )

Our location was fantastic. We found a church relatively close in town called 360 Church of Petaluma.  It was a non-denominational Christian church that felt relaxed, and the girls felt comfortable in their children's programs. This one was full of real people. Thank God!

I started interviewing local midwives. Found two that were about to start their own birth center in a town about 30 minutes north of us. It was a beautiful option! Luckily, they agreed to come do prenatal checkups at our place in Petaluma as we only had one car that my husband took to work an hour south of us.  They attended the homebirth of our son and third child, Wolfgang, in October of 2014. With Hypnobabies home study and their hands-off assistance, this birth was by far the best experience I ever had! My little family was there and Daciana got to hold his hand as he was laying on my belly short after birth. It was beautiful....and another post....

Friends. Having to put on my big girl panties and get out there to meet people - all while managing two growing kids, a tiny home with less than desirable neighbors, a pregnancy that was sucking any energy out of me, later deciding to put the girls into a Waldorf Charter school three blocks away - was more than a daunting task, it was MONSTROUS. Quite leviathan in nature. Jonah's Whale had eaten me alive and spat me on foreign shores.

Ultimately, I did find wonderful friends. Some in the Women's Group at the church. Some I found at a newly formed crafting group that met in various places around town, The Rebel Craft Collective  (Meetup). I even made friends with a couple of Moms at the school (Live Oak) that the girls started attending...we referred to ourselves as Misfit Moms (the three of us were not NorCal natives and never seemed to fit in with the "kool-aid drinkers". Several other people were miraculously scattered around town or my husband's workplace. Also found an excellent chiropractic practice within walking distance of our little place; Praise the Lord!

Insanity runs in my family. Shortly after we moved to NorCal, my parents bought an RV and followed us out, if not forever, but seasonally. They were able to make it for the girls' birthdays, some holidays, and shortly after the birth of our son (little stinker came a couple weeks early). It was an absolute blessing that they were able to make it out!

So...What happened?!? We stayed in NorCal (this is the short version of the story) for almost three years. We made very good friends. Whether it is Wanderlust, Humor of the Universe, or ultimately God's Plan, our souls still haven't settled down. We made it back to Florida and are currently in the Orlando area nearer to our family and original support group. The strong desire for Wolfgang to grow up with TWO sets of awesome grandparents and our adult need to be able to financially support our family (it is CRAZY expensive in California!!) brought us back.

We love our friends on both coasts! We miss everyone. We are thankful for social media to keep in touch. God is good all the time; and all the time, God is good.

The adventure continues.....!

Extreme Savings mode begins....

Starting later this week, we are starting three months of  "Extreme Savings Mode."  We were calling it "self-induced poverty" but that sounded too depressing.  What is this exactly?  It is a controlled experiment with our family to pay down our debts (mostly credit cards).  All of our debts would have been paid off sometime next year, but we wouldn't have any fun in the mean time.  So instead we decided to hunker down and pay off much more in a quicker time frame, thus ending our debt (except for our house payment) sooner!  What does this mean for us? 

• We are going to be driving one car instead of two.  We will NOT be driving unless it is to the store for food shopping every other week.  
• Chiropractic will probably go from once per week to every other week.  
• Music Together class - we will finish out this session but not continue until the summer. 
• I will not be picking up food at the Co-op in Orlando until June.
• No extracurricular activities (for me or my husband or children)
• No field trips unless we can walk there.  Might also have to miss a few Park Days.
• Walking to the park or library (Thank God they are pretty close!)
• ABSOLUTELY NO EATING OUT!

This is scheduled to end in June.  At that time our credit debt will be zero, our cars both paid off, and we will be able to afford to replace a few things in our house! (like a vacuum, power tools, and a kitchen ;)

We can ultimately thank Dave Ramsey and those who we know have taken his classes in financial freedom. 

Wish us luck!!  I really want need a new vacuum ;)  My current one is being held together (I use the term very loosely) by duck tape and hot glue....

Re: Lotus Birth Challenge...

"But how does your husband feel about this?"

After he said "ew gross," he said, "If we do this, you have to let me go to Megacon..."

Apparently he has been announced to be on a panel of filmmakers for the Indie Film Expo.

[From the website:] As part of Megacon's "Indie Film Expo" program, a panel discussion on filmmaking will be hosted by "Students of the Unusual" publisher Terry Cronin on Saturday February 28th. This will feature guest filmmakers and actors including guests Patrick Algermissen, Lear Bunda, Pat Martin, Brian Pulido, Steven Shea, Todd Thompson, and Bill Williams(FMPTA). Other surprise celebrity guests and filmmakers are expected. Cronin relates that "this is a unique opportunity to meet and discuss independent filmmaking with the filmmakers themselves."

Of course it is only if we have had birthed by this time! (Feb 27 &28, 2009...two weeks from now...)

Talk about a CHALLENGE!

CHALLENGE!!

Change a new idea you have heard of to something that you can accept and even do!

The idea I recently came across is that of a "Lotus Birth."

[from the website:]
Q: What is Lotus Birth exactly?

A: The practice of neonatal umbilical intactness - nonseverance of the umbilical cord - and absence of any
potential portal of navel infection. The birth practice of the early American pioneers who produced some of the hardiest children known in American history... and valued everything they had. Also called "Umbilical
Nonseverance." The baby, cord, and placenta are treated as one unit, as they are all originate from the same cellular source (egg and sperm).

Of course I say 'recently' but I actually heard about it maybe a year ago I think on a MySpace page...can't remember where or who, sorry.

I looked through the website and after the initial "ew gross!" I thought, "Why not?" I am still pregnant (although I did have bloody show on Monday and am having light contractions even as I type now ;o) and can still make this decision before birth. I have not told my midwife yet, and I hope she is cool with this idea...I don't even know if this thing happens in my part of the world.

Here is another site about Lotus Birth, just to get all the facts.

CHALLENGE!!

The Butterfly Project

In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember. As of Summer 2008, we have already collected an estimated 400,000 butterflies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How may butterflies can you make?

I challenge you!

Every once in a while, I will offer to you a challenge: something to do, usually simple, perhaps complex, yet always something I would do or have done.

And today's challenge is: DO SOMETHING YOU HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE! This includes going to a store, preferably a local shop, and supporting your local businesses.

I have found this wonderful little cafe between Port St John and Titusville, FL called Elevations Cafe. Elevations International Cafe is a non profit art cafe that supports disaster relief through the arts and clean water. What does that mean really? When you come in and enjoy a caramel latte or a mocha freeze in our cool family friendly cultured atmosphere we're not just serving your thirst, we're partnering together SERVING A THIRSTY WORLD. Every purchase made in the cafe goes right back into funding disaster relief. (They are located at 8850 Grissom Parkway in Titusville, FL near the Police Deptartment; 321-267-7726)

Find your own new favorite cafe or hobby shop or boutique. They are out there and usually not hard to find. There are also farmer's markets and craft fairs or those new Aldi's opening all around Brevard County!