AmericanMum

It must have been because I’ve been looking like a huge ball of stress for the past few days (weeks?), but I got a free pass from Rich this weekend to hide away from the family and do whatever I wanted/needed to do.  I was instructed not to come home.  Which was awesome, because I probably would have at some point if he hadn’t made that point clear.  And Siena got sick at breakfast the day I was gone (my man took care of it all himself - gotta love him) and Connor is throwing up today.  Not sure what I am going to do about that recycling meeting tonight - the first one.  Rich can’t go either - he’s got a late meeting at work he absolutely can’t miss.

So I spent my day starting organization of my childbirth education curriculum (with an hour break for yoga).  I hid out in various resturaunts and at the Library (it’s only open for 4 hours on Sunday). There are probably 100 or so required topics to cover (yes, they can be combined) and it’s best if you can teach the really important ones more than once in various ways.  I absolutely LOVE that I have the freedom to teach them in any way I see fit, and am taking the job of creating my course design very seriously.  It would be easy if I were the type who would just like to stand and lecture, but two things prevent me from doing that: 1) I don’t think it’s the best way people learn; and 2) I hate public speaking.  So I’ve found that instead of teaching, I’ll be facilitating.  And leading fun, interactive lessons that hopefully will not just hand information over to my class, but let them uncover deeper truths for themselves.  I don’t know how long it will take me, and I have some pregnant people willing to take my classes to be my guinea pigs for free - but they probably will pop before I’m ready for them.  Nevertheless I’m trying.

Most of the activities for my lesson plan are coming from my Passion For Birth class - which actually covered much more of the required topics that I could have thought possible.  But some of them are actually coming up from my own brain.  I’m quite impressed with myself.

There are a few topics that are more difficult.  How do you teach The Lamaze Philosophy of Parenting without just listing them out?  (I’m thinking a poster will suffice as we actively engage in baby care, breastfeeding etc. that day).  And how do you teach harmful substances while pregnant without being a scare monger?  (It’s an optional topic, and I think I’ve decided to skip it because a) it’s fear-based; and b) at the point people will be taking my class they’ll already have heard the lectures, and c) most of it is common sense - i.e. - don’t smoke and drink while pregnant.  I’ll stick with positive nutrition instead and the rest is implied.)

I’m really, really excited to teach my first class.  Worrying about that exam? I’ll save that for another day…

Someone asked Obama about his stance on the Hanford cleanup project, which is where my husband’s company does the majority of its work and where most of my town’s economy comes from. Here was his response:

You’ve gotta love that he’ll admit when he doesn’t know something. I wonder what his debriefing told him? And someday, when he’s president, what will his legacy on the Hanford site be?

For those of you that don’t know, Hanford is one of the three sites where the Manhattan Project took place during World War II. Hanford was where the plutonium was created for the atomic bombs that was eventually dropped on Nagasaki. Today, there are millions of gallons of nuclear waste buried under the ground, much of which is very close to the Columbia River, and the project is primarily involved with how to move this waste to somewhere safer and store it in a safe way (turning the waste into glass, for example).

Note that today we know much more about nuclear power and the waste created is much safer and more manageable.

New pics on my Flickr page of my garden so far…enjoy!

WARNING: this is one of those horrible “i’m-so-sorry-i-haven’t-posted-this-is-why” posts.  I’m pretty sure I’ve had meetings every night for the last three months, not to mention having full days every day:

• Doula clients abound.  I’m turning people away - which absolutely breaks my heart.  I’ve met some absolutely WONDERFUL people I’ve had to turn elsewhere.  It’s hard to say “no” to being invited into a birth you know will be incredible.
• Because I’ve been a pain in the ass environmental activist, I’ve been asked to be on the city’s waste management citizen team who is going to help get curbside recycling to my town for the first time.  Woot!  Of course, this will mean more evening meetings…
• I also do this little side job where I put braces on people’s legs and stuff before surgery - long story.  It’s been an incredibly busy last couple of months.  What is going on this Spring that is tearing up everyone’s ACL tendons?  However that business is infinitely more profitable than my doula business, because I tend to throw too much money into my passion (birth).
• I went to childbirth ed training recently - which was AMAZING.  If any of you are thinking of certifying as a childbirth educator, go learn from Teri at Passion for Birth.  Seriously.  Lots of inventive, fun ways to teach birth topics I can’t wait to try out.  Now, though, I need to: a) observe an childbirth education series; b) read a bunch of books; c) create a curriculum (no easy task - it will be over 100 pages long); d) teach a class observed by an experienced educator; e) study study study; and f) sit for the Lamaze certifying exam only given twice a year - I’m shooting for October, which would be hard even if that is all I was doing.  AND I’m going to Birthing From Within training in August.  (I couldn’t decide.)  Hoping to write about the experience soon.
• While I was at childbirth ed training, I got to meet a long-time blog-buddy of mine.  Her name is Kristina and she’s a blogging doula from Washington State.  Seriously - I don’t have Multiple Personality Disorder or anything - there is another one!  Hers is one of the first blogs I ever started reading, probably a little over 2 years ago.  Her blog is really raw and honest and she’s someone who has quite a firm head on her shoulders and I value (and at times envy!) her awareness.  I wish I had time to write about the meeting - it was so much fun seeing someone you know quite intimately for the first time.  Luckily she wrote about our meeting here.  Maybe I can get around to writing it up and doing her justice soon.
• Had a couple of days of fever, tossing about on the couch through hot and cold sweats.  Fun fun.  Now, thankfully, I’m left with just a run-of-the-mill cold.
• Somehow with all this on, I managed to get through Mansfield Park right before we have our book club meeting this weekend.
• And just because I have nothing better to do with my time (ha!) I just signed up for a gym membership where I’m participating in an 8-week study.  I get a deeply discounted price on my gym membership and they get to weigh me and measure my body fat (ick).  Which they tell me is “higher than the average person”.  First of all I doubt it - I’m fairly thin…second of all they didn’t take my height into consideration (I’m 5′9″).  However I’m happy with the discount and I really needed the motivation of going with a friend who joined with me so I’ll keep it up.  All I have to do is go to three one-hour classes a week - yoga (fun!), strength training (hmmm…), and cardio (ick).  If I don’t show up for class (they have many scheduled so even if I’m at a birth I should be safe) I have to pay them my full membership fee.  Talk about motivation.
• Oh yeah, I’m a full-time-mom!  Playgroups/playdates abound and stuff at school is happening, as it seems they like to cram a lot of stuff in at the end.  Preschool ends in 2 weeks and I seriously need to figure out swimming lessons, etc. for the summer.

With all this spilling off my plate, blogging and reading blogs is suffering.  And I have to admit I’m seriously thinking about taking a hiatus so I can get some stuff done.  Quitting altogether has even crossed my mind.  However I really stay on top of birth stuff through the internet.  And I’ve made some really great “friends” (most of which I’ve never met and most likely never will) which I can’t imagine not keeping up with.  What am I to do?