Action Needed NOW to Protect Arizona Homebirth Rights

Hello, everyone! Listen up!

Arizona homebirth midwives (CPMs) are currently in danger from proposed legislation that would make practicing legally impossible. Quoting a local midwife:

"As you all know (as I state it in the Informed Consent for an Out of Hospital Birth document), all midwives are required to submit a 'quarterly report' for each client we've served. However, just today I received an 'updated' quarterly form from the state department of health. They are requesting that we begin using this new form for every client since January 1st, 2013... Included in this 'updated' quarterly report is a section that specifically says, "Formal Arrangement for Medical Backup" and asks for the physician and hospital name as well as who we have standing orders/prescriptions for O2, pitocin, vitK, and eye ointment. 

"I am officially seriously terrified - if they are drafting official documents including this requirement, combined with the lack of public comment being scheduled at the next meeting....I am SERIOUSLY, for the first time, wondering if I will have a job after this summer."

In summary: This legislation would require Certified Professional Midwives to have formal physician backup arrangements for all clients. Backup arrangements are nearly impossible to obtain, meaning that this would form a Catch-22 effectively putting Arizona midwives out of business, and Arizona homebirthers without birth attendants.

What can we do to help?

Please send a letter to Will Humble, Office of the Director, asking that this legislation not go through. Following is a sample note - please do not copy and paste (we need individualized communications), but feel free to use this as a jumping-off point:

Director Will Humble:

I would like to continue to have access to homebirth midwifery in Arizona. Therefore, the proposed section on requiring a backup physician in the proposed rules/regulations MUST be struck! Please do not make midwifery illegal by maintaining that requirement!

Thank you.

You can send your physical letter to:

Will Humble
Office of the Director
150 N. 18th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85007

You can fax your letter to:

(602) 542-1062 (Fax)

You can email your letter to:

piowebmaster@azdhs.gov

You can also leave a comment on Mr. Humble's blog.

Thank you, my friends!

Inspiration, Encouragement, and Great Ideas - What More Could I Ask?

This past weekend, we had the incredible opportunity to attend a conference given by the Maxwell Family (see their blog here). We were so excited! I have read several of their books ("Managers of Their Homes" and "Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit") and absolutely loved them, and we were eager to hear what they had to say on the topics of marriage, parenting, and education.

We weren't disappointed! We had so much fun!

Both of us came away from this conference encouraged, inspired to try new ideas (like family devotion time), and edified by the wisdom of this awesome family. I hope that we are able to hear them again some day!

Listening to Terri and Steve Maxwell. 

Due to a last-minute babysitter cancellation (i.e. the grandparents couldn't come), all three kidlets came with us. This presented definite challenges (a cranky 3yo, a not-yet-learned-to-sit-quietly toddler, and a 6yo who was less-than-enamored of having to sit through multiple speaker sessions), but we made it through and had a great time.

No, these aren't good pictures... but hey, they're all I have. 

DH and I have decided that we want to attend as many family and homeschooling conventions and conferences as we possibly can. Each one that we have attended has been an amazing experience that has so benefited our family! We are incredibly excited about the upcoming yearly Arizona Families for Home Education Convention (note the incredible first-timers' discount and free pre-convention mini-conference). We want to absorb all of the great teaching that we can.

Goofing for the camera. 

If you ever have a chance to attend one of these events, please take advantage of it! We'll see you there!

Celebrating the Moose's First Birthday!

Last month, we celebrated Baby Moose's first birthday! Wow, this year has flown by! The Moose (or rather, the ex-Moose, as he is now decidedly normal-sized) has been such a sweet, cheery, easy baby - an especial joy to our family. His first year has been absolutely wonderful.

We put off the actual birthday celebration for several weeks so that we could have grandparents down - a good thing, as Moose spent his actual birthday in a seriously bad mood due to an intense super-teething time. He actually teethed eight teeth at once! Is that not crazy? So he was fairly miserable.

Thankfully he had cheered up immensely by the time we actually got around to celebrating his birthday, so we had a fun birthday time!

Unfortunately, shortly before birthday time, the Moose had received a singing Veggie Tales board book - and his entire attention was wrapped up in that book. Presents? Cards? Cake? Whatever. Give me the Veggie Tales book. But we tried!

He did gain some interest in cake-eating, needless to say! He is the first baby to actually get birthday cake on his first birthday. With our first, I was absolutely no-sugar-before-age-two, and our second had too many texture issues. (I've kind of given up on that no-sugar thing.) He enjoyed it!

I made a family favorite for his cake. It's not all-natural, but it's delicious! Sometime I'll have to try to figure out a healthier recipe to replicate it.

Ada's Angel Food Cake Pineapple Frosting

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple
1 3-oz package vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Cook crushed pineapple, undrained, and pudding mix together until translucent. Cool to room temperature. Fold into whipped cream. Use to frost Angel Food Cake. Enjoy!

Here's to all the coming years as we enjoy having Moose as a wonderful member of our family!

A Moment of Parenting Hilarity

Last week, we were at a social gathering having lunch with friends. As usually happens during such functions, the baby toys that we have stuffed into the net side-pockets of our diaper bag started "wandering" as they were appropriated by various passing toddlers. We're used to this, and we just round them up when it's time to leave.

Close to the time when we would start wanting to head for the car, a wee little man toddled by, holding one of our baby toys. DH pointed to him and turned to me:

DH: Hey! Is that one of ours?
Me: Mmm.... I don't know. I think so. What do you think?
DH: I guess so.

We turned back to our table companions, only to find them all with rather flabbergasted looks on their faces. As you probably guessed, we were referring to the toy, but they all thought we were referring to the child.

Yes, it would be pretty bad if we couldn't tell our own children when we only have three!

We've been laughing about that one ever since.

Little Things Here and There

Hi, everyone!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful month! I wish that I could check in more often. But alas, just as I am growing more and more fond of using blogging as an outlet, my available time is plummeting. I find that there is work enough to keep two of me busy around the clock, and it just never seems to stop.

However, I am going to squander a few minutes that I ought to be using for something useful and give a quick update on our family! Without further ado, here is a supremely disjointed conglomeration of the big and the small, the important and the irrelevant - all the things that are going on around here!

***

Spring has come to Phoenix! I usually dread it, as a harbinger of doom ("doom" being our heat-blasted summers that take up eight months of the year around here), but I am doing my best to enjoy it. Isn't our little tree lovely?

***

As part of DH's set-up for his new business, we needed a headshot! We searched around trying to find a deal, but the cheapest we could find was a $50 package through Groupon. No way! So we headed out and did our best with point-and-click, and DH's sweet sister did some remote cropping and shading for us - voila! Not bad for someone who can barely hold a camera without breaking it!

We were pretty pleased with the results, and we saved $50!

***

Our "garden," i.e. "the place we sprinkled with seeds and then promptly forgot," actually produced something - mini-carrots! Fun!!

Don't be too impressed; these puppies are about one inch long each. 

Next time we plant a garden, we need to make it in an area that we actually frequent so that we don't forget about it again. (Or rather, as usual.)

***

Our 6yo's latest science passion is.... (drum roll, please!)... starfish! This calls for some starfish crafts! Hurray for glitter and macaroni noodles!

Directions here for this easy and fun craft! 

I also want to try another easy starfish craft - cutting starfish out of sandpaper and then painting them!! That will be a fun one - or we might even try making our own "sand paper" with real sand. (That will be an outside craft!)

***

After seeing this awesome-looking peppermint playdough on a friend's blog, I knew we had to try it! Wow, this is great stuff! We tinted it green, and it is uber-fun. Did you know how easy it is to make playdough at home? (See the recipe here.)

It smells and feels wonderful! Yum! 

***

We finally finished our snowman door hanger - it only took us a month and a half to work through the steps! (It was an easy craft - we just procrastinated.)

Cute? Yes! 

***

And for a brief interlude, I wanted to share a few awesome articles with you!

Michael Farris's "Ten Lessons I've Learned From Thirty Years of Homeschooling." An awesome read! Michael will be the keynote speaker at this year's Homeschool Convention in Phoenix, and I am so excited to hear him speak! I am also excited because he is the wife of Vickie Farris, author of "A Mom Just Like You," which is a book that changed my life - and which I reread at least annually.

If you are even considering homeschooling, please consider joining us at this year's convention! The convention is truly the highlight of our year. We have a wonderful time bonding as a couple and learning invaluable information about home education, home culture, and parenting, and we come home refreshed, energized, and having had a marvelous time. I think we would attend even if we didn't homeschool, just for all the wonderful information and parenting/family seminars! Check out "The Seven Reasons Why You Should Attend the Convention" (and register for the giveaway of one free admission!) - we'll see you there!

A similarly awesome article: "Ten Things That Helped Me Through 28 Years of Homeschooling" by Kathie over at Character Corner - awesome article. Check it out!

Does anyone else out there start drooling at the phrase "book list"? My goodness, I love book lists! I adore introducing our children to the awesome literature that is out there. My own personal book list (for ages preschool through young adult) is at 47 pages and growing, and it's really only in the beginning stages of development. I love finding new books to add to it! Try out these two book lists: The Art of Manliness's 50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men and Simply Charlotte Mason's Twaddle-Free Literature by Grade Level. Excellent resources!

***

Moving on...

So, how is our family doing?

The 6yo is eating like a raving maniac, and is growing before my eyes. Usually I cannot tell when one of our children is growing, as the change is so gradual - but this time, it seems like he is getting bigger by the day. Right now I can't even clean up one meal/snack before he's out in the kitchen asking for food. Wow!

The 3yo with special is has gone from "the easiest child in the world" to a real challenge... all for reasons that have nothing to do with the usual challenges produced by 3yo. More on that later. He is still the most lovable Chublet in the world, however!

The 1yo is now an official toddler, meaning that he is getting into everything and is hearing "No, no, don't touch" approximately 100 times per day. However, I am determined to do a good job teaching and training, despite the exhaustion that this age produces, so we're off into the land of toddlerhood! Prayers appreciated!

DH is working hard on developing his business, and that is quite an adventure! Even more of an adventure is learning to work at home with a 6yo who has absolutely no concept of the fact that Daddy needs to get some work done instead of spending the whole day with him.

As for me, I am working, working, working. And working. Home, children, laundry, food - repeat, repeat, repeat. I'm finding that I'm struggling to make the next jump to the level of work required in this stage of parenting. I rather feel like I did after our first was born - "I can't get anything done!" But this too shall pass, and I will look back at this time - at some time in the future - and wonder how on earth I could have had trouble keeping up.

And with that, I had better close! I have a three-page list of blog topics that I would like to tackle, but they will have to wait. In the meantime, love to all! Have a wonderful weekend, and let me know how you all are!

How to Save Money (When You Don't Have Any Choice)

As of this month, we are entering our fifth month of unemployment! As I've mentioned before, we're really enjoying unemployment - but unfortunately, it comes with one big drawback, namely no money. A slight impediment to financial progress, for sure!

However, even that is teaching us lots of good lessons and drawing us closer together as a family! Specifically, it has been a tremendous blessing to have both DH and I on board with non-spending. Usually one or the other of us is trying to spend and the other is trying to save, which can definitely be a drawback and a source of conflict - now that we are drawn together in the "spend no money" mode, it's been a great way for us to grow as a couple.

In that spirit, I thought that I would share some of the ways that we are saving money! Some of these changes are temporary; some are permanent. All of them have been a great exercise in self-control and in personal growth, and we're both loving it.


Ditching the Luxury Services

Goodbye, cable TV! Hurray!!! (Added bonus: Not having to guard our kids from the filth that is put into commercials. Even better!) Now when we want to watch something, we utilize our home video library, the public library, and Netflix.


Downgrading Services

Some services we still need, but have been able to drop package type or service quality. For internet service, we dropped from the mid-package to the lowest available package and are now saving $25/month. For DH's cell phone, he dropped data from his plan and is saving that cost per month.


Grocery Shopping

We have completely changed our shopping habits when it comes to groceries. We used to shop the grocery store and the produce market - we now shop the discount grocery store (where they sell outdated, damaged, and overstock) and the throw-away produce market, plus bulk purchases from Honeyville Grains and Azure Standard. (We still shop at Sam's Club.) This has been so much fun! I love looking for awesome bargains and making things work. Love this - we won't be going back.


Postponing Ideals

Like many of you, I have certain ideals in mind for our home eating habits - buzz-words like pastured, grass-fed, organic, raw, etc. But right now, those ideals are on hold. Not gone, just temporarily shelved. I'll get back to that. I am, however, keeping up with my (mostly) all-natural habits - we're not switching to junk food just to eat more cheaply.


Lowering Standards

Where we can, we're lowering some standards. For example, we went from name-brand coffee to the lowest-of-the-low generic. And guess what? We can't even tell the difference! We should have done this years ago!


Meal Planning

I have usually been pretty good about meal planning - but now I'm getting even better! I'm even adding breakfasts to the plan. And in that meal planning, I am being even more aggressive in planning low-cost ingredients, shopping sales, and using leftovers. Good stuff, and fun! (Though time-consuming!)


Amish Proverbs

I have always loved this saying: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." We're doing our best to apply this in all areas. Craft supplies? We'll find it around the house or do without. Leftovers? We'll eat them or make them into baby food. Need something? Unless it's essential, for now we're doing without.


Ditching Debt

We used some available funds to pay off debt, thus saving ourselves the interest and the monthly payment.


Downsizing Our Vehicles

Prepare yourself - we're down to one vehicle! Yes, I know - amazing. I never would have believed that we could do it. But this past January, both vehicles came due for registration - and neither would pass the smog test. After a lot of thought and discussion, DH made the decision to sell one car. I dreaded it - who has only one car nowadays? - but it's actually been great! Fewer cars to clean, more room in the driveway, fewer repair bills and gasoline bills (especially since DH's commute has been eliminated), less stress. It just requires a bit more in the line of logistics planning! Hey, if people from the 1950's could do it, so can we!


Stopping All Extras

Spending allowances for DH and myself, book purchases, fast-food purchases, travel, field trips or activities that cost money.... NOPE.


Relying on God

This is the biggest one, of course! We believe that we are following God's plan in this new venture, and we are trusting him to bless the outcome and provide for our needs along the way. And he has - in some great ways!

For example - a sweet friend contacted me and gave me all of her daughter's outgrown diapers, which provided us with diapers for one child for an entire week. (No, I don't cloth diaper. I know, I'm a miserable sinner!)

Another example - I was able to take a piano substitute position this past month, which paid for all of our car repair expenses - plus a little bit more!

There are many more examples, but the truth is that we are totally reliant upon God - as always, of course, but times like this make it even more obvious. We are so thankful for his care and provision.


If y'all have any more ideas and suggestions for saving money, please pass 'em along!

Love to everyone! Have a great night!

Lovely Birth Story From Local Midwives!

I wanted to share this lovely birth story from a local hospital with the midwives of Valley Women for Women:

My VBAC: Lincoln's Birth Story

Great story, and lots of great pictures! She concludes:

"I still can’t believe it sometimes. I had my VBAC and, aside from laboring in the tub, it happened just like I wanted it to. More quickly than I expected, but perfect none the less. It’s true what they say about natural birth too, it makes you feel like you can accomplish anything because nothing will ever be that hard again. I have truly redefined what I’m capable of.

"Also, as a side note, I want to be clear that I wouldn’t change anything about my birth. After we came home from the hospital I found myself reading something online about labor positions. Apparently hands and knees is the body’s way of turning a posterior baby. Knowing that solidified everything for me and validated every decision I made. I listened to my body and did exactly what it told me to. I trusted my instincts and they didn’t disappoint. Had I gone to the hospital earlier, I would have asked for the epidural earlier which would have forced me to push lying down. There’s no way to be sure but, I believe that laboring and pushing on all fours kept Lincoln in the right position and was the reason I was able to have my VBAC."

I have met several of the lovely midwives from Valley Women for Women, and I thoroughly recommend their practice to mamas who are looking for a positive hospital birth experience with lots of options and respect for parental choices. Though I hope to have all of our babies at home, if I ever needed a hospital birth, I would love it to be with them!

Enjoy! And congrats to this family!