Recycled Joy

We are aspiring Freegans.

We live in a time of excess and waste and Joe and I don't like to spend our money on things that we can find gently used. We believe in recycling and buying second hand items. We rarely, if ever pay full price for something. We believe this is an environmentally and socially conscious way of life for us. The girls love "dump days" because we often come home with new toys, books and odds and ends that bring them Joy. It really is exciting because you never know what you will find. We just got a new stereo the other day and Tif just got a bike in mint condition... Sweet!

We love our lives and I feel that "wanting" things is really normal and healthy. We are not minimalists and are not consumers..... We are this new, morphed breed of environmentalist-geek types, but we still love to have cool new and exciting things in our lives to learn and grow from. We believe we have found a wonderful balance with our wants, our wallets and the Earth.

I say we are aspiring Freegans because we aren't in the place of "diving for food" (don't think I could ever go there), but we feel good about our choices in other areas of our lives. When we want or need something in life, we just set the intention and we are amazing at how our desires manefest into our lives.

You don't have to spend money to get what you want in life... Just open your mind to ideas you maybe never thought of before. Dumpster Diving Rocks! (Did I actually say that?)

My Little Cutie Herb Garden

For the last few years we have had a huge vegetable garden! This year however we have travelled and plan on travelling a lot this summer. We decided not to have a garden because we would be in Florida and Texas and everywhere in between and not be able to dedicate the time necessary to have a garden this year. There has been a part of myself that has been a bit sad about not caring for a garden this year. The kids have missed it too. Especially Devin.

I was in Lowe's with the kids yesterday picking out some flowers and I was drawn to the gorgeous, aromatic herbs. I just had to get everything for a sweet little herb garden. It really fed my soul to get my hands dirty and nurture some plants... I just love it and I feel *Whole* again!

Next year I plan on the biggest and best garden yet! My sweet friend Vanessa next door is going to help me and we are going to have a big garden on our property that we both care for. l look forward to that.

My Brother's Gift

My sweet little brother Toby helped me to manefest a dream of mine. I have always wanted a Circle of Rocks with a fire pit in the middle. I love having friends over and I could totally picture sitting around a roaring fire, roasting marshmallows, singing and dancing.... (like Joe would sing and dance...ya right!), but my sweet brother came over a few weeks ago with his "big rig" and placed some rocks in a perfect circle for me! I was so excited!

The kids love to walk around on the rocks and we have made s'mores on nice warm evenings. It is better than I had hoped! It was free to create and also so natural and beautiful to me!

When I thanked Toby I gave him a hug and told him that he helped make one of my dreams a reality. He told me I was a little strange to have such a dream, but that I was easy to please. ;)

Little brothers "rock"!

Dayna.....Yup That's Me!

(Age 15)
I was a wild and rebellious teen. I was a "metal-head chic" that wore all black and leather. I played guitar, hated being told what to do and how to do it. I wanted to sleep all day and stay up all night. I so wanted to pursue a music career and spend every day hanging out with my friends and play guitar in a band called, "Skeletal Onslaught".

I fought so hard for everything that felt *True* to me. I fought for my freedom to wear what I wanted...to listen to what I wanted....to spend my time doing what made me sparkle.... I fought so hard to just be *Dayna*.

My children will never know such a struggle to be themselves. I will always fully embrace their interests and passions. I will always respect what they would like to wear and how they want to have their hair. I will buy them the music that they are drawn to. I will always encourage them to *Be Themselves* and honor and respect them.

I wouldn't change a thing about my struggle as a teen. It helped me become the open-minded person that I am today. I fought hard for my *Freedom of Expression* when I was a teen and in turn, I earned it for not only myself but for my kids too! I am so grateful for my past, my present and my children's future.

Informed Consent...... Even With Food

Our children have the right to know what they are putting into their bodies. We are not vegetarians.....or vegans......but we do care and love all living things. My children are very concerned when they see someone being less than respectful to an animal, insect or even a tree.

I really want them to understand that there is a difference between "cheap meat" and free range meat in how it is raised and treated. To me, offering my children information in this regard is true informed consent.

Lately, our conversations have been surrounding the issue of the ethical treatment of animals. I explain the different reasons why some people are vegetarian and vegan. I explain why some buy organic and free range. I discuss hormone and antibiotics use, I simply share what I know.

In turn, my children are better informed people navigating our World. They can make choices that feel right to them. They can stand up for what they value and believe in. They can have true informed consent.

Offering Community Support After Birth

I am a total "Birth Junkie" I had an amazing Home Birth with my son Orion just 5 months ago. I wanted an Unassisted birth and to be completely alone, but with my bleeding issues with my previous births, Joe was very uncomfortable with him not having anyone there to help him. So, we compromised. I had midwifery support (for Joe) downstairs while I birthed upstairs. It was empowering and life changing. Laboring completely alone and bringing him into the world by my own power was so peaceful and natural and something that I will always remember as one of the most pivotal times in my life.

My Midwife came up in time to help my Mom catch him. He was born into my Mom's hands. She wanted support in doing that, so Maureen, my friend and midwife came in to help her. I had Rage Against the Machine, "People of the Sun" playing on the CD player. I was slowly moving my head up and down to the music. It was just what I needed.

Orion was born in ecstasy. His birth wasn't difficult or painful.

It was i n c r e d i b l e . . . ... My Mom has never witnessed normal birth. She was very moved by the experienced. I have never seen her cry so hard from J O Y before. I was crying and so was Maureen. It was the most powerful moment that my Mother and I have ever experienced together.

My Birth Was Perfect in every aspect.

I wish every woman could experience what I did but we do not live in a culture that supports the type of birth that I had. Working with women during birth and beyond, it is hard to witness what can happen to women in hospitals. Many of the experiences that women have are equal to rape. In fact, I call them "Birth Rape" because of the way in which many women are manipulated and treated in such a disrespectful way during their births in our culture.

It is one of my passions to help and support women after they experience a birth that is less than ideal to them. I visit women in the days after their births and offer them the emotional support that they did not receive during their labor and births. I hold their hands, smile and encourage. Often times breastfeeding is profoundly affected by one's birth experience. I want to ensure that women have emotional support through breastfeeding. Encouragement and support are something greatly lacking in most medically managed approached to breastfeeding "education" in hospitals. I feel that the emotional support is equally important to physical support (assuring proper latch-on etc). Without both parts of the *Whole* Mothering can be very difficult. I am here to offer both anytime a women needs me in my community.

Today I am visiting a new Mom who had a difficult C-section birth. She is struggling with nursing and I am going over to offer her what most cultures do naturally..... support new mothers through the postpartum period with love, community.... & connection. I plan on bringing her over some baby carriers, Mothering Magazine and "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" book. Oh....and lots of hugs.

Today is also Joe and my 13th Wedding Anniversary!! We are going out to dinner with the kids later... Should be an awesome day! I am feeding both my passions....helping and supporting others and enjoying my family. Does it get any better? ;)

Life on the Open Road

We've been home for about a week now from our 20-day road trip. It was the longest we have ever travelled together as a family of 6. It was just so much fun never knowing where we would end up, or what we would see and explore. Every couple of hours we would stop so the kids could run and play. We found so many interesting places to stop from playgrounds to parks to fields to empty parking lots where we played ball and used sidewalk chalk.

Life in an RV was so cozy and relaxing. We watched movies, played video games and used play doh and paint. We have toys and activities of all kinds and lots of yummy snacks and drinks. Waking every morning to hit the open road again was so exciting to me. I loved taking off again as the sun was beaming through the windows. It was one of the best times of my life.

Our Summer Solstice Celebration!

Last night we invited a ton of our friends over with their families for a fantastic Summer Solstice Celebration. We had great food, great music and activities that were a blast for everyone. The kids ran through the fields, ate s'mores, blew bubbles and caught fireflies. I woke up this morning with such a glow about last night.

The Pie Princess

I swear since we have been back from Disney, Ivy hasn't wanted to slow down. She jumps out of bed in the morning after nursing and asks what we are doing today or what she can make.

This morning I asked her if she wanted to make an apple pie. Her eyes lit up and she yelled, "Ya!"

She did almost everything herself. She cut up the apples, added the sugar and spices. Put the butter over the apples, put on the crust and cut the holes in the pie. She set the timer, turned on the oven and with my help put the pie in.

Assisting a 3 year old in making a pie is not a quick endeavour. It takes patience and a nice cup of coffee. ;) It took over 2 hours from start to finish, and then 40 minutes to bake. It was really fun for her and for me as I watched my little girl proudly take on this huge task.

She felt so proud as we all enjoyed the pie she made for dessert that night. She learned so much, and I learned that a pie only lasts one day in our home with such a big family!

Internal Motivation for Learning

I speak a lot about internal motivation being what drives an individual to learn, not someone else's agenda for the person. This is one of the main aspects of Unschooling that seems so hard for people to understand and surrender to because it requires so much *Trust* in our children.

Unschooling is an amazing balance of *Being There* with our kids to observe and notice when that internal motivation is kicking and and then facilitating and helping our kids feed that internal motivation. Without both parts of the *Whole* the child is being neglected in his wanting to learn more about something. We need to be there as active, involved parents....not to lead....but to assist, to offer, to respect when we need to take a step back also. My children very honestly, and purely let us know what they need. It is my job to listen and *Be There* tuned in by their side to be able to facilitate their learning.

I don't mean to just be there physically. It is important for me to *be there* energetically and emotionally and be in tune with my kids so much I see that internal motivation shining like a bright light informing me that it is time to offer, support and encourage so that my kids can learn whatever it is they want to know.

There is so much talk in mainstream parenting about the belief that there is a rare "window of opportunity" in which a child is ready to learn certain things.. It is presented to us as specific, vital times in a child's life with arbitrary dates and ages. It makes learning seems technical, mysterious and difficult. We are told that if we miss these vital "windows" that our children will never learn certain things. We are told that we need to force feed this information to our children over and over again until they "get it". I believe that this idea is totally false and in fact, damaging to the learner.

I know when my children are ready to learn something new because they tell me. They show me. I know because I am here, present and connected. I know exactly when those "window's of opportunity" are open because my kids let me know. I do not need to have someone else tell me when they are ready to learn certain things. It isn't as complicated as we are led to believe. It is truly easy....Joyful....and peaceful because we go with the flow of learning and it is an organic, natural process that is supposed to feel good. It does feel good, we are living proof!

Ivy saw me making a grocery list and wanted to make one too. She said, "Mom, how do I draw those?". I said, "Do you mean letters?" "Ya, letters." she said "I want to make a list too".

I sat with her for a while, but she wasn't into me showing her how to do it. She wanted total independence in her exploration, but she was frustrated because she didn't know where to begin. I brainstormed for a few minutes of what I could offer her that would help her on this path. I remembered the cool Leap Frog letter fridge toy we have that tells you the letter and sound when you put in each letter.

Wow....did she love this! She sat for a really long time listening to different letter sounds. I showed her one way she could hold her pen. Then she began copying the letters onto paper. She was writing letters! It was amazing! She made herself a grocery list and brought it with us. At the store she kept showing me what she "needed" at the store.. "Oh....you need a "K" Ivy! Great!" She is such a unique learner . It is what makes this life so interesting and fun as an Unschooling Mom. I joyfully facilitate all of my children's learning, and I do it in such different way for each of my kids. I truly love my life.

Charactor Love

One aspect of Disney that we didn't know anything about was the "Charactor Greetings". When I was a kid and went to Disney, Mickey and the gang were just walking around. Now, most of the Disney charactors are in specific greeting locations throughout the parks. You have to stand in line to meet them and get a picture.

I was so suprised that this was one of the kids favorite things to do! We bought the kids autograph books and they Joyfully stood in line, smiled for pictures, played and danced with the charactors and asked for autographs from every charactor they met to add to their books.
It was so fun for all of us and something we are looking forward to for our next trip.

Sea World Dreams

We ended our amazing vacation with a trip to Sea World. My mom was so sweet and bought us all tickets. She said that we couldn't go down to Orlando and not go to Sea World. I am so grateful for her generous gift to us. I thought of her the whole day knowing how much she loves dolphins and whales. I just know someday we will be able to go there together.

Something amazing happened as we were observing the dolphins in the underwater tank. The dolphins were swimming around and one of them slowly swam over to us and stared at Ivy for quite a while. It was amazing. Ivy had a little dolphin toy and we don't know if it was her doll, or what, but this dolphin loved her! This was such a dream come true for Ivy. She absolutely adores animals. I swear this little dolphin knew it and was drawn to her. It was just so breathtaking!

Touching the Sting Rays was incredible. It was especially rewarding for my little angel Tiffany. Ivy and Devin were reaching in with no fear petting and rubbing the sting rays as they swam by. Tiff on the other hand was very nervous. She so wanted to touch them like we all were. She would put her hand just over a sting ray and pull it away just as it got close. I was so much like her as a little girl.

I stood right by her encouraging her and supporting her decision to just observe them for a while. After about half an hour she reaching it and quickly touched one as it swam by. I was so happy for her! I will never forget how her eyes sparkled as she turned and smiled at me. "I did it!" she said... "and it felt gross" I had to laugh.

Devin - He Leads - They Follow

Anytime we leave the comfort of our home, I am in awe of all that Devin has become. Everywhere we went on vacation, other kids would follow and hover around him. His personality is magnetic. He's funny, friendly and kind and kids feel and know this. When we went to Disney, Devin would wake up in the morning and say, "I'm going to ride my bike and make some friends". Sure enough, Devin would drive around the loop on his bike, come around the corner and there would be a new friend or two in tow on a bike, scooter or roller blades following behind him.

There were several mornings we woke up, or came home from a park to a child waiting for us to return so that they could play with Devin.
Devin is so cool. I love that we can give him the life that we do. He's free to be himself in every sense of the word. He draws people in and isn't afraid to speak his mind. He speaks on what he sees as injustice. He is everything I wish I could have been as a child. He is respected and loved and *Whole*. All is well in Devin's world and in return, the world is better because of him.

Star Wars Weekend!

One of the reasons we chose to go to Disney at the time that we did was to be able to attend the famous Star Wars weekend at Hollywood Studios. Devin and Joe are big time Star Wars fans and I wanted to feed their passion. This was a big surprise for them.

We started our day with the Star Wars Motorcade. We checked out the Jedi training camp with Darth Vader. and Devin got to make his own custom light saber. It was such a blast!

Yoda is my favorite 'Law of Attraction' Guru ;)

Our Camp Site

Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach

Disney has two water parks and I have to say that the kids enjoyed these more than anything else. What I loved most about them is that they both had huge little kids areas where Ivy and Dakota could really take part in the action. Joe and Devin took in the big-dude water slides and I stayed with the girls as they got wet and wild.. It was perfect for our family. Typhoon Lagoon has the worlds biggest wave pool which is enormous and they also have a place you can swim with sharks and sting-rays. Incredible learning experiences.

Hollywood Studios

Joe and Devin loved Disney's Hollywood studios! I did also because I love thrill rides and this one had 'em! Devin and I really connected with our mutual love of intense rides. Joe doesn't like them and the other kids are too young, so Devin and I were joined at the hip there.
We went on the Tower of Terror and my personal favorite ride of all of Disney World, The Rockin Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith!! It was c r a z y fast with loud rock and roll music blaring in your ear.... utterly awesome!

Part of experiencing Disney is to take part in some of the Disney Dining experiences. They are more than just restaurants, they are fun, exciting new adventures! I made reservations for us to eat at a really cool restaurant called the "Sci-Fi Drive In". The kids got to experience what it was like in the 50's at Drive In theaters complete with old horror films and drive in ads playing on a huge screen in the front. We ate in an actual car! Totally cool! Everyone loved it there.

The Amazing Animal Kingdom

Ivy's favorite park was Disney's Animal Kingdom. It is a little bit of Africa a little bit of Asia and a whole lot of animal fun like nothing you have ever experienced before. It was all natural environments that made you feel like you were part of the Circle of Life.

We went on an African Safari and also took in some shows. The Festival of the Lion King was intense, bright and energetic. It had my kids dancing and singing along. Every Disney show is like being on Broadway. You get the best of everything there, actors, singers, dancers.. I was in total awe the entire time of how perfect everything was orchestrated.

Epcot Rocks!

My personal favorite park was Epcot! I have always loved learning about other cultures and Epcot is a magical place to do this. Not only that, but they have so many cool things for families to experience together. There is something called "Soarin" where you really and truly feeling like you are flying. It is amazing.....beyond words... I was crying when I was on this ride/experience because I wished that everyone on Earth could feel the way I felt. You fly over an orange grove and smell the orange blossoms....it blew my mind! Also there is something called Mission Space which for me, being a total Astronomy-geek was like a dream come true. You truly feel with the G-Force and everything, like you are taking off in the space shuttle, flying through space and landing on Mars. There was a point in this experience when I said to myself, "I never, ever want to forget this moment in my life". It was i n c r e d i b l e !

I always thought of Disney as having "rides" but at Epcot, they are not just rides, they are learning and growing opportunities for the whole family. If ever you thought Disney was "too expensive" you are sadly mistaken.... You get what you pay for and I promise you will never be the same after going and experiencing what Disney offers... I just never knew....

The Magic Kingdom with the Martin's

The first park we visited was the Magic Kingdom. This is the hub of all of Walt Disney World excitement. It was so amazing to revisit the place that I went to as a child! Cinderella's castle...the Dumbo ride...It's a Small World.......it was all there, just how I remembered it, with lots of new things to explore and share with my children. The fireworks and parades are every day! It truly was amazing!

As an Unschooling Mom it was such an easy vacation! Almost everyone who saw us said, "Wow! You're brave to take four young kids including a baby to Disney..what a lot of work!" but these people do not understand how we live our lives. They are coming from an understanding with kids who are in school or away from there parents most of the time and can't imagine or even comprehend having 4 young kids at home around the parents all day, everyday.
For us, this trip was easy. All of the fun was "ready made" and my role as my children's learning and fun facilitator was able to take a bit of a vacation for 2 weeks! Everywhere we went there was the enjoyment, learning and fun there for the taking. I didn't have to help to create it, as much as I enjoy my role in doing that every day. Most thought we were crazy to take on Disney saying that we'd need lots of days off and breaks.... Not our family. We woke up every morning ready to take on more fun......after all, it's what we are all about! We have a high stamina for fun! ;)

I used to be against Disney because of all of the commercialism I would read about, but I now see that embracing every growing and learning opportunity and chance to connect with my kids surpasses any past judgement that I ever had about a place that brings such joy to so many people. It was total bliss on every level. Being in a place where almost every family was smiling and happy for 2 weeks was a total blast and I am so grateful for every day we had there as a family.