Even though we are in the very early stages of homeschooling (M is almost 4, J is almost 18 months), I think it is a useful personal exercise to do some writing about why I am choosing this pathway. I’m sure my reasons and feelings will change as we go along, and I am sure Arp has a different set of reasons that partially overlap mine. But anyway, …

We’ve been parents for almost 4 years, or maybe longer since we started thinking and making decisions based on what’s best for our children after getting pregnant. It’s been a hectic, joyous, frazzled, rewarding ride so far. Our outlook on almost everything has changed – parenting can do that. It’s like jumping into ice-cold water. You can try to prepare yourself by sticking a toe in (changing a diaper), splashing ice water on your face (babysitting a hyper kid solo for a few hours) or perhaps immersing …

Orgasmic Birth is a documentary film about the sensuous nature of birth. While the title seems risqué, it’s a really a documentary about natural birth and what an amazing, empowering thing it can be. We’re bombarded constantly by the media with images of birthing practices that are not conducive to a natural birth that is safer for the mother & baby, like pushing while lying down, eating nothing but ice chips (seriously – would you run a marathon with just ice chips to keep you going?!) and giving …

Yes, I recently started watching Nip/Tuck .It’s an experience kind of like rubbernecking at the scene of an accident.You are almost afraid to watch, but yet you slow down and watch with an obscene fascination.
This week’s Nip/Tuck episode seriously pissed me off due to the very irresponsible inaccuracies about breastfeeding.You’d think (or hope) that a tv show about medical doctors might have accurate information in it. But it …

What would Ma do?
Lately that is the question I am asking myself whenever I am cooking. And, no, I am not talking about my own mother. I’m talking about Mrs. Ingalls, of course. Ever since I finished reading The Long Winter, I seem to be filtering many things through the eyes of Ma. Yesterday’s example: I had a package of blueberries in the fridge that were a good 3 weeks old. For some reason, they hadn’t gotten moldy. They were just mostly very dry and very shriveled. Now, there was …