For some reason, the Amish have always held my interest. Maybe it’s because they make amazing quilts, like my mom. Or because many birth stories that I’ve read by midwives speak of the natural labor and deliveries that happen in Amish communities. Maybe it’s because they’ve found a way to resist technology and the advancements of man and machine. Then there’s the part about their unyielding faith and ability to forgive. I’m sure that of all the Christian religious groups that are still in existence, Jesus would approve of their ability to love, forgive, accept others and hold fast to their convictions (although I don’t know how he’d feel about the whole giving up of free will to the elders bit). Their church services are open to the public, and while it may seem weird, I think it would be interesting to attend one.

Mostly, though, they are a people known for hard work that sustains their communities, and a lifestyle that lives in communion with the natural rhythms of the earth. Plus, I hear they make awesome ice cream. As an American, I can’t deny their appeal as a people. I feel similarly about the Pioneers that moved west and helped expand our country centuries ago. Luckily, I can meet the Amish and still learn from them in the first person. That’s my #26.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).
26. Visit, meet and learn from the Amish.

Today’s adventure to Sandy Point was a lovely reminder of why I want to do #25, and appreciate and utilize it this time. I took it for granted when I lived next to the Pacific Ocean for all those years. Darn it!

Oh man, it sure is hot here in town.

Let’s take a trip to the lake! And don’t forget the floaty.

All that swimming around sure makes me hungry.

Boy oh boy do we have a good time together.

Summer at the lake!

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.
25. Live next to a body of water (ocean, lake, pond, river, whatever).

A few nights ago Porter awoke a bunch of times, wouldn’t nurse for 2 days, and eventually made it to our bed in hopes that we all might get some sleep. He’s been teething and usually just being in my presence will keep him calm enough to sleep. This night, however, he was very restless and couldn’t get comfortable. It was frustrating for all of us, but he eventually got a little sleep with his head near my feed, right under the window. It turns out that he had Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It’s a virus that has a lot of symptoms similar to teething, headache, fever, etc.

A few days prior, he had what I thought was diaper rash, but looked like pimples all over his bottom. It wasn’t a rash after all. The telling sign came a day after the hard night sleep when I found crazy bumps on the bottom of his feet. At first I thought he had walked across something with bare feet and was having an allergic reaction, but then I remembered a Facebook post from a friend a few months ago. She posted that her kid had Hand Foot and Mouth, and then Luke’s coworker said that his kids also had it. I decided to look it up on WebMD back then, so I would know what to look for. Thankfully, I remembered the photos and looked at Porter’s hands, and he had the tell tale bumps there too. Maybe some would have taken their child to the doctor, but my intuition tells me that I’m right and that the doctor would have told us to wait it out. I took pictures and will be bringing it up at his 18 month visit next month.He’s been in much better spirits for the last couple days, but they are now turning into blisters. Ew.

The hardest part for me is that I didn’t even know he was sick until he was starting to feel better, and started to get the bumps. We were all over town this week, no doubt infecting other children around Boise. I hate that! I’ll be much happier when Porter is at an age when he can at least tell me that he’s not feeling well and I can determine if it’s teething or illness.

Had I known that Porter was sick with fever, I would have given him some Ibuprofen, NOT TYLENOL. The fever couldn’t have been very high, because I mistook it for being really hot from the 90* weather we were having and it didn’t last into the morning. That got me thinking about a blog post I read from HolisticKid.com about why it might not always be the best idea to give a child medicine to break their fever. You can read that article here. The gist of it goes like this:

“According to the National Institute of Health:Fever is an important part of the body’s defense against infection. Most bacteria and viruses that cause infections in people thrive best at 98.6 °F. Many infants and children develop high fevers with minor viral illnesses. Although a fever signals that a battle might be going on in the body, the fever is fighting for the person, not against.Brain damage from a fever generally will not occur unless the fever is over 107.6 °F (42 °C). Untreated fevers caused by infection will seldom go over 105 °F unless the child is overdressed or trapped in a hot place.So basically, the fever is your friend.  The fear comes from a parent’s misdirected concern for their child’s well-being and also a drive to relieve their child’s suffering.”

Another article by Emily at HolisticKid.com is about how she treated her feverish child with an assortment of alternative approaches, including Lemon Socks for fever. Emily is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which I know for a fact takes a rigorous course of study at a legitimate university with lengthy testing and licencing processes. She has studied holistic eastern medicine and practices acupuncture and Chinese Medicine on children and adults. She knows whats up and is obviously ready to use alternative approaches on her own children. That’s not so easy for me as a lay-person, not having studied medicine in any form. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to do my #24. And honestly, #24 won’t require a degree, just some knowledge and advice from my local Chinese Medicine Acupuncturists at The People’s Clinic and hopefully Porter’s Osteopathic Pediatrician. 

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.
24. Treat common colds/illnesses/ailments holistically, before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs.

In my Bucket List #13 post where I came to the decision to make midwifery my cause, one of the first things I mentioned is that I need to do some more research so I can be educated about the state of birth in our country. That caused me to look at my existing library, pull the books I already have and to finally purchase a new one that’s been on my wish list for awhile. I have more books than the ones photographed, but these are my favorite and most pertinent to my cause. Evaluating all the titles, I wonder if maybe midwifery is a calling for me. It seriously keeps coming up, like, for the last 20 years of my life, and I deny deny deny. So I’m leaving the door open to midwifery for the future, we’ll see if I actually walk through it. Right now, I’ve got some learning to do and #23.

The Midwifes Apprentice by Karen Cushman was possibly the first book I ever read pertaining to midwifery. It’s fiction and a young adult novel. I read it again a few years ago and I still love it.

Birth Matters a midwifre’s manifesta by Ina May Gaskin is my most recent purchase and I’m in the midst of it now. The first birth I ever saw as a child was my hamster, which is why my this is my favorite quote so far, “I repeat: we humans are not inferior to hamsters, rhinoceri, squirrels, or aardvarks in our reproductive design. It’s our minds that sometimes complicate matters for us.”

Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. Ina May is big into education through stories and like the rest of her books, this one starts with wonderful birth stories. It then goes on to examine and educate about methods currently used in hospital births vs. midwife assisted out of hospital births. Specifically the births that happen at the The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee.

Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin is the original book on midwifery. Written way back in the day when natural births were “groovy”, “deep” and women went with the flow of labor. It has awesome birth stories and incredible documentation on how to deliver a baby naturally. One of the mothers in one of the stories was pregnant while living on a boat, out to sea. She had everyone on the boat read this book in case she went into labor before they could get to land. You know, just in case.

The Doula Advantage by Rachel Gurevich gives concrete explanations and  numbers as to why it’s beneficial to have a doula present at your birth.

The Thinking Womans Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer is also about the current state of modern birth.

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger. Another in depth look at birth in our country.

Birth Your Way by Shela Kitzinger is specifically about choosing out of hospital birth. Shelia Kitzinger is an anthropologist that has studied birth around the world.

Birthing From Within by Pam England is the book companion to the popular childbirth education classes. I found the lessons in this book profound and useful, especially as a doula. There are more creative learning experiences in this book for pregnant families than anywhere else I’ve found.

Paths To Becoming A Midwife: Getting An Education published by the Midwifery Today Journal is exactly what it appears. It covers becoming a Certified Midwife and a Certified Nurse Midwife. I included this book as a representative to my many years worth of Midwifery Today Journals that adorn my bookshelves.

Holistic Midwifery A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives In A Homebirth Practice Volume 2, Care During Labor and Birth by Anne Frye, CPM is a textbook. I haven’t actually sat down and read it from cover to cover, but I’ve referenced it.

Research Updates For Midwives, Some Thoughts on the Best of the Evidence 2005 by Gail Hart is on my reading list.

Hearts & Hands A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy & Birth by Elizabeth Davis is on of my favorite birth books. It’s all about how to deliver babies naturally, complete with explanations and pictures. I have read this book cover to cover, a few times.

My birth library.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.

Today Porter and I were hanging out with some friends and we got to discussing finances. One friend shared that her family was out of debt and had enough savings to live for 2.5 years. YEARS! I want that! When asked how she did it she recommended the book Your Money Or Your Life and then explained how she adjusted her relationship with money, stuff and savings. It took them 7 years, but they now have the freedom to figure out the life they want to live in a safe and comfortable way. The book is on my library book wish list and I’m going to start with #22.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.

Photos courtesy of my friend Ashley Romero.

Today is summer solstice, the longest day of the year! It’s a bittersweet day for me. I love the sun and have been relishing in the long warm evenings. My garden thanks me for that too. On the other hand, it also means that we are beginning our long decent into darkness, which makes me sad. 6 months until I can really celebrate the 1 day in winter that makes me happy, winter solstice. Since I’m a sun worshiper, my #20 fits perfectly.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.

Big Baby arrived via UPS overnight. We promptly changed her diaper and fresh attire.

She came with us in the car.

And to the Library, where no less than 15 peoples made comments about thinking she was a real baby that I was allowing my toddler to man handle. Really people?!

The most tender part of the day was Porter waiting so patiently to say goodbye to monkey puppet at the library and then giving it a kiss.

Number 19 isn’t anything crazy, just something I’d like to learn. I have a long relationship with blown glass. In Virginia on our 8th grade trip to DC we went to Colonial Williamsburg and a bunch of other colonial places. The part that I remember most is the glass blowing. I bought two pieces of the fragile green glass to bring home. Then there’s all the blown glass that I came across in college at UCSC. My parents also have beautiful glasses to drink from and tiny candy shaped glass trinkets. It’s beautiful and fragile. I’d really like to visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit in Seattle.

The parts about blowing glass that interest me are the constant motion you must keep, all the ancient tools and mostly the part where they cradle the hot glass in some version of a wooden spoon or newspaper to shape it. Something about that action seem soft, rhythmic and soothing. Here, like this:

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.