Storytime at Mercer Arboretum

Giving the cat statue a hug at the Mercer Arboretum

They offer children's story time and craft every third Monday of the month at 10:30am. This is a fantastic garden for young and old alike.  Hiking trails and a large playground are located on the west side of the road with the Harris County Public Library and visitor center on the east side. 

http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/

Big fan of Nurtured Family

I first heard about Nurtured Family, the natural family and baby store, at the recent Houston B.I.R.T.H. Fair. In addition to their internet e-store, they also have a physical location near 290 & West Road in Northwest Houston.  I made the trip out there-- finally-- to get some hard-to-find Allen's Natural Soap for the cloth diapers my daughter still wears at night.  Wow, this outing was worth it!  I immediately fell in love with this store when I saw the cute slings on the mannequins. My eyes instantly turned to the walls of rainbow colored cloth diapers from fleece to wool to pockets to all-in-ones.  I loved the selection of ring slings, wraps, and baby carriers of all sorts. They stocked lovely diaper bags, wet bags, organic baby toys, nursing items, and organic toiletries. It was like the mother of candy stores for natural/sort-of-natural/want-to-be-more-eco-conscious/attachment-parenting mommas! This is the perfect place for baby shower gifts!

Most of the products they sell are not found in the typical Babies-r-Us stores.  They're usually the items I have to order online.  However, I'm thinking I'll use this store more often since they will match the price of their competitors with a low price guarantee.  For this visit, I didn't want to wait for shipping if I could just drive a few miles to get an item instantly. And, I do love supporting locally-owned businesses.  Especially those that support the B.I.R.T.H. Fair and natural living. The benefit of visiting their store on Jackrabbit Road is that you can look and feel and compare the products in person.  That alone would win over a lot of parents who are hesitant about cloth diapering. Just seeing the colors and patterns, feeling the enduring quality of the diapers, and learning how easy it is to implement, would really convince moms.  It's worth seeing first-hand.

Did I mention their free classes? They have classes on baby-wearing, birth options, meet-the-doula seminars, and breastfeeding.  Plus, there's a kids area inside the store to let your kiddos run around and play with toys while you shop.  I am kicking myself for not discovering this place sooner!  It would have made such a difference in those early months with my baby! The only other store like this at that time was inside Rice Village, way inside the Loop, and a very far drive away.

I'd highly recommend this for new mothers who want to learn how to wear their babies in a sling.  In addition to the free class they offer, most of the slings looked like you could try them on and see which one feels right.  The biggest complaint I've heard from non-babywearing moms is that the sling hurt their back.  Well, there's more than one style and size of sling.  Not every baby carrier will jive with every mother. Try it at the store first with some help from their staff. And, yes, they even have camo and sporty slings just for dads!

Here's the link to their store! Happy shopping!
http://www.nurturedfamily.com/

The Nurtured Family

8525 Jackrabbit Road

Suite B

Houston, TX 77095

(832) 239-5140

OPEN Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm

A short life

I experienced my first miscarriage this week and I hope it's my last.  It was the severe cramping that stirred me from my sleep at five o'clock in the morning.  Then, I felt blood all over my legs. I knew the baby was gone before I even turned on the light. I told my husband, almost in an altered state, "I am having a miscarriage."  When I went to bed earlier that night, I had no clue that my pregnancy was ending.

That scene was eerily similar to the birth of my daughter.  At a couple days past her due date, I woke up at 4:00am with a strange feeling that my cycle was starting.  But, it was my water breaking and I was going into labor.  It was so exciting and joyous.  I called the midwife and woke up my husband like I was a kid on Christmas morning. Two very different mornings in my life as a mother.

My experience was the "typical" first trimester miscarriage.  There wasn't a recognizable baby to hold or bury.  It's not a pleasant physical experience to endure.  Not only is there blood and severe cramping that makes you vomit in pain, but I had to get used to my body returning to it's non-pregnant state.  Symptoms started leaving me one by one. The cravings left, no more nausea, I felt less bloated.  I have a giant jar of pickles in my fridge that makes me cry.  It truly is a death.  When they are gone, they are gone.  My body moved everything out and it's like nothing ever happened. It's like there never was a baby to begin with.

OK, now I'm REALLY pregnant!

You know you are really pregnant when those funny cravings hit.  In case the positive pregnancy test wasn't enough, I found myself spending way too much time in the pickle and canned fish section in the grocery store today.  I was on a mission to find the perfect dill pickles-- a staple in the last pregnancy-- and I had to have some canned fish...anchovies? sardines? kipper snacks?  So, I just enjoyed a lunch of sardines (packed in water) with some pickle slices.  Perfect! 

I was worried (after the fact) that the sardines weren't very nutritious or were one of those "bad" fish pregnant women weren't supposed to eat.  However, sardines are actually pretty good for you!  Check out the nutrition endorsement my canned little fishy friends received:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/
Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.

Ok, so the pickles didn't make the list. I'm still eating them. 

I'm pregnant!

Even though I added an exclamation point in the title of that sentence, I don't really feel it.  Yes, I am pregnant with my second baby and this was very planned and desired.  However, I was so tired the morning I took my home pregnancy test, I just went back to sleep for a few more minutes.  It's still early in the first trimester and, of course, there's always that advice from others to wait until after 12 weeks in case of a miscarriage.  I haven't told too many people, but I'm sure word will spread when I start showing. It's hard to hide that bump at the gym.

Let me say that I am pretty excited about conceiving the first cycle after my IUD removal. I want to give my husband a sporty high five on that. Alright! Way to go on the first round!  Actually, most of the credit goes to the calendar and me giving the orders to commence baby-making on the right days.  So, yes, to the mothers reading this, you can certainly get pregnant the first time after your Paraguard comes out.  Heck, there are women who conceive with it still in place. 

This is going to be a low-key, low-tech pregnancy.  I'm electing to forgo all ultrasounds unless medically necessary after reading more research on the risks.  It isn't necessary and many times does not improve birth outcomes. In fact, several studies indicate the opposite.  I won't find out the gender since we'll know in a few months anyway.  (We still have plenty of gender neutral items that can be re-used with this baby.) Even with the first part of my pregnancy in OBGYN care, I did not opt for most of the tests offered.  That information would not have done me any good.  What would I have done with that information?  Abort the baby?  I question it's true value related to birth outcomes and I'm sure there are studies out there about that, too. 

It's so low-key this time around because I realized I didn't need that much when my daughter was born.  What I really needed was:  a housekeeper, boobs that produced more milk, and a stronger support network.  When I say a "stronger" support network, what I mean is that I wish I'd had more moms around me who shared my ideology on birth and parenting.  I had very little support with the decision to homebirth, even though statistics were on my side and I had a stronger case for choosing to birth at home instead of at a hospital.  Several people kept telling me to put my baby down when they'd see me holding her or carrying her in a sling (she was always in arms).  And, these were people who were not educated on the benefits of baby-wearing or who chose more detached styles of parenting. (I remind people that I gave birth to a mammal-- a primate at that-- not a reptile!  Human mothers don't just lay their eggs like sea turtles and let their young fend for themselves.  Nor does it make any sense to adopt the latest baby-training trend that promotes behaviors that are counter-intuitive to mammals.) 

With that, I got most of my money's worth from:  my MobyWrap, my Dr. Sears sling, my cloth breast pads, my nursing tank tops, my decorative breastfeeding cover, diaper bags, my cloth diapers, Birthing From Within by Pamela England, The Baby Book by Dr. Sears, and all the herbal remedies from Lucia's Garden. 

I got the least amount of value out of:  the stroller, the crib (though this transitions to the toddler bed), my 20-week ultrasound, and our health insurance. 

Kids and meaningful work

I was first introduced to this concept of "meaningful work" through the Waldorf school. My daughter's teacher sent a link to the articles below from one of my favorite blogs, The Parenting Passageway.  It gives parents ideas on ways to involve children in the daily tasks around the house.  It is considered a very good thing to have them do chores at a young age. It is taught that these seemingly menial tasks are, in fact, important ways to nurture the home.  They are real assignments and give the small child a sense of accomplishment, a sense of belonging to the family unit, and build motor skills. 

This was the most life-changing concept I learned about through Waldorf!  It has made my job as a parent much easier and more of a delight.  Some of the fun ways I've involved my daughter in housework is to give her her own rag so she can dust, or a bottle of vinegar to clean glass, or wash spoons and forks in a soapy bowl of water, or clean the bathtub with baking soda and a rag.  She now helps with grocery store tasks such as picking out items from the shelves, placing the items by the cash register, and putting the grocery cart away.  She feeds and brushes the cat, organizes the pantry, and uses the broom and dustpan. 

Let me mention that the work of toddler will not be that of a professional housekeeper.  It won't be up to your standards.  That's fine.  I've learned from wiser mothers that it's better to have them work at something even if you have to go back and re-do it yourself.  It's all a part of their learning. Let them try. 

The last thing I want is to have teenagers who don't do chores or only reluctantly help out around the house.  That's why I wanted to start early with her.  It engages her.  She has such a sense of pride when she's helping.  I hope this can help some other parents, too. Please take the time to read the following 2 articles. It will certainly enrich your home life!
http://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/06/28/guest-post-meaningful-work-for-toddlers/
http://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/06/29/more-about-how-to-create-meaningful-work-for-toddlers/

Another Must-Read: CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER!

Yes! You must get your hands on a copy of Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter:  Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture! I had one of those public radio "driveway moments" they guilt you about during membership drives when I heard this woman on the Diane Rehm Show. She was discussing how inappropriate and materialistic the average American girlhood is these days. It is not innocent at all.  In fact, it's really just "play sexiness" and pressure to act older and shallower. Since I have a daughter of my own, I am extremely sensitive about her media exposure, the clothes she wears, and what products we buy for her.  Here's a transcript of the interview here:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-29/peggy-orenstein-cinderella-ate-my-daughter-rebroadcast/transcript

I haven't read the book yet, but I checked out the reviews on Amazon.  One of the complaints was that the book did not offer any real solutions to this problem of this early sexualization of girls.  Well, one solution is to go Waldorf!  The first thing that came to mind was the aesthetic difference between a Waldorf environment and what Orenstein described.  A Waldorf school, home, and child does not resemble the girlie-girl culture she details in her interview.  It's a safe haven where childhood is protected.  And, this is one of the reasons it appeals to a mom like me.  Yes, I know far too well about those glitter-princess girls and I want nothing of them.  I did not go out of my way to have a homebirth and breastfeed for 22.5 months just to throw her to the Barbie-wolves!  I wanted to set a precedent at the earliest age that we do things in a more natural, wholesome way. 

If you browse a natural toy catalog, such as Nova Natural or A Toy Garden, you'll notice that many of the toys are gender-neutral and there isn't that stark blue-pink divide.  In fact, they usually aren't divided into "boy" or "girl" categories.  Parents will also notice that the dolls are far more innocent and lack physically mature proportions and nightclub attire.  These natural stores don't sell play-cosmetics or dolls in high heels.  Try it. Go look up the Toys R Us website and then look at A Toy Garden.  Can you see the difference? 

In our Waldorf school, the dress code has a purpose of maintaining a child's innocence and protecting children from the adult world. For instance, they don't wear shirts with name-brand logos or wording on them, they have to wear tops with a sleeve, and you won't find any popular characters on clothing or backpacks.  What a difference this makes in the educational environment!  Because of the trend toward "plain clothes" and a regard for general modesty, there is a noticeable difference in the attitude and reverence of the children.  To a parent who is struggling with a lost child, why not start by changing the clothes?  Gradually switch out the clothing with characters, inappropriate statements, and logo-centered clothing for plain-- but still pretty-- clothes.  (And, let me add that I am not anti-pink! I wear the color pink and my daughter owns pink clothes.  However, I think Orenstein is referring to the excessive use of it.  For instance, I am trying to let other colors into her wardrobe such as blue, purple, green, white, yellow, etc. Our play room looks gender-neutral with all the colors of the rainbow.)  Take your daughter to a store that offers more innocent clothing.  Maybe the mall isn't the best shopping environment.  I intentionally shop for innocent-looking clothing for my daughter.  When in doubt, go for a younger looking outfit.  When in doubt, err on the side of modesty. 

Let me also add that Waldorf education highly discourages media consumption in the early grades.  They really don't want your child going home and using the TV as a babysitter.  They don't want the play of the children to center around Dora or Sponge Bob.  Orenstein made a great point in the interview when she said that Disney does not encourage imagination but rather it limits imagination in childhood. This is the same sentiment held by most Waldorf parents.  Therefore, one of the best ways to combat this girlie marketing onslaught is to remove most of the media influences in the home. 

From my own personal experience, I plan to enrich my daughter's life with healthy activities.  She will not be in dance, gymnastics, cheer, twirling, figure skating, or anything that involves leotards or glitter or a premature focus on her body...she doesn't need to peak at 16.  (Why not yoga if your daughter simply must wear spandex?)  We are considering martial arts, horseback riding, chess, foreign language, cooking classes, art, scouts, and other activities that aren't centered around immodest attire.  And, even more than that, I'd be a fool to surround her with those girls who are immersed in pop-culture.  For my little nest, I am making the conscious decision to seek out a better skill-set for my daughter beyond back-flips. 

So, here are some "solutions" I came up with in response to one of the reviews of this book.  Here's how you can help your daughter rise above aggressive marketing:

1.  Don't make shopping a bonding activity.  Far too often mothers and daughters do this.  If possible, shop online and don't make it a big event.  Psychologically, there is nothing healthy about being a "shopaholic" or defining oneself through purchased merchandise. There is nothing "sexy" or "cute" about credit card debt, either. 
2.  Limit TV time and commercials.
3.  Purchase more natural, gender-neutral toys.  You might have to go somewhere else besides Wal-Mart or Toys R Us to avoid those glittery tween aisles. Check my store links to the left side of the page.
4.  Keep characters off of her backpack, shoes, clothes, lunchbox, jacket, folders, bedding, etc.  Try to keep the coloring books and story books free of these popular characters, too. 
5.   Be cautious and creative when signing your daughter up for extra-curricular activities.  Start young.  It's cool to be something besides a cheerleader.  Check YMCA, local sports, local religious groups, homeschool groups, etc. 
6.  Set the standard with other moms and daughters.  Avoid the pink-princesses in your own birthday parties and outings.  Give presents that are void of characters.  Suggest playdates that are creative, wholesome, and educational. 
7.  Monitor your child's peer group.  As a parent, you should exert influence on who your child is around.  Set your child up for success by surrounding her with positive, healthy young girls that aren't as influenced by media forces.  For us, that means continuing the Waldorf school/homeschool combination with our child.  She will have lots of interaction with people, but people who have more important things to worry about than the Kardashians.
8.  Gradually introduce different colors and styles into your child's wardrobe.  This is easier when they're young so start early.  Try some yellow, blue, green, white, brown, orange or red.  All of these colors complement pink so you can mix and match. Better yet, purchase organic clothing, fair trade clothing, or garments from another culture.  It makes the child aware of the production of the clothing, the environment, and human rights issues.  If "all the kids are wearing" a style you don't approve of, then maybe you ought to take a look at who your daughter's around.  Enlist the help of teachers, parent-teacher organizations, and other adults who work with your child. 
9.  Compliment your daughter and other girls and women on something besides their looks.  I still have a hard time with this one and habitually compliment my friends' new bags or cute shoes.  This is very much a note to myself and something I want to change with my daughter.  Point out something specific about her abilities or good character...focus on that inner beauty. 

Our Waldorf Nature Table

This is a photo of our new nature table scene complete with German stacking houses, German rabbits, a fox, a couple of cute gnomes, and a momma duck and her wooden ducklings. A green play silk provides a soft meadow and the blue play silk hung up against the wall creates a blue sky.  The "river" is actually a scarf I knitted. The trees were made by covering paper towel rolls with felt and topping them with green paper balls. A nature table is a classic Waldorf staple. This is our interpretation of it.

I'm ready for another one!

My daughter is one of the few only-children left in our circle of friends.  All of my mommy pals now have their final two or three kids, most of them spaced close together.  Personally, I've always been a fan of the four-year gap in spacing children.  There's no way I could manage two children in cloth diapers at the same time or attempt tandem breastfeeding.  And, yes, I know you can wear two babies in a sling at once. However, I want to do my best with each child.  I want to take my time with them and savor these mothering years.  Having babies is not something I simply want to "get over with" as I've heard so often. I want to enjoy being pregnant, I want to have an empowering birth, and I want my first daughter old enough to help out a bit. 

Not to mention, I can remember when my sister was born and I was four-years-old. I was old enough to remember her as a newborn and I want my daughter to be old enough to have memories of natural birth and childrearing. God willing, this will provide a positive influence in her life and natural parenting will be her "norm".  One of the best gifts I can give her is a picture of healthy, confident, natural womanhood.  She won't remember her own infancy, but she'll remember that of her younger siblings. So, with that spacing in mind, I've decided to try for a second baby.  This decision came several months early when events just lined up perfectly...eerily so.  All of a sudden my IUD was out and I was having a consultation with a midwife. I'm going with it since I know that a bigger power has my life in His Hands. I have a feeling there is a soul that wants to come into existence on this earth.

I kept waiting for that deep desire to have another child to return.  And, boy, did I have that overwhelming drive to have my first child!  What an amazing force put out into the universe when a woman wants to have a baby...nothing will stop it and it will eventually happen some how, some way. I could sense this from my husband, too, who seemed ready to have a large family the very first day we met.  So, it's not just women who have ticking biological clocks.  Sure enough, he has been an outstanding, committed, involved father.  Our little girl is everything to him.

I remember when I was pregnant and we were assembling the new crib and changing table.  He took this task so seriously.  With hammer and nails in hand, he beamed about how he had fantasized of this day.  It was a dream come true for him in that moment doing "daddy things". 

He's been wanting another baby for a while now after all of his friends have had more than one child.  I know there's a part of him that wants a son.  I want that father-son experience for him, too, just as he's had the father-daughter bond.  With this next pregnancy, we've decided to wait to find out the gender.  We're going natural on this one and we'll know soon enough. 

My question to all the mothers reading this is when did you decide to have another baby?  Was it planned?  What influenced your opinion on child spacing?

You don't want your children to be "peer oriented". Stay attached!

My current read is one that I'll be sharing and recommending for years to come.  Dr. Gabor Mate and Dr. Gordon Neufeld's Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers discusses the detrimental phenomenon dubbed "peer orientation".  This is when children form attachments to their peers instead of attaching to their parents. Because peer orientation was never intended by nature, a whole slew of problems result... as does everything we do when we veer far away from nature.

I've listened to several inspiring interviews with Dr. Mate on public radio and this book instructs parents on how to reclaim their "lost" children (I think of the movie Thirteen).  Likewise, it validates the efforts and instincts of those parents who have, indeed, chosen to keep their children naturally close.  If given a choice as a mother, I'll take the attached child.  I use this book as a tool in maintaining my attachment to my child.  We've completed earlier attachment practices such as birth bonding, babywearing, breast feeding, and now I need ways to stay attached that go beyond the toddler years. 

I'm joining a local homeschool association this month and the meeting's theme is a book swap.  Though I'm sure they want us to share various homeschool curriculum and lesson books, I'll be bringing this one.  It's the most appropriate book I own regarding the benefits of homsechooling, though it is not explicitly stated as such. I strongly believe that maintaining that parent-child attachment is a key factor in homeschool success.  Dr. Mate would say homeschooled children maintain their good behavior, social skills, creativity, and innocence because they are not peer-oriented like many children in public schools.  That's not to say that public school children are doomed, it's just that homeschooling is  one way in particular in which that bond can flourish. They have been able to maintain their natural attachment to their parents. This book is yet another description of what of what I want for my children.

Why kids do better with less: real explanations from "Simplicity Parenting" author

Here's a one-page article to add to your mommy toolbox!  Print it out and hang it on the fridge!  I have to share this short interview with Simplicty Parenting author Kim John Payne.  He is a voice of encouragement to parents trying to steer their kids away from all the "excess" and "stuff" of the holiday season. Or, maybe birthdays or playdates have gotten out of hand.  In situations with kids, I agree that less is more and better behavior-- and higher quality play-- always results.  Here are some amazing, common-sense statements from The Mother Company's December 8th interview.  Click on the link below for the full story. And, if you haven't heard about "simplicity parenting" check out his website at http://www.simplicityparenting.com


What Too Many Toys Can Do
http://www.themotherco.com/2011/12/too-many-toys/

"Fewer toys reduces conflict among siblings. With feedback through our blog and countless workshops, we’ve noticed kids get along better when there is less. It’s not a huge mystery. Fewer toys invokes scarcity. Scarcity fosters more cooperation. It activates the limbic system in the brain which encourages cooperation. With fewer toys, a toy is rare and is precious. Limiting toys allows for increased depth of play that allows children to process their day. I see it as a cup where they carry all of their experiences from the day. it allows them to empty their cup for the day and be ready for the next."

"In this holiday season as parents are looking for toys for their children, they should ask, “Is this a toy that invokes the creative facilities?” Neutral toys tend to be best. The more a child can impart themselves in the toy, the better the toy. The child can have an industry and purpose. All people love this, not just children. I have built something. I have done something, that builds their self-esteem enormously. I am also a fan of real tools for children, small enough for children to use. Real toys. Not cheap plastic ones. Children learn from imitation. They learn by imitating work. Children who help with the work of chores, if they stand along side us with their own tools, their own gardening tools, their own wash up tools, they can mimic and build their sense of self-esteem by accomplishing a task and being helpful. Granted, it’s probably faster as a parent to do the work by yourself, but we can teach and learn through the gift of work. Many parents have said their best gifts have been small tool boxes with sand paper and hammers. I’m a big fan of those kinds of action gifts as opposed to Xboxes. The difference is action. Children are doing the action rather than the action is foisted on the child."

Eating Raw-ish

I've been fascinated by the Raw Food Movement.  I wasn't even aware of this diet when I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian several years back (before a meat-eating husband came along).  But, lately, it's popped up on my radar.  I've read quite a bit about it after discussing it with health-conscious pals and coming across it in natural living articles.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism

From what I gather, a raw food diet is exactly that.  You don't cook the food you eat.  And, though it doesn't touch a stove or oven, the food seems to require a lot of preparation in the way of pre-soaking, chopping, blending, dehydrating, and some super-duper creativity.  For example, I'd never know how to make a "raw" apple pie.  Don't we bake pies? Apparently, you don't have to! Check out this recipe for Raw Apple Pie from Food.com:
http://www.food.com/recipe/raw-apple-pie-225462

Or, try some "raw" chocolate pudding.  This rates high on the yummy and texture scale.  You can easily mix 1 avacado, 1 banana, 2 tbsp. cocoa powder, stevia to taste, and almond milk as needed for mixing.  Don't let anyone know it contains avacado until after they eat it!  You'd never know.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/alexs-raw-chocolate-pudding/

I think I'm more raw-ish at this stage.  Some items I consume just have to be cooked.  My sort-of-raw proejct for today includes blending up some homemade pesto sauce to toss with whole wheat pasta and veggies.  I've got an abundance of basil growing in my garden right now, so this suits me well.  Ok, some raw emerald-green basil and pinenuts has to give me some points.  Or, I could go further by making some raw zucchini noodles.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pesto/

I find the raw diet my ideal way of eating food, but I've got a long way to go.  I don't own a dehydrator and I don't know how committed I am to all of the food prep involved in many of the recipes.  I'm not sure how this would work with a family-- I doubt my husband would fully embrace it and give up certain processed items.  He's healthy for a guy, but total rawness isn't going to happen in our lives right now.  It's inspirational and pushes me to think about recipes differently.  I guess I am more raw-inspired with my cooking. It's my goal to head in that direction by consuming more living fruits and vegetables and avoiding all things highly processed.  I'd like to have more lunches from Pat Greer's Raw Vegan Kitchen here in Houston and it has inspired me to grow my own wheat grass (for making wheat grass juice). http://www.patgreersrawvegankitchen.com/

 I'd like to start these habits now when my daughter is young and impressionable, while I'm in my child-bearing/nursing years when good nutrition is essential, and when our family habits/traditions are still being formed. Have you been inspired by the Raw Food Movement?  How have you incorporated it into your diet?