Hi everyone!! Sorry to be tardy with my intro, but we were at New Year's Eve festivities at my parents' all day! And then we slept til noon today. 
Okay, so I'll try to cover the relevant info as briefly as possible (hard for me...I'm verbose!) and then will look forward to hearing questions.
So I'm Robina, I'm 33, and I live in Brooklyn, NYC. I primarily grew up here in the BK, but we moved back and forth between here and Lahore, Pakistan -- where my dad grew up -- with frequency throughout my childhood. I was in my mid-twenties before I really appreciated how unusual it was that my parents would just pull me out of school for several months at a time to live in Lahore (I went to the NYC public school system, and my teachers would send me with worksheets and stuff to complete while I was gone). We also traveled a lot on the way to and fro, so before I was 10 I had been to many countries in Europe and Asia. Seeing so many different cultures has been very formative for me, and I still love to travel (although right now there is no money to do so, alas. I have no idea how my parents did that with 3 kids -- my mom was a SAHM and my dad owned a newstand, so they weren't exactly rolling in the dough either).
I met my husband when I was 20, when we were both working at a Barnes & Noble while in college. We dated for five years before we got engaged, so all told we will have been together for 13 years this June -- that's crazy to me! We have two kids -- our daughter Wrenna is 5 and our son Ilan is 2.5. Both were born at home. Wren is my firecracker -- she is whip smart, imaginative, loves to climb and dance, and is hilarious. Illy is my sweetheart -- he's sensitive, cares very much about other people and how they are doing, and seems a bit bewildered by the wild ways of the world. We homeschool them, and at this young age we lean toward an unschooling philosophy, but I would say long-term we would characterize ourselves as "eclectic" homeschoolers.
I originally was an academic, and I studied and taught English. I specialized in African American Culture and Gender Studies. I got my PhD in English the year my son turned 1, even though for many years prior I knew I didn't want to stay an academic. I stuck with it because it paid (poorly!) and worked with our family's lifestyle, but I knew for several years that my true calling was midwifery. It was really scary to change gears because all things considered I was doing well as an academic, but I just knew it wasn't where I wanted to be. My husband on the other hand is still a doctoral student -- in Economics -- and he hopes to get a full time academic position when he finishes his PhD next Fall.
I have a huge extended family, most of whom live in Brooklyn. I am very close to my sisters, who live across the street from me, and my parents, who live up the block. Family is a huge deal in my life and I am so grateful to be close to them!
Other things? I like to knit and sew, learn about herbalism and alternative medicine, write, and read. My husband and I are very political and were very involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement last year though sadly not anymore. I was a vegetarian for 22 years until this fall, when we started eating meat from a couple of very specific local farms. I feel really good about the switch.
Here is our family at my sister's wedding two weeks ago:
I think that's enough info -- ha! Thanks to Tiffany for setting this up!! And Happy New Year everyone!!
Edited by brooklyn_warbler - 1/1/13 at 11:57am
But it still took a few years before I got up to the courage to officially make the switch. I also had to do a full year of pre-reqs (generally the stuff nurses would come into the program with, since my program is for nurses and non-nurses) before I could officially start school. I took 9 classes in 9 months! It was crazy. But I am so glad I am finally here, and so glad I have such a supportive husband and family. It feels more right than academia ever did. 
Follow Mothering