Waving from Montana

[CrunchyClark]

Hey....is anyone from Montana out there? :)

[meagen]

Hello to you. It's nice to see someone else on here from mt. what part are you from?

[CrunchyClark]

....with all those crazy legislators :rolleyes:

My little bro lives in Missoula though, and I lived there 1994-1995 going to the U.

How old are your children? Mine are 6.5 and 3 and we're unschoolers.

Holly

[meagen]

i also moved here in 95 to go to school, and my dh is just finishing law school here, then it's off to billings for two years. my dd is 4mo. and i'm loving it! i'm home all but 12 hrs a week, when dh is home with her. i work at a parent co-op spanish immersion school doing adm. stuff. :)

[Cheri]

.

[Rachel Fox]

hey holly i'm in helena!

[Montanabarb]

Hello!

I am the mom of a 10-month-old boy, and have recently decided to go full time as a mom. I was wondering if there are any Billings playgroups out there with an Attachment Parenting-type feel.

Thanks!

Barbara

[CrunchyClark]

Hey Barbara! PM me for an address of a gal in Billings who might be able to help you :) She doesn't have any small ones anymore, but she's an AP parent who is really involved in the food co-op and might know some folks! :)

[meagen]

Barbara-

I PMd you with details, but I'm headed to Billings to live next week. Let me know any updates, I'm very excited!

[Montana Mom]

Hey y'all. I'm in the Helena area, soon to be Helena proper. :)

[CrunchyClark]

Welcome Montana Mom, I'm still in Helena too! :) How old is your little one? And what brought you to town?

[Montana Mom]

Hi. She just turned 3. I was looking at your site and I think we've actually seen you out at the farmer's market! I wish I had found your booth while my little one was still in diapers...I used mostly the plain white flatfolds because I didn't even *know* there were other kinds...lol!!

We've been living outside of Helena and will be moving into town in a couple of weeks...I can't wait! I just recently started working again and I hate the driving.

[SammyLucasNHarper]

Hey Holly!

Are there any playgroups around helena here? I have decided I need to get out more, but I have no idea of where to even LOOK!

:)

[CrunchyClark]

There are some groups, but mostly quite mainstream. There is a MOMS club and I think that is where a lot of playgroups spawn off of. Otherwise, we just head to the park and smile and look cute and try to meet people :D

[Rachel Fox]

Hi Holly, just signed on for the first time in over a year. Nice to see you're still here posting. How are you feeling? How was your trip?
I'll be taking the WHOLE summer of to play with the babies thanks to a very generous tax return :thumb , so we'll have to meet up at the park and the lake, ooh and the waterslide!
Hope all is well,
Rachel

[CrunchyClark]

Feeling awesome! Yesssss we will HAVE to get together! Sammy's kids are 'close' to age in yours. We'll have to have our own MDC playgroup ;)

[meagen]

Hi everyone!
I just popped on to ask some Helena Questions and lo and behold, a whole little thread! Wow!

We are headed to Helena on Monday for a job interview, which is one of three possible leads for that town. So, we want to check out the town, neighborhoods, etc. I have always lived in Montana and have never been to Helena :bag: so, I'm very excited.

Any suggestions on where we should look for housing, schools in the area, and things to do for a two-year-old would be greatly appreciated

Crunchy, I know I've asked you before, but now it seems like more of a possibility. :) THanks in advance!

[Montana Mom]

Hi meagan!

Good luck w/the interview :)

[Rachel Fox]

Heeeellloooooooooo...
Helena is rad, I love it. We get crunchier by the day over here. I LOVE living in the south central area, between the downtown walking mall (west boundary) and the capital (east boundary). Great neighborhoods, great neighbors, close to museum, shopping, health food store (called Real Food Store), library, summer farmers market- all in walking distance. MY favorite spot in town is the south Rodney, Davis street area, includes State street, 1st St....I love that area, hope to move to the hood someday. Also falls into the Central School area or Jefferson School area. I have a little bro at Jefferson and he loves it but I have heard AMAZING things about Central, esp. kindergarten teacher Mr. Wolfe. Practically everyone in town has heard of this guy, he's wonderful. I plan to send my kiddos to Central. Also close to Middle school and High school, we only have 2 each in town.
Good luck with the interview, let us know!
Rachel

[CrunchyClark]

Yeah the Rodney Street 'Ghetto' area.....LOL...I actually saw a bumper sticker that said that the other day!!!! There are some REALLY nice houses in that area....and some really scary ones!!! I think Rodney Street there being the 'worst' with the surrounding ones not so bad. I loved the area, but my hubby nixed it immediately for the almost double property taxes to other areas in the city! We're off of North Montana and Cedar. Midtown I guess? We're still walking distance to downtown--maybe 6 blocks? and also to Memorial Park which is the awesome playground in town.

[Montana Mom]

The house we are moving to is just a couple of blocks West of the Capital. It seems like we will be within walking distance of lots of things, which will be nice.

I saw that they were building a new organic ? food market kind of in the Jade Garden area. Have y'all heard anything about that?

My 'dream' area is that historic area on the other side of downtown. Look there if you have $$! ;)

[CrunchyClark]

Yeah, Strawhouse Market! It was built with straw bales! I think it's going to be more eatery, fresh produce, deli type thing than a store, but I could be wrong. That's the impression I got when we went to the "barn raising" for it.

[Montana Mom]

Oh! Is it going to be vegetarian friendly, do you know?

[CrunchyClark]

I dunno....I'm figuring or hoping probably so?? Are you like me? Noticing the RFS take-out/deli has A LOT of meats?! or meat in their things. I know they do usually have a few veg selections, but it seemed like they used to be the majority!

[Montana Mom]

Oooh...I almost posted that in my last post!!

It seems like when they were downtown they were pretty much all vegetarian, maybe some diced ham or something, but now, when I look at their buffet I see nasty old *chicken wings* or other whole parts up there...yuck..! I don't even try to eat their deli anymore because of that. I liked shopping there a lot better before they moved.

Are y'all vegetarians?

[CrunchyClark]

We aren't totally vegetarians no....but meat isn't a main part of our diet either. For a while my 8 yo was a total veghead, but he decided he liked seafood too much. He wanted to eat nothing living for moral reasons....so NO meat or fish. But, he has since decided that he'll eat organic...because at least it was well taken care of.

It doesn't bother me to see the meat on the deli bar....I just wish they'd do more veggie like they used to also!

[Montana Mom]

Ah. I've yet to meet another vegetarian in the area. I was hoping...! ;)

[CrunchyClark]

Oh, I'm sure there are plenty out there! I'll rack my brain to see if we know anyone in town who is ;) Everyone I know *thinks* we are vegetarians! LOL I in general don't cook much meat unless I have to, but I'll eat it if someone else has prepared it without a problem. But, I'd say, we probably go veggie 75% of the time. Do you do dairy products?

[meagen]

My dh is vegetarian, thereby we cook only veg., but I crave red meat every once in a while when we eat out :) So who knows, you may have a fellow veg. moving to town. I'm very excited to visit.

Is there a LLL in town? I'm in the first stages of becoming a leader, but would love to have other leaders in town. From my searching on the internet, it seems like there are some pretty good choices for preschools in the area, which is nice. Billings has been a bit of a challenge finding something I liked. She is signed up for Montessori for next fall, so would love to find one in Helena as well. Problem is that she won't be 3 untill Oct.,so some won't take her yet.

We live in the historical part of town now, our house is 100 years old this year, and love the neighborhood. On the other hand, I would like more than one square foot of counter space in the kitchen and a dishwasher would be nice! :) I've heard that housing is quite reasonable there, so that's exciting.

I'll let you know how it all goes. We're staying overnight on Monday to try and get a feel for things. THanks for all the info! I'll be the one driving really slowly through the neighborhoods ;)

[Montana Mom]

meagen,

I'm not sure about LLL here, the site doesn't list Helena as a group, but I do know of some Helenans who are members...so maybe??

The two Montessori schools that I know of are ABC Montessori in East Helena and Children's World Montessori in Helena. There are a couple of other non-Montessori that practice much of the Montessori principles.

Reasonable housing depends on your frame of reference I imagine ;) Housing in Montana (general) is a LOT more expensive than where I'm from.

I hope you enjoy your visit!! :)

[Montana Mom]

Oh, I'm sure there are plenty out there! I'll rack my brain to see if we know anyone in town who is ;) Everyone I know *thinks* we are vegetarians! LOL

lol, I know a lovely lady who told me when we met that she just hated meat and never ate it...just chicken and ham for her! :wink

We are getting ready to move this coming weekend. I'm excited but I do not like packing/unpacking one little bit. I always end up donating a bunch of stuff when we move because the things from one house just don't go as well in the other! Moving is my voluntary simplicity program...lol

[Montana Mom]

Oops. Forgot to answer your question. We do eat some dairy when out and about, but I very rarely buy it for our home.

[CrunchyClark]

There is no LLL in Helena! A friend and I attempted to get one going I guess it was 3 yrs ago now. YIKES has it been that long? But LLL headquarters was unflinching on the fact that we had to attend if I remember correctly a member for a year, and then 6 mos of leader training meetings at another LLL estasblished group, which we tried, but was virtually impossible as it's in Great Falls the closest and in bad weather, we just would not be able to make it, and that would affect our ability to become a leader.

[Montana Mom]

Thats kind of an unreasonable rule for rural states...*frown*

[CrunchyClark]

I was 'told' there was a way around it....but when I pushed...I never got an answer...soo...that is that :) We do have an EXCELLENT LC in town and WIC also offers some breastfeeding support--or used to. Speaking of....if you haven't ever checked out the requirements for WIC in L&C county. You should! The income limit is really high IMO, and most everyone I know who is considered 'middle class' still qualifies! You can get organic milk too!! (Unless they've recently changed it.)

[G's mommy]

Wow! I am excited about the Strawhouse market! We are moving to Helena in 2 weeks- I am making a list of the places I have to go to (well, want to go to) in the first few days...
Real food store
Strawhouse market
Stefano's (for a ham and pineapple pizza roll up, yum!)
Hmmmm... Can't think of more right now, I am sure I will come up with more!!

CrunchyClark- when does the farmer's market start? :)

[CrunchyClark]

Starts April 30th!!! Just over two weeks away! I am sooo excited!!! :) I set up almost every weekend, and it's SUCH fun!

[SammyLucasNHarper]

I am chiming in a little late but we are by the college, for now. Its a pretty ok neighborhood. Havent had many problems. Our bug zapper dissapeared last summer, and someone played baseball with our drivers side mirror. So not to bad at all! BUT we are moving to East Helena in less than a month. We are excited for the move, but on the other hand, not really. We are excited because we are going to have a LOT of room and we are able to personalise the house and make it the way we want it. This house, was basically brand new when we got in it. This house, needs a LOT of love!!!!! :blush :bag:

Yes, the strawhouse market will be really neat to check out. Its really close to me right now. But when we move wont be so close! I cant wait for it to open, have you mamas seen it reciently? Oh its looking NICE! :)

I like the real food store, although I have only eaten off the food bar once. It was pretty good though!!! :)

ok, I should get back to my sewing! :) I have been slacking today, I should have gotton all my stuff done, but I am pretty close! :)