naturegirlz
05-20-2003, 07:14 AM
HELLO!!!
My name is Anne and I am brand new to this board. I was soooo happy to see people in Twin Cities connecting this way. Unfortunately, I live all the way down in the St.Peter/Mankato area but, I am happy to hear about like-minded individuals fairly close by. Here is my story to let you know a little bit about me and my family:
My husband and I are in our thirties and just celebrated our tenth anniversary. We have two daughters - Sierra, age seven and Aspen, who just turned three. We moved to Minnesota about six years ago when my husband got a job as a university professor at MSU. He teaches geology and absolutely loves his profession. He initially worked for a large oil company but became disillusioned with the corporate world and concerned about damage to the environment. He now has a job he loves and plenty of time to spend with our family.
I worked as an occupational therapist (it’s a lot like being a physical therapist) until my second daughter was born. As an occupational therapist I worked with children to develop their motor/sensory skills and address neurological deficits. I too, loved my job and was able to work part time. When my second daughter was born, she, like my first child, was very, very colicky. I had originally planned to return to work two days a week, but I ended up feeling that I just couldn’t leave my sad little baby with someone else. She is three years old now and I am home full time. My husband and I feel very lucky that we have both been able to make a conscious decision to make our family our top priority and to seek work that provides a public service while allowing us to have a rich home life.
I consider myself a semi-crunchie granola, in thought at least, if not always in action or appearance. We have practiced extended breastfeeding, family bed, one amazing homebirth, selective vaccinations, limited television/exposure to marketing, simple living, etc. My own "mothering" roots go back to my childhood when my own mother drove over 200 miles to be able to give birth to me naturally rather than being drugged and separated from me as was the norm at the time in her area. She was a La Leche mom for years in a community that didn’t show much support for that style of parenting, and was able to hold on to her views in the face of criticism. I have so much more understanding and respect for my own mother as I have become one myself.
We moved here from Santa Cruz, CA which was my training ground as a new parent. This was, at the time, an amazing (and beautiful) community full of parents that supported attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, family bed, cooperative play rather than competition, Waldorf/Montessori education, etc. I have to admit, that I was apprehensive when we moved to a small Midwest town with no "crunchies" in sight. While I was in Santa Cruz, I always knew I had something special in that community, but after living there six years, it was hard to remember how the rest of the world operated.
Over the years, I have now developed a pretty good circle of friends here who share some of my values, make me laugh, and keep me stimulated mentally. But, alas, I am the most granola person I know, (has anyone else been there????). The few times I’ve come to this board, it has been so wonderful to read people thoughts and think "Yeah! Me Too!"
I would love to meet some other moms/children who will keep me on track with my true values. People who I can connect with in little ways like chatting about the latest great book from Chinaberry that we’ve read, some great new tofu recipe, or getting/giving that little bit of encouragement we all need sometimes, like telling me that all that food I buy that says "organic" really is organic and worth every cent, as my grocery bill tops $350.00 for a single visit!
Because I live about an hour away from the Twin Cities, I would only really be able to join in on weekend activities and posting on the board. But the chance to meet some other "mothering" families in person would be more than worth the effort for me. My family is especially nature/outdoor oriented, so if anyone likes to camp, hike, cross country/downhill ski, or visit nature centers, we would love to hook up for some weekend outings. We also enjoy all the cultural activities the Twin Cities have to offer such as the Science Museum, Children’s Museum, etc.
We do actually visit the cities once or twice month already. We like to shop the Wedge and Whole Foods, and eat out at some place other than the chain restaurants that dominate our town. Although I signed up at mothering.com a while ago, I have only briefly skimmed the boards so I am not really sure what is going on out there. I love this website though, and all the great topics it covers!!! Here’s what we are looking for at this site:
More "mom" friends with like minded views (I’m very liberal politically, have a feminist streak, am into the amazing strength and inner beauty of women and the power of their friendships and love, open minded on religion as long as it includes TOLERANCE and love, and can hang out with the sweet, sweet, sweet moms (‘cause my "babies" bring that out in me) as well as the rowdy "hip mama," militant crowd (‘cause I know how to get my panties in a bundle). I love them both!!
We need some outdoor adventure playmates for grown-ups and kids alike!
Friends for my daughters - The seven year old is into fairies, magic, creative play, climbing trees, making up stories and acting them out, dress up, harry potter, reading, lots of arts and crafts, dolls, exploring nature! The three year old is just into having someone, anyone to PLAY. She loves her dollhouse and has just started to really move out of the parallel play stage and into interactive play. She has a great imagination, too, and is really getting into the make believe dress up and role play.
I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in connecting. I will my keep my fingers crossed that this will be my chance to make some great new friends either in person on the the internet!!! Thanks! anne
And, hey, weemoon, I’m still here and will PM you : )
My name is Anne and I am brand new to this board. I was soooo happy to see people in Twin Cities connecting this way. Unfortunately, I live all the way down in the St.Peter/Mankato area but, I am happy to hear about like-minded individuals fairly close by. Here is my story to let you know a little bit about me and my family:
My husband and I are in our thirties and just celebrated our tenth anniversary. We have two daughters - Sierra, age seven and Aspen, who just turned three. We moved to Minnesota about six years ago when my husband got a job as a university professor at MSU. He teaches geology and absolutely loves his profession. He initially worked for a large oil company but became disillusioned with the corporate world and concerned about damage to the environment. He now has a job he loves and plenty of time to spend with our family.
I worked as an occupational therapist (it’s a lot like being a physical therapist) until my second daughter was born. As an occupational therapist I worked with children to develop their motor/sensory skills and address neurological deficits. I too, loved my job and was able to work part time. When my second daughter was born, she, like my first child, was very, very colicky. I had originally planned to return to work two days a week, but I ended up feeling that I just couldn’t leave my sad little baby with someone else. She is three years old now and I am home full time. My husband and I feel very lucky that we have both been able to make a conscious decision to make our family our top priority and to seek work that provides a public service while allowing us to have a rich home life.
I consider myself a semi-crunchie granola, in thought at least, if not always in action or appearance. We have practiced extended breastfeeding, family bed, one amazing homebirth, selective vaccinations, limited television/exposure to marketing, simple living, etc. My own "mothering" roots go back to my childhood when my own mother drove over 200 miles to be able to give birth to me naturally rather than being drugged and separated from me as was the norm at the time in her area. She was a La Leche mom for years in a community that didn’t show much support for that style of parenting, and was able to hold on to her views in the face of criticism. I have so much more understanding and respect for my own mother as I have become one myself.
We moved here from Santa Cruz, CA which was my training ground as a new parent. This was, at the time, an amazing (and beautiful) community full of parents that supported attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, family bed, cooperative play rather than competition, Waldorf/Montessori education, etc. I have to admit, that I was apprehensive when we moved to a small Midwest town with no "crunchies" in sight. While I was in Santa Cruz, I always knew I had something special in that community, but after living there six years, it was hard to remember how the rest of the world operated.
Over the years, I have now developed a pretty good circle of friends here who share some of my values, make me laugh, and keep me stimulated mentally. But, alas, I am the most granola person I know, (has anyone else been there????). The few times I’ve come to this board, it has been so wonderful to read people thoughts and think "Yeah! Me Too!"
I would love to meet some other moms/children who will keep me on track with my true values. People who I can connect with in little ways like chatting about the latest great book from Chinaberry that we’ve read, some great new tofu recipe, or getting/giving that little bit of encouragement we all need sometimes, like telling me that all that food I buy that says "organic" really is organic and worth every cent, as my grocery bill tops $350.00 for a single visit!
Because I live about an hour away from the Twin Cities, I would only really be able to join in on weekend activities and posting on the board. But the chance to meet some other "mothering" families in person would be more than worth the effort for me. My family is especially nature/outdoor oriented, so if anyone likes to camp, hike, cross country/downhill ski, or visit nature centers, we would love to hook up for some weekend outings. We also enjoy all the cultural activities the Twin Cities have to offer such as the Science Museum, Children’s Museum, etc.
We do actually visit the cities once or twice month already. We like to shop the Wedge and Whole Foods, and eat out at some place other than the chain restaurants that dominate our town. Although I signed up at mothering.com a while ago, I have only briefly skimmed the boards so I am not really sure what is going on out there. I love this website though, and all the great topics it covers!!! Here’s what we are looking for at this site:
More "mom" friends with like minded views (I’m very liberal politically, have a feminist streak, am into the amazing strength and inner beauty of women and the power of their friendships and love, open minded on religion as long as it includes TOLERANCE and love, and can hang out with the sweet, sweet, sweet moms (‘cause my "babies" bring that out in me) as well as the rowdy "hip mama," militant crowd (‘cause I know how to get my panties in a bundle). I love them both!!
We need some outdoor adventure playmates for grown-ups and kids alike!
Friends for my daughters - The seven year old is into fairies, magic, creative play, climbing trees, making up stories and acting them out, dress up, harry potter, reading, lots of arts and crafts, dolls, exploring nature! The three year old is just into having someone, anyone to PLAY. She loves her dollhouse and has just started to really move out of the parallel play stage and into interactive play. She has a great imagination, too, and is really getting into the make believe dress up and role play.
I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in connecting. I will my keep my fingers crossed that this will be my chance to make some great new friends either in person on the the internet!!! Thanks! anne
And, hey, weemoon, I’m still here and will PM you : )