Ahhhh

What a terrific week, culminating in a MUCH needed chill weekend!

First of all...

My men!

My son, Bryan, made the SWAT team for the agency he works for.  I'm so terribly proud of him....and of course a little worried too ;)

When I posted this announcement on my Facebook page, I was a little surprised to see some of the responses.  They ranged from a celebratory tone to one of concern that my son will use his position to harm people.  Uh...no!  Yikes :(

Secondly...

I had the honor of attending another AMAZING birth.  I love this couple, their passion for each other and their commitment to creating the birth they desired for their son.  They prepared for their birth with HypnoBirthing (Dad asked for HypnoBirthing classes for his birthday! I love this guy!) and chose a midwife and doula for a homebirth. 

The sisterhood of birth. 

The magical moment!

Midwife Colleen & I have a moment with baby Jynsen :)

 As I drove home, exhausted, but so happy, the smell of birth lingered on me.  I don't mean this in a "gross" way, but rather, in a very sweet way.  The intermingled scents of everyone present at the birth was clinging to my clothes and my hair.  That distinctive co-mingled scent that clings to every damp body holding the space for a mother...the smell of sweat, tears, blood, amniotic fluid...and at least for me, it reminds me of why I follow my path.  Of why this IS important.

Lastly....

I was OFF CALL for the weekend! I had an entire holiday weekend to do absolutely nothing.  And I did....do absolutely nothing.  

Except...

spend Saturday on the beach....

Float in my pool on Sunday....

and celebrate Memorial Day with friends on Monday.

Perfect, and much needed down time!

It's Tuesday and time to get back to work.  Time to get ready for the FIRST birth at the Palms Birth House.  It's so exciting!!

Peace.

Mission Accomplished!

It's all a little surreal right now.  Actually a lot.

The Palms Birth House has been recommended for license as a birth center.  (oh gosh, I'm crying again...)

The analogy of birth is and was very much relevant to this whole process. Kind of ironic, huh?!

First of all, it has taken 9 months (yes, we started LAST August!)

Secondly, the inspection process was very much like a LABOR.  A very long, challenging labor.  One where we needed support, lots of support.  The care provider/aka our one dimensional inspector was not a great fit for us.   (If this were an actual OB/Midwife, we would have ran. Ran Fast. Ran to another provider with a similar view point.)  We did the best we could with the hand we were dealt.  Kinda like an OP baby lol.  You know that if you can just work with it, be patient, it will be okay.  That fighting the process will not get you the results you are looking for.  To give you an idea of what we were dealing with..."This is an inspection, NOT a discussion..." yes, this was our inspectors mantra. (remember...this is the same inspector that failed us the first time!)

As the day went on (5 hrs) we were literally breathing and pacing...a few tears were shed...we fought the desire to escape and just forget about it....our confidence was shaken and then bolstered...and then....

We gave birth to the ONLY birth center in Palm Beach County.

And she is beautiful.

And more tears were shed. Lots of them.

Time to celebrate...and fix our makeup ;)

Thank you. Simply thank you to all of you who supported us from conception to birth.  Thank you to my amazing husband who gave up his entire summer last year to create something beautiful at "our little house"...thank you to my parents and ALL of the people who came and painted, planted and gave of their time and money to be part of our vision.  Thank you to all of you (and you know who you are) that doula'd us thru our labor via texting and facebook.  Thank you Rivkah for my favorite quote of the day during our labor..."if you can build it, you can birth it"....thank you Beatriz for the holy water...luckily no one burst into flames, including our inspector ;)

Peeks at the journey....

Painting...and painting...and painting last summer.

Thank you honey...I love your support of my dreams!

Thank you Stephanie for adorning our walls with your talent and spirit!

Zak man-ing up with a beer to go with the pink paint!

 

Thank you Michael for your talent and humor!

Construction Yoga...there's always time for yoga ;)

 We are excited about the future of this little birth house and the option now available to families in Palm Beach County.  The women of Amazing Births & Beyond and the Palms Birth House are grateful for the continued support of us both professionally and personally. Eternally grateful.

Peace and Gratitude.

We love you.  We honestly do.

Happy Mother's Day

I want to thank my mother for setting such a good example for me and wish her a special day today.  Mom, I'm sorry I can't take you to lunch and give you a hug today but I'm sure you can feel my love from afar.

Mom & I in NYC...ironically, that is exactly where I am today

I would like to thank my son, Bryan, for choosing me as his mother.  Being a mother is and will always be my greatest joy.  I love you Bryan.

Me & my boy messing around at my mother's house

I would also like to thank all of the women who made the transformation into motherhood before my very eyes, including my dear step-daughter Kim and daughter-in-law Jenny.  It has been my true honor to hold the space during that transformation.  I am touched and in awe of the power and beauty that each and every one of you bring to motherhood.  Your children are blessed and the world is a bit sweeter.

Happy First Mother's Day Jenny! (our beloved Liam)

I am spending Mother's Day this year teaching the last day of the HypnoBirthing Practitioner training to 22 amazing women.  Although I would love to be with my family today, this feels right somehow.

Last day of class!

In honor of all mothers, I love the quote below...

The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world!

Peace and Love.

Work and Play in NYC

Once again Vivian and I are teaching the HypnoBirthing Practitioner training in New York.  Once I get here, I am reminded why I really love this particular training location.

First of all NYC is awesome, exhausting, delicious and kooky.  On our first full day here we tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to hail a cab during rush hour.  My feminine ego took a hit when the cab finally stopped for us and then darted around us to grab a business man instead of Vivian and I.  Ouch, that hurt lol.  My ego was salved last night on the sidewalk when Vivian and I were trying to figure out how to get to a particular restaurant and a sharp dressed man stopped and assisted us.  Thank you...that was nice and needed ;)

Secondly, we always seem to manifest a large group of amazing women for these particular trainings.  Our venue this time is the Open Center NYC.  I cannot say enough about this wonderful place and the staff members here.  What a mecca of holistic trainings and lectures.  Our current group consist of 22 enthusiastic women who are going to be incredible agents of change in the birthing world.  I am so inspired to see the sincere concern that these women have for current birthing practices and their burning desire to change those practices in their communities.  Wow. Simply wow.

Back at the birth house it was nice to see that it was business as usual.

Does this really need a caption??

After our training, we stumbled upon a Rebecca Minkoff sample sale and went a little crazy...or at least Vivian did lol!  I somehow contained myself to only one purchase that I LOVE!

Insane...REALLY insane mob!

After our shopping adventure, we ventured out in search of Moroccan food.  We took a shot in the dark and hit the mark! We dined at Cafe Mogador in the East Village.  The Tagines were AMAZING...spicy, sweet and very savory and the Ginger Martini was beyond explanation and had a very unexpected flavor in a yummy way. 

Of course we had to have dessert!

Moroccan Mint Tea finished the meal

It was a very full day and after dinner we took our very satisfied and weary selves back to our apartment on the Upper West Side (thank you OPEN Center for the accommodations) and called it a day. 

Tomorrow, another adventure!

Peace.