Hope you have a minute.

When I first had Siobhan I joined an absolutely wonderful parenting program called Parents Place. It is conducted through the adult school and is located in the old elementary school that I attended kindergarten and first grade in before it closed. I am so grateful to have had that as a new mother. Pacific Grove is a sometimes difficult place to be. My family has been there for a few generations and it is what I know and grew up with. It is obviously in California which lends itself to being a pretty liberal place and can very much be described as an old hippie town. As I grew older though, so did the population there. Being on the ocean, with Pebble Beach and Carmel butting up against it, it became more and more expensive to live there. It has become the place to retire. When I joined Parents Place I initially had my doubts about returning. The classes were organized so that the ages were all within two months of each other so we were all at the same level. The hard part for me was being a good 10 years younger than the other moms at the start of the session. Most of these moms were in their 30's or 40's. They were professionals that had decided to take a break in their careers to start a family. I was 22 and taking up newspaper delivery so that I could be home with Siobhan. It felt really awkward that first time but I fell in love with the instructors. One that I will always remember is Gail. I believe she was responsible for the program and I am certain that she is responsible for a large part of my parenting skills (along with my mother). She helped me to make really informed decisions and taught me about attachment parenting. At that time, probably the same as now, vaccinations ,circumcision and co sleeping were hot topics. Gail had a way of letting everybody be heard and making no one feel they were wrong even though we probably all felt we were right. ( I did vaccinate, but did not circumcise my boys all my kids have slept with us) I ended up making friends, as did Siobhan and Oscar. It was hard to leave that community of women when I left California. The biggest lesson I learned there though was learning to be tolerant and respecting others beliefs. That is not always an easy task. When I left California I was really excited to meet some new people, maybe some younger moms like me. I did, but then there was the Mormon issue. Obviously, not everybody in Utah is looking to convert you or cast you aside as a gentile. Unfortunately, I had a rough start and didn't meet any of those people first. I was lucky though and when I married Pete I married into a large family. Hans is the oldest of the grandchildren on Pete's side and he is one of 10, soon to be 11. I absolutely cherish my sisters in laws, nieces and nephews. We met every Friday, as they still do, for Grandma day at my mother in laws. I don't think we could be any different, each of us, in our parenting styles and I think we have found a great way of hearing each other out without judging. We all hold strong opinions ( I did hold my tongue on the circumcision) but I think we are all awesome mothers. The point of this incessant rambling was that I don't think that I am better than anyone. This blog can make a person seem pretty self important and I felt bad after my last post. I never want to imply that anybody not making their own kids toys or clothes or costumes is any lesser. I just want to be informed and I want to pass on what I learn. I am a voracious reader and if I can pass on anything useful than I feel that my time is spent well. I did find that Europe holds stricter regulations and plastics from the UK are safe. California has had a ban on Phathalates for awhile and this is new today. Sorry for the novel. I will be leaving for California tomorrow, for the last time in the house I grew up in. If you thought today was a marathon, just hold onto your hats until next week. Oh, and just so I don't feel I'm making myself look good, you should know I lock the kids in the shed while I write this blog. Also, I broke our telephone when I dropped it in the toilet yesterday( don't ask).