Birthday inspiration!

What a wonderful discussion we had about birthdays! Thanks to all who came out for our September "Holistic Birthday Celebrations" discussion, especially the first-time visitors. And super special thanks to co-leader Michelle R. for coming up with such a great handout!

Michelle had a bunch of great ideas for how to approach each category on her handout -- from beginner to hard-core! We fell all over the spectrum!

Members can access the full handout on our chapter Yahoo group. Others can request a copy by emailing HolisticMomsArlAlex (at) gmail (dot) com.

Suggestions for creating a holistic birthday celebration

• Make people the center of the celebration (and consider meaningful rituals)
• Eliminate or minimize the role of gifts
• Recycle and avoid consumerism
• Consider alternatives to party favors
• Organize holistic activities
• Provide healthy food

And some great resources are out there, including:

“Birthdays Without Pressure” – A Project of the University of Minnesota’s Dept. of Family Social Science
www.cehd.umn.edu/fsos/projects/birthdays

FILM: “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) www.commercialfreechildhood.org

Green Party Goods www.greenpartygoods.com


It was also helpful to revisit ideas for Holistic Halloween from our Moms Night Out back in 2009. Check out our suggestions!

Happy, Holistic Birthday Celebrations

What food do you serve at birthday celebrations? Is it a time to throw nutrition to the wind and revel in delectable sweets, or is it important to be consistent in food values and to share those with others. Can you do both?

How about gifts? Do you accept them, ask people not to bring them, ask for them to be homemade or used? What about giving gifts?

What about party favors and themes? Who decides? Where do you get your supplies? How big of a shindig do you throw? Who gets invited? Do you do several celebrations? How do you involve your kids, let them direct, or make decisions for them?

What rituals and traditions do you cherish from childhood? What ones make you cringe? How do you create meaningful and joyful celebrations?

Join us on September 20 as we discuss all this and more at our evening meeting.

We came, we ate, we fermented!

Big thanks to Tom and Christy Przystawik for teaching us how to can, preserve, and ferment the summer's bounty. Our member email list has been lit up with success stories of the kefir people have made from Christy's grains. Thank you! We appreciated the tasty fermented okra and dried figs, too, and were so interested to learn about the Mother Earn News Fair where longtime chapter member Christy will be presenting alongside big names like Joel Salatin and Sandor Katz.

Thank you also to Ed of the Arlington Egg Project for talking with us about urban agriculture. We all learned a lot!

Notes have been posted to the chapter email list and can be requested by non-members writing to jessicahmnarlalex (at) gmail (dot) com.

Ah, summer!

It was wonderful to sit and talk at our social meeting in July. We shared thoughts on parenting and work, travel, moving, birth, health care, and more. Learning from one another is powerful and inspiring. Thanks to all who came out and shared! What a supportive community!

For our August meeting, member and holistic health coach Christy Przystawik and her husband Tom, formerly owners of Food Matters restaurant, will be teaching us how to can, preserve and ferment foods to make the most of the summer harvest. Join us on August 16 for a presentation and demonstration.

Social Meeting and Book Chat in July

Tonight’s meeting is a social meeting and casual book chat where we will talk about whatever is on our minds or whatever we’ve been reading.

Of interest might be the Atlantic article about women not being able to have it all or the news about the new Yahoo CEO who plans to work through her maternity leave. 

Or some of us might just want to talk about summer reading lists of fiction. 

Or maybe there’s a blog post you want to talk about, or a parenting book that recently got you thinking about things in a new way. 

In any case, tonight is our chance to chat and connect. See you there!

Wary of wifi? Check out our June meeting!

There may be a lot to love about convenient wireless devices and wifi internet access, but these technological developments also come with health risks.


At our June 21 meeting, Christine Hoch of the Center for Safer Wireless will discuss "Wireless Safety for the Home," including the following topics:

• Research regarding microwave radiation from cell phones
• Reported heath effects of cell phones
• Ways to use cell phones more safely
• Other wireless products in the home
• Living near cell towers and antennas
• Ways to reduce health effects from RFR in the home

Holistic dentistry

Thank you to Dr. Felix Liao of Whole Health Dental Center for a great presentation on Optimal Dental Facial Development for Children.

Dr. Liao shared a wealth of information about structural factors in the mouth that can influence whole health, and he explained how nutrition, breastfeeding, and toxins (from food, air, products, etc.) can impact the mouth and thus whole body health. What a fascinating talk!

Dr. Liao recommended that any children with crowing, jaw, posture, or learning problems or with clenching or pain issues be seen by a holistic dentist by age five. Remediation (often to expand the jaw, not just to align teeth) should be started before age 10 for maximum effectiveness.