Holistic Moms Network Rochester, NY

Holistic Kids at Children's Garden of Farmington 1/24/08

Katheen Seaboldt from the Children's Garden invited us down for some messy fun! Her request was simple: "Don't wear anything that you wouldn't throw away!" We arrived to a warm welcome and tables set up with paints, shave cream, water, sand, squirt bottles, ice cubes, sponges, & a whole bunch of toys! The kids enjoyed going from one messy station to the next, and the moms tried to have some chit-chat amidst the fun. Michael loved the paints, Olivia loved the mess, Simon played with the amazing wooden castle, Adele hit up the water table, Grace skipped around singing and dabbling in everything, Moses soaked it all in, the Slavis kids enjoyed the squirt bottles, and our new member Tammy & her beautiful daughter got to meet everyone! After the messy fun the kids toured the beautfiul play areas, and explored the morning away!

Thank you, Kathleen, for hosting us, and providing our kids with a beautiful day of Artful Exploration! For more info on the Children's Garden, check out their website at http://thesunflowerschool.org/childrens_garden

They are also holding weekly Messy Art days on Mondays; contact Kathleen at 398-2450 for more information.

Michael

Michael & Simon

Simon

Kim, Alex, Moses, Tammy's daughter

Amy & Macrina, Moses, Kim & Alex, Tammy's daughter, Michael, Aurora

Lisa & Olivia, Mary & Adele

Thanks to Lisa for the write-up!

Book club meeting 1/21/08

This month's book was Circle of Stones: Woman's Journey to Herself, by Judith Duerk. Great conversation, great munchies, great plans for future gatherings!

We will be deciding on our next book by Feb. 1 and will meet to discuss it in March. In the meantime we will convene again in February to discuss the current issue of Brain, Child. Join us!

Janet (and Bryce) & Renata

Renata & Jean

Gena

our hostess and facilitator, Deborah

Meditation for Moms meeting 1/14/08

Padme Livingston was our speaker. She gave us a new perspective on ways to bring awareness to our hectic lives, and led us through some meditation.

We had so many people attend this meeting we had to go fetch more chairs!

Padme had a few recommendations.

A book:
Loving What Is, Byron Katie
exceptional instructions for seeing through all painful belief patterns
(I can testify that this book is amazing.)

and a web site:
http://joannamacy.net/
for those who might be in despair about the future of the planet; how to help in healthy ways

and a gathering:
Mindful Meditation at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Tuesdays 7-8pm
(yours truly found info at http://www.ststephensrochester.com/activities.htm and http://www.rochesterhealthyliving.com/happenings.html)

Padme Livingstone

Mom's Night Out: ornament exchange at B&N, 12/17/07

A night out at Barnes & Noble for an ornament exchange, complete with birthday brownies and lively conversation! We got kicked out of B&N after they closed, and a handful of us made our way across the street to Applebee's for more chatting and laughs (and a mixed bag, food-wise). We closed THAT venue, and two of us boogied our way down the aisles at Wegmans.

Therese & Jean

Lisa & Carol, the birthday girls

Gena & Lisa

our Buddha, Bryce

Lisa & Carol

Not (yet) pictured: Deborah (thanks, as always, for the pictures!), Janet, Renata, Esra, Steph, Mary.

P.S. Perhaps "boogie" is an overstatement. Perhaps "joyfully trolling" would be more accurate....

Metro Justice Alternative Fair, 11/30 & 12/1/07

HMN Rochester had a table at the Metro Justice Alternative Fair on 11/30 & 12/1/07 at the First Unitarian Church on Winton Road. Lots of vendors and shoppers! Live holiday music! Moms and dads signing up as prospective members and businesses as resource alliance members! We had whole-grain vegan treats by Amy W. for sale as well as leather goods by Renata's brother. (Note for future events: Amy's 3-year-old daughter as barker had almost a 100% passerby-to-real-sale conversion rate! No adult can compete with that!) Thanks to all who volunteered to run the table on those two days.

Lisa spreading the word at our booth

Renata with Sonya and Sylvia

Deborah

Holiday De-stress meeting: 12/10/07

A relaxing night of massage, energy therapies, and a conversation on holiday traditions. Not to mention delicious goodies by Amy W.! Westfall Studios was there with their jewelry and Amy C. displayed her photography. They graciously donated a percentage of all sales to our chapter.