Friday Feature Provider: Tia Rich

To celebrate the fabulous family-friendly community we enjoy here in Portland, now and then we will be featuring local mamas and professionals using an interview-style or, when we are feeling wild, some other format. Featured Mama on Monday and Friday Professional Features.

Tia Rich

My life has led me through many different paths, but oddly enough they have all offered valuable insight and learning to exactly where I am today, which is exactly where I planned to be from about the age of 16. I am a mother of 3 and soon to be grandmother. I work currently as a Birth Doula and teach both childbirth education and hypnobirthing. I believe knowledge is important for families to know in order to empower themselves toward a natural, positive birth. I am also a Midwifery student with Ancient Art Midwifery Institute and cannot fully express the joy I get from finally embarking on the journey to becoming a Midwife. I have spent my time working as a nurse spanning both life and death having worked in Labor and Delivery seeing the beauty of birth as well as working in Oncology (cancer) learning about and experiencing the incredible beauty of release into death. There truly is a vast number of similarities in birth and death and the way it is treated in our society. In the midst of this work I became trained as a Reiki master healer, and a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist.

Business name/service:

Inner Serenity Childbirth Services

Tell us a bit about the wonderful work you do:

I feel honored as a Doula when I am invited into the sacred and intimate space of a couple or mother that is their birth time. I support birth first by offering education, depending on the type of doula support I offer 3-4 prenatal visits which are full of childbirth education. I feel for me that a key to successful support during the birth process is to have both knowledge and connection to the family I am there to support, which is not something I feel I could foster in just one prenatal visit. I offer hypnobirth as a way for many women to access their more primal, self aware selves. In our society which is so very analytically oriented, surrendering to our intuition and primal self is not necessarily easy. Hypobirthing offers the tools for mothers to surrender and go within. Hypnosis can also be very beneficial for healing, which again is very often needed today. Healing from sexual and medical traumas that have been done to us that may hinder birth release energy. One key to the support I give is the comfort and belief that even if a family is choosing to birth in a hospital that they can successfully spend the majority of their time at home safely supported and monitored.

How did you discover this path?:

Discovering the path of being a Doula began 5 years ago as I began to research how I could support birthing while working towards becoming a Midwife. I decided to no longer work as a nurse feeling that the manner in which medical birth was being given did not fit with my beliefs about birth. I discovered Childbirth International and received my certification as a Birth Doula and trained locally with a clinical hypnotherapist to receive my certification.

What do you cherish most about your work?:

I cherish every healthy baby who is allowed to journey into this world at their own time. I cherish every mother and family who has been able to embrace their pregnancy as the sacred journey that it is, to feel empowered and healthy. I love that I get to share in these moments. I would love that my support was not needed, that this was a standard of care all families could expect to receive, but at this point in time, I find the support I give is very important for such natural births to occur.

Share a family-friendly tip:

One tip I always give to pregnant women is to tell family and friends the due date that is actually 2 weeks past her actual due date. This aids her in not being bombarded with the many comments of "hasn't she had that baby yet", or continual contact for updates. I believe this takes the pressure off, if just a little bit for mothers.

Contact info., hours, etc.

www.inner-serenity.org
birth@inner-serenity.org
971-533-6496

Friday Featrured Provider: Carol Gray

To celebrate the fabulous family-friendly community we enjoy here in Portland, now and then we will be featuring local mamas and professionals using an interview-style or, when we are feeling wild, some other format. Featured Mama on Monday and Friday Professional Features.

Carol Gray, Midwife, LMT

I am originally from LA, but have lived in Portland since 1981. I have been attending births for over 30 years - at first as a doula (before people who did this were called doulas) and since 2000 as a home birth midwife. I have been a therapeutic bodyworker since 1989. Prior to and during some of this I was raising children and suffering in a bizarre succession of boring jobs. Now my husband and I are happy empty nesters, enjoying our grandchildren, our retreat center-like home in Forest Park and our crazy dogs.

Business name/service:

When I'm practicing and teaching Craniosacral Therapy I use my own name. When
I'm wearing my midwife hat I'm part of Two Rivers Midwifery.

Tell us a bit about the wonderful work you do:

For the longest time my professional life was rather disjointed. I remember calling myself a massage therapist who also goes to births. Somehow it all came together and now I practice and teach Craniosacral Therapy mostly for babies and moms. My former students and I host monthly free infant Craniosacral Therapy clinics in Portland. I also have a low-volume (by choice) midwifery practice. Each of these branches of my work informs the other. It's never boring. I really love the work I do.

How did you discover this path?

I was always interested in birth and babies. My mom and dad were the most liberal parents in my neighborhood. They told me all about the birds and the bees at a tender age. I held meetings during which I told the other kids in my neighborhood where babies came from. The meetings were well-attended. Actually, though, the path discovered me. When I was in massage school I thought I wanted to do hospice work, but the people who came to me for massage were pregnant women. They asked me to attend their births. I took a class in Craniosacral Therapy because it was being offered at Esalen and I wanted to go there and write off the trip. It turns out I loved the work and I zoomed through the rest of the curriculum. I can see the path when I look back, but I never really saw it clearly when it was ahead of me. Sometimes I actually resisted it - especially the calling to be a midwife. I tried everything short of being a midwife including being a doula, a Birthing From Within mentor, a doula trainer, a pregnancy massage therapist, owner of a resource center for growing families, etc. I am interested in so many things. My challenge has always been one of focus.

What do you cherish most about your work?

I love how midwifery allows me to become a temporary family member of my clients. I get to build a relationship with women and their babies before, during and after the birth - for a while. Then I often get to see the babies for periodic Craniosacral Therapy treatments as they grow into children and adults. I think it must be something like the experience of a country doctor who makes house calls and sees families throughout their lives (except for the part about practicing medicine).

Share a family-friendly tip:

Trust your instincts. Nobody knows your children better than you do. You are the parents.

Contact Information:

Voice: 503-236-2999
Fax: 503-236-4334
E-mail: carolag@e-z.net

Web:http://www.carolgray.com/carolgray/About_Carol_Gray.html

Friday Professional Features: Rebecca Andersson

To celebrate the fabulous family-friendly community we enjoy here in Portland, we will be featuring local mamas and professionals interview-style or, when we are feeling wild, some other format. Featured Mama on Monday and Friday Professional Features.

Rebecca Andersson

I am a mama to Zoe (11 yo) and Esmee (almost 3 yo), is a cultural anthropologist by training who now spends her days learning how to nourish her family, build community and tread lighter on our planet by "refunctioning" the tasks of domesticity, child rearing and home making.

Business Name:

Portland Green Parenting

Tell us a bit about the wonderful work you do:

Portland Green Parenting is a local, welcoming parenting community with a focus on being "green" and how to live sustainably while raising our children. PGP connects and supports families through an active and resourceful online forum as well as through lots of fun family friendly events, workshops, potlucks, food buying groups and more. We can help make it easier to shop locally and in season for organic produce and natural foods-- all while on a budget! We also offer Earth and family friendly products through our small web shop.

How did you discover this path?:

PGP came about after our family relocated to Portland from CA in 2007. It was a way of addressing my need for connection, community, friendship and learning in our brand new location where we knew next to no one. I feel blessed that PGP spoke to lots of other families and rapidly grew into the wonderful community it is today.

What do you cherish most about your work?

I am excited to be making a difference in the lives of new parents! I really enjoy getting feedback about how PGP can help new mamas, who sometimes might be feeling lonely or isolated, meet new friends and make real connections with each other. I also really appreciate knowing that PGP helps families eat organic, local food at affordable prices. Being part of a community and seeing these real connections and friendships happen is very exciting and empowering. It feels like, together, we really can make a difference!

Share a family-friendly tip:

Join a co-op! It's a great way to pool your resources with friends and neighbors to save time, money, and energy and get tasks accomplished while having fun and building real relationships with others.

Contact info., hours, etc.:

Portland Green Parenting website
rebecca@portlandgreenparenting.com

Friday Professional Features: Chris Musser

To celebrate the fabulous family-friendly community we enjoy here in Portland, we will be featuring local mamas and professionals interview-style or, when we are feeling wild, some other format. Featured Mama on Monday and Friday Professional Features.

Here is our first Friday Professional Feature!

Chris Musser

I am a homeschooling homemaking momma to two littles, ages 5-1/2 and almost 3. I've lived in Portland for over 12 years now and love this wonderful green spot on our planet. I have always loved to cook and been fascinated with how our ancestors prepared food without all the conveniences most Americans have today. Growing up, I helped my family raise vegetables in our kitchen garden, butcher hogs on my uncle's farm, and can endless jars of food for what I jokingly referred to then as our "Armageddon Pantry." In my 20s, I taught myself to cook classic French cuisine and treated my friends to lavish multi-course dinner parties. In my 30s, I learned to make sushi and curries and began exploring my Pennsylvania Dutch and Italian food roots. In my 40s, bread baking, cheese making, lacto-fermentation, canning, and other lost arts entered my culinary repertoire. Throughout, I have sought whole organic food, out of concern for the health of farmers, the Earth, and my family.

Business name/service:

Lost Arts Kitchen

Tell us a bit about the wonderful work you do:

I teach small, hands-on cooking classes for people who want to cook wholesome, delicious meals at home, using predominantly local, organic ingredients. In my classes, I share how to save money and time finding, storing, and preparing real food. I like to say that my classes are for Real People who want Real Food on a Real Budget. My classes are suited to novice cooks wanting hands-on experience to familiarize themselves with the tastes, aromas, textures, and appearance of real food and experienced cooks wanting to expand their culinary repertoire or learn how to find and store local, organic food on a budget. I teach a variety of classes: bread baking, cheese making, lacto-fermentation, eating local and with the seasons, stocking and using a pantry, cooking for the freezer, canning, and making sushi, pizza, pasta, pie crusts, and stock. My husband may teach home smoking--he makes the most
fantastic smoked salmon!

A special service I offer is shopping for and helping to prepare meals for the freezer--what I call "Homemade in Hibernation." This is especially geared for families expecting a new baby. The family and I figure out three or four meals to prepare in advance and decide on a budget for whatever is needed. I shop, bring my own recipes and equipment if necessary, then help prepare the food while sharing my tips for adjusting recipes when cooking for the freezer, making quick accompaniments, and incorporating big batch cooking into everyday meal prep.

How did you discover this path?:

Over the years, I have found myself inviting friends over for cooking and food preservation lessons, blogging about my kitchen exploits, sharing my techniques and recipes with who ever would listen. As a busy mom raising two young children on a single income, I've had to develop many time- and money-saving techniques that allow me to feed my family good food without spending hours in the kitchen everyday or breaking our budget every month. With the specters of economic recession, climate change, and peak oil looming, I felt called to help people learn to save money by preparing food at home, support our local food system, and live lightly on the Earth. Food is so primal--most of us get to make choices about what to eat three or more times a day--and those choices have a tremendous impact on our personal health, the health of the people who grow our food, and the health of our planet. I also know, though, that making the transition from the Standard American Diet to one that's more sustainable isn't simple. Many of us don't know how to cook or find the ingredients used in whole foods cooking mysterious. I want to smooth the path for people, introducing them to ingredients, strategies, and techniques for make preparing good food without adding more stress and work to their lives.

What do you cherish most about your work?

I have had a lot of J-O-B jobs in my life--just doing what I had to do to pay my way in the world. I have had jobs that I liked well enough, but felt I still wasn't really doing something of real lasting value. Now, I am doing something I feel is really important, really valuable, and what I love is hearing from people who "get it," who appreciate what my classes offer and why now more than ever, we all need to learn to cook real food.

Share a story about helping someone:

I have a good friend who until recently, didn't cook. Her husband cooked or they got take out. She took my baking basics class in the fall and has turned into a cooking whirlwind! I can't take credit for her turn around, but I think that by opening the door to my kitchen, showing her how to do one thing well, she gained some confidence and now she's off! Everytime I read about her latest kitchen exploits on her blog, I feel really proud of her and honored that I was able to be a bit of inspiration.

Share a family-friendly tip:

Don't be afraid to let your young children help! I know I was worried about potential burns and cuts with my first. I finally relaxed a bit and figured out ways to bring her into the kitchen safely. We talk about hot stuff and sharp stuff. She has issues with attention and impulse control--just like a lot of kids. When she's in the kitchen with me, instead of worrying about getting dinner done "on time," I focus on her and talk with her about what she's doing, what's happening to the food she's preparing. My little one, he's almost always by my side in the kitchen, asking about ingredients, tasting, helping me scoop and pour. Whenever I bake bread, I make extra dough for the two of them to make their own creations--this is the original play dough! The kitchen is a fantastic place to learn about chemistry, history, farming, math and to create wonderful memories.

Contact info., hours, etc.:

Lost Arts Kitchen is on the web at LostArtsKitchen.com, naturally! Classes are typically held at my home in outer NE Portland on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings. I am also available for private lessons and have been asked to teach at some other venues in town--more information about that as we firm up schedules and so on. Sign up for my newsletter for updates! I send out cooking tips, seasonal recipes, sustainable food news and class updates once a month.