Strocel.com | Interview

Podcast: Talking Natural Toys with Natural Pod

Amber on March 2, 2012 3 Comments

I have a serious love for wooden toys. Maybe it’s because I attended a Waldorf kindergarten as a child. Maybe it’s because they’re warm and tactile. Or maybe it’s because I’ve always had a thing for the way that wood smells. Whatever it is, when I first encountered Natural Pod back in 2006 I was immediately hooked. They were local, they carried all kinds of natural playthings, and Bridgitte the owner was fantastic to work with.

In the past few years, Natural Pod has transformed their business. They still sell high-quality, open-ended natural toys to parents, but they’ve expanded to work with schools, daycares and play centres to create inviting spaces for children. In my local community, for example, they’ve been contracted to outfit new kindergarten classrooms. They manufacture most of their own toys and furniture, using sustainably sourced natural materials. I was intrigued, and wanted to learn more, so I got in touch with Bridgitte to arrange an interview for the podcast. This is actually the best part of having a podcast – I have a ready-made excuse to talk to people who are doing cool and inspiring things.

Bridgitte and I had a great conversation. She talked about how Natural Pod has grown and changed. She shared her vision for her business, and also for the way that we create children’s play spaces in general. She’s a big advocate of imaginative play, uncluttered spaces and natural materials. She’s committed to sourcing safe, sustainable materials, and creating open-ended play areas that children can approach on many levels. She’s also a mom herself, with a vision for the kind of world she would like all children to grow up in.

Speaking with Bridgitte inspired me to take a closer look at my own play room, and the items it contains. Bridgitte has some really amazing things to say. If you’re interested in natural play, you’re on the hunt for sustainable toys, or you’d like some tips on creating a play space for your own children, you’ll want to take a listen:

Interview with Bridgitte of Natural Pod [ 31:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week on the podcast I’ll be sharing an interview with Katherine Stone of Postpartum Progress. She writes the most widely-read blog on postpartum depression, and other reproductive mental illnesses. Many new mothers suffer from depression and other mental health issues during and after pregnancy. When my daughter Hannah was born, I was one of them. This is an important health issue, and it’s not talked about widely enough, so I was thrilled to connect with Katherine. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Enviro-Mama, Interview, Kids, Parenting, Podcast

Podcast: Part II with Marcy Axness of Parenting for Peace

Amber on February 24, 2012 2 Comments

Last week I shared an interview with Marcy Axness, author of Parenting for Peace. I also mentioned that our discussion went on a lot longer than I expected it to. I decided to split the podcast into two parts, and I’m sharing the second half with you today.

In her book – and in our podcast – Marcy shares some very practical, easy-to-understand tips for parents who want to raise peaceful children. She’s taking what we know from research and hard science about infant and child development and distilling it down. In the process, she’s helping us raise kids who are intelligent, imaginative, trusting, empathetic and have a strong inner balance.

During the second half of our podcast Marcy really gets into the nitty-gritty. She shares what she sees as the three biggest parenting mistakes people make. I make two of them pretty much every day myself. In fact, I found what she had to say compelling enough that I’ve made some big changes myself since I spoke with her. It’s still a work in progress, but I found much of what she had to say seriously practical and helpful. It was a perspective-changer, for sure.

Marcy isn’t sugar-coating life with kids when she talks about raising peaceful people, she’s giving you tools to make it better. In the process, she doesn’t just help to create more peaceful kids, she helps to create more peaceful parents. If you could use a little more peace in your life (and really, what parent couldn’t?) you’ll want to listen to my interview with Marcy Axness:

Interview with Marcy Axness, Author of Parenting for Peace - Part II [ 26:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week on the podcast I’ll be sharing an interview with Bridgitte of Natural Pod. Her business manufactures and sells natural toys, and also creates spaces for play and learning. We talked about creating intentional play spaces for kids, we discussed why she feels open-ended, natural toys are important for children, and she shares her own journey as an entrepreneur. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Books, Interview, Parenting, Podcast

Podcast: Marcy Axness, Author of Parenting for Peace

Amber on February 17, 2012 6 Comments

I met Marcy Axness on Twitter, when my childhood hero Raffi had glowing things to say about her. Did you know that Raffi and I are totally Twitter buddies? It’s true. It may also be true that my inner six-year-old lets out an audible shriek every time he replies to me. But this is all an aside, because today I’m all about Marcy.

Before she had kids, Marcy was an Emmy-winning documentary writer and producer. Post-kids, she is an educator with a private counseling and consulting practice. Plus she has a PhD. This woman is no slouch. She’s also the author of the recently-released book Parenting for Peace, about raising our children to be peacemakers. It all sounds a little bit woo woo, but it’s based on hard science. Basically, it’s about using what we know about infant and child development to raise kids who are intelligent, imaginative, trusting, empathetic and have a strong inner balance.

When I sat down to interview Marcy for our podcast, I was planning to speak to her for 20 or 30 minutes. Somewhere around the 27 minute mark I knew I was nowhere near finished. I found Marcy to be a really compelling person to speak with. In fact, our conversation caused me to make a fairly fundamental shift in how I parent. She breaks down a lot of complex research into easy-to-understand pieces, and helps parents to work through their own feelings around how they approach life with their children.

Marcy is authentic and easy to relate to. When she talked about her feelings of rage as a new mom, I found myself nodding along. She’s not sugar-coating parenting here, she’s giving you useful tools to make it better. In the process, she doesn’t just help to create more peaceful kids, she helps to create more peaceful parents. If you could use a little more peace in your life (and really, what parent couldn’t?) you’ll want to listen to my interview with Marcy Axness:

Interview with Marcy Axness, Author of Parenting for Peace [ 27:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week on the podcast I’ll be sharing the rest of my interview with Marcy Axness. She’ll be talking about the three biggest mistakes that she sees parents making. This is the part that caused me to totally shift the way I parent my own kids, and you don’t want to miss it. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you’ll hear every last bit!

Tagged With: Books, Interview, Parenting, Podcast

Podcast: Suzanne Bertani of Green Planet Parties

Amber on February 3, 2012 1 Comment

Earlier this week I told you about my turn as a hockey mom. The woman who inspired me to lace up and get out on the ice was my friend Suzanne Bertani. Suzanne is a mom of four, a green blogger, my sometime running buddy, and the dynamic force behind the sustainable online party business Green Planet Parties. Here we are together post-hockey:

A few weeks ago I managed to talk Suzanne into sitting down for an interview with me. Her business is really unique, partly because it’s one of very few shops devoted specifically to green party supplies, but also because she creates many of the products she carries herself. She comes up with the idea, and then contracts local vendors to make them for her. Her banners, for instance, are her design, and they’re hand sewn by a mom. Here’s the one we got for Hannah’s birthday last year:

During our interview, Suzanne and I talked about what makes her business special. We also talked about what drives her as a small business owner, what inspires her, how she involves her kids in what she does, and what her favourite products are. She’s really devoted to making sure that the products she carries are sustainable, safe and supportive of her local community. So often, at the end of a celebration you’re packing garbage bags full of plastic cups and disposable decorations. Suzanne is dedicated to changing that, so that parties don’t have to take a big toll on the planet.

I had a great time talking to Suzanne. It was especially great for me, because my own daughter’s birthday is coming up just a couple of weeks from now. I’m spending lots of time thinking decorations and party favours at the moment. If there’s a party in your future, or if you want some greener alternatives for seasonal celebrations like Valentine’s Day, you’ll want to hear what Suzanne has to say. Listen to our conversation here:

Interview with Suzanne Bertani, Green Business Owner and Eco Party Planner [ 33:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m working on a podcast for next week – you’ll have to stay tuned to see what happens, and what parenting topic I end up covering. In the meantime, subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Enviro-Mama, Interview, Podcast

Podcast: Talking Family Size with Three Moms

Amber on January 27, 2012 2 Comments

How do you know when you’re “done” having kids? It’s a question I’ve been grappling with since about 20 minutes after my son Jacob was born. He was my second, and my husband was quite convinced that with one girl and one boy, our family was complete. I wasn’t. The babylust is strong in me. I know moms who have a very strong feeling that their family is complete, but I’m just not there. There may be many rational reasons to shut down the baby factory, but biology doesn’t always respond to reason, and so the desire to procreate remains.

Stephanie

I decided that a discussion about how moms decide that their families are complete would make for an excellent podcast. I knew that I couldn’t interview just one person, though. The decision is too individual for that. So I decided to speak to a few mothers who are “done” having kids, to get their perspectives. And so, this week in the podcast I’m bringing you interviews with three mothers:

Stephanie of Adventures in Babywearing – Stephanie has four children. Her youngest, Ivy, is just one month younger than my son Jacob. While she hasn’t completely shut the door on the possibility of having more kids in the future, for the time being she believes that she’s “done”.
Allison the Bibliomama – Like me, Allison has two kids, one boy and one girl. Like me, Allison still feels babylust. But with her younger child about to turn nine, she’s decided that she won’t be fulfilling that urge. Allison’s situation is closest to mine, and so I really wanted to hear her thoughts.

Allison

Amanda, a.k.a. pomomama – Amanda has one child, and feels emphatically done. Her husband has had a vasectomy, and any babylust is gone. I remember feeling quite done when my own first child was a toddler with an extremely healthy set of lungs, but things changed for me. They didn’t for Amanda, and she’s enjoying having just one older child.

Before I share the podcast, I’d like to acknowledge something. I know not every family comes about as the result of a heterosexual couple conceiving without assistance. I also know not every pregnancy is planned. Deciding to conceive a child, or deciding not to conceive a child, is no guarantee of any outcome. However, for the purposes of this podcast, I decided to focus on people who were making decisions around family size, knowing that they likely could become pregnant with relative ease if they chose to. Since I’m trying to make a decision based on the assumption that if I wanted to get pregnant I could, it seemed most fair to talk to people in a similar situation.

Amanda

I had a really good time speaking with Stephanie, Allison and Amanda. It was a fun change for me to include multiple interviews in a single podcast, and I loved gathering all the different perspective. While I didn’t have any startling revelations about my own family size as I spoke with these other moms, it was good to hear how they made their own decisions. If you’ve ever wrestled with the question of whether or not to have another baby, or you just want to hear how other people reached their own conclusions, I think you’ll enjoy this one. Listen here:

Interview with Three Moms About Family Size [ 36:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week on the podcast I’ll be talking to Suzanne Bertani of Green Planet Parties. We’ll be talking about choosing sustainable, safe products, making environmentally-friendly choices, and what inspires her as a small business owner. Suzanne has a really great energy, and I enjoyed speaking with her immensely. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Interview, Parenting, Podcast, Pregnancy

Podcast: Anna Hackman of Green Talk

Amber on January 20, 2012 5 Comments

One of the things that I’ve learned since I started the Strocel.com Podcast is just how many great stories are out there. You don’t have to be famous or have a Nobel Prize in order to be interesting, passionate and engaging. In fact, there are probably some amazing stories in the people you come into contact with every day, and in the normal small talk of life you never get to hear them. It has been an amazing privilege to hear them through my podcast, and also to share them with you.

Today I’m sharing an interview I did with Anna Hackman, who blogs at Green Talk. She’s a fellow member of the Green Moms Carnival, a mom of four, a lawyer, a sustainability consultant, an organic gardener and a green building expert. You can catch up with her on her website, Green Talk. Before I spoke with Anna, I honestly wasn’t sure that I found green building all that exciting. Anna got me, though. She shared her story, and her passion, and I was hooked. This is what I’m talking about when I say that I love podcasting.

If you’ve ever considered building your own home, you’re undergoing home renovations, or even just re-decorating your living room, Anna’s your girl. She can tell you how to save money by making your home energy-efficient, how to pick non-toxic furniture and paint, and just what is amazing about a geothermal system. And in the process, she will get you all fired up, too. Plus, she’s got the chops. Anna is a LEED Accredited Professional, which means that she knows a whole lot more about green building than me, and probably most other people, too.

If you want some ideas about how to make your own home more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly, or you’d just like to listen to some great stories from a person living her passion, you should listen to our interview. It’s a long one, but it’s worth taking the time for:

Interview with Anna Hackman, Blogger, Mom and Green Building Expert [ 42:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As I mentioned, Anna and I are both members of the Green Moms Carnival. One of the things that we do is run a monthly blog carnival on a set topic. This month’s topic is “Resolutions for Reducing Your Carbon Footprint” and I’m hosting it here at Strocel.com on Monday, January 23. If this sounds like something you’d like to take part in, you’re welcome to submit a post by the end of the day on January 21. Just publish it on your blog, and drop me a line with the link. We’d love to add your voice to those writing on behalf of the planet!

Next week on the podcast I’ll be talking about having kids, and how you know when you’re “done”. I’m departing from my usual format, and talking to three different moms – Stephanie from Adventures in Babywearing, Allison from Bibliomama, and Amanda from pomomama. They all have a unique perspective to share, plus I’ll be weighing in with some thoughts of my own. I’m going all out on this one. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Enviro-Mama, Home Improvement, Interview, Podcast

Podcast: Leilani Johnson of Circle of Health International

Amber on January 13, 2012 3 Comments

Circle of Health International (COHI) is a non-sectarian, grass-roots, non-profit organization that works with women and their communities in times of crisis and disaster. They ensure access to quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn care, at a time when that access may otherwise be interrupted due to a natural disaster, conflict or other crisis. Some examples of their projects include sending a rapid response team of 11 women’s health professionals into Sri Lanka following the tsunami and partnering with the Acadiana Outreach Center in Louisiana to support women surviving the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Babies will come when they come, even in the middle of a disaster zone, and COHI strives to be there to help.

When an earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, COHI responded. And now, as the second anniversary of that earthquake nears, they’re responding again. They want to send Karen Feltham, a Certified Nurse Midwife and Clinical Instructor of Nursing at Binghamton University, on a 10 day trip to Haiti. While there, Karen will review existing protocols for managing emergencies, run emergency drills for complications and improve monitoring processes at the clinic. In short, she wants to teach evidence-based approaches to Haitian midwives, which will improve outcomes for mothers and babies. To help get her there, COHI is raising money, and they need your help.

The “Get Karen to Haiti” campaign is trying to raise $1000 to … wait for it … get Karen to Haiti. True to their grassroots style, they’re asking you to donate whatever you can afford, even if it’s only $10, to help ensure that women in Haiti have access to appropriate maternity care. When I was having my babies, I always knew that emergency services were there if I needed them. Most of you enjoyed that same luxury. While we may feel that many interventions are overused in modern hospitals, we also know that in some cases the ability to access them can mean the difference between life and death. So give what you can to help get Karen there. Then follow COHI on Facebook to get updates on their work.

After hearing from my friend Hillary about COHI and their work, I was privileged to be able to interview Leilani Johnson, the organization’s Executive Director. She talked about the what COHI does, including the current effort to send Karen to Haiti. She also told me about a very exciting upcoming project they’re working on. If you’re a birthy type like me, and you want to hear about some very important work to protect mothers and babies, take a listen:

Interview with Leilani Johnson of Circle of Health International [ 29:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week I’ll be sharing an interview with blogger Anna Hackman. She’s an environmentalist who’s passionate about green building and renovation. Her passion is so infectious that I left our conversation feeling excited about caulk and energy conservation and picking non-toxic paint. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Childbirth, Interview, Podcast, Pregnancy

Podcast: Non-Toxic Avenger Deanna Duke

Amber on January 6, 2012 5 Comments

I first came across Deanna Duke on her blog, Crunchy Chicken. Her tagline is, “Putting the mental in environmental,” and I was hooked. Some time later, I joined the Green Moms Carnival, which she also belongs to, and I was even more hooked. Deanna is funny, frank and passionate. When she recently published her first book, The Non-Toxic Avenger, I requested a review copy, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The Non-Toxic Avenger chronicles Deanna’s quest to reduce the toxic load in her own body. She did blood and urine tests to determine the level of toxins she was carrying around, then did nearly everything she could to eliminate her exposure to toxins for about four months. Finally, at the end of it all she repeated the testing to see what effect, if any, she’d actually had.

You’d think a book about toxins and de-toxifying would be either dry, or terrifying, or both, but Deanna managed to avoid both fates. Don’t get me wrong – the number of toxins we’re exposed to in our daily lives really is alarming, and reading The Non-Toxic Avenger prompted me to go on a one-woman anti-PVC crusade in my own home. If you want a beach read, this isn’t it. But if you want an informative, readable, funny book that will help you to make some tangible changes of your own, I would absolutely recommend it. This is the first book I have actually finished in months, which tells you that I really enjoyed it.

I had the chance to catch up with Deanna for a chat. We talked about her attempts to remove toxins, and what did and didn’t work. I asked her about the testing she underwent to determine the toxin levels in her body, including what that cost and what challenges she faced in getting it done. I also asked what she’s continued now that the project was over, and what she hasn’t. And I asked my biggest question of all: how did everyone else (including her husband and children) react when she swore off all non-organic food and started examining every object in her home for potential toxicity.

It was great talking to Deanna, and you can really get a sense of her chatty, approachable style from our interview. Listen to it here:

Interview with Deanna Duke, Non-Toxic Avenger [ 29:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week I’ll be sharing an interview I did with Leilani Johnson of Circle of Health International (COHI). COHI is a non-profit group that provides access to reproductive, maternal and newborn care in times of crisis. They’re currently raising money to send an American midwife to Haiti to do training sessions with Haitian midwives. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Enviro-Mama, Interview, Podcast

Podcast: Susan Larkin of UNICEF Canada

Amber on December 23, 2011 1 Comment

Sometimes, an email comes through your inbox that you can’t ignore. That’s how I felt when I was contacted by UNICEF Canada, asking me to volunteer as a Digital Ambassador for their Survival Gifts program. Survival Gifts are real items that are shipped to children and families in need all around the world. They include things like bicycles so that children can get to school or just have fun, support for a child orphaned by AIDS, malnutrition relief bundles and water purification tablets. I actually bought some gifts through UNICEF last year for my mother, sister and grandmother. I believe in what they’re doing, and I knew I wanted to talk about it.

The thing that strikes me about the Survival Gifts is how very affordable they really are. For example, a Learning Bundle with a soccer ball and pump, five storybooks and five school supply sets can help five children get an education, and it’s only $80. I spend more than that on school supplies for one child each year – and I don’t get a soccer ball. A vaccine pack, with 73 polio vaccines, 73 tetanus vaccines and 83 measles vaccines is only $40. In the developing world, these diseases still pose a real threat to the health of children, and yet the vaccines cost so little.

I wanted to know more about the work that UNICEF Canada does, so I spoke to Susan Larkin, the Director of Community Engagement for the organization. She’s a mom herself – she has a six-year-old and a three-year-old, just like me. She explained to me exactly what UNICEF does, and how the Survival Gift program works. Like most people I’m familiar with UNICEF, but I wasn’t clear on what makes them unique. Susan explained that. She also shared tips on how to discuss issues like poverty with children, and shared some first-hand stories of how Survival Gifts have changed children’s lives.

If you still have people to buy gifts for, why not consider something that will have a real impact? You can go online, buy a Survival Gift and print out a gift card. You don’t have to leave your house, and you can do it in a few minutes. And the program doesn’t end once the holidays are over. You can visit UNICEF Canada year-round. Literacy packs make great end-of-year teacher gifts, for example – especially if you suddenly realize on the last day of school that you forgot to buy something. (I can’t be the only mom who’s done that, right?) Plus, you get a tax receipt with your purchase.

It was really great to speak with Susan. I was so proud of myself for getting through our conversation without dissolving into tears. As a mom, I feel the need so strongly. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have medicine for my children, or not have the means to send them to school. I was very glad to hear about a program that allows me to make a tangible difference, easily and affordably, without having to go stand in line at the mall. If you’d like to know more about UNICEF Canada and the Survival Gifts program, or you’d just like to hear how you can talk about big issues with your own kids, listen to the podcast:

Interview with Susan Larkin of UNICEF Canada [ 26:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m off next week, but I’m working on lots of great interviews for January. I’m even trying a new format for a podcast on family size. I’m really looking forward to another year of talking to really cool people, and sharing their insights and inspiration with you. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Tagged With: Bloggy McBloggerson, Christmas, Giving Back, Interview, Podcast

Podcast: Rachel Jonat on Minimalism and Motherhood

Amber on December 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

Rachel Jonat is a writer and mother who is currently making her home on the Isle of Man, a self-governing island located in the Irish Sea. Before that Rachel, who is better known as The Minimalist Mom, lived in Vancouver with her husband her toddler. They moved at the end of May, and I had the chance to chat with her as she was packing up and preparing to move her family overseas. We had a great talk about what inspired her to embrace a life of minimalism, how she maintains that lifestyle while caring for a toddler, and what stuff she won’t get rid of.

I recently had the chance to interview Rachel again for the Crafting my Life online class. She shared her thoughts and experiences around de-cluttering and making space in your life. During our interview, we also talked about Rachel’s new e-book, The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year. She published it recently, and it’s full of ideas for simplifying your life with your new baby. It’s quite a refreshing alternative to the message that we need to buy a whole lot of stuff to prepare for a new arrival. Yes, there are some basic items that babies need, but any experienced mom can tell you about at least one item she bought that ended up being a total waste of money. (Mine? The swing. My babies hated it. It was big and expensive. I regret the purchase.)

I received a review copy of the e-book, and I enjoyed it. It’s not really applicable for me as the mom of a three-year-old and a six-year-old, but think it would have been really helpful when I was expecting my first child. Rachel shares her tips for how you can be a minimalist at a time when most people are out scouring the Babies R Us in search of lots and lots of gear. I remember picking up a catalogue from Babies R Us when I was pregnant with Hannah, in fact, and it had a shopping list that included dozens and dozens of items. I left the store with that catalogue feeling totally overwhelmed and unprepared. An e-book that reassured me that I did not, in fact, need a bouncy seat and a pack ‘n play and a bassinette and a crib and a glider and a swing would have saved me some angst, I can tell you.

I recently listened to the podcast I did with Rachel this spring, and even after hearing it a few times I picked up some new ideas about simplifying my own life. In honour of Rachel’s e-book launch I’m sharing my interview with her again. If you want tips on how to simplify and live a more meaningful life, or you want to know how Rachel eliminated tens of thousands of dollars of debt, you should take a listen:

Interview with Rachel Jonat, the Minimalist Mom [ 30:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Next week I’m going to be sharing an interview I did with Susan Larkin of UNICEF Canada. She’ll be talking about exactly what UNICEF does and what makes the organization unique, as well as sharing information on their Survival Gifts program. If you’re looking for a great last-minute holiday gift, check them out, and buy something that will really make a difference. For example, if you can’t decide what to buy for your child’s teacher, you could equip a whole school in the developing world with pencils for $20. Subscribe to the Strocel.com podcast in iTunes, and you won’t miss a minute!

Now, I want to hear from you. What did you buy for your kids that you totally didn’t end up using? Tell me!

Disclosure: The e-book links are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase the book I will receive a small commission.