Cinthia

a little photo (you know, so we don't have to reintroduce ourselves every time? haha).
- do you have a kids? Yes, a beautiful little boy named Conrad who is 28 months old, who if you haven't figured it out already, makes me the proudest mama on the planet. He amazes me every single day, and life is never boring. I love to watch him figure things out and get excited about things that seem meaningless or so simple. He really makes me understand "Carpe Diem", and at the moment he thinks he is the center of the universe and well for our family he is.

are you single and maybe looking for love? (This COULD be useful for dating...but dont get your hopes up. ha)
I am happily married to a wonderful, caring, and ridiculously supportive man. We have been married a little over four years and together for a little over eight years. I didn't believe in love at first sight until I met him, and sometimes I still have to pinch my self to make sure.

whatever else you might want to share about your familial configuration or the lack thereof. We consider our selves to be a holistic family, we don't own a TV and are trying to limit Conrad's exposure in the first five years since that is when 90 some percent of brain connections are made. We love the outdoors even in MN winters. We embrace winter, and ice skate a couple times a day, go sledding, or just lay and stare at the sky. We have tried to eliminate most household chemicals, baking soda and vinegar and essential oils are our favorite cleaners. We use some aromatherapy, particularly Lavender at Bedtime for calming and relaxation. We try to eat as much of organics as possible, we buy in bulk and cook in bulk. Basically, we understand that we can't eliminate all toxins and environmental hazards out of our lives, but for things we can control we try to be consciously aware of them, even if its not 100% of the time. Oh, and we do seek alternative medicines, including Homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, etc for minor illnesses. I successfully used hypnobirthing when giving birth to Conrad and am a huge advocate of natural birthing and breastfeeding, co-sleeping, attachment wearing etc. (However, the medical model has its time and place for high risk births).

- nursing/career interests: I really want to become a Family Nurse Practitioner and maybe focus on Maternal Child health. I'm a huge believer in prevention particularly regarding nutrition and lifestyle choices, and I think that at five years old its too late, and that it needs to start in the womb. I would love be a nurse midwife and work in a Free standing Birth Center, but I think it would be in my family's best interest if I post-pone that until my "mid life" crisis at 40-50. I am interested in serving the immigrant populations in the Twin Cities as well.

- prior careers/lives: For the last two plus years I have been a stay at home mom, prior to that I was a beach bum in PB (San Diego). I played soccer and coached since I was 18 years old. I would love to do so again, but time is a factor that I don't have much off. I organize the Twin Cities Holistic Families Movement, which keeps me busy. I assist my husband taking photos at weddings (that's most of my Saturdays).

- hobbies: I love to paint (abstract) and currently have an unfinished work sitting behind me for when I get a spare moment. I love to read almost anything from the Twighlight series to the biography of Ghandi. I love the home arts (knitting, sewing, cooking, crafts).

- places lived/traveled/or impressionable moments in your life: Originally from Honduras, I've lived in northern Spain, and I have way too many impressionable moment in my life to count. Nursing related: in college I did free lance translation in many Twin Cities hospitals and there was one time when I was woken up at 3:00am. I went to the ER and there was a very young 14 year old new Mexican illegal immigrant who was brought in, because she and her 11 year old sister had delivered her baby at home (her parents were working three jobs), and she got an infection because the whole placenta did not come out. When the doctors asked her why she hadn't come to the hospital to deliver, she answered because she was afraid to be deported. That was one of those moments that really made me thing that my skills were definitely needed in the medical field.

- things you might like to do with other nursing students this year : I would love to get to know you all more, and wouldn't mind hosting a potluck at some point. Unfortunately, my spare time is dedicated to my husband and child, so I probably wont be joining the group for many non-academic events, unless they are family friendly (like the apple orchard!).