ready for summer

It is officially starting to feel like summer around here!  Work is winding down for me this week after a very crazy spring.  I have a new found respect for all moms, and especially working moms.  After having a baby I definitely felt a huge shift in my priorities.  My head and heart are just at home these days.  I'm very lucky that I have a job that allows me some extra time to regroup and be with my family.  I'm really looking forward to catching up on some sleep, enjoying lazy mornings with Edwin, cooking, and getting outdoors.  We invested in some nice outdoor baby gear and are fully mobile!  Edwin has been a pretty good sport about things and doesn't seem to mind being carted around in the stroller, bike trailer, or hiking pack.  I'm hoping it helps instill a love of the outdoors in him.

Besides catching up on sleep, I'm hoping to work on a few projects this summer.  I want to take way more photos of Edwin - he is 6 months old and growing up so fast!  Also, do some drawing, sewing, maybe some planting, and keep dreaming about updating my kitchen.  It's tiny and desperately needs some work - wouldn't these kitchens be lovely? 

All in all, I think it is going to be a really relaxing and low key summer.  Just what we need!

lately...

We have a fairly eventful spring happening over here and although we are sort of trading one busy month for another, I am ready to greet May with open arms. Edwin is 5 months old this week and it already seems like he is growing up so fast.  He spends so much more time playing and interacting.  Currently, his favorite things are grabbing his toes, touching our faces, practicing his rolling, jumping in the jumperoo, and throwing toys around.  We catch glimpses of the little boy he is turning into and it is so rewarding.  I will say this over and over again, but I love being a mom.  In many ways my life just makes more sense now that I have a little one to take care of.  But, it definitely has its stressful moments - being a mom who works full time is quite humbling and I seem to flip-flop back and forth between loving the challenge of it and being so exhausted and cranky from it.  I'm hoping I find my groove soon and I'm sure as soon as I do, something will change...

In other parenting news, we are in the midst of some serious dog training.  When we emerged from the first few months of our "baby bubble" we realized our dog was super naughty.  Not cool, Walter, not cool.  But I'm hoping that a bit of training will get him back on track to being his lovable hound self again.  Cross your fingers for us. 

On a more random note, have you been noticing the amazing dogwood trees?  I officially want to replace every tree in my yard with them - they are so, so gorgeous and remind me how much I love spring time.  But this year I am really looking forward to summer.  I will have a lot more time to spend with Edwin and hopefully catch up on a thing or two around my house.  I also can't wait for the farmer's market and berry picking!  It's been tricky keeping healthy meals on the table when I'm short on time.  Last week my pantry got frighteninly low, but I somehow managed to whip up a delicious batch of pancakes.  I never keep buttermilk around so I made my own concoction using yogurt and water, blended up in my newest kitchen gadget, a baby bullet!  Next month I'm hoping to use it to whip up a few things for Edwin...he'll be starting solid foods.  Yippppeeeee!

Yogurt Pancakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2/3 cup yogurt (I used full fat greek)

1/3 cup water

1 egg

In a blender (or baby bullet) puree yogurt and water until smooth.  Add egg and blend.  In a seperate bowl, mix dry ingredients together.  Fold yogurt/egg mixture into the dry ingredients until combined.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in the oil.  Fill a 1/4 cup. measuring cup almost full and drop batter into the hot skillet.  Cook for 2 min., flip, and cook for one additional minute.  Top with berry sauce and powdered sugar.

Strawberry Sauce

2 pints of strawberries, sliced

2 t. lemon juice

5 T. sugar

2 T cornstarch

2 T water

In a small sauce pan, simmer berries, lemon juice, and sugar for 10 min.  In a seperate bowl, disolve cornstarch and water.  Mix into the berries and cook 2 more minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the sauce thicken as it cools.  It tastes like summer!

(Also, for any readers who check in on us, I've decided to start doing monthly blog posts.  It justs seems like a nice blogging rythm for me right now.  I would love to keep posting  family photos and updates as well as occaisional crafty projects and recipes.  Stay tuned!)

baby kisses

Guess what?  Today is an anniversary of sorts.  Exactly one year ago I found out I was expecting!  I took a pregnancy test at 2am (I was so excited I couldn't wait until morning) and our journey to parenthood began!

Fast forward one year, and Edwin is 4 months old.  I love being a mom so much and cannot imagine life without him.  4 months is actually a pretty fun age.  He is still very portable, smiles all of the time, babbles constantly, and also started sucking his thumb.  It's so cute!  Nick and I love snapping photos of him and last week our friend took a few family photos for us.

I think I mentioned in my last post that I'm back at work.  It is extremely busy right now, so many days I feel like I'm trying to do way too many things at once and not accomplishing anything.  But, I do think having a baby has helped ground me a little bit and forced me to slow down and enjoy the moment and each passing phase.  I also need to stop and remember from time to time how amazing it is that I've completely grown this baby for a whole year!  It's been hard work, but totally worth it. 

Edwin @ 14 weeks

Hello!  I'm a bit late with our 3 month baby update, but it's for good reason.  I started back at work.  Full time.  It's been sort of a scramble that we are slowly figuring out.  Luckily, it would seem that we have the most agreeable baby on the planet, making this transition go just about as well as it could.  I thought I'd share a bit of what our days are like right now.  Although hectic, I'll likely miss them when they are gone and my baby is all grown up. 

Lets start at bedtime, shall we?  Edwin generally falls asleep between 9-10pm and I put him down in his crib.  At this point, I make sure my lunch is packed and hit the hay myself.  He gets up to eat again anytime between 1am and 4am, and usually goes right back to sleep.  I start getting ready for the day at 5:40am.  Making breakfast, trying to look presentable, packing the diaper bag, etc... Edwin either gets up to eat again or I wake him up to feed him at 6:45 so I can be out the door around 7:00am.  Nick gets him dressed and drops him off at the day care center.  He spends all day kickin' it with other babes, doing his thing (eating, sleeping, smiling, pooping, crying, etc...) while I'm at work.  Teaching is sort of like riding a bike and I fell back into a routine with my students after just a few days.  But, I have a lot to take care of in my department - kilns to fire, supplies to order, projects to grade, and a messy art room to keep organized, in addition to teaching all day, and pumping breast milk on my breaks.  I usually pump 3-4 times a day in order to get enough milk for Edwin while I'm away.  So far, so good.  By the end of the day I can't stop thinking about Edwin and wondering how he's doing, but I know I need to get a short workout in.  I either hit the gym for 30 min. or grab my dog for a quick run.  By this time, I'm totally exhausted and sweaty and any attempt to "look presentable" for the day is long gone.  I roll into the day care center, grab by baby and burst into tears because he's so cute and I'm so happy to see him.  He just looks at me like, "What's up mom?"  and gives me a big grin.  Like the one in the photograph.        

Once at home, I snuggle up on the couch with him, relax, and try to ignore all of the things around me that "need to be done."  I somehow get supper made, or we get take out.  In between looooong nursing sessions I do a load of laundry, have a snack, or pick up the house a bit before the bedtime routine begins.  I'll give him a bath or a massage, put on his pj's and wait for sleep.

Whew.  I think I need a nap now!  But, even though life is busier than ever, I can't stop thinking about all of the things that I want to do.  The trick is finding spare moments to do them and not stressing out about unfinished things.  I'm definitely learning to let some things go and prioritize.

But really, I just wanted an excuse to show you this adorable picture of Edwin.  Seconds after this photo was taken he spit up all over his outfit.  And, that's pretty much life with a baby!

Edwin @ 2 months

Baby boy is two months old today!  He weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs. 2 oz. this week which means he's gained over 5 lbs. since birth.  His increased size seems to help keep his tummy full a bit longer, which means he is starting to sleep longer stretches at night.  Thank heavens!  January was a little rough in the sleep department and although I'm sure we're not totally out of the woods yet, I am so grateful when he gives me a 6 or 7 hour stretch in a row.  Right now his favorite things to do are eat, kick his legs, smile and coo, look in the mirror, sleep, and go for walks in the stroller.

My favorite part of being a mom is seeing his smiling face, making up songs, and cuddling with him.  He is definitely an awesome little side-kick to have around all day.  This is my last month of maternity leave so I am cherishing every second of it.

fennel citrus salad

We are fighting off colds at my house and my remedy usually consists of a daily grapefruit.  But yesterday I picked up some blood oranges and a fennel bulb, both chocked full of vitamin C.  I've never actually done much with a fennel bulb and lately I've been spotting some pretty enticing recipes around the web.  I thought it would be the perfect way to get my daily citrus fix and help fight my cold.  When I started recipe hunting I got really excited about all of the possible ingredients that you could toss into this salad.  It's a great way to use up any produce that is hanging out in the fridge (ahem, radishes) but next time I think I'd switch it up with some avocado, zucchini, or strawberries!  Serve it alongside a piece of steamed salmon and you'll pretty much be on super-food overload.  Bye bye cold!  I've included some links for other fennel salads that I've found.  They were all pretty inspiring when I was throwing this together.

Fennel Citrus Salad (serves 1)
more inspiring fennel salad recipes found on 101 Cookbooks, Whole Living, and Cannelle et Vanille

1/2 fennel bulb. thinly sliced
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
1 blood orange, peeled and sectioned
1 green onion, chopped
1 handful of mixed greens
1/4 lemon, squeezed

Mix all ingredients together and let the salad rest in the lemon juice for 15 min.  At the last minute I topped mine with some sesame seed salt and feta cheese.  It was super fresh and delicious!

homemade nursing tea mix

So far, this winter is proving to be very different from winters past.  Most years I do my best to snow shoe, ski, trek through the trails with my hound, and in general keep my cheeks red and boots snowy.  But, this year I have a little baby at home.  Which means aside from a few 30 degree, non-snowy days, we are largely indoors.  I'll be honest, it's kind of weird for me.  And some days it's taking all of my will power to get out of my sleepy pajamas, stop eating chocolate cake, and try to function as a normal human being again...this time as a mom.  I hope it doesn't sound like I'm totally depressed, because I'm definitely not, but my life is different now, and I am still adjusting.  But, winter recreation aside, some things are pretty awesome around here.  One, I have an adorable little boy smiling, cooing, crying, and cuddling me 24/7.  And two, sometimes when he naps I have time to do some fun things around the house.  Today I made my usual cup of lactation tea (sexy, I know) and snapped a few photos with my new camera.  If you happen to be lactating now, or in the future, keep this one on file.  It's super easy.      

The tea consists of two ingredients - fennel and fenugreek seeds.  Fennel seeds are sold at most grocery stores, but I had to hunt down the fenugreek seeds at a local health food store.  Fennel is mainly a digestive aid and fenugreek helps to boost milk supply.  The tea has a very mild flavor so if your palette wants something stronger you might punch it up a bit with some sliced ginger or lemon. 

Lactation Tea (recipe c/o my Ayurveda practitioner, Patricia Wickman

1 part fenugreek seeds
2 part fennel seeds

Mix seeds in a small jar with a lid.  Shake the jar to distribute evenly.  In a tea ball or filter place 1/2 teaspoon of the seed mixture and steep in a mug for 5-10 minutes.

I like to make a bigger batch in a thermos and drink it throughout the day.  As far as I know, I haven't had any problems with my milk supply, but I figure it doesn't hurt to drink this tea instead of my usual mint or chamomile.  Plus, I kind of feel like a mystical medicine woman making my own tea blend to boost my milk and help my baby.  His chubby cheeks are a pretty good indication that I'm doing something right!  Speaking of milk, it's time for him to eat again.  Please excuse me while I get comfy with my boppy pillow, book, and mystical medicine woman tea.  It's time to do my mommy job!