Stop yelling at me. I'm grateful.

Every time I open the garage door these days, Joaquin's eyes widen and he shouts something that sounds a lot like "Die! Die! Die!" One may think that this is his baby battle cry against the wasps that want desperately to nest in the rafters, but I know better. This is simply baby babble for "let's play basketball."

We became joggers this summer and whenever we get back to our driveway I retrieve the ball and we shoot some hoops. Or, I shoot some hoops. I was never a WNBA hopeful (tho I may be tall enough), and I'm kind of overall a clutsy gal, but I have always loved to shoot baskets. Now I have an audience. He squeals when I make one and he laughs when I don't. I sit him on the blacktop and he stares and smiles and waves his baby arms in the air until I pass (roll) the ball his way. He catches it, pauses, and rolls the ball back and I attempt another basket. He loves this.

Yesterday I noticed he was doing something different. I passed to him like usual and he caught it, but then he lifted the ball in both arms, looked up and then bounced the ball and let it roll away. We did this over in over until all of a sudden I realized, he's trying to shoot a basket. His little toddler body is a good 15 feet away from the goal. With the ball in his hands his eyes barely peek over the top, but there is no denying he is looking and aiming. He is attempting something that is physically impossible, doing it over and over, and enjoying every minute of it. He loves trying, even when success is very far away.

What an amazing life lesson.

I have learned so much about that this summer. That trying is fun. Most of Joaquin's favorite activities are ones he can't really do at all. He loves puzzles. Or, he loves to put his hand on the pieces while I put them in place, kind of Ouija board style. He likes to draw on the porch. Just straight lines that mom morphs into pictures of ugly pigs and stars and weird sesame street creatures.

I am so grateful to be reminded that frustration isn't always part of the process.

A one year old's favorite toys...did I buy any of them?

He scoots, he babbles, he plays with toys! I have a toddler and all of a sudden different plastic and wooden trinkets elicit the biggest smiles of the day.

I find it hard not to want to give my child all of the toys I once loved. I was probably a day pregnant when I started searching for wooden blocks on the Internet. I still miss my Fisher Price record player. I wonder if they have little ipod docks that are kid friendly...

I have a prejudice against any talking, light up, signing, toys. How annoying! It would seem obvious to me that those toys are an insult to my baby's intelligence.

This past Christmas, Joaquin was only eight months old, so we knew that it would be silly to go overboard. My husband and I don't exchange gifts anymore, but we bought a few things for Joaquin. We gave him some plushies in the shapes of athletic balls, legos, and a kit to make paper bag puppets. No bells, no whistles. At that age a great toy was anything he could put in his mouth or drop on the floor, so we did pretty good.

On his first birthday things had changed. He is interacting with objects more. There is stuff in the world that fascinates him, like robins and cars. We bought him toys, and family gave him toys, and friends gave him toys. Sometimes it seems like we have toys in most corners of our house!

As the days post birthday rolled by, there were some clear winners in the toy department.
1) The cake. Okay, I never in two trillion years would have picked this out. It is everything I despise in a toy. It sings birthday songs with lines like "we're having a birthday we're singing it live." There are five candles that light up and a sensor so you can blow out the candles (okay, I admit to thinking that last feature is kind of cool). Joaquin is obsessed with it. Obsessed. He pushes the buttons over and over and bobs his little head to the music. He can spot it across the room and butt-hops over to it in seconds. He points to it and does his 'I love you' coo.
I really can't complain. This cake buys me some time. I can run down some laundry, jump on my rebounder, or even take a shower.
2) Mankind. This wasn't a birthday present. It was actually a Christmas present for my husband about 3 years ago. While visiting my family back home, my nephew looked at my man and said, "you look like Mankind." We both asked who that was. My brother cracked up and said "he does look like Mankind." He brought up Mankind's photo on some wrestling website. I saw something about a wrestler named Triple H.
"Who's Triple H?" I asked. "A co-worker used to call me that."
My brother laughed again. "Your going to be pissed." The following Christmas we received Mankind and Triple H in the mail.
Anyway, Mankind does kind of look like my baby's dad, so maybe that's why he takes this figure all over town. A couple of weeks ago we were attending baby story hour and I looked in Joaquin's lap and there was Mankind. I didn't even know he had him. As far as I can remember, Mankind was the first toy my baby knew by name.
3) The inchworm. This colorful caterpillar rolls across the floor when you push down on it's back, or pull it backwards. This cracks my child up to no end. He can't quite figure out how it works yet, but I best not walk by with it in my hand if I don't want to play "ready, set, go."
4) The old school clock.
I'm not sure if I personally had this toy, but if you are over 30, you've seen it. It's just one of those things you saw in every toy box, garage sale, and dentist's office. Fisher Price has been pulling at my heartstrings and re-releasing some of it's old toys like real wooden Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys. He seems to love figuring out how the knob in the back controls the music.
5) Golf ball, bouncy ball, sky ball, or mom's balancing ball. Any kind of ball, or even things that resemble a ball and can be chucked across the room, like an apple.
I probably can't convince you with a picture, but my son can throw! It's kinda crazy. His aim is very good and right now I have to say balls are the big winner in the gift line up.
And I didn't buy any of these.

I'm sure this will all change. Maybe even by the time I publish this post! But I don't worry...there are plenty of toys out there. The library saves the day!

the elephant in the room

I changed by not changing at all- Eddie Vedder

About fifteen years ago I found myself in a hamburger joint ordering a Hawaiian burger and a strawberry shake. This may sound like a typical day in a 19 year old's life, but it wasn't for me. For the year and a half prior I had been living as a vegan. I had just moved in with a new roommate and I found myself feeling really tired and unsatisfied. I didn't have much money. I worked at a bakery and pretty much lived on day old bread I could get for free. I absorbed a lot of jokes about my diet and ran out of come-backs and fast facts as to why I had cut out all meat, fish, dairy and eggs. I woke up one morning and decided I was done.

Many people will say that if you eat meat after being vegan, it will make you sick. I found that not to be the case. It made me feel good. Some people say that meat just is too gross after being vegan. I've never been grossed out by meat. I spent a good part of my life eating it no problem, and that fact was never lost on me.

After that meal, I started eating meat and dairy again. It didn't seem like a big deal.

Until...3 years ago when I found myself thumbing through some of my old cookbooks and listening to vegan podcasts. I bought a couple of new cookbooks, began preparing vegan goods and right around Thanksgiving 2007, my husband and I decided to eat vegan all of the time.

It was great. We both lost about 15 pounds and loved hanging out and cooking in the kitchen. We stopped going out to eat almost altogether. We broke the news to our families as it came up. For the most part, they liked the idea and many were hip to the ethical argument and the health benefits. It didn't hurt that I cooked for them whenever I could.

But something started happening to me about a month ago. I just felt kind of wasted. At first I just thought it was because my baby is still breastfeeding sooo much. Probably 10 times a day. Then I started having massive cravings. For salmon and eggs, specifically. I asked my husband if we should start eating fish.
"You've been asking me that a lot lately." He said.
"I have?" I asked.
Maybe it didn't help that at the same time I discovered and became obsessed with this blog. I couldn't take it. I called my husband at work and said that I really wanted some eggs. He offered to buy some for me. This surprised me, I thought he'd talk me out of it, but at the same time, my husband isn't really the type to pass judgement...which is only one of the reasons why he rocks. He delivered the eggs, I asked him if he wanted some (he didn't), and I fried two eggs and made a piece of toast. I ate them while sitting on the couch.

They were good. They weren't, like, the best thing I've ever tasted, but c'mon, they're eggs and I really know how to cook vegan food. Before I ate them I wondered if I was jumping off a cliff. Would I be frying burgers on my griddle next? Truth be told, I really don't think so. What I do think is that I am going from a TOTALLY plant based diet to one that is about 95% plant based. That isn't exact math. I just mean that I am going to eat small amounts of dead animals and their products when necessary.

The fact that being a veg*n might have some social restrictions on Joaquin plays out in my mind a lot, too. Most of me is totally okay with it. I had to endure sack lunches with homemade whole wheat bread and fuzzy peaches and I survived. I'm not so naive to think he won't stray on his own at some point. He may spend all of his elementary school days dreaming of bologna and Doritos like I did. I'm hoping that not putting such a strong label on our eating style will have a better outcome than being "that mean mom that doesn't let her kid have ice cream at the birthday party" might.

But who knows. I may change my mind.

everyone has fun at music class

Joaquin and I attend a music class once a week. I found it when googling "mom and baby classes Indianapolis." We had just finished swimming lessons (I'm planning on doing that again, soon), and needed a new activity to keep us involved in the world outside of our backyard.
After the first class I wondered if I hadn't made this purchase in haste. We attend baby story hour at the library once a week as well, and there is singing and stories and socializing, for free! I've decided over time that it is worth it. The music class has more structure to it. We received a companion CD and are expected to learn the songs for maximum participation. You get to know all the names of the kids in class, right from the beginning. Our instructor, Ms. Sheryl, gives all of the kids one on one attention by singing a pattern to them as they sit on her lap...and Joaquin gobbles it up! We sing, we dance, we play instruments.
Last week a little girl who looks to be about 3 came in wearing a bright pink tulle skirt. She sat in a circle with the rest of us for about 5 minutes and then went running around the room, round and round and round. Joaquin watched her with great interest. He began to spin around on his butt so he could watch her every move. As she ran by him he sat up as tall as possible and held out his little hand to her as if to say, "take me with you, fairy princess." Stuff like this is what it's all about. Seriously. So cute.
I may have even made a new friend at The Music Playhouse. The more I stay home with my baby, the more I realize I need some girlfriends. Recently, one of my mom's friends found me on facebook and told me, "the first time I met your mom she was wearing pink rollers in her hair and was pulling you and your brother in a wagon. She looked at me and said ' I prayed that God would send me a best friend, and you are it!'" I think about that all the time. I know exactly how Mom felt.
I'm a pretty shy person when it comes to making new friends, so I am very thankful that this music class mom approached me. When asked where she got her baby's pants, she replied, "I made them." Ding! Ding! Ding! I want to make baby pants! We exchanged phone numbers and will attempt a baby in the park day very soon.
Joaquin loves music class and I do to. The class is at the groovy Riviera Club that sits on the white river. So pretty.

pediatrician for sale

"Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." -David Banner.

There comes a day in all awesome parents lives when they have to see their little one sustain an injury. My baby is slowing learning to walk and stand so I suspect that I'll see a few bumps and bonks in the next few months. He's so curious. Reaching for big books on coffee tables. Yanking on anything cord-like he can grab. I can put up all of the baby gates for sale on Ebay, but the truth is, babies are quick!
Little did I know that Joaquin's first injury would be compliments of the one who claims to lead our "wellness visits." Dr. Bill, (not his real name) has never really impressed me. He forgets that we don't eat animal products almost every visit (we've quit reminding him and just say mmmmm, ooohhhh, when he suggests cottage cheese, again). He repeats himself. He has a special way of making one feel like they are just a number, just a paycheck, and the more appointments he can fly through in a day, the better. Exactly the opposite of what I want for my baby.
After our 9 month visit, my husband turned to me and said, "so, you think we've outgrown Dr. Bill?"
"Yep," I said "we've heard the same spiel about 4 times."
So, we knew that we needed to find a new pediatrician. But time flies and we found ourselves at the 1 year visit, bracing for another round of immunizations that I continue to try to get comfortable with (another blog post, maybe). We were shown to our examination room, undressed the babe down to cloth diaper and let him stand on the table while holding our hands for stability. Dr. Bill walked in and Joaquin got suspicious. The doctor gave him a couple of tongue depressors and a tape measure to check out. Joaquin gave him the "I play with Lego's and puppets" look. The doctor measured his length and squeezed his belly. Joaquin cried out. Dr. Bill asked if he was trying to walk yet.
"Yes!" We both said, "if you hold his hands, he'll walk across the floor."
"Good" said Dr. Bill.
He placed Joaquin on the scale and weighed him. Then, in one quick move he picked him up, stood him up on the floor, and immediately let go. We watched Joaquin stand on his own for about 3 seconds and then tip forward and faceplant, hands by his sides on the carpet. You could see his little face slide forward as his body came crashing down. Ouch. The doctor, while in the best position to grab him as he went down, just watched. Joaquin gasped then howled. Dad snatched him up.
I thought, what the heck? I was stunned. I was sickened. I grabbed at my screaming baby and immediately noticed the red peeling, rug-burned skin.
"He's got a rug burn." I said.
"Let me see his face," said Dr. Bill. "Awww, buddy, you're okay."
He went on to say how nice and tall he is, usually they fall on their butts, he's got a different center of gravity because of his height.
Oh yeah, never mind that I never said he could stand on his own, nor did you ask or warn us that you were about to let him free fall. Jerk.
He said that he looked great developmentally, talked a little about the vaccines to be administered and wished us a nice summer.
"Absolutely." I squeaked out.
After the appointment we went outside and Joaquin immediately began to settle down.
"We're done with that guy," I said to my husband.
Then he said that Joaquin's eye looked weird. So now we have an otherwise perfect baby with a scratched up face and an eye injury. So much for wellness.

I went to work later that day and had the faceplant on replay all night long. Only now there were about 10 different endings to choose from. The one where I yell "why did you do that?" and one where I snatch up my baby and storm off, never to return. And of course, one where my husband knocks him out cold. I was stressed.
Late that night I came home to a sparkling clean house and a husband saying "I feel very strongly that we should never go to Dr. Bill again."
"Me too."
My husband had spent the night on replay as well. He googled just about everything you could google on eye scratches and called one of the doctors in the family. He decides that Joaquin needs to see an Opthamologist. The more we talk, the worse I feel. I decide to go right to bed so I can snuggle up with my son.
On the way to the pediatric opthomologist's office, I do something I should have done over a year ago. I take the business card out of my wallet for a nurse practitioner who doubles as a naturopath and has an office in Indianapolis. She was highly recommended by a friend and I really wanted to check it out. I make the call and say that we have a one year old and we would like to take him in for his wellness visits. The woman on the phone tells me that they don't give shots, but have a family practice. She tells me that Joaquin can see the nurse at The Complimentary Medicine Center and get his immunizations at the health dept. for free. We make our first appointment.
Which brings me to this. Why have a pediatrician anyway? All mine does is measure, weigh, and poke. His office hasn't been all together helpful when I've had an urgent question, and vaccines are FREE? I have insurance and only make a small co-pay, but the bill for each visit at Dr. Bill's office is over 500 dollars every time.
At the eye doctor we find out the the baby's eye is healing fine on it's own. As we drive Joaquin home he babbles and laughs and enjoys his new front facing carseat position. He's good. We're good.
Dr. Bill, you're fired.

the open air cafe

I love to walk. I especially love to walk to a coffee shop, with Joaquin. Having a destination gives me more spring in my step. If I am left to wander, I wander slowly. I have a total cafe crush on the Monon Coffee Co. in Broad Ripple. They have locally roasted coffee, fresh juice from a juicer and smoothies. They even have a few vegan treats like carrot cake and cookies.
I dream of a coffee shop where all of the goodies are animal and cane sugar free, but it just doesn't exist in Indy yet. I've come up with these muffins to fill in the blank. They travel well, aren't too sweet and are soft and cake like.
Carrot date muffins
1 cup of whole white wheat flour
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1/3 cup agave nectar (dark)
1 cup unsweetend soymilk
1 tsp vanilla
4 chopped pitted medjool dates
1 shredded carrot
Preheat to 400.
combine all of your dry indgredients in one bowl and the wet in another. combine the two and add the carrot and the dates. spoon into an oiled muffin tin. this recipe makes nine muffins. fill the empty ones with water for nice soft muffins. bake for 20-25 minutes. remove them from the pan and let them completely cool before eating as those dates can be hot hot hot!

Throw a couple of these in your backpack and when you get your coffee you can sit outside and enjoy a veg-friendly treat too!

I am slowly introducing grains into my babies diet. Wheat is kind of a big question mark as far as allergies go. I seem to feel a bit better when I cut back on it. I almost made these with Bob's Red Mill all purpose Gluten free mix. So far, I haven't noticed any problems like the tell-tale ring around the booty. We shall see.

Back at home we are still working on our fork skills and soaking up this outstanding Spring weather. Joaquin is eating up his veggies and enjoying a few new foods. I've started including some baby friendly crunchy snacks with his lunch. He loves Veggie Sticks. We call them fa fies. That's silly baby speak for french fries. Joaquin is enjoying green beans, half of a muffin with home made pumpkin seed/almond/cashew/macadamia nut butter (thinned a little), fa fies, and scrambled tofu with nutritional yeast. Guess what he went for first? He's no dummy.

Joaquin, walking

Well, not exactly, but close. He loves it when I take both of his hands and let him step around the house, stopping to look at pictures of cats, grab at glasses of water, and look at his reflection in the brass fireplace enclosure. All I have to do is say "up" and he reaches out to grab my fingers and stand up proud.
But I have a secret.
Joaquin has yet to crawl. I'll be darned if he's not just going to skip it all together.
Right around when he turned 8 months I started looking for signs of mobility. Surely he was tiring of just sitting on the floor and playing with rattles and blocks. He smiled, he laughed, he started responding to his name, and he was completely content sitting on the floor with mom.
I started googleing "how to get your baby to crawl" and "how old are babies when they crawl" and it wasn't long before "why won't my baby crawl" and "what if my baby never crawls???"
The answer to all of these is, in my opinion, is another question. "Who cares?"
But I didn't get here on my own. Late one night I confessed to my girlfriend back home that I constantly question what I'm doing with Joaquin.
"What?" She said, "you seem perfect!"
Ahhh, the magic of the blog. It's easy to be blog-perfect, I told her. Then I disclosed that my baby is 11 months and still doesn't crawl and she said, "Who cares! Crawling is overrated! Wriggling around on the ground all dirty? I never crawled." I love her.
A phone call to my mom revealed that I never crawled either. And my Dad never crawled. And my sister did some sort of butt shuffle, but technically, she never crawled. There's a whole lot of not crawling going on and I'm here to say that it's O.K.

I have my own ideas about why he doesn't crawl and why most babies do. I haven't exactly been raising Joaquin the ways they recommend in the pediatricians office. He doesn't sleep in a crib like most babies. I carry him, a lot. I never bought a walking/ rolling play station or a little seat to help him sit. I don't let him cry it out, ever. So if I do things differently, won't he do things a little differently?
The coolest point I came across while googleing comes from Dr. Greene's website. He says that milestones are really just stereotypes. Bravo, Dr. Greene, as I am not a fan of stereotypes.
What is important is that he is an excited little boy who loves to move and dance and try to say new words beginning with the letter B. At least I don't have to worry about him crawling into goose poop.

the sun is the bomb

When I bought cloth diapers last year, the mantra of the diaper peddlers seemed to be "don't use bleach, don't use bleach."
It was suggested that plenty of rinsing and use of vinegar would keep my baby smelling sweet. After Joaquin was born, my husband hung a clothesline for me and I let his diapers dry in the sun. He didn't get diaper rash and he always smelled perfect. When winter approached, the line came down and I had to throw those diaps in the dryer. I think it was probably five washes before "Peeee-U!"
My boy's butt smelled like a sewer after about an hour of wear. I started running three or four washing cycles on every batch of diapers and they STILL STUNK. I finally read through the bum genius website and they actually recommend using small amounts of bleach when needed. I started to use a cap full every other wash and they smelled much better. I looked forward to the return of the clothesline.
Did you know that the sun is an awesome natural stain fighter and disinfectant? How did I live 30+ years and not know that? Not only does the sun leave our cloth diapers smelling absolutely fresh, it bleaches them out to their whitest white! This is one of those simple things that leaves me believing that there is an order to everything and life is awesome.
I'm kind of a dork.The return of the sun and the clothesline. I love you April.

Days in the sun mean days at the park. Indy has some awesome parks. We met our friends, Jess and Millie, for some squirrel chasing at Holliday Park. This is one of my all-time favorite city spots. In fact, my first visit to this park marks a turning point where I decided that living in Indiana is awesome and I'll never dis' it again. Hey, that's me!


This is a statue at the park. I snapped this photo with my iphone using the hipstamatic app. I love this app! It gives your shots a neat old school look, totally worth a dollar ninety-nine.

Here at home our trees are blossoming, my little pots of veggie seeds are sprouting, and our cats are spending the evenings terrorizing the neighborhood. I love Indy in the springtime.

dinner of the future!!!

Dinner has become a simple affair around here. I just don't want to be super full as I wind down and make plans for the next day. For the last few weeks I have been making one simple food each night and that's it. For many of these evenings, it's sweet potato fries.
Now, I've had plenty of sweet potato fries in my day, but I really have to hand it to my friend, Jess, for pointing out what a cool meal they make for mom and baby. She offered Joaquin and I some fries for lunch one afternoon and I have been running with it ever since.
To make fries take 2 or 3 sweet potatoes depending on size. Preheat the oven to 375. Peel and cut in half lengthwise. Slice each half into planks and then your planks into fries. You don't want to make these too thin or they will burn. Toss your raw fries in olive or grapeseed oil and spread them on two baking sheets. Add salt if you want, or any spices really. Bake for 20 minutes, turn them over and bake for 10 minutes more. So good.
I often wonder if Joaquin is eating by shape and texture over taste. For example, he will eat green beans, sweet potato fries and asparagus anytime of the day right now. About two months ago he liked anything in a cube, like bread squares with flax oil and cut up pear. I know that sweet potato fries won't be a complete dinner forever. He still breastfeeds through most of the night, so a huge dinner isn't crucial. I do have some big plans though.

I have started seeds for broccoli, kale, pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers. In the next couple of weeks we will be planting seeds for squash, more kale, and lettuce right into the garden. I have high hopes for harvest this year. I started my seeds in some handmade newspaper cups. I really like this idea because it's a great way to reuse paper and you can put the whole thing in the ground, paper and all. I might not do that though. I've read that the paper takes awhile to break down sometimes and inhibits root growth. I'll probably remove the newspaper, add it to the compost, and put the plant in without it. You can see how to make paper cups here, here, and here. I love making the pots. We don't get the newspaper so I took mine from a paper bin near my house. It's fun to read some of the articles as I turn them into pots. I can't help but think, healthcare, smealthcare, eat more kale.

no fuss lunch

Eek! Joaquin is almost one! It's funny, when they are two months old and everyone tells you "it goes by quick!" you think, yeah right.
It sure does.
Now that I've practically got a toddler in the house, offering three solid food meals a day is a must. I've talked before about my boy not liking the pureed mush that we assume babies will magically devour at 6 months. He likes "big boy food." He wants whatever it is that I'm eating. The challenge is that I love spicy hot food. A meal that doesn't burn all the way down just isn't satisfying to me. What's a mom to do?
Rice cooker to the rescue!
This is a Yan can cook rice cooker that I bought at Target years ago. I can't remember why I bought it, but that doesn't matter. It has a vegetable steamer and I only recently realized what an amazing mom saver that is. I have been making different versions of the same thing for days now. Joaquin loves it, I love it, and Dad loves the leftovers. Win, win, win.
The vegetables steam as the "rice" cooks. I say "rice" because you would have to use white rice (though you can easily make perfect brown rice in this cooker) if you don't want to turn your steaming veggies into total mush. Instead of rice, I use quick cooking whole grains like millet, quinoa, and buckwheat. One day I even made a combo of all three. This is millet.

Since these grains are going to be eaten by an 11 month old, it's okay to err on the side of a little too much water and make the grains a touch mushy. They are still delicious, just kind of porridgy. I don't ever measure my grains and water. I simply put the grains in the pot and pour water over them til the water is one inch above the settled grains. By one inch I mean my first knuckle. Place your finger on the grain and add water until it touches your first knuckle. Add a little more if you are cooking for baby. My sister in law, Alice, taught me this trick. (Thanks Alice!)
Joaquin loves asparagus, green beans, carrots, broccoli and tofu. You can put one or ALL of these in the steamer basket.



While your grains cook, the veggies steam. Brilliant! To make it all the more wonderful they are cooked sans oil, salt or any baby unfriendly spices.
When the vegetables are cooked soft enough for a baby to easily chew, I toss the veggies into a bowl and add different toppings. Some that we like are:
Avocado
hemp oil
braggs liquid aminos (just a touch)
ground walnuts
olives
bubbies pickles
goddess dressing
We always add the hemp oil and the Braggs, and leave the rest up to our mood.
We toss our mixture of the day together and then we eat together out of the same bowl.A little hand that can't wait to get some num-nums.

With the first bowl we take turns having bites, I praise him when he puts it in his mouth rather that throw it across the table, and he gets to practice with the fork. For the second serving, Joaquin gets to feed himself in the high chair and I get to put sirracha all over my veggies.

a coupla dinners

Sometimes I feel like I could have more hobbies if I didn't cook so much. Then I think, nah. The more we cook the more we create our own family cuisine. I love that.
Dinner #1
We had lentil stew earlier in the day, so dinner became a feast of sides if you will.
Long potatoes.
This is a family favorite. The first time I had long potatoes they were cold and on baking sheets in the back of a station wagon. I was probably five. A girl named Melanie was grabbing them out of the car and eating them in the driveway.
"whatcha eatin?'" I asked.
Melanie pointed to the trays, "Long potatoes."
"What are long potatoes?"
"You don't know what long potatoes are? You eat them with mayonnaise."
I insisted to my mom that we have long potatoes, and after a short conversation with Melanie's mom, we started having them for dinner regularly. These days I eat them with chili garlic sauce or veganaise.
Cut about 7 potatoes into 6 wedges each. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Put on baking trays. Bake for 55 minutes at 425.
Beets.
Pressure cooked for 12 minutes. Let cool a little. Slide those skins off. Slice and serve with salt, pepper and olive oil. Clean and steam the beet greens.
Guacamole.
Take about 7 avocados. mash with chopped garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce all to taste. Stand back and say "whoa, I just made a TON of guac."
Celery.
For dipping.

Tonight I made papusas, refried beans and cabbage salad with oregano.
Papusas are stuffed tortillas and are awesome. I made my own cashew cheddar cheese.
Cheese.
from Simply Heavenly.
Make masa dough.
Put two cups of masa in a mixing bowl. Slowly add one and a half cups of hot tap water while mixing with you hands. Make playdough consistency.
Divide dough into ten balls. Break each ball in half. Press half of the dough into your hand.

Top with a bit of your shredded homeade cheeze or some store bought stuff.
Put the other half of your dough ball on top and press together.

Place on a tortilla press and press it out.
Put on a hot griddle and cook on each side for about a minute.
Serve with refried beans and cabbage salad. Tapatio is the best hot sauce in the world. Look at the steam on those beans. Hot!

baby stuff

One of my all time best buds, Heather, is about to have her first baby. It kills me that we don't live closer. She has asked me for a list of what she really needs before the baby arrives. I believe she is going to have a shower, which means she's about to end up with a whole lot of baby goodness. I keep encouraging her to register for gifts, so she can get what she wants.

I didn't have a baby shower. When I was pregnant I worked a ton and when I thought of something I needed, I just bought it. Most of the purchases turned out to be good ones, but some I really could have done without. Every baby is different, so this post is just essentials and you can fill in the blanks according to your babies personality.

Cloth diapers.
I use a combination of Bum Genius one size pocket diapers and prefolds with a whisper wrap. Have twenty diapers on hand to start. The one size pocket diapers are nice because they fit from 8-35 pounds! Diapers have come a long way since I watched my mom diaper my siblings. These days diapers are no pins required, which is awesome. Most are in the same shape and style of disposables and are cute to boot! I wash mine with Charlie's soap and air dry.

Sling.
I have tried out 5 different baby wearing apparatuses. The ones that worked for me are a sling from gorgeous baby and an ergo carrier. Both work from infant to toddler. You just change the way you wear them. These days, my baby weighs 25 pounds and I can still carry him for 5 miles in the ergo.

Foam pad for baths.
I originally thought I would buy a baby bath tub. My mother in law brought over this inexpensive blue foam frog shaped cushion that you put in the tub for the baby to lay on. You squeeze warm water into it first to make sure the baby has a nice warm spot to enjoy his tub. These are awesome and can be washed in the washing machine.

Carseat and Stroller Combo.
We have the Chicco Key Fit car seat/stroller and it is awesome! My big boy outgrew the car seat by six months, but while he was still a little guy the seat clicks into a base in the car and clicks into the stroller, facing mom, for long strolls. Now, I'm primarily a baby wearer, but this stroller allowed me to take Joaquin on 8 to 10 mile walks on the trail. He would look up at the trees and take long naps. It was a peaceful time and walking is AMAZING exercise for new mommies.

Clothes.
Resist the urge to buy a ton of baby clothes, you have no idea how big your baby will be and how fast he will grow. For example, Joaquin was wearing size 12mo. when he was four months old. All of the 0-3 month stuff I bought fit him for about a week. Seriously. Also, keep in mind that most baby clothes are made for babies in disposable diapers. The cloth ones will add quite a bit of girth to the caboose, so you will most likely be in bigger sizes than age anyhow. You might want to buy a couple of new outfits, and that's cool. People are going to buy clothes for your baby, too. Like I said, I didn't have a shower, but ended up with TONS of new baby clothes from co-workers, friends and family.
Nowadays, I buy all of my babies clothes from the thrift store. The thrift stores are FULL of baby stuff. Trust me. Some of it is brand new. For example, just last week I bought Joaquin 9 brand new beanie babies for .99 cents each. He also got 2 sweaters (one brand new, with tags) two pairs of stride rite boots, two pairs of pants, three t-shirts, and two sweatshirts. For all of this, including the toys and a book, I spent less than 30 dollars.

Socks.
I bought lots of warm socks, new. Joaquin is almost 11 months and he just started wearing shoes, sometimes. Socks will do you for a long while. Don't waste your money on adorable (expensive) little moccasins with guitars on them. Trust me.

Hats.
Babies are bald and need hats. I make my own and love doing it. If you can't make hats, learn, or buy one from me (tee hee). You should have a few thin hats, a couple beanies, a sun hat for good weather, and something with a nice brim to keep the sun out of those sensitive eyes.


Bassinet.
Our baby sleeps with us and has since he was four months old. Prior to that we had him in a small bassinet, next to the bed, that a friend gave us. It had plastic wheels, but my husband replaced those with some big rubber ones so I could wheel him into the kitchen while I made dinner. With our next baby, we will probably skip the bassinet altogether and just go full on family bed style. Now that I am comfortable with it, it seems like a no-brainer, the easiest thing in the world. I've seen and heard people talk about a co-sleeper that connects to the edge of the bed keeping you within arms reach of the baby. My question is...what's the point? The best part about sleeping with a baby is that you can nurse without having to move or readjust. Why would you want to have to get up and pick the baby out of a co-sleeper. No thanks.

Floor blankie.
We sit on the floor everyday and have since he was born. A nice blanket is great for tummy time, toys, hanging out while folding laundry.... If you can't vacuum every five seconds you will probably want a nice blanket for the floor. I was lucky enough to have someone make one for me. Awesome!

So, this completes my list and advice for what you should have on hand, pre-baby. Notice I did not include a crib, a changing table, or a diaper bag. We bought a crib, and stressed to get his room ready and pretty much have never been in there since. Oh well.
I realize that some of my essentials are expensive. Check ebay and craigslist. We bought our Chicco KeyFit carseat/ stroller system, brand new on ebay for 150 dollars.
Keep an open mind, you are about to get blown away! Be ready to love, love, love that new little person.

what's for breakfast?

We have a pretty regular morning routine around here. Dad gets up first and showers and gets ready for work. Joaquin wakes not long after and starts poking at me and hooting and cooing until I agree to open my eyes. We sit up and spend a few minutes saying our "good mornings", singing to the cats and thinking about breakfast. We get up, make the bed and head out to the living room to great the day. The living room blinds go up and the room fills with sunlight.

"Hello World," I yell. "I'm Joaquin!!!" My baby shake his hands in his excited baby way as we sit on the floor and take out toys. While Joaquin clanks his Duplos, I make breakfast.

Most days we have a green smoothie, but sometimes I just feel smoothied out. Today we opted for cut fruit and muesli. I bought a cute little section plate at target for 2.99 and it's exactly the right size for my guy. He has never really been into the smooth puree baby foods we all envision our little ones eating. He likes smooth pears and bananas and sometimes butternut squash, but mostly he loves finger foods.

Here you see a tasty assortment of thinly sliced apple, cut up banana, freeze dried blueberries, and cubed brown rice bread drizzled with flax oil.

Feeding Joaquin an assortment of fresh fruits leaves me with many leftovers. It's perfect because I loooove me a little Green Tea Muesli

Green Tea Muesli
Some uncooked oats
A little oat bran
Sliced Banana
cubes of apple
flax meal
a little maple syrup
pour some hot Jasmine green tea over your mixture

This is an addictive breakfast and is oh so satisfying. The combos are limitless and you can use whatever tea you want, even an herbal blend if you are avoiding caffeine.

Having breakfast together is fun and sets us up for a full day in the almost spring sun. We still wear wool hats and have added some stylish shades.

Taking our number five plastics to Whole Foods for recycling!

tv and pizza

A co-worker, visiting our home for the first time remarked that she loved that we didn't have a television. "Oh," I said. "We do, you just haven't noticed it yet." She looked around the room until I pointed at a thin metal cover over our front window. "That's the screen" I said. Then I pointed to the ceiling at the back of the room and said, "that's the projector." So, not only do we have cable television, we watch it on a fourteen foot screen.

Now, I love the idea of a no TV house. I don't care at all about sit coms, and I get totally sucked in to reality TV and that's just embarrassing. My husband loves football and golf and is proud to mention that our set up allows for the best seat in the house, all the time.

My husband put the whole thing together with buys on ebay and he built the wall mount and we ran the wires through the house ourselves. We did this for less than 600 dollars. The picture is superior to LCD and Plasma, it's absolutely the way to go. The downside is that you can't really watch during the daylight hours without blacking out the house. But this is also a perk. I don't want to black out the house, so we don't watch TV in the daylight. The cable is, however, hooked up to the stereo so I can listen to TV if we want and we make good use of those cable music channels. I have found a kids show that I like and for 25 minutes a day, Joaquin watches Yo Gabba Gabba while I get the house ready for night time nursing.

Is this wrong?
While he sits, contentedly, I get to eat. We make a veggie pizza superior to anything we can order.

We made this with;
I blob of whole wheat pizza dough from trader joe's
TJ's fresh pizza sauce
I bag of frozen artichokes, sauteed with chopped onion and garlic (below)
1 pound of asparagus, tough ends snapped off and steam whats left (the good part)
1 can of whole black olives, sliced
1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
We use a pizza stone when we make pizza. I think I bought this at TJMaxx. It was probably ten dollars. Heat your stone in the oven while you preheat to 425. Make sure to take the dough out of the refrigerator at least two hours before you want to roll it. This makes it much easier. After you steam the asparagus, carefully cut the pieces in half lengthwise. When the oven is ready, prebake your dough for 10 minutes on the hot stone. I sprinkle flax seeds on the stone so the dough doesn't stick. This works beautifully! After your dough is prebaked, take it out of the oven (on the stone) and spread sauce and top with veggies, put the whole thing back in and bake for ten more minutes.

We make pizza often and in many different forms. Sometimes we make some sort of cheezy sauce, but not this time because I'm lazy.

So, even though we are strict vegetarians living a pretty hippie lifestyle, we still watch some tube and eat "junk food."

I think we're doin' okay.

Spring?

Anyone?
On our walk to the library today, I noticed the tiniest of buds on some of the trees and bushes. A sigh of relief eeked it's way out of my chest. This winter just might have an end after all. Tomorrow is the first day of March. I love March. March has always brought hope. When I was a kid it meant that the end of the school year wasn't too far off, and I could start to wear shorts again. I love the fact that we will soon "spring forward" and it will get darker later. Last year at this time I was getting BIG, with Barney feet and a fat face. I was excited to meet my baby.

It's almost Joaquin's first birthday. I can't believe it. Things are really starting to click for us as a family and I feel like I am starting to understand what kind of a mother I am. It's a trip, I'm not really who I thought I'd be! Turns out, I'm pretty alternative when it comes to parenting. I breast feed in public, I wear my baby in the snow, we sleep in a family bed, and don't tell anyone, but I secretly think Joaquin can read.

I still have no idea how one can manage more than one kid.

When I found out I was pregnant I immediately saw myself as joining the mommy club. I thought I would meet a bunch of moms and even if we didn't have much in common, we would all hang out and take our babies to the stroller matinee at the arts theater. I haven't been to the arts theater once, and I haven't made any mommy friends that I didn't already know. I have found ways to be my normal, anti-social self while allowing Joaquin to socialize a bit. It's all about the library. You have to be quiet and your kids can play in the children's area. I sit in a group with other moms and sing songs and listen at baby story time. The library is the bomb. Other low key mom/baby hang outs are; the YMCA, where I can take my boy for a swim. Used book stores, which is a lot like the library but for a small fee you don't have to give the books back. The goodwill, where treasures abound. And last but not least, the great outdoors, where moms and babies find piece of mind.

I've been thinking a lot about goals. Mostly, I've been thinking about how much mine have changed! I still have ambition but it is nothing like what I dreamed of pre-mama. The things I want now, not to be cheesy, are more like peace on earth instead of ruling the earth. Crazy. Most of my goals are very simple, like, "keep the house clean enough so there is one day a week that I don't really have to do a ton of chores" and "write blog." The bigger goals are about reading more and learning things more thoroughly, and becoming more self sufficient with stuff like food and clothing.
It's so bizarre, bearing a human has turned me into one.

snow

We have been stuck in the house all day. The Midwest is being hit with a double whammy of nasty storms. My baby and I stayed inside and made almond butter, played with Lego's, and hung out with the cats. We might be stuck inside tomorrow too! I yearn for spring.

Even though the weather is cold, we still love our salad. I am such a fan of the humongous bowl of leafy greens. This style of salad is what my family ate when I was a little girl. Each night, my mom would hand my dad the big yellow Tupperware bowl and he would go out into the garden and pick the salad. We would have arugula, watercress, and baby mustard greens. And this was the early eighties! Forget Alice Waters, my dad is a culinary pioneer. These salads required a leisurely pace at the dinner table and kept us healthy. I could even distinguish these happy family times as "the salad years."

It's cold in Indy, so I am not out picking my own greens, but I don't let that stop me.

I like to buy organic head lettuce. It's cheaper than the bagged stuff and lasts a lot longer.
Big Bowl o Salad
two heads of read leaf lettuce
about a cup of leftover lentils
can of black olives
about 10 green olives, sliced
3 shredded carrots
5 sliced radishes
Awesome Cumin-Vinaigrette from Vive la Vegan


They say that the Superbowl is the second biggest eating day next to Thanksgiving. Isn't that nuts? I guess I don't find it too hard to believe because each year we make something special for the game. Last year we made Tempeh Hot Wings and they were awesome. In fact, we made them several times after and they almost became the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal. This recipe rocks. It is a tad labor intensive, but worth it.

This year, my husband was all about gyros, in fact he left this up on my computer for me to look over before he went to work. This recipe is easy and delicious. We had our Superbowl feast, and fell asleep before we could see the Colt's lose.

and...we're back!

Whew.
When babies pass gas, it's adorable. Even if it's loud, it doesn't stink and you can feel confident that all is right in baby digestion land. Which is why I was shocked, a few nights ago, when Joaquin tooted and it smelled...awful! It was almost bedtime and there was a toot and then a poop and when I changed his diaper is took everything I had not to yell out "PEEEE-UUUUU!!!" I felt saddend by what seemed to be the end of sweet smelling breastfed baby poops, and the beginning of solid food eatin' toddler turds.

We went to bed side by side. At one a.m. I felt my baby stir and when I went to feed him, he lifted his little head and threw up all over the bed. Whoa, I thought, maybe I shouldn't have tried that breastfeeding support tea, I've stuffed the little guy! After changing him and throwing towels on the wet spot, we settled into nursing and fell back asleep. A half hour later I felt him stir once again so I sat him up and he threw up all over the bed, all over me, and all over his pajamas. I woke my husband and told him that I thought something was wrong and that we might have to go to the hospital. Dad sat straight up, scooped up the baby and asked what I wanted him to do. I asked him to go to the store to buy a thermometer. He got dressed, and at two a.m., went to the drugstore and came home with the most expensive baby thermometer they had.

The baby didn't have a temperature and wanted to nurse so I let him. He fell asleep in my lap as I sat up, wide awake in the living room, stressed out of my mind. I would have to wait until 8:30 to talk to the pediatrician. After several calls to the office, I was assured that this was a stomach bug, there was nothing to do but live through it, and make sure he stay hydrated. Thus began the longest 3 days of my life.

Oh...a sick baby has to be one of the top 10 heartbreaking things to watch. As we danced slowly in the dark living room, his body limp, his cries definitely communicating "why", he said for the first time "mama." My heart burst in about 1,000,000 peices. I was once again reminded that I have never before loved quite this much.

This virus ran it's course and after a couple of days he started to show signs that he would be a happy giggly baby again. Today, we laughed, danced, went to swim class and changed several sweet smellin' breastfed baby diapers. We made it, and I am a thankful mama.


Just hours before the stinky toot!

dinner for 3

Joaquin's appetite has taken off in the last few days. A week ago I put a teething biscuit on his tray and he gagged just looking at it. Today he grabbed it from me and put it right in his mouth. He widdled that thing down until it was little more than soggy brown drool on his handmade bib. I got him all cleaned up just in time for company. A co-worker turned friend came over to learn how to knit. Have you ever seen someone for the first time and thought, "that's my future friend."? That's the feeling I got from Lana. I like having company because Joaquin really enjoys it. He loves to check out new faces and giggle and it just seems to bring out the best in him. Is that an odd thing to say about an 8 (almost 9) month old? I guess I mean that it's really fun for both of us and that rocks.

Joaquin held his crochet hook while I showed Lana the very basics of knitting. We took lots of breaks from knitting to read stories and eat pears and nurse. I think it's very important to teach hand crafts, pass them down to whoever wants to learn. For free. With a joyful spirit. Yep, that's what I think.

After knitting class Lana left to finish out her day and we made smoothies. Joaquin drank it with a straw.
Baby smoothie
Frozen blueberries
little bit of frozen pineapple
banana
Pour a little bit in a glass and let baby sip with a glass straw. Mom drinks the rest.

Last night, Justin and I enjoyed a nice dinner served on vintage cafeteria trays that I purchased on ebay. This purchase was directly inspired by the greenandcrunchy blog, and her awesome section plates. Check it out!
I made some basil potatoes with the local potatoes I bought from the winter market. I like to make big batches of stuff so we have leftovers. Basil potatoes are perfect for that because they are great for dinner, breakfast, snack, with nutritional yeast cheese...you get the picture.

Basil Potatoes
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 onions, chopped
9 medium potatoes, cut into chunks and boiled until tender
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's melange a trois (or two bell peppers cut into strips)
2T. dried basil
Good shake of Trocomare
1 tsp asafoetida
pepper
salt to taste
What is Trocomare and asafoetida? Trocomare is a seasoning blend with salt and herbs that you can find in most health food stores. I like it a lot. Asafoetida is a spice you can find in Indian markets. It takes the place of garlic or onion powder in recipes and is delicious. A little goes a long way!

Saute the garlic and onion in oil until translucent. Add peppers and saute until onions begin to carmalize. Drain and add potatoes and basil and asafoetida. Season with Trocomare, salt and pepper. So good.
The beauty of using section plates lies in filling them. I had only planned to make potatoes and green beans for dinner, but in order to fill our plates I washed what was left of the living lettuce with and added leftover dressing, grabbed some pressure cooked soybeans we had in the frige, and cut up an orange. A feast!
After steaming the green beans I tossed them in a little bit of earth balance, sprinkled on some chopped almonds and seasoned with salt and pepper. Joaquin could not keep his little hands off of these. I decided to let him hold one and he nibbled delicately while squeezing whole-heartedly. He's so cute.