Breastfeeding, Baby Feeding & Learning to Heed Instincts

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what's for dinner? Check out their "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens. 

Nothing feels quite so bad as having a sick child and being powerless to help her.

When Dylan was eight months old, she developed horrible food hypersensitivities. Like clockwork, two hours after eating solid foods she would begin vomiting, sometimes for hours. During the worst incidents, she became lethargic and pale, spit bile, and had to be hospitalized for dehydration.

The doctors and specialists had no idea what was wrong.

It's just a virus, they'd say. But that was extremely unlikely: after each incident, I'd exclusively breastfeed her for a few days, and she'd be fine. But whenever we fed her solids again, within two hours, she began vomiting again violently.

This happened for months. I made lists of trigger foods. Rice cereal was a common denominator, so we cut it, even though our pediatrician swore it wasn't the culprit. We saw improvements. Doctors claimed it couldn't be allergies. It's probably just a virus.

Why won't doctors admit when they don't know?

A G.I. specialist sent us home with a prescription for reflux and advice that didn't make sense in our context: supplement with formula.

Formula has the same amount of calories as breast milk without any of its immunity protections. I was a young first-time mom but knew enough to trust my instincts: my milk was exactly what my sick baby needed and the only surefire thing my baby was demonstrably able to digest. Supplementing could reduce demand, threaten my milk supply, and leave us even more desperate than we already were.

We didn't refill the prescription, kept breastfeeding, and stopped serving baby foods.

Breastfed babies under age one get all of their nutritional needs met in their mother's milk. Baby food is fun and introduces a world of learning, but it's not necessary. Many young babies are not ready for solid foods, and there's no need to rush it.

By the end of ten months, with time and prayer, Dylan's digestive system finally sorted itself out. She continued to get most of her calories through breastfeeding, and we offered table food as she showed interest. She ate asparagus and salmon and whatever else we were eating. Mealtimes became a pleasure again, and our little one began gaining weight.

Looking back and having done more reading, I now believe that Dylan suffered from FPIES, Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome, a condition that presents the symptoms she exhibited and is delay-triggered by foods including milk, soy, cereal grains (especially rice!), green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, poultry, and more. FPIES affects infants and young children and generally goes away with age. I wish I'd known about it during that difficult time.

We live and learn. With our second baby, James, we didn't rush things. We never offered baby cereals. (Babies can't even digest them.) I breastfed and offered whole foods. Easy foods I could mash with a fork were ideal, like avocados, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Foods he could feed himself worked well, too, like blueberries or pastured egg yokes.

The book Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Foods helped me to realize that traditional infant feeding is baby-led, uncomplicated, and not something to push or stress over. Knowing that babies can get all the nutrients they need from breastfeeding takes much of the drama out of mealtimes and frees them up to be playful, pressure-free, and fun.

Edited to add: FED IS BEST, however that plays out. There's no one best feeding blueprint for every kid, parent, or family. This is merely my reflection on feeding my own sick babe that first year of motherhood.
 

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. 
To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page: Plum Organics.

the smitten word | 10.1.11

 {reads and favorites shared}

across the interwebs:

hyacynth, undercover mother

But there was warmth found beneath jackets and blankets, in the creases of fingers strapped together in a clasp of unity and in arms wrapped around shoulders, face buried into chest, soaking tears into cotton and skin.

It was our life, together, -- the Chicago autumn, in all of it's unpredictableness and uncertainty, like romance in the middle of busy lives with kids. And the beauty beat into the grayness

kristin tennant, halfway to normal

It seems to me that if we buy this rags-to-riches, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, look-what-I-did—why-don’t-you-get-off-your-butt-and-do-it-too attitude, we’re fooling ourselves. We’re not admitting all of the help we’ve received along the way, and all of the opportunities we’ve been given.

amber haines, a deeper story

What makes us normal, and is the norm the right, the more holy? I testify that Blemish is Beauty. There are some things we’ll just not understand on this side of the veil, but I do know that the love of God pouring into and out of special needs children across the globe is something at the very heart of Christ.

on my nightstand:
i am reading Playful Parenting, recommended by sarah, and though just a few chapter in, its wisdom is transformational.  it's about using play and silliness to (re)connect with kids and help them work through difficulties.  the simplest suggestion to draw into--instead of recoil from--a child who is acting unpleasant has made a radical difference. we're spending less time frustrated and more time enjoying one another.

thomas keating's Open Mind, Open Heart is about centering prayer, a practice i began to learn years ago and haven't done much since the babies were born.  i look forward to digging in anew and being more intentional about creating space to be still and know.

i tend not to pick up fiction unless someone recommends a title, and then i remember the girl who inhaled books like air.  would you share a favorite, please?

on tv:
last year we started having friends over to watch Glee and the one we call "The Yelling Show" (perhaps known to you as Parenthood.)  this year we decided to have Family Dinner beforehand and enjoyed the company of four friends and staffers over chili and show choir;)

i've been streaming Mad Men and was so happy to see it win the best drama emmy. last season was truly artful.

on screen:
while my whole family was together at the beach we watched The Girl in the Cafe. everyone enjoyed this quirky british gem about the unlikely couple and the G8 conference.   jim watched Babies with james who LOVED every minute of this nearly wordless documentary about four babies and their life in four diverse countries.  milk! eat! baby! dada, cat!  he was in heaven.

in my kitchen:

today jim came home with a bag full of pawpaws, a tropical fruit that ripen in pennsylvania (and more northerly points) in october.  i had never heard of or tasted this fruit before: a cross between a pineapple, mango and banana, with hints of coconut and a consistency similar to an avocado but custardy enough to eat with a spoon.

in short:  magically delicious.

this month jim picked grapes and we made jelly.  he also canned pepper relish and shot and grilled up a few geese.  {i told you this was the life bucolic.}

i made a lot of tomato soup and my roasted balsamic tomato basil sauce.  at the beach, jim made chocolate mousse with raw cream and our eggs and mercy, was it good. 

in my ears:
i am hardly on the cutting edge of music anymore, but our decemberists pandora station gets a work-out and blisses me out on the daily.


on the horizon for october:
a certain boy-babe turns TWO.  a certain relevant conference and meeting sweet friends like hyacynth and kamille.  our town's three day festival, replete with crafts and crowds, a parade and food.  dylan's first field trip--to a pumpkin patch.  more mild weather and hikes like this with the wee set:

playing along with SortaCrunchy's What Are You Into? and sharing my poem commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with Elizabeth Esther's Saturday Evening Blog Post: 

death is a gaping wound that fifty years won't heal
this side of heaven.
time never warmed a bed or walked a daughter down the aisle.

innocence lost, too
and we mourn that.  it may be the rose-colored glasses, but did we
love each other better then, before we knew how different we were? 
{are we really all that different?}

[click to read the rest of lost and found here]

what, dear friends, is capturing your attention of late?

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sowing seeds of life and love

this born-and-bred suburban girl's heart belongs to the city.

third floor walk-ups, fire escape-only access, slumlords?  count me in, as long as we could ride bikes to a wilco show, order curry, wat, or pho in the neighborhood, and walk to our friend's gallery opening.

our family's semi-rural life today looks nothing like our newlywed years in pittsburgh, but i love the view and tastes from here, too.  it is said that palates change with age, and i know hearts must as well.

this will be our third year gardening, and we're thrilled to be partnering with another family and growing heirloom seeds together for the first time.  we've got tomatoes, herbs, and eggplant growing in the kitchen; lettuces, carrots, rapini, swiss chard and more sprouting outside; and big plans for bean forts for our three babes.

we're learning as we go.  mice ate every single pepper sprout right out of our friends' kitchen, and we didn't know broccoli and cauliflower needed heat lamps until after their stems grew up weak and flopsy.  we'll know better next year.

this summer is the first i'll not be pregnant or tending a newborn. i'm thrilled that we'll all be more involved in growing food together, with friends to make even hard work sweet.

the kids love being outdoors, exploring and digging up worms, and i'm so thankful for wide open spaces for them to relish.  here they don't need anything to entertain them beyond a push on the swing or a fistful of sidewalk chalk.

it's different outside.  i recognize it with each first breath and see it in their wonder-filled eyes as they bring me treasures found and stuff pockets brim-ful with rocks.

we take off shoes to feel the cool grass beneath our feet.


***

dylan and james both gobbled vegetables as babies and turn their noses up now.  frozen winter veggies are not the same, and looking forward to vine ripe tomatoes and fresh picked peas, still-warm from the sun, i know we can convert them back.

spring is the season of sudden storms, unreal green, and mushrooms growing wild.  jim found these morels, and we spent time yesterday picking dandelion greens for a saute.  the kids didn't eat either, but when our friend brought us fresh picked poke (wild asparagus), james surprised us all by enthusiastically eating it dipped in spicy chimichurri.

all things considered, both kids are bigger fans of our maple syrup than foraged greens, but who could blame them?  between fresh eggs and syrup, we do a lot of breakfasts-for-dinner, and in this season of life (and the year), that's more than ok for us.

we have another fun project in the works this spring:

(click through to view video if viewing rss feed.)

the chicks are staying with neighbors until they're old enough to hold their own with the hens we have now, and they should be mature and laying eggs by the early fall.

i never envisioned life like this but love it for my little ones.  this summer, when i'm cutting greens for salads and the children run about chasing chickens in the yard, i know that there is no place i'd rather be.

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes
{Elizabeth Barrett Browning}

***
Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Growing in the Outdoors. Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting. Please take time to read the submissions by the other participants:

• Get Out! — Momma Jorje gives reasons she doesn't think she gets outside enough and asks for your suggestions on making time for the outdoors.
• How Does Your Garden Grow? — The ArtsyMama shares her love of nature photography.
• We Go Outside — Amy at Peace 4 Parents describes her family's simple, experiential approach to encouraging appreciation of nature.
• My Not-So-Green Thumb — Wolfmother confesses to her lack of gardening skills but expresses hope in learning alongside her son at Fabulous Mama Chronicles.
• Enjoying Outdoors — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine describes how her children enjoy the nature.
• Five Ideas to Encourage the Reluctant Junior Gardener — For the rare little ones who don't like to get their hands dirty, Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers tips for encouraging an early love of dirt (despite the mess).
• Connecting to Nature — Mamapoekie shares how growing your own vegetable patch connects your child to nature and urges them to not take anything for granted.
• The Farmer's Market Classroom — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how the Farmer's Market has become her son's classroom.
• Seeds — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment's hubby Ken shares his perspective on why gardening with their kiddos is so important . . . and enjoyable!
• Toddlers in the Garden — Laura at A Pug in the Kitchen shares her excitement as she continues to introduce her toddler and new baby to the joys of fresh veggies, straight from the garden.
• Nature's Weave — MJ at Wander Wonder Discover explains how nature weaves its way into our lives naturally, magnetically, experientially, and spiritually.
• Becoming Green — Kristina at Hey Red celebrates and nurtures her daughter's blossoming love of the outdoors.
• Little Gardener — Rosemary at Rosmarinus Officinalis looks forward to introducing her baby girl to gardening and exploring home grown foods for the first time.
• Cultivating Abundance — You can never be poor if you have a garden! Lucy at Dreaming Aloud reflects on what she cultivates in her garden . . . and finds it's a lot more than seeds!
• Growing in the Outdoors: Plants and People — Luschka at Diary of a First Child reflects on how she is growing while teaching her daughter to appreciate nature, the origins of food, and the many benefits of eating home-grown.
• How Not to Grow — Anna at Wild Parenting discusses why growing vegetables fills her with fear.
• Growing in the Outdoors — Lily at Witch Mom Blog talks about how connecting to the natural world is a matter of theology for her family and the ways that they do it.
• A Garden Made of Straw — Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares tips on making a straw bale garden.
• The Tradition of Gardening — Carrie at Love Notes Mama reflects on the gifts that come with the tradition of gardening.
• Gardening Smells Like Home — Bethy at Bounce Me to the Moon hopes that her son will associate home grown food and lovely flowers with home.
• The New Normal — Patti at Jazzy Mama writes about how she hopes that growing vegetables in a big city will become totally normal for her children's generation.
• Outside, With You — Amy at Anktangle writes a letter to her son, a snapshot of a moment in the garden together.
• Farmer Boy — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares how her son Joshua helps to grow and raise their family's food.
• Growing Kids in the Garden — Lisa at Granola Catholic shares easy ways to get your kids involved in the garden.
• Growing Food Without a Garden — Don't have a garden? "You can still grow food!" says Mrs Green of Little Green Blog. Whatever the size of your plot, she shows you how.

• Growing Things — Liz at Garden Variety Mama shares her reasons for gardening with her kids, even though she has no idea what she's doing.
• Moments — UK Mummy Blogger explains how the great outdoors provides a backdrop for her family to reconnect.
• Condo Kid Turns Composter and Plastic Police — Jessica from Cloth Diapering Mama has discovered that her young son is a true earth lover despite living in a condo with no land to call their own.
• Gardening with Baby — Sheila at A Gift Universe shows us how her garden and her son are growing.
• Why to Choose Your Local Farmer's Market — Naturally Nena shares why she believes it's important to teach our children the value of local farmers.
• Unfolding into Nature — At Crunchy-Chewy Mama, Jessica Claire shares her desire to cultivate a reverence for nature through gardening, buying local food, and just looking out the window.
• Urban Gardening With Kids — Lauren at Hobo Mama shares her strategies for city gardening with little helpers — without a yard but with a whole lot of enthusiasm.
• Mama Doesn't Garden — Laura at Our Messy Messy Life is glad her husband is there to instill the joys of gardening in their children, while all she has to do is sit back and eat homegrown tomato sandwiches.
• Why We Make this Organic Garden Grow — Brenna at Almost All The Truth shares her reasons for gardening with her three small children.
• 5 Ways to Help Your Baby Develop a Love of the Natural World — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama believes it's never too early to foster a love of the natural world in your little one.
• April Showers Bring May PRODUCE — Erika at NaMammaSte discusses her plans for raising a little gardener.
• Growing Outside — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante discovers how to get her kids outside after weeks of spring rain.
• Eating Healthier — Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she learns to eat healthier and encourages her children to do the same.
• The Beauty of Earth and Heavens — Inspired by Charlotte Mason, Erica at ChildOrganics discovers nature in her own front yard.
• Seeing the Garden Through the Weeds — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro talks about the challenges of gardening with two small children.
• Creating a Living Playhouse: Our Bean Teepee! — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings shares how her family creates a living playhouse "bean teepee" and includes tips of how to involve kids in gardening projects.
• Grooming a Tree-Hugger: Introducing the Outdoors — Ana at Pandamoly shares some of her planned strategies for making this spring and summer memorable and productive for her pre-toddler in the Outdoors.
• Sowing Seeds of Life and Love — Suzannah at ShoutLaughLove celebrates the simple joys of baby chicks, community gardening, and a semi-charmed country life.
• Experiencing Nature and Growing Plants Outdoors Without a Garden — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares some of her favorite ways her family discovered to fully experience nature wherever they lived.
• Garden Day — Melissa at The New Mommy Files is thankful to be part of community of families, some of whom can even garden!
• Teaching Garden Ettiquette to the Locusts — Tashmica from Mother Flippin' (guest posting at Natural Parents Network) allows her children to ravage her garden every year in the hopes of teaching them a greater lesson about how to treat the world.
• Why I Play with Worms. — Megan of Megadoula, Megamom and Megatired shares why growing a garden and raising her children go hand in hand.

the fast you have chosen

i suck at lenten fasts.

once in college i gave up free-cell [my time-waste of choice in that pre-facebook/twitter era] and didn't make it past march.

another year i fasted from meat...until taste of asia culture night.  white rice and lychee weren't gonna cut it then or later when our whole apartment wafted with aromas of leftover lumpia, pancit, and half a dozen handmade-with-mama-love curries. 

i am the very worst ascetic.

this year i gave up white sugar.  not all sugar, treats, or dessert, mind you.  just white sugar:  the stuff i shouldn't be eating anyway in my desire to feed my family whole, real food.

i did pretty good, for a while.  i said no to pie and after-church goodies.  i made pudding with honey and molasses.  i drank my coffee with turbinado sugar or none at all.  my friend steph made me an insanely delicious olive oil pound cake with a honey blood orange compote for my birthday which we devoured in one weekend.  we also enjoyed vodka cocktails with her spicy homemade ginger brown-sugar-syrup, so life around here has hardly been devoid of merriment.

and yet, i totally fell off the wagon. i had cake at a birthday party, and since i'd already had cake, why not stop at rita's for custard?

jim brought home a tray of coffee cake from camp's kitchen, and after having a piece (or four), what's a bowl of  ice cream for dessert?

slipping is incremental.  exactly like sin.

but why do i feel like since it's all shot to hell, i might as well give up and sin bigger? what is that?

i also vowed to not turn on the computer until i'd spent some time with God.  again, this worked pretty well for a while.  until it didn't.

i'm beginning to think the vows themselves are missing the point.

if i "fail" by checking my email before heading to my meeting (or cracking open my bible) and never consider picking it up again because the day was already "ruined," my fast isn't driving me to the throne of grace.

You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

something is amiss.   

there is nothing spiritual about a discipline that is all about me and my goals and none about grace and my King.

praise God that his mercies are new every morning--including this one.

life runs through the trees {& in our veins}

the trees were coated, thick and heavy, from yet another sunday snow

but by next afternoon, it had mostly faded to memory

 jim stoked a fire hot enough to boil the sap

and keep the chill at bay

hearts expectant

we anticipate new memories

thick and sweet like maple syrup

and soft as fresh spring grass

raise a glass to turnings of the season

So raise a glass to turnings of the season

And watch it as it arcs towards the sun

And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason

And your labors will be born when all is done

Let the yoke fall from our shoulders

Don't carry it all, don't carry it all

We are all our hands and holders

Beneath this bold and brilliant sun

- "don't carry it all," the decemberists

an ongoing record of God's goodness, #186 - 208

finding out that after a marathon year of surgeries and treatment and so much struggle, tiffany is cancer-free!

gathering (all ten of us!) for a weekend of celebration and skiing

replete with fireworks over the slopes

{image source}

james and dylan soaking in every minute with their grandparents, aunts, and uncles

meals provided and shared together.  it doesn't happen often enough, and we savored our time.

getting our tax refund and along with it, our first computer and ipod. yes, we realize it is 2011.  always late to the ball;)

i can tweet and facebook from a handheld device.  from my couch.  what?  we haven't even loaded music and i'm already smitten.

(jim is thankful for angry birds)

a speaker booked for our MOPS retreat and beginning preparations:)

a new (hardcore!) friend and early morning work-outs before the sunrise

time for me and God before the babes wake

tracing a trajectory of grace in my life

anticipating getting ShoutLaughLove: postcards from along the pilgrims' way back off the ground tuesdays this spring--and hearing more of your stories:)

snuggling up cozy and reading to my two tiny book lovers

that my 16 month old "reads" himself to sleep every naptime.  my heart.

and james actually slept through the night this weekend.  twice!

a trip into pittsburgh and reconnecting with beloved students and friends

baba ganoush in the city.  mmmm.

discovering my missing book beneath the couch and absorbing the grace of eucharisteo in one thousand gifts

the joy of melted snow--even if our yard and driveway (and basement) are under water;)

spring's hopeful promise of new life

daffodil leaves already reaching through soil for sky

trees tapped and the promise of maple syrup from our very backyard

 


what joys are cheering your heart on this last day of february?

cupcake wars

our family is on a journey toward eating more whole foods, traditional fats, and fewer refined food-like substances.

it's a process.  we still hit the drive-thru and i'm fairly certain there will be white sugar and sprinkles on our christmas cookies, but we're making changes.

so it was with interest that i clicked a link on twitter about sarah palin's antagonism toward child nutrition regulation in Pennsylvania.

defying proposed guidelines aimed at curbing classroom treats, palin supplied children with cookies at a school fundraiser near where i grew up.  the stunt was in poor taste, not to mention dismissive of the real and alarming obesity rates among children.  although i'm alarmed at the state of nutrition in this country (and sarah palin and i are hardly BFFs), when it comes to the cupcake wars, i find myself at odds with the healthy school activists.  my philosophy is this:

let kids eat cake!  in moderation.  and then get them moving!
 

bookgrl

i know that school parties are out of hand and kids are plied with sugar in unnecessary (and even dangerous) quantities.  BUT,  i don't think the government should mandate how frequently school parties occur or which kinds of treats are permissible.  parents, teachers, and administrators should be the ones to craft food policies for their own schools.  we can and should limit treats (and be respectful of kids with allergies) without banning parties and cupcakes across the board.

carrots and pencils do not a celebration make.

[it's unclear from the conflicting media accounts if the board of education is voting this spring on recommendations or mandatory guidelines.]

from what i understand, our local schools prohibit treats in the classroom, but they serve junk in the cafeterias and are cutting PE and recess left and right.

which is the bigger threat to kids' health (and learning)?  eating a processed, fried lunch every day and sitting still for eight hours or a birthday cupcake once a month?

i understand that part of the problem is that these treats and celebrations aren't occasional indulgences, but they should be:  both occasional (RARE) and actual indulgences (not broccoli florets.)

i do not have a child in elementary school, so i realize i'm speaking a bit out of my experience.  i don't like when the church nursery feeds my kids ungodly amounts of goldfish, and certainly we need to exercise restraint when feeding other people's children, but i don't think banning all classroom treats is the answer.  there is value in celebration and community and breaking bread (or cupcakes!) together, and i disagree with critics who argue that school is an inappropriate place for celebrations involving food.

bettina at The Lunch Tray got me thinking about all this, and she has some fascinating discussion going on at her site about children's health, government intervention, and cupcake wars that is worth taking a look at.

i'm interested in what you think, especially if you have kids who are in schools with or without these bans.  is a cupcake just a cupcake or a public health concern?  should classroom treats be regulated and by whom?  what should we, as parents and citizens, be doing about the epidemic of sedentary, overweight, and unhealthy kids in our country?

(don't) eat it

being a mother means saying things i never imagined i'd hear myself say:

you can't sit on the couch with a bare bottom.

get your feet out of your brother's mouth.

don't put things in the toilet.

(i know there are far more ridiculous examples, but it is late and i am drawing a blank.  i hope you'll add other "mom-isms" in the comments.  i can't be the only one shaking my head at things which should go without saying and yet somehow don't.)

some days, much of my parental instruction has to do with policing appropriate food choices.  you gotta set up parameters; kids are like wild dogs and will put absolutely anything in their mouths:

we don't eat dog food.

we don't eat things we find on the floor. 

we don't eat things we find outside.

it all pretty much boils down to:  "don't eat anything mommy or daddy didn't give you recently."  (Lord knows that that last part is clutch--who knows how long those raisins have been collecting dust under the couch?)

i'm learning, however, that some rules were made to be broken--especially the "not eating things we find outside" one.

a perk of living in wide open spaces is the ability to eat some of the things we find, like blackberries, dandelion greens, or morels.  friends of ours are more ambitious gatherers; their family adventurously collected bushels of peaches and wild grapes this week.  their generosity meant sticky, juice-stained baby faces at dinner and hot peach crisp for dessert.

we also ate the most delicious marinated, grilled mushrooms that jim foraged.  (don't worry, he has a manual--they weren't poisonous.)  ohmygoodness, they were so good that we "ate them whole thing!"--even jim and dylan.  (that is one of dylan's holdover baby sayings that we can't bear to correct:)

to recap:
sometimes we eat things we find--just not so much from the bottom of the car.

the waning days of summer: some favorites

it's still august, yet i type this wearing socks and a hoodie, with windows closed tightly against a decidedly autumn chill.

i know everyone loves fall, but i'm not ready!

camp just ended and already leaves are starting to crunch beneath our feet.  it's bonfire weather.  we aren't headed to the beach this year, so i'm not feeling panicked about the fact that our summer vacation is still three weeks away, but a few more warm days would be nice.

over at sortacrunchy, megan posted what she was into this month, and i liked the idea enough to follow suit:

on my nightstand:  after a months-long wait, i finally picked up the girl who kicked the hornet's nest at the library yesterday.  the first two were great and i'm excited to finish the triology.  i'm also reading barbara kingsolver's the poisonwood bible.  i've loved everything i've read of hers, and it is a goodie, too.

on tv:  i haven't been excited about tv in a long time (not that i haven't been watching--i just lowered my standards;)  but now i feel like there is some good stuff on again, especially glee and mad men.

on screen:  the best movie i've seen in a while is crazy heart, with jeff bridges and maggie gyllenhaal.  the music is excellent, too, and was written by t-bone burnette.

in my kitchen:  tomatoes, everywhere!  making this excellent balsamic-roasted sauce (scroll down for recipe) and whatever else we can think of.  i need to learn canning already--i can only make and freeze so much!

after months of camp cuisine, we're rediscovering the rhythms of cooking for ourselves.  we had friends over tonight for chicken curry and quinoa and enjoyed dinner on the deck.  so nice.

although obviously not for eating, i made deodorant and dishwasher detergent in my kitchen recently, which i will probably post about in the near future.

in my ears:  avett brothers and new arcade fire

new blog reads:

misty took a hiatus from blogging for a while and then created a new one, un vase fragile, so i shall call her "new" even though i've appreciated her voice for a while.  she is a writer--so raw and honest and beautiful.

hyacynth writes the loveliest posts over at undercover mother about faith, mothering, and life.  she is one of the hostesses of the bigger picture moment, which is introducing me to so many wonderful bloggers.

shauna is the thoughtful storyteller who writes so passionately about grace and at sojourner's hope.  she and her family serve as missionaries in kenya.

kara writes rockin granola, with the tagline "a little bit crunchy, a little bit rock'n'roll."  i'm always glad i clicked, and i'm looking forward to gleaning pre-school activity ideas from her.

on the horizon for september:  squeezing every last drop from the farmers' market.  having jim around more regularly, starting today!  taking the kids to idlewild for a few more spins around the carousal.  outside play.  MOPS and routines and seeing people again.  vacation!  and shallowly, the new fall tv schedule:)

what are you reading/watching/eating/looking forward to?

the sea is His and so are we

we just got back from Two and a Half Days Away From Camp, and it's not even the end of summer:) since the adventure program continues in full swing after the last camper leaves (saturday--the end is nigh!), jim has to wait to take vacation. nevertheless, we were able to steal away for a mini family trip, and it was wonderful.

mostly. it turns out that tiny people don't like to take naps in hot cottages or stay in their beds or nurse without biting. getting out of the house was a little dramatic, too, but once our seat belts clicked, we were good to go.

an ongoing record of God's goodness, #74 - 98

riding my bike and a horse this summer, because i'm not pregnant:)

re-creation and the shalom of God

teeny little superheroine

things that make long car trips better, like james' tiny hand holding mine,

NPR,

and ben harper

a sister's grace and conquering beauty

celebrating together at home, all six of us

my kids, reveling in unbroken daddy time and attention at the cottage

practicing the pleasure of cooking again, far from the din of the dining hall

balsamic-roasted tomato sauce with tomatoes and basil from our garden (made at midnight before we left and worth every minute. recipe is approximate, and i don't generally measure.)

       2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, cored. i generally quarter or half them. seeding is up to you.

       1/2 c olive oil

       1/3 c balsamic vinegar

       6 large cloves garlic, sliced

       1/2 c onions, sliced

       1 1/2 c basil, chopped

       1 tsp salt

       pepper

       Combine, toss, and roast at 400 for 1 hour, until tomatoes blacken.  

       Transfer to food processor.  Blend and enjoy.

watching mad men while tomatoes roast

a beautiful drive to the lake

reading barbara kingsolver

and rolling stone

james the water baby, splashing delightedly

dylan, the sandcastle architect

wind-in-hair and how sea breezes blow the heat clear away

every second on the boat: blissed-out babes, happy husband, and the contentment of a full heart

a rare cuddly toddler, napping in my arms

great goodwill finds: cleats, soup crocks, dazed and confused

window shopping and flea market browsing courtesy of comfy baby carriers: dylan on jim's back and james in my sling

coming home a night early to sleep in our own beds and go to our church

lunch at home before back to work for jim

"daddy, i like having you here." so do i, baby. so do i.

(ShoutLaughLove is tuesday. come back tomorrow and link a favorite post.)

on feminism, gardening, and raising chickens

from the new york times:

All of these gals — these chicks with chicks — are stay-at-home moms, highly educated women who left the work force to care for kith and kin. I don’t think that’s a coincidence: the omnivore’s dilemma has provided an unexpected out from the feminist predicament, a way for women to embrace homemaking without becoming Betty Draper.

who knew tradition could be so progressive? ;)

if you read the article, i'd love to hear what you think.

ch-chimichurri

i'm guest posting a recipe today for kelly at quest for real food, so if you're in the mood for something hot, fresh, and latin, come on over.  stay a while to check out her site, all about local, healthful eating.

biotech, bono, and boobs

it was a good week for monsanto, the thuggish biotech company that is the leading producer of genetically modified seed as well as bovine growth hormone.  they are also the illustrious company that brought us DDT and agent orange.  this week, the supreme court overruled a lower court's ban on genetically modified alfalpha--even though cross contamination (even with organic seed) is inevitable.

in the US, it is not required that companies disclose that foods are genetically modified organisms (GMOs.)  this is CRAZY.  companies like monsanto introduce animal or bacteria strains into seeds to make them resistant to herbicides or pesticide.  we don't know the long term consequences of this practice, and monsanto doesn't exactly have a great track record on health, safety, land protection, or playing fair.

monsanto was also in the news for donating hybrid seed to haiti, but that donation carries a hefty price tag for local agriculture.  10,000 protesting haitian farmers don't want anything to do with monsanto seed (which cannot be saved from year to year and threatens indigenous varietals). worst.

(find more about monsanto in the book in defense of food or the movies the corporation or food inc.)
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those of you who know me know i love all things u2.  on facebook this week a friend linked to this vintage article from christianity today about the u2 frontman's faith, with excerpts from bono: in conversation with michka assayas.  it's a good read.

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finally, reality tv star kim kardashian thinks public breastfeeding is gross. she tweeted:

"EWW Im at lunch,the woman at the table next 2 me is breast feeding her baby w no coverup."

you cannot open a magazine, walk down a street, or turn on the tv without being bombarded by hyper-sexualized images of women's bodies, but God forbid a woman use her breasts to nourish a child.

would kim really rather hear a hungry baby wail in a restaurant? 

her bad mother has a valuable take on the whole thing titled "i've looked at boobs from both sides now."

reducing debates about public breastfeeding to ‘Smart Feminists And Noble Mothers Against Scantily Dressed [...] Who Don’t Realize They’re Oppressed By Their Heaving Cleavage’ obscures what’s really at stake in this issue: our right and freedom to define the terms and practices of our own womanhood, and to not only resist but reject such false, culturally-imposed dichotomies as Madonna/Whore, Smarty-Pants Feminist/Unthinking Tart, Dutiful Asexual Mom/Lusty Young Woman. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m much more complicated than that. And I like my boobs in a whole variety of ways, that includes their life-sustaining baby-feeding superpower but also their pleasing appearance...And I worry that when these discussions get oversimplified...we promote a discourse that does exactly that. Sexy Boobs Bad; Nursing Boobs Good. Nursing Mom Good; Cleavage-Barer Bad. Babies On Boobs Good; Tight T-Shirt On Boobs, Bad. Why can’t all those things be good?"

i appreciate the point she's making about honoring women's agency to inhabit their bodies in varied and nuance ways. what do you think?