A Vampire Weekend

So good morning to you and happy 10 day weekend for me!
Due to inclement weather last week we here in the south have had an entire week off from school! HIP HIP.....

Today's thought: baking breads.
It surprises me how easy baking is (even though some recipes may take a little knowledge and practice) and how expensive store bought bread  is in comparison to how much it costs to make!
I believe I will be doing a lot more baking of all types of breads. Call me the equal opportunity bread baker...

I have recently had a large amount of time free and at home to love on my baby girl and also to try out some baking experiments.
I loved having time to try new things and do the things I wished I had time for. I was thrilled to visit my brother, sister-in-law and new baby niece and bring them two varieties of bread for recuoperation!
(I know when I was done laboring I was dead hungry and could have eaten an entire loaf of banana nut bread but I had never made it before!)

Here is a new creation from the snow days.

Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread
2 1/2 c flour
1c brown sugar
1c granulated sugar
2 c pumpkin
3 or 4 over ripe bananas; mashed
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp soda
2 tbs powder
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c butter;melted
3 eggs

Eating Organic

As my husband and I noticed the past couple of years, many people have questioned our eating habits and choices. They don't so much ask WHY we eat organic but almost mock our choices. (some, not all.)

Not that I mind if I or my children eat something other than organic sometimes but I suppose some people are set in their ways and brands and choose not to research the concept further. I think most of their distrust of organics are primarily the price. I am a pretty big penny pincher myself but I like to "splurge" on things of quality. One area I will always be ok splurging on is food.

If "our bodies are temples", and "we are what we eat," then why do people (even highly devout persons of faith) put such crap into their bodies. Pesticides, antibiotics, steroids, foreign substances and so on...

I cant always splurge on an all organic diet but when i can i lie to now which items are better, in terms of how much pesticides etc they use.

So if you care to read the info about the top 12 pesticide ridden produce and the bottom 12 items see below and choose wisely.

Here is the the info that everyone should know about produce from the EWG.

These are the 12 fruits and vegetables that consistently have the highest levels of pesticides.

1. peaches 
2. apples
3. sweet bell peppers 
4. celery
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. pears
9. imported grapes
10. spinach
11. lettuce
12. potatoes

In contrast these are the 12 produce picks with the least amount of pesticides:

1. onions
2. avocados
3. frozen sweet corn
4. pineapples
5. mangoes
6. asparagus
7. frozen peas
8. kiwi
9. bananas
10. cabbage
11. broccoli
12. papayas

Paternity Leave, Maternity Schmleave

After reading this article (linked below) I began recollecting what I knew about maternity leave in modern society, in particular my own experience with what seemed a very unfair process.

Most doctors/midwives will recommend a leave from work for at least 6 weeks maybe more if cesarean was involved/twins/complications... a "babymoon" if you will, for both mother baby and hopefully even dad to learn new things about each other.

In my personal experience as a school teacher, I was quickly introduced to FMLA. awesome in theory so if something does happen not allowing you return to work quickly you wont loose your job over it. "GREAT," I thought.
Then when I started speaking with fellow mothers they mentioned that they hoped I had been saving vacation days for my maternity leave.

What in the world? Was I just really naive and inexperienced or had things changed since they had their children 20 years ago???

After further investigation it was true. I had luckily not taken but two sick days in my 2 years of teaching and had almost enough days to take a full 6 week leave... almost.
Then I remembered a male co-worker whose child was born last year. He mentioned to me that he was given 3 "freebie" days which do not count as sick/vacation leave but are typically used for bereavement, jury duty etc. He was given 3 days of what I like to call "Paternity leave" where I was given no days except what I had earned.

I'm not saying he shouldn't have been given those days but I guess my naive self assumed the American society had grown a little more female-friendly especially in a career industry dominated by WOMEN!
I know I may seem a little frivolous but three days of pay makes a difference especially when your spouse is unemployed and you are trying to pay hospital bills on a not so great health care plan.

So when people asked how much "Maternity Leave" did i get/take, I tell them none.
I took a 6 week babymoon out of my vacation days. Now with no more vacation days the entire rest of the year healthy living is no longer a wish but a necessity.

--> (dad and baby on our familial babymoon!)

And now... looking down at my healthy 4 month old napping in my arms while I type, I realize she is so alert, happy and cute DESPITE all negative factors around her. She has loving, positive parents who care about raising a mindful member of society who thinks.

We are still so new at parenting but I believe that we are doing a pretty good job at it so far!

1. Babymoon
   

First post since baby

So not much has changed in my musical tastes. I still prefer "good" music meaning talented artists not just dubbed and auto-tuned folks. I will always lean towards strings, primarily violin, mandolin and the good ole guitar. I am still a "sucker for anything acoustic". (I do think this will now be a blog more of life and less of musical travels) :)

I have recently found a renewed love and appreciation for Andrew Bird. His effortless whistling is quite relaxing and Baby Shenandoah really enjoys listening while bouncing and teething.

Life as a mother is ever changing. I guess that is to be expected when life is ever changing.
I enjoy every little thing the my daughter does: cries, coos, smiles, laughs and even now little imitations of words and facial expressions and utter JOY!
I love how she is only 3 months old but still is more intuitive to feelings and love that many people who roam the streets and hallways these days.

I do thing she also has an awareness of pictures being taken of her... she seems to enjoy at least the flashes that the camera makes and seems to be posing for pictures because they all turn out fabulous.

I have recently decided, as many have, to make this a blog about family life and trying to live a natural, green, and "organic" life as possible.



Options I want to pursue further.

-baby foods; when, how what and why and what the deal is with starting or not starting at 6 mo.
- teething solutions-how to
- sweet nothings
- sweet finds
- homemade everything