We’ve shifted gears the last few weeks at Casa Asterson

After starting Luke at a nearby daycare the beginning of August, we quickly realized that this was not the place for us. And, I have to say, there was really nothing wrong with the daycare. They adored our kid, doted on him, he was safe and had a great time there each day. It was in fact, probably not far off from babysitting experiences that Eric and I each had growing up. It felt a little like being with an attractive guy who you just couldn’t have a conversation with. It’s not you, it’s me and all of that.

Luke’s at an age where he is definitely seeking out information and I think it’s important that we take advantage of that as best we can because he is in a group care setting more than either of us ever were. So, in a move that has made me feel more like a yuppie parent than just about anything I can imagine, we abruptly moved him to a full time preschool on the other side of town. My reasoning being that it was better to not let him get too settled and then switch him again when we could go through all the adjustment at once.

Maybe it’s a cop-out on my part, but knowing he’s eating super healthy organic food at school where he hoses everything that’s put in front of him means that we don’t have fights at home where he is quick to announce “don’t want it” or “I don’t like it” the second something new is on the scene.

When he’s outside running around with other kids a few hours a day, he’s calm at home and we get to have the focused attentive time where we can teach him new things versus trying to keep him from practicing his base climbing up the walls of our living room.

And, knowing he’s getting a head start in some core educational principals doesn’t hurt either.

I had initially been reluctant to put him in preschool because he’s young for it still and this isn’t a place where we can take the baby come spring. But, I think that two drop offs will be worth it to know that for the next six months, Luke is getting the most out of the time that he can’t be with us. To be honest, my mom guilt about working is greatly assuaged when I am jealous of the place my kid is hanging out.

I have to say, my little man handled the change like a champ. He is used to a structured day with a lot of varied activity so where I thought preschool might be too much formality, it’s actually been an easier day than we were having the last few weeks. I have tothrow in here that this school offers “add on” classes where they bring in dance teachers, athletic coaches and language instructors to offer immersion sessions in the afternoon. We’re going to give Luke some time to get settled but we’ve been laughing at the thought of him taking hip hop dance and tae kwon do. This past week, Luke got to brush an alpaca and played the violin during an introductory instrumental session at school. It seems I am more of a helicopter parent that I care to admit.

Amidst all of that, we’ve started our compost bin, fought back a gigantic wall of bamboo that was hiding dead shrubbery the size of a Volkswagen beetle, watched two weeks of Olympics while I did a tiny bit of baby knitting, and took our kid to the county fair, beach and a killer birthday party hosted by a lady you and I both know and love. There’s lots to write about but my thoughts seem scattered lately. I could chalk it up to pregnancy brain but in truth there’s just been a whole lot going on. It will probably get a little worse before it gets better but I’m hoping I can eek out some coherent posts before things go really down hill. Eric’s been working on a revamp of Luke’s crib. We’re swapping out the furniture in Luke’s room for a big boy room and our front porch is maybe the first place in the house that’s coming together as a space of our own.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I can’t wait to show you some of the fun homey things that have been going on over here.

Breastfeeding Blah

So I have attempted to write a breastfeeding post for the last two year. It is International Breastfeeding Week, so all the more reason to put together a post. I added it up and I have nursed for 52 months over the past 5 years! Even more reason to write about that copious experience. I have also felt fiercely committed to breastfeeding. And yet I can’t seem to scrape together a post.

Because I am so over breastfeeding.

I never loved it.

I did it. Begrudgingly at best, and painfully, resentfully at worst. I never got the warm fuzzies from breastfeeding. I find it psychically uncomfortable and to be honest really boring.

Calvin is only nursing twice a day now. When he wakes and when he goes to sleep. Bedtime isn’t terrible (because I have Hulu on my phone). But his morning nurse at 5 am is becoming a dreadful way to start the day.

I am really hoping that he weans when I go away for a week in October. I also had thought an anniversary trip might break the cycle with Ellis, but he picked up right where he left off and nursed for 6 more months after we left him for a weekend three years ago. I definitely don’t have six months of nursing left in me. I can’t wait to have my body back. And I don’t mean that in a body-confident, get-in-shape kind of way. I mean I can’t wait to go a whole day without a small person physically using parts of my body to grow.

So instead of the breastfeeding post it turns out I’m not ready to write, I will offer you a picture of poor Tess who had to have surgery on her ear. Her head is bandaged like this for the next two weeks. And I will be calling her “little Edie” for the remainder of her recovery. The Grey Gardens resemblance is striking, no?

Right after our wedding (holy cow, how was that 8 years ago), Eric and I got our first CSA. It was a box full of 6 varieties of lettuce, a head of cauliflower and a carrot. I was massively disappointed and we set the idea on a backburner.

In the years since, we’ve lived in Hollywood next to an amazing pop-up farmers market. Sundays would mean brunch at the market, cruising through the stalls for fruits and veggies and then running next door to Trader Joes for staples. Grocery shopping was never more fun. Plus we could scale up and down on our produce as needed. Leaving the market was among my top losses for leaving Hollywood.

I knew when we moved, I’d need to get creative in how we could find local produce where I enjoyed the acquisition experience as much. I started researching local CSAs again a few weeks after our move, but convincing Eric that it wouldn’t be a repeat of the great lettuce disaster of ’08 was another story.

Thanks to Yelp, I stumbled upon a local CSA that allows you to stagger your box delivery. (One of the things that we’re worried about is actually using up a boxes worth in a week and then getting a whole additional box.) With a $5 first time coupon, I knew it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately, I had to travel for family purposes the night of our first CSA delivery but we were thrilled with the experience. We were overwhelmed at the amount of beautiful produce we got for $20. Last week our second box was delivered and I was there for the unpacking. Luke had a blast, counting what was inside and learning about new fruits and veggies.

Ensuring we get enough vegetables into our diet is even more important to me with my pregnancy and Luke’s move from a daycare that gave him veggies twice a day. We’ve had a ton of fun experimenting with our CSA. Here are a few recipes I’ve cooked up in the last few weeks. Excited to see the ways that our CSA challenges me in the weeks ahead.

• Roasted Fennel and Quinoa Crunch Salad
• Cucumber salad
• Small Batch Refrigerator Dill Pickles
• Balsamic Glazed Purple Cabbage
• Breakfast Smoothies using this general formula
• Coconut Buttermilk Pound Cake (okay, this wasn’t to use our CSA but it was awesome)
• Jalapeno Jelly (to come, once I finish my refrigerator pickles)

Feel free to follow (or unfollow) my Pinterest board dedicated to CSA recipes and send any ideas you might have my way for making the most of our newest obsession!