out of the woods

Or maybe back into them?

It's been one heck of a week. Lydia and I are sick, Charlie's been working entirely too much, I picked up two new jobs to equal 40 hours a week, and Lydia's still teething to boot. Things have been crazy around here, and it hasn't been that healing of an atmosphere. Just tired, moody and blah.


With being so stuffy I haven't wanted to eat at all; consequently I've lost three pounds and my milk production is in the red. And with starting these new jobs, one of which has been my dream job since I was in second grade YEEEEEEEEEEEE!, I'll have to really boost production for pumping to make sure my milk is still Lydia's primary nutrition source. Or pumping for production. Either way, start buying stock in Medela now, because I'm about to invest some serious time in their product line.

Our plot!

We've been incredibly lucky in that I've been able to stay home with Lydia this long. Seven and a half glorious, albeit short, months together, nursing away the days and keeping up the homefront. But now it's becoming apparent that there need to be more of a balance in earning, Charlie needs time at home to rest and spend time with his beautiful daughter, and I need to be out working and spending time out of the house doing what I love...playing outside with kids all day and calling it work. I'm stressed about starting all of this at once, but I'm sure it'll all work out. It always does.

From a greenie perspective, most of my seeds have arrived! Our community garden plots are getting tilled this weekend, and pretty soon the weather will be nice enough to load Lydia in the stroller with all the little seedlings and head out there to plant and play. Right now I have basil, lavender, thyme and a bunch of other culinary herbs started; on order are flowers (calendula and bergamot) and heirloom tomatoes.

Isis Candies...yummi!

 After poring over descriptions and drooling all over the keyboard, I finally settled on the Black Prince, Heart of Compassion, Amber, Marianna's Peace, and Isis Candy Cherry varieties of heirlooms. They look so delicious! Our plot is huge, but I plan on utilizing the space by planting the plants pretty far apart and leaving room to weed and water as needed; for just the three of us, we don't need too much or we'll get overwhelmed.

Marianna's Peace

Speaking of kids being outside, we've taken Lydia outside quite a bit. I've let her sit on a blanket or bounce in her jumpy thingy while I plant all our yummies to put in our community garden spot. We go for lots of walks when we have sunshine, and sometimes even when there's not. Being outside with her is such a great way to while away the time we have together, and Charlie and I both want to instill in Lydia a sense of stewardship and an environmental ethic as she grows older. As Lydia ages the world population is going to grow exponentially, very soon reaching almost 9 billion people. We struggle with being global citizens, our rights and responsibilities...with an ever-growing population it would seem globally irresponsible to add to our family, yet as citizens with free will and our accorded rights, we by all means have the right to do as we please. But is it "right"? Who knows. All we can do is teach Lydia and her subsequent siblings the importance of doing right by our planet. Our human impact is already too noticeable; I harbor concern over what our lives will be like in the years to come. Part of me doesn't want to dwell on things like that and ignore the associated thoughts, but as an environmental scientist and concerned global stakeholder (as all parents are) I'm always thinking about it. Anyway. Time to go outside with Lydia...it's a beautiful sunny spring day :)

Ready  to get to work :)