Ta da, fall is falling!

     Was summer really so short, so brief, that we're already talking about apple recipes and chilly weather? The district today is seeing high temperatures close to the 90 degree mark, so it really doesn't feel that way. And yet, the calendar reads September 10th today! I had a serious discussion with my husband about when fall actually starts, the equinox or September 1, and my argument for September 1 is that we consider the winter season December 1 (or after Thanksgiving, at least). If we only start celebrating winter, then we're mixing holiday snowmen with scarecrows and harvest, and it just doesn't work. So I must be firm, year after year, argument after argument, even if the weather, equinoxes, or solstices don't agree. If it's between September 1 and Thanksgiving, I'm calling it Fall. Autumn leaves, I invite you to change at your earliest convenience.

     I like to focus on apples in September. It's back to school, bring your teacher an apple, bake that first pie--that kind of feeling. Apples help us warm up to the more serious harvest vegetables like pumpkins. Although surprisingly, my local farmer's market Heyser Farms claim that they receive fresh corn into October--who would have thunk it? Heyser Farms featured some amazing peaches this past summer--almost as big as my head!--so I'm looking forward to visiting them for their apple offerings. We sadly missed the Rambo season--I'm not sure how, we were there and looking for them--so we'll have to make our first pie with later-season apples. With apples on the brain, I'd like to share a couple of really tasty-looking apple recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I appreciate how excited they are about the changing seasons--they share my enthusiasm! I think the savory recipes look especially enticing. If someone tries them before me, please do share your review of your results!

Sweetie Recipes

Classic Apple Crisp

Granny Smith Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Savory Recipes

Apple Cider Chicken

Apple-Sausage Rigatoni

Apple-Buttered Sweet Potatoes

Early Summer!

     I don't have very much to say today, I don't think. I would just like to acknowledge that we've made it to June, and in my worldview, that makes it officially summer. The blog decor has been updated appropriately and in a timely manner. It's also officially strawberry season, although I have not made it to my favorite local farmer's market yet (Heyser Farms) to pick up some of the local produce. What is the best way to eat fresh strawberries? Raw, plucked one by one and popped into one's mouth? Maybe. I really hate sugaring fresh local strawberries for shortcake, because I feel like the strawberries should be allowed to stand on their own in their perfect prime. A few years ago, I dipped them in full-fats ricotta, which was decedent and wonderful, but largely defeated the purpose of such a nutrient-dense food. Just seconds ago, I ordered this:


I have been wanting one for possibly literal years, but they seemed too frivolous to actually pick up at my local Wegmans. Today, with the hopes of enjoying freshly-hulled strawberries, I am throwing away my worries of frivolity. I will grab bowls and hull strawberries in the living room with my Angel-Pie, and we will enjoy the early summer days.

     Please note that this post contains product links using Amazon Associates. Should enough people click the links and make purchases, I would get paid. Amazon Associates pays once your clicks equal $10; in my entire history with the program, I currently have about $3, so I have never been paid yet, lol. The biggest reason I use Amazon Associates is so that I don't have to use my own personal server space for image hosting when I refer to products, and to ensure proper and unbroken links for archiving purposes.

Um, guys? Give Kim a break!

    I don't generally go out of my way to follow Ms. Kardashian, but I feel compelled to stand up for her, because this picture is earning her a lot of flack. My feet did the same thing when I was pregnant. At first, it shows up in your strappy sandals, but for me, it eventually happened with my flats and sneakers! All thanks to late-blooming pregnancy-related high blood pressure, which eventually resulted in the risk of preeclampsia, which then resulted in me being induced into having my baby by c-section a week early. But seriously--it's uncontrollable, and now that I'm not pregnant, my blood pressure is normal and my feet don't swell. I don't miss it, but the experience makes me and Ms. Kardashian have something in common (can I enjoy how unexpected that statement is?), and I don't feel that insults in the comments are deserved. Do you know how common swollen feet are in pregnancy? Hella common. And pregnant ladies want to wear shoes too! How shoes on feet look in the morning versus later that day when you take them off is two different things when pregnant, so it's very easy to think, "Sure, these will work!" and then later think, "Ouch, bad idea!"


Kim Kardashian's Pregnancy Symptoms Include Swollen Feet
    So srsly, guys. Chill out.

Fav Apps: Water Your Body

     I have a smart phone, and I use it to its smarty-pants capacity. If I can track something, I generally do, and there are so many clever programmers out there who improve the way we use our time and technology, largely for free. And so, I'm starting a blogging series about my favorite smarty phone applications. I use a Samsung Galaxy II on Boost Mobile, and I feel that gives me a nice mix of ability and affordability. I mention this to note that I use Android, and therefore, all of my recommended applications are Android.

Check out "Water Your Body"
     So yes, I use an application to remind myself to drink water. Why? Because:

1. water is important for the human body to function;
   
2. water intake markedly improves milk production for breastfeeding mothers; and
   
3. without a reminder, I honestly don't drink enough.

     This application gives notification reminders at timed intervals to remind the user to drink, and this interval is based upon the last tracked intake of water. It also keeps a number on your intake. If you drank sixteen ounces of water, track it, and at the end of the day, you can see the sum total. You can also set water goals based upon your weight and level of activity. I find it all very easy to use after the initial setup, and my lactation has been healthily aided by the application's reminders.

     If you know you need more water, for any reason, try this application!

Torrid: Nailing Springwear for All Ages

     I really couldn't help myself after receiving an email from Torrid about their spring releases. Torrid has really come along in the past few years from making very immature and cheap garments to making a collection of cute and stylish pieces for plus-sized women of all ages. Competitors like Lane Bryant can't match their designs, and Torrid's quality has become really noteworthy. This makes me grumpy, as I have $90 in a combination of gift cards and reward certificates to use at Lane Bryant, and I'm not even enjoying their basic pieces this season. Here are a few of Torrid's spring pieces that I really would love to own.
Blue Floral Dolman Top, $38.50


Floral Chiffon Racerback Tank Top, $38.50


Lilac Chiffon & Lace Twofer Top, $42.80


Pink Lurex Stripe Button-Up Top, $38.50


Ivory Floral Chiffon Tank Dress, $64.50

     I am always on the lookout for breezy and office-friendly tops, and these four shirts really fit the bill. The dress is just a charming wishlist of a piece. I enjoy pastel palettes for spring, but that first top in the dark blue is a knockout for combining the dark color in a sheer and unexpected element. I think anyone would look equally youthful but appropriate in these pieces, and I appreciate Torrid being the vendor to take the step toward honestly fashionable plus-size wear for the masses.

Haiku: Eventually

Every day I look
for grays. I am ready at
last to look my age.

Real-life narrative of a working first-time mom.

     My in-laws are coming to visit today. I really like my husband's family--they are very kind, generous, and supportive.

     I spent the weekend at home with my baby. As I work full time and breastfeed, my daughter makes up for lost time when we are together by napping less and nursing longer. This is very common for breastfed babies. Nursing is comforting and relaxing, and baby misses that throughout the workday. As my daughter pretty much sleeps through the night regularly, our  mornings, evenings, and weekends are spent together. I hold her, play with her, feed her, and generally go crazy enjoying our time.

     I am generally an organized and fastidious person. I like to put things away immediately, and I like everything to have an "away place." I dirty a dish, and right into the dishwasher it goes. I like folding laundry right out of the dryer. My husband thinks I waste time doing things out of order, but I feel I save time by not putting things off until later, when I may not have the time.

     We had Christmas dinner at my house. My husband's extended family came and stayed through Christmas Day. The weekend before New Years until New Years Day, we went to Pittsburgh to visit my family. I caught a cold in Pittsburgh and was sick when I got back home. It's been two weekends since then. Both were spent essentially restocking our home by taking shopping trips, and working for my husband.

     All of these things meet at this point. My house is still a wreck from Christmas. I am not able to clean it because I spend all time at home caring for my baby. My husband must use all extra time to work. We don't have down time. And now, my in-laws have spent the day in my filthy house. After a day of working at my job, I'm heading home feeling like a failure. I can't do it all, and it is driving me crazy. I haven't had the time to clean. I haven't had the time to do laundry. I barely have time to use the restroom. I'm not complaining, but I do have to vent how much of a rotten failure I feel like inside. I don't regret the time spent with my baby. I just wish I could survive on less sleep.

Mommyhood!

     My beautiful daughter, my Angel Girl, is three months old. I know it more exactly, too--fifteen weeks, four days, and roughly eleven hours old. This may reflect what I'm beginning to realize about myself--I am steeped in motherhood. It took over my life in a rough, overwhelming, and irreversible way, but I grew to really, really love it. My Angel Girl is out of her so-called "fourth trimester," which means that's she's awake, both literally and figuratively. She sleeps much less than she used to (and much less than I think babies her age do, on average), but she's also aware that she wants to be held, she wants to be talked to, she enjoys being talked to, and she enjoys talking back. I think we heard her first word, "Ma!" on Sunday, January 6, and yesterday, she looked right at my husband and said, "Da!" She wants to kick and flail, shove both hands in her mouth and suck and gnaw, grab on to Mommy's hair and yank, put various non-pacifier limbs of Mr. WubbaNub into her mouth, or hang her ringy rattle from her mouth and both of her hands. She wants to see and do and participate. She likes and dislikes. She has a will. She's a little person, all smiles and grabbiness and a few scant giggles here in there (although it's like pulling teeth to get them out of her). It's the most exciting thing I've ever done, I never expected to feel this way, and I don't know if it's biological or mental, but I'd never look back or regret it. This is just too good.

  
     My adventures in motherhood also include adventures in breastfeeding. My Angel Girl is breastfed exclusively, which is no small feat, since I work full time and leave her home with my husband (who also works full time--and trust me, the math doesn't add up to us either, and my husband all but stands on his head to make this possible). This leaves me to pump breast milk at work, which is a Pain in the Ass (capitals intentional), but that's okay. There are many more horror stories about poor mothers who really want to and really try to breastfeed and can't, so my minor annoyances about pumping at work hardly register as reasons to stop. The bottom line is that I enjoy breastfeeding when I'm at home, I'm just barely keeping up with her while pumping at work, but it's working, so I'll keep it up for as long as I can. Three months is bronze, baby.

 
My breast pump of choice, and the backpack I use for transporting it.
     In light of my interest in breastfeeding, I've discovered the following two articles, which really speak to both the value of and scientfic interest in this topic.

Breast milk contains more than 700 bacteria: Microbes taken from breast milk by the infant are identified

Breast milk contains stem cells

The far-reaching benefits of breastfeeding make lugging my pump back and forth worth it.

     Please note that this post contains product links using Amazon Associates. Should enough people click the links and make purchases, I would get paid. Amazon Associates pays once your clicks equal $10; in my entire history with the program, I currently have about $3, so I have never been paid yet, lol. The biggest reason I use Amazon Associates is so that I don't have to use my own personal server space for image hosting when I refer to products, and to ensure proper and unbroken links for archiving purposes.