Fall dreaming...

I love the way the light hits the kitchen in the morning this time of year, as summer is winding down and the first hint of fall is evidenced only by the sun's position in the sky.  August is almost over, and for those of us in this sweltering climate, that means fall-dreaming.   In fact, I've heard there's a "cold front" coming in this week, and temps might drop into the 90s!  That means we can actually be outside again.

Things I’m looking forward to this fall…

• Mums!  In all different colors, popping up around the neighborhood.
• Taking Luci Belle for walks in her stroller, narrating for her all the things going on, like leaves crunching against the sidewalk, a dog barking in someone’s front yard, or the smell of a fall cookout.  I gave myself the full 6 weeks recovery time after delivery, and now I’m antsy to be active again.
• Going to Aspen, Colorado with Steven’s family in October!  This is the incredible resort where we're staying.  It will be mildly warm during the day and chilly enough for fires at night!  And unlike our last trip to Lake Tahoe, this time I won't be pregnant, so I can actually hike (with Luci Belle in the Moby wrap of course).
• Making delicious soups in the Vitamix.  There is also an Avocado Bread recipe I can't wait to try!
  
  homemade carrot ginger soup last fall
• Going to the SMU campus, laying on a blanket in the thick squishy grass under a Pin Oak tree, having a picnic with the sun low in the sky.
• Drinking hot beverages or this amazing Stellar Organics Sulfite-free wine with friends, all gathered around the enormous farm table that Steven built for our dining room from salvaged barn wood.
• Saturdays at Urban Acres, where our community gathers to enjoy delicious food and where we can feature the harvest of local farms like our friends at Eden Creek.
• Using my Vanilla Chai lotion again - it just smells like fall.
• The possibility of getting these adorable TOMS.
• Watching past episodes of Jamie At Home, especially the ones where he cooks in his wood fire oven in the backyard!  Can I have his rustic kitchen, please?  Thanks.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

A new mom's survival kit.

With the long days and nights of new motherhood, sometimes the smallest luxuries make the biggest difference in your day.  Here are a few of mine right now...

1) Enfusia tea by NutriHarmony is an organic loose-leaf tea made with maté and three other herbs, and it is the sweet nectar of heaven.  The maté gives you a boost without caffeine, so you never have a crash.  I have sworn by this stuff for several years now and must have it every morning!  It's helped a lot of people I know kick their coffee addiction as well.  Here's how I like my Enfusia: brew it hot, add 1-2 tbs. coconut milk, Vanilla Creme stevia, and cinnamon, and it's like a creamy hot latté.  God bless it.

2) Teeccino - This is another coffee alternative I was introduced to recently at our homeopath's office.  It's an herbal coffee beverage with no caffeine and no acidity.  To me, it tastes like a cross between coffee and hot chocolate, and who doesn't love that, right?  The Vanilla Nut flavor is delicious. They even have a Pumpkin Spice flavor for fall!

One of the best ways to drink Teeccino is iced, with milk or coconut milk added - I promise, you won't even be able to tell it's not coffee.

3) Vibranz Peach-Passionfruit Kombucha - This is a new drink I tried yesterday that we've started carrying at our farm store.  It was fizzy, fruity, and refreshing.  Kombucha is a raw probiotic drink with amazing health benefits, and it made me feel like a million bucks.

* * *

And now, a few cosmetic items I've been enjoying lately.  Since I've had a baby, I've found that it really makes a difference when I snag a few minutes to moisturize my face and put on a little makeup.  Thankfully, Luci Belle is in stage where she likes to lay on the bed and kick her hands and legs while staring at the ceiling fan, so I have a few hands-free minutes if I work quickly!

1) Burt's Bees Naturally Ageless Line Diminishing Day Lotion - A pretty big mouthful for a simple little moisturizer that smells really great, too.  I didn't realize that nursing would dry out my skin so badly, because the baby takes every ounce of moisture she needs from my body.  My skin was practically cracking until I tried this lotion, which I confess I bought because it was advertised on the back of Country Living.  Sucker.  But my skin now feels like it has taken a good, long drink, and the moisture lasts all throughout the day rather than drying out by evening. 

2) mark Glodacious Illuminating Powder in Shimmied Up - I'm pretty sure the lack of sleep from new mommyhood has left me with permanent dark circles under my eyes.  This wonderful powder takes away some of the haggard-ness and gives me a little glow.  So at least I can have the appearance of getting sleep even if I'm not!  I brush it on my cheeks, nose, and forehead after putting on concealer.  It must work, because at my postpartum appointment today, two of the midwives said I looked well rested - HA!

3) Naturtint - You've heard me sing its praises before, and now I'm even more sold than ever on this amazing herbal haircolor.  I'm now a 3N girl: Dark Chestnut Brown.  After starting out with 5N Light Chestnut Brown, I realized the color does fade a lot after you first dye it, and the dark chestnut is much closer to my natural color.  It's so rich and multi-dimensional and takes away all the gray. 

The other day, I was on the verge of a meltdown from lack of sleep, and my graying roots were just too much.  Then my dear friend Linda offered to come over and watch Luci Belle while I dyed my hair.  It may sound shallow, but having freshly dyed hair changed my whole demeanor.  I guess that's just what a girl needs sometimes!

Me: fresh haircut and freshly dyed 3N. Luci Belle: indulging Mommy with yet another photo.

New mom or not, what are some of your "survival items" right now?

Shade tree.

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature....

I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." ~ Anne Frank

It's still 107 degrees and scorching here, but yesterday, just down the street - literally 5 houses down from us - I saw a beautiful old shade tree that I'd never noticed before. Perhaps we notice these things sometimes only out of necessity, as I've been walking my daughter up and down, up and down the sidewalk in the sweltering heat to help her fall asleep for her naps.  She's a Texas girl who loves being warm, and being outside immediately calms her. 

Yesterday afternoon as I paced the sidewalk once again with Luci Belle perched on my shoulder in her white hat, I noticed The Shade Tree at the end of the sidewalk and went towards it, to stand beneath it.   A breeze instantly enveloped us and the air felt ten degrees cooler.  I looked up, deep into its branches, and swayed my baby girl back and forth as we both enjoyed its covering.

A simple moment, a simple pleasure in life - a shade tree that changed the outlook of my entire afternoon. 

One month.

To my darling Luci Belle,

Today is your one-month birthday. One month ago today, I didn’t yet understand the fierceness of a mother’s love. And then, within the first minute of your life, it took me completely off-guard. It’s so different than the love I have for anyone else in this world. This love is one that feels a little risky, more dangerous. It feels like I’ve now opened up my heart and allowed it to walk around outside my body, in your body. It is a little bit scary because now I love someone who is definitely going to leave one day, to at some point break my heart, to perhaps move halfway across the world after she graduates high school. And I’m going to have to let it happen, to let you make your own decisions. Loving you, Luci Belle, is just scratching the surface of understanding God’s love for me. Your utter dependence on me for food, sleep, security, warmth, is only a shadow of how much I need God everyday, often without realizing it.

Some of the things you absolutely love right now: flailing and waving your arms like you’re conducting a symphony, and pumping your left leg over and over like you’re trying to jumpstart a motorcycle. After all the effort I put into decorating your nursery, I figured it was mainly just for me to selfishly enjoy and that you wouldn’t even notice. But instead, whenever we bring you into your room, you immediately quiet down and look around in wonder, as if you’re taking in all the soothing sights, textures, and colors. This makes me so happy. It’s amazing to see you begin to discover all the beautiful things in this world.

You also love it when Daddy swaddles you in your favorite blanket and gently bounces you until you fall asleep. You love Norah Jones, Rosie Thomas and Jason Mraz as background music, the sound of ocean waves, and when I swish my hair gently over your face until you almost-giggle. We’ve only heard your real-giggle twice, and it was pretty much the sweetest sound in the world.

One of my favorite things is to look down at you on my chest and see you absolutely beaming with a huge grin as you sleep. What could you possibly be dreaming about that is that wonderful? Milk, milk, and more milk? And then there’s your “lounging pose” when I hold you in the crook of my arm and you rest one hand nonchalantly against your cheek as we walk around the house together. Sometimes when I’m holding you, you’ll fix your eyes on something invisible just past my face or shoulder, and you smile so big, and I say to your Daddy, “I think she sees angels.”

In the last month, my tummy went from a huge hardened watermelon to a mushy gelatinous pooch. I’ve probably had 24 hours of sleep total and my fair share of meltdowns. But that’s okay, because I will never, ever get back the teeny-tiny you that was put on my chest in the operating room, as your just-born eyes tried to focus and squinted from the bright lights. I know that in the grand scheme of things, one month of life isn’t very long. But for me, this is the month that my life changed, both for the difficulty and wonderfulness of it.