A dainty dish to set before the King

So I thought I would share a few of the things that have kept me from blogging.

On of the biggest has been J's foray into solid foods. It sounds simple enough but I swear I did less research in the whole of college. There is so much to know about what foods they can have at what age, reactions to look for. We make our own baby food for the most part (except peas. I HATE peas and they are a pain to make so we get that jarred) We are attempting to keep him organic as possible so that has meant some extra hunting for just the right foods. Luckily we have a fabulous local organic farm that does online ordering. They email me a food list, I reply with what I want and then Friday evening I go pick it up. Urban Oaks...check it out. I think more neighborhoods need something like this. A fabulous plan for those empty lots.

This site: Wholesome Baby Food
and this book: Super Baby Food
have been my bibles as well. This is where I've been getting the bulk of my information on what to feed him when, and how to make it. I freeze the food in ice cube trays and thaw them as I need them. It's very convenient and I know what's going into his little body. And so far he's liked everything (though the last few days he's been rejecting the green beans). He's just starting to get the hang of finger foods. We have to give him one Cheerio at at time because it takes great concentration to pick one up. Otherwise they are all over the floor.

I also spend a fair amount of time on the American Pregnancy Association forums. These ladies helped me through my infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy and motherhood. They've been a big help with my early struggles in breastfeeding. I'm not one of those psycho breastfeeding Nazis and I'm not going to lecture here. I will say that it has been one of the most difficult but most rewarding things I have ever done. J has been breastfed from the start and I can proudly say he's never had formula. (not that there's anything wrong with formula feeding. It just is important to me to avoid it if I can. And so far, we have). Here's a few sites that I found immensely helpful in this particular journey:
La Leche League International
Breastfeeding Online
Drug safety during breastfeeding


And now what you've been waiting for with this post...cute messy baby pics.

Holy Crap...a new post!

I figured I'd say it first.

A lot has happened since my last post. Shortly after posting we went through a 3 week run of illness. J had croup and a few cranky days after his 6 month check up vaccines. Then he developed a double ear infection paired with pink eye. My little guy was sweet enough to pass along the pink eye to me, and then I got strep throat. My husband just escaped the strep. It was a yucky horrible time for all. Oh and J cut his first two teeth at the same time.

From there I had to deal with more theatrical fiascos...anywho. Life happened. No posts.

Here I am. With some fiber related content.

Last Saturday was the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool festival. It was a lovely day with my knitting ladies and my little one. Da (as we now call my husband) had to work so the little guy went to his second S&W. (the first was the Connecticut S&W...not much to write about. Didn't buy a thing) Amy brought her little girl who is a few weeks younger than J. They got along swimmingly. He kept trying to hold her hand during lunch, it was the cutest. I have pictures of the day but they are on an actual film camera, which means I need to take them to be developed.

I do have pictures of the yarn I bought...which I believe is the first yarn I've bought in nearly a year. (holy crap indeed). We went to Webs after the festival and I scored some skeins of Cascade 220 for a great price due to the anniversary sale. These are going to be thank you socks for my physical therapist. I also bought the pattern for the Blue Sky Alpaca Audrey Coat. I hemmed and hawed on the pattern but the girls talked me into it. I adore this pattern and hope that I'll actually get enough knitting time in to make it...some

My big score at the actual S&W was some Super Sock from Ball and Skein. I really love their colorways. This one is called Bramble Berry. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is rich and subtle and luminescent. It is destined to be a shawl for me. I have it narrowed down to about eight different choices:
Sagittaria Shawl by Vilma Vuori
Seraphim Shawl by Miriam L. Felton
irtfa'a faroese lace shawl by Anne Hanson
Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
Spring Things by Susan Lawrence
Pangea Shawl by Sarah-Hope Parmeter
Midsummer Shawl by Renee Leverington
The Clovers by Sylvia Cannizzaro

Any opinions??

OK, that's enough for now.I'm hoping it won't be several months before I post again. Oh and here's some more cuteness...