I am a very neat, organized, and detail-oriented person. My closet is arranged first by type of clothing, and then by color within those categories. My spice rack is in alphabetical order (I contend that this one is not unusual, but I know at least one friend is going to disagree with me. Seriously, how do you quickly find the paprika if they are all jumbled together?!) I love editing, and delight in finding misuses of "it's." I will re-load dishwashers in order to get them more organized (there's a "right" way). 

As a type this though, there are piles of folded laundry at one end of the living room, another pile of clean, but neglected, laundry at the other end, and a variety of dog and baby toys strewn in between. Parenthood has brought a whole new level of disorder to my life, and I love it.

Growing Pangs

Last weekend we stopped swaddling our daughter and began sleep training (I know, it's controversial. It made sense to us, it might not be a good fit for you. I respect that.) all at one go. Due to a variety of boring reasons, we started all of this on an earlier night that we'd originally talked about. This meant that on my last night of putting our daughter to bed all wrapped up like a burrito, I didn't know it was the last night. The next day I had pangs of disappointment over not getting to "say goodbye" to the baby burrito.

It's hard to believe that at only 4.5 months, she's already leaving some stages and entering others. My camera just doesn't seem to be able to capture everything I want it to. Like the way she violently flings her head forward as she sneezes multiple times in a row, and then ends with a sneeze-less "Ah-hmmm." Or the way her eyes get bigger and her face lights up with pure, unadulterated glee right before she eats. Or my recent favorite, the way she puts her hands on my cheeks, closes her eyes, and lets out a little sigh when I lean in for an eskimo kiss.

I'm trying my best to take a moment every day to fully soak in her Josephine-ness of that day, because I know it will be different tomorrow. And then I just have to trust that my memory will do a better job of capturing these moments than an electronic device ever could.

Why is This Vintage?

I love this ad. So much.

(Image found on: CMYBacon)

Yes, it also rules because she's a redhead, but it is so refreshing so see a product advertised to girls without gobs of pink, princesses, pink, sparkles, pink, ruffles, pink, flowers, pink, butterflies, pink, bows, and a little more pink. Unfortunately the ad is decades old.

I happen to like all (okay, most) of the above, but hello moderation. I can't say I'm a big fan of the new line of girl LEGO sets (or all of the super specific LEGO sets for that matter - basic LEGO sets are awesome, and encourage creativity!). I think we're overdoing the explosion of gender-specific toys, clothing, and their corresponding advertising. I don't know what this little girl built, but she's certainly happy about it. Can't we get back to encouraging kids to just be kids?

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostada

I know. I thought so too. 

Rhubarb is a spring treat, right? 

One of the first plants to be harvested, it's a sign of the soil awakening and the promise of a bounty of produce soon to be making its way to market.

Well, little did I know that it's possible to get a second harvest from your rhubarb plant at the end of the summer 

(don't take it all, just about a third).

Raspberries truly are in season, and it turns out they pair delightfully with rhubarb in this Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostada recipe from Lottie + Doof.

The Power of Beautiful Imagery

I watched this video yesterday morning

and was compelled to make my own beet cake that afternoon.

Anticipating

by Deborah Donenfeld (via momfilter)

I'll Pass on the Jerky, Thanks.

Fair Warning -  It's Probably Best To Not Read This While Eating....

I will freely admit to wholehearted subscribing to what some may consider alternative practices during pregnancy.

Drinking red raspberry leaf tea? Check.

Consuming evening primrose oil? Check.

Stocking up on a vast array of herbs for postpartum recovery baths? Check.

But everyone has a line that they won't cross, and I've found mine after reading this New York Magazine article on why new mothers are choosing to eat their own placenta.

39 Weeks Later

As we get ever closer to our due date, I thought it was time for another round of sharing. (Partly so I don't forget some of the gems that people feel compelled to say out loud before thinking about how they sound in their head.)

1) Please don't make grand sweeping statements like *knowing* that the baby hasn't dropped yet. Regardless of how it may look to your well-trained eye, I've actually been the one carrying this baby around for the past 9 months, and thus probably have the best insight as to where the baby is or isn't.

2) Comments like, "I see you didn't shake the baby loose on the dance floor. Hahaha," aren't actually that funny. Especially coming from a man.

3) Comments like, "Wow, you look so great," when spoken in a stunned tone of voice really just end up sounding like, "Amazing... you don't look like a beached whale!" Uh, thanks?

4) It's not very helpful to ask about my labor/birth plans, and then respond with skepticism. I think we're long overdue for more support and empowerment of every mother's (and her partner's) choices - we're all trying our best to make choices that are right for us and our families. I loved our childbirth educator's analogy of a friend telling you that they were planning on running a marathon. Would your response be, "Ooh, that's going to be really hard. Are you sure you can do it? What happens if you get to mile 13 and feel like you can't do it anymore?"? Probably not. Your response would probably be something like, "That's awesome! Good luck! I'll be cheering for you!"

5) I am completely in favor of Smitten Kitchen's plan for labor and delivery nurse bribery, and fully intend to make these brownies this week.

6) Last time I said that it doesn't get much more amazing than feeling a beansy human doing back-flips in your uterus - well tiny human hiccups feel pretty dang cool too!

Tsukemono

 Our garden is producing cucumbers like crazy.

What to do but make Japanese pickles?!

I de-seeded and chopped the cukes, then tossed them with 

salt, sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds.

And then forced myself to wait a couple days

until they reached perfect pickleness.

Mmm.

Birth Beads

This was a lovely idea from our last baby shower. The hosts had guests bring a bead with them (or pick one out once they'd arrived) to be turned into a necklace that can be worn or held during labor as a reminder of all of the people thinking of you and sending love and support.

We certainly appreciate all of the positive thoughts and good energy sent our way, and feel lucky to have so many people excited for us and our soon-to-be expanding family. Thank you all (and thank you Cara for turning them into a necklace!)!