May... when it may snow or it may be 90 degrees. I'm feeling major summer vibes with the longer days and everything FINALLY turning green. It's been a late spring here in Nebraska, and it reminds me so much of my third child... waiting and waiting and waiting... and then making up for lost time ever since. He's officially been walking half of his life and he's about to turn 17 months old, so there's that. I always thought people were being dramatic when they talked about early walkers. Nope, turns out they're just going a little bit insane trying to keep up!
What I'm learning
This season is what I make of it. One of the Lazy Genius principles is to know your season, and sometimes I just need to admit that this unique season with my unique kids is really hard but it's also proportionally so sweet. I am wrapping up a few big work projects (local friends, some fun news coming at you next month) in order to settle into summer a bit and figure out what's working (and not working) with parenting and homeschooling before deciding how I was work to fit into that next fall.
What I'm reading
I just finished Teaching from Rest and wow, I really really needed it. It's been on my unread shelf for several years, and it gave me a lot to reflect on as we wrap up our third year of homeschool.
In fiction, apparently I'm on a retirement novel kick. I enjoyed The Vibrant Yearsby Sonali Dev and I'm mid-way through The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas. They've both been sweet and slow without being boring or maudlin.
What I'm listening to
Okay this has been a lit month for my earbuds.
First: The Witch Trials of JK Rowling. WOW even if you've never read Harry Potter, but you look around at the world and wonder how so much has changed so quickly in the last 5 years, this is for you. Listen and then EMAIL ME BACK so we can talk about it! I'm just going to copy the description here: The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling is an audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author. In conversation with host Megan Phelps-Roper, J.K. Rowling speaks with unprecedented candor and depth about the controversies surrounding her—from book bans to debates on gender and sex. The series also examines the forces propelling this moment in history, through interviews with Rowling’s supporters and critics, journalists, historians, clinicians, and more.
Second: A friend shared this Apple News podcast episode with me called Why we don’t take postpartum mental health seriously enough — and what that means for new parents -- trigger warning to several disturbing postpartum news stories involving psychosis and self-harm, but if you're farther along postpartum or if you're a professional in the field, I highly recommend listening to this piece of journalism.
Third: I cannot wait to share my interveiw with Adina Rubin on my podcast, but in the meantime she's released a few good episodes on PP fitness on her podcast!
On the podcast
Last fall, I started a podcast called Milk + Motherhood and it's been so fun. Season 1 was focused on postpartum identity, recovery, and nutrition. Seson 2 is diving into more specialized subjects regarding breastfeeding and postparutm. Even if you don't listen, check out the shownotes for a wealth of additional information on these subjects. Here's a review of the episodes I've published since my last newsletter:
17.) Progesterone and Postpartum Mental Health with Hormone Geniuses Teresa Kenney and Jamie Rathjen. In this interview, we talk about postpartum hormones and about how they can contribute to mental health challenges. Jamie and I both received NaPro progesterone injections for PMADs and Teresa is a Nurse Practitioner who prescribes them often, so we cover a lot of the basics and some questions about this treatment option.
18.) Tapping out of Rigidity and into Resilient Motherhood with Theresa Piela. I always LOVE talking with Theresa because she has such a calm and joyful presence. We talk about how it hasn't always been this way, how EFT tapping has changed her stress response and thought loops, and how I also expereinced benefits from tapping during pregnancy and postpartum.
19.) Infant Palates, Airways, and Teeth with functional dentist Dr. Molly Hayes. She and I talk about how the palate is formed in utero, how breastfeeding helps after baby is born, red flags for infant airway issues, and... science experiments!
If you're loving my podcast, please subscribe and leave an Apple podcast review! It's really easy to type a few sentences in, and it helps more people find the fantastic information my guests are sharing with you all.
What I'm cooking
I'm a little burnt out on food after the final flurry of cookbook testing, but this weekend we made the autumn pork salad (could easily be made with grilled chicken, too) from my cookbook.
I have also made several loaves of chocolate babka and OMG. I'm really glad it's warming up so I will be less inclined to bake this on every single cold day, but it's a WINNER and will absolutely be my holiday gathering contribution in the future. I used the Bakerita GF sourdough bread recipe, making sure to add the 15g of olive oil and adding an additional 2 Tbs room temp butter to the mix. Then after it rises, I follow just the filling directions and recipe from Farmhouse on Boone's chocolate babka (this filling recipe fills 2 loaves). Then I rub some melted butter over the top and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. The hardest part is letting it cook before slicing into it!
What I'm feeding my kids
We don't spray our yard, and it's certainly a haven for lots of "weeds" like clover, violets, dandelions, and creeping charlie. The first two are welcome any time. The second two are the bane of my existence because they're so prolific. All that to say, I find myself pulling A LOT of dandelions in a short amount of time every year. This is the first year we decided to actually do something fun with them, and I think this will be a new tradition! I had the kids pick a bowl full of just the yellow flowers while I spent time uprooting the plants themselves. We used the flowers to make dandelion shortbread cookies (I added lemon zest and used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF Flour) and dandelion playdoh and it actually wasn't as intimidating as I thought. Pulling the weeds was the hardest part.
