CSA

The title of this blog is actually an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture.

After a girls weekend with a couple long time friends, I found that they are each participating in a CSA this upcoming summer. I think its something people have thought about but don't usually do, though I think its gaining in popularity. I have just heard about it from a few people in the past from work but not much else outside of it.

But basically how it works is that local farmers let the community buy shares for a a fixed price for either a period of time(18-20 weeks is common), or for the whole year if they are able to offer year round produce. This is paid usually in a lump sum at the beginning of the year when farmers most need help buying supplies for the growing season. Then when the farm produces, each member gets their 'share' of what is grown.

Cool idea huh?

So, you basically support local agriculture, get fresh produce every week, you know where it comes from and how it is grown, and you reduce your carbon footprint. Plus the produce is so much better than the stuff shipped from who knows where, where its in season. Yes it takes some getting used to, in preparing just the produce that is in season at that time instead of us being accustomed to having whatever produce we want at any given time of year, but I personally think its worth at least an experiment.

So, I started looking into local CSA's. Things that are important to me are cost,convenience,variety and whether or not its organic. I haven't bought a lot of organic produce in the past, but I like the idea and if I can get it local for not a huge increase in cost its worth it to me.

I did find a website called localharvest.org where I was able to hunt down some local CSA's.

The first was called Stone Coop Farm, was organic and the pickup location is directly on my drive home. The downfall I saw was that it was a little pricey compared to some others and the offerings seemed
a little limited compared to others. On the upside it would be super convenient to stop on my way home each week to pick it up. They offered produce for 18 weeks.

The next one was a larger operation located in Howell called JT Todosciuk Farms and Greenhouse LLC. They used traditional farming methods(aka non-organic), but was priced a little more reasonably with quite a wide variety. They offer produce for about 20 weeks which included melons...yum, and had a pickup in Howell, which is a little bit of a drive, but not too bad.

The last one I'm really interested in. Its a small operation(family started and owned) that began just in 2009 in Pinckney called Portage River Farm. This is only their 3rd season doing CSA I think. However, they offer full, half and individual shares(based on size of your family),so there are a couple pricing options which would be great for us! They also raise chickens organically for eggs(bonus!), and have bee hives for honey and maple trees for syrup that they make as well on a limited basis. They also provide year-round produce(with the exception of 2 weeks), and each share receives eggs, honey and syrup as a bonus as well. They also have plans to expand into fruit(they planted 30 some odd fruit trees last year and are installing berry patches this year).

Portage River Farm also practices sustainable and organic growing practices(though they are not officially organic yet as they are in the process of certification). Good enough for me though. And they also have a pick up point in Ann Arbor(where I work), and also have several other families from Brighton where we could potentially take turns driving out to get the produce for everyone else.

In addition they are all about the community aspect of it all and have bonfires, taffy pulls, sugaring parties, picnics etc to get members to check out the farm, kids can see the animals and you can feel a real community connection with where your food comes from. Cool huh?
Maybe I'm a bit idealistic in all of this, but it seems like the next best thing to having a garden of my own (which I doubt will happen with all the shade we have in our yard and a new baby on the way), and hopefully it'll get us into a more local mind set to reduce our carbon footprint.

Also, who doesn't like farm-fresh veggies? I know I do! Its always a treat getting fresh produce from my mom and step-dad's garden each year. Too bad they just didn't live closer. :)
Anyhow, that's it for now, but I hope to update on this after we secure a membership with a farm.
Cheers!

Preggo on the Run!

So, I probably already put most of this on FB...but whatever, I'm proud, so I'm blogging about it. :) Anyhow, most know that I've been keeping up with running except for a brief hiatus in the 1st trimester when nausea and fatigue got the best of me. I've been doing short 3 milers about 3-4 times a week on average...on the treadmill......since its been either too dark when I have time or too cold(ie treacherously slick outside for this preggy). I had planned to keep running until the very end of this pregnancy as long as the doc gave the go ahead and I remained healthy. Lots of women do it, plus its my therapy....I NEED to run! However, I think yesterday may have ended my preggo running career.

I've been gradually becoming more and more sore after my running sessions....not to mention its sooo annoying feeling like I have to tinkle every 5 min. whilst running. But after last Sunday's run and now yesterday's, my body is definitely telling me its time to take a break. Plus, at my last dr. appt. she told me it wouldn't be a bad idea if  I stopped soon...just because its so hard on the body with all of the pregnancy hormones making your body way more susceptible to injury. She also wanted to make sure I wasn't 'racing' this race and took plenty of water etc. I assured her I was doing it for fun and I would drink tons per usual.

So....yesterday I did a 5k St. Patty's day run with my awesome hubby! I did better than I expected for being so far along, but am I feeling it today! After yesterday's race, I was a little sore...then very sore by bedtime. This morning, getting out of bed was a little tough. My back hurts, my hips hurt, my belly ligaments hurt...and its hard to walk after sitting for long. So....yeah. I think I need a break.

But alas, yesterday's race was awesome! Its been a while since I've done any races...last summer maybe? I can't remember my last one....and I've missed it! The music that pumps you up at the starting line, people cheering you on, and then of course seeing if you measured up at the finish. This race was much different than any I've ever done for the sheer reason that I had NO goal in mind in terms of finish time. I just wanted to say "yeah, I ran a race when I was pregnant"...silly right?

Well, Chris and I started together...bless his heart he wanted to give me moral support. :) Plus, I think he secretly wanted to make sure I wasn't pushing it....which is sweet I think. But, after a mile or so, I could tell he was holding back so I told him to go ahead and run his pace. After some reassurance I wouldn't get all preggy hormonal on him at the finish if he did so, he took off. So, I finished the last 2.1 by myself....and smiled the whole way! I not only didn't need to walk at all(it was a pretty flat race), but it was fun as everyone was dressed for the occasion in green galore, and I got to pass a fair amount of people! woot! I so wish I would've had the foresight to have gotten a shirt that said something on the back like "you just got passed by a pregnant woman".....I told Chris as much and he said it was funny, but mean....so probably better off I didn't.

Oh well, I did have my 'I run to be fierce' shirt on that said 'MommaPea' on the back, courtesy of my gf Kel! she rocks! It made me feel tough. :p So, I did finish with my slowest 5K time ever(32:42), but I did still manage to beat out 60% of my ag competition. I got 53 out of 131 women in my ag, I'll take it for almost 26 weeks pregnant! :) And I then of course proceeded directly to the bagels and bananas. Hey...this preggy wanted some food! lol!

That's about it. Ethan loved going to the race too. Grandma met us there so he got to hang with her instead of racing in the BOB with us as originally planned. Though in the ride home he said 'I didn't get to win the race'....so maybe he would've enjoyed it more than we thought? I felt bad we deprived him. It also makes me hopeful he'll want to run races someday soon too! Cannot wait for him to do a kids 1/2 mile race or something soon. :) Time will tell I guess.

Well, that's about it for my race report. Probably the last until the fall or so. Until then, guess I'll be walking.... A LOT!

Oh, and a link to a 'finish' photo. :p

http://photos.runmichigan.com/2012/March/5K-and-10K-Finish-Gallery-3/22018795_zW4WQg/2/1756869260_SZsPN7w/Medium


Cheers!

25 1/2 Weeks!

Well, I have less than 15 weeks of the life-changing (again!), journey they call pregnancy. And, I have to say its going pretty well. I have been running,walking, feeling great with only some fatigue....of course this is all with the exception of weeks 7-16  where you couldn't get me to move if my life depended on it for feeling so nasueasus, exhausted etc. However, I think running is going to take a brief hiatus for a while. I have a 5k this weeknd(which I'll report on after), that I'm doing with Chris and Ethan. But, that will be it I think. My back, hips, tummy etc are just telling me its time. Oh yeah, and the part where I have tinkle about every mile from the jolting is pretty annoying. I came to the realization when I was hobbling around Monday after a glorious run in the park on Sunday afternoon. I felt about 80 yrs. old....

So, back to walking, walking and more walking. And oh yeah, so happy that darn 1 hr. glucose test is done. hope I pass!

In other news, we had a tornado hit about 20 miles from our house last night. We were fine, but it touched down where a friend from work lives. Thankfully they are o.k. However, their house seems to have suffered considerable damage. Its so strange to see this sort of weather in MI....and near wehre we live! Crazy! Wasn't it just winter like a minute ago?Well, that's all for now. I'll try to update once I make it through my first(and last probaby) pregger 5k!

Potty Training Weekend!

Well, potty training is upon us...and it really wasn't/isn't so bad! I really dreaded this stage in our darling little boy's development.....but wished I hadn't so much. However, with his weight ever increasing, (so its hard to get him on a changing table), and little brother on the way....we thought it was getting to be about time.

So,our little dude is about 31 months....a little over

'The' Potty chair.

2 1/2 yrs. old, and to this past weekend showed little to no interest in using the potty instead of his diaper. At about 18 months we did what the pediatrician's literature suggested and took Ethan to pick out his very own potty chair(pictured at right), and let him play with it and sit on it in front of the t.v. fully clothed etc to get him used to it.....well, the interest lasted about a couple days like with any new toy....and no interest was shown since.

We have read not to 'Push It' with potty training as it will just take longer...so we decided to be passive and just let him decide to start showing signs he was ready. Well, that really never happened. We've been reading the 'Potty Book' for months, tried to get him excited that his friends at daycare were starting to do it etc....but nothing really got him motivated. So, mommy did some research and with dad's help we declared this past weekend to be 'Potty Training Weekend'!

I found a method I thought would work and put our own twists on it and so far it has been successful. For you curious moms out there...continue reading....others skip to the end. :)  This could get boring. 

First, dad and I decided to try a weekend at home potty training method based on my research and suggestion. We cleared our schedules and picked a  weekend where we were only focusing on potty training and not doing errands/outings etc. Then, the week or so leading up to 'Potty Training Weekend', we read the 'Potty Book' lots, made a special trip to get 'big boy' underwear that E got to pick out himself(bought quite a few just in case) and in general psyched him up to get ready for the weekend using examples of other kids using the potty at school, telling him he was a big boy etc. Then....Saturday came....

Friday night we had a particularly rough night with him. For whatever reason he decided to be up most of the night and not go back to sleep after 3 a.m. or so. :( Not a good way to start the day. No matter. He crashed on the couch around 6 and by 8 was awake. Potty Training Weekend commenced! 

Day 1: Saturday - As soon as he was awake, we switched out his diaper for undies and let him play/run around in just those with a shirt and socks on. Bonus about this....quite adorable in my opinion seeing your kid in little character undies for the first time. Too stinkin cute!  But I digress.....we then encourage him to drink lots of diluted juice or water or milk and have a talk about how to use the potty chair when he has to go. The potty chair was strategically situated in whichever room he was in. Because when he had to go, he had to go NOW! 

We encouraged extra drinking by giving salty snacks(yes....we gave him popcorn and crackers in the a.m.). The idea is to give him lots of opportunities to have to 'go' so he has lots of opportunities to be successful on the potty. The only caveat...be prepared for a few accidents and to not get upset about it. So...after an hour and a half or so....he stopped in his tracks and said 'uh oh'.....I noticed some wetness starting to appear and whisked him to his potty chair...with undies still on. I told him that it was o.k. and we'd get it next time. We praised him for sitting on the potty chair, and gave him a gummi bear for trying.  This happened about 3-4 more times over the next couple of hours. HOWEVER, just before lunch time he actually ran over to the potty, pulled down his undies and went himself! And no accident! With such a big victory he got a gummi AND a super ball and high fives and potty dances!  He continued this a couple of more times until nap time. It seemed he even needed no prompting. He never seemed to need to go when I asked, but he knew where the potty was, and what he had to do and did it in his own time! I was thrilled! 

After lunch, we tried one more time, then we put on a diaper for nap time. He woke up dry so we 'tried' again and then put on his big boy undies for the remainder of the day. He had NO MORE accidents that day. He received a gummi each time he got something in there and then we explained he'd get an extra special treat if he had a BM in the potty.....since he hadn't all day. By bedtime...still no BM..but lots of success in the peeing department. So, we put on a diaper for overnight. He did wake us in the middle of the night because he had BM'd in his diaper. I think he must've been a little afraid of doing it in the potty chair? Anyway, no big deal. 

Day 2: Sunday - As soon as he woke up we put on his big boy undies...about 5 minutes later he was off to the potty on his own. He hadn't forgotten...yay! This day I decided not to push the salty snacks and extra fluids since he seemed to get the hang of it the day before. He continued with no more accidents and after a few hours even BM'd on the potty!  We had actually moved his potty to the bathroom on our first floor, because he was doing so well....and I told him where it was.....I thought maybe he needed some privacy to do the 'big deed'. Seemed to work, because shortly after he had! This was call for a special treat...ice cream! The rest of the day went the same...he went on his own when he had to and got his gummi, high five and praise. He also seemed to like to empty his potty into the big one and flush it. Go figure....kids.  We also worked on hand-washing after every time and explaining why its important. And...no accidents the whole day! Diaper at naptime (he did wake up wet this day) and diaper at bedtime. And...that was it. The next challenge....knowledge transfer to daycare.

First Day at Daycare after 'Potty Training Weekend' - So after our unexpected success this weekend, we just decided to say no more diapers except at naptime and overnight....including daycare. I explained to him he needed to do the same thing at 'school' as at home and it would be fun to tell his friends about his new undies and how he goes on the potty now. 

I also wrote out a sheet(with bullet-points) to give to daycare so they could do the same things there as we did at home...to keep it as consistent as possible. I know...probably a little persnickety....but I wanted to ensure his continued success! It was received well by daycare and I have received 3 updates so far that he has used the potty 3 times and stayed dry! So far so good. I hate to jinx it by even writing this post...but I am just so gosh-darn proud of my little guy! If this continues to go so well.....I really don't know what I worried about in the first place! Now to just tackle the nap and overnight thing once we make sure he's got this day-time thing mastered. 

So...after this little venture into potty training I guess here are my top things I've learned...

1) Don't dread it. Approach it with a fun and excited attitude and your toddler will follow suit. Make it a fun atmosphere with lots of positive reinforcement....whether your kid likes stickers,candy( I know I know), little toys and accompany with lots of praise of course.

2) Expect that your child will be successful. No reason not to think so at this point.

3) There WILL be accidents. Deal with it, accept it and move on. Do not get upset in front of your child over it. It won't make them feel good...they DO want to please you. 

4) Once you make the commitment to 'undies' (or bare-bottomed) don't go back to diapers(with the exception of sleeping)....they are better able to tell if they're going and need to head to the potty if they can feel/see it....not so easy with an absorbent diaper. 

5) Like everything else with kids...be consistent. 

Well, that's about it so far for our adventures in potty training. 

Cheers!

Renewed Energy and a New Babysitter!

After my 'woe is me, I'm so lazy' rant on my last post, I thought it fitting to now celebrate how great I'm feeling lately! So since then, I have managed to get in about 2-3 runs a week, plus walking as often as I find myself having time AND doing a prenatal yoga class last week and this week!

I think I am back in a good place finally! I am 17 weeks, and for the most part feeling pretty darn good with the whole getting tired and nauseous thing creeping in later at night usually, but I can't complain!

It makes me feel like maybe just maybe I'll do a 5k for the heck on it come Feb 5th. :) We'll see. Is it silly I want to be able to say I raced when I was preggers? I think it would make me sound tough! LOL!

On another note, we found a little gem living next door to us! Yes, another babysitter to throw into the mix! Her parents had come over and introduced themselves when we first moved in and mentioned their daughter wanted to 'get into' babysitting. I wasn't really sure what that meant, and we hadn't thought too much more about it. Then just a week or so ago, she actually distributed flyers to the local neighbors stating her qualification, age etc. and that she was looking for babysitting jobs! Sweet! I didn't think I would be utilizing her services so soon, but when Chris couldn't be home in time for my yoga class this week (yes, I think I'm hooked), I had the brilliant idea of seeing if she could watch Ethan for just an hour or two so I could go. She was available and that was that.

She is such a nice girl and she lives right next door! She has also babysat at church lots in the last year in the nursery and so has no problem with 2 yr olds. Plus her mom is home when she'll be sitting, which helps me feel a little more secure as well....'just in case'. Anyway, the experiment worked and Ethan seemed to love her.He was asking this morning where she was. :) So, I think he had fun and it was a success! So yay! Another one to throw into the mix of babysitting resources! You can never have enough for that last minute date or class you want to go to.

Also, the new baby is doing just great! He/she (we find out in 2 weeks if we'll be team blue or pink this time), had a checkup yesterday and had a strong heartbeat and was really active! The doc said 'Hear that? That's the distortion on the doppler from the baby moving around so much'. She finally was able to get the heartbeat after some chasing the kid around my belly for several minutes. LOL :)

And that's a wrap for now. Looking forward to the weekend and spending some family time!

Who Stole my Motivation?

Its been 4 weeks since my last post according to Blogger. ugh! Where does time go?

You know, I'm noticing a pattern here.....that most of my blogs of late include an "Oh My Gosh its Been Sooo Long since my Last Post Line". How annoying. But whatevs, such is life I guess. I'm just as predictable as the next guy I suppose.

Well, I guess this post is sort of an "I'm so annoyed at myself post". I am annoyed that I was feeling great over break and thought my preggo symptoms were about gone. Enter this week at work. Its all I can do to get out of bed in the morning, put in a full day and then get home to make dinner. Thanks goodness for Chris. He's been so good at getting Ethan in bed every night so I can just go to bed myself or have a little down time before bed.

Note: this down time this week has not consisted of one iota of running, walking, yoga or anything remotely resembling exercise. This is why I'm so annoyed.

No, I had planned to go to prenatal Yoga on Wed, but felt too nauseous by the time I got home...so I made dinner and then made a last minute trip to Kohls to actually buy something to wear the next day for work. Annoyance number 2.....all of my clothes are either too small(my non-preggo clothes)...or too big(previous preggo clothes). Either that or I'm just way more picky about fashion this time around than I was before. Who knows?

My kryptonite.

Then last night I was planning to get on the treadmill no matter how I felt once Ethan went to bed. Yeah,that didn't happen. By the time he got to bed...I felt Chris and I needed some time. So, instead I plopped on the couch to watch the first episode of Biggest Loser for this season with...wait for it.... Haagen Dazs! Yes, my awesome husband got me ice cream(unsolicited) when he went out for diapers.Something feels so deliciously devious about watching people sweat their butts off while I indulge in my awesome snack....is that wrong?

Anyway, I am hoping to make up for my moments of weakness this week tonight and this weekend with some serious sessions on the treadmill.
After all, I don't want to dread getting on the doc's scale in 2 weeks. Plus, I feel so much better when I make myself just do it.

So, I'm feeling essentially like a fashion-less lump this week. Really good for my self esteem..can you tell?
But, much like this season's biggest loser episode's motto.....no more excuses! So, with that I'm going to get my preggo butt moving! And hey, at least I'm logging all of my indulgences in 'MyFitnessPal", so that's gotta count for something right?

Until next time.

Running And Expecting

It has been too long again since I have posted, but what else is new? So today I am writing on a sorta new topic.

Running while pregnant. Chris and I decided this past summer to add one more to our little family. This in the midst of training for my supposed 2nd marathon in Detroit. I figured if I didn't wind up preggo, I'd run it and if I did I wouldn't. And wouldn't ya know I ended up with a little bean after all. So, no marathon. I did keep running until about 7 weeks when nausea and fatigue got the best of me. I gave myself a bye for the

E and I right after my Du this past summer.

last month or so.....just too tired and yucky feeling to do much. Chris has been amazing in picking up the slack at home though. However, I decided last night to get back on the horse so to speak. I am tired of being tired and sick and decided laying around wasn't helping.

So, after E went to bed, I forced myself on the treadmill. And it wasn't so bad. My cardiovascular endurance has suffered a lot, so I did have to take it slower than usual, but when I was done with my 3 miler I felt fantastic! Why did I let myself take a month off again? Ugh!
Anyway, I realize not doing anything doesn't help, so back to running I go. Doc said it was fine as long as I kept an eye on heart rate blah blah blah. I've also been doing research on it since there are so many women who run through pregnancy. I plan to one of them this time! Hopefully I won't get so huge that I have to quit. I need my running therapy!

I also decided to try to find some type of running club because I do need a little motivation at times and I would love to meet some other like-minded folks. So, I did find a local club that meets once or twice a week and has dinner after. Sounds great to me! Hopefully there are some who are slower like me though...that's my only issue. I really wish there was a mom's running club or something similar local. I would feel a little less intimidated then. But, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. That's all for now....but I haven't ruled out races this next spring either. I would love to be one of those fit preggo moms passing people! lol!