Avocado and Paul Westerberg

​I had this dilemma the other day.  I couldn't decide what I loved more, dancing with my son to his father's very good taste in music (Paul Westerberg, from the former Replacements...in case you don't know...) or sharing multi-grain toasted bread with gi-normous avocado slices.  I decided that it was neither - it was both.

As we hung out before bed, getting our last set of dance moves in - we snuck in some toast and avocado and some fresh juiced (from our Juiceman, courtesy of Missy - Soren's Mamaw, psst - thank you!!! your grandson LOVES juice) carrots, orange, strawberries, pineapple and celery.  The babe can't get enough of this stuff.  As soon as he hears the switch of the juicer he comes running into the kitchen, screaming, 'eeeeee!' and signing please as fast and hard as he can!  I love it!

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So in answer to my conundrum. It was all of it and more that I fell in love with that day. And the day after - something different, like watching Soren make the connection between the chalk, color and concrete. There were lines all over our sidewalks! It was the best artwork I have seen yet. I can't wait to fall in love with motherhood more tomorrow!

Mariemont in top 20

What top 20? The top 20 planned neighborhood success of ALL TIME. This hood is not 20th or even 19th, but 12th! Here in Ohio!

Mariemont is, obviously - our next Cincinnati neighbor to visit and so far has been eye opening. I never thought too much about Mariemont other than being this quant, not even a square mile community canopied by trees - but now my perception has completely changed. If you are familiar at all with the Gilmore Girls hit sitcom from the CW (if you aren't - get on top of it! Some of the best sitcom writing EVER!), the neighborhood is a real life Stars Hollow. Down to the town meetings!

So far we have had the opportunity to speak with the Woman's Art and Cultural Center which is in quite possibly the coolest barn I have ever seen. This town is so rich with Cincinnati history and culture - just to give you a snid-bit, the barn alone was built by Mary Emery - who is the woman behind the planned community of Mariemont established in the 1920's, which was used as a model creamery at which both Linder brothers worked at. The barn then sat for a period of time and was bought by the Woman's Art Club and turned into an immaculate gallery space equipped with classrooms and A LOT of character.

We snagged a sweet snack for me (because of my ridiculous obsession with ice cream...) from Graeters, another Cincinnati business - and then off to a high energy interview with the Mayor of Mariemont, the village mind you. This is even cooler. The village convenes in a town meeting to nominate the Mayor and other major offices after each completed term. The nominees then have a month to campaign before the election. The election is between specific times for one day and there you have it - a Mayor - complete with a town crier! Love it! And of course we snagged lunch at Dilly Cafe or to others the Dilly Deli - amazing, good food. This is definitely going to be a one of a kind show that I think you will all enjoy!

mwxsw - bunbury : it's on!

​Oh yeah, Midwest By Southwest. It's true folks. All Night Party and Bunbury Festival (more on that later) are doing awesome things for the Cincinnati music scene. Plain and simple.

i barely forgive you for missing this concert, but i won't for missing their tour updates.  I am sure you all know what SXSW is - the festival in Austin where you get the skizzy on sweet, new indie bands that makes you cooler than all your indie band follower one-a-bies while enjoying the oldies that will go down in your personal history - which this is a part of. We are graced to have several bands from Cincinnati that have been selected to perform at this most monumental annual festival. Four of which are touring together on their way - almost every night.

Other's, like our good friends Ohio Knife will be chatting with us before going on stage at a day party rounding out the Austin experience. Who are these magnificent individuals you may ask? I will be happy to announce:

Be proud Cincinnati - these guys represent. After their quick tour down to Austin - they are all scheduled to play and our hometown Wussy is set for some major promos about their recent release and upcoming shows. Excited yet? I hope so! Because one of the proud sponsors of this tour is Bunbury Festival, brain child of Bill Donabedian. That name sound familiar? Well it should, because if you know your Cincinnati music-lore like you claim to, this is the man that created one of the region's top music festivals - Midpoint, of which - credit due - Dan McCabe has done phenomenal things with.

Bunbury Festival (after Oscar Wilde's the importance of being earnest)* is a new festival taking place at Sawyer Point July 13-15th. Great right? A festival with some local acts, great location and an emphasis on technological and ecological innovation! Yeah, but that's not it. Donabedian's genius is bringing in three headliners - Jane's Addiction, Weezer and Death Cab For Cutie. Shut that mouth and wipe the drool, it's happening and I'm not kidding. LX is hoping to have some fun with this one as well - more on that to come, promise.

Flash back to the present - So the Bunbury Bee is actually on tour with the bands on MWXSW and tweeting on a regular basis. In addition to his tweets - we will be meeting with MWXSW's chief endorser and Cincinnati music enthusiast Dave Davis of the All Night Party tomorrow morning to pilfer through great sound bites of the tour thus far, courtesy of Brian Niesz and get a run down what's to come at SXSW for the bands.

Then next Tuesday, we will be getting a wrap up of the tour and the shows. Check it out, at WVXU.org/LX!! I'm pumped, are you?!

*

Bun・bur・y
To Bunbury or to go bunburying is to have a made up excuse to get out of doing something boring.
From Oscar Wilde's 'The importance of being earnest' - where Jack creates a sick friend by the name of Bunbury to escape the boring countryside. (courtesy of urban dictionary)

You now see just how apropos this title for the festival really is!

THAI GREEN 'CHOW CHOW' CURRY

I love Thai curries!!! And what I love perhaps more than eating Thai curries, is smelling Thai curries. If you have ever made one, you know what I am talking about.

This is perhaps one of the most aromatic dishes I have ever concocted - including RAW Granola Bars! I must admit, it took a bit of searching for a starter recipe - but they are out there folks, and good ones, simple ones....

After eating the amazing Green Chow Chow Curry at GreenDog Cafe in Columbia-Tusculum, my taste buds couldn't wait another moment. I had to cook this dish. With a little help from about.com I was able to create a curry worthy of making again...and again, and again...

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3-4 cups spinach, washed and whole

8 oz mushrooms (we went with Crimini...love Crimini), sliced 1/2 cup vegetable broth

3/4 can coconut milk

For the Green Curry Paste:

1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced

1/4 can coconut milk

1-3 jalapeno (depending on your spice ability)

1 compressed cup chopped cilantro, leaves and stems 1 shallot, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic

1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon brown sugar

For the Curry Paste - which is definitely worth making on your own. After your first wiff of it, you will understand. I am a total cheat - no mortar and pestle for me, just the ole' food processor. Feel free to combine these ingredients by hand - I am sure that you will extract more flavor this way, but for those like me with limited time and young ones - a food processor does just fine. Combine all Green Curry Paste ingredients into the food processor and puree until you get a nice paste. It will have a slight chunk to it, but should be relatively smooth.

For the final dish. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the water has evaporated (anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on the mushroom). Then add ALL the green curry. Cook for 2-4 minutes, once the aroma is realeased, add vegetable broth and bring to a low boil/simmer and add spinach. Stir until the mixture is fully incorporated. Add remaing 3/4 can of coconut milk. Stir and let simmer for 2-4 minutes (it's hard to wait because it looks and smells SO GOOD!)

We eat this over brown rice to 'healthy' it up a bit with a Socca Pancake on top ↴

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chickpea flour 1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil pinch of cumin

Whisk ingredients together. The consistency will be like watery pancake batter. If you have a good non-stick skillet you won't need a drizzle of olive oil, but if

your's strays on the side of sticky then you will want it. Pre-heat skillet over medium heat. Pour a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side and enjoy!

CO-SLEEPING CONTROVERSIES

​Ok, sorry folks...I can't take this anymore. If you would like, you can blame OR thank Rick for this one. Either way - this is not a touchy subject per say, just bothersomely taboo.

Yes, we co-slept. When Soren was roughly 8 months he moved to his crib and at his first nightly nosh he stays with us - most nights until morning (when he seems restless, Rick puts him back to bed - we need a bigger bed...). And yes, I loved and still love it. Yes - it is challenging, but in the best ways. No - I NEVER came remotely close to crushing him, because here are a few things I did and DID NOT do while co-sleeping:

1. I didn't drink before bed (nor did I drink much at all while nursing until Soren was about 5-6 months. One very small glass of wine or even half a beer - my son's health is more important...)

2. We stripped the bed of everything but the necessary sheets.

3. I slept in the traditional, natural, instinctual position - on my side with my arm at an angle above my head, my legs curled up and my other arm around him.  This is a natural protective instinct for mom. Crazy how that happens?!

4. My partner (Rick) NEVER consumed alcohol before bed.

5. Here's a biggie - I am breastfeeding. And I use the present because we still are at almost 16 months. This allows baby to wake up periodically - not keeping him satiating for unnaturally long periods of time thus preventing SIDS which startles mom for his feeding. You rarely ever fall into REM sleep, which could make harming yourself or baby more of a risk when getting up to retrieve them from an independent sleeping space.

So there are a few things we really thought out before we made this decision. Which, by the way - was not made until after we were home from the hospital. We more or less fell into it. Soren was a nurse 45 minutes, sleep 20 minutes type of newborn and I wasn't getting ANY sleep. This way - I was able to get some rest, my nipples started healing (sorry if that's TMI, but shoot - it happens...nipples chap people), my milk production leveled out so the engorging would STOP and Soren and I have an amazing relationship. I truly feel as if I have a sixth sense about him. More than that - Rick does too. This wasn't just for me, and the links that Rick sent me that resulted in this post go to show how much it means to him. I still catch him waking up at night to listen for Soren, bringing our babe into the bed to cuddle if it seems like he is having a hard time sleeping. This dad gets it. You should really see it for yourselves.

This is a father that isn't afraid of doing anything with his son - alone. I have to say, it is most endearing when you hear from other people how impressed they are with his confidence about handling his baby, especially - alone. Why? I guess to me it's obvious - but in today's society, I don't think it is. Co-sleeping has made Rick's sixth sense stronger. I do really believe that this necessary step in our attached parenting really paid off - for us both. 

Rick has also worn Soren. Admittedly, he tried the sling which he couldn't get the hang of, but he did become an avid user of the baby Bjorn and our ERGObaby carrier. Now on to the back pack! This is a pop that refuses to push his child.

Can't believe it? - neither did I, but I love this about him.

Below are a couple links that inspired this rant. Again - you can thank Rick for them. It's nice to know I am not the only parent in this family that feels so passionately about this very, unnecessarily sore subject. When it comes to pregnancy, birth and parenting - knowing is really half the battle. The other is experience. Do what is right for your family and be smart about it.

1. Mayim Bilalik's Book Beyond the Sling
2. Mayim Bilalik's ABC interview (if you are anything like me, you will end up screaming at the screen - awful anchors...awful)

With the internet and an open line of communication between yourself and your partner - everyone is capable of making decisions that are right for their families.

Don't be afraid just because it might seem taboo. It's ok, it's actually recommended you nurse and for at least up to 2 years - not just for baby, but for yourself. It's ok to co-sleep, just be sure to take necessary pre-cautions. It's also ok for your baby to sleep independently if that is right for you - again though, be sure to take the necessary pre-cautions. They exist for that situation as well. My apologies if this seems slanted, but let's face it - it is. I have received more criticisms, furrowed brows and judgements for our natural birth, nursing, co- sleeping and wearing to put me on the defense...

But when it comes down to it - parenting is a blast, on any path you choose. They are precious and really do rely on us as parents to make their decisions for quite some time. Let us all do the best we can in that moment for our babes - they are looking to us for just that.