Yes, yes, this is a fertile land and we will thrive. We will rule over all of this land and we will call it……this land.

I think we should call it your GRAVE!

This is what my house is like on a daily basis. I think 3,ooo women screaming in excitement and pounding music all in one ballroom will be a nice rest for my ears.

My CSA membership has been paying out big time for the last few weeks. I snarfed down all the early season carrots and snap peas and lettuce without even bothering to take pictures or find recipes, because what can you possibly do to a fresh-picked snap pea to make it BETTER? (Hint: NOTHING. Except for shoving it into your face hole.)

Toddler photobombing my picture of last week's haul to get a cherry tomato

All my hopes for teaching the toddler about fresh and local food have come absolutely true. He asks to go to the farm all the time, loves seeing the plants and checking out the changes each week and will eat things I NEVER thought would pass his lips (peas! beans! lettuce!) if he gets them fresh.

But I haven’t been wasting all my veggies on the toddler. They’ve been a total life-saver on my diet plan, since I can eat as many vegetables as I want – and they are SO MUCH EASIER to eat when you know they’re fresh and tasty and they’re sitting on my kitchen counter.

Here’s what I got on Tuesday:

1. Arugula
2. Cabbage
3. Summer Savory
4. Amethyst basil plant
5. Cinnamon basil
6. Jalapeno
7. Heirloom tomato
8. Garlic
9. Eggplant
10. Green pepper
11. Cucumber
12. Fingerling potatoes
13. Red poatoes
14. Hot peppers
15. Cherry tomatoes
16. Pole beans

Holy cow. How do I even START to eat all of that goodness?

Pinterest helps, of course. I used some of the fingerling potatoes for Salt & Vinegar Fingerlings, although I wussed out on the full 2 cups of vinegar and I shouldn’t have – they weren’t tart enough for me. And I’m going to make Spicy Green Beans with my pole beans tomorrow, although mine will be a lot less fancy than that recipe (grapeseed oil? pshaw). I think we’ll have Parmesan Roasted Potatoes this weekend with the red of my red potatoes to satisfy my french fry craving.

And here are my super easy, spur of the moment, straight out of my brain recipes:

Eggplant Bruchetta

Eggplant sliced thin and broiled for about 4 minutes on each side, then topped with chopped basil, garlic and tomatoes and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. 100% CSA. And it was ZERO points on my Weight Watchers plan.

Chicken quesadillas with homemade salsa

Chicken, green peppers and onions sauteed with garlic salt and cumin, then I used my handy-dandy quesadilla maker and some Mexican cheese blend to make it melty. The salsa is the heirloom tomato, tons of garlic, one of the hot peppers, cilantro and lime juice.

Potato rosemary pizza

Pillsbury pizza crust baked for 5 minutes, then topped with mozzarella, chopped rosemary, chopped garlic and all three kinds of potatoes I got from the CSA sliced as thin as possible. Sprinkle with salt and bake for about 20 minutes more. Next time I might roast the potato slices for a few minutes before putting them on the pizza so they’re crispier, but even my husband ate it and agreed it was good. And so pretty!

We have summer squash and zucchini and more eggplant (my new FAVORITE) and tons more tomatoes coming in the next few weeks, so let me know if you have any favorite recipes. Oh, and I need a suggestion for that head of cabbage. It’s so beautiful I hate to turn it into coleslaw but I don’t know what else to do with cabbage.

There isn’t any point pretending Little Evan isn’t a full-blown person-type human anymore. There’s almost no trace of baby left on him, as if every night in his bath we wash another layer off, revealing the Big Kid underneath. He carries a (toy) phone in his pocket for goodness sake. Next week he’ll be asking for the keys so he can pick up his friends for a movie. BUT I WILL SAY NO. At least not until he takes out the trash and feeds the dog.

I am constantly amazed by how much he takes in and remembers about our days and conversations. It makes me feel like all the shlepping around and packing and planning actually MEANS something to him, even if he is too young to remember it when he’s older. But when he’s still asking about “Farm? Sheep-baa? Go, mama? Friends?” a week after we went to the farm it makes me smile. It also breaks my heart that I promised him a ride on the horse-drawn carriage at Mystic Seaport last weekend but had to cancel due to my foot-sprain and every time we get in the car now he asks about the “horse-boat?” Soon, Buddy! As soon as I can walk I PROMISE.

He has a funny way of saying words that are more than one syllable that is totally adorable but means I have to serve as a translator with most grown-ups. (Kids, on the other hand, understand him even better than I do.) For example, he says “Plees. Car.” for “police car” and “Bass. Ball. Net.” for “basketball net”. He recently learned to love my singing – bless his heart – and will request songs by singing his own mini-version or with hand motions. His favorites are Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Baa Baa Black Sheep, You Are My Sunshine and Happy Birthday.

Little Evan took a four hour nap at some point last week and woke up 2 full inches taller. All the 24 month summer clothes I bought him are too small, and he’s safely in a 2T or even a 3T and a size 6 shoe. He’s still in a size 5 diaper and will probably be in them for a while. We’re taking a casual approach to potty training that’s not stressing anyone out but is also going to take a looooong time. But we’re OK with that.

Favorite things include books, running, pointing out basketball nets, his baby sister, boats, horses, Daddy, his friends, napping with his blankets, taking pictures, splashing and the iPad. Least favorite things include being tired, hearing no, water when he can’t touch the bottom, swallowing strange food (he’ll put it in his mouth and chew it up), and being buckled in the stroller.

Damn those birds! Why are they so angry?!

Eyelashes & rosy cheeks

So much attitude for someone who can't wipe his own butt.

27 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Jumps with both feet – Yes, jumping has always been one of his strong points.
• Opens doors – Yes, both the regular doorknob kind and the lever kind. Like, for instance, on our back screen door. Which means he can escape the house.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) – I’d say about 80% of the time yes. He knows a bunch of colors, and big and small, and mama’s vs. dada’s vs. baby’s, and a bunch more. You can say “Evan, go get that round thing over there” and he will go get it.
• Draws a vertical line – He’s not too interested in drawing, but he can use his finger to make a straight line on an iPad (totally counts).

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Starts to recognize ABCs – Starts, yes. I’m thrilled to see this on the “advanced” skills for his age, because it seems like TONS of my internet friends have toddlers younger than Evan who already know almost all their letters. I was worried I’d been failing Evan somehow by not doing alphabet drills before and after every nap time. But how do you FORCE a 2 year old to learn his letters when he’s busy kicking balls and playing Angry Birds? Now that he likes playing with his VTech magnet letter thing he recognized a lot more of them.
• Balances on one foot – Yes, and I know this because he puts his pants on like a REAL PERSON now. I almost cried the first time I realized I didn’t have to make him lie down to get dressed.

Dear Pull-Ups,

What the hell is your problem? I thought that since my toddler started showing a lot of interest in the potty (interest that involves peeing in it instead of just throwing my mascara in it) I would ease him into big-boy underwear with some training pants. But instead of making my life easier, all you’ve manage to do is turn what used to be a simple diaper change into a horrifying poopstravaganza. Seriously, it’s like you’re the Jackson Pollock of number 2 – smooshing it and flinging it and twisting it all over my child’s butt until I need a spatula, a fire hose and a tube of Goof Off to clean him. It would actually be easier to clean crap up off the floor.

So what’s your point, Pull-Ups? Are you a diaper? Are you underwear? You’re the red headed step-child of pee and poop catching devices, more closely related to that dreaded harbinger of summer misery the swim diaper than anything useful. If my toddler was already batting 1000 when it came to making it to the potty I wouldn’t NEED training pants. Suck it up, Pull-Ups. Literally.

Your helpful little pattern that warns me my kid has peed openly mocks me. You start sagging at the slightest bit of dampness. The only thing you had going for you was the ability to pull you up and down and even that is useless. Have you ever tried to get a little boy to pee in the toilet while his ankles are pinned together? It’s a good way to experience the parenting version of a golden shower. NOT COOL, PULL-UPS.

So, in conclusion, go screw yourself.

xoxo

Suzanne