Welcome May

 May is here! I'm so excited. May means, my baby will be turning two, school ends, and Farmer's Market season has begun. Yes! I'm not gonna lie, we go kinda crazy about the markets in my house. It's my goal to get as much as possible from local farmers and artisans- cause they are awesome! We eat so much cleaner when we can swing over to the weekend or mid-week market stop and pick up breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few days. No boxes, no processing- just yummy stuff made with warm sunshine. Last weekend was the first of the outdoor markets.

I was so silly excited, that we actually went to two. I HAD to go to the last winter indoor market to stock up with Honeyrun Farms, soap & raw honey. They have officially ruined bland, grocery store honey for me. As in, I don't think I can live without their Fall honey, now. Yummm! We add their bee pollen to smoothies, and honey to anything we can. I've used their baby soap on Baby{J}, almost his whole life and can't say enough good things about it. It works perfectly to keep his curls moisturized, but not weighted down too, without nasty chemicals touching his new skin.

Next, we were off to the very first outdoor market of season where we picked up some fresh eggs, organic potato's, radishes, delicious tomato's, a few plants for the upcoming planting weeks {I'm trying to pace myself}, worm casting for compost tea from One20Farms, and Ohio Maple Syrup.  I even got to use my new market basket {love}.

I love that my children are learning where their food comes from, while helping sustain the local economy and eating HEALTHY. It's a triple score. That said, every summer there are weeks that I wake up and don't feel like dragging along four kids through the busy market, but we do. There are weeks that I have to recite the benefits like a mantra in my head, just to keep from going insane as the children all dart in opposing directions at one. Overall those moments are fleeting and I am helping my kids gain knowledge, and life skills... totally worth it! even with the few short lived moments where I want to cry. 

So happy you are here May. 

This week

Eating: This week, we are eating lots of tasty salsa, pretty much straight from our garden. This goes great with chips or homemade bread. yum! We've been able to do 90% of our weekly shopping at the Farmers Market & our backyard. I feel pretty great about that. Local tasty goodness!

Making: lots! Baby Quilts for friends, pillows, coffee sleeves, seat cushions, book slings, baby pants. Plus the 101 creative projects that the kids have going on each & everyday.

Enjoying: We are enjoying playing with that little kitten up there. He seems to be incapable of holding still for more than 30 seconds. He's also driving out two older cats nuts, so the children try to entertain him, for their sake.
We are also relaxing! Oh how I love just hanging out! School starts in a few daysand the next few weeks will be anything, but relaxing. I'm carry so much anxiety around with me before school starts. This will be the first year Dylan will be going off to school. We've always homeschooled with him, so it's a big change for me [& him]. He's my first baby. He's the child that made me a mom, not just Jessica. I'm happy & sad all at the same time about sending him off to school. Rest, yes... I do  need some rest.

Etsyveg team

I have been a vegetarian for 25 years now. My husband and I are also raising vegetarian children. We are vegetarian family that cares about our animal friends and the environment.

We try to eat organic, locally grown fruit & veggies as much as possible. We shop at our local farmers market every Saturday. I LOVE the market. We get fresher food, cheaper. Everything is super tasty and picked that morning or the day before! It also feels good to pay the farmers directly for their work than through a store [you know I still love you Whole Foods!] You get to know the people or families who grew the food you are going to feed your family. It's pretty cool!

A few months ago, I found the etsyveg team and knew it was a perfect for for me. It was awesome finding a whole group of artists that had similar views! The group has everything from painters and photographers to candle and soap makers--and everything in between.
You can check out the blog, or enter "EtsyVeg team" when searching on Etsy.

We are all just trying to do our part, for a better future for our kids and this beautiful Earth!