I’ve never felt so distracted as I do now that Hazel is around. Do you ever feel that, as a parent of a young child, so much of your attention and energy is spent making sure the kid eats, sleeps, stays fairly clean, and doesn’t choke/fall/electocute herself that you have little to no brain space left over for normal tasks? Ever since Hazel was born 15 months ago, I have felt this way. Things like Normal Conversation With Other Adults seem to elude me these days.

Somehow, I was able to carry on a somewhat coherent conversation with my grandmother and aunt last Monday when they came to visit Hazel & I. We had a lovely time catching up a bit, touring my yard looking at our plants/flowers, and going out to lunch. I think I conversed rather well, considering my track record as of late. Other functions fell to the wayside though as a result of this high-level brain action. I forgot to use my camera - for the second time. Not even one photo of this joyous visit or their last fun visit was snapped. For any of you who know me from my pre-Hazel era, you’ll find this surprising as my camera is usually a big mechanical extension of my face.

Seems that mothers can only do ONE additional thing aside from assuring the survival/happiness of their offspring. Rest assured, though - we did have a great time.

Rainy summer weather always reminds me of my days working at a summer camp (it must have rained all of June that year). This afternoon the skies opened up, and as the deluge fell outside my open windows, I hearkened back to my days as a camp cook. I’ve always found cooking to be a very therapeutic and creative pursuit. There were many days when we lived in Vermont when I’d return home from my work at the cafe so energized and inspired that I would cook, bake, and create for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. On the first day that I was finally over my ‘morning sickness’ when I was pregnant with Hazel, I made chocolate cupcakes, carrot spice bundt cake with cream cheese frosting, and homemade deep-dish pizza (all gluten-free!).

I am definitely inspired in my cooking by fresh local ingredients - in Vermont, we were lucky enough to have access to tons of local flavor between active farmer’s markets, a local farm, and local cheese operations (both goat and mozzarella). The local scene isn’t quite as bountiful here as I had wished (I really miss the yummy cheeses from VT… but my waistline probably doesn’t), but we do have a nice farm nearby that hosts a plentiful farm market from May - Christmas. So I was inspired to make a childhood favorite today after picking up some beautiful kousa squash at the farm last weekend.

My childhood memories of summer include fond ones of eating a dish we simply called ‘kousa’ (or cousa) made for us by my Lebanese great-grandmother (after whom Hazel is named). Sito (as we called her - from the Arabic for grandmother) used to core out the kousa squash and stuff it with a rice and ground lamb or beef mixture seasoned with mint, onion, allspice, and tomato paste/puree. I have made this version before (except I don’t eat red meat, so I stuff mine with the slightly healthier brown rice and ground turkey). I didn’t feel like coring them today, so as I listened to Led Zeppelin, the Gorillaz, the Cardigans, Ben Folds Five, and Jeff Buckley (the combo made for great rainy day cooking music), I just split them in half lengthwise and stuffed each half - this also makes them easier to eat I find.

Here are the kousa sliced with insides scraped out - waiting to be stuffed… don’t they look so cute lined up like that?

Fantastic spicy tomato-y smells are now wafting out of my kitchen as the kousa bake in the oven. What a great sensory-pleasing way to spend a gray afternoon - and to think, the cats are missing it all as they snooze on the bed! Sorry I don’t have a recipe to share, but I didn’t use one. Here is a recipe for a slightly different version of the dish if you’d like to give it a try.

As any mom of a toddler can tell you, it’s no fun when your kid gets sick - especially when it involves a fever, a recurring ear infection, and a trip to the ER.  But that was last week.  I’m happy to report that after a fun-filled weekend of visiting relatives in Connecticut, Hazel is home and happily healthy.  Me, on the other hand?  Home, but not healthy.  I’ve gotten a nasty cold/cough that has me stuffed up and aching all over.  I’m assuming that all the hugs and get-well kisses that I showered on Hazel when she was screaming and burning up in the emergency room last week didn’t exactly help me stay germ-free.

I can put up with a minor cold like a champ, but I have to say that I am getting totally fed up with this!  Ever since her very 1st ear infection (which arrived coincidentally on her very 1st Birthday) in May, I have been catching a variation of her colds.  She gets sick for a week, then I get sick the next week - but my colds have been lasting for nearly 3 weeks at a time… so just when I’ve gotten over it, she seems to bring another one home with her, only to start the cycle all over again!

I’ve been pumping myself full of zinc, vitamin C & E, and drinking lots of water at the first sign of illness, but I have yet to thwart the nasty bugs.  Anyone have any suggestions on natural or not-so-natural remedies to help me avoid the next round?

I have a secret obsession.  I am finally willing to admit that I secretly love to read sleazy trash about celebrities.  Recently, I have found a cool way to reconcile this blush-worthy behavior with my values/lifestyle. (No, I’m not reading tabloids with a flashlight under the covers after ‘lights out’.) I now get my celebrity fix on Ecorazzi.com.  It’s no longer an addiction to celebrity trash, I now feast on celebrity recyclables.  Yep, all the eco-friendly celebrity compost that’s fit to scoop - all on one convenient blog (great design, too I might add).

Today my eco-obsession just got a whole lot cooler.  I am officially a contributing writer over at Ecorazzi!  So go check out my first post and tell me what you think (I can take it, I promise!) - and check back there often, as I’ll be a regular contributor!  (And don’t forget this little blog, either!)

I’ve been stumped for content lately - not due to any lack of fun/busy times with Hazel - but because I was feeling a little redundant and ridiculous when my husband and were posting the same content within days of each other. So, I wanted to take a little break to evaluate the ‘voice’ of this blog and decide whether or not to continue on with it at all.

After some thought, I think I’ll continue to post here - but I’ll most likely be including other stories in addition to those about Hazel, so that this blog more roundly reflects my life as it is currently.

So, loyal readers reader, hang in there and you’ll be pleasantly rewarded. We’re off visiting family in Connecticut later this week, so no promises on updates before then… but next week… stay tuned!