After an autumn together, I'm back to work

I knew maternity leave would fly by, so I tried extra hard to enjoy the days at home with Avery. Julian went to school most days, but without having deadlines and people to meet, we could laze around and go the park or library before dropping him off at school.

We had a very warm, dry fall, but it was nice to be able to spend so much time outside. The garden beds are packed with cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic and onions.

Julian has really taken to Avery. He calls him his little "sweet pea," which comes out sounding like "sleepy." Very cute.

Julian will ask me to take Avery in his room so they can watch X-Men together. (Transformers are so October. X-Men are all the rage now. He can tell you all about Shadowcat, Rogue, Wolverine and, his favorite, Cyclops.)

Avery is three months old and is holding his head up really strong. He loves to grab on to your fingers and, with your help, pull up onto his feet, smiling and laughing as he goes. Ian and Julian swear he said "Mama" in the car today, which I doubt was intentional but proof that he's using his vocal chords.

We're still breastfeeding, and it's going well. I've lost almost all the weight I gained during pregnancy (OK, all but 10-15 pounds, but most of my clothes are fitting again). Avery is probably between 14 and 15 pounds right now and will usually sleep until 5 a.m. before waking up to eat. It's about as much sleep as you can hope for with a new little guy.

Erin came to visit a few weeks ago and got to meet the little guy.

So adorable, even to his mama.

En garde! Julian and Ian have taken to playing swords out front. It's a good way for Jules to release some frustration and anger, we've found out. Plus, Ian's shoulder has healed enough that he can actually use his right arm for stuff like this!

I really eased back into work during November. I had some help doing the big Thanksgiving story, but now we're already on to Christmas and it's a stressful time at work. We keep losing features writers who are leaving jobs that people would kill to have but whose positions aren't being filled. This means we're all distributing extra work, but at some point, we won't be able to take on any more. Who knows when that point will come, but it feels pretty damn close. I love being back around my co-workers, though.

They are all so supportive and interested in the changes that are happening right now. I don't think I've mentioned it on here yet, but some producers approached me about hosting a television show called "Austin Supper Club" that will air on KLRU next year. We shot the first episode about urban farms last weekend (I rode along with Edible Austin's Urban Farm Bicycle Tour), and they are in the process of raising the money it will take to shoot the rest of the series.

It's definitely increased my workload, but it's fun to work on a different medium. The producers are so enthusiastic about Austin food! It's going to be a crazy busy next six months, but you gotta make hay while the sun is shining, right?

Good thing I still have that Moby wrap so I can take the baby into the field with me. :)

Trick-or-treating with Swiper, Bumblebee, a bumblebee and a hot pepper

This was the first year that Julian got really excited about trick-or-treating for Halloween. He dressed up like a meatball last year, but when it was game time, he only wanted the candy. This year, he was pretty excited about being in costume as a Transformer. (He could tell you all about the world of Autobots, Decepticons, etc. if you ask him. Me? I still have no idea.)

Ian dressed up as Swiper from the Dora the Explorer cartoon. I was a bumblebee, and Avery was a hot pepper (thanks, Chelsea!).

We went to a neighborhood in Austin called Hyde Park, which features the castle-like museum home of Elisabet Ney, a sculptress and once-powerful Austinite.

A fall adventure to Missouri with my little elf

 Oh, Missouri.

Every time I come back from a trip back to my hometown, I say the same thing.

Oh, Missouri.
 

This time, I was showing off little baby Avery to GaGa, Chelsea, Kenny and the rest of the lot. Traveling alone with a 6-week-old is always an exciting, strange adventure, but everyone was so helpful and accommodating for me and my tiny traveling companion.

    

After spending a few days in Aurora, I spent the night with Chelsea in Springfield, where I found out what a special touch she has with newborns. Avery was smiling and laughing for her even more than he does for me!

 

The next morning, I packed up Avery Cakes and headed to Columbia. I set out to see five of my close friends who are still living there, and I'm happy to report that I got to spend time with every one of them.

To say that Bobby and Daniel have started a farm is an understatement.

Growing Food, Growing Understanding from Valerie Mosley on Vimeo.

With the help of a few friends, they've started the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, a nonprofit whose goal is to increase access to and education about food that is raised sustainably.

They raise chickens and use compostable toilets. They trade with the Amish for butter and milk. They have tomatoes, apples, pears and butternut squash laying out in boxes on every open tabletop in the house.

 

They've put up an entire pantry's worth of produce, stock and sauces.

They run a farmstand.

 

 

They farm on more than an acre of land just a few miles from campus.

It's incredible to see what these guys have been able to accomplish when they really put their minds to it. I've known both of them for a long time, and it's rewarding to see them find such satisfaction and purpose in life. (Not to mention see how cool it is that we're both so involved with food. Who woulda thought?)

I got to do some of my favorite Columbia things, like go down to the river (this time, we had to stop by this place in the middle of nowhere called Lucy's for a bite to eat and a beer)...

eat Shakespeare's Pizza...

walk around campus and sit at the base of the columns on the Quad...

tweet about cool things I found on campus, like these knitted socks someone put on the Thomas Jefferson statue...

eat a delicious breakfast at Ernie's...

catch up with my dear friends that I just don't get to see enough.

I was able to watch the leaves turn brighter by the day and bake an apple cake with GaGa.

You'll never forget the colors of fall, but it's good to be reminded.