Naomi and I had a mama-daughter date at the Leesburg Farmer’s Market this weekend; I hadn’t been in a few weeks and it was a much-needed time of inspiration and time spent with my littlest baby girl. Since baby boy (I still don’t know what to call him; nothing feels right…Joe and the girls are calling him Jojo, and my family is calling him Joey, but I’ve just been calling him baby boy) entered our world, I’ve been trying to be more intentional about spending time alone with each of my girls. Especially Naomi, though, since she went from being our baby to being the middle child. This intentional time can be as simple as letting one skip their nap and reading some books together. Or a trip to the farmer’s market early Saturday morning. My life basically revolves around the baby right now, since he’s dependent on me every 3 hours for his food, so I want to make sure to spend that quality time with the girls so they don’t develop any feelings of resentment or jealousy. I also want to get to know them individually, and this alone time with each of my girls gives them my undivided attention! I learn so much about them when I’m entirely focused on them, and I love that!

Naomi and I got to the market just after they opened at 8 am, and there was a chill in the air. We walked around together for a while; Naomi charmed everyone with her bright blue eyes and rosiest of cheeks while I sipped on hot coffee and soaked up the beautiful colors and textures of fall produce. We talked about all the different types of pumpkins and squash we saw; we snacked on freshly baked seasonal muffins. I answered her millions of questions. It was such a precious time. Naomi is so inquisitive and she’s definitely my little conversationalist; I loved having the time [and patience, since no one else was demanding anything from me] to be present with her.

The produce at this time of year is stunning, and I’ve been dreaming up seasonal recipes. The kitchen was a disaster yesterday evening after I finished testing one recipe. On that note, does anyone want to come clean my kitchen on cooking days? When we got home, I had to take a few photos of the items we purchased. Those grapes and the black radishes were just too pretty, and the lighting in my kitchen was perfect at the time. That northerly window tho 😉 If we ever move from this house, I’ll have to make sure our new place has a northerly window in the kitchen; I’d be lost without it!

This is some of the local produce currently available in Northern Virginia (and I limited myself to these; there was so much more): French breakfast radishes, black radishes, Kabocha squash, Kuri squash, grapes, apples, eggplants, zucchini, collard greens, cauliflower, garlic, and sage. Everything was from a few of my favorite local (within about 1 hour) farms: Shenandoah Seasonal, Bigg Riggs Farm, Potomac Vegetable Farms, and Beechwood Orchards.

Kuri and Kabocha squash are some of my favorite winter squash; they’re almost too pretty to cut open and cook (a pile of these has been sitting on my table for a few weeks now), but when you do, it’s definitely worth it. I have a few recipes featuring these two winter squash varieties coming in the next couple of weeks. Do you have a favorite way to prepare any of these fresh ingredients? I’d love to hear…I’ll be working on lots of recipes this week and welcome any and all suggestions/inspirations! Any any tips for helping older transition to having a baby in the family/spending intentional time with your children? Please share! 🙂

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