"I live in Petaluma, a small northern California town. We've lived on the westside, which is old and historic, for 3 years now."

"It is a quintessential American town to me. Quaint and everyone knows you, everyone stops to say hi. Our house was built in 1906, I think, and it is a Victorian."

"Vintage. It was a house in desperate need of love and work when we moved in, and we have been working diligently to honor the age and history of the home whilst also bringing in some updates."

"My husband is what I call a sentimental minimalist. He likes clear surfaces, but also hoards all sorts of collectibles. So, our style is definitely a mix of old and new."

"I like twists on classics, hence our beautiful Cle tiles made of unfinished cement so that they will develop a patina as they age."

Eirinie and her kiddos dig into Once Upon A Farm's delicious, nutritious snacks that kids love and mom’s can trust, thanks to the brand's ethos of Always Organic, No Added Sugar, Cold-Pressed and Fresh, and Clean Label Project Verified!

The Once Upon A Farm lineup includes a wide variety of recipes, from tasty Fruit & Veggie Blends to Dairy-Free Smoothies for kids of all ages.

Busy parents can currently mix and match their 24 favorite snacks in a custom box and score big savings.

The sweetest snack-time looks: Luka and Eirinie wear matching mommy-and-me dresses from Dôen.

The vibrant greens and reds complement the fruits and veggies in their Once Upon A Farm snack pouches.

Some of the family's favorite Once Upon A Farm products, including the Strawberry Banana Swirl dairy-free smoothie, and Apple, Cherry & Elderberry and Green Kale & Apples fruit & veggie blends.

Each of the innovative, nutrient-packed pouches are cold-pressed to lock in nutrients and flavors that kids love, and deliver a delicious, homemade taste without the prep and clean-up.

Every blend delivers its own unique combo of nutritional advantages. For example, Eirinie's favorite—Apple, Cherry & Elderberry—supports immunity before, during, and after sniffle season, thanks to the natural benefits of elderberry and cherry, plus added probiotics.

"During quarantine, my husband (a musician most of the time) decided he would learn how to do the many home improvements we needed. He put in French doors, replaced old dilapidated windows, and built a laundry room. High on my list was a breakfast nook with built-in benches and a table. About 2 years in, I finally got my nook!"

"The wallpaper is from House of Hackney, a U.K. brand. It's something that is nice to think about as a Londoner living across the world from home."

"The wood is walnut. And beneath the benches are big drawers filled with my children’s art supplies. I love watching them color and paint, knees folded beneath them, at a table their father built."

"Ease! And they are fun for all ages. I have even had one (yes, straight from the pouch) when I felt I needed a boost."

"Our favorite flavor is Apple, Cherry, & Elderberry. And I am happy to report it doesn’t seem to stain clothing!"

"Health is paramount to us. We are a vegetarian family and so finding food that is nutrient rich, particularly with added iron, is important."

"As a mother of two, I'm often bustling kids out the door to various parks or classes or playdates, so being able to throw something into a basket is also key."

"My baby, Selah, is one of those kids who is always hungry, so having something to hand her when she is on the brink of screaming the place down is also very helpful."

Guilty as charged...and very, very cute.

"I remember when my eldest, Luka, began eating solids. I suddenly found myself having to put 3 meals on the table at reasonable and regular hours, and it felt so strange. Before that, I would eat as and when I felt hungry, without much thought of the ritual of eating. Having children definitely made mealtimes more sacred on the whole."

"My husband and I have always been health conscious when it comes to what we eat, but often relied on less healthy options when we found ourselves starving. Having children also made it clear how important it is to have nutrient-rich, fruit- and veg-filled options for those moments of desperation." 

The sweetest tickle face.

"One of my absolute faves that tastes as if you’ve done something gourmet—but only takes 30 minutes to prepare—is a kale spaghetti a dear friend suggested to us."

"I like to add lemon zest and more garlic than it calls for, and if I have it, fresh basil. It's full of good stuff, but still tastes kinda decadent—we like to pair it with a toasted baguette and a juicy tomato-based salad."

"My children love rice and beans, and I like to serve them a traditional Jamaican rice and peas with a jerk vegan chicken for my husband and I, and lightly seasoned and corn-starched fried tofu for the kids."

"My daughter Luka’s favorite snack at the moment is half an avocado with olive oil and salt, like a little duchess."

"Selah’s favorite snack is frozen peas left frozen, a banana that she can mash and eat with her hands, and cucumber cut julienne—she truly will not eat it if I cut it in disks, do not ask me why."

Baby toes = simply the best.

"I think of my parent style as fun. I try to listen even if the complaints children tend to bring to their parents are often indecipherable and seemingly inconsequential."

"After COVID burnout, I made a pact with myself that if my children ask me to do something with them and I am able to press pause on my other duties, I will. This means I often find myself putting down the broom or the sponge or the spatula to color with Luka, or play hide and seek with Selah. My hope is that they will remember me as a playful and kind parent."

"Consistency was something I lacked as a child, and so I strive to give my kids that now. I try not to sweat schedules or routines in detail, but we make sure we read stories every night, cuddle everyday, and get outside to be in the fresh air as often as possible. Little, consistent efforts when you feel overwhelmed by the general demands of parenthood go a long way, I feel."

"For Luka, who is 5, packed lunches and snack packs are a routine part of her life."

"For a day spent at preschool, she has two snacks and a packed lunch, and we try our best to balance the things she loves with healthy options."

"Sometimes I will hide veggies, like making a marinara for a pasta that had spinach blended in it, but for the most part she is a child who will eat healthy things."

"We do try to make things fun, for example I will cut cucumber slices into star shapes and sprinkle with sesame seeds, or add in a few M&M's with some berries."

"Selah’s snacks for any time spent at home consist of solely hand foods. She’s an incredibly independent baby and has insisted on feeding herself since she was old enough to hold a spoon."

"Things like black beans, thin apple slices, and brioche bread in pieces are the norm for her. Keeping her busy is essential to anyone else being able to eat and so the smaller the pieces, the longer everyone else gets for their lunch/snack time!"

Cooking staples and go-to cookbooks, all lined up.

Some of the family's picks include:
Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora by Bryant Terry, A Modern Way to Cook: 150+ Vegetarian Recipes for Quick, Flavor-Packed Meals by Anna Jones, Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, Giada's Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita by Giada De Laurentiis, New Vegetarian by Robin Asbell, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother by Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, and Marisa Belger, I Am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude by Terces Engelhart, Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes from the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine by Tal Ronnen, Plenty and Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi, and Baking Class: 50 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Bake! by Deanna F. Cook.

"Luka begins 'big kid' school this month, and whilst I have loved having her home for summer, I am ready to have some time alone, and I am sure she is ready for a new environment, too."

"I am excited for her new chapter, sad that she seems to be growing so fast, and happy to get into a steady routine instead of the lazy, fun, somewhat haphazard days of summer."

"This was our first summer with a kid old enough to do lots of fun camps, and I am slowly realizing my new summer role is chauffeur, program director, and chef. I am ready to retire!"

Produce-rich art imitating life a produce-rich life.

"So many things that I thought of as immovable character traits I have learned can be changed for my babies. I am not a patient person, but I am (mostly) patient with them. I am not a slow-paced person, but I am (mostly) slow-paced with them. I am surprised by my capability. In my head, my insecurities tell me that I am sloppy and late and forgetful and not competent, but I prove those insecurities wrong every single day. That feels good."

A gorgeous, life-like painting of Eirinie.

"I always knew I wanted to be a parent. It was very important to me. I wanted 3 children, preferably boys. After giving birth to Luka, I whittled that down to one child. Being a mother was different to how I had imagined, I think. It was much more relentless, and took some transformation on my part. Of course, it is also such a rewarding, joy-filled process, and that is what lead to the second child. It took me over 3 years to forget what childbirth was like the first-time round, and so my children are almost exactly 4 years apart."

"That gap has been helpful in some ways. The concept of a baby joining us was easy for Luka to grasp and she has grown into the big sister role seamlessly."

"But, on the flipside, I feel more tired with this baby than I did with Luka. Perhaps that would have been different if I'd had them back-to-back. Either way, this ride is closed. No more babies for us! My heart, my house, and my diaper pail are FULL."

Eirinie and her girls in their newly renovated laundry room.

They wear matching PJs, a mini-dress, and mom-sized dress by Dôen.

The family's fur baby waiting patiently.

"Luka is 5 and the day she was born she came out of me with her eyes open, looking around at the world and assessing. That's still exactly who she is today. She looks before she leaps, she is considerate and measured for the most part. She has a kindness that I pray she will carry through to adulthood. Her capacity for empathy and tolerance are unmatched. She loves to color and create and has a special wall in our house she calls her gallery. She loves creating big and endless sculptures with Legos that seem to always be underfoot and multiplying."

"Selah is 15 months old and a real firecracker. Her birth was rhythmic but quick. She was ready for the world and I hope it is ready for her. She is also the exact same person—ready to jump in with both feet, ready to touch and taste and see and hear everything there is for her on this planet. She keeps us on our toes, she is funny as shit and only slows down for a hug or a kiss from her sister. Luka has a drumkit in her room and that is Selah’s favorite thing to do. And if you put music on, you’d better be ready to dance with her."

"I grew up in South East London, in an area that was once predominantly Black and brown communities but, like many similar places, is fast becoming unrecognizable. My mother was a single parent and grafted hard to give my younger brother, Nick, and I everything she possibly could. My father was in an out of my life a lot, and much of my childhood is not something I remember with great joy."

"My grandparents lived in Somerset, southwest England, on a beautiful little farm in the middle of nowhere, and that is what I consider my childhood home. I loved it so much that in 2013 my husband and I married in their apple orchard. It is a magical space."

"I know that there is an ease to my life I will not give up easily because I know what grafting can look like, I’ve watched my mum do it. I cherish having a capable and duty-sharing partner. Despite being a white cis male, my husband Adam works hard to be a considerate, present, and hands-on parent, something my own father could not give me."

Need a book rec? Snag an option off of Eirinie's pile:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, Another Country by James Baldwin, Severance by Ling Ma, Crossing the Water and Ariel by Sylvia Plath, Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes, and Women Talk Money by Rebecca Walker.

Luka's sweet gallery wall, filled with her artwork.

"Selah means either a musical interlude or a moment of reflection, the latter of which might turn out to be more of a mantra for our little whirlwind of a baby!"

"Selah is also the feminine of the name Selassie, as in Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor of Ethiopia, an important figure in Jamaican rasta culture. Although my father is not a Rastafarian, he is Jamaican and so this link to my father’s home country was also something we thought about when naming her."

"Luka means light, and that is what she has been since the day she was born. A dear friend’s sister is named Luka and we just gravitated towards it." 

"Names and their meanings are important to me. So, when picking our children’s names it was crucial that they meant something to us."

It's picnic time!

Whether for the lunch box or picnic basket, Once Upon A Farm's healthy blends are perfect for families who are on-the-go, without sacrificing nutrition and quality.

Once Upon A Farm currently has blends just for babies, toddlers and elementary-aged kiddos, dairy-free smoothies, and overnight oats pouches.

And off they go!

"Gender is a construct. So I don’t think that the sex of my children is particularly important to who they are and who they have the capability of becoming. I found out the sex both times, but less from an 'I need to know if I am buying pink clothes or blue clothes' standpoint and more from an 'I am not a patient person, just tell me everything about my baby now please' way of thinking."

"As far as babies, the only things I was thinking when I found out the sex of Selah was, am I cleaning baby poo off a penis or a vagina? Because those cleaning processes are quite different."

"What excites me most about raising my children is that, climate change permitting, they will grow up in a world in which the confines of gender matter less than they did when I was a child."

"They already live in a world in which it is possible to be any number of wonderful types of people, they have a freedom and a freedom of thought that was denied to many, many, MANY of their ancestors. And as their mother I will be fighting to safeguard their right to be whoever the fuck they want to be."

"I have been to many marches, mostly protesting police brutality and state-sanctioned violence, but this was my first time organizing a rally. I did it with the help of friends and other parents with much more experience than I, and it was exhilarating. I have a renewed respect for people who dedicate their entire lives to activism, and now I know just how much work goes into organizing on a large scale, particularly one on a tight schedule like ours was (we organized in 48 hours)."

"I was proud that my children were able to come and march with us and hear me speak. The subject was a tricky one to discuss with a 5-year-old, but we talked a lot about bodily autonomy, about the people who have been fighting this battle for far longer, about the importance of being able to decide what happens to the body you exist in."

"I hope to bring my children into my activism, so that when they are grown they continue fighting for what is right, for equality and equity and abolition."

"The love that you receive as a present mother is pretty special. I write this from across the country, far from my children for a writers residency at Craigardan. I speak to my children on FaceTime every day, and they miss me deeply. It is special to feel their love even from such a distance, to know that I am missed, to know that I am an important part of their everyday."

"I love seeing the people they are becoming, even if they did show me exactly who they were from Day 1. Selah is becoming more competent and independent, she moves far from me to try something new but always returns to my arms for reassurance and support, a pattern I anticipate continuing for the rest of my life even if the distance stretches farther than just across the room."

"Luka feels things so deeply. At times this has been overwhelming for her and she often turns difficult emotions inwards and we work hard as a family to help her process things out loud. She is beginning to do that work on her own, and I hope she continues to make leaps and bounds in this way."

"I also adore the parenting community we have built in our small town. Having neighbors who will watch our baby while we take our dog to the vet, or neighbors who frequently take Luka for art sessions on sleepy Sundays (Hi, Mary!), or friends that we can lay out a blanket with at the park and watch our children run around, while we share wine or food or coffee. Those are the things that make parenthood less isolating."

"I am far from my family and do not have a family support system to lean on and so creating a system here has been essential."

Eirinie wears a picnic-perfect gingham dress by Dôen.

"The state of this planet: the global reluctance to do the things necessary to slow it so our children don’t inherit a burning rock." 

"Gun violence: The day after the tragedy and police incompetence at Uvalde, I had to drop Luka at preschool and I almost had a panic attack in the parking lot. It felt as if I was fighting against every single parental instinct, leaving her there. That doesn’t feel like something I should experience in an allegedly safe and affluent country." 

Baby Selah with her favorite Once Upon A Farm blend—Apple, Cherry & Elderberry—which is a naturally sweet treat with no added sugar, no preservatives, or artificial ingredients.

"I have been a professional model since I was 14. Meaning, now at 34 I have had a 20-year career. Having children has made me rethink what sort of brands I want to work with, what am I putting out into the world for consumption? Is it positive? Is it helpful? Is it necessary?"

"My pivot into my writing career was fueled by the answers to those questions, and in writing my book, a memoir on grief and loss and sisterhood, I felt I was birthing something else into the world. Something important, something helpful, something necessary. My book, The Dead Are Gods, comes out on Melville House next year, 2023. "

Up early and ready for school!

Luka wears an organic cotton Twirly Dress and Eirinie a Tie-Waist Jumpsuit, both by Pact.

"Having a partner who is willing, ready, and able to take care of our children. An artist himself, he knows the importance of space to create, and I honestly could not have finished one book and started another without him. Loving him feels like being supported, like a safety net beneath you as you tightrope walk."

"When I left my family for this writing residency, people would ask 'what will Adam do?' My answer to them then and now is: Exactly what he already does every single day."

"My second book is a novel about a woman in the throes of postpartum depression, and writing candidly about that postpartum period feels so healing, like airing a wound. I am so interested in the experience of parenthood, particularly queer and Black parenthood, the two communities I feel like I belong to."

"Learning to feel when I am tapped out, learning to ask for help, learning when to step away from a stressful situation—these are all things I gleaned from the past few years of parenting."

"My silver lining was my decision to carry my baby to term in this country, in this world, my ultimate expression of optimism. I am grateful for the choice I had to do so."

"The news of this world can be overwhelming, and learning when to turn away from it for a moment of solitude or reflection has been essential. I cannot organize or parent from a place of deep exhaustion, and so taking care of myself and my needs has been so key."

For more on Eirinie, be sure to follow her @eirineeee on Instagram and at EirinieCarson.com.

For more fruit-and-veggie-packed lunch inspiration, head over to Once Upon A Farm.