Bread & Wine, Quandaries, & Baby Shower Planning

Bread & Wine

This may just be the best read I've read in 2015. I loved it. The essays were personable and inspiring. I want to host dinner parties, to cook, and build deeper relationships with others.

I love party planning. 

I've been really as of late in a pickle because L is on the fence about if we should sell our place, or if we should move and where. For a time he considered sprucing up his resume to apply to find employment locally or in Alberta. As you will recall we listed it on our own for awhile and then decided a realtor would be a better choice. So we selected said realtor and he did his fancy market analysis but we have yet to sign the papers and hang a sign on our front lawn. I have gone to see more showings in Regina & Moose Jaw & surrounding communities in the past few months that I ever imagined I would be seeing. Our last showing resulted in L having a serious, full blown, asthma attack from cat dander in the house where his dad was sure we should call an ambulance. This is in contrast to our previous home purchase which was basically the second house we saw with a realtor, saw it once in 10 minutes and made an offer the next day. By the third day it was a done deal. 

Pickle indeed. I don't know if I should order a crib. Decorate the existing baby room. Settle into life here. Take a prenatal yoga class and make friends with other moms to be. Or light a fire under L's butt. We've been in this state of flux for well over a year. I quit my job to join him on these forays and because as you will remember my employer was not favorable to leave for IVF procedures. And as hard as it was to quit we all know that was the right decision in terms of baby making. I've fallen for a few gems that L is less than excited for. The market is much more inflated the province over.

The Mr. has two weeks off shortly. Then his schedule is crazy as in 2.5 days off in two months. It will be lots of overtime. The Mr. rarely throws caution to the wind and makes a quick decision. So this puts me in a real tailspin because I foresee I will find him August studying (during holidays), September and October working 12 hour days, and November in recovery while yet working his regular schedule. Which means it is likely we will still be without a decision until possibly December and by then baby will become on its way. I might as well order that crib.

How does this all relate to party planning or dinner parties? Mostly that I feel unsettled. People who host are settled individuals. They make others feel at home in their home. I long for that. 

In spite of this unsettled feeling, even though it is months out, and I don't know where my baby will be born, it is still fun to plan. 

So in the spirit of planning an awesome party I planned a mood board for my winter baby shower that may or may not happen. (Yes I know no one actually plans their own baby shower...most are less than glamorous in the basement of a church with everyone seated on stackable chairs in a circle. Having to play those ridiculous games. Eat squares. Drink percolated coffee or some powdered juice. And if that was my option I would probably be delighted too.)  

I started with these colours because that is how all party planners begin their mood boards right?

+ Cream

I decided the theme was Winter Woodland Wonderland.

Isn't it elegant?

Evan's Cherry Jelly

Evan's Cherries are great for making jelly.  

I was delighted to discover this cherry when I moved to Southern Alberta. Apparently the tree grows well in Prairie climates and some internet searches say it may have come to Alberta from Alaska. It is named for Evans a horticulturalist and research scientist for Alberta Agriculture who cultivated the plant after a gardener invited him to take some of the tree's for the Alberta Tree Nursery. She had been growing cherry trees since 1923 in her orchard near Fort Saskatchewan. Luckily my inlaws have several trees ripe for picking in their condo complex. 

Evans Cherries are a bright red fruit. They tend toward a sour cherry. In the spring they have beautiful white blossoms and grow to a height of 12-14 feet.

This fruit box equalled 20 cups of pressed juice and made 32 jars of jelly. 

To Make Evan's Cherry Jelly:

Wash the fruit and remove all stems, leaves and other twigs.

Rig up your press. I found this one at a antique store for $20. Back in the day people used to make jelly. Pour about 2 cups of cherries in at a time. Press it down with a wooden spoon.

Four cups of cherries yields about 3 cups of juice. If your lucky your sidekick or L in my case will come to your assistance and offer to press all the cherries. He is really wonderful. 

Skim off the murky scum.

Prepare your jars. Wash with warm soapy water. Rinse. Heat up the kettle and pour boiling water over the tops to steralize. Dump out the excess water. I usually have two cookie sheets and transfer the jars between the two. 

Heat up the lids on the stove in a small pot to boiling. I'm not sure why but you do. I guess it helps with sealing later? In a big pot pour in 10 cups of cherry juice and 14 cups of sugar. Yipes!  I guess that is why you only have a teaspoon or two on your toast. Add in one package of cherry jello. My mom always did that I am not sure why. Just do it. Heat it to boiling. Be careful to not let it boil over the edge which I did on my second go around. It was a real mess. 

After it boils add in 4 pouches of liquid pectin and boil for 1 minute longer while stirring. There are 2 pouches of pectin in each box of Bernardin Liquid Pectin. You can buy the jars and pectin at Canadian Tire. 

Remove from heat and using a measuring cup pour into the ready jars. Fish out the lids from the boiling water and screw on the lids. Use a towel to help hold the jars while screwing on the lid.

Listen to the music of popping as the jars seal. 

Oh what fun!

15 Weeks

Yay! We made it to fifteen weeks! 

So far all is good. 

I went to my Hematology appointment Friday in Calgary and was given the option to as a preventative measure go on Lovenox (blood thinner) for the remainder of the pregnancy up until 6 weeks after or be vigilant, exercise, no more flying during pregnancy, and stay hydrated. If my legs start to hurt or I feel shortness of breath to go to emerg immediately and then I would have extensive testing and be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I decided on option 2. 

It was a long drive of six hours (three there and back) to Calgary to have that 15 minute consult. It was raining so hard while I drove that at one point I thought I have to slow down or I might not even make it to my appointment. I wanted to go shopping in Calgary before and after my appointment to scout out some baby finds but because of the rain I was not as confident to go scouting. And I was without GPS so had to rely on my memory. The Deerfoot Trail my friends is nervy on a Friday afternoon!!  I went to IKEA to get my walk in but never bought anything. 

I'm a little chunky as you will see in my photos above. I was really worried I would be tipping the scales. I don't know how this whole pregnancy weight gain works. I am glad to report I am still down 1.5 pounds from where I started. 

Speaking of chunk and needing to exercise I think I may have agreed to run a half marathon in November of 2016. Oh dear! 

On Wednesday of this week we have our next OBGYN appointment and gee what fun a Pap test. Not exactly thrilling. 

I've been thinking of planning a gender reveal photo session. As you will recall L is not to thrilled about finding out the gender but hey! we haven't had photos taken professionally of us for five years and what a fun way to have photos taken. Let's see if I can arrange this. I think we can find out the gender at our 18 week ultrasound appointment. 

 

12 Week Update

How far along: 12 weeks 6 days 

Gender: L doesn't want to find out until the baby is born. I of course do. I'm not sure yet how that will work out. Today I went shopping and even the Anna & Anais swaddling blankets were color coded pink and blue. Where are all the yellow, white, or green choices?  

Weight gain: My initial loss of six pounds for the first trimester is gone and now I am right back to where I started. I am hopeful to not gain too much as I am already a little hefty. 

Maternity clothes: I bought a pair of jeans, top, and dress when I was in Regina. There are no maternity stores here so even though I am getting by with what I have and an elastic hair band I thought I should make the plunge into maternity wear. Maternity wear is so expensive! I wore the jeans out to dinner on Friday. They are also pictured above. They are seriously the most comfortable!! 

Sleep: Sleep is good. I love to sleep. I generally sleep on my side but sometimes wake up and I'm almost sleeping on my stomach. Then that hurts. 

Best moment this month: Hearing the baby's heartbeat. It was 166 at my appointment earlier this week. 

Worst moment this month: Getting sick with a sinus cold & having a plugged ear for several weeks. 

Miss anything: I miss coffee. I really do. Especially in the mornings or when L is brewing some. Starbucks has lost its charm. I tried a few of the non-caffeinated options and was really not impressed.

Movement: Nothing yet. 

Cravings: Thai, Watermelon, Sugar Snap Peas

Queasy or sick: I haven't really been nauseous which was great. For the longest time however I was not excited about eating anything. It was like I lost my appetite for everything. My appetite came back about the time I decreased and finally at the start of week 12 stopped taking progesterone and estrace. I don't know if that is related or coincidence.

Looking forward to: Finding out the babies gender, decorating the nursery & deciding on a name, the fun stuff!!