First's in Michigan

Well, we have completed the move to Michigan. It was an interesting time getting here filled with strange places to pump, losing each other in gas stations, and trying to unpack and repack items so we could separate them into storage and things we needed. Zach did amazing during the move and seems to enjoy it here in his new home.

Let me tell you about some of the events and situations we have gone through in the past few weeks.

Pumping during travels = ninja skills and stealth positioning of yourself so nobody can tell what you are doing in a vehicle. As we are going 75MPH down a highway I was attempting to pump so we could feed Zach, this made me have the same feeling as walking in on somebody going to the restroom TIMES 10! Drivers and passengers kept trying to check out what I was doing under my blanket and I would nonchalantly look out the window like I was gazing at a beautiful sunset. Needless to say, it was a little awkward but not as awkward as David's graduation. When we went to David's Graduation ceremony I had to pump inside of McCormick Place in a stall of a public bathroom. I was in a dress so I had to disrobe, I decided to use my dress as a sheet to cover the opening of the stall and its a good thing too! Women were coming in and out to use the restroom and I was still in there. About 15mins before the ceremony a long line forms in the bathroom. People are trying to look through the crack to see what I am doing in there but my trusty dress saved the day. I understand their curiosity, the pump makes a rhythmic gulping sound and I had been in there for almost 30 minutes! I cant even imagine what they thought I was doing in there... After that experience I decided to start using the manual pump in public because it doesn't make any sound. I first tried this out at a friends wedding, again in a public bathroom. **Shakes head** I figured I would rather have them think I was constipated then try to peak through the stall door. I used to be grossed out by public bathrooms and bodily functions, one month of having a newborn and you just don't care anymore.

Babies R Us = Evil monopoly disguised as caring baby lovers. Our wonderful family and friends gave us a crib/changing table combo that changes into a toddler bed then a normal twin sized bed and a Glider/ Ottoman. The way Babies R Us decided to handle those orders was to ship them to my in laws home and we would assemble them when we arrived in Michigan. So, my mother in law and I go about assembling these bad boys in the nursery. We both enjoy doing these types of things so we are having a nice time chatting and following the directions. Step 1 check all the parts to ensure you have them and they are not broken. Easy enough. We start pulling out several pieces and arrange them in the room to make it less messy, as we go along we notice one of the pieces is in fact broken. OK, so we check to see which piece this is. David calls Babies R Us and after a long conversation is told that they can ship us the part or they can ship us a new crib and we can ship the broken crib combo back. It is the end of the changing table, technically we can still assemble the crib so Zach has someplace to sleep and we will be able to swap out the part when it arrives. My mother in law and I go back to work, we set the whole thing up (after the use of some power tools to fully drill out "pre drilled holes") and move it to where we want it for the night. After a couple of days we notice we haven't heard back about the part, David calls again and gets the run around. Because it was ordered online (by an associate in the store not by the customer) the store wont help and because it was technically ordered in a store, online help wont help either. Eventually, David gets someone to help him but they tell him we have to ship the crib combo back first and then they will send us a new one. The three of us decide that is not going to happen, that crib was a pain to assemble. So, the next day or so my mother in law calls. They try to give her the run around and she shuts them down. She wants to speak to the supervisor, the supervisor is the one she is speaking with, she says she wants to speak with HIS supervisor. He tells her that's corporate, she replies OK I want corporates number. He proceeds to try to deny that corporate can help and claims they are not there. BEST LINE in response from my mother in law "So, you're telling me that everyone at your corporate offices are dead?" Shortly after that she was given the manufactures number, they will be sending us a new part.  On a happy note, the Glider/Ottoman had only 3 parts and the Ottoman was all ready assembled in the box. YAY!

Neighbors that actually speak to you = Awesome

I have been trying to get back into shape and decided that walking will be the best thing to start with. In this neighborhood people actually speak to you and mean what they say! It's a little startling and was a bit of a culture shock for me at first but now I have made some friends during my walks. My new YAYA lives next door, as I was walking home from a friends house with David I noticed she was having some trouble walking. She is an elderly lady and has a black dog name Clover. We stopped to chat for awhile then David brought Zach inside and I stayed out to talk to her. She told me about her labor stories (EVERY women tells me about her labor story, I have found a new strange club) and about how her dog has a thyroid problem and she has to give it a pill everyday. Clover figured out how to eat the cheese (she hides the pill in it) and leaves the pill. Now this dog gets the cheesy pill and after she eats both gets a treat for eating both. Clover has figured out how to take YAYA #2 for all she worth.


Vibrating house = Day at the church

One of the things my in laws decide to do for us and them is redo the basement. This has turned into Davids brothers temporary room while we stay there. Today, the plumbers are at the house and with jackhammers so they can lay the pipework for the bathroom. To be honest I thought it would be louder then it was but I decided that maybe Zach shouldnt be exposed to that loud of sounds and that heavy of vibrations so early on.  David had to go to the church to work today so I figured Zach and I would hang out in the nursey until the sounds at the house were under control. Hopefully the house hasnt bounced away while we are gone, then where would thye deliver the part for the crib?

Some re assembly required

I am proud to announce the arrival of my beautiful baby boy! Zachary Michael is 19 days old right now and doing great. The birth was a rough one that ended in an emergency C Section and Zach having a partially collapsed lung. After some time in the NICU and my time recovering in a different area in the hospital we are both home safe and sound.

My most recent challenge has been feeding him, he was in the NICU and I couldn’t feed him for a day or two because he was intubated. Now he HATES breastfeeding! He wails bloody murder when I try to feed him. What has worked is feeding him breast milk in a bottle and supplementing with formula. I have tried working with a lactation consultant, reading books, and talking to friends that have babies. Finally, after talking to an old friend of mine tonight, I have decided that your ability to breast feed should not determine your value as a Mother. Not a huge revelation by any means but when you are flooded with information and pressure from all angles to breast feed you really start to judge your worth by whether or not you get your baby to "latch on". Forget latching on; how about not cry themselves into not breathing! Not a single book will tell you how to even pump properly to help give your baby breast milk (which does have amazing benefits for your baby) so you can give them the best to your ability and NO ONE will tell you it’s ok to walk away. The underbelly of breast feeding has come back to attack again but now I can’t use a snarky remark to get my way out of it. I am a little concerned that our culture has decided it’s acceptable to make women feel bad about the act of breast feeding. What happened to supporting and lifting up our fellow women? Creating a supporting family of women that can help each other out during a very stressful new life change, not look down on them when they don’t follow the normal patterns? Shame on you if you think its right to shove your ways onto others, I think you should really examine why you are doing that. I also think you might have some Mommy issues (pun, intended). I will continue to pump so I can get all those nutrients into my baby because I recognize that if you can produce it then you should use it. But to all those Mommies that have issues with breast feeding, yes try to talk to a lactation consultant, read books and try your best to breastfeed however, if it isn’t working and you are just making yourself and your baby miserable do what you need to do. Breastfeed, use formula or do both. And as my friend told me tonight, "More power to you if you are determined, but if it isn't happening, forgive yourself and move on without guilt, okay?"

Diapers Arrive

I know that my friend, the famous "if it fits it ships" postal carrier, would never do this to any pregnant woman however Chicago's real USPS postal carrier just made me carry a large box up 3 flights of stairs! Maybe he was confused and thought my huge baby belly could be from eating way too much food for my entire lifetime?! Nah, I don't think that's it. At least today I feel like I have a ton of energy! I made it up those stairs with the box in no time and without feeling like I was going to have a asthma attack. Nesting? Maybe, or I just haven't done anything in awhile and had a spurt of energy. Either way...Success! Now I just need our baby to put in the super cute diapers.

I am only 4 days away from my due date and getting restless, I just want to move onto the next phase of our lives. I know our apartment could be cleaner, more organized, have more things packed and ready to go to Michigan but I think I will always feel that way. There is just no way to fully prepare for all this at once. When I was prepping for our wedding it was such an easier process ( I am sure David would have a different side to that) because I knew what was going to happen after and I didn't need to worry about an extra person that couldn't take care of themselves. Now, I feel like I am just waiting and hoping I can make the right choices to raise him. I mean I have the really important basics down, don't shake the baby, don't drop him, nothing in the crib with him, "back is best",feed, change and hold him. Easy things to remember. But there is sooooo much more to think about and with a move coming up to I just have decided that some stuff just isn't worth the headache. If you come and visit us, don't judge us, yes my apartment is a little disorganized and messy. If it bothers you I will gladly take volunteers to clean it for me!

NATO is going on here this weekend and the Protesters have already started. There will be road closers, business and museum closers, train restrictions and lots of police activity! Today 7 people were arrested (Peacefully) for protesting the NATO conference and one women was on the news stating that "the Catholics don't support war and that is why they are protesting the NATO conference"...  I find that to be incorrect and after confirming with my father I found the passage I was thinking about:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time^(A) for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,^(B)
3 a time to kill^(C) and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent^(D) and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

It truly bothers me when people make blind statements about a whole groups beliefs without actually knowing what they believe. Sigh. Despite my personal feelings about NATO, my personal belief system and frustrations with protesters, I do believe they have every right to speak their minds. But please at least do your research before going on television and stating what a VERY LARGE group of people believe in. Your personal beliefs are not the entire groups beliefs and you have been misinformed OR don't bring them into it at all, mayhaps try this one "I am protesting because I don't believe in war, so I do not want the NATO Conference to continue its planned meeting" That would be more accurate and relevant.

 

I'm back and with great news!!

I started this blog almost a full year ago! Sadly, I had to stop baking and writing, but only for the most important of reasons... we have been blessed with becoming pregnant! I am currently 12 days out from my due date and have officially started my maternity leave. It has been wonderful to be able to stay at home and relax with my wonderful husband. And luckily for me he has been able to be at home with me as he has just wrapped up his studies and is graduating after years of hard work towards his goal. I am so proud of him. We have been taking this time to prepare our house for our soon to arrive son and preparing for our first move out of state as a family.

I will be able to continue my cake making adventures soon but right now I am pleasantly plump so getting around a kitchen gets to be a little awkward. My little guy likes to kick things, people and me as much as possible so I tend to be a little clumsy with kitchen items. I want him to have all his fingers and toes and to be honest I want to keep all of mine too. I might have a problem keeping him from running around while I bake when he gets older, he is just so active in my tummy!

I hope you all have been well in my absence and feel like I should mention that I think my blog may change into a baking adventures/new Mom/new home and state blog. I am sure I will have lots to write about!

New MOM adventure moments so far-

 I just spent 3 hours with my husband haggling down a price on a cloth diaper system over ebay. Let me tell you, it a vicious cloth diaper world out there... you will never know until you have to look into it. People are ruthless and I don't really understand why. I mean in all honesty, its just poop we are talking about. I am all about personal opinion, but who knew that people are so convicted about what your kid poops in?! What a strange thing to feel convicted about. For all you new Moms out there, you do what you think is best for your child. If you want to go with disposable diapers, do it, if you want to use cloth diapers, do it. Its just poop. We chose cloth after we decided to do disposable and to be honest it was just because its more cost effective for us and with the right system it can be used for our next child if we are fortunate enough to have more. If you find the right brand that you trust (we went off from friends and family recommendations on systems, Bumgenius won)  and you like it, do it. And don't let people bug you about it. I cant tell you how many people tried to make me feel bad about my choices and I just deleted their comments. (if you are reading this and are one of the people I have deleted comments of, no offense towards your choices but I don't want negativity around me during my pregnancy)

 It's almost as taboo as talking about  breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding. That is the real underbelly of the new Mom world that is just insane. I have been accosted in a public bathroom, on the CTA and just walking down the street over that topic. I found out that there are three options you can go with, the first being tell them what you really plan on doing. Not always the best idea because no matter who you are talking to, they will treat you like you don't actually know what you are talking about and FOLLOW you until they feel like you are fully educated on the topic. The second choice being easier to deal with but sometimes you feel pretty bad afterwards. Just agree with whatever they say, the good ol' smile and nod technique, I found they lose interest and go away which is great when you are in a hurry. And lastly if you have no problem with this or if you are in a bad mood/in pain. LIE you can choose quite a few good classics: "Excuse me? I'm not pregnant, how dare you!" (which is really funny when you are in your last trimester, if you can keep a straight face) "What? I don't understand? Can you speak up? What?" shake your head, then walk away like it's just too loud, even if its not. They stand there and you walk away. I have noticed that these choice have actually lined up in order with my three trimesters. That can't be a coincidence...hmmm.

My husband has been having adventures with me too! We decided to get a Pack N Play, which is a portable crib/play pen with a changing table attached to it. We will only be in Chicago for about a month before we move; the actual crib will be at our new home waiting for our baby boy. So, David who is in IT, being so sweet starts assembling this thing. You would think, it being a PORTABLE item, would be easy to assemble. If you think that... you are sooooo wrong. We both at one point had one end of a metal pipe, pulling against each other as hard as we could until we heard (as the instructions said) "a gentle pop" HA! It was like a strong man competition! We both were sweating from the work out this "easy to assemble" item was giving us.  David actually said that he has built computers easier to put together then that thing. We were also very careful because our child will be sleeping in there, the last thing we want is it to collapse or something. After quite a few tries and I dont even know how long, I am quite happy to say the Pack N Play is safely put together by some determined soon to be parents and that thing is sturdy. It might even survive a twister better then some of the past places I have lived in.

Day 61

Well, I yesterday I made an amazing Carmel Praline Crunch (which is actually just peanut brittle with Hazelnuts) and even though I am dieting, I couldn't help but nibble on it as I past by. (*side note David just came home from class and took a nibble of the "hazelnut brittle" as I was writing and said "Mmmm that's really good.." which is my favorite thing to hear in the kitchen) I would take a picture of it but we ate it all....

whoops. One break from a diet isnt that bad right?

My hazelnut praline crunch turned out so well that tonight I decided I would create the Buttercream and finally put it all together to create the "Ultimate Praline Buttercream!" While thinking about how I am working through the book, I decided to try the alternative recipe for the Buttercream called "Neoclassic Buttercream" and let me tell you, this is a disgusting recipe. I would even go as far as to say it qualifies as an "epic fail." It tasted like I was eating pure butter with funky chunks of what could have been something good if you can get around the straight up butter taste that saturates your mouth. yuck.

I pitched the whole recipe and will go back to the first recipe for Buttercream in the morning and maybe add the left over strawberry puree to it to make it my own special treat for my co workers.  

Day 55

Hello everyone!

I know it seems as though it has been a while and to be honest, I have had a little too much on my plate. (get it?)

In the past few weeks my world has had a pretty large shift and I had to take a break from my cake making to attend to family matters that were of the most high importance. My family has relocated to New England, where all my extended family is, there is friendlier medical care for my mother and the great mountains of New Hampshire.  While this is a blessing, it is still difficult to say goodbye to the house I grew up in and to my immediate family who I have always been very close to. But alas, as you grow up things change and its what you make out of situations that show what kind of person you are. Thankfully, there is that wonderful thing called "Skype" so I will at least get to video chat with them and I will get to see them during different parts of the year due to the wonderful invention of airplanes...

Now, on to more pressing items.

I have been able to make a couple cakes from the book during the last few weeks, the first being a Golden Almond cake. This requires a little pre set up as you need to toast unblanched almonds, then let them cool completely and finely chop them. They will later replace some of the flour to make a most delicous crunch in the texture as you endulge in the cake. It is a little denser then a normal cake but I added a homemade chocolate whipped cream to the top and it melded the two textures together for cake bliss. I was able to make this while I had some dear frinds of mine spend the weekend here, as they were going to the Manchester United vs Chicago Fire game (go Fire!). When I came home from work the cake had a single slice left.... I take that as a win for me!

Tonight I made the All Occasion Downy Butter cake. Rose claims this is her favorite cake to make because it is the easiest to work with. I plan of making this a layer cake with a carmel praline crunch buttercream but I need to go back to the dreaded Whole foods to get more hazlenuts to make the praliene bark. So far the cakes look fantastic and I really want to taste them but I must wait for the praliene crunch butter cream.

Until next time!  

Day 38

I started my vacation last Friday at 4:31pm and have been so busy baking...its great! My Kitchen has had the sweetest smells permeating the house. Strawberries, Rose Water, Powdered Sugar, Butter and Vanilla....mmmm.  It has been wonderful to also have a husband who so willingly will make the "oh, no! I ran out of ___!" runs to the local grocer. I have had to ask him to help me a lot with the past couple of recipes and like a champ he has jumped to assist me in every way I have needed him to. I chose a great one, thank you love.

So my first recipe was a Strawberry Puree that envelopes into Butter cream at the last stage of the Rose Trellis process. The Puree was the easiest recipe that I have come across. There are only three steps involved, first- thaw frozen unsweetened Strawberries in a colander over a bowl and occasionally squish. (I spent my waiting time watching Doctor Who if that tells you how easy this is)  second- heat up the juice with sugar in a pan. third- puree the whole strawberries and mix the juice and a teaspoon of lemon juice in a mason jar. Ta Da! Complete.

Today I decided to finish the Rose Trellis in whole which I was, in a way, procrastinating about because it has so many steps to it. But if I made the silly Fondant I sure was going to use it! I started the cake at around 430pm today and finished around 9:30pm. During that time I made two Golden Butter Cream Cakes, 1 recipe of Royal Icing, 1/2 recipe of Butter Cream infused with the Strawberry Puree  and 8 lattice sectionals. It was a busy couple of hours. My kitchen is a disaster and I had to improvise on how the lattice lays on the cake but I think it is quite pretty.

I am pooped and my feet hurt terribly from not sitting and with only house shoes on without any cushion. I haven't proof read this so if there are any errors my apologies, I am just running out of steam.