Week 39

Its been a few days since my last post and my only excuse is a good one. It seems like every time I sit down to the computer, I'm working. I've got two big projects I'm focused on right now, one pays by the hour and the other promises to pay in the long run. With baby clock ticking down,  I'm trying to get as much done as I possibly can beforehand. I'd like to think that I'm succeeding!

It's a beautiful Sunday morning and, since Pidgeon's alarm went off at 7:00 a.m., I've already put up a load of laundry, washed all the dishes I had waiting for me in the sink in the kitchen, let in the cleaning lady (who is hard at work in my bathroom!), eaten a quick breakfast, entertained my mother-in-law during a surprise pit stop after she dropped my niece off at Gan in the neighborhood, made Pidgeon his lunch and caught up on overnight e-mails. I'm pretty exhausted and am in the need of a good nap, but since I'm washing all the linens in our bedroom, that ain't gonna happen. Hopefully when our cleaning lady leaves I'll have some time to take a quick cat nap.

So far, week 39 is not all that different from week 38. I was very disheartened after our last Dr. Yanai appointment because, after an internal examination, she told us that I wasn't even 1 centimeter dilated! And here I thought our baby would come early. But, it looks like the baby is really enjoying Hotel Uterus and no matter how many segulot or self-labor stimulation I try, the baby will come out when the baby is good and ready.

That being said, I still broke out the bottle of Etrog liquor for Shabbos kiddush. I figured now was as good a time as any to get my etrog in in my ninth month. The liquor is very, very strong and, since I put in so much sugar, I was surprised that it wasn't sweet. That being said, I did break into the bottle 4 weeks before the fermentation process was complete, so who knows what the end result will look like!

I've been having some on and off contractions, mostly during the days when I'm on my feet a lot. 

Like Wednesday, when we spent 2 hours food shopping at SuperSol in Talpiot. I persuaded Pidgeon to let me purchase 20 chicken bottoms, which I plan P"G on cooking and refreezing in packages of two. This way, after the baby comes, all I have to do is take a package of chicken out of the freezer and cook up a side or make a salad, and voila instant dinner! Pidgeon thinks I'm crazy since we spent over 1300 shekel on provisions, but I'd much rather have him around to enjoy and spend time with his child then to be running around Jerusalem on errands to pick up food or diapers or other stuff. I decided over Shabbos to make 15 of the chicken bottoms and save 5 so I can make chicken salt. We're a big soup family and I'd like to be able to just whip something up on Erev Shabbos without being frustrated that we don't have the right ingredients.

I was bored with my cooking this week, so I decided to try to experiment for Shabbos. I made a french onion soup in the crock pot that was delicious, especially once Pidgeon taste tested it and told me that it needed a lot more salt. I also made a new chicken, which really wasn't so difficult it was just roasted with Montreal chicken spice. And then I decided to make cauliflower mash, as opposed to roast cauliflower or cauliflower kugel. I found a recipe online and sorta followed the directions.

It was disgusting! I rarely turn down food - most of the time I turn away meat if it's not cooked well enough for my taste - but that's usually the extent of it all. This was just vile. Pidgeon couldn't eat it and, even though I tried to force myself, I realized that I couldn't do it either. When I consulted the recipe after Shabbos I realized my big mistake - mustard - and even though Pidgeon would like me to try again, I'm going to hold off a bit. I hate wasting food - especially since it's so expensive - so I'm going to stick to the tried and true for a while. I'll save food experimentation for when the economy P"G gets better.

We had a very quiet and relaxing Shabbos, which was nice. We slept a lot, which is why we both had a hard time falling asleep last night. Right after Shabbos, we got an SMS from Pidgeon's Aunt letting us know that his cousin had a baby girl on Shabbos morning. She weighed in at 3.7 kilo and she was birthed at home (on purpose). B"H, everyone is doing well! I was thrilled for many reasons. One, because Pidgeon's cousin was over a week late and I know she was ready to have the baby about a month ago. Two, because I am cooking dinner for them and I already pre-made the sweet and sour meatballs and the chicken fingers for the kids, and I could really use the freezer space! And three, because I was so nervous I would have the baby first and not be able to cook for them and I promised I would cook for them so I'm happy that I won't have to break that promise.

Pidgeon went over to wish his Aunt and Uncle a Mazal Tov while I stayed home and cleaned up after Shabbos and put up a wash. When he got back, we decided to go to the Mamilla Mall to walk around. It was such a great idea and a beautiful night too! As usual, the Mall restaurants were very crowded but since we weren't that hungry, we just walked past. We went window shopping, which is always a fun activity for me, and just walked up and down for about an hour. It was exactly what I needed to feel good, and I was hoping the gravity would just continue to move the baby down into the "starting" position. I woke up very sore this morning, so I'm hoping that the gravity helped. But, who the heck knows!

Well, I'm off to see how my chickens are defrosting. I want to cook at least 5 more chicken bottoms tonight to add to the freezer, and we have a family dinner at Pidgeon's parents house later so the more I get done early this morning the better.

Yom Tov from Baka!