Week 29

7 months pregnant. This week involved a trip to North Carolina (4 flights, total and now I'm done flying while being pregnant thank goodness) and work intensifying yet again. Caleb kicks like nobody's business. I'm still sleeping in 3-4 hour stretches, praise God. My hips hurt a lot of the time and I'm noticing that bending over is increasingly difficult. The fatigue of the first trimester is starting to creep back in- I'm exhausted at the end of day and I can feel the ache in my belly of Caleb putting on weight. He'll double, more likely triple his weight before he's born. 

In addition, Brian and I are feeling the pressure of a seriously tight schedule. Dinnertime is a joke this entire week and I realize how much I hate being tethered to the slow cooker. I find myself nostalgic for my first studio apartment in Chicago, the one with the orange wall, where I first started to read food blogs, start my own and spend hours in the kitchen by myself cooking and baking. I kept Prosecco in the fridge and vodka in the freezer and shopped in the tiny, expensive European-esque market on Diversey. Sometimes I could try out meals with lots of ingredients and sometimes I made this pasta because all you needed was onions, butter and white wine, which was all I had in the house. I wouldn't trade my life now for my life then, not for a million dollars. I wouldn't trade my lovely apartment for an expensive fourth-floor walk-up studio. I wouldn't trade my husband for the loneliness that accompanied that apartment and I wouldn't give up the son we're already so in love with. But sometimes, I just miss the quiet of lazily making dinner. 

Perfectly Parisian

Last night I declared it "happy cooking night." Remember a few posts back, when I said my wheelhouse for cooking involved a drink and taking my time? Well, Mondays are still pretty open, so minus the drink, it was happy cooking time. And mussels - moules frites, to be exact - were on the menu. Seafood seems to be my latest pregnancy craving so thankfully I can eat most seafood- fried oysters, lobster, mussels, fish tacos, etc.

I've tried making mussels at home once before, a couple years ago. I remember it didn't go so well- the mussels didn't open up like at restaurants, so I left them in the pot too long and then they were rubbery. It was for Brian and a friend, who said they were good, but I was highly disappointed. When I told Brian I was considering trying mussels again he cheered me on, saying "I'll bet you're ready to tackle them again - go for it!"

This was halfway through.

Two things happened differently this time:

1. I bought the mussels at the best public fish market in town, St. Paul's Fish Market, in the Third Ward. I thought they would be really pricy, but was surprised to pick up a 2lb bag for under $8. They are flown in 4 times a week, so I'm willing to bet they're very fresh.

2. I used the mussels frites recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. There are couple mussels recipes on her website, this recipe and this recipe are very close, so if you don't have the cookbook, I'd start there. However, if you do have the cookbook, do not wait almost a year to make these!! The mussels opened up beautifully and tasted like wine, butter and the sea. I'd also say that the fries were the best I have ever made at home, hands down.

Fancy Salad

I threw together a quick french inspired salad, with pears, fennel, walnuts and a Dijon vinaigrette and threw a baguette on the table. I meant to toast slices of the baguette, but let me tell you, once those mussels are in the pot, you had better be ready to sit down and eat! They take 3-6 minutes and you don't want to be tearing lettuce at that time.

Bowl of shells after we had finished.

After this success, I told Brian I can't wait to try mussels steamed open in beer, curry spiked sauce, etc. A new seafood has officially made it to our table!

28 weeks

The weekend going into 28 weeks (the last week of month SEVEN. I am SEVEN months pregnant. That's amazing- or, as Brian put it this morning, that's TOO MANY MONTHS.) involved a swanky hotel, breakfast in bed, a lot of football and church. Also, my first official crazy pregnancy dream. I have crazy dreams all the time but this one was definitely pregnancy related.

Swanky Hotel on Friday night.

Swanky Hotel breakfast on Saturday morning. I let Friday night Amy, full of seafood and creme brulee, talk Saturday morning Amy into yogurt. Brian was smarter.

I'm laughing here because Caleb is kicking me as I'm taking the picture.

We're off to North Carolina later this week for family, a baby shower, Southern food and all kinds of fun! 

27 Weeks; Third Trimester Style

The websites and books differ on the "official" third trimester start date, but I'd say we're there. The start of the third trimester includes:

Cravings for Kraft Mac & Cheese. 

Cutting back on my church obligations.

Eating two honeycrisp apples a day. They're in season and my favorite. 

Starting to slightly freak out about prepping my replacement for maternity leave. 

Swollen feet. 

Maternity yoga.

Sleeping with five pillows. FIVE. 

Caleb getting stronger by the day- now sometimes if he kicks hard enough I can see my skin jump. 

Steel-cut oats for breakfast, with 100 toppings. 

The question "Where are you due?" with the response "Wow, not until January?!" The bump's not that big, folks...

Third Trimester style involves a lot of black and grey:

And finally, the thought "I have to be pregnant for so much longer!" It's not too bad yet, really. It's just...not the easiest part. Especially for someone who had an easy first trimester and breezy second trimester. Only 13 more weeks until I'm due!