Bean Check In

Today I officially hit 25 weeks of pregnancy and we had an appointment with the "high risk" maternal fetal medicine department to check in on our little Bean. It has been a rough week and seeing this little guy made it so much better. I caught an awful stomach virus on Tuesday and ended up spending four hours in the ER on an IV trying to rehydrate as I couldn't even keep water down. I missed two days of work and only today am I feeling mostly normal again. Thankfully Bean is healthy and looking fabulous. My mom came in last night and was able to come to our appointment today, she cried pretty much the entire time. Now I know for sure where I get it from!

Our little man on the monitor. I am in love with that profile. How can I not be? He has the swoop of Ryan's nose and Ryan insists that's my "button" (as he calls it) at the end. Our little guy was definitely stubborn, spending most of the appointment breach and facing away from us. Last time they were not able to get a certain shot of the right side of his heart that they were going to go for this time and he still was not willing to show it! Thankfully after me turning on my left side, my right side, my back again, and poking him he finally let us get a quick peek!

Everything looks blissfully normal and on track. Even though he looks a little like a raccoon in the above shot he is measuring right on track, actually five days ahead. At my OBGYN appointment yesterday they said I was measuring at about 25 and a half weeks, so makes sense. He is a whopping 1lb 13 oz and is the 57th percentile for his size. He has a nice big head (inherited from both of his stubborn parents for sure) and for now the thyroid messing with things looks to be a slim chance! Thank goodness. We will go back when I am about 32 weeks for one last (most likely) check on his growth and then we should be good. Now of course there is no way of knowing if his IQ or anything will be effected (another unfortunate side effect) but we are being cautiously optimistic.

We even got a small (and as the tech pointed out not in regs but still cute) salute from our Bean before it ended.

Healthy. Thank you Lord. We are so very blessed! None of us could wipe the smiles from our faces as we left the hospital and I don't think anyone could blame us. Totally worth putting on 25 plus pounds for!

Tradition

My rings and my Babci's rings

My parents recently moved closer to us, so they are now two and a half hours away instead of six and a half! That definitely has its perks... especially since my grandparents are visiting. I haven't seen my Babci and Poppy since our last trip to New Jersey which was Memorial Day 2014 for my best friend's wedding. Too long. My Poppy is 93 and my Babci is now 90. I am so so blessed to have them around still and I hate that our visits are so infrequent. I call them every week at least. So my mom and dad recently decided to bring them down for an extended visit and I made sure the first weekend I did not have work we drove up there.

For years my Babci and I tried to plan a time for me to learn how to make pierogies from scratch, and this past weekend it finally happened! Ryan and I drove up Friday night. Saturday morning he and my dad went kayaking and fishing while three generations of women (and a Dup) took over the kitchen for pierogie making. My mom knows for the most part how to do it, so she was like our sous chef, while Babci taught me. There was no measuring cups or spoons... everything is done by eye and by feel. It may take me a few times on my own to get it right, but at least now I know. And I have this entry to coincide with this amazing memory.

First we started the mashed potatoes. I thought we'd have all these nice pictures, but my mom added her own touch. I know how to make mashed potatoes regularly, but instead of using milk for them we used sour cream. Next came the dough.

We started with about five cups or so of flour added an egg, then half a container of sour cream. It was worked by hand and feel. We also added milk and a bit more sour cream to make the feel just right. The dough then got worked and kneaded. My Babci showed me how with quick efficient movements that I then got to try. My forearms hurt after a few minutes but six or seven decades of doing this barely caused her to blink. I am a wimp!

After we worked the dough we let it rest for at least ten minutes under a glass bowl. This helps it rest and form and the bowl keeps the dough moist. It will stay under the dough the entire time, we cut pieces off to work it as we go.

While the dough rested we finished mashing the potatoes and added them to a separate bowl. This will be our filling. After the ten minutes or so were up we cut a small piece of the dough off the larger lump. A cutting board was floured to be our new work surface. At home my Babci has a giant wooden board that takes up basically the entire kitchen table that was once her mother's... you use what you have! Add some flour to the board to keep the dough from sticking and also on your hands. We then worked the dough in to a long snake and used a knife to cut smaller sections. Those small pieces were rolled into a ball in our hands then flattened onto the board. We then took a rolling pin and flattened the dough pieces. A few short rolls is all it takes, no vigorous quick back and forths, just make sure the dough is even all the way around. Then you pick it up in your hand and add a spoonful of mashed potatoes and make a sort of taco shape.

Using your fingers you mold and shape the dough around the potatoes so you can crimp the edges closed. This part was hard for me to get but by the end I was much better! Some of my pierogies were very stuffed, some not enough. Babci called one or two "hot dogs" and "pregnant". But she was a very good teacher! Much better than we she tried to show me how to knit/crochet and took one look at my work and said, "Oh honey, forget it. That is pretty awful. I'd just quit while you're ahead!"

But I got better! We made dozens and dozens of pierogies and by the end I was making them on my own. It is important to seal them well or when you boil the pierogies they can break open and give you potato soup. I used a fork to crimp the edges of my pierogies to ensure an extra seal. I am proud to say none of mine burst open! You put the pierogies in boiling water and once they float to the top they are ready. You can eat them then or do what we do... fry them in a pan with butter and onions! YUM. Dup Dup was on hand the entire time, keeping an eye on things. She may have been given a little bit of mashed potatoes for her effort. We placed our boiled pierogies in a long glass baking dish with saran wrap between the layers and fried them later in the evening. You can refrigerate them or even bag them up and freeze them for later (like we did to the three dozen or so I took home for a special occasion. So now I know. And I will make my own pierogies and hopefully pass that down to my own children someday.

I also learned how to make one of my favorite Babci recipes, string bean soup, which is pictured above... but I think I will keep that for a separate post. It is absolutely delicious!

I loved being able to see my Babci and my Poppy. Poppy is a lot weaker now. He needs a walker to go anywhere and spends most of his time on the couch. He watches a lot of tv, sneaks candy when no one is looking, and has his good days and his bad days. Most of our visit was great for him, I think having Ryan and I, then later on my brother Stefan and his friend Kenan, made a huge difference. When more people are around he does better. I was nervous about the Dup with Babci and Poppy, I didn't want her knocking them down! She hadn't seen them since she was six months old or so, Easter of 2012, which is the left picture above. The right picture is this weekend and you can see not much has changed. She was Poppy's buddy and loved to sit with him and get pet. Same with Babci. As excitable as she can be she did so well and it was never once an issue. I am proud of my little Duppy! We got Poppy to eat at the table with us all the meals and he even left the house to go to church with us.

My parents' house is surrounded by cotton fields and they harvested while we were there. It was pretty neat to see the giant machines going by and making huge rectangular pallets on the sides of the road.

Ryan and I also took Dup Dup on long walks through the neighborhood and saw some gorgeous sunsets over the river. Nights were getting cooler and sweaters were worn under borrowed jackets, but it was worth it.

This... this though was the most important thing. Time with my family. Time with my Babci and my Poppy. This was the first time in years and years my husband, brother, parents and grandparents were all together. The last few visits were either just Ryan and I, or my mom and I... but we all got some time together this weekend.

I hate saying goodbye to them. I always cry when I do... I have every time since I went to college basically. I know I am getting older and by default, so are they. But these moments are ones I cherish so so much. I am so blessed my family is close enough for me to visit and that we can make things like this happen.

My dad hates pictures and is rarely ever in them, but he was there too. Over in the office reading a new history book of some sort as soon as the cameras and phones came out... but we were all there.

Pierogies and family. You cannot get much better than that.

Father's Day

Any man can be a father but it takes a special man to be a dad.

 My dad, the one I always mention in my blog, is not my biological father, but he is my dad. He has always been there for me in every way that matters. He met my mom before I was even two years old and as far back as I can remember, he has been there. I may not have called him Dad right away, but he is definitely the best dad I could ever ask for. He is the one who taught me to ride a bike, took me to the library on Saturday mornings and helped me with my math homework (and I don't just mean as a kid, that went on through college!). My dad is the one who went to band concerts (even if he filmed the wrong blonde girl the whole time... who played the trumpet whereas I played the flute), my plays, girl scout events and swim meets. He picked me up from meetings, drove me to school in the morning and took us on trips up and down the east coast.

My dad is the one who put me through college. He is the one who walked me down the aisle to Ryan and gave me away. He is the one who danced with me at my wedding to Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up and then gave a killer father of the bride speech that still brings tears to my eyes when I remember it or watch our wedding DVD. My dad helped us move in to our first home and clean and paint like crazy people. He is the one who talks to Ryan about stocks and business and politics. He is the quiet man who sends some of the funniest text messages and emails and constantly keeps me on my toes. We may not be blood but we are family in every way that matters... I am proud to be his daughter.

I am also blessed with some wonderful grandfathers, both here and not.

My Papa died when I was thirteen. He was a charming man, a former salesman, and a Korean War Veteran in the Air Force. He had a huge booming laugh and even though he has been gone twelve years I can still hear his rich baritone calling "Hi Honey!" every time he saw me. Even though Stefan, my brother, was not his biological grandchild he still treated him as if he was. My grandparents were always so sweet to him and to my mother... they kept ties with her long after my biological father went downhill. My Papa's gold cross still hangs around my neck on a daily basis and it is one of the most precious things I own. I miss him dearly.

I talk about my Poppy a lot on this blog... a World War II Marine Veteran and one of the best men I know. At 90 years old he is still going strong. My mom and I lived with my grandparents until I was six and my mom always said I was like his seventh kid. This picture is us sitting on the front porch watching the planes come in. Their house is in the landing zone of Newark Airport and by the time I was three I knew from the tail designs which planes were American Airlines, Delta or United. It's a gift. My Poppy helped pick me up from school (sneaking me chocolate pudding to eat on the way home using the foil lid geniusly as a spoon) and taught me my first jokes. I call him at least once a week to just talk and catch up. He stepped in and helped raise me and be a father until my own Dad did so officially. I am so blessed to have these amazing men be my father figures in life when the one who was supposed to do so failed spectaculalry.

I am also blessed to have been priviledged enough to know Ryan's grandfather. Like my own he stepped in and helped raise Ryan and was his dad as well as his Papa. Unfortunately he passed away when we were still newlyweds and I know our family misses him everyday. He was a long standing member of the Air Force and one of the kindest men I have ever met. He was actually the first member of Ryan's family I got to meet when he came up for a special DC visit way back when Ryan and I were still dating. My husband is the honorable, kind and wise man he is today because of his grandfather's amazing influence. I wish I could have spent more time as his granddaughter in law but I am so thankful for the time I did get to have with him.

I even get to have a terrific godfather in my life, my mom's cousin Ken. He was my sponsor for my confirmation and always came to see my shows whenever he got the chance. I road with him in my first convertible and got to hear some wonderful stories as he is an alumni of Catholic University, just like me. We even lived in some of the same dorms.

So, on this father's day I am remembering the dads in my life who are no longer with me and the ones who are still going strong. I hope all the dads, grandfathers, uncles, father figures, godfathers and every one else who celebrates this Father's Day has a wonderful day. And I am counting my blessings.