A First Father's Day

Although our little princess has yet to arrive, my husband has already been a wonderful father for the past nine months.  Even though we have not had the opportunity to hold her in our arms, in so many ways, my husband has stepped up to the plate and dominated his new role as a Dad. From that moment on October 17th, when I told him I was pregnant, he has done nothing but care and provide for the two of us; both on our good days and on our bad days.

He has watched as his wife has morphed into this entirely different person (two people to be exact!), he has listened to my irrational fears and dealt with a roller coaster of emotions. He has given up his clothes and has accepted that I have claimed some of his favorites as my own, and has told me over and over again that I look amazing, even though I actually look more like a whale than a woman. From day one, he has attended numerous doctors appointments (in three different states!), read through multiple baby books, played the baby name game for weeks on end, come to accept the color pink (even on Steelers and Penguins clothes) and to date has participated in 14+ hours of baby classes.

He has never once complained about our change in menu or the lack of wine at dinner. He has dealt with my aches and pains, provided numerous foot massages and comforted me when I realized that I could no longer run. He has made at least seven round trips to USA Baby, given up multiple Saturdays to pick out cribs and rocking chairs and has helped to assemble an endless number of baby items. I watched his face light up as he felt our little girl kick for the very first time and the million times since then.

He held my hair back as I embarrassingly puked over the side of a boat in front of some 30 strangers and his entire immediate family on a snorkeling trip in Hawaii last January. He convinced his friends to change the location of their boys weekend so that he wouldn't be too far away from me and then drove back early Sunday morning to check on me when I wasn't feeling well. He consoled me in the lobby of his office building as I fell apart after one particularly awful doctor's appointment. He was then my rock and comfort for the next four days, casting aside his own uncertainty, as we restlessly waited for an ultrasound that would confirm or dissipate our worst fears. He promised me over and over again that all would be ok and held my hand until the doctor reassured us that our baby was perfectly healthy.

He has dealt with me waking him up numerous times during the night because I cannot seem to find a comfortable sleeping position, nor stay asleep for very long. In the last week, he has assuaged my anxiety and reassured me that she will come, eventually, and that I will not be pregnant forever. I know he will be my strength and sanity during labor and delivery and he is the only person in the entire world I want by my side during that time.

Although he has not had the opportunity to change any dirty diapers yet, deal with 3 a.m. feedings, or endlessly play peek-a-boo, he has already become an amazing father. So on Sunday, I wanted to try and express my appreciation for all that he has done and dealt with over the last nine months and everything I know he will do in the years to come. So Sunday had to include a gift that every Dad needs: a Weber grill; and a meal that every Dad wants: steaks, potato salad, grilled corn and Blackberry Buttermilk Cake.

After surprising him with his new grill, he was put in charge of the steaks while I worked on the Blackberry cake.

I found the recipe for this cake in Bon Appetit's latest magazine which also happens to be their grilling edition (perfect for Adam's new Father's Day gift!). I started off by preparing a springform pan by lining it with parchment paper that I cut into a circle and greasing and flouring it. I've used this parchment paper technique in the past with other cakes, and it always works well. Afterwards, I lined the bottom of the pan with fresh blackberries and sprinkled them with a layer of sugar.

In a separate bowl, I sifted together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

In another bowl, I beat together 3/4 cup of room temperature butter and 1 3/4 cups of sugar. I continued to beat these items together until the mixture became a pale yellow color. I then incorporated 3 eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and the zest of one orange.

After all of these ingredients had been fully mixed together, I alternately added in my flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk.

I then poured my batter over the blackberries and cooked the cake for an hour and twenty-five minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Once the cake had completely cooled, I removed it from the pan and dusted it with powdered sugar.

Meanwhile, Adam had been grilling up a storm with the steaks and the corn. I quickly prepared a light potato salad with a dijon and rosemary sauce. We then celebrated both our dads and all the other great dads and dads-to-be out there.

Now we are just waiting for our little princess to arrive. Happy Father's day to all the dads out there. And Adam, I cannot wait to see you with our baby girl. One day to go; I hope!

Stocking the Freezer - 7 days and counting!

Maternity leave is a wonderful thing. It gives you the time you need to make sure you are fully prepared for the soon-to-arrive bundle of joy; to wash every onesie, burp cloth and blanket; to fold them and organize them in their appropriate drawers; to take them back out, fold them a second time, and place them in a very similar, but strangely better spot. (I may or may not have done this several times already.) It allows you to assemble the stroller, hang some wall-hangings, and install the car seat, and that extra seat-base for the second car. Then, it affords the (probably unnecessary) opportunity to go back the next day and do it all over again, just in case. It lets you take your husband back to USA Baby for the umpteenth time, pick up that rocking chair (the last item for the nursery!), put it together and give it a few test rocks - just to make sure it's comfy and rocky and ready for our little bambino.  It is my last chance to do those last few things. And so, I have cleaned our condo from top to bottom, packed my hospital bag, read every baby book I own multiple times, organized the endless pile of diapers (that will somehow only manage to last us a week), set up the nursery and the bassinet, and assembled every swing, play gym and bouncer we own or ever could own. Oh, and I picked out a birth announcement.

But as of today I am 39 weeks pregnant, and I find myself restless and quickly running out of patience (not to mention clothes that fit - my poor husband has had to hand over his Notre Dame lacrosse shorts and multiple, mostly Steelers t-shirts because I refuse to buy any more maternity clothes this late in the game). So despite all of the wonderfulness, my maternity leave has also given me far too much time to sit around and over-analyze each and every slight pain, ache or never-felt-before sensation. With each one, I freeze, hoping that the time has finally come. I stare at the clock begging my body to do it again. Of course, nothing ever happens. My contractions are irregular and for the most part painless (although often times uncomfortable) and I find myself quickly realizing that yes, I will, in fact, be pregnant forever.

So today, one week out from my due date, I knew that I had to find something to keep my hands busy and my mind distracted. With every item on the baby checklist complete, the only thing left to do was stock the freezer. I know that whenever this baby finally decides to grace us with her presence, that we will be overjoyed and madly in love. But I also know that we will quickly become overwhelmed and beyond sleep deprived. (Insanely happy? Of course. Insanely sleepy? Uh, that too). I am sure on most days, the last thing I will have the time or energy to do will be to cook dinner. So in anticipation of the inevitable, and the need to just do absolutely anything before I lose my mind waiting for this sweet (though apparently stubborn) baby girl, I am going to make and freeze several meals over the course of the next week that can be easily reheated on a moment's notice. So for starters, the freezer's menu will include: Chicken and Vegetable Casserole, Minestrone, banana bread and/or muffins (at Adam's request) and today's dish: Spinach and Meat Lasagna.

Start off by boiling a large pot of water. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, add a touch of salt and 12 sheets of lasagna, and then bring back to a boil. Cook for approximately 8 minutes or until noodles are al dente. Meanwhile, brown 1 lb of ground beef over medium heat.

Once the meat is cooked, drain the excess grease and return to the burner. I happened to have leftover spicy Italian sausage from a meal earlier in the week, so I chopped it up and added it to my beef. Next, add a cup or so of homemade or store bought pasta sauce, a bit of pepper, onion powder and basil.

In a large bowl combine 15 ounces of ricotta cheese, 5 oz of shredded parmesan cheese, 2 eggs (beaten), and 10 ounces of chopped spinach.

Once the lasagna noodles are cooked, drain the pot and lay the noodles out so that they do not stick together and end up tearing.

In the bottom of a large lasagna pan (such as the one shown below by Mario Batali!) spread about 1/2 cup of your pasta sauce.

Layer 4 sheets of pasta, slightly over lapping. 

Next spread half of the ricotta and spinach mixture over the noodles until completely covered.

On top of the cheese mixture, spread 1/2 of the meat mixture.

Repeat the last 3 steps. Finally cover the entire dish with the remaining pasta sauce.

Cook for approximately 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Once the lasagna was completely cooled, I covered it and put it in the freezer for an easy to heat up meal once the baby arrives! Before serving, I will obviously be reheating it, but also adding plenty of mozzarella cheese and freshly chopped basil to the top. Cannot wait!

Adam had to have a piece before it went into the freezer.

Oh and just a word to the wise to any doctors out there: if you are going to tell an extremely pregnant woman at her 38 week appointment that her baby will be arriving "soon" you better mean within the next week or so, otherwise, you are just plain mean. Anytime between now and the Fourth of July is not considered to be "soon." Seven days (hopefully!) and counting and cannot wait!