Pork Cutlets with Mushroom & Onion Dijon Sauce & HBear is Turning 7!
Cakes
are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a
cake, and people remember. It's all about the memories.
Buddy
Valastro
So
it happened! SBean turned 3! Her “party” went super well and she had a
wonderful day J
Tomorrow
is HBear’s 7th birthday! I keep trying to negotiate with her to turn
5 but she is just not going for it lol.
Tomorrow
is going to be her family dinner. She has chosen white sauce spaghetti AKA fettucine
alfredo lol. She has made it very clear that she does NOT want mushrooms,
shrimp, peppers or onions, just sauce and noodles oh and bread… with butter! J
Dinner
with Grandma, Grandpa and Papa with present opening and lots of happy laughter.
I am so lucky.
Now
Friday is a totally different story! LOL She has chosen to have 8 girls over to
our house for a PJ party. Let me repeat that… 8, 9 including HBear, girls… in
our house. Friday.
I’m
scared.
We
have lots of fabulous things planned and I can’t wait to share them with you
next week in a birthday wrap up post. But today it is about HoneyBear.
I
know I have said this before but it so important it is worth saying again.
HBear
taught me how to love.
I
loved Ninja. I loved myself and my family but I didn’t know what LOVE felt like
until 7 years ago.
7
years ago on Grey Cup Sunday I began to feel contractions.
They were far apart
but they were there lol. By 7:30 Monday morning I went to the bathroom and lost
my mucous plug. Up until a few weeks prior I didn’t even know what that was
LOL. Actually when I saw blood on the toilet paper I panicked. I called my
midwife right away. I was petrified that something was wrong. I was
experiencing more contractions and the pain was making me emotional.
By
10:30am they were very close and my Dad, who had flown in and stayed later
because I was 2 weeks overdue, started up the car. Dad drove Ninja and I to St
Boniface hospital and I was super calm. I wanted this to go as planned. As we
all know, I am a planner LOL
When
we got into the elevator I was bent over in pain but smiling. We were shown to
our room. It was beautiful. Personal, big, had a walk in shower and chairs with
a nice view. I was just over 4cm dilated. A bit early but my midwife assured me
I came in at the right time.
I
had the BEST midwife team. Elizabeth and Sari. Elizabeth was the midwife I had
seen most often. In fact, I had just met Sari briefly but I knew that fate
would have Elizabeth on call when I went into labor.
So
when Sari walked in I was surprised. I should have seen that as a sign that
things might not go as planned.
I
was great. I concentrated. I pictured our baby coming into this world. I practiced
my yoga breathing and focused on my hypno techniques. My sister, Mom, and Dad
had all flown in and were there supporting me. My WpgBesty and my In-Laws were
also there cheering me on. A few hours later I had not dilated anymore.
My
water had not broken yet either. Sari thought she should break it to get things
going again.
As
soon as the warm water gushed I began puking.
And
I mean PUKING! Considering I hadn’t eaten anything I can’t believe how much I
vomited. It was funny because I had worked on a push playlist and a breathing
playlist and a relaxing playlist but the sound of music made me sick.
At
that point the pain was stupid. All I could do was sit fat and naked on a big
ball in the shower with my head hanging for HOURS. Poor Ninja lol.
After
hours of silence, water and vomit Sari, who had the most reassuring smile I had
ever seen, talked to us. They wanted to move me to a different room. A room
where they could monitor the baby and my vital signs.
By
this time the sun had gone down and it had begun to lightly snow.
I
was so tired. I vaguely heard the nurses, Ninja and Sari speaking. I heard the
words stall, 9cms dilated, stalled, c-section, and the dreaded epidural.
I
threw up some more.
For
hours I heard the beeping of Maynard’s (that’s what we called her before she
became HBear) heart monitor and all I could do was breathe and pray to a higher
being that my baby girl would be healthy.
The
surgeon came in and spoke to us. He told me he was going to start me on Pitocin
in hopes that it would help move things along. The contractions got closer and
more painful. He gave me 2 more hours and then we tried pushing. With his help
and Sari’s I pushed for the next 45 minutes. It was almost the best thing I had
done all day. At least when I pushed the pain seemed to go away or maybe it was
so intense I just couldn’t feel anything lol. I went from 9cms to 8 and then 7.
The surgeon told me to stop. He very kindly explained to me that he would be
back with someone to administer the epidural.
I
puked.
He
said I would have to have a C-Section.
I
puked some more.
After
the epidural I remember my Mom coming in and I looked up at her and asked “Mom
is the baby ok?” Am I OK?" And her reassuring me as I finally fell asleep.
A
while later I was rolled into the operating room. All I felt was fear. I tried
thinking about our Doula classes. I thought back to that 1 class that took us
on a path of all that could go wrong. Ninja and I had laughed at the time… as
if any of that would happen to US! Duh. Every hurdle we faced in that class was
one that we had faced in the past 18 hours.
As
I was wheeled in one of the pretty nurses looked at Ninja and was like “Hey
Chris! I haven’t seen you in years! How have you been?” My head whipped to the
side to glare at him. Up until this point there had been no yelling, no
swearing and no tension. I wanted this baby to come into the world surrounded
by the love that had created her. However, I was about to freak out on Ninja
and pretty blonde nurse until he took my hand squeezed it and assured me
everything was going to be great. We were going to be great.
In
the operating room it was just me… and 16 nurses, Dr’s and my midwife. They
undressed me (so much for the beautiful birthing gown I picked out) so I was
buck naked and took both arms and stretched me out like Jesus on the cross and
buckled my wrists to the table.
The
Anesthesiologist looked at me and said, “Are you alright?” I looked at him and
said, “Well up until a few weeks ago I didn’t even like showering by myself in
the light so this is just ducky. Thanks.”
He
laughed and said “My aren’t we being a bit of a bitch?” I cracked up! He read
me just right and alleviated my embarrassment. Ninja showed up a few minutes
later all dressed in scrubs and with his “you can do it” face on.
Minutes
later I felt fire. My stomach was on fire. I felt burning pain and the table
was being jolted as my insides were pulled on and pulled out.
And
then… her cry.
And
my heart opened up and my life changed forever. The love I felt was so all
consuming that I will remember that feeling for the rest of my life. It was
protectivness, pride, amazement and a love so intense that the pain of the past
36 hours was forgotten and she laid on my chest and I felt complete.
I
knew that nothing in my life had EVER made me feel like she made me feel at
that moment. To my surprise I STILL feel that every single time I look at her
or even think about her.
I
am so lucky.
After
they stitched me back up we went to recovery.
Ninja bathed her and I began the
latching process. It was at that time that we named her. We ended up picking a
name that wasn’t even on our list. I don’t know why, we really thought she was
going to be Noa. But I felt that was too sweet for this little munchkin that had
been so stubborn about coming out into the world. When they finally took me to
my room (a shared bedroom, a far cry from the beautiful private room I had
started in) I was exhausted. Ninja. Mom, Dad, WpgBesty, and my Sis all gave me
and Baby a kiss and headed home. They had been in the waiting room for almost 24
hours by this time.
I finally closed my
eyes when I heard, “Here’s your Mommy sweet Baby Girl.”
I
opened my eyes and a nurse was handing me this perfect Baby. I shook my head…
ummm no I’m very tired right now don’t you take her to the nursery or
something? The nurse laughed at me and said “no dear you look after her. She is
yours.”
I
was sitting there completely exhausted holding this little pink baby… pretty
much the 1st baby I had ever held and terror began coursing through
my veins. WTF do I do with her?
That
lovely image I had of peering through the nursery window at my perfect little
baby was shattered. I was gobsmacked. She cried. Holy Crap! I began singing “You
are my Sunshine” and she stopped.
The
fear disappeared like that. I got a fourth or fifth wind and I just knew. Everything
was going to be OK.
Because
I loved her. I loved her so much that my pain, tiredness and fear were pushed
aside to just stare at her and bask in the glow of love that surrounded us.
I
thought, I am so lucky.
I
was not lucky later that day when they made me walk down the hall to see my
in-laws.
I was also not lucky when my catheter got stuck and I couldn’t pee for
hours until the haughty nurse that didn’t believe me flicked the tube and pee
shot out all over her… actually I guess that was my good luck and HER bad luck
lol.
7
years later and I remember it all like it was yesterday.
December
1… the day I learned how to love.
Happy
Birthday my Sweet Baby Girl. Mommy loves you to the Moon and Back.
A few weeks ago I made this super yummy chicken. Another breaded chicken
actually? Weird lol. Anyways, It was pretty delicious. Not too saucy and with
excellent flavor. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did J
Pork Cutlets with Mushroom & Onion Dijon Sauce
Adapted from A Family Feast
4 pork cutlets
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon thyme
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon bold deli mustard
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
¼ cup chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons margarine
Put flour and thyme in a medium bowl and season with salt & pepper and stir. Dredge pork in flour, shake excess and set aside.
In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Add pork and brown 3-4 minutes per side. Remove pork to a platter and set aside.
Heat pan back up to high and add mushrooms and cook for about three minutes until just starting to brown. Reduce to medium high and add onions and rosemary. Cook for two to three minutes.
Labels:
Birthday,
HBear's Birthday,
Pork