Sing Tangled

Every time we are in the car, Henry asks to "listen Tangled please." Recently he's started singing along, and not only to this soundtrack, but to other songs he knows. I find it ridiculously adorable. Forgive me for the orientation, shakiness and length (2 whole minutes) of the video. I just held up my phone while I was driving. I know, safe driver. 

Chocolate

This week, I got the best Christmas present ever. That's right, Christmas. Before I explain, I just have to say how great Ben is. Maybe I've been saying that a lot lately, and maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones talking, but I think it's true. He somehow knows what I want without me saying anything, and sometimes without me knowing myself. He definitely outdid himself this time.

For Christmas, Ben gave me an envelope with a piece of paper that said he had arranged for me to have a chocolate making class with our favorite local chocolatier, Pete.

He explained to me that he contacted Pete and basically talked him into teaching a class. It was held this past Monday night, and I've been thinking about it ever since.

It was a pretty simple class, two hours long, and really fun. We first learned how to make ganache, and we all had our own sample to add whatever flavors we wanted to. I chose cinnamon and allspice (which I rolled in pecans. Turned out pretty well if you ask me).

Since you have to let ganache sit for a couple of days, Pete then brought out a few flavors he had already made, and we rolled a few to take home. When I say a few, I mean 15. In addition to the ganache which makes a dozen truffles, and the two pounds of chocolate I got to make my own truffles at home. So we're pretty set chocolate-wise.

We also had a chocolate tasting, with different brands and levels of darkness. There was even a 100% and a cocoa bean to try. We talked about the different notes and complexities of each one. Yeah, we were pretty fancy.

So now I have all these plans for different flavors I want to try. Not to mention the different techniques I want to learn/improve on. Everywhere I go, I'm looking for different ideas. And the really cool laser thermometer I've decided I have to have.

This is my selfie excited face

Ouch

The past couple of days have been a bit dramatic (traumatic?). Wednesday night, I was trying to simultaneously talk on the phone and walk down the stairs when my feet slipped out from under me and I fell down about six or seven stairs on my backside. I calmly (who are we kidding, I'm sure I sounded hysterical) told my brother I would call him back and then immediately burst into tears. Pain. Luckily Ben was home to calm me down and help me up, though I think I gave him quite a scare. 

I had my 30 week check up Thursday, where I mentioned that I was in pain from falling down the stairs the night before. Apparently I should have called my doctor right away, which honestly didn't occur to me since my abdomen wasn't even slightly bumped. It's strictly a tailbone injury. My doctor told me that when pregnant women have a serious fall, they need to be monitored for a few hours to make sure the placenta hasn't detached from the impact. Whoah. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. 

So instead of going to my hair appointment that I had been looking forward to (silly maybe, but it's the little things that make my large self feel better), I had to find someone to watch Henry for the rest of the day while I was in the hospital. Luckily we have amazing friends who will take him at the drop of a hat. 

For the first time in over two years, I got to sit on a bed with monitors that are not at all itchy in a hospital gown designed to show any bits of skin you would never want anyone to see, and worry about the life of my unborn child. Oh, and listen to screaming women in labor. I'm re-thinking my decision to go through that again. 

I had a lot of blood taken and I was told I would have to be monitored for at least four hours, but after only 3 1/2 they seemed satisfied and released me. Which was a nice surprise. Those beds do not lend the best support to bruised tail bones. Plus I got to see another ultrasound, and the technician told me that at least he couldn't see anything to tell me she was in fact a boy. Still not the definitive answer we have been hoping for, but nice nonetheless.

I spent the rest of the day (and today for that matter) doing nothing that doesn't involve sitting on my couch, on the boppy I'm using as a makeshift doughnut. Except for the trip Henry and I took to have breakfast for dinner last night. It was a very nice distraction. For the most part, if I don't move it's not too bad. Another amazing friend offered to take Henry for a few hours today, which was really helpful. It's good to know our little girl is safe, and I have learned to give stairs my full attention in the future. 

Photo....Monday

A few months ago the auto focus on our camera broke, so we ended up sending it back in to Nikon to get fixed. They had it for a couple of weeks, but we got it back in working order last week, so I celebrated by taking lots and lots of pictures. This small (ish) selection gives a glimpse of our daily lives, including Henry's love for hats, balls and "weapons", Ben's baking skills, why I usually fold laundry while Henry is sleeping, and where Henry gets his new favorite face from (please note that none of these pictures are staged).