Before Baby

(Written Thursday, February 23rd during what turned out to be predominal labor)

I've been trying to stay busy, partially to be productive and accomplish things before having three kids to work around, and partially to keep me preoccupied from just sitting around waiting on this baby.
Leading up to the actual “waiting” time period I made a few freezer meals; 6-8 meals of Salisbury Steak, a couple containers of mashed potatoes, several meals worth of Chicken Parmesan, a ton of Miner’s Griddle Cakes for quick easy breakfasts, some BBQ Chicken and some Taco Chicken, and some muffins and cookies. We’ve already started using my meals because at 40 weeks pregnant, home alone with a 1 and 2 year old I’m pretty worn out by dinner time.

I had a couple of projects I wanted to do before I have three children to split my time between. I made a traditional BengKung wrap to use for postpartum healing. I had been working for awhile on a canvas growth chart which I finally buckled down on and finished (that will get its own blog post shortly, I hope..). I needed to make out 2017 Family Photobook.. which I still need to make but I’ve gotten started and made it to May so.. there’s something. I’ve picked out baby announcement cards for when this one does arrive (we’ve only sent them to grandparents, I really do it for myself because I think they’re so cute and want to keep one in my children’s keepsakes). I had a few gifts for friends and family to purchase or make.

I also had some general household work to do; closets to organize, kids clothes to switch out, some declhttering and deeper cleaning to do.

I also had a couple away from home things I hoped to do pre-baby. We went to the Children’s Museum of Terre Haute with the girls one Saturday, I’ve visited the chiropractor regularly, and some Goodwill shopping trips before the hassle of a baby to carry around, well, the hassle of carrying it in my arms ;)

I’ve eaten lots of pineapples and dates in hopes that would prepare my cervix for labor.. I’ve been drinking two cups of pregnancy tea and two cups of red raspberry leaf tea a day. I’ve become reliably regular with my iron, alfalfa, prenatal, vitamins E, C, and fish oil taking, thanks in great part to my girls who have gummy vitamins that the always remember need taking.

Thanks again to my sister-in-law Suzannah for walking three miles with me along with a walking video most weeks, I hope I have endurance for labor and delivery.

I have everything done I intended to get done, so, now we wait..
~Haley

{Foodie Post No. 14} Cranberry Relish

I love cranberries, ever since Thanksgiving season I had been waiting for their price to drop so I could stock up for the upcoming cranberry-less season. Finally, two or three weeks ago, it did. I bought 3 32ounce bags for $6.00. Most of them went straight into the freezer or into recipes I’d been waiting to try but I kept one bag out with the intention of making jellied Relish.
My family’s only traditional Cranberry Relish recipe involves jello. I’m not really a fan of hello. I always eat it on thanksgiving because, well, tradition, but Wesley’s family’s traditional Relish is what seems to be the more popular among “my group” as well as on Pinterest. It’s the one orange, one bag of cranberries, and a cup of sugar ground together. I love that stuff, I’ve even taken to adding pineapple, coconut, nuts, or whatever I’m in the mood for to it.
But no, I wanted to try making and canning jellied Relish. I’m not a huge fan of the canned stuff, it’s odd to eat jelly by the disc? Scoop? But I thought homemade would be better. I searched Pinterest, got a few ideas, and tried my hand at it. The result was super yummy, even Wesley who straight up hates the store bought canned version, sang it’s praises. But that could be because it didn’t turn out a whole lot like the jellied kind. ;P

I boiled my berries in sugar water until they popped and got a little syrupy. Next I puréed them in my ninja blender then added a few essential oils and boiled it down a bit more before putting it into pint jars for water bathing. From my research it would appear it (1) didn’t reach a high enough temp to “gel” or (2) needed more sugar and more boiling to make it gel like typical jams. Either way, it didnt gel. It did thicken nicely and could be served in a puddle and eaten but we’ve enjoyed it more like jelly. We’ve put it in yogurt, on biscuits, and spread over creme filled crepes.

32 ounces Cranberries
4 cups water
3-4 cups Sugar
2 drops Orange EO
1 drop Clove EO
1 drop Nutmeg EO

Boil cranberries in water and sugar until they pop. Cool slightly. Purée in blender if you want smooth jelly, smash with potato masher for more texture.
Add essential oils.
Boil until desired consistency. Boil to 220 to gelling point if you have a candy thermometer and want to attempt to get the bellies version that I didn’t succeed in.
Fill jars.
Water bath for 15 minutes.