Things I've learned...

(in the last couple of days, at least...)

1. How to make fudge.

My mom is a fudge snob. Years ago, she was complaining to a friend about how she had yet to find a good fudge recipe. Sue modestly said, "Well, I think my recipe is pretty good." It is perfect. So she showed my mom how to make it, and has even returned several times to give my mom refresher courses. Having been to one of these, and with the recipe in hand, I decided to attempt my first solo batch of fudge.

It was 9 pm Sunday night. I looked over the recipe and decided it should only take about 15 minutes, so hey, I'll make it while Dave's on the phone. By 10 I was calling my mom wondering why my sugar/milk mixture wasn't heating over 220 degrees. Stupid fudge! She figured it out (I didn't know I was supposed to use a ridiculously large pan), offered some other advice, and I was on my way. Totally worth the expected reprimanding I got for being up late making fudge. Come on, Mom. The only thing more important than sleep to a woman late in pregnancy is fudge. Or any other chocolate-based treat.

But then the milk started to burn, and as I stirred it into the other ingredients, it was clear that this wasn't my mom's fudge. Hers is pretty. Mine looked greasy. And things weren't melting right. Stupid fudge. I poured it in the pans, shoved it in the fridge, and left the kitchen a mess. I was fed up, and decided to stick with what I know: cookies.

Monday morning, I opened the fridge and looked at my fudge nemesis with disgust. Well, I might as well try it before throwing it out. I'm certainly not going to be able to give this crap away. To my utter disbelief, it wasn't terrible. It wasn't grainy or blooming or gritty, like so many other fudges I've tried. It was fantastic. Smooth, creamy, delicious. I'm still not sure if I'll give any away...it's quickly disappearing from my fridge. Thanks, Sue, your recipe is so awesome that it couldn't be screwed up by me.

2. Mabes and cough syrup don't mix.

I had a growth ultrasound and doctor's appointment Monday morning. Since Mabes has been talking about ultrasounds for months, I decided to bring her to the appointment. She was very excited to see her baby "stister." She had a cold and cough, and while that's not a big deal at my doctor's office (as long as there's no fever, which there wasn't), I still felt bad bringing a hacking kid in. Plus, she was complaining about her throat hurting when she coughed, so I decided to give her a cough suppressant. I know--I usually just let these things run their course, but in light of the circumstances, I made an exception. I shouldn't have.

On a positive note, her cough *was* suppressed. But that wasn't really noticeable, what with all the bouncing. Seriously. Mabes tends to be rather energetic as it is, but this was nuts. She was good for the ultrasound, and loved seeing the baby. But by the time I met with my doctor, she was jumping up and down telling him about her Nutcracker movie and how bad the mouse king is, how she saw her baby stister on the special computer and her hands were by her face, and how Christmas was coming up and we have a tree and presents and stockings! And at least she was bouncing in place and not running around the office--that counts for something, right?

I assured Dr. B that I wouldn't bring her to next week's appointment, and he just laughed and said he'll miss seeing Mabes after I have the baby. Really? I mean, really. But I appreciate that he cares enough to say nice things that may not be true to make me feel better.

3. Thanksgiving pictures don't post themselves.

I still need to get on that. And I should probably also pack a hospital bag. And figure out what exactly we're doing with Mabes (we have ideas/offers, but don't have anything concrete). And make sure Dave knows where we're going.

4. I'm giving birth to the Godfather.





















Before this, my latest ultrasound was 20 weeks, so it was really cool to see the detail at 37 weeks. You can see her nose! Mabes loved seeing her move around and the ultrasound was great. My doctor decided to order an ultrasound to check for fetal macrosomia, which is basically a big baby. Last week, he said "I don't think you're carrying a larger-than-average baby in there--I don't know where you'd be hiding a 9 pounder!" But then he caught himself and said, "But I bet your other doctor said that with Emaline, huh?" Yep.

The baby is measuring 7 pounds right now, so that puts me on track to deliver a 7.5-8.5 pound baby, depending on when she decides to make her debut. I know, I know--ultrasounds can be off by 2 pounds. But until I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume this baby will be 7.5 pounds at birth. The ultrasound tech said she's looking great, though, and despite the picture, the images of her moving around were fascinating. I was surprised to see her face well enough to see a strong resemblance to newborn Mabes, and am pretty sure she'll come out looking more like Mabes than Marlon Brando.