Happy Halloween from the House on Happy Street

Halloween

I've ignored Halloween this year for the most part. I didn't want to over promise and under deliver in case a certain baby boy decided to be born. Miss Zita picked up my slack and made some cookies last night to get us all in the spirit. I wasn't even in the kitchen when she made them; I just swept in to take photos of the decorating part.

Love the teamwork in this shot.

Freddy is never one to under sprinkle or under frost a cookie

 

In the last few days,  I've been spoiled by a delicious apple crumble, and a pumpkin pie. We ate every last morsel of both, and even Zita who officially doesn't "prefer" pumpkin pie, ate a whole slice.

On the baby front, my contractions have been stronger in the last two days, although not regular enough to get to the doctor to see what the status is. My next check-up isn't until Friday, but Zita has decided that he'll be born tomorrow. Let's hope she's right! 

We broke the TV ban/hiatus to watch the hurricane Sandy coverage and the whole time I kept thinking about the poor women in the final stages of pregnancy. It makes my logistical obstacles look like a cake walk.

Please Excuse My Informality

Anyone who saw Downton Abbey's season 3 episode 2, will know what I mean when I beg forgiveness for Pai's informality in wearing a dinner jacket to a party.

I stayed home, but I wanted to snap a picture with the handsome party goer before he left.

Please send praise my way for managing to tie a bow tie. It was not easy! 

Saturday Morning Wake Up

38 Weeks- Outie Time

 My belly button is certainly calling out for attention these days.

Here I am just before walking out the door to the hospital this morning. It's all very well to have bags packed, and lots of plans discussed, but not actually bringing the bags and not having any of the plans finalized meant a great wave of panic struck when the Dr. mentioned I might need to be induced today.

 Lots of cozy, albeit boring time in this chair, a few blood tests, and an ultrasound later, and I was on my way just in time for the school run.

I just want to share another example of classic Portuguese commentary before I settle into a cup of tea with crumble. The nurse setting up the fetal monitor asked me if it was my first baby (you know I love that) and when I said it was my fourth, she replied "Four?!? Are you crazy? Everything is so bad in this country right now. That's too many children!" 

I just smiled.

Treasured Baby Gifts

I've received some absolutely exquisite baby gifts. This little blue outfit is hand made, and not by a Portuguese grandmother. It was sewn by a real live young friend of mine. As someone who messes up sewing on buttons and can only do a basic hem under duress and in crisis situations, hand made outfits are treasures to me.

Check out the little elephant buttons. What I love most is that there's plenty of room for a chubby tummy later on.

Nesting Hits the Kitchen, and Other Updates

I've been deep in house projects since the weekend. We took almost everything off of the kitchen shelves and out of the cabinets, and did a major clean out. It was so therapeutic! All of these things are headed for the door. This shot doesn't include the 4 big bags of stuff we got rid of.


Pai moved the refrigerator to every possible spot because it never felt like it was in the right place. We've settled on a new place, but that will entail removing a whole set of deep shelving and getting new cabinets for the refrigerator's old spot. I don't have any pictures since it's not so easy to just dash up the stairs for the camera without feeling like I'll drop the baby right on the landing. This whole kitchen project started when we realized that 5 people hardly fit around our kitchen table and 6 would be impossible.

We finally harvested the wild quince growing near our gate. I was lead astray with a recipe that called for water and it turned out too runny. It solidified a bit with a second boil and sitting over night, but I think I will call these preserves instead of jam. I can't wait to try a dollop over plain yogurt with a sprinkle of granola, or drizzled over pancakes. yum!


  Isn't the color just gorgeous? They are white like apples in raw form, but darken as they cook.

Freddy and I also made our annual quince apple pie with crumble nut topping. Again, no photos.

Fall colors are almost non-existent in Portugal, but the tennis courts where I spend half of my life happen to have vibrant red leaves. What a treat.

Zita and Freddy went on their first field trip of the year to the Pavilhão de Conhecimentos in Lisbon where they were all filmed for a news segment. Here they are just before. Sorry about the sun Freddy!

I've been incorporating a lot of squash, pumpkin, and carrot into dinners, as one does at this time of year, and these squash fries added great color and something new to our table. The kids never turn down anything labeled "fries."

Another Perfect Fall Day at Guincho

Do I say this about every season? I might, but Fall in Portugal is my favorite! We went to Guincho on a whim late Saturday afternoon  and it did not disappoint one bit.  It was so clear towards the Sintra mountains that one could see both the Convento da Peninha and the Cabo da Rocha, and there was plenty of space to mess around and expend every last drop of energy.

Rugby always turns into the little boys trying to take down Moojie.

 It never works, but they have a lot of fun trying.

 

Miss Zita is still holding on to her golden Summer tan. 

 

I took my job of guarding the beach blanket very seriously while these two went for a walk to the other end of the beach and back. 

 She's still in tennis clothes in case anyone is wondering what's going on.

 

 There was a family behind us (just to the right of Moojie) doing a photo shoot with the outdated jeans and white shirt uniform. The inner critic in me could not be quieted and I was just dying to tell them that they were a good decade behind the times, but I thought better of it. I hate to think what I'll be like as an old lady with no filters. 

The boys had a little javelin competition using the base of our umbrella

 and then it was back to ball games.  

We stayed until the sun set, feeling so grateful for another Fall beach day and our first weekend in a while with Pai.

 

37 Weeks

Full Term!

I had my full-term 37 week check-up today and all looks great with baby boy #4. The biggest shock of all is his size. He's not a large 8-9 lb (+-4 kg) baby, he's a normal baby. I was so alarmed by this, and went as far as to question his health, my amniotic fluid levels, whether he has the chord positioned badly, anything at all that would explain his normal size. Everything was fine- the doctor measured and re-measured everything and it kept showing a small baby. There could still be some fattening up in the last weeks, but even so, he won't be a Freddy.

This is of course after I armed myself with only 3 month+ clothes and nothing for newborns, but in life's grander scheme, that's really nothing a little rolling of the sleeves won't solve. 

Being there in the hospital and talking through what to do when I go in to labor just made me giddy with excitement for this baby to finally arrive. I haven't really let myself think too much about the fun and cuddly stuff. I've mostly just been focused on the practical preparations of getting everyone else ready. Today, however, I was daydreaming about those first days of nuzzling a newborn and I'm now so so ready. Except I'm not because I still have to charge my camera, find the Flip Video, print and fill out a million US Embassy forms, get a phillips head screw driver and tighten one last screw on the crib, put snacks, gum, and mints in my hospital bag, and oh yeah- settle on a name.

I'll get a belly shot up tomorrow.

Latest Tennis Tournament

Moojie did the best he's ever done at a tennis tournament this past weekend. He's never won a set before, so winning the first set 6-3 was a great start. His lead continued into the second set when he was leading 4-1, and then it all started to slip. Either the other guy saw that Moojie has no ranking and almost no tournament history and was caught off guard, or Moojie simply slipped half way through. Either way, it was an intense 3 straight hours of watching him while simultaneously trying to keep the other two quiet and entertained.

I've never seen a baby or toddler at these tournaments and I'm not confident we'll be able to break that trend this Winter.

Before I show the tennis pictures, I have to share pictures of these hilarious mastiff dogs that took right to us. They looked scary as all heck, but they were the biggest softies ever. They wanted our picnic lunch so we had to retreat to the car to avoid their swinging drool baths. They parked themselves patiently outside the car with irresistible faces.

Okay, now for the tennis.

We got a few dry-fit tennis clothes while we were in the US. They are especially useful for 1 o'clock game times when the sun in blaring down the entire time.

Watching Andy Murray's journey has been such good timing. Mooj is learning such a good life lesson in hard work and sticking with things. That was tournament number 4 (3?) and even though he hasn't won anything yet, he gets closer and a little better every time. It's a great lesson for his siblings to watch too.

Funny aside: His opponent was so much smaller than he was, and after Mooj checked in, the guy running the tournament said to Mooj "so you'll be playing this little pip-squeak right here." I don't think the "pip squeak" was very amused by that.

Next tournament I'll either have a two week old in the baby Bjorn, or have to rely on Pai for pictures and updates, which means this might be the last tournament update for quite a while.

My Bedside Table

Someone Discovered A New Game

I was reluctant to teach Freddy chess because I knew that just as he was with Black Jack, he would want to play all the time.

Of course I played with him, but I'll admit that I suggested he ask Zita to play instead. She was too busy in a mad rush to make pumpkin stickers out of felt. It's social suicide to show up for a new day of school without new stickers ready for trading.

Another night wraps up on Happy Street with chess, sticker making, and studying for a math test (Moojie). High school really isn't all it's made out to be. I'll take 4th or 1st grade any day.

Feeling Like Fall

We didn't stop at the muffins, we also roasted two large trays of vegetables, baked 12 mini steak pies, and a loaf of pumpkin walnut bread.

The family loved the veggies as a side with steak, I ate them with one of my favorite meals- a busy roasted vegetable salad with seeds and smoked salmon.

Zita decided that a good Fall centerpiece was missing and used quince with pumpkin on our cake plate.
I can't wait until it's cold enough to put a fire in the fireplace.

Power Muffins- First Attempt

I'm trying to create a healthy muffin that can be whipped up quickly and will make a good school snack. Today was my first attempt. We all ate one for breakfast and they were unanimously approved.

I mixed: 2 cups flour
Cinnamon
All spice
Cardamom
1 cored apple and four carrots chopped in a blender
1 cup brown sugar
Walnuts
Cashews
Hazel Nuts
( I would prefer raisins, but that would be a deal breaker for some family members)

In a separate bowl mix:
3 eggs
Vanilla
1/2 c coconut yogurt ( or plain, banana, or vanilla flavored- you can't taste the coconut at all)
1/2 cup softened butter

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and bake.

I didn't set a timer, but I think I baked them for around 15-20 minutes.

36 weeks

More Baby Prep

Another post geared towards female
Family members and die hard baby people. Everyone else can just ignore.

The hospital I'll deliver in has a very specific and long list of things to pack. I've never stressed too much about what to bring since so many people come to visit and would be all too happy to grab something I forgot. With my contractions getting stronger to the point where if I'm walking, I'll stop and wait it out, I decided to throw some baby clothes into a suitcase, just in case, but I only got as far as the clothes.

Doing the baby laundry was the highlight of my week. I know all too well that these cute little things will be *fragrant* gym clothes and school uniforms in no time so I'm just going to savor every minute I have with these soft and minuscule cottons.

Anyone who knows me, knows that big zip-loc bags for packing purposes are at the top of my what-makes-me-happy list, so when I read the hospital's web site requesting that all of baby's outfits be separated into zip-loc bags, I just knew this was the hospital for me.

It's late in the game, but Pai and
I are just starting to feel like this might actually happen, and all of these appointments, insurance papers,Tupperware full of baby clothes, and perhaps the large crib at the foot of our bed, might all be because in as few as two weeks, we'll be looking at our third big baby boy.

So here it is in all its glory- I hereby present my official baby bag.