Have I mentioned I love the grandparents?

It seems as though I am healthier pregnant than not pregnant.

I had this uncomplicated pregnancy, perfect drug-free birth experience, welcomed an amazing, healthy baby to this world…and then BAM! post partum has just smacked me in the face…with a stinking two-by-four.

First there was the Mastitis, then some more Mastitis, then a THIRD bout of Mastitis (okay, I understand it was probably all the same Mastitis, but it kept getting better and then flaring up again even though I was on antibiotics).  Anyway, then there was some random and alarming bleeding on Sunday night (hadn’t mentioned that one earlier) and theeeeen….da da da daaaaaaa…a FULL BODY rash!!!

Yes, on Monday night I developed a full body, incredibly itchy rash (especially on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet – the WORST).  I now know that I am very allergic to the antibiotic Cephalexin.  Fabulous.

All this to say: I’m sorry AGAIN for not posting.   To be honest, the itching was so bad that I couldn’t focus enough to sit down and write anything even slightly coherent.  I actually still have the rash, but it is starting to subside a little bit so I am trying to post something.  I can’t promise it will be coherent.

I also have to note that I HATE rashes. They totally creep me out. I mean, I’m sure nobody enjoys a rash, but I REALLY can’t handle them.  I can look at blood, I can handle people throwing up, I don’t mind open wounds, pus, or any other gory medical issue. However, even a tiny set of bumps or red dots and I want to crawl out of my skin and die.   My saving grace is that the one area that isn’t covered in this allergic reaction is my face.  I have at least been able to look in a mirror to wash my face or do my hair (in new mom speak that means ‘put it in a ponytail’) and just focus on my face so that I won’t start gagging at the sight of the rest of my skin covered in red dots.  Okay, have I grossed you out enough for you to forgive me for missing posts again?

So, what I really wanted to write about tonight was my dinner Monday night, or rather, the person who made it. You might think the photo below is at a restaurant, but you’d be wrong. No, my Mother-in-Law just whipped that up for dinner.

My husband requested a soup. He loves soup, she loves making soups and his wife doesn’t love soup and therefore hardly ever makes soup. Perfect.  Most people would probably offer to make a chicken soup or maybe go wild and offer to try an Italian Wedding soup or something. My Mother-in-Law? “Excellent! I’ll make a French Onion soup!” So I casually ask her “Do you, like, have a recipe you use for that? Or, I mean, do you just know what to do, or what?” She looked at me sideways and said “Do you want me to use a recipe?”

I’m not sure why I asked her this because I have known the woman for 9+ years and have only once seen her with a recipe in hand – she printed it out from the internet and didn’t actually follow it in the slightest. To say that she never uses recipes is certainly not to say that she doesn’t cook. She cooks three meals a day and entertains ( I mean invites anyone and everyone and serves at least 15 different items) about 3-5 times a week.  She is amazing to watch in a kitchen.  I don’t know how many times I have said (or seen someone else say) that there is nothing in the pantry or fridge and she will waltz in and create some fantastic 4 course meal. I am not exaggerating.

So, back to the soup.  Of course I didn’t want her to use a recipe, I just couldn’t believe that French Onion soup fell in the category of things you could cook without one. Again, silly me.

When she asked what should accompany the soup I suggested a roast beef au jus sandwich. Of course, as you can see from the photo, it was a lot more than just ‘au jus.’   There was smoked Gouda, sliced avocado, some ‘mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard’ sauce she concocted, lettuce, tomato and onion. Oh, and she just ‘threw together’ a little beet/white radish/caper/English cucumber salad on the side. No biggie.

And this is my cross to bear: being married to a man whose mother makes the meal shown above for a ‘quick Monday night dinner.’ It’s a lot to live up to, but I am also very thankful that I, too, now get to enjoy her amazing feats in the kitchen…when she’s not busy lighting peanut butter on fire in the microwave, that is.