Will you be my Valentine?

     Today is my youngest child's birthday, he is 9 years old. Amazing how time flies, feels like just yesterday, I was baby proofing the entire house. My children are 6 years apart, and like night and day. My oldest thinks before he acts, and my youngest acts before he thinks. It keeps life interesting, for sure.

     I never had the normal (whatever, that means) pregnancies. In fact, I can admit it now, I hated being pregnant. The only time that was worthwhile, was the small three month window, between the first trimester and the third trimester. Otherwise, I hated it. I had constant morning sickness in the first trimester, and mandatory bed rest in the last trimester. I couldn't see my feet, sleeping was an illusion, and moving around was and even bigger challenge. But the end justified the means, in both cases.

     You can never plan life, sure you can plan meetings, parties and menus, but life never. I "planned" to bring my second child into the world on February 15, 2002 via c-section with Dr. Carrasaquillo's help.After a long discussion with my husband, we decided that it was better to bring him into the world without the confusion of a holiday going on, Kerry thought differently.

    

   My oldest son was in Kindergarten and we were filling out Valentine's for his classmates. I was feeling blimpish, swollen and exhausted. I went to bed early, in the hopes of getting some rest. At 3:30am, I felt what I thought was a braxton hicks (false labor), as 4:30am approached, I was in labor. I never knew what a contraction felt like, because with my oldest son, he was born via emergency c-section. To this day, I still have no idea what it feels like to have a child in the natural way, don't worry though, I got over it.

     I should have known that my youngest would be off and running. But I clung to the idea, that he would be just like his older brother, a cuddler, careful, and calm. That idea was ludicrous. He was the opposite. Kerry takes the world by the horns and leads it around. He is fearless to a point, he is a sensitive soul, and sometimes too smart to the ways of manipulation. I don't remember much of Valentine's Day 2002, due to the Demerol pump, but I can say I have my very own Valentine.

     Birthdays in my house are a pretty big deal, in addition to cake, ice cream, presents, and cards, my boys get to eat their favorite meal. You would think that because their Mom is a chef, that they would use that to their advantage. Kerry will be dining on McDonald's tonight, and sadly alone, 9 year olds love that junk, and medically can still get away with eating it.  Don't get me wrong, I love McDonald's too, but it just doesn't agree with me anymore.

Meatloaf before~



The Valentine's loot!~



Meatloaf after~yum!!!!

     While Kerry is enjoying cheeseburgers, the rest of the us will be having meatloaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus. For dessert, we are having a chocolate peanut butter cake made with love by Jasmine. So I think all in all, it will be a fantastic day.

This is a chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream, made exclusively for Kerry Gould, by Jasmine Bernier

Meatloaf

1 package meatloaf mix
1 1 pound package ground round
1 oz butter
3 medium carrots, peeling and shredded
2 onions, diced fine
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp Tabasco
6 eggs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tablespoons parsley chopped (fyi~I use dried)
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 to 8 slices or maybe more of white bread, processed in a processor depending on how tight you want the mix to be
salt and pepper to taste

In a saute pan cook the carrots, onions and garlic in butter until soft and cool. In a bowl combine the meat, eggs, cheese, ketchup, hot sauce, cream and vegetables and mix with your hands (God's spatulas) until well combined, add the bread crumbs until the mixture is as tight as you want it to be, and season with the thyme, parsley, salt and pepper. Grease a 9x5in loaf pan and add meat mixture, top with more ketchup and bake in a 350F oven until the internal temperature reaches 150F.

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. ~Author Unknown