It was October. I was at Dr. McClintock’s office when I found out for certain that I was pregnant. This was before drug store pregnancy tests. I went downstairs to a pay phone – it was pre-cell phones as well – to call hubby at work. We were so excited! Life was perfect. It was all we could do not to take out a full-page ad in the state paper except that, of course, there was no way we could afford that. We settled for a brag book purchase for my mom which was the way the whole world found out anyway! I fully understand that now being the perfect grandmother that I am. Being pregnant was a nine month adventure that I so perfectly enjoyed. Morning sickness wasn’t anything that I experienced; I may have had just a little nausea late in the day but certainly nothing to complain about. My sweet little second-graders brought me crackers and Hershey’s Kisses – crackers for me and Kisses for “our” baby. (They even gave me a surprise baby shower at the end of the school year.) Everyone patted my expanding belly and gave us all sorts of perfe
ct “raising baby” advice which we promptly forgot but shouldn’t have. Winter turned into spring; we changed the baby’s room from a horrid mauve to a clean, bright white and decorated ala’ Sears with Winnie-the-Pooh bumper pads, sheets, pillows, wall hangings, and a complete menagerie that included Winnie, Eeyore, Kango and Roo. Perfect! Dr. McClintock continued to harass me about heading to the closest IHOP immediately after my visits and would only assure me when I inquired about the baby’s gender that I wasn’t going to have a “perfect” poodle. Times have definitely changed! Bozo’s expected arrival date of July 4 drew closer and I nested. The floors were perfectly mopped and waxed, the furniture perfectly rearranged, and the baby’s room repainted so that it too was perfect. July 4 arrived with no Bozo. – not perfect. Hubby and I headed to the lake. He swears that I looked happy and was perfectly beautiful, but when I look back “beautiful” translated into “ballooned”, but I was defintely happy. We were ready! Or, so we thought. We weren’t, of course, but SHE was. July 10th dawned and eventually so did Emily. Suddenly the weight of the world was on hubby’s shoulders and I was petrified. We had not one single clue as to what we were to do with this sweet, precious, beautiful , perfect baby girl. Knowing how to be pregnant did not prepare us for knowing how to be parents. Bring on Dr. Spock! There was hope.
ct “raising baby” advice which we promptly forgot but shouldn’t have. Winter turned into spring; we changed the baby’s room from a horrid mauve to a clean, bright white and decorated ala’ Sears with Winnie-the-Pooh bumper pads, sheets, pillows, wall hangings, and a complete menagerie that included Winnie, Eeyore, Kango and Roo. Perfect! Dr. McClintock continued to harass me about heading to the closest IHOP immediately after my visits and would only assure me when I inquired about the baby’s gender that I wasn’t going to have a “perfect” poodle. Times have definitely changed! Bozo’s expected arrival date of July 4 drew closer and I nested. The floors were perfectly mopped and waxed, the furniture perfectly rearranged, and the baby’s room repainted so that it too was perfect. July 4 arrived with no Bozo. – not perfect. Hubby and I headed to the lake. He swears that I looked happy and was perfectly beautiful, but when I look back “beautiful” translated into “ballooned”, but I was defintely happy. We were ready! Or, so we thought. We weren’t, of course, but SHE was. July 10th dawned and eventually so did Emily. Suddenly the weight of the world was on hubby’s shoulders and I was petrified. We had not one single clue as to what we were to do with this sweet, precious, beautiful , perfect baby girl. Knowing how to be pregnant did not prepare us for knowing how to be parents. Bring on Dr. Spock! There was hope. Over the years Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care evolved into James Dobson’s The Strong-Willed Child and the three of us learned together how to be a family – not a perfect one, but a family nonetheless. We argued, we laughed, we played, we cried – and we survived. Being Emily’s mom has been one of the greatest blessings God has ever given me. Being the grandmother of her children is absolutely the PERFECT one.
My baby now helps bring new babies into the world. You can read an interesting story about her and one of those babies here at Kelly’s Korner: It’s a small world. It’s the February 8th entry.
This Chicken Kiev was one of Emily’s frequent requests for her birthday dinners. It’s a calorie splurge, but perfectly delicious!
Serves 6
3 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and halved
salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons finely cut fresh chives
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 finger-sized pieces and frozen hard
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs or panko
vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying
salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons finely cut fresh chives
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 finger-sized pieces and frozen hard
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs or panko
vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying
Flatten the boned breasts to a thickness of about 1/4 inch by placing them between two pieces of wax paper and pounding them lightly with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin. Discard the paper and lay out the flattened breasts, boned side uppermost. Salt to taste and sprinkle the breasts with the pepper and chives. Place one of the pieces of butter on each breast half. Roll up the butter in the breast meat as you would wrap a package, tucking in the ends at the beginning of the roll. Dip the rolled breasts in flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the bread crumbs or panko. Chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Heat the oil to 365 degreesin a saucepan or deep fryer. The oil should be dep enough to fully cover the breasts. Deep fry the breasts until they are golden brown, at least 4 to 5 minutes. Do not crowd the fryer. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
I usually serve this with wild and long-grain rice blend and either grilled asparagus, broccoli almondine, or steamed fresh green beans.
You can follow this video link to see another version prepared.
I know what you mean about the whole world finding out from Mom.