Welcome to the Womb Service Link-up, home to ladies dishing the dishes they cannot get enough of all for the happiness of the baby (right?).
Let me give you peek as to how I gained over fifty pounds with Ryan and what my current womb-mate is craving. I have already confessed the Chicken Salad Story so I haven't included that one.
1. Ryan - Delux Bar & Grill Fries. The sports bar behind our old apartment building has the best fries in the world. We still don't know how they make them because some of the fries are insanely long and look like they come from a potato on steroids. Do they freeze mashed potatoes and then chop them into fries? Do they have access to only crazy giant potatos? Who knows. All I know is they they are always crunchily (made up that word because that is a privilege I am taking while discussing something as bizarre as pregnancy cravings) crispy on the outside, never soggy and just perfect. Looking back, I probably had these at least once a week? We will be heading to Chicago a couple times this month so that corner bar may be getting a deluxe order for those fries.
(and I never got a wrap there, this was just the only photo I could find on Yelp! with their fries).
2. Baby Harrington - Asian food. I cannot get enough of Pad Thai, Chinese food and when my mom came to visit, you know I ate an insane amount of Filipino Food. I didn't even have a birthday cake this year; I requested turon, which are bananas fried in lumpia wrappers. Once when I was picking up Chinese carryout, I dropped the box as I was trying to open the car door. My four pieces of crab rangoon spilled onto the asphalt under the car next to mine. I didn't even think twice of getting on my belly to retrieve those precious fried pieces of goodness, and they were gone by the time I reached home. Thank goodness no one saw me ... except that I just told the world wide web.
3. Baby Harrington - McDonald's Hamburgers. During the first trimester with this baby, you could tell that I was producing plenty of milk for Ryan and growing this baby because my desire for extra calories was insane. Doctors recommend that you eat 300 extra calories a day when you are pregnant, and nursing burns 500-600 calories a day. No wonder all I wanted was junk food. My friend gave us a loaf of bed, and it was gone in a day and a half, eaten with plenty of butter on each slice. My brother-in-law would order a pizza, and I had no shame in eating multiple slices. I fried apples in butter for goodness sake. My biggest junk food desire was a hamburger from McDonald's, which I normally never eat. When I told Chris this, he replied, "You mean you want a burger? Like Five Guys?"
No.
I wanted a burger from the golden arches that you barely have to chew. One day Chris brought me a Big Mac, and "I've never seen anyone over the age of five be as excited about McDonald's as you are," was his observation.
4. Ryan - The Southern Mac and Cheese Food Truck. I worked in downtown Chicago for a large part of my pregnancy in Ryan. The neat part about working in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago is that the food trucks park right outside the building. Convenient, convenient. Well, the Southern Mac and Cheese had to go one step further and open a brick and mortar store just one block from my building. The once a week mac and cheese from a food truck could now be devoured whenever I wanted. I can't even count how many times I had the spinach, artichoke and goat cheese mac and cheese.
5. Ryan - Delux Bar & Grill Mac & Cheese. Not only does Delux have the best french fries, they have even better mac and cheese than the Southern. So creamy, cheesy and just a bit of a kick. We had a system normally on Sunday nights when I once again had not gone grocery shopping: I would call in the order and Chris would run over and pick it up. My food chariot, he was. Now even when it is brunch time when we visit Delux, I always order a side of mac & cheese. This recipe from Martha Stewart is the closest I can find to it.
Overall with both pregnancies, I have craved savory over sweet. Too many sweets tend to make me jittery during pregnancy, which doesn't normally happen to me. Some days I could just want to drink broth straight! Another thing I have noted - with this pregnancy I have a mild aversion to chicken unless it is fried. I still cook it and eat it because when it goes on sale for $0.99 a pound, I try to be the responsible housewife.
Now dish!
Womb Service is open 24/7 for the next seventeen weeks for Baby Harrington and 24/7 for the next two weeks for anyone who would like to link-up! Hashtag #wombservice . Current pregnant mamas, pregnancy veterans and those who are not pregnant are welcome to join. I will try to come up with a more appropriate name for the non-with-child. Maybe this will turn into a monthly thing, maybe not we will see. Cravings do tend to change as the belly grows.
If you are anything like me, you will start craving every single thing you read about save chicken of the non-fried variety so be prepared with keys in hand or a husband at the ready.
Happy craving.
Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary, of course.
1.
Cheese. Fries. Macaroni and cheese. Tamales. Chicken salad sandwiches. Those were all what I call womb service for Ryan. Now that I am in the midst of providing service again for a wee womb one, savory items are once again monopolizing my food brain.
The almost daily conversation at our house goes like this:
"Do you want macaroni and cheese?" I toss the idea to Chris.
"Nope."
"Yeah, me neither."
"Yes, you do. You just don't want to eat it alone."
Hmph. That man is wise and knows his wife. So now I would like to invite all of you to join in a Womb Service link-up starting on Monday so I'm not alone in my pregnancy craving feast. What do you love? What can't you stand?
Roll call.
Full term and beautiful, Alexandra, you better participate. Hilarious Ana, did you have the same cravings for all three of your equally hilarious and talkative girls? Did the twins send you for the opposite of what your craved John Paul and Cecelia, lovely Rosie? Grace, great mom and master of the written quip, did Julia command womb service or was the Bash the demanding one? Role model Dwija, is your strong Nicholas steering you toward something in particular? Anna, who should be a full-time maternity model, what is your fully cooked baby sending you out for? How about you, Christy, wonder woman mom of five six and under who somehow manages to read voraciously and compose coherent blog posts while I post lists of what is in my purse? What has been helping you with your hyperemesis gravidarum, Michelle who always looks glowing when I would look like death if I were always nauseous? Wise and classy Hallie, intelligent, funny and inspiring Jen, Better than Brooklyn Decker in What to Expect When Expecting Sheena, had her Sebastian thirteen minutes after arriving at the hospital Martha, blows my mind with three who are three and under and she cloth diapers and doesn't eat processed food Martha, makes me feel super lazy with her running Kate, mother to Mikey, beautiful and sweet Francine, sprightly mama-to-be Stephanie, another kind mama-to-be Stephanie!, superbly honest and a mover and a shaker Cari (check our Operation Laundry Room for Dwija!), master cook Elizabeth, best balcony view and laugh inducer Jen, another one who makes me feel like a couch potato, sweet Colleen? Laura, mother to her five boys, what were were craving? I can't believe how much you get done in a day, Ashley, you always look put together and your house is always spotless Marjorie, pretty, pretty Laura who is the mother of Mary Margaret, superhero-tucking-in Rachel, Joy who is a joy in the morning, any of the fabulous McSisters, adorable Lauren, lovely Emily, mother of twins Sarah, makes me laugh Maia, Hannah with the cute Hannabert, and ranching and beautiful Britt?
Dish your dishes, ladies.
Not yet hosted a sweet babe in your belly? You can still share away!
I know this will probably end up causing me to crave a million things at the same time, but I am willing to risk it. Is Chris? We will see.
Check back on Monday after I have figured out this linker-upper business.
2. This has been happening almost every night instead of a bath or shower.since Chris splurged on this ten dollah sprinkler. It takes care of his mess of poor eating etiquette all while making me want to take a million pictures. Someday we will move it to the grass.
3. And now the opposite end of getting clean. The storms rained puddles this week, which caused this
which led to this
and a walk of not shame home in the stroller.
4. We had an stay-in date night last Saturday and watching Silver Linings Playbook. Quirky, but super funny! Not going to spoil it...even though probably everyone has seen it since I am always the last to see movies. For example, I just watched the Indiana Jones movies for the first time a month or two ago. I know.
5. And now I am watching This Means War because I have horrible taste in
movies and don't mind romantic comedies, Chris is doing work next to me
and calling every thing before it happens. It's true; these movies are
terribly predictable, which is probably why I like them.
6. This morning I went in and out of Target in twenty minutes. I didn't know I was capable of that.
7. I am meeting my friend's baby today and I can't wait!!
Head on over to Jen for some better ones, as always.
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Linking up with Grace for this week's Five Favorites! Cuddle with that baby, Hallie!
1. This maxi skirt from...Family Dollar! I was perusing the shelves at dólar de la familia for some materials that could somehow evolve into wannabe Montessori materials when I fell upon quite a cute maxi skirt. After confirming that I was, in fact, in Family Dollar, I shook off the surprise and ten-dollar-splurged on that thing. And you know what? It makes for a great laundry basket when you are having an off day and all of the socks are falling out of your arms as you traipse to the washer. So, get to Family Dollar, dollar now, yo.
2. Chicken Divan. I have not been a big fan of chicken this pregnancy. I have no problem stomaching it, but I just never think it is appetizing. However, the past few times we have eaten out, I order chicken and then I am promptly disappointed when the food arrives and I remember...oh yeah, I don't like chicken right now! Well, I had temporary food aversion amnesia again tonight and made chicken divan using Paula Deen's recipe. It was delicious even though it was chicken! Now if only Chris liked chicken divan...
3. Car seat with deep walls = Mom doesn't have to share. Ryan eats and eats and eats, and one of my biggest concerns at the moment besides his too natural ability to throw tantrums (where could he get that from? Oh yeah...me) is that he is such a food mooch. He just wants to smooch any food that he sees whether or not someone is in the middle of eating it.
Because of this, I was so thankful for the monstrous sides of his car seat when we were traveling this past week. Sometimes I would not want to share my precious food so I would assume perfect posture and hide behind the side of his car seat so I could chomp on cheese or Haribo cherries while he ate no sugar Cheerios or craisins.
I guess Ryan needs to learn to not be a food mooch, and I need to learn to not be a food scrooge.
4. Spring at ND. This doesn't even cover how beautiful ND is in the spring. When you are a student, you barely get to appreciate it because South Bend doesn't let you get a glimpse of the season until you are right in the midst of finals and about to spring out of there. That is why everyone should not grow up and live close to campus all the time, right?
5. Secondhand finds. I stopped at a little consignment shop that was packed full of random knick-knacks paddywacks and I found these floral pieces to brighten up one cabinet in the kitchen. I love them!
Head on over to the Camp for lots of favorites! Five times how ever many in the link-up to be exact.
1. Ryan - Delux Bar & Grill Fries. The sports bar behind our old apartment building has the best fries in the world. We still don't know how they make them because some of the fries are insanely long and look like they come from a potato on steroids. Do they freeze mashed potatoes and then chop them into fries? Do they have access to only crazy giant potatos? Who knows. All I know is they they are always crunchily (made up that word because that is a privilege I am taking while discussing something as bizarre as pregnancy cravings) crispy on the outside, never soggy and just perfect. Looking back, I probably had these at least once a week? We will be heading to Chicago a couple times this month so that corner bar may be getting a deluxe order for those fries. 
