Andy & Jessica

Well, it’s been awhile since we’ve posted. We’re in the final countdown until the birth of our next baby boy. I have a C-section scheduled for February 15th and am hoping to make it until that day. My doctor gives me a 90% chance of making it until the 15th if I try to get more rest. This baby is bigger than Jude and I am horribly uncomfortable. Jude was 20 inches long and weighed in at 8 pounds even. The doctor estimates this little boy is/will be 9 or 9-1/2 pounds. No wonder I feel like my abdomen is going to explode. I definitely am excited to get him out of me and to get a good look at him. I haven’t been thinking much about what it will be like to have another baby. Most of my focus has been on how the new baby is going to accepted by Jude. I know Jude will be crazy about him. But, Jude is a Mommy’s boy and is very possessive of me. Jude’s not going to like that I shouldn’t lift him/carry him for probably 6 weeks post-C-section. He’s also not going to like me having to not sit by him in the back seat of the car. Life will change for little Jude and all of us very soon. But, as was the case when we welcomed Jude into the world, I’m sure it is going to change for the better.

Normally getting kicked in the gut would be a bad, unpleasant thing.  But, every time my little baby boy kicks me in the gut, I am so happy and reassured.  It’s just the best feeling in the world to know that the little guy is doing okay and is such a fun reminder that I do have a human being living inside of me.  Only 4 more months to go!

This third pregnancy of mine has been full of worry. For the first 16 weeks or so, I was worried about miscarrying again. When I was 16 weeks and far enough along to have no excuse to worry anymore, I made a huge mistake by taking the quadscreen. The quadscreen tests for Downs, spina bifida and Trisomy 18. Several days after taking the screening, I got an ominous message at work. It was a doctor from my clinic who wanted to discuss my screening results with me. I knew it was bad news. Doctors never call to congratulate a patient on normal test results. For two hours, I waited with worry for him to call back to deliver the bad news. Then the call came. It was just as I had expected. First came some seemingly good news — that the baby didn’t appear to have Down syndrome. But, then came the bad news, that the baby tested for an increased risk (1 out of 20 chance) for Trisomy 18, which is genetic condition I was told was “incompatible with life.” I was told that if the baby had Trisomy 18 he/she would die “sooner rather than later” (most likely during pregnancy). The doctor mentioned I might want to do an amniocentesis procedure to figure out if the baby really had Trisomy 18 and, if so, consider whether I want to “terminate the pregnancy.” I said I would never put my baby’s life at risk by doing an amnio and would never kill my own baby. He said I could do a level II ultrasound but that it wouldn’t be conclusive one way or the other. I had to wait 3 long weeks for the ultrasound. It was pure torture. It was on my mind at all waking moments for those 3 weeks. I kept dreading going to the bathroom since I was afraid I’d see blood and know the baby had already died. Finally, at 19 weeks pregnant, I had the level II ultrasound. About 5 minutes into it, I was feeling really good. The baby still had a heartbeat and was alive. The baby’s head wasn’t too small (as is the case with Trisomy 18 babies). The ultrasound tech checked every finger and toe and organ. My baby was perfect. What a relief! At the end, the ultrasound tech saw a little something between our baby’s legs and announced we were having another boy. I was thrilled because I had an alive and healthy baby. Little Jude wanted a “girl baby like Mommy” so he sobbed for 20 minutes or so. By that night, I allowed myself to begin enjoying this pregnancy. Given that it’s over half over, it’s about time! What we don’t know is if this baby was perfect all along or if this baby really did have Trisomy 18 and God answered our prayers. What I do know, is that knowing God is way smarter than me and has His own plans that I may not always understand, certainly made it easier to face the fear of losing another baby.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. We were a bit busy to celebrate. Jessica’s sister Katie and her husband Phil had their second child late Friday night. Jonah Nicolas came about 11:40pm. Jessica and I went up there to see the baby and help out as we could. Sunday was spent visiting in the morning and driving home in the afternoon.

Jude did manage to color up a card for his mom, which of course she loved!

On Easter weekend, the ground was finally thawed enough that we were able to bury our second born, who we named Titus.  It’s been 3 months since I delivered him and the loss is still so painful.  I am comforted knowing that my Lord and savior, who died for the sins of those who repent and trust in him alone for salvation and then rose from the dead, is taking good care of my little baby.

For several weeks, I’ve been experimenting with a couple recipes to make the best pizza I can from scratch at home. I’ve gotten it pretty good after a lot of trial and error. This is what I’ve come up with.

For the crust, I use the following recipe for a deep-dish dough, which is no different than the one I previously posted. I just figured out the best way to bake it.

1 1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/8 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

(You may use all-purpose flour for this recipe if doing it by hand).

Bread machine: Add ingredients to machine bread pan in order given or as per manufacturer’s instructions. Set to ‘dough’ mode.

Since the original post, I have tried with MSG (a product called “Accent”), it doesn’t seem to add enough to the taste to recommend it. I also found a much better way to bake it. Almost as important as the ingredients themselves is how you prepare this. It is best to have a pan that is made for deep-dish pizzas. Mine is about a 12″ metal (aluminum?) pan that I bought online from a restaurant supply website. I let the bread machine do it’s thing, and then take it out when it is done (when it beeps). Before putting it in the pan, I add about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. This is important – don’t just spray it with Pam and call it good. 3 Tbps of oil is more than what’s needed to keep the dough from sticking to the pan, it also served the purpose of frying the dough a little while it’s in the oven, which results in a much better tasting crust. Once the pan is oiled, put the dough in it and press it out to fill the pan. Leave the edges a little thicker than the middle to give a nice crust edge when it’s done baking. Then give it another hour or so to rise some more before adding sauce, cheese, and toppings.

For sauce, we used the Ragu stuff you can buy by the gallon at Sam’s club for about $3 for years. It works, but it makes a pretty pathetic pizza. Spend a little extra money and get some good sauce. Our local grocery store stocks sauce from several local chains, including Green Mill, Davani’s, and Rocky Rococco. We like the Green Mill the best, but any of them are better than the Ragu (I’d rate the Ragu about 3 out of 10 and the worst of the chain sauces about a 7). However, if you really want a good sauce that you make yourself from scratch, I created the following recipe after a bit of experimenting that is quite good:

1 (8 oz.) can of Tomato Sauce
1 (6 oz.) can of Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Basil
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper

Just mix it all together and apply to your pizza crust. You’ll get a lot more out of this recipe than you need for one pizza. Depending on how much you like to put on, you may be able to get two pizzas out of it.

We have a convection oven, and I like to bake the pizza at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, but your millage may vary. My experience with the convection oven is that it bakes about twice as fast as a normal oven. If you don’t have convection, I would guess it would take about 25 minutes to bake, but that is just a guess. It’s a homemade recipe, so pick a temp and keep an eye on it.

Of course the cheese and toppings are up to you. Everyone likes their pizza their own way. I like to fry up a bunch of bacon, tear it into small pieces after it’s cooked, and have pepperoni and bacon pizza.

You may have to experiment a little until you get it the way you like it, that’s okay. A few mediocre pizzas is worth getting it figured out. Now that I have it down, I like my pizza every bit as much as a restaurant pizza.