Guess who's back!?

[HadassahSukkot]

HI EVERYBODY!!! I'm back!!

There'd been a fluke with my log in and such and with everything else going on, I was kind of content to just view the board for a while, and this weekend I decided to bug poor Al into helping me back in . Thanks Al!

Things are going great for me and DH here in Germany, and I am as of Monday 24 weeks pregnant with our first child, who we are still bickering over naming. (more about the nicknames and the *must have a middle name* than the name)




We have been doing some construction in my kitchen, which has slowed some of my cooking, but not too much. To be honest, the last month or so I've had a bit more energy and have been able to start cooking things ahead some. I now have a bar unit that my FIL was so gracious to help us make and install (We got the parts and supplies, he did the rest from a rough drawing I did), and he also helped make an additional 'shelf' so that we could widen the cabinet and counter space in one of our purchased kitchen units, which had me unable to use that counterspace for two days... but it has paid off!

here's what our bar unit looks like:



Loads of work space, and if you notice on the right side, there is an extra bit of counter overlapping the end of the bar, so that we can place the high chair there, and baby has eating space too! FIL was certainly thinking ahead when making that!

TEC; you've been on my mind... someone told me about their making a cherry pie this week and I was lamenting I couldn't have any... so I used your wonderful recipe and made with it not only a pie, but four little tartlets!

I'd never made pie like that before!!! Here's how they turned out:







I am so excited to be back!!

I have missed each and every one of you and had wanted to share so much, and now I have some time to do that!!

My German courses started around October, so five times a week I'm in an integration course for about 4 hours or so, then I come back home, read a little on all the forums I'm on, poke around the internet to find more GF recipes to play with (decide whether or not to tweak or toss or keep), and cook and clean around the apartment.

Mom's been going nutso sending me packages... and the baby's about set for clothing through his first year!
Now I just have to look into cloth diapering and if my new relatives can help me sew some cheaper than I can find them online, or if I will do better searching online... not to mention getting a crib and a bookshelf or small closet unit that we can use to put all the baby's new clothes and blankets and things into.

I should take a photo of all the things we've been given, it's taken over the spare bed in our computer/baby/guest room!

DH is still moving into the apartment from his parent's house (his old bedroom), so I look for more items to come home with us, and eventually be put away. He recently brought two boxes of stuffed animals home, so I know for sure between my old kids toys, his and the ones we'll be getting as gifts - the baby is well provided for. This is really great, because I cannot even begin to explain how expensive children's clothing and toys are here compared to back home.. I had honestly been freaking out about the cost of providing clothing for the baby there for a bit..

I did have some "hiccups" early in the pregnancy, I was getting sick off of my GF vitamins, but the doctor switched me over to folic acid and magnesium and I'm doing great now with that - and I tend to eat all my other vitamins as far as fruits and veggies go. I was practically vegetarian for 3 1/2 months! Baby wouldn't let me eat any meat other than some (very limited amounts) fish and eggs.
I got a sinus infection about two weeks before Thanksgiving, and it took until the first week of December for us to catch and knock that thing out...

I live above a bakery and we'd had trouble with their little employees smoking downstairs (I'm allergic to cigarette smoke), and it was 'somehow' getting in the apartment. We sealed off our door with weather stripping, and even got a nice air filter with ionizer - and that wasn't doing the trick.
Father in Law came over last week and took up the edging to our floor and found we had cracks that led all around our master bedroom to the bakery (which also explains why they were so "noisy" before when selling to customers, not to mention why I kept smelling gluten and feeling so yucky all the time!), and he sealed that off with silicon and put the floor back together like it was before. It's so much better and I see a major difference in my respiratory response, not to mention how much better I sleep and how quickly I've bounced back to activity. YAY!!

Other than those hiccups with the bakery downstairs, I haven't been glutened since our honeymoon - so no issues there thankfully. I don't really go out to eat, and if we do it's only one of two places.

I'm trying to learn how to make reasonable replicas of all my favorite foods - and I have to admit the one place we're really lacking here in Germany as far as providing great things for Celiacs -- CEREAL!
No such thing as Envirokidz type stuff here, so I practically cry every time I go past the cereal isle in the supermarkets and see the delectable untouchables I cannot have... and then go to my aisle or online (later at home) to check out what is available to me, and nothing like Cap'n Crunch or Frosted Flakes is out there!

Thankfully though, mom got me some Envirokidz and I think I'll make it, and we found some cereal made from Millet that is similar to the wheat chex I used to like off and on... in chocolate and toasted honey flavors. These make great snacks in class and during the day!

Hopefully I'll be on during the week if all goes well and I can start posting some of the recipes we've been encorporating as I find things to convert.

And of course to chat with ya'll and just be around more GF'ers!

Shalom and see you on again soon!
_________________