Late Night Feedings: V'Nahafochahu (Hamaivin Yavin) or, for those who don't... Purim 2009

So this year Purim was not all it has previously been cracked up to be. For the previous 5 years we co-hosted a seudah for about 40 people. It was always a lot of work, but so much fun that it was worth it. This year we did not. Our co hosts recently had their second child and I am due pretty much any second. So we decided to put our big bash on hold this year. Disappointed does not begin to describe how I felt. Call me crazy (Shimmy does), but I STILL think I could have pulled it off. Even though it was our turn to have it at our house this year. Seriously, I think I could have done it. By the time I had convinced myself that I could still pull it off, especially if I scaled it way down, it was too late. The people I tried to invite had assumed (with good reason) that it just wasn't happening this year and had made other plans. So I was forced to give up.

I did still manage to come up with a good theme this year, which is one of my fav parts of Purim. I thought of it back in July when I found out I was pregnant. It all centered around my bun in the oven. Shimmy and I were bakers and Sophie was a cupcake (I knew she wouldn't wear an actual costume even for 1 second, so I just dressed her in cupcake patterned clothes). Our shalach manot consisted of baked goods (and hot cocoa!) in a bakery box.

I spent Purim night assembling all of our shalach manot, contracting all the way, with Shimmy telling me how crazy I was to be doing ANYTHING, much less still being sad that I was not hosting a dinner party for 40 in our house the next day. Afterwards, Shimmy read Megillah for me.

The next morning I went to a doctor's appointment. Just one of those quickies- pee in a cup, get on the scale (13 lbs under where I was at this point last pregnancy- woot!), take my blood pressure, measure my belly with the tape measure, listen to that galloping pony (aka baby's heart beat), go home.

We didn't even put our costumes on until after lunch. Then we delivered some shalach manot and went back home to greet Sharon, who was the only reason I didn't cry that day. Shimmy read Megillah for us, then we headed back out to deliver the rest of our shalach manot. We seudah-hopped a bit, then came home.

Next year the party is back on. I don't care what else is going on in my life- the party is BACK ON.

My first bun: