I’m a smoothie connoisseur. Fruit only – no milk or yogurt.
Whether I’m making my own, buying them from the only Smoothie shop I deem acceptable (Planet Smoothie), or getting lucky and getting a really good one at some random place, there’s no greater joy than a good smoothie.
But no smoothie that I’ve ever had or made myself compared with The Magical Smoothie.
They are Peach. And they are served in only one location, to a very exclusive group of people – at Brookwood Hospital, only on the Maternity floors.
I’ve even heard a rumor that only the Moms trying to breastfeed get them, which leads me to believe that one of the magical ingredients must be lactation-inducing.
But regardless of the ingredients, they are simply indescribable.
I received my first Magical Smoothie the day after Ali was born. It was served in a regular old styrofoam cup, and It very nearly made all the pain from my C-Section disappear in my heavenly bliss of smoothie perfection.
It was most definitely more effective than the stupid morphine pump.
The odd thing was, I’m not sure what made it magical, because it wasn’t even a good consistency – when they brought it to me, it was solid ice.
But as it melted away, my life changed.
The next day, they didn’t bring me one. You better believe that I put that nurse button to good use. Even on my departure day, I begged and borrowed for just one more, because I knew that there was no way I could live without one more sip of Peachy Heaven.
Since that visit, I’ve spent many a day pining for a Magical Smoothie. Every time I’ve gone to visit a friend on the Maternity floor (and believe me, that’s dozens of times), I’ve tried to commandeer a Magical Smoothie.
I’ve tried to sneak into the supply kitchen.
I’ve had the new Daddy go ask the nurses for one.
I’ve mapped out and conspired to steal the whole refrigerated cart when the Magical Smoothie Elves make their rounds.
The only time I succeeded in having an unearned Magical Smoothie, though, was on a Strawberry Day.
It was good, but it was no Peach.
Granted, I was a bit afraid that drinking it out of context would make me instantaneously lactate, but it didn’t really matter – any price would be a price I’d be willing to pay for a Moment of Magic, including 5 years in jail for stealing smoothies from post-partum Moms.
My friends and I sit around and reminisce about our days of giving birth, and one of the fondest memories is ALWAYS The Magical Smoothies. We’ve even convinced some of our other friends to transfer doctors and hospitals from Saint Vincent’s to Brookwood – almost entirely for The Smoothie.
So you can only imagine my excitement.
The counting down of the days.
The anticipation of my next Smoothie Event.
Coming, December of 2010, Newbie:
Yes, I’m REALLY pregnant! And no, of course I’m not more excited about The Magical Smoothie than the baby….I promise. But I can’t help it if I’m already craving some Peachy Magic. Now if they only had Magical Smoothies that curbed nausea…
Congrats…and may the Magical Smoothie Fairy grant your request of an unending supply of PEACH smoothies :)…..
Praise, praise, praise, I am so happy I could just dance all around. We were both reading this post to see if it led to anyting. We were thinking of going to the Oyster House tonight before we read this, the place you told us last time.We must know what Princess Ali says.
I kinda had a feeling that was where this post was leading. Congrats!
Praise the LORD for new life!
Oh wow! Congratulations!! How exciting! Totally didn't expect that from a smoothie post :D
I agree, I would love to know what Ali thinks.
Hope you get more than one Magical Peach Smoothie this time… :)
Congratulations!!!! Wow – now I know of 2 December 2010 babies in the works! I am so happy for you guys and the soon to be big sister!
Yay! Congratulations Rachel. I am so happy for y'all.
Congratulations!!! What does Ali think about it? :)
YAY!!!! SO exciting! Congratulations…I bet Ali can't wait to finally be a big sister:)
Oh wow! I didn't see that coming at all..CONGRATS!
p.s I look forward to your posts everyday..they always, always make me smile.
p.p.s I am gonna go ahead a say it's a BOY!! lol..just cause it would be very cool if I am right :)
Awwwwwww what excellent news! I will pray for your health and for that of little one. Can't wait for sure-to-be-regular updates!!!
YAY!!! Rachel, God is so good. I am so thrilled for guys!!! I can hardly wait to see this new life, even if only in pictures for a while!! :( Congratulations to you and Chris. Big hugs!!
A friend of mine linked to the mom jeans posting a week ago and I then decided to read back on your blog here (and the B-sides) as much as I could because I liked your style of writing and your family so much!
Congrats on this blessing. I know you and Chris will bring another super cool kid into the world. *hugs!*
-Bethany
Congrats!!!!! Okay…I am so excited!!!!!
*raises hand* I like the name Giann! haha lol
Oh Rachel, I am soooooo happy for you. That is the most wonderful news ever! I have tears in my eyes. You are such a wonderful mother and now you will have a new little one to love.
And by the way, I had three children at Brookwood and nursed all three of them and never once did I get a Peach Smoothie. Or any kind of smoothie. I think I am going to go back and demand my overdue smoothies.
Of course I'm super happy for you. :) I however demand that you call and tell me what Ali thinks about it. :) J/k about the demanding part, but I am curious to know what she is going to say. Love ya.
Congratulations!
CONGRATULATIONS! How exciting. Very happy for all of you.
Wow! I love how even the knowledge of someone I don't really even know being pregnant gets me so excited!
HUGE Congratulations! And good luck finding something to curb the nausea. Although I enjoyed pregnancy, loved labor and nursing.. the nausea was definitely something all of us can do without! ;)
I'm with Mama Hen. I never got my smoothies either! I'll know to ask for them next time.
Congrats again! Can't wait to meet our new neice or nephew!
make that "niece" or nephew. I hate typos…
So exciting!! Congratulations to you and Chris, and Ali! :)
CONGRATS! Thats so exciting!!!!
December babies rock! I'm not one, but I have one.:)
Congratulations!!!! I am so happy for you and your family :)
Yaaaaaaay! How exciting! Brings tears to my eyes. Just last week I told my husband that I'm starting to crave newborn smell and feel. Maybe in the next few months we'll work on that. ;)
I've been waiting for this post ALL day…the anticipation was killing me :)
Glad the doctor's visit went well!
I'm with Kitty, what did Ali think about the whole thing?
I'll have to see if I can steal one of those magical smoothies when I come visit you in the hospital!
Yayayayay!!! Love you guys!
Oh my gosh, how did I not see that coming?! Congrats to you all! So exciting!
YAY! I'm so excited for you!
I too am a smoothie finantic. I used to run the Smoothie King in Inverness at one point in my life and to this day can tell you what's in each of the smoothies. One of those random facts which will always stick with me.
Congrats on the new baby and feeding your smoothie craving.
Yay! Congrats to you all! That little whipper snapper is in for the ride of his or her life with your fun family! Peach smoothies all around! Let the fun continue!
How exciting!! I kind of thought that's where you were going with that post. Congratulations and hope you are feeling well!!
Oh, awesome! Such great news :).
While I will argue that St. Vincent's is a superior hospital in many regards, we don't get peach smoothies there. Maybe I should lodge a complaint!
Rachel! That's so awesome! (I type with tears in my eyes.) Congratulations! I am SO, SO happy for you!!!!
Congratulations! I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy and receive multiple magical smoothies!
Congratulations, Rachel!!! What exciting news! I'll be praying for a wonderfully healthy pregnancy. Seems I'm among the Brookwood moms who missed out on the smoothie action…what's up with that? At least I'll know to ask next time, if there is a next time. ;-)
*Jaw Drop*
****SQUEAL!!!!!!!****
Woo hoo hoo hoo!!! I know you and Chris must be thrilled! How, ummm, quick you guys are, also!!! Wow!
I'm not big on smoothies, but I'm going to demand a milkshake at St. Vincent's just because I'm jealous.
P.S. You totally blindsided me here. And I can't believe you didn't tell me first! ;)
Woo-hooooo!! You would have thought that I "know" you well enough by now to have figured out that you might announce something like this in a post all about heavenly, peachy smoothies. But nooooooo, all I was thinking about the entire time was that I really want to try one. lol Ohhhh, you're good, Girl!!
Congratulations on the heavenly gift God has bestowed upon you and Chris. And now you have double blessings to look forward to: a baby & a smoothie. I'm so happy for you.
The baby looks just like you!
I had my fave at B'wood too! Warm, fresh banana pudding. Haven't had it since.
Oh wow! Congratulations! Ali is going to be a fantastic big sister.
Congratulations! I'm sure your princess will be a doting big sister.
YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO SO SO happy for you guys! Way to go! :) That is the best news I have heard all day! I can't wait for all the hilarious posts a pregnancy and newborn will inspire you to write. :)
Are you more nauseous with this one? I was WAY more nauseous and it lasted a whole month longer with S. Hope that's not the case for you!
Congratulations to you all! Tell Ali to call K if she needs any big sister advice! K did NOT understand why Ali was not coming to her birthday party. I was trying to explain the distance, but she really wanted Ali to be here. So funny. :)
congrats!!!
btw…Ali's recent geography lesson got us inspired! we're posting a video soon of proof that we're working on it too! :)
I'm so excited for you. I've loved reading your blog and many days feeling like I had just leap frogged (?) into Alabamaland.
WOW!! I'm a C-Section girl myself..and with ALL my children..they did not serve smoothies! And, I'm like you. I don't like smoothies with yogurt or ice cream..just juice and fruit.
It's so ridiculous that when I go to the mall with any of my daughters they cannot believe that we are stopping again..for the $4 strawberry/banana smoothie that I inhale all the way home from the mall. This is (like) more than a 15+year obsession.
You are such a great mom, and I hope you'll write about how Ali is feeling about the new baby. Her facial expressions and her "comments" nearly generate a huge smile or even a guffaw from me every time I read the blog.
I thought about your morphine drip statement. It was after my 2nd C-section that I discovered…I was allergic to morphine. Oh my word. It was horrific..and they wouldn't give me anything else for a while.
Here's to you getting more Magical Peach Smoothies, beautiful Alambama girl. :)
Yeay!!!!!!!!! Very, very happy for ya'll!!!
WOOOO-HOOOO, I just wrote on your facebook wall, but I don't think it was enough! :) Yay for your family!!!
So exciting! each Christmas for a few years now has had another new baby in the Zannis line!
chrisann
OH.MY.GOSH!!!! Rachel! I'm so excited about another little bunch of Ali cuteness!
I'm so excited about all the blog posts to come!!!
Hooray!! I'm so glad that the doctor's visit went well. I LOVE the way you chose to announce your newest little one. Nice. I am going to get one of those smoothies while you're in there. They owe me for 2 births. Time to pay up!
YAY!!!
Congrats, officially!! ;)
I was n ot aware of the Magical POst partum Smoothies….a little Mommy Secret yall have been keeping from me…might have to make a visit to 3 Womens on my lunch break…mmmmm…
congrats
Congratulations on your new little miracle! Maybe if you are lucky you can coax the recipe from someone at the hospital! I've only been reading your blog for about a week now. I don't even remember how I found it, but I am so glad I did. I have enjoyed playing catch up by reading some of the older blogs.
How exciting! Congratulations!!!!!!
YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so excited for ya'll!! :D
Thank you all so much! Sorry I haven't had time to answer all of you (mainly because I'm trying to not puke on my computer), but my post later today will hopefully answer all of your questions.
Bethany Annechino and cosmojo, nice to meet you both! Thanks for saying hi, and thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Thanks again to all of you for your sweet words!!
Congratulations! What a happy day for you and your family.
Congratulations! That is great news.
And – I had my son 2 years ago at Brookwood and have never heard nor saw a Peach (or other flavor) smoothie! I *might* have to have another child just to see if I can get one of these magical things!
Ali is going to be a big sister?!
How fantastic! But you know….I know you did it just for the smoothie. ;) Congratulations!
WOW- look what I missed on my Blogging Sabbatical! CONGRATULATIONS- that's awesome…and yes, here's hoping to a fantastic Peach Smoothie =)
OMG, am I ever reallllly behind. CONGRATU-FRICKEN-LATIONS!! AHHHHHH!!! :)