blw: our first ice cube tray meal!

i don't know about you -- but I love variety. 

I love buffets and places that offer all-you-can-eat so that I can try a little bit of everything (Eugene hates going to AYCE sushi with just me for this reason because I'd only eat 1-2 pieces of the 15 things I order and he's stuck having to finish the rest, lol!) Because I love variety, this ice-cube-tray-meal idea was very appealing to me! I cleaned out my fridge + freezer today, so I didn't have a lot of things on hand to make dinner tonight. Doing this ice cube tray dinner tonight provided the perfect opportunity to use the little bits of things that I had and the best part is -- there was NO cooking required. (Yay!) 

All I had to do for prep was chop a few veggies and fruit, boil ravioli and toast some frozen chicken nuggets and we were good to go! Tonight's dinner consisted of: strawberries, chicken nuggets, cheese ravioli, fresh tomatoes, roasted zucchini and broccoli (from my meal prep earlier today), string + cubed cheese, blueberries from my freezer, sliced cucumbers and deli turkey meat. Took me less than 10 minutes to whip this together and Asher had a blast! He sat for almost 50 minutes quietly eating and made little-to-no mess at all.

I think this kind of meal would great for picky eaters because you can load it up with different kinds of things and it has a sort of appeal because of the variety of colors and textures. They can sample various things in smaller portions - which will hopefully encourage them to at least try a bite or two. I'm not sure why, but I noticed that Asher ate his veggies a lot better when presented this way. He has recently gotten into a habit of picking out all his veggies and taking it out of his bowl but he actually ate all the cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini (WHO ARE YOU?) which made for a hopefully more nutrient-filled babe and a super happy mama! 

Little prep. Emptied fridge. Happy baby. = Definitely gonna do this more regularly!

Here's a short video of him enjoying his first I.T.M. :) 

Til next time! 

baby #2 on the way!

sorry for the silence!

i've been meaning to blog more regularly but like an awkward unexpected encounter with an old acquaintance whom you haven't seen or spoken to in 10+ years, i didn't know how to start. so here goes nothing!

a reason for this semi-hiatus: we're pregnant! 

it was completely unexpected and such a wonderful surprise! having had such trouble conceiving with our first babe, we never expected that we would ever find ourselves being surprised by a pregnancy - but here we are, and we are beyond grateful!

I had been terribly sick (with cold-flu symptoms) since the end of december. body aches, fatigue, congestion, stuffy sinuses, fever - the whole shabang. after 2 months of feeling miserable, I had a suspicion that I might be pregnant! a sweet friend had actually given me some dayquil to take when I was at retreat, but my gut told me to hold off on taking it and I did (thank goodness!). unlike the typical soreness, vomiting and exhaustion -- these strange cold-flu symptoms were also the first symptoms i experienced when i was pregnant with asher which is the only reason I even fancied the idea that I might be pregnant.

I was in such disbelief that I didn't even want to grab a pregnancy test at the drugstore (so expensive!) and opted to wait a few days and ordered really really cheap ones on amazon! they arrived on a thursday about an hour before my small group started. I couldnt bear to wait until after my small group was over so I rushed to the mailbox to pick them up, took the first test -- double lines! i took about 4 more, all showed double lines. PREGNANT! OMG. I was freaking out. I facetimed my sister and had to tell her. 

Eugene usually comes home in the middle of my small group session and goes to bed right away, but I didnt want to wait to tell him so I made this silly little card with my pee pee test strips (hehe is that nastay?) and left it on our bed for him to see. har har 

the next monday I made an appointment to see my OB to confirm my pregnancy. thankfully these sweet friends and their babes were able to come over last minute and watch asher so that I can go to my OB appointment in peace.  it was confirmed -- pregnant! and only about 6 weeks along. was so happy to have them there to celebrate with! 

at my 10 week appointment, my doctor had trouble finding a heartbeat and due to my insurance, they were unable to do an ultrasound to check on the baby. it was a scary and emotional day trying to deal with an unsympathetic and insensitive doctor and frustrating insurance roadblocks. I cried in the lobby while talking to my doctor's office whilst trying to figure out all the insurance stuff and my sweet baby boy came and gave me a hug (all the heart eyes!!!!) it was a difficult week but we learned the peace that truly only comes from entrusting all things into God's hands. We found so much comfort knowing that He is sovereign over absolutely everything and it gave us the opportunity to dethrone any idols that were in our hearts. thankfully I was able to schedule my 13-week ultrasound a few weeks early and was able to see the baby. heartbeat, little baby kicks and all. so thankful.

after our first trimester, we went to an ultrasound place to use a groupon that had expired when I was pregnant with asher. it was fun for us to all be there to see the baby since Eugene hasn't been able to come to any of my OB appointments yet. 

I'm almost 18 weeks along now and thankfully feeling so much better now that 2nd trimester is in full swing. It has been a little bit chaotic trying to juggle eugene's crazy residency schedule with taking care of a crazy active toddler whilst pregnant (HOW DO PEOPLE DO IT? gimme all your secrets.) and starting up a new job (hello night shift, eep!) but God has really been so gracious to grant us new mercies each day and helps carry us through it all! 

It will be an exciting and eventful year: Eugene will be done with residency and start His new job in about 2 months! we will be moving (AGAIN!) in August and baby will be here in September. I can't help but feel so grateful for everything: small or big, easy or hard. I'm learning to embrace each day and choosing to find joy in all things. Trying to fight my pregnancy/night shift fatigue to soak up these next few months with this little guy while he's the only child. He has no idea what's coming...