Our day on a plate

Breakfast: multigrain berry oatmeal with flaxseed and chia seeds, bananas, and frozen wild blueberries; dry roasted unsalted almonds.

I've been on an oatmeal kick. I like my oatmeal made with half soy milk and half water, sprinkled generously with seeds, and topped with fruit. Add a side of almonds, and I am good to go! I introduced oatmeal to Serene before she turned one, but she wasn't a fan of the texture. These days, she gobbles up oatmeal as quickly as I do, which makes me pretty happy.

Lunch: open-faced pesto, light mozzarella, romaine lettuce, spinach, tomato, cucumber, avocado, and alfalfa sprout sandwich on whole-wheat bread; blackberries and blueberries.

I love fresh veggie sandwiches, especially when there's a hefty bunch of alfalfa sprouts in it! Sprouts add the perfect crunch and texture to a sammie, I think. Whenever I happen to be eating at a deli, I'll always order their fresh veggie sandwich (if they have one). Yum. Serene had a variation of the sandwich with just pesto, light mozzarella, spinach, and avocado. We finished with tons of sweet blueberries and blackberries.

Afternoon Snack: almond butter "ice cream"; berry "ice cream."

I had a couple of overripe bananas so I decided to make "ice cream" out of them. The two scoops of ice cream pictured above are made with just two ingredients each! Just dice up the bananas into even-sized coins and freeze them overnight. The next day, throw the frozen banana slices into a food processor and whiz them up until you have the consistency of creamy ice cream. You can eat the banana ice cream plain, or toss in some toppings for different flavors. I added a dollop of unsalted almond butter to half of my banana ice cream, and some frozen berries to the other half. You can eat the ice cream right out of the food processor, but I think it tastes better (and more firm) after being put into an airtight container to freeze again until completely solid. Both the almond butter and berry "ice cream" were so yummy. Serene loved it too. I think she thought she was eating real ice cream. I had no qualms about her eating this kind since it's sugar-free, healthy, and so good for the body! I think this will be my go-to to-do for overripe bananas from now on. I'm looking forward to throwing in different ingredients next time.

Dinner: kung pao chicken with bell peppers, zucchini, and bok choy over brown rice; bean sprout banchan.

I wasn't keen on cooking an extensive meal this night since we scheduled an evening of visits with our neighbors, so I unearthed a bag of Trader Joe's kung pao chicken from the freezer. It's one of their westernized Chinese dishes that is convenient to have for a quick-I-don't-feel-like-cooking-much meal. I stir-fried the meat in a jiffy and added fresh bok choy, bell peppers, and zucchini to incorporate lots of veggies before tossing it in some soy ginger sauce and peanuts. We served it over steamy brown rice with, per Alex's request, some fried eggs on the side - which made it an ultimate comfort meal. I've been whipping up bean sprout banchan every week for the past three weeks adapted from this recipe. It's so good, simple to make, and stores in the fridge for an easy snack or side dish. I just blanch a pound of bean sprouts, chill it, and then mix in 1 tsp sea salt, 2 minced garlic cloves, a handful of chopped green onions, 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 2 tsp sesame oil, and Japanese red pepper to taste. The bean sprout banchan gives a nice, refreshing crunch alongside the kung pao chicken.

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.

A bon voyage bridal shower

We had a sweet bon voyage bridal shower for a dear friend over the weekend. We had so much fun laughing and heralding in Faye's future wife life. She'll be marrying a Minnesotan and shall be transplanting over there in just a couple of months. It is a bittersweet time for us; we are so thrilled for her, and at the same time, a little sad she's leaving. Nevertheless, marriage is beautiful gift from Lord. We are so excited to celebrate when Faye becomes Mrs. Segal this spring!

These days

I've been battling a bug this week; hence, an absence on this space (although Instagram is a different story). What has been making a frequent appearance instead is cups of warm honey lemon water. Accompanied by hanging out in our pajamas all day long, even when we have company. Coloring at the new creation station (which is still in the works). Letting the messes pile up because my tiredness has overwhelmed my inclination to clean. Sleeping fitfully because the littler love kicks with ferocity throughout the day and night in my belly. Which makes me wonder how he shall be ever stronger the next three months.

I'm six months along, so I've been thinking about labor and delivery - preparing for it (as much as I can, that is). I wasn't very prepared the first time around, but I hope it's different this May. I'd love to be able to get an epidural with our littler love, but in case it doesn't happen again, I'm going to attempt listening to a hypnobirthing track a dear friend sent me for these next three months. The goal is to holler less during the contractions in May. After all, how boring if Alex were to tell everyone that my giving birth was like the exorcism again ;)

I am getting more excited by the day to meet the little lad though. Alex and I took a baby care class this week with a fake infant doll and everything. It was hilarious (the doll) and helpful (the class), especially since we didn't end up taking any classes when we were pregnant with Serene. We'll be giving birth at a different hospital with baby boy, so I'm thankful for these opportunities. We have another class later this month and I'm looking forward to it. I've also been in intense nesting mode, with grand schemes to redecorate our little home. Which actually translates to transitioning Serene's nursery into a shared room for our two babies, even though that's not going to need to happen until we sleep train her little brother when he's six months. But the planner in me wants to check projects off the list; time is limited because, after all -

We're going to have two babies, Lord willing. That still confounds me! We can't really imagine what going from one to two kiddos will be like yet, but we are taking this time before baby boy arrives to enjoy our little family of three. We're cherishing this time with just Serene Joy for now. At sixteen months, she is at such a fun, sweet, and increasingly sassy stage. Alex and I are daily learning how to be united in loving her with discipline. So thankful for wisdom from God's word, friends, and resources like the BCDA. I've been blessed to attend the BCDA training conference on biblical counseling, which runs from January through March. It's a thing just for myself for one full weekend each of first three months of 2015, a refreshing respite from the daily mama and baby routine. I've been so encouraged and edified from the first sessions in January in thinking about the ministry to which God has called me as a follower of Christ, a wife, a mama, a member of a local body of believers, a neighbor in my community, and a messenger of the good news to others. So thankful for the gospel, as I was reminded recently by Alex's most recent sermon. God is so good.