Zucchini "Crab" Cakes!

So what do you do with all your extra zucchini?! Tonight I made Zucchini "crab cakes" - but they don't have crab in them! 😳 I have a tried & true recipe I always used pre Whole 30 & Paleo lifestyle. Tonight was the first night trying to paleofied it. Lots of experimenting! But I think I have a winner! 

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup almond flour or breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup of minced onions

1/4 cup of chopped bell peppers

2 tbsp of melted butter or ghee

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2-3 tablespoon coconut flour (if using regular breadcrumbs you can skip this) 

salt & pepper to taste 

1/4 cup of oil (I used coconut oil) 

1/2 cup of flour (your choice) I used rice flour if I was in Whole 30 I'd do tapioca or coconut flour                      

Directions
1. Grate your zucchini on papertowels  and sprinkle salt over it to let it sweat - 15 minutes or so at least. Longer if you have the time. Squeeze it out the best you can after it sweats. 

2. After zucchini sweats add all

the remaining ingredients except flour & coconut oil. The mixture

 should start to come together. Add more almond flour or coconut flour if need be. (or breadcrumbs)

3. Start heating your oil on high and let the pan get very hot. 

4. Form patties & dredge in flour of choice on each side. 

5. Fry until brown on each side 4-5 minutes - adjust heat as necessary

These also freeze great! Just put some parchment paper between each patty! 

Pregnancy, Toddlers, & Life!

I am not going to lie the last few days have been rough, really rough than they should of been. Trevor has been home the last two weeks (which has been wonderful!) but between allergies, pregnancy and illness - it's been rough. I am so thankful he is home if he were out of town it would be just plain miserable.

My allergies are always worse when I am pregnant. My breathing suffers because the little babe is growing and pressing against my lungs and internal organs. I have a tilted uterus so it creates more pressure than people who have a normal uterus. I often wake up in the night with asthma attacks. It's miserable but worth it.

Speaking of pregnancy.. I am over the moon about being pregnant and can't wait to meet this little pumpkin but I am also fully aware of the challenges awaiting me once the pumpkin is born. Not only will I have an active toddler who needs me. I will also have a newborn who really needs me. I know my anxiety is perfectly normal but I also know I need to surrender it to God and take each day at a time. Trevor is hoping to have about a week home with us before he has to go back to work. October is a really busy time of year for him. He is often gone for several weeks in a row and home on the weekend (at least!). I'm thankful my Mom and Dad live near by and I am sure will be helping me out as much as they can. It is just still overwelming to think about - at least I have 23 weeks to pray and prepare myself for it.

Another thing about pregnancy is that I am have been cranky! I am trying not to be but I am 17 weeks now and I am just at that stage where things are starting to hurt and I am sure hormones are playing a big role in it as well. I don't want to be cranky or miserible though. Something I have to fight everyday and realize I need God's grace and mercy and I need to extend that to others in my words, and actions - specifically my husband. Sorry Trev!

Then on top of it all - I have a cold combined with bad allergies and I can't take medication being pregnant so it's pretty miserable. Lots of coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose - I have already gone through a box and half of tissues. But guess what? This too shall pass! This is just a season. It stinks right now but it won't last forever. Hallelujah!

Trevor and I are leaving our baby girl in 10 days to go to a wedding in Wyoming. We are flying into Denver and taking a few days to enjoy the city, see friends, and hopefully just relax. We are using it has a babymoon, anniversary celebration (6 years woo!) and just an adventure. I'm thankful to be part of my friend Daria's wedding - praying it doesn't snow while we are there or during the wedding especially!

When we get back, May 15th, that following Saturday we find out the gender and see a peak at pumpkin! We are pretty excited. I am really excited to find out the gender so I can start nesting/organizing all of Emma's baby things.

Speaking of Emma's baby things - I am an oldest child so I never knew how 2nd and so on feel but I feel guilty that this baby doesn't get anything new like Emma did. I mean it will be new to him/her but for some reason I feel bad! I know I will get over and I also know it would be extremely wasteful to buy all new things! I am grateful for all the things we have and there isn't much we actually need! I purposely tried to buy gender neutral things when Emma was a baby so that even in clothes if we have a boy he won't go completely naked!

I'll just say that I am leaning towards a boy even though I am still battling morning sickness most in the morning now instead of all day like I did in the 1st trimester. I was sick with Emma until 20 weeks. Praying I am not too sick during our trip! 

2 months old!

My oh my where has time gone!?

I am sure this is a statement parents everywhere make as they see their children grow. I'm sure my own parents are making that statement watching Emma grow and watching me be a new Mom. I'm not sure the reality of being a Mom will really hit me truly until Emma starts to call me Mom. Yes, I know I am her Mom and I love her but when she really starts identifying me as such - it still doesn't seem quite real yet.

Emma is two months old tomorrow!

She is doing really well. She had a month check up and has a two month check up coming up. At her on month check up she weight 11 pounds 10 ounces and 22.5 inches long. She is a big girl. Her feet are gigantic. She's beginning to outgrow her 0-3 month clothing particularly the footed things. She's slowly starting to wear 3-6 month clothes - she's long and lean it seems. My Great Grandmother was 6'1 so I am beginning to wonder if she might take after her. We'll see!

She started smiling at about 4.5 weeks. I was shocked to see her smiling so quickly. She loves to smile, and she has the sweetest smile. Her eye gets all scrunched when she smiles. It's adorable but hey I'm Mom I can say that. :o)

She has begun to stare at things instead of just people. She also is beginning to look at book when we read to her which is so cute. She has also begun to 'talk' and coo more - she's very chatty!

She has become quite the little traveler. At 6 weeks old she went up to upstate New York to visit her Great-Grandpa. For the most part she did great on the trip. Naturally she's a baby so there was plenty of crying and fussing to be had but all in all I couldn't of asked for a better trip. By the end of the trip, the last two hours, she was very ready to be out of the car seat. She made sure we knew that too.

She is quite the little sleeper. Although Trevor would love to see her sleep for 10 - 12 hours (so would I!) she is sleeping really well for her age. She sleeps about 6 hour stretches at a time at night sometimes more sometimes much less. She takes naps fairly well - it's different day to day of course. We are probably going to try to transition her to her crib at Thanksgiving when we have some time and energy to do it. Hopefully it goes okay! *fingers crossed*

Trevor has been traveling quite a bit for work the last month. His company is really busy this time of year which is great for business and job security. However not so much for him. He's been gone for 3 weeks in a row. I'm so thankful for his hard work when he's gone and when he comes home on the weekends to help me with Emma. It hasn't been easy the last few weeks but I'm very thankful for my parents who now live nearby. I envisioned having children and having to be alone while Trevor traveled. I never expected my parents to live in Pittsburgh. It is definitely a blessing and an answer to prayer. We have been staying with my parents while Trevor has been gone. It helps so much!

Every time Trevor comes home he says Emma looks different in some way and has grown. Thankfully next week he is home and things will begin to slow down a little bit. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving when he will take some time off of work and spend time with us and extended family.

As I write this Emma has been asleep in her swing for 3 hours. She didn't sleep very well last night. She fell asleep around 11 (which wasn't without a lot of fussing and crying) and woke up at about 3:30 and didn't fall back asleep until 6:30/7. She thankfully slept until 9 after that. So I was able to get some sleep too. Some days she naps really well and other days she will hardly sleep for a 1/2 hour to an hour at a time. Every day is different.

Motherhood has brought so many changes - most of them are welcomed but a few have been exhausting. All of them have helped me grow. I am very thankful for this sweet little girl and all the changes she has brought into my life. The only constant in our lives at the moment is change. I have a feeling that it is going to be the way for awhile - it definitely keeps things exciting!

Emma's Birth Story

"Lord, please allow my weaknesses to be a stage for your strength!" 

This quote is exactly what my heart has desired from even our 1st miscarriage.

I  had to rely on God alone for my strength. He is why I have this little miracle in my life. 

What a crazy wild ride the last year & half have been & an even crazier ride the last 7 weeks has been! 

Birth Story: 

Before labor I was nervous about many things but three specific things were that I wouldn't go into labor naturally, that my asthma would effect Emma or the birth & if she was breeched. 

I was told during the pregnancy I'd feel different types of contractions - I never really felt any. I was about 2 cm dialted for a week & 70% efaced but nothing else was moving along. 

I REALLY didn't want to be induced but by the time I had her I was 9 days overdue. Overall the whole pregnancy I felt great - I got an epic cold/flu (plus morning/all day sickness) my 1st trimester & was sick for quite some time & struggled with my asthma but seriously the pregancy was good overall. 

All except the last week or so - specifically the last few days. Holy cow I was so achy & sore - now I know why - she was so big!! 

My induction was set for Thursday, September 4th. Or so we thought.. I was basically "on call" for when they had a bed free. I was waiting all day for the call to come in on Thursday. The longest day of my life! They checked in every few hours & were just too busy. 

We finally got the call Friday September 5th at 7:30 am to come in. We had been so prepared the last 24 hours but we had let our guard down thinking we'd never get called in & I thought I was going to be pregnant FOREVER! 

So we basically ran out the door & got to the hospital at 9 am. They gave me piotocin at 11:30 & the fun began! They started out at the lowest dose hoping that my body would get the clue evenually it did. Around 8:30 pm they broke my water & then the party really got started! I would say "labor" began then before that I was uncomfortable but manageable. My Dad was still in the room with Trevor, my Mom & I until that point - we were joking & talking until my water was broken. 

I went in open to getting an epidural but I REALLY didn't want one. My Mom & Trevor took turns helping me manage the pain & I imagine a happy place which helped more than I thought it would. They also gave oxygen towards the end (which was a life saver!) I was told later that I was in the minority (which I know plenty of you Mamas out there didn't have one either)  in not getting the epiderial. There's nothing wrong with either choice it was just my personal choice. However I was surprised to hear from a nurse that about 80% of patients get the epiderial & the other 20% were usually too late or unable to for some other reason. That's crazy! 

My doctor said at the end of the birth that she thought I was going to cave during birth - thanks a lot! However By God's grace I was able to have an all natural birth.

"I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me!"

Phillipians 3:5

Thankfully Emma had been head down since about 30/32 weeks - in fact she was so low the last 6 weeks her head was behind my pubic bone! What an answer to prayer! Every doctor who checked me couldn't believe how low she was. 

Having her low made my chances of a easier delvery at least in my mind even if I had to he induced. At least that's what I told myself ;)  I didn't want a c-section either for obvious reasons. I was pretty determined to have Emma all natural (as I could) & not have a cathitier - for some reason that was my motivation! ha! 

So labor had begun at 8:30 & we had a two scares. Because of my asthma I couldn't lay on my back very well. I kept coughing, getting heart burn, and just not being able to breath (hence the oxygen • sooo relaxing). So I wanted to labor on my side - well actually I wanted to labor squatting but they wouldn't let me. boo. As I was on my side Emma's heart beat dropped and a team of nurses and doctors came running in my room demanding I turn. Truthfully the first time it happened I had no clue what was going on no one told me but poor Trevor stood there scared. Because I didn't know what was going on I was in the middle of a contraction and couldn't move. So they flopped me over and her heart rate went back to normal. This happened again while I was on my other side and the same scenerio happened again except I was a bit more aware. Apparently it's really common as the baby is dropping they often pinch the umbical cord. Thankfully she moved and all was well. 

At some point I felt like if labor had not progressed past 7 cm the next time the doctor checked me I wanted an epiderial. However she came in to check me about 5:30 or so and to my surprise I was 10 cm! 

Labor was about 11 hours (including pushing) and I pushed for about a hour and half. I'm told that is a pretty quick labor for a first time Mom & someone who was induced. Yay God! 

No one told me when she came flying out into the world. I had my eyes closed.  Everyone just got quiet. Then she cried! What an answer to prayer! Then to our surprise she was huge & I was not while I was pregnant. The first thing the doctor said was, "Where were you hiding her!?" 

Funny thing is few weeks ago I was in the office getting checked out & I asked the midwife if she could tell what size Emma might be she said sure within a pound or so. We joked she was 10 pounds & the midwife said, "No way you have that big of a baby in there!" Boy was she wrong! 

Emma Grace Block joined us here on earth on Saturday, September 6th 2014 at 6:57 am. She weighed 9lbs & 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  She has ten fingers & ten toes and is healthy! 

Thank you so much for all your prayers, love & support you have all shown us the love of God through your words & actions. We are deeply moved by it. 

Please pray for us as we are first time parents to this little miriacle & that we would never forget that either. 

"This is the child we have prayer for..." 1 Samuel 1:27

6 weeks away - where has time gone?

Woooo what a whirl wind the last month has been! We are down to 6 weeks away!

Our families threw us a beautiful baby shower for Emma about a month ago. We couldn't be more grateful or feel more loved! It was so great to celebrate with everyone Emma's impending arrival and how generous our friends and family were. Really, ya'll are too much! We got so many great and useful things. We were really left with only a few things to get which is such a blessing.

I wish I could of kept this cake forever - it's so pretty but it was VERY tasty too!

The shower was beautifully decorated by my Mother in Law and my Mom

opening gifts - so fun!

pictures of us as kids :)

I was about 28 weeks here

We also were gifted some gifted cards and money which has been great. In effort to maximize that money (typical.. haha) we have been able to find lots of deals & coupons. We got the stroller and car seat travel system the day after the shower. We were just shopping around a few places and found that BabiesRUs had the exact stroller we had on our registry and even the color on clearance! It was  normally $329 & it was priced at $199 PLUS we were able to use a 10% coupon towards that and anything else we needed that day. What a blessing! So we got the stroller for $180! It was the floor model and was in perfect condition (trust me Trevor pushed that thing allllll over the store) except the canopy had some fraying. I e-mailed Chicco about it & they are sending a replacement. Yay!

the exact stroller we had on our registry and in the color we wanted too!

Also Nesting is certainly in full swing for both Trevor & I. Lots of projects and to do lists! This is going to keep us busy for quite awhile. Between that & family parties and get togethers I think summer is going to fly by. This make me sad because I really love summer but I am SO looking forward to meeting Emma at the end of the summer too.

We are slowly getting Emma's room ready for her. I was able to get all her tiny clothes put away & trying to organize everything. It's been fun!

adorable baby clothes - I washed, seperated by size and put away all her clothes

Our garden is also in full swing. I'm not able to do as much as I'd like but it's still been really fun hobby we have together. We did lettuce in a box this year and we've had much better luck than in the past so that's been fun. We of course have lots of herbs too which we are already using. However we havn't harvested any veggies yet. I think within the week we will have cucumbers and zucchini. The peppers and tomstos are starting to really take off too. I'm hoping I'm able to can this year. We usually go up and visit my Grandpa in NY and can with him but since I'm in my third trimester we aren't able to. We are bummed but hopefully next summer we can. We always really enjoy it. Since we can't go up Trev & I will do some canning. Also since my parents now live close I'm sure we'll do some canning with them - at least as much as I'm able to do.

in the beginning

a few weeks ago

So far we're really enjoying the summer & the weather. It's hard to believe in 6 more weeks we'll hopefully be meeting Emma!! Life is such a miracle and just thinking about the journey we've been through I feel so very blessed. Thank you for all your prayers and support during this journey we certainly have felt them and felt very loved.

learning how to use the ergo carrier

putting together the crib

picturing Emma in the crib :)

it's also an excellent place to store things for now :)

 

Citrus Lane Box - Sooo fun!

So I know on facebook I've mentioned a few times how much I like & enjoyed the Citrus Lane Box subscription but I wanted to explain it a little better. My experience with the company so far has been great. The company has offered so many deals & coupons after subscribing. I just can't help but share the great deals we've received so far! I can honestly say we've spent about $20 on all these items below.. which is a termendous deal on all these high quality toys.

You can also 'win' or 'earn' credit through their app by 'playing' (it's a tab on their app) and using the app - such as posting and liking other peoples posts. It's been a cool way to hear about deals and also connect with other Moms. I won $15 twice so far!

Our first box was great - I got it discounted & we got so many useful things! I had a discount code and got it for $9. We really enjoyed all the toys and useful things. I loved the Skip Hop puppet & Trevor loved the Haba rattle. He's a sucker for toys anyway.

We decided to keep the box and we weren't quite as impressed with our last box but I was able to add on an item with free shippimg and they have a $10 coupon code they had mailed out. They do this often, mail out coupons or store credit. We added a Green Toy (which I love this brand!) shape sorter. Emma won't be able to play with it for awhile but it's something we can put away for later. We got that for 7.50 (normally 22!).
The box we recieved this month defintely had the value it just seemed to be missing something. The onesie was super soft & cute. It's something she'll grow into. The seahorse was also really cute and I'm sure it's something she'll like. The cream smells great and the diaper cream was something I wanted try anyway so that was a nice add on.

I also ordered a mystery box and recieved that earlier this week. I thought the mystery box was great! We got lots of cute toys and useful things. I like getting things for her to grow into. It's like shopping in my own home as she grow for toys! I was able to get this bix for $19 normally $29. Again they sent out a great coupon that made it worth it.

Also I've recieved e-mails at holidays offering store credit which has been great! The first time I got a $15 credit so we got this cute peekaboo mirror by Skip Hop for free!

I went to cancel the subscription service through their website, which is super easy, & they offered me another box for $15 (normally 29). So we decided to keep it and see how the next box is. If we are able to keep getting deals we'll probably keep it for awhile.


Also right now (I'm not sure for how much longer...) but groupon has a citrus lane deal going on for new customers and existing ones too. The deal for current customers is $40 for $20 - and if you use the code local15 it will give you 15% off making it around $18. You can use these 'shop credits' to give yourself a e-card for $25 and purchase a subscription box. It's a pretty good deal.

Check it out -
http://www.groupon.com/deals/citrus-lane-6?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu


They had a promotion going on for Summer Soltice - they were offering store credit again. This time I got $10! I was able to get a cute stroller toy from Skip Hop. Someone offered there code for $5 that they weren't going to use so I got another stroller toy! All for a few bucks (shipping).

So as you can see we've made our pretty good with deals and coupons. Since we are first time parents and don't have any toys this has been a great resource to get high quality toys that will last at really reasonable prices. I defintely recommend this company to other people.

We are waiting for our next box - it should arrive anytime. We also went ahead and subscribed for 3 more months with the current groupon deal it made it worth it. 

If you're interested in ordering your own you can get your first one for $15! Plus you'll be signed up for all there great sales. Just use the link below.

https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Christine.Block.4008757

I hope you like it as much as we do.

Third Trimester!

Today marks the first day of my third trimester! Yay!! What an answer to prayer. We are overwhelmed with thankfulness & joy!

Also last night I found out I passed my glucose test - which is another HUGE answer to prayer.. I really, really didn't want to take the 3 hour glucose test that involves fasting for over 12 hours and drinking even more sugar - just to see how your body handles it. Ugh! I can tell you one thing - it would of not ended well. You see as a child I fainted often because I have hypoglycemia. As an adult I've been able to control it through eating and knowing when I've had enough sugar.  Seriously I don't think ANY pregnant women should have to fast - that's just torture! I definitely applaud you ladies that have had to go through the 3 hour glucose test. I know it wasn't easy, but these are things we do for our children right? 

I keep thinking we have 'so much' time until Emma arrives and then other times - I feel overwhelmed at the amount of stuff we still have to do and prepare before she comes. I'm sure these feelings are normal. Last weekend we were able to get the spare bedroom/Emma's room rearranged. We also got her crib on a great sale and the generosity of Trevor's Mom. She wanted only the best for Emma :o) Trevor & his Dad put it together. 

Emma's room/side- a work in progress but we're getting there!

The other side - our desks and bookshelves - it kind of looks like cubicles.

We are completely finished with the room yet but it feels so nice to have things placed and beginning to organize everything. Our spare bedroom is pretty large so we were using it as our 'office'/spare room. We were able to rearrange it so we could have both Emma's room and our desks in there. We are so grateful for the space & two closets too!

Our baby shower that Trevor's Mom is throwing us with help of my Mom and other family members is in two weeks. I am really excited to celebrate the arrival of Emma and see everyone. I'm sure after the baby shower we will feel more settled in her room. 

Unfortunately I caught a cold from Trevor. He picked it up at work, but we really thought it was just allergies. Boy we're we wrong! So - I've been spending the last few days sneezing, blowing my nose, and sleeping. Not very much fun. Who gets a cold in June?! 

However there is WAY too much good news to get me down. Hopefully the cold passes in a few days so we can start doing more gardening and enjoying these beautiful summer days. 

So unless Emma arrives early (which she might but I'm expecting a late arrival) we will  Lord willing get to meet her in a little less than 3 months. Where has the time gone?! 

We defintely consider ourselves very blessed. 

Emma Grace

I realized a few days ago that we never really "announced" the name we picked for our sweet little girl, I just accidently slipped. It's been so fun to refer to her here at home as, Emma this & Emma that - that I did it without thinking. It seemed so natural to say already. 

That's not to say we weren't planning on announcing it, we were just maybe more formally - ha but these things happen, such is life! 

I did however want to shed some light on why & how we landed on this name. I've realized Emma is becoming a very popular name but we just love it. You see around 10 or 12 weeks of the pregnancy I had a dream (I've had the craziest dreams since being pregnant!!) that we had a little girl & we named her Emma Grace. When I woke up I was so in love but also filled with so much peace. I know that peace was from God. 

You see at this point in the game we weren't sure where this pregnancy was going to take us. We were trusting & hoping God would allow us to know this girl here on earth (we still are). We wanted his will & understandably we were scared & unsure. Being that we had two miscarriages prior. So I told Trevor about my dream & he loved the name. We hadn't talked about names too much before this or even mentioned Emma Grace. I didn't put much stock in my dream as far as gender because we didn't know yet. We just put the name on the list & waited. 

Then several weeks later we found out - little girl! We instantly knew Emma Grace would be her name. Emma means universal. Perhaps this little girl is going to have one of those sweet, love everyone personality (I hope so!). Grace is such a complex name as far as meanings go especially for us. It really fits. It reminds us of Gods grace - the undeserved salvation & mercy we receive as Christians by him dying on the cross for our sins. We also feel so much grace & mercy in our lives over the last year & even being pregnant with her. God's grace has covered our lives and this pregnancy. We want to show honor to that.

So there it be - Emma Grace. 

Pregnancy: Our Journey

Pregnancy: Our Journey

Announcing our pregnancy a several weeks ago was both exciting & terrifying. I know typically the word terrifying isn't associated with this sort of good news but I guess you would have to know our journey to understand. 

You see this last year has been a roller coaster of emotions. We've experienced not one but two miscarriages. So the idea of announcing our pregnancy was terrifying. It really made it real. Not that it already wasn't real with morning (errr all day) sickness, food aversions, back pain, hunger pains & all the other fun stuff associated with pregnancy. Yet it hit Trevor and I in a way we didn't expect it gave us joy & excitement. All our friends and family were happy & excited for us really encouraged our hearts. It's been difficult to be truely excited for this pregnacy in a lot of ways because naturally we were scared. 

The last four almost five months have been hard but everyday I was just thankful to be pregnant another day. I simply had to live day to day and nothing more. I couldn't think pass that. One foot in front of the other. It wasn't easy. 

God's love carried us; his grace & peace covered us. We are so thankful for the prayers of our friends and family and being able to now share and rejoice in God's faithfulness in those prayers is so rewarding. All glory goes to God. Because we know that "God gives and takes away but blessed be His name!" 

I'll be completely honest, the past year has been one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. However I know I'm not alone. After I experienced my first miscarriage I began to research & realized how common miscarriages really are but it's not talked about very often. It should be. Maybe not right away but I think it's important to encourage other people & so we know that we aren't alone in our pain, loss & confusion. During miscarriags you feel so much hopelessness and on top of that to keep it a 'secret' & to feel as if you're alone sends some people over the edge. 

I'm so thankful for a loving, caring, senstive husband that although he was hurting too (which sometimes sends marriages on the rocks) he walked every step of this journey with me. Certainly not without it's ups and downs but with so much love. I'm also so thankful for friends & family who stood beside us as we grieved. 

Greif is such a funny thing. It doesn't make sense and you have no control over it. Something a family member told me was, "You have to go through it to get through it." She was so right - you can't pretend it didn't happen or just try to fake your way through it. You have to simply wade through the waters of pain and loss. It takes time sometimes lots of time & that's okay. Grief will find its way out one way or another.. either now or later (if not faced) in perhaps a sickness or mental illness. It's like a bottle of shaken soda it will bubble over. There isn't a deadline or a timeline for this sort of thing. I think one of the most important things we did was taking time before trying again. We tried not to make wanting children an idol or something we had to rush into in fact this pregnancy was unplanned but very welcomed! We simply surrendered the best we could to God and his plan. Knowing he had us in the palm of his hand. 

Ultimately though I am most thankful for God. Despite all the pain, questions & doubts which I may not have answers to in this lifetime I had peace. All I could do is simply hang on to him in the middle of the storm. He sustained me. 

Shane & Shane - Though You Slay Me

We stumbled upon this youtube clip a few weeks after our last miscarriage. It was our favorite song/sermon for months. We would often listen to it on repeat & cry. It touched us deeply - it helped our sad hearts start to beat again. It didn't give us answers but it gave us hope. It helped us peel away the layers of hurt and see past it - to begin to understand God works in the unseen. We needed to trust & obey him. It helped us grieve the loss of our children. 

So if you're going through miscarriage or have before please know you're not alone. Your emotions of anger, questioning, confusion & everything else is normal. Just know that God is in control and he loves you. In fact he is grieving with you. He never left our side. 

"Be still & know that I am God'

Finding out a few weeks ago that we are having a healthy, very active baby girl seems like a dream! Something we certainly hoped & prayed for. God doesn't always answer our prayers because he has another plan. I'm thankful for His plan, regardless of what it entails. All the glory goes to Him & I will continue to be thankful every single day I continue to carry this sweet, little girl. 

cold brew iced coffee soooo good!

Boy has life been busy lately.. working, hanging out with friends, seeing family, gardening, cooking & of course spending time with Trevor.

It's pretty much summer here in Pittsburgh. We are greeting ready to transplant our plants into their forever homes.. our new big garden. We are quite excited to experiment with a real garden at our new place. (oh yeah we moved to a bigger, better place for cheaper! yay!) I have a feeling we are going to have more produce than we know what to do with.. good thing we have family, friends, & co-workers that will gladly help us out.

I have eight kale plants & they are producing a ton of leaves. It's been a lot of fun gardening. Trevor is really into too.

Anyway the reason I decided to blog real quick was to post a iced coffee recipe. After experimenting with a ton of recipes & methods this is the best way I've found to do it.

Cold Brew Iced Coffee

1 1/2 cups coarsely ground coffee
2 cups  cold water
one french press or cheese cloth or cone filter
(this is the ratio you will want to follow if you'd like to make more or less coffee)

We use a french press it is the easiest and cleanest way we've found to do the ice coffee but you can also use cheesecloth or a cone filter.

The idea is to steep the coffee in cold water for 8 - 12 hours either in the fridge or on the counter, we do the latter. If you are using a french press make sure to stir the grounds around ensuring all the grounds are wet. When the coffee is done steeping push down the plunger & wa-la! You have iced coffee. It is a concentrate so you will need to use a 1:1 ratio. One part coffee & one part water or milk (if you like lattes) You can easily use water as your ratio & add cream, milk or sugar like you would with normal iced coffee.

Now if you don't have a french press never fear you can still make iced coffee... simply steep the grounds in a bowl with a cover using the same method as I described above. Then after 8 - 12 hours simply pour the mixture over cheesecloth or cone filter (this gets a little messy) into another bowl or pitcher.

It will keep for two weeks in the fridge. I usually store it in a glass pitcher or mason jar. It's so easy to make & we go through a lot of it. I simply put it together before we go to bed & by morning we have iced coffee. Which has been nice on these hot days


Any questions, let me know! happy brewing!!

chai tea & other ramblings...

Trevor & I (but mostly Trevor...) are watching stand up comedians on netflix.. I'm laughing because he's laughing. He loves stand up comics. I however think a few jokes are funny but I rarely laugh out loud. We are so different yet so alike. 

Like chai.. we both love chai! I like it spicy & he likes it sweet. figures.
For a few weeks now I've been wanting to try out this recipe...after all of our moving craziness passed & Trevors new job transition. I finally had some time to give it a try today.
What I love about this recipe is the ability to tweak it however you want.. you can make it sweet or spicy or tea-y. My first try turned out great! This recipe isn't an exact science just ratios that you can adjust as you want.

Chai ConcentrateYields: 1 batch of concentrate, approximately 4 cups
tweaked it from this recipe 

4 1/2 cups water

8 bags black tea – I used orange pekoe

2 bags cinnamon  cardmon tea (I used this instead of whole cardamom since I didn't have any)

2 cinnamon sticks

2 vanilla bean, split in half (or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract added at the very end)

1/2 cup raw cane sugar (you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like your chai) you can also use other alternatives

6 pieces of candied ginger or you can use 3" pieces of fresh whatever you have available

10 whole cloves (I used ground)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 whole star anise pods

1/2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup ginger juice from making candied ginger (which is what I used as ginger & in gingersnap cookies I made recently) 

1 tablespoon raw honey more or less depending on your sweet tooth

Prepare the teabags by removing any tags if there are any and tying them all together. Prepare the spices, vanilla bean and orange zest by laying them in your cheesecloth, I leave my cinnamon sticks out to make the little pouch of spices a bit more compact. Tie the cheesecloth pouch shut with a small piece of kitchen twine. If you leave the cinnamon sticks out, just tie them together with kitchen twine.

I skipped this cheesecloth & used the mesh strainer. 

*If you don’t wish to use cheesecloth, you will just add all of your spices directly to the pan when the time comes and strain them out after.

Add the water and sugar to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and put in the tea bags, cheesecloth pouch and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat strain the concentrate through a sieve or just remove the tea bags, cheesecloth pouch and cinnamon sticks. At this point if you want a bit more sweetness you can add a tablespoon of honey, stir to dissolve. I don’t always do this, but it is a really nice touch. Additionally, if you didn’t use a whole vanilla bean, add your vanilla extract now. Stir to combine.

Allow the mixture to cool before pouring it into an airtight jar or container. This amount fits perfectly into a 1-quart mason jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

chicken squash stew & other foods..

Last week I made chicken squash stew soup my dear friend stevie made it & recommended it a few months ago. I had some squash to use up and since it's national soup month & all I felt like it was appropriate time to try this new recipe out. It was quite tasty. I didn't follow the recipe to the letter (do I ever?) We don't like olives so they were out immediately. I also decided to do a whole chicken in the crock pot I loosely followed this recipe. 

You don't have to do a whole chicken to make this soup, but I decided to because it offers the possiblity of more meals. After I made this soup I went on to make chicken stock, chicken egg rolls & intended to make chicken & bisquits as well but That didn't happen. next time! 

The soup/stew was very tasty & very filling. I have a rosemary plant leftover from the summer that is still kickin, I used that in the chicken I slow cooked. It gave the chicken broth & soup very good flavor, if you have access to any fresh herbs I highly recommend using them. 

In other news, I just made these today & won't know until tomorrow if like them, but they were easy to put together and look tasty. I have never tried chia seeds before so here goes nothing! From what I've read and heard they are fairly tasteless but offer lots of fiber & protein. I had all the ingredients on hand except the chia seeds which I picked up for a reasonable price at trader joes. 

I decided to try two flavors first (something I know I like in normal oatmeal seemed like a good start) blueberry maple & apples & cinnamon. I am going to take one to work tomorrow, hopefully I like it or I might be hungry ;) 

It seems like there is an easy ratio in this recipe for the base ingredients & leaves room for creative flavors. Frozen fruit or fresh seem to be suitable & I used regular yogurt instead of greek. I don't really care for the way greek yogurt tastes. I omitted the added sugar since I used regular yogurt (vanilla) which tends to have more sugar than greek. I'll let you know how it goes. 

cast of characters

the base ingredients are as follows from this wonderful & informative blog. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup milk (soy, regular milk, almond I am sure would work fine)
• 1/4 cup yogurt (which ever is your preference) 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon spice (if you are using any) 
• 1 teaspoon sweetner if you choose to - honey, maple syrup seem like popular choices)
• 1/4 cup fruit - frozen or fresh 

Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, spice and sweetner of choice. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add fruit and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 - 4 days. Eat chilled.  

 finished product.

hello world.

Hello World.

It's a new year, I'm sure you've heard. Things are different but very much the same. Things are changing, but not quite yet. It's the waiting game.. & I am anticipating what God has next.. Praising him in the hallway.

 

Stay tune.. Tomorrow (or sometime soon..) I am going to try to blog about a few recipes I have tried lately. 

Two for Two !!

Two posts in two days who would of thunk?? 

I'm partially blame it on Trevor being away on a work trip.. most of the week actually - he'll be home tomorrow night and then back out for two more days. So, I've had more time on my hands to think & write. I've enjoyed it although I prefer him to be home :) Also I should mention my laptop was not working for awhile then it was sort of working but now it is back in tip top shape!! I feel much more inclined to use it when it's working.

Recommendation.. soy nog -- it is REALLY good! It doesn't actually have egg in it if that happens to gross you out it's just 'spiced' soy milk I put some in my hot chai tea as "creamer".. very, very tasty. 

My asthma & allergies are going nuts with this weird weather we are having.. I'm having lots of trouble breathing -- coughing a lot because of it and blowing my nose an unusual amount for this time of year (esp for not having a cold...) so although I enjoy warmer weather for my respiratory sake I think winter needs to go back to it's normally scheduled program.. cold. 
There I said it. It needs to be cold again -- I'm sure as soon as it is actually cold I'll hate it but I betcha I'll be able to breathe.. I'll like that more. 

Trevor's grammy send us this sweet advent calender which I had been looking for one -- someday I'd like to get one that has mini ornaments in each box and then has a tree with it.. a girl can dream right? 
But for now I'll settle for the awesome one his gram sent us. We also bought an advent countdown calender as well.. I may not love Christmas or at least weeks leading up to Christmas ahem, general public. I do like counting down and celebrating the advent season. 

A dear friend of mine sent me this video last year before advent season.. it really moved Trevor and I.. it's pretty awesome. Check it out! 


 

Although Trevor wasn't here I decided to make chicken pot pie, one of favorite foods! So I thought I'd share the recipe. To be fair this is not a super healthy recipe but its comfort food at its best. & if you're going to have comfort food it better be darn tasty!

So per usual I made some changes to original recipe -- the original is actually Turkey Pot Pie  (which is also quite good) I typically double the recipe so we have leftovers for lunch the next day or maybe even another meal depending on our schedules. I also have become a fan of cast iron cooking in the last couple years some older women introduce to it to me before I got married as a wedding gift & now I'm hooked! So I use my cast iron dutch oven to make it. That is by no mean a requirement of the recipe feel free to use any kind of pan you might have. 

Chicken Pot Pie 

Ingredients

1 container of crescents
   or I often use a bisquick (see note below)
1 egg 
1/2 cup of milk 
 
8 tablespoons butter  

1 small onion 

3 celery stalks, chopped

3 carrots, diced 

1 cup green beans, chopped 

1 cup mushrooms, chopped 

6 tablespoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano 

salt & pepper to taste 

4 cup chicken broth 

6 potatoes (or I'd say 1 1/2 to 2 cups) -- cubed 

1 1/1 cups diced chicken cooked (see note below)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk 

Directions 

1. Today I cooked the chicken in my cast iron frying pan browning both sides and since the chicken is being put in the hot for twenty minutes I wasn't too concerned about it fully being done. It will finish cooking in the oven.  I then diced it up after it cooked set it aside. 

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in dutch oven over medium heat, add onions and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes till beginning to look translucent then add the mushrooms and given those another 2 to 3 minutes as well. Then had celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the veggies are soft and fragrant - about five minutes. 

3. Add chicken brother to veggie mixture and bring to boil. Stir in potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. 

4. In the same pan I used to cook the chicken I melted the remaining amount of butter, 4 tablespoons and added the flour. Let that heat up for a few minutes. In the mean time add your milk to the potato/veggie mixture and let it heat through on high. Add the rue (milk/flour mixture) to the potato/veggie mixture and whisk together. Continue occasionally stirring for about five minutes. It should begin to thicken up. Also add the chicken in anytime during this step. Everything should be well incopperated and about ready to go in the oven. 

--Note: biquick mixture I often use a cup of bisquick, 1 egg and 1/2 cup of milk mix it together to make a thick batter and pour that on top of the chicken pot pie before it goes in the oven. If you do this alternative ending - bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. 
Tonight I decided to try something new and use some crescents we had - they turned out to be more dumplingish but they were still pretty good. If you do this particular ending - bake in oven for twenty minutes without any topping and then the crescents for the last 10 minutes. 

5. Set oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes until topping is golden brown. 

It is really rather delicious! It makes for excellent leftovers. We always eat ours up within a couple days very rarely does any ever go to waste. Happy Cooking & if you have questions I'm here! :)