So, this morning was the most difficult morning I've had...it's hard to leave Samuel each day, but harder when Josh takes him to my mom's instead of me being able to drop him off.
UGH! Each day gets more difficult, but brings me closer to the end of this placement. My hearts feels for those mommies who must work but want to be home with their babies (no matter how big!).
My whole life, I've only wanted one thing - to be a mommy. I'm now learning that being a mommy can consist/demand more than staying at home with those sweet faces. My dream is to stay home while my babies are little and to work as a teacher when they go to school. We'll see if it'll work out as I hope! :) God knows the desires of my heart - He also knows what's best for me and for my family. Which, amazes me! As much as I love my husband and my baby, God loves them even more than I ever can. It's mind-boggling and so comforting at the same time. He has all of our best interests in mind and will always do what's best for us - ALWAYS.
Samuel doesn't sleep during the day - he takes a couple 20-30 minute naps each day. He falls asleep at 5 or 6 for the night. This leaves me SUCH little time to see him and interact with him. ::sigh::
On a positive note: I find I get SO much more accomplished when I'm busy than when I have little to do. I accomplished more yesterday after getting home from school than I accomplish when I'm home all day with Samuel. (although, he is an "all-day baby" as my mom and I say - he requires all-day attention as he never sleeps and never stops moving - the pediatrician even commented on his constant movement - I think we're in for it when he becomes mobile. ah! :) )
Anyway, I'm getting really excited about Easter - Samuel has a "lady-killer" outfit (as my husband says)...can't wait to share pics of it!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Smiles for Mommy
I'm back to student-teaching. I had hoped to finish it before having Samuel, but he had other ideas. He decided to try to arrive at 25 weeks, so I was put on bedrest half-way through my student-teaching position.
Now, he's 10 weeks old and I'm back in the classroom. I have to leave this little face everyday:
It's so hard bc he's now starting to smile at me and kick his little legs when he hears me or sees me. But it's all worth it when I pick him up at the end of my day and he smiles at me. :)
It's hard to leave him when this wasn't what I had planned (isn't it funny that I can still think that MY plans determine the path of my life when I ask God to guide me???). But God reminded me this morning of this promise:
"I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you" - Psalm 32:8
God's best for me is always BEST, better than I could ever imagine, even if it's not always fun at the time. I just need to remember that and relish in baby smiles and kicks at the end of the day :)
Now, he's 10 weeks old and I'm back in the classroom. I have to leave this little face everyday:
It's so hard bc he's now starting to smile at me and kick his little legs when he hears me or sees me. But it's all worth it when I pick him up at the end of my day and he smiles at me. :)
It's hard to leave him when this wasn't what I had planned (isn't it funny that I can still think that MY plans determine the path of my life when I ask God to guide me???). But God reminded me this morning of this promise:
"I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you" - Psalm 32:8
God's best for me is always BEST, better than I could ever imagine, even if it's not always fun at the time. I just need to remember that and relish in baby smiles and kicks at the end of the day :)
Mommy Brain & Pinterest
I thought when I had Samuel that my preggo-brain would fade and I would return to my usual obsessively-organized brain. Sadly, this has not happened. I'm forgetting EVERYTHING! I make a list for the store, even if for a few things, and then forget my list.
Last night, it took 6 hours for me to make a necessary online purchase because I would get on my computer only to be distracted by Facebook and Pinterest (I blame the crazy creative mommies on Pinterest for distracting me from my mommy-tasks). :)
On that note - I'm in love with Pinterest. I love the recipes and crafy ideas - I have a board entitled "FunMommy" in hopes of remembering the great ideas for Samuel when he's old enough to enjoy them.
I also have a board of preggo-pic ideas that I wish I'd had when I was preggo with Samuel - but who feels like getting their pictures taken when they're bloated, on bed-rest, cranky, and sleep-deprived?? (insert dramatic sigh here). I def hope to use these great ideas for my next pregnancy but hope Samuel doesn't think, "why didn't you do this for me? You love him/her more"...but he's a boy - boys don't think of that stuff, do they??
Last night, it took 6 hours for me to make a necessary online purchase because I would get on my computer only to be distracted by Facebook and Pinterest (I blame the crazy creative mommies on Pinterest for distracting me from my mommy-tasks). :)
On that note - I'm in love with Pinterest. I love the recipes and crafy ideas - I have a board entitled "FunMommy" in hopes of remembering the great ideas for Samuel when he's old enough to enjoy them.
I also have a board of preggo-pic ideas that I wish I'd had when I was preggo with Samuel - but who feels like getting their pictures taken when they're bloated, on bed-rest, cranky, and sleep-deprived?? (insert dramatic sigh here). I def hope to use these great ideas for my next pregnancy but hope Samuel doesn't think, "why didn't you do this for me? You love him/her more"...but he's a boy - boys don't think of that stuff, do they??
Monday, January 23, 2012
New Mommy Blog! - Products we can't live without!
So, I've fallen behind on blogging - but I've had a new little 7lb bundle of love taking up my time. I'm completely in love and cannot believe he was born on Christmas Day! He's my world, and like any new mommy, my time has been completely consumed by him - and I don't mind one bit! :)
I have a friend who recently had a baby and posted a similar list - I thought it was a fantastic idea (especially since I have LOTS of friends due within the next few months) - (there really must have been something in the air! lol)
I want to share some things we've found indispensable since we've welcomed Samuel into our lives...so here's a list of products we love and cannot live without!
*First off, a SNUZA HALO alarm.
I am obsessive - completely obsessive with control! :) I was like any new mom and thought for sure that Samuel would stop breathing if I didn't watch him ALL NIGHT LONG. My poor husband got no sleep as we stayed up with him night and day to make sure he kept breathing. We found this alarm and it changed our lives! It's not like the motion alarms that are put under the crib mattress - those are incredibly touchy and increbidly LOUD - this is a small alarm that clips to the front of the diaper. If the baby stops breathing/moving for 15 seconds, it vibrates to startle the baby. If after 3 vibrations the baby still isn't moving/breathing, it alarms to alert you to check the baby. The alarm doesn't sound like a siren for the end of the world either - it's loud enough to be heard in the room or on a monitor, but not nightmarishly loud enough to cause a heart attack upon waking.
It's about $150, which is pricey, but we were more than happy to pay up in exchange for sleep!
*Summer Infant babytouch color Video Monitor
This is another component to my obsessive-sleep-watching. :) This monitor is wonderful! It had great night vision, can be controlled/moved using the parent-unit, and has a charging base as well as a battery pack. We've already put our little man in his own room only because we had no room for his bassinet in our bedroom - so this is wonderful!
This has also been used by my husband to freak me out when I'm feeding Samuel in his room - I'll suddenly hear a voice through the monitor saying "Hello, Beautiful" followed by the camera follwowing me around the room. lol
It's great now, but will be great when Samuel is a toddler and gets out of bed - we'll be able to scan the room to find him!
*Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddlers
Oh my! These little guys have been used for everything - swaddlers, burp clothes, changing pads, blankets, nursing covers...
I put them on my registry, not expecting anyone to pay $50 for 4 muslin blankets...but one kind soul purchased them and they've been one of my favorite gifts! They wash so easily and are light enough and big enough to use for anything!
*SwaddleMe Swaddlers
Samuel LOVES to be swaddled - only one arm in and on arm out, though :) These swaddlers are amazing because they're so easy to swaddle a squirmy baby and they velcro to keep a squrimy baby swaddled all night. They have a velcro flap at the waist so baby doesn't need to be completely unswaddled when changing a diaper.
*Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail
Short and sweet: cannot even smell the explosive formula diapers once they're in the pail. Explanantion enough :)
*Bourdeux's ButtPaste
There are two kinds - the pastey kind and the cream kind - I hate the pastey kind - it's too hard to get out of the tube while holding still a squirmy baby and trying to hurry so a little baby boy doesn't christen his surroundings. The cream kind is the best - easy on - except the first few times when I ended up with it all over me, all over him, and all over his clothes - ha - rookie mistakes!
Last, but not least...
*Phisoderm Baby Wash
My baby boy smelled SO SWEET in the hospital, but once I got home and washed him with Johnson&Johnson, he didn't smell as sweet. Later I found a sample from the hospital of the wash they used - Phisoderm - (buried in the piles of stuff brought home from the hospital and thrown in the floor for the first week home - aka - survival week!)
It smells SO sweet - makes their skin SO soft, and is great for diaper rash, or so I hear :)
Anyway, those are a few of my choices. I'm sure I'll have more "must-haves" later on (aka - Baby Bullet, once I can break that out of the box)!
Thanks for reading!
I have a friend who recently had a baby and posted a similar list - I thought it was a fantastic idea (especially since I have LOTS of friends due within the next few months) - (there really must have been something in the air! lol)
I want to share some things we've found indispensable since we've welcomed Samuel into our lives...so here's a list of products we love and cannot live without!
*First off, a SNUZA HALO alarm.
I am obsessive - completely obsessive with control! :) I was like any new mom and thought for sure that Samuel would stop breathing if I didn't watch him ALL NIGHT LONG. My poor husband got no sleep as we stayed up with him night and day to make sure he kept breathing. We found this alarm and it changed our lives! It's not like the motion alarms that are put under the crib mattress - those are incredibly touchy and increbidly LOUD - this is a small alarm that clips to the front of the diaper. If the baby stops breathing/moving for 15 seconds, it vibrates to startle the baby. If after 3 vibrations the baby still isn't moving/breathing, it alarms to alert you to check the baby. The alarm doesn't sound like a siren for the end of the world either - it's loud enough to be heard in the room or on a monitor, but not nightmarishly loud enough to cause a heart attack upon waking.
It's about $150, which is pricey, but we were more than happy to pay up in exchange for sleep!
*Summer Infant babytouch color Video Monitor
This is another component to my obsessive-sleep-watching. :) This monitor is wonderful! It had great night vision, can be controlled/moved using the parent-unit, and has a charging base as well as a battery pack. We've already put our little man in his own room only because we had no room for his bassinet in our bedroom - so this is wonderful!
This has also been used by my husband to freak me out when I'm feeding Samuel in his room - I'll suddenly hear a voice through the monitor saying "Hello, Beautiful" followed by the camera follwowing me around the room. lol
It's great now, but will be great when Samuel is a toddler and gets out of bed - we'll be able to scan the room to find him!
*Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddlers
Oh my! These little guys have been used for everything - swaddlers, burp clothes, changing pads, blankets, nursing covers...
I put them on my registry, not expecting anyone to pay $50 for 4 muslin blankets...but one kind soul purchased them and they've been one of my favorite gifts! They wash so easily and are light enough and big enough to use for anything!
*SwaddleMe Swaddlers
Samuel LOVES to be swaddled - only one arm in and on arm out, though :) These swaddlers are amazing because they're so easy to swaddle a squirmy baby and they velcro to keep a squrimy baby swaddled all night. They have a velcro flap at the waist so baby doesn't need to be completely unswaddled when changing a diaper.
*Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail
Short and sweet: cannot even smell the explosive formula diapers once they're in the pail. Explanantion enough :)
*Bourdeux's ButtPaste
There are two kinds - the pastey kind and the cream kind - I hate the pastey kind - it's too hard to get out of the tube while holding still a squirmy baby and trying to hurry so a little baby boy doesn't christen his surroundings. The cream kind is the best - easy on - except the first few times when I ended up with it all over me, all over him, and all over his clothes - ha - rookie mistakes!
Last, but not least...
*Phisoderm Baby Wash
My baby boy smelled SO SWEET in the hospital, but once I got home and washed him with Johnson&Johnson, he didn't smell as sweet. Later I found a sample from the hospital of the wash they used - Phisoderm - (buried in the piles of stuff brought home from the hospital and thrown in the floor for the first week home - aka - survival week!)
It smells SO sweet - makes their skin SO soft, and is great for diaper rash, or so I hear :)
Anyway, those are a few of my choices. I'm sure I'll have more "must-haves" later on (aka - Baby Bullet, once I can break that out of the box)!
Thanks for reading!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Slow Cooker Love
So, I'm in love with my slow-cooker. I always feel like a domestic goddess when I come through the front door and smell a delish meal cooking away in my slow-cooker! I feel even better when my husband comes home and comments about how wonderful dinner smells - makes me feel like a proper 1950's housewife (which, by the way, I'd love to be...:)
I also love Taste of Home magazine. If you've never tried their magazines, I highly recommend them - they're a collaboration of all the nation's best "grandmother-like" chefs. Of all the recipes I've tried, and all the editions I've bought (which is A LOT - I have an entire shelf full of these magazines), I've only had a couple recipes turn out lack-luster.
So, when I find Taste of Home slow-cooker recipes, I'm on cloud nine! This recipe is one of those gems. My husband loves Asian-inspired food - if he could eat yellow curry every night, I think he'd be in Heaven - I, however, would be out the door, as I can only handle the smell for so long!
Anyway, the following recipe is wonderful and has been requested, so here it is:
Thai-Style Peanut Pork
2 medium red peppers, julienned
1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (3 lbs) **I used Pork Tenderloins for the 2 of us
1/3 c teriyaki sauce
3 T rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 creamy peanut butter
1/2 c chopped unsalted peanuts
4 green onions, sliced
cooked rice
1. Place peppers in 3-qt slow-cooker. Cut roast in half and place over peppers. Combine teriyaki sauce, vinegar, and garlic and pour over pork. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat from slow cooker. Shred meat with forks when cool enough to handle (**I did not shred the tenderloins). Reserve 2 cups of cooking juices (**I did not have much over 2 cups in the slow-cooker, so I simply ignored this step and left all juices in the slow-cooker). Stir peanut butter into reserved juices.
3. Return pork to slow-cooker and cook until heated through. Serve with cooked rice. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and green onions.
(The English major in me wouldn't feel right until I cited this recipe, so here it is:
"Thai-Style Peanut Pork." Summer Slow Cooker Meals. Taste of Home Magazine. (2011).)
I also love Taste of Home magazine. If you've never tried their magazines, I highly recommend them - they're a collaboration of all the nation's best "grandmother-like" chefs. Of all the recipes I've tried, and all the editions I've bought (which is A LOT - I have an entire shelf full of these magazines), I've only had a couple recipes turn out lack-luster.
So, when I find Taste of Home slow-cooker recipes, I'm on cloud nine! This recipe is one of those gems. My husband loves Asian-inspired food - if he could eat yellow curry every night, I think he'd be in Heaven - I, however, would be out the door, as I can only handle the smell for so long!
Anyway, the following recipe is wonderful and has been requested, so here it is:
Thai-Style Peanut Pork
2 medium red peppers, julienned
1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (3 lbs) **I used Pork Tenderloins for the 2 of us
1/3 c teriyaki sauce
3 T rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 creamy peanut butter
1/2 c chopped unsalted peanuts
4 green onions, sliced
cooked rice
1. Place peppers in 3-qt slow-cooker. Cut roast in half and place over peppers. Combine teriyaki sauce, vinegar, and garlic and pour over pork. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat from slow cooker. Shred meat with forks when cool enough to handle (**I did not shred the tenderloins). Reserve 2 cups of cooking juices (**I did not have much over 2 cups in the slow-cooker, so I simply ignored this step and left all juices in the slow-cooker). Stir peanut butter into reserved juices.
3. Return pork to slow-cooker and cook until heated through. Serve with cooked rice. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and green onions.
(The English major in me wouldn't feel right until I cited this recipe, so here it is:
"Thai-Style Peanut Pork." Summer Slow Cooker Meals. Taste of Home Magazine. (2011).)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"The Mirror Blocks the Way in Front of Me"
"The Mirror Blocks the Way in Front of Me" - Beth Moore
My reading today began with Daniel 3:1-4:37 & Psalm 136:1-9. Of course the story of Daniel is pretty familiar to us, as well as the story of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego and the fiery furnace. Neither of these stories jumped out to me today - the man who jumped out to me was King Nebuchadnezzar.
Today we find this beloved king making a golden image of himself (a large image, at that - 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide), and commanding all people to bow down to it. We then read that he commands a fiery death for anyone who refuses to bow down to his image. Talk about arrogance!
The funny thing is, in the previous chapter, our dear king Neb had acknowledged God as the "God of gods" when He revealed a dream to the king (Dan 2:47). Neb had quickly forgotten his acknowledgement and had now elevated himself to "god" status.
Dan 3:15 is one of those verses that we, as Christians, can love because we know the end and can appreciate the irony; Neb boldly asks Shad, Mesh, and Abed "And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" Ha. Good thing God is a God of Mercy!
So we know the story that the three men are thrown into the furnace, the guards who throw them in a burned up from the sheer heat, and the Neb sees the three men loosed, walking around, and joined by a fourth person. He acknowledges this fourth man as "like the Son of God" (Dan 3:25). He calls out the three men - notice he didn't care to call out the fourth man :) - and begins praising God for their rescue. He even goes so far as to order death and destruction on the household of anyone who fails to worship Shad, Mesh, and Abed's God (Dan 3:28-29).
Talk about a change! So it's a happy ending for King Neb. Not quite yet. We see in chapter 4 that Neb needs another reminder about his position and God's position. He begins boasting of his own power and his own success in building Babylon (Dan 4:30). He had just been warned in a dream about this arrogance not 12 months before! (Dan 4:29). So dear King Neb finds himself living as an animal in the wilderness until he comes to a knowledge of God's glory and power.
The beautiful thing about this story is found in the interpretation of King Neb's dream. Neb had dreamt about a tree being cut down, but the stump left intact and wrapped with iron and bronze. God tells us, through Daniel, that this stump is King Neb, that he'll be cut down, but he will be preserved while God is teaching him a lesson (Dan 4:20-26).
God wanted to teach King Neb to see past himself and to humble himself before God. God had brought this lesson to Neb multiple times, but each time, he seemed to forget. So, God taught him a BIG lesson. Yet, while God taught him this BIG lesson, He preserved his place in the kingdom. God doesn't cut us down and leave us for dead while teaching us - He preserves us, He loves us, and He protects the stump after He's cut it down.
King Neb was restored to his kingdom, just as God had promised, but with a new outlook on life and a new love for God (Dan 4:36-37). He was now seeing past himself - the mirror was no longer blocking his view - He was looking to God and not himself.
Thankfully, God is a God of Mercy - Psalm 136:1-9 praises Him for it. He doesn't allow us to live in pride, He teaches us humility. He wants us to be better versions of ourselves and conforms us in the most loving way possible.
"Humility doesn't come naturally" (Beth Moore, Daniel), but thankfully we have a God who loves us beyond what we can imagine who is willing to teach us.
My reading today began with Daniel 3:1-4:37 & Psalm 136:1-9. Of course the story of Daniel is pretty familiar to us, as well as the story of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego and the fiery furnace. Neither of these stories jumped out to me today - the man who jumped out to me was King Nebuchadnezzar.
Today we find this beloved king making a golden image of himself (a large image, at that - 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide), and commanding all people to bow down to it. We then read that he commands a fiery death for anyone who refuses to bow down to his image. Talk about arrogance!
The funny thing is, in the previous chapter, our dear king Neb had acknowledged God as the "God of gods" when He revealed a dream to the king (Dan 2:47). Neb had quickly forgotten his acknowledgement and had now elevated himself to "god" status.
Dan 3:15 is one of those verses that we, as Christians, can love because we know the end and can appreciate the irony; Neb boldly asks Shad, Mesh, and Abed "And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" Ha. Good thing God is a God of Mercy!
So we know the story that the three men are thrown into the furnace, the guards who throw them in a burned up from the sheer heat, and the Neb sees the three men loosed, walking around, and joined by a fourth person. He acknowledges this fourth man as "like the Son of God" (Dan 3:25). He calls out the three men - notice he didn't care to call out the fourth man :) - and begins praising God for their rescue. He even goes so far as to order death and destruction on the household of anyone who fails to worship Shad, Mesh, and Abed's God (Dan 3:28-29).
Talk about a change! So it's a happy ending for King Neb. Not quite yet. We see in chapter 4 that Neb needs another reminder about his position and God's position. He begins boasting of his own power and his own success in building Babylon (Dan 4:30). He had just been warned in a dream about this arrogance not 12 months before! (Dan 4:29). So dear King Neb finds himself living as an animal in the wilderness until he comes to a knowledge of God's glory and power.
The beautiful thing about this story is found in the interpretation of King Neb's dream. Neb had dreamt about a tree being cut down, but the stump left intact and wrapped with iron and bronze. God tells us, through Daniel, that this stump is King Neb, that he'll be cut down, but he will be preserved while God is teaching him a lesson (Dan 4:20-26).
God wanted to teach King Neb to see past himself and to humble himself before God. God had brought this lesson to Neb multiple times, but each time, he seemed to forget. So, God taught him a BIG lesson. Yet, while God taught him this BIG lesson, He preserved his place in the kingdom. God doesn't cut us down and leave us for dead while teaching us - He preserves us, He loves us, and He protects the stump after He's cut it down.
King Neb was restored to his kingdom, just as God had promised, but with a new outlook on life and a new love for God (Dan 4:36-37). He was now seeing past himself - the mirror was no longer blocking his view - He was looking to God and not himself.
Thankfully, God is a God of Mercy - Psalm 136:1-9 praises Him for it. He doesn't allow us to live in pride, He teaches us humility. He wants us to be better versions of ourselves and conforms us in the most loving way possible.
"Humility doesn't come naturally" (Beth Moore, Daniel), but thankfully we have a God who loves us beyond what we can imagine who is willing to teach us.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Inspiration
I've been inspired by a friend to use my blog as a record of my journey with God throughout this new life I'm about to enter, well, entered about 8 months ago! :)
I was in the habit of blogging after I would do my daily Bible reading - I loved it and felt I learned so much! But I have slacked off lately...
I am now determined to start new - we'll see how this goes along with sleepless nights and life with a newborn and student teaching - but it'll be an adventure no less!
Wish me luck! I hope you can learn along with me :)
I was in the habit of blogging after I would do my daily Bible reading - I loved it and felt I learned so much! But I have slacked off lately...
I am now determined to start new - we'll see how this goes along with sleepless nights and life with a newborn and student teaching - but it'll be an adventure no less!
Wish me luck! I hope you can learn along with me :)
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