A Few of My Favorite Things

As a new mom, I thought I would write a post about a few baby items that I have come to love. Everyone will have their different opinions about what works best for them, but for me...these are a few of my favorite things!

Baby Einstein movies! I don't know what it is about these movies, because I find them rather mind-numbing...but Emmett absolutely LOVES them! Actually, until just recently, he only had one. Baby Beethoven. He has probably watched it close to 100 times. He usually watches it once a day while I need to take a shower or get something done. As soon as he hears the music, his eyes are glued to the tv.

Old Navy baby socks. I have had the hardest time keeping socks on Emmett's feet. So far, the socks from Old Navy are the only ones I've found that stay on all day! And they come in tons of different colors and patterns!

Target brand (Up & Up) diapers! We learned early on that Pampers do not work for Emmett. We tried several different brands including generic. These are the only generic brand we have found to hold everything in when Emmett lets it out:) They're cute too!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

These are Mark's new favorite cookies! My sister, Dee, gave me the recipe right after Emmett was born, and my mom made them for us. I have made them several times since, and they are delicious!!!

What you will need:

1 c. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 pkg. Andes Mints (chopped)

1 c. vanilla chips

Mix together first five ingredients: butter, sugars, egg, vanilla

Oops! Don't do what I did and set the hand mixer on the side of the bowl. It caused the whole thing to fall on the floor and then I had a mess! I cannot cook or bake anything without making a mess!

Add next four ingredients: flour, cocoa, soda, salt (I didn't get a picture of this step). But after adding those ingredients and mixing, it will look like the picture below.

Stir in: 1 package Andes Mints (they make them in packages that are already chopped) and 1 cup vanilla chips.

Place on cookie sheet and bake @ 375 degrees. The recipe says to bake them for 8-10 minutes, but I only bake them for 6 min. It just depends how crispy you want them.

Enjoy!

My Pirate Baby

This will be Emmett's new look for the next six weeks. I felt so bad the first time we put the patch on, but now I think it's kind of cute...and it doesn't seem to bother him one bit!

We took Emmett to the eye doctor last Friday because we had been noticing for quite some time that his eyes would often look outward. The doctor confirmed our thoughts. He has what is called intermittent extropia, which is when the eye looks outward and the brain doesn't tell it that it needs to move back to the center. Emmett seems to have this problem about 50% of the time, which is why it's called "intermittent". Up close, it is not a problem, but when he looks at a distance we notice it quite often. For the next six weeks we have to do patch therapy for a couple hours a day, switching eyes every day. We go back to the doctor in eight weeks to see if the patch has helped. If not, then he will possibly have to have surgery. We're praying that the patches fix the problem!

I think he pulls off the look quite well...and apparently so do most of the women out there. We took him to the mall right after we went to the doctor, and we got stopped about 10 times by different women who were overtaken by his cuteness:)

While the pirate look may be cute now...hopefully it doesn't have to last for longer than six weeks!

Lesson From a New Dad

Mark learned an important lesson the other day about the difference between these two items:

I decided a couple days ago that I would try to start Emmett on some cereal because he has seemed extra hungry lately and has been getting up more often in the night. He is ready for it, but my doctor recommends that exclusively breastfed babies (like Emmett) should wait til 6 months to start solids if possible, because breastmilk is so good for them! I don't think Emmett can wait til 6 months...he's a big boy and is ready to eat something other than milk.

Here's the story...I told Mark I was going to go to the store to get some cereal for Emmett. I came back and set the cereal on the counter. Here's the conversation that followed:

Mark: "I thought you were getting cereal."

Cassie: "I did get cereal."

Mark: "Then what's that?" (pointing to the Gerber Rice Cereal)

Cassie: "That's the cereal."

Mark: "What?! I thought you meant you were going to buy cheerios for him to suck on!"

Cassie: (laughing)"You thought I was going to feed our 4 month old son cheerios?"

Mark: (laughing, but serious) "Well yeah...I really thought that's what you meant!"

Needless to say, we both had a good laugh and, luckily, Emmett did not eat any cheerios (that could have been a disaster)!

And...Emmett was not very fond of the cereal if you can't tell from the picture below!

We will try again in a few days:)

30 days of torture!

This is my ambition for November...30 days of torture (otherwise known as The 30 Day Shred)! I started yesterday, November 1st, so that it would be easy to keep track of the days. And after only one day, I am SORE!!! It's only a 20 minute workout each day, but it HURTS! Or maybe I am just a wimp. One thing I do know is that I am terribly out of shape! I may be thin, but that by no means indicates I am in shape! I wouldn't be able to run a mile to save my life right now!

I'm going to update my progress on here occasionally because I need accountability! Yesterday Mark just sat on the couch and laughed while I was doing the workout. He's not very good at keeping me accountable in the work-out area. He would much rather I bake him some cookies than take 20 minutes to work out:)

Who knows...if I can keep up with the workout, maybe I will have abs like that in 30 days!:) Wouldn't that be nice!

Overdue for an Overhaul

So...I got VERY behind on my blogging. More than five months behind! It could be due to the fact that my life has COMPLETELY changed in the past four months, and probably also due to the fact that we currently do not have internet at our house. Whatever the reason, my blog has been neglected and I am determined to get it up and running again. I have decided it is overdue for an overhaul. In the past, most of my posts have been updates on life and thoughts I was having. I want to make my posts a little more simple and fun. I am going to try to include recipes, things I have found helpful as a new mom, pictures, and still throw in a few longer, deeper posts as well.

For now, to catch you up to date, in case you didn't know by now...we have a new addition to our family! Well, he's not so new anymore! Already four months old and has two teeth!

Emmett Wesley Deering, born June 23, weighing 8lb. 6oz. and 21 3/4 inches long! He is extremely happy and healthy, and we are constantly in awe of this "not so little" blessing! =)

Check back often for new posts to come!

Quick Update

I know it's been awhile. I apologize I haven't had time to write. Here are a few highlights from our lives:

- My mom and two sisters flew down from Michigan to surprise me for my baby shower at church a couple weeks ago. Mark's mom also drove down for the shower. Lots of people...lots of surprises, not nearly enough time:(

- I experienced my first real tornado season in Oklahoma. I always thought I wanted to see a tornado since I live in Oklahoma, but after last week I decided to change my mind about that:) I'm thankful for God's protection, and thinking/praying for those who have lost their homes and loved ones

- I had my 35 week appt. today and baby is measuring perfectly...all is well! I still haven't finished unpacking everything in our house and the nursery is not quite finished, but that's ok. There will always be stuff to do and I'm realizing that it's impossible to get it all done within the next four weeks so I'm just not going to stress about it. The baby isn't going to care whether it has a finished nursery or not. As long as we have the essentials and a healthy baby, that's all that matters!

- Our 4 year wedding anniversary is only 4 weeks away! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by!

- My brother graduated from high school today. I am sad that I was the only one of my four other siblings who could not be there. Congratulations Michael!

Well those are just a few highlights from our lives right now. Nothing too exciting happens in Prague, Oklahoma...but I'm thankful for God's blessings, protection, and provision.

Here is a picture from when my mom, two sisters, and newest niece came to visit a couple weeks ago:

The Bare Necessities

For those of you who read this, I apologize for not writing anything lately. Mark and I have recently moved into our house, which is still a work in progress. However, we do not have internet at our house. We have chosen to try to live a life of bare necessities. Our budget is extremely tight as it is, but with a baby on the way we have had to try to cut out anything from our budget that is not 100% necessary. So far we are still alive and well even with no internet:) I know that some of you probably can't imagine living without being able to check your email or facebook every day, but I have found it somewhat refreshing. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong generation because I often miss the days of handwritten letters, not having a credit card, or receiving a call on the land line before there was such thing as caller ID. Why is it that ten year old children need cell phones and their own computers nowadays? Call me a mean mom, but my child will probably be one of the only children without those things. I have found life to be much more simple and laid back without being tied to a cell phone or computer all day. I would like to say that I would even enjoy going without a cell phone right now, but that is one of the only ways Mark and I get to communicate with our families.

If you are on a tight budget or just like to save a few extra pennies, what are some things you do? Here are some other things that we do in order to try to make each penny count.

- No cable tv or landline phone

- I like to paint old decorations or furniture and make them look "new"

- We rarely ever eat out. However, I think it is important to every marriage to have a nice date every once in awhile. If we don't have money for a nice date, we usually try to find something free to do

- Because we live in a small town, we try to run all of our errands on one day in order to save gas and time

- We are thinking about becoming a one car family again. I know some people don't have the ability to do this, but since we do...we are considering it

- We never buy brand new cars

- We do not finance anything. If we don't have the money, we don't buy it. However, I do know that there will probably be life situations in the future that may require us to do so. Obviously owning a home requires financing for most people including us:) That is our one exception to this rule

- We pay off our credit card balance monthly, and use a credit card that gives us cash rewards

- I do not buy clothes unless they are on sale, and recently I have decided not to buy clothes for myself unless they are completely necessary

- I try not to "window shop". Usually I don't go to the store if I know I don't need to buy something. I have a hard time looking and not buying

- The one thing I wish I would do better as far as saving is coupon clipping. I rarely use coupons because I just don't have the patience to search them out. I do try to buy groceries that are not the most expensive brand, but I could probably do better

Living this way is definitely not easy and not often enjoyable. I often envy the people who drive really nice cars and eat out whenever they want to. I would love to enjoy more meals out with my husband or buy a new pair of shoes just because I want to. But for what? What does all of that matter in the end? I often find myself worrying about how we will pay our utility bill or get new tires for our not so new car. I constantly have to remind myself that "things" on this earth do not matter. I wish I spent more time storing up treasures in heaven as I do worrying about how we will pay for things we need on this earth. In the end, nothing on this earth will matter. I need to stop worrying about this life and start focusing on life eternal...the only life that truly matters.

Family Ties

Having lived away from my parents since I was 18, having grown up in a home with foster children, having an adopted brother and a desire to one day adopt a child of our own, I know that family is not determined by blood.

Here are a few definitions of family from Webster's:

- a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head

- a group of people united by certain convictions or a certain affiliation

- a group of things related by common characteristics

According to the first definition, my family includes Mark, myself, and our children, although I don't need a dictionary to tell me that. When Mark and I chose to get married four years ago, we were choosing to create our own family, and we did so as soon as our vows were said. Yes, we still have parents and we still love them, but we are no longer accountable to them for the decisions we make, and they don't have to understand why we do what we do. Mark and I have to make decisions based on whatever is best for our family, and nobody else needs to understand those decisions.

With our first child due to arrive in about four months, I have been thinking a lot about parenting and how Mark and I will choose to raise our children. I constantly pray that God will give us wisdom to raise them up according to His Word, and that they will choose to walk in His ways, especially in a world that is so full of sin. Full-time ministry is not often a high paying job. Given that we are currently a low-income family, I spent the first half of my pregnancy going to my pre-natal appointments at the health department. Mark has been with me to almost all of my appointments, even though they can sometimes be a little boring for a dad. I have rarely seen another married woman when I've been there. Most of the other women I've seen there have been younger than myself, single, and already have more than one child. It's sad and frightening to see that as a married, pregnant woman, I seem to be in the minority. All I know is that I am proud to bring my husband to my appointments, and proud that Mark and I can raise this child together within the confines of a godly home and a godly marriage. I am so thankful that our children can grow up in a home that models what God intended for marriage and family to be. In a world full of broken homes and single parents, I'm so glad our children won't have to experience that.

If you have never seen the movie 'The Blind Side', I would really recommend it! I believe it is a wonderful portrayal of what family really is. When your blood relatives aren't there for you, or perhaps you have never even known them...your true family is made up of those who truly love and care for you no matter if they are related by blood or not. Having recently moved to a new town and a new state, I'm so thankful for the people who have made Mark and I feel like family. And I can't wait to meet the newest addition to our own family!

Pink or Blue?

This has been the top question for the past month...pink or blue, boy or girl? I find it funny that people always asked, "When are you going to find out the gender?" instead of, "Do you plan on finding out the gender?" It's almost as if we have no say in whether or not we want to know. Most people just assume that since technology is now able to show the gender of your child before it's born, you have to find out.

Well I guess you can call us old fashioned because we chose not to find out! We had our first ultrasound one week ago (at 19 weeks), and it was a lot of fun! It made it so much more real to see God's precious gift to us moving around inside of me. It was so wonderful to see all the moving parts, the heart, the brain, and everything else! I don't understand how anyone can argue that a baby is not a baby until it's born. Because there is no question that there is a living, moving baby inside me!

Back to the gender discussion, the biggest argument for finding out was in order to better plan before the baby is born. Now I am a huge planner, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason to find out the gender. I wasn't planning on decorating the nursery in gender specific colors anyway, so why did I need to find out the gender in order to plan? No, I will not be able to buy anything pink or blue before the baby is born, but I can still get everything we need. And there will be plenty of time to buy cute little blue or pink things after the baby is born. So if you were hoping to spoil my child with lots of pink or blue, you still can...you will just have to wait until AFTER it's born:) June 18 is the new due date, which happens to be two days before Father's Day and two days after our fourth wedding anniversary! That could be a very exciting week if the baby is born on time! I can't believe it's only a little over four months away! Can't wait to meet this precious little gift from God!

Home Sweet Home

We closed on our new house almost two months ago, but still have not moved in. Due to Mark's busy schedule for the holidays, the extreme cold weather lately, and the fact that we are trying to do most of the work ourselves...this once small re-model project has become quite the project! Although it feels like there is still much to do, we have made a lot of progress and are thankful for those who have helped along the way!

As of last night:

-the upper cabinets are finally hung! (thank you Tim and Bryan)

-the microwave has been installed

-the stove is out of the box and waiting to be used!

-the master bedroom is about 96% finished!

Still to be done before moving day:

-kitchen floors

-install base cabinets, countertops, and kitchen sink

-a few minor electrical things

-finish painting the master bedroom

-install closet shelving in master closet

Mark has a goal to begin moving this weekend, but I'm not so optimistic. We shall see! Once we move in we will work on the living and dining room walls, the bathroom walls, and sometime before June we will get the baby's room done!

I will post before and after pictures once everything gets cleaned up, but for now here is a picture of the outside of our new home in Prague, OK.