My Baby Must-Haves

I always loved reading peoples' must-have-for-baby lists while I was pregnant, so here's my own. I even linked each item to an online description.

• Boppy--I actually have two: one that I bought (at Marshall's-- don't pay full price] and one that is borrowed from a friend. The one I borrowed is much better, and I don't know why. It's a softer cover, and it's not as thick. It makes a difference.
  
• Swing--(Graco SweetPeace Newborn Soother) Thankfully we scored this at a garage sale (practically brand new) because they sell new for $180 (we got it for $60). I really didn't think I would use it that much, but the best part about this particular model is that our carseat fits into the base, so if Avery's asleep in the car, it's an easy transfer.
• Burp cloths-- I got a ton of these and didn't think I'd use them all, but I use them constantly to wipe up drool, spit up, and even to keep Avery warm during her baths (that was a brilliant idea, I might add-- it works just like a blanket!).
• Breastpump-- Not much to explain here :) I use the Medela Pump In Style Advance, and it's awesome. Keep a lookout for coupons and sales because by combining the two, I got $80 off of mine.
• Drop-in bottles-- When I went back to work, we were just using the Medela bottles that came with my pump, but now that Avery's getting more formula, we've needed more bottles. My favorites by far are the Playtex drop-ins. You really only have to clean the tops. (And you get tired of washing bottles real quick)
• Bath mat-- Nana gave this to me, and we already had an infant tub, so I didn't think I'd even use it, but it's the only reason Avery likes baths. We use the Munchkin brand and love it. I can't find a link to this online, it's like a spongy yellow thing and I've seen it in Target stores.
• Costco diapers-- They don't sell newborn size, so for the first few weeks I used Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies Snug 'n Dry, and I liked them equally. Once she moved into size 1s though, it was Costco all the way. The diapers are way cheaper, the boxes are HUGE (saving trips to the store), and they're the best quality diapers we've used. Plus, Costco runs coupons for them sometimes, so you can get them even cheaper.
• Nursing cover-- I wasn't a huge fan of nursing in public, but I ended up using this all the time because at the beginning, we constantly had company, and the cover kept me from having to isolate myself while people were over (newborns have a tendency to eat constantly...).
• Pack-n-Play-- We got a model that had a bassinet and a changing station on it, and we kept it in our room while Avery was sleeping in there. It was so nice to have everything right next to us when we needed it. We'll also be able to use it in the future when she needs the regular Pack-n-Play feature.
• Changing pad cover-- Since Avery's been in her room the past week, I love the cover we have on the changing pad in her room. It keeps her warm (as opposed to the cold plastic of the pad), and it's super easy to throw in the wash after accidents.
• Huggies wipes-- It sounds weird, but Huggies has the best wipes dispenser. They tear off so easily, so you can actually take a wipe out with one hand (while holding baby legs in the other). Plus, the wipes are the sturdies I've used, and they have some that don't actually smell like wipes. Love it.
• Bouncer-- This is the only reason I'm able to shower when Matt's not home to watch Avery. She didn't like it at first, but now it works like a charm. They have some really fancy ones, but I linked the one we have, and it's just a plain bouncer that vibrates, and it works just fine (for way cheaper). I can't imagine needing one that an iPod plugs into...
• Travel Diaper Changing Pad-- Public bathrooms are nasty. This is not.
• Sling-- This is the only reason my house got vacuumed at first. It put her right to sleep every time I put her in it. Now, not so much because she's freakishly long and doesn't fit. Boo.
  
• Sleep wedge-- Avery prefers to sleep on her side, and I prefer her to sleep period, so we use this and everyone's happy.
  

I know people have done without all these things in the past, and they were totally fine, but these sure do make life a little easier. And I'm sure that I'll discover more products as she gets older, so for now this is my list. Maybe I'll update it in a few months.

So give me some feedback-- moms, what did I leave off that worked for you? If you're pregnant, feel free to ask me if something is worth buying/registering for. This stuff is all pretty fresh on my mind, so I don't mind talking about it.

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Update

I know the date says Sunday, but it's really Tuesday that I'm actually getting around to posting this, and I guess Tuesday is technically too late for a weekend update, but ours was so good. Plus, it's my blog and I can do what I want. So there.

Friday

Early release days=good days, right? Not when you're "the only teacher in the entire school who's making us do work" apparently. The kids were checked out; I was checked out. Fun times.

Pretty much the highlight of my day every day, not just weekends, is going to pick up Avery. Matt and I usually try to guess whether or not she's going to be in the same clothes we dropped her off in or if I have to be Stain Fighter to the rescue when we get home. As soon as I walk in the door, she's all smiles and all mine for the weekend. Yes.

Avery and I stopped by Kari's house to drop off some garage sale stuff (we'll get to my obsession with garage sales later), and Avery officially met Emma. Emma is 2 and a half, and she was so sweet with Avery! She kept wanting to give her kisses and share her toys. Go figure that I forgot my camera, so Kari had to cover for me.

Once Matt got home from looking super cute in the homecoming parade (hehe), we ventured off to the high school football game that night, where before we even sat down like five people got onto me that my baby didn't have socks on. Geez, people, they were in the bag. It wasn't even that cold. We hung out with Megan and Deke and then met up with our sweet neighbors David and Brooke. By the end of the night, Avery was out. She's such a trooper. Seriously, if I was dragged around to all these loud places with people trying to get a glimpse of me when all I wanted to do was sleep, I'd be pretty ticked. I'm glad she takes after her daddy.

Saturday

Road trip! This was Avery's fourth (yes, fourth) road trip, and it just happened to coincide with her 3 month birthday! We went to ETBU to see Sarah play soccer and Carrie play volleyball, and you'd think that I would realize that I need to say I'm leaving an hour earlier than I actually have to leave so I leave on time. We got there right before the soccer game, which meant that of course, Avery decided to pee all over Matt while he was trying to change her. As he was cleaning up the pee, she thought it would be funny to poop, too. So there we are, standing outside of our car, I'm holding the naked baby over the grass while she's all doing her business, and Matt's trying to clean up the pee that is ALLOVER our car. Point for Avery. Good thing we had extra clothes for her.

Round 2: Carrie's game. We always love spending time with the Fisks since we don't get to see them very often, and this time we got to meet Carrie's boyfriend and his little girl, Ava. They were so sweet! Point for Carrie. About halfway through the game, Matt took Avery, fully dressed, to change her diaper and brought her back, naked (Avery, not Matt. Weirdo.). Point two for the baby. Still zero for us. Awesome.

Walmart for new clothes for Naked Baby, Bodacious Barbeque, visit to Sarah's dorm, drive back in the pouring rain. The end.

I loved loved loved my college experience, but it's weird going back now knowing no one. It really was the people who made it so special. Hmm, I smell a new blog topic...

Sunday

After church we went to Moni's to celebrate Dad's birthday. I love my family so much, and it was nice to hang out before the nightmare of my evening began.

Procrastination comes back to bite you in the butt. Every time. Grades were due Monday, so that meant my entire Sunday afternoon and evening were spent grading movie reviews. Whose idea was it to assign two typed essays in one grading period?? Oh yeah. Lesson learned.

And now for next weekend's preview: Friday night cleaning date (don't be jealous!) and Avery's fifth road trip, this time back to Brownwood. Let's hope we don't get peed on.

Cha-ching!

I'm a nerd. I accept this. I have also not made it a secret that I really want to be a stay-at-home mom next year. In order for that to happen, we've got to figure out how to compensate for the loss of my income. Hence the formula:

nerd+cheapskate=coupon obsession

I've only just begun the foray into getting stuff on the cheap. Okay, okay. Those of you who know me know that I head straight for the clearance racks in any given store, but now I mean business. *Insert serious face here.* Here's what I've started using:

5 Dollar Dinners: Offers menus, recipes, highlights coupon savings
Deal Seeking Mom: More coupon stuff. Woohoo!
Money Saving Mom: Okay, this is getting redundant. (Good site though!)
The Freebie Blogger: Who doesn't like free stuff? Some of it isn't worth your time, but some items I've found are free magazine subscriptions, free Redbox rentals, and pairings to get stuff for free using coupons and store sales.

Also worth checking out:
All of these sites allow you to choose which coupons you want and just print the ones you need. They print multiple coupons on a page now, too.

Coupons.com
Hot Coupon World
Smart Source
Red Plum

So I know that it's easy to get really excited about something and then lose steam, so I'm not going to go all crazy right away. (We'll let the insanity creep in slowly--mwahaha.)

For now, I'm just excited to go pick up my free contact solution at Target. I'll let you know how it goes.

Darn you, interesting blogs.

Blame Google Reader. I've been blog-stalking lately, and ever since the madness began, I've been thinking in blogs. I keep coming up with all these blog topics without anywhere to post them, but alas, I remembered the ol' blogger.

So I'm back.

A lot has transpired over the last year since I last ventured over here. I'm now in my fifth year of teaching, we got another dog (Sadie-- so cute! More to come on her...), I got a new sister-in-law, and oh yeah, we had a baby. Needless to say, life has changed a little bit in our household.

I'll leave it at that for tonight, but I'll also leave you with this precious face. How could you not just love this adorable baby girl??

Homecoming.

Let me just start out by saying that I have been exhausted lately. Like I-can't-keep-my-eyes-open-please-let-me-take-a-nap-at-school exhausted. So when we had early release yesterday, I naturally used my extra afternoon time at home for a much-needed nap (after unsuccessfully trying to read some more of Twilight, which has taken surprisingly forever for me to read). I set my alarm for 4pm. A 45-minute nap is long enough, right? Wrong. I woke up at 7. Ah, but it was nice.

Fast forward to my actual point. Since we were already planning on going to the homecoming football game, we went (despite better judgment that warned of ridiculous crowds and obnoxious middle schoolers). I don't know if it's just our community or if this problem has simply become more widespread in recent years, but when did it become commonplace for parents to live so vicariously through their children? I don't really have the time nor desire to get on my soapbox about this "Child Worship" or the "self-esteem movement" right now, but it's getting to the point of absurdity. People disgust me.

On a better note, it's a good idea to go to Chicken Express right before they close.
Here's what we actually ordered:

• chicken tender snack pack (2 tenders and mashed potatoes),
• a 4 tender dinner (4 tenders, mashed potatoes, and a large sweet tea),
• and a small side of fried pickles (don't judge, they're surprisingly good).

Here's what we got:

• 12 tenders,
• 2 family-sized mashed potatoes,
• a family-sized order of fried pickles,
• 2 fried pies,
• and the rolls, which I still can't decide if I like the switch from biscuits.

So here's to gluttony.

Update.

Since it seems I post approximately twice a YEAR, it appears to be about that time. That's right, folks (or, uh, "folk" since Matt will probably be the only one who reads this)... it's update time!

First things first, after my last post (i.e. after our return from Venezuela), we went straight into Charlie Brown mode. Maybe I should be more specific. Okay, back up... Kendra, Matt, and I (and countless others!) took on a seemingly-harmless project starting, oh, around January when we decided that we would start a theatrical community outreach through our church. That "simple" project turned into a much bigger production, resulting in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, which surprised (almost) everyone with three nearly-sold-out performances at the end of July. I like to think that we dreamed pretty big with the project from start to finish, but in reality, I have to step back and realize that God had better plans (imagine that...). He brought the church together for a common goal, got the church out into the community, and overall accomplished his work despite our best efforts.

Somewhere in the middle of musical madness (and as a direct result of Matt's persistence), we adopted the most precious little mutt ever from the SPCA. Okay, so we think she's a lab/chow mix, but it's taken us a couple of months to finally come to that conclusion. (Truth be told, sometimes I think she's also part Tasmanian devil, but that's another story.) Her name is Nutmeg (aka Meggie) and she's now 5 months old. Isn't she the most precious thing you've ever seen? She loves: car rides, vet appointments, playing chase after stealing socks and underwear, taking walks, meeting new friends, and peeing on said friends. She hates: being brushed, taking baths, and being alone. By the way, to all the people I ever made fun of for treating their dogs like their children: I officially apologize.

Summer ended WAY too fast, thus bringing us to the beginning of school. Did I mention that I changed classrooms? Note to self: do not move entire teaching-life without help. I love my new room, but quite honestly, this year has been weird. My first class of sophomores is now in college, my favorite class of sophomores is now seniors, I'm in my fourth year of teaching (still can't believe time has gone by so quickly), and the feeling that I can change the world has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I do love my job and I don't know what else I'd rather do as a profession (yet), it's just that the first-year enthusiasm has diminished while reality is slowly setting in. I've learned that: there really are some kids I can't reach, you can't force motivation, some teachers will always be negative and incompetent, and there really is such a thing as a stupid question (namely if I've answered it 5 times previously). On a better note, I love my teaching team (yay, English II!) and I do have some pretty great students. I can't complain.

Last thing, I promise. Fall is my favorite season, and more specifically, I adore the month of November. Seeing as how I live in Texas, I know I miss out on the brilliant color changes one might see in New England, but I love that even in this season-less state, fall still represents change. We shift gears from off-season to in-season soccer, we enter "the holidays," it gets relatively cool outside, I get my cool weather clothes out of the attic, there are changes in governmental leadership, and it always seems like something unexpected happens every autumn.

Let's see what this one brings...

Missions is Not God's Ultimate Goal, Worship Is

I know it's been awhile since I blogged, but I was inspired to put my thoughts in writing because we just returned to the U.S. after spending 10 days on a church planting trip on Margarita Island in Venezuela. Our team (comprised of many from Grace Church and others around the country) saw the Lord do amazing things, however, He's put a lot on my mind over the past few days.

This was my fifth international mission trip, and I don't mention that to boast at all, I mention it because my emotions after returning home after a "mountaintop experience" such as a mission trip have run the gamut.

I remember that after my first trip in 2002, which was to Venezuela, there were so many stories I wanted to share with anyone who would listen. I was incredibly emotional and excited about the work of God and when other people weren't equally excited, I was offended and took it personally. I wanted to immediately go back to where my emotional high took place because "no one here in America could possibly understand."

Three years after that first experience, I went on my third trip, this time to Romania to teach English for two weeks. I came back to the United States with a renewed vision for the future, believing that at some point God would call me to live overseas and teach English. (For the record, Matt and I are still completely open to that possibility.)

This brings me to my current state. Bear with me by first reading a quote from John Piper's book, Let the Nations be Glad:

Missions is not first and ultimate: God is.

This truth is the life blood of missionary inspiration and endurance. William Carey, the father of modern missions, who set sail for India from England in 1793, expressed the connection:

When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on the sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.

Carey and thousands like him have been moved and carried by the vision of a great and triumphant God. That vision must come first. Savoring it in worship precedes spreading it in missions. All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white hot worship of God and his Son among all the peoples of the earth. Missions is not that goal. It is the means and for that reason it is the second greatest human activity in the world.

It's so easy to get caught up in pointing others toward Christ that our passion becomes "winning souls for Christ" and "going into all the world to share the gospel." Please don't get me wrong. We were commanded to do so in Matthew 28:19-20, but let's not forget that the Lord Himself should be our number one priority. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). And in remembering this, let's also keep in mind that Jesus Christ made an impact in his own community by living among the people and serving them in love. We're all given an opportunity right where we're at to love people and serve them, just like Jesus did. When did it become less important to minister to those right around us that we feel like the only way to serve the Lord is to go to a foreign country? There are countless people that I come into contact with every single day, and I simply overlook the opportunity to be "salt and light."

I'm getting a little rambly, but I just wanted to share my conviction to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and to "love your neighbor as yourself" no matter where that may be.

**If you're interested in reading more from Let the Nations be Glad, there's an excerpt at http://www.reallifeboston.com/getinvolved/LetTheNationsBeGlad.pdf