What Works

Now that we've had our little Emmett for almost 2 months, I'm feeling a bit more confident as his mother. We have our routine down, I can interpret his cries, I know when he's about to have a big poop, and we share so many sweet moments throughout every day. He has the sweetest smile and he recognizes my voice and my smell, and it's magical to be his mommy.

I have had some help along the way, and no, I'm not talking about my parents or Alex (although their help is INVALUABLE and I would be lost without them!). I'm talking about baby merch! There are SO many things on the market for moms and their new babies, and it was quite a process shifting though all the options and finding what I wanted... And that was only step one! It matters much more what Emmett wants and what makes him comfortable and happy, and learning that was another process of it's own. So here is my review on the top baby items we have, what works for me and for him, and what I would recommend to new moms everywhere!

1. Fisher-Price My Little Lamb Platinum Edition Cradle 'n Swing : This nifty swing is a lifesaver for Emmett's daytime naps. He LOVES the gentle rocking and the mobile and blue light he looks up at, and most of all the sweet baby songs that I can play at different volumes. I even like listening to the cheesy baby songs. When they're on, I can hum along (I've listened to them hundreds of times now) and they make me feel like there's a baby in the house. (Weird, but I like it). Most of all, this cute swing plugs in. It's on so much that I would go through TONS of batteries if it didn't have an AC adapter. That was the number one thing I was looking for in a swing, and I'm so glad I did. Finally, we've had a few blow-outs (poop everywhere, for those of you who aren't parents) and the fabric lamb that Emmett sits in comes out super easy and is machine washable. This is a must. I would definitely recommend this swing and I'm so grateful to my "aunt" Lisa for giving me this at my baby shower!

Dad's Famous Baked Beans

This recipe (which is so easy, it can barely be called a recipe), comes from my dad. When he was in his early 20's, he worked at Deloitte as an auditor. While at a company pot luck (of a business he was auditing), he was first introduced to this recipe for baked beans. He enjoyed them so much, he asked for the recipe and started making them himself. Years later, he was working as the CFO for Calply, and brought these beans to a potluck. They were lauded by all as Doug's famous beans, until a woman that had been recently hired claimed them as her own recipe! (In good humor, of course). It just so happened that the woman who made them years before and gave the recipe to my dad had been hired by Calply and was at the potluck! What a small world. 

Without further ado, my dad's famous baked bean recipe ;) - 

Brown 1 lb of ground beef and add a chopped red onion. 

Add 3 cans of Bush's Baked Beans (we use Maple Cured Bacon flavored and Original).

Sausage Braid Recipe

As an adolescent in the Homet household, we were witness to a lot of hostessing. Monthly, my mom would host "Stamp Camp" at our house, and a party of around 8-12 women would come over on a Saturday morning to make the cards and crafts my mom had prepared and snack on some pretty classy breakfast treats. These breakfasts were one of the perks to having a mom who was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. (Other perks included having access to TONS of craft supplies for school projects, passing out pretty bomb Valentine's Day cards to friends at school, and having the skills needed to be a professional card critic.) 

Jim, Laney and I (and probably dad too), would sneak into the kitchen on Stamp Camp mornings after the women had eaten and, like vultures, fill up our plastic tupperware plates with berries, Costco croissants, Bisquick coffee cake, and on especially wonderful Saturdays, slices of this sausage braid. 

It's creamy and full of meat and flavor and it goes fast. Here's a shot of it baking (and oozing...yum). 

I always double this recipe, so the following measurements will make 2 rolls. 

DIY Decorated Porcelain To-Go Mugs

This Christmas, I decided to make as many gifts for friends and family as I possibly could. I wanted to give out personal and special gifts, and since I was extremely pregnant, I spent lots of time crafting!

These to-go mugs were super easy and fun to make. I first designed the images either on my computer or on a scratch paper. Then I traced them onto the mugs using graphite paper. (There were a few mugs I did without prepping, but for most I needed to). 

Christmas 2014

This post is similar to my Thanksgiving 2014 post, except for the one HUGE difference! Baby Emmett was here to celebrate with us! Most of these photos feature him... here's a little peek at our extremely special Christmas of 2014. 

Aunt Laney got to meet Emmett! She fell in love pretty instantly. 

Homet Christmas Morning Quiche Recipe

One of my all time favorite foods is Quiche Lorraine. Egg, bacon, onion, cheese, pie crust...what's not to love? Growing up, it was our Christmas morning breakfast every year. Once a year is not nearly enough, however. Since I got married and started my own family, we've had quiche quite a few times. I even started making my own crusts, and I've gotta say, they're pretty delicious. 

I won't lie and say this is easy or quick to make. The steps are simple, but there are a lot of them and it takes a while to make a quiche. It is SO worth it, though. My tip would be to make 2 or 3 quiches at once because they heat up so well and one just isn't enough! (I mean, look at that. Just look at it.) I am listing the measurements for one quiche, so you'll have to do your own multiplying. 

Emmett's Birth Story

Disclaimer: This post is super long. I am writing it all out so that I can remember all of the precious details of Emmett's birth, so just get ready for an in-depth story!

Emmett's journey into the world was not what I expected. Isn't that what you hear from every mom? When does it ever go exactly as anticipated? When does anything?

I'm so glad he came into the world his way...even if labor took 3 times longer than I thought it would. Even though I had to resort to taking medications that I was trying so hard not to take. Even though the pain was indescribable (and immediately forgettable).

December 8th came and went, and my hope that he would come on his due date proved false. Every day that week was agonizing, emotionally more than physically (although I was the size of a whale and every little thing took a ton of effort). I wanted him to be out so badly! I wanted to meet him, I wanted to be done being pregnant, I wanted to avoid being induced, I wanted his birthday not too close to Christmas. But that's a lot about me, and I figured out quickly that Emmett's entrance was, and should be, all about him.

My family made dollar bets about what day Emmett would show up. One by one, each day we had bet on passed by. The latest day that was predicted was by Jim, and was December 13. As that day came to a close, Alex and I felt so discouraged. Almost a week late and still no baby. Around 11pm we got in bed and prayed. It had been a while since we've prayed out loud together and I was feeling so down, I let Alex take the reins. He prayed that Emmett would be born soon. On God's timing, but soon. He prayed that I wouldn't have to be induced. He prayed that we would be healthy and safe. He prayed that we could meet our little one.

We started to fall asleep. After a couple minutes, at 11:30, I woke up with some cramp-like pains. I didn't admit to myself at first that they were contractions, I didn't want to get my hopes up. Alex started timing the pains, and after about an hour and a half they were 5 minutes apart and lasting for a minute. We woke up my mom, who's room is 15 feet away. (My dad was up in NorCal, but he got a call later on). I was moved downstairs to labor, and most of the next couple hours are a blur because I was so exhausted! We got zero sleep that night. Around 2:30, we let my doula, Betsy, know that labor had been consistent and contractions were getting stronger. She came over to observe and support. She told me to let myself melt into the pain. When a contraction would hit, I would breathe in and out very slowly and moan gently. I let every muscle in my body relax so much that I felt like I was just melting away. This technique helped me so much, and I continued to do it once we got to the hospital.