Monthly Archives: September 2011

First World Problems

Posted in Deep Thoughts, First World Problems by

It’s taken me a while to turn my thoughts to this baby…life as it is now has been crazy and busy and all-together more than I can handle at times. Around 30 weeks I realized how soon this babe would be here and began to prepare…sort of. It was like everyday I would become fixated on some that I HAD to have for the baby or something I HAD to do before she comes, but none of it was of any real importance. I wasn’t really preparing. I was stalling by filling my every thought with things I thought I needed.

The Internet is a wonderland for the creative senses. Options are seemingly endless. For the right price you can get just about anything. eBay, Etsy, and Pinterest are incredible places to shop and brainstorm. I was looking at hats, car seat covers, canopies, Robeez, etc. I picked out all my favorites and planned when I would order them so as to not blow up the checkbook all at once.

The one thing I’ve been fixated on more than any other has been a new car seat cover. Ours is perfectly fine, but it’s brown, khaki, and yellow. It screamed BOY!!!! to me. I wanted something completely girlie and gorgeous for this last baby of ours. I found this adorable cover at a reasonable price. The seller was even willing to customize it for me with the colors I wanted and make it to fit perfectly on my car seat.

Then the other night my carefully laid plans began to unravel. I had ordered the canopy pattern and had all the materials I needed to get started on it. The Music Man pulled out the car seat so I could measure it. That’s when I saw that our seat was not the one that I thought it was. We didn’t have a Graco. We had an Evenflo.

I was already emotional and this put me over the edge. I had been so fixated, mildly obsessed even, that this mistake (on MY part) caused me to lose it. Completely. As I sat on the floor in front of the car seat crying all I could think of was the millions of mothers around the world who just hope and pray for healthy, full-term babies and the strength and provision to care for them once they’re born and here I am crying because the car seat cover I want may not be exactly the way I wanted it to be. What a First World Problem!

That’s a First World Problem.

That’s a phrase that gets said alot around our house lately. It’s our way of reminding ourselves and our kids that most of this world is just struggling to have food and clean water. It keeps our “problems” in perspective.

A few examples of First World Problems:

As I sat on my basement floor thinking about when had I grown so oblivious to reality, I realized that none of it mattered to me.  I had a perfectly good car seat with a great cover that would work beautifully for my little girl regardless of what color is was.  I asked God to forgive me for being so selfish and ignoring His heart for the world.  In an instant the insanity that had been my obsessive fixation on a new car seat cover was gone and I was ok with it!  I felt the weight of a thousand pounds lift off my shoulders.  And I haven’t thought about it since.

This is my experience.  I’m not saying that you are ignoring starving children in Bangladesh if you buy a new car seat cover for your little one.  I just know what the Lord was asking of ME and I responded to that.  You need to be obedient to what He asks of you which may be very different than what He asks of me.  I just encourage you to keep your heart close to His so that as He reveals His world to you, you are ready, willing, and able to do what His bidding.

But keep in mind the blessings we live under in our great nation, where things like this bring such joy to an otherwise dreary day. While extremely entertaining, it’s definitely a First World thing.

A Well-Rounded Post

Posted in The Littles by

It may have taken me a sweet forever to get here, but now that this baby’s arrival is less than 8 weeks away, I’m finally starting to get things ready for her. I realize that some people would have the nursery completed, a closet full of clothes, and the hospital bags packed by this point.  So I’m a bit behind but it’s all good.  The music man has told me all along that it’ll all be taken care of in time.  I believe him, but I’m realizing now that they will get done because I will do them!

Sooo…Here are a few things I’ve been working on this morning…

I chose my new car seat cover…only with hot pink minky instead of the pale pink.

I also chose the pattern for the car seat canopy I’m making. I’ll cut up a cute black and white fleecy blanket I found on clearance at The Walmarts and use hot pink fabric for the straps to match the car seat cover.

It may not seem like much and The Music Man would tell you that these aren’t even necessary to get for baby (Hello Wife!  We’re going to need diapers and clothes for this child.), but trust me when I say it’s a very good thing that Mamacita is finally wanting to do anything for baby so let’s just go with whatever fixation she’s having at the moment.

I also got these in the mail yesterday.

Ebay’s a great place to get gently used things for baby.  However…I’m not 100% please with my purchase.  I don’t feel like going into the whole story of the whys, but I do have a strong word for sellers on ebay or any other company for that matter…BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SELLING even if it means saying things that you think won’t sell your product.  Don’t gloss over things.  If you do, you’ll just get unhappy customers that will want to leave bad feedback to warn other buyers of your ways. If you’re product is more than “gently” used, just say so.  There are still people out there that would buy it.  Just be honest for crying out loud.

There.  I’m done.

(Can you tell that Mamacita’s fuze is short these days? Sorry about that.)

I promise that this blog won’t turn into a giant baby shower in the weeks to come.  I’ll try to be well-rounded. I am literally well-rounded so it shouldn’t be too hard to write well-rounded posts.

Bahaha!  I’m funny.

 

 

MIA no mo’

Posted in Uncategorized by

I have had a whirlwind life these past few weeks. I’d love to say it’s because I’ve been jet-setting around the world, but it’s really much simpler than that. School, new job, potty training, organizing my house, running a B&B, and growing a baby has kept me surprisingly busy. It’s all rather ordinary and normal, but insane when all thrown together.

I am now 31 weeks, or is it 32 weeks? I forget.  I think 31.  Either way, I’m in the 30+ weeks of pregnancy now which means I have just a few weeks left before this child makes her grand entrance.  As of 2 weeks ago I had nothing ready and by nothing I mean NUH-THANG!  I had two, count ’em TWO outfits hanging in her closet and that was all the clothes in the world I had for her. Pathetic, right?  The Girl and I happened to have a few minutes to snoop around at the Goodwill the other day and found a very few cute things, so now we have 4 outfits hanging in the closet.  Woot woot!

And I promise she wasn’t driving.  

I also bought her a couple pair of Robeez off ebay the other day, so I’m not completely unprepared anymore.  ‘Cause everybody knows that all a baby born in November needs is a few summery outfits and a couple pairs of Robeez to survive, right. Right?  Beuhler?

 But it’s all good.  Everything will get done. Or so the Music Man keeps telling me.  I’m choosing to believe him and stay off my feet as much as my life allows. (Which can I just whine for a moment and say that’s it’s really not much.  Boo hoo for me.) He is usually right about these kinds of things. 

I just forget all that goes into preparing for a baby.  I’ve done this a few times, so I shouldn’t be so clueless. Besides getting a few more clothes, what else do I need to do? What would you do if you had a baby coming in roughly 7-9 weeks and had done nothing yet? (I’m not saying that you would do that because I’m sure you’re much more on top of things than I am, but hypothetically speaking…)