Last week, I posted about, What I Won't Buy with Baby #2, and I thought it would be helpful to also post a short list of things we will buy for baby #2, that we didn't have with Nehemiah.

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I am a wiser mom, not the wisest. And after two years, a better mom, not the best, but certainly the most adequate for our family, as the Lord saw fit. In these two years I've seen MANY baby items that certainly would've made life with itty bitty baby Nehemiah easier.

I did without these items my first time around, so, technically, I could probably do without them the second time around the block, but why make my life harder? I mean, a two year old and and newborn/infant is hard enough, right?

(the links are to our amazon baby registry)
*humidfier
Nehemiah was super stuffy his first winter and I assume babies usually are in the winter, and it doubles as white noise machine. This specific one is a night light too, 3 in 1, sign me up!

Nehemiah circa 6 months

*car seat cover
With Nehemiah we did the whole throw a blanket over the car-seat deal. We also had this super hot, hot as in warm, wool car seat cover/warmer with a zipper, and both did NOT work for us. One was too breezy and the other was like a sauna, literally, Nehemiah would sweat through his clothes. The stretchy types of covers gained popularity in the past year and moms seem to love them. Plus, it doubles as a nursing cover (hands up emoji),

*baby monitor
Two years ago we were in a tiny apt. and then we left on our Epic Road Trip West when Nehemiah was 3 months old. We couldn't justify buying a baby monitor when 90% of the time we were in the same room with Nehemiah or one wall away. This time around, I have a feeling a baby monitor will come in handy. Not only because we live in a bigger place, but because two kids. I still can't justify a fancy video one, nor one that links to your phone, but the simple but trusted baby monitors, I can get on board with.

*ring sling
One of my favorite things to do when Nehemiah was an infant was to carry him in my Solly Baby wrap, and I will for sure use it with baby #2, but another baby carrier would make things easier because different situations call for different baby carriers, am I right? Also, side note, we are thinking of getting a structured carrier (LILLE Baby Carrier) so that when baby #2 gets bigger we can carry them forward facing and/or on our backs.

*DockATot
As I have touched on before, we are co-sleepers all the way, but this sweet item would just make it better. It is a "docking station" whatever that means. In my own words, its a way for the baby not to fall off the bed. Well, that is what I assume it will do. It might end up making co-sleeping harder and a nuisance but the reviews convinced me to want it. I am a sucker for good reviews.

Baby #2 bump 25ish weeks

There are a few more things we are considering giving a chance this time around, but these are the bigger things.

Any momma's out there have any input?

Up next week: baby products I LOOOOOVEEEE. Yay!

Next month, I'll be two years into this whole motherhood thing. Can you believe it? Nehemiah will be two next month-- that was fast. The learning curve on this motherhood thing is huge, and I'm no professional, but I have a good idea of what works and does not work for our family. Here is a list of this things we won't be buying for baby number 2-- by the way I'm pregnant, due late April- early May.

I had numerous requests for the agua de pepino (cucumber water) that I made, so a blog post seemed fitting.

Since traveling is pretty much our middle name, Brian and I spend pretty much all hours of the day together. Although, I take more breaks than necessary, we start, do, and finish all things together.

Sleeplessness is good for writing, and that is something to be grateful for when you're all achy and spent.

Last week, our big baby boy was cutting his top two teeth. This week, there's a lot of coughing and waking up going on, especially between the hours of 11PM and 8AM. Totaling this week and last week, I have accumulated a minimal amount sleep, and that's okay. Its okay mostly because every morning when I crack my heavy eyelids open, there is a grinning little boy climbing over everything and up the headboard. It has happened every morning regardless of the events of the night before (or early morning of) for the past 8 months-- the climbing part was new a few months ago, the grin has graced his round little face almost since birth.

But its funny, you know why? Because, instead of getting in some rest right now, I am typing this post, but even if I wasn't, I'm sure I would of found something else to do. I call it mom syndrome, and I'm not sure that is something that should exist.

 Mom syndrome: when a mother does not rest at all costs, because there is just too much to do. (there really is a lot to do, but is it all necessary to do at the times at which we do them? And is the order in which we do them correctly prioritized?)


I think maybe we learn it from our own mothers. I mean, at least I think I did... partially. My mom is a immigrant, making me first generation American, so in my life I think I have seen my mom take a nap about three times, and all have been when she was bedridden by illness or a migraine. On the other hand, I have seen her sweep somewhere around  37,960 times (here is how I got to that number, 26 years of sweeping about 4-5 times a day). 

Then there are expectations, from ourselves, from society, from you name it, asking us to have a perfect clean home, neat and tidy children, a half marathon ready body, craft skills, and managed hair, and that only touches on the outward attributes.

Then, as Godly women, we desire to have a strong lively inmate relationship with the Lord of Lords, Jesus, and if we're too busy doing everything else we fall short of it all.

So, here we are, over spent, and definitely under paid.

Now, I am not blaming my mom, she did, and still does, what she needs to do to keep a tidy house, safe kids, and a happy husband. Nor, am I saying mothers should not be tired, because this is not a proclamation for lazy unkempt mommas.

Big sigh, so, I sit here feeling the Lord telling me to unlearn how to do too much. I must learn to rest. Rest physically, yes, a nap when needed, an early bedtime, a piece of dark chocolate, some hot cheetos, and even let the clothes just sit there awhile. 


I need to rest enough so that not everything is one jumbled mess of  unaddressed thoughts and halfway intentions. I need to rest enough to be able to properly prioritize, making Jesus first. I need to give myself the chance to choose to walk in what I know. If all I ever do is jump from one thing to another I fail before I even begin.

I need to rest spiritually.  I need to lok to Jesus. Gaze upon the face who so lovingly gazes upon me. He who eagerly waits for me to listen, trust, and obey. Rest on the truth that He is sovereign, that He is good, that He is constant, and that He is just. I need to make myself rest-able, so when He calls me away with Him, I will first of all hear Him, and second of all, I will go--and not only go, RUN towards Him. He wants my rest and if I let Him, He will make me rest .

Psalm 23:2

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.


Let us help each other rest. Encourage rest in your home.
Rest up lovelies.



**Now replace "mom" with "dad" or with "any person's name" in every sentence and you'll see that the message still rings true, so there is a problem among all. We all need rest. 

Well, its not much of a secret because we're not hiding it, but at the same time, not many people know. And, its not much of secret because I'm posting it on the internet.

Still, it is kind of a secret only because its disguised-- meaning that it doesn't look like you think it should look like. Okay, now do you want to know what it is?
Homelessness is a person sleeping under a bridge; it is a family in crowded homeless shelter; it is someone crashing on their friends couch past their welcome, it is living out of your car, etc.

Yes, as in we don't have a place to live.

How long you ask, since we got married, and even before that. We started this journey called marriage, this being one, this union... homeless. I'll be more specific now, we do not own where we live; no monetary payment has gone to a thing call rent, or mortgage, etc. When we stayed in Mexico, we did not own the house we stayed at.





Ask anyone who knows us, and they'll tell you that we've been "moving" for the past eight months. The truth is, we really are moving... somewhere, and sometime soon, but those are all the details we have. That is the only answer we have been able muster up since May; we know no further details.

Okay, so now you are probably freaking out enough for the both of us saying, "BUT THERE IS A BABY ON THE WAYYYY!!YOU MUST HAVE A PLAN". To which we answer, "Yes, there is a little snuggly baby on the way, and we are so excited, but a baby does not give us the authority to plan when God hasn't spoken yet. We dare not overstep our boundaries, not because of fear of being struck by a power hungry God, but because we desire so much what the Lord has for us we dare not insert our own inclinations.

Now that we got that out of the way, I can talk about being homeless-- being married, pregnant, human and homeless.

When you are in between places-- none of them being your own-- you find out how much stuff you really have. I have gone through the embarrassing accumulation of clothes to my name three times in the past year. Each time, I have given away at least two black stretchy garbage bags full of both old and new clothes, and clothes that fit, and clothes that do no fit.

If you know me at all, you know that clothes is not my thing. Shopping makes me dizzy and gives me hot flashes, and I hardly ever match. I never considered myself as someone with a large closet, but when I was asked to fit all my clothes in a tiny closet and a few drawers, suddenly I was drowning in clothes.

After giving away more than half my clothes, I realized that I still have more clothes than I need. Actually, as a couple, we have more than we need of everything, shoes, blankets, books, craft supplies, flatware, etc. Yet, to some, we have nothing because we have no plan, no mailing address, no rent, no mortgage, etc. Still, whether we have all things or nothing, we do not lack anything (Matthew 6:25-32).

We thank the Lord for that. But I'll tell you something, if I have not looked upon the glorious face of Jesus, I am a pro at convincing myself that I need unnecessary things. Like, so and so has a certain something, and look at how convenient/pretty/cool it is, I neeeeeed it. Truth is, I don't need it and I need to be reminded of that more than I care to confess. There, in that place of wanting the unnecessary, the Lord meets me through my husband who ever so gently reminds me that we do not need it, and if we bought it... where would we put it?

So, we have more than we need, praise God. That is mind blowing enough, but the Lord has a lesson for us in what we do possess.

Living in between places means that all that you do own is scattered everywhere. Half our things are at my mom's house, half where we are staying (above Brian's parents house), my sister has some of my small furniture, some of my stuff is still in Mexico (two different parts of Mexico-- La Purisima & Mexico City) and Brian still has stuff in Romania. Finding things gets tricky from time to time, but we've learned to live with what we have at arms length. If the rest of the plates are at my mom's house, we eat on napkins or over our hands. When you have less and something needs to get done, you get creative, and you get humbled.

But you know what, we are blessed. We are blessed because when we think about the fact that we have no idea where we will be living a month from now, we find comfort remembering that Earth is not our home, and that our reward is not here. When that sinks in, Abraham becomes a close friend (Hebrews 11:8-10), and the yearning for our eternal home grows.

We are homeless. If you are a lover and follower of Jesus, you are homeless too. You may pay rent, or a mortgage, but your home is not where mailing address says it is, nothing to our name will last. 1 Timothy 6:7,"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." Does that rest comfortably on your heart?

My flesh hates that because my flesh wants to accumulate and advance in this world. So, it is by God's grace that I am homeless, it is not a curse or a condemnation. When the enemy tries to twist the Lord's promises and words, I find comfort in this, when I receive my reward-- that is, to finally look upon His Glorious Face-- He will not ask me what I owned nor what I earned; He will not even ask where I lived, no, He will ask me how I loved and obeyed. I desire to have an answer to those questions. How will you answer Him? Are you inclined to point to what you have, and not to what you've done?




So, if you want to send us something for some reason, send it to my mom's, or to my sisters, or maybe even to the bird store.

Homeless

adjective

1.

without a home:

a homeless child

noun, ( used with a plural verb)

2.

the homeless, persons who lack permanent housing.

(use the links below)