always getting more stuff

I am so happy about our parish friends. Mr L. asked our british friend, Paul, if he would be the godfather for our baby and he said yes! :)
I love having friends like them!
It's so amazing to go to church and then chat with people AND later in the week we can have dinner or a picnic!
Yesterday we went for a picnic with my cousin and her family, and Mr L. called Paul to ask for directions (to get to see a air show) and it turns out they were going there too with some other friends.. so we ended up going all 4 families! The kids had fun and we got to chat and relax in the grass while looking at the air show (old war planes from WWII and super fancy noisy newer ones..)

It was quite hot and beautiful and sunny :)
I need to get some pregnancy pictures... so far I have like 3 where you can see the bump.. baby is never going to believe I was actually pregnant..

Anyway I was reading on Elisabeth's blog about baby stuff and I came across a post about what baby things to get.
I quite agree with that last post (I'm only not too crasy about the EC part...).

I don't think we need much stuff at all for now. But the problem with stuff is that I can't control it right now!

I can make lots of mental lists of what I know I want and will use, but I can't quite keep to it.
Not that I'm an out of control buyer.
But I am not a lonely entity.
Lots of other people play a part in our life, stuff keep coming from ways I feel I can't control.

Example.

My wish list of baby equipment:

-onesies, pj, a few cute outfits
-a couple baby's sleeping bags (no idea what it is called, looks like overalls but with a bag instead of feet)
-diapers (disposable for first size and then cloth)
-a baby relax (seat to put baby down)
-a place to sleep (moses basket then bed)
-a baby bath tub (I don't like the shape of our sinks)
-a babybjorn thingy to carry baby around with free hands ;)
-a car seat
-pharmacy stuff like nail clippers, nose wash, fake tears...
-a high chair at some point
- a dresser/changing table (to store the clothes, changing table is necessary because our bed is a mattress on the floor and bending is hard for me right now..)

Then there is Mr L's wish-list
-stroller (nice one)
-disposable only for diapers
-not sure if I forget anything...

He is really not that exigent. :)
But we already disagree on the budget for the stroller. Plus I would tend to go for an outdoorsy stroller (type jogger, to go on little hikes) that we could get second hand. But he'd still want the nice city kind.
I'd rather wait to see if we'd even USE it.. but how can we know ahead of time?

Then there is already my sister asking what she can get us.
I asked to buy her ergo (baby carrier) because it'd be second hand and I know I like baby carriers, I just never used an ergo that much. But she wants to get me a new one. Why? if it's new and I actually like an other kind better, we'd both lose money for nothing!
It's not even about the money. It's just I don't get why go into complications when it could be an easy situation: she doesn't like her ergo, I'd like to give it a try= simple.

Oh well.
So of my/our list we have:



and some more 0-6 months outfits onesies and pj (from a yard sale).

This gorgeous bed was a wonderful surprise gift from a family member. It is beyond what I would have ever gotten in a shop. We are very lucky!
Our british friends GAVE us a mattress that fits in perfectly and we bought bedding for it in Ikea yesterday (just sheets as babies are supposed to sleep without blankets or something)

I am happy about the music box, it's really cute, but I didn't plan on getting one at all. It was a gift-hand-me-down from the family.

The baptism gown I am also thrilled about. It looks brand new but a great uncle was baptized in it, and my mom, and me and ... It's been around for 80 years at least!

The cross is my purchase.. I got it in Nantes a few weeks ago. I just thought I'd like to have something like this for a kid's room.


So we have some more things to get, and only 8 weeks! :)
I can't quite say that we have the essentials yet. But I am glad we are not overflooded with stuff too much. Yet.

An other domain where I feel out of control is food. I make menus for the week, and plan around so we don't need to go buy more. But we always get more. I guess it's just part of the lifestyle, there is always a farmer's market on the way and we get "just this" or that. Or we decide to go on a picnic last minute, and we'd like to have people taste an american recipe, so we need some ingredients etc etc..

Not complaining, it's working just fine so far. But I like to make lists and organize and have plans, it feels safe and as I don't earn money, not spending it is my only way to have some control over it. So when the lists keep getting messed up I get a bit anxious because I feel like I failed if we spent twice as much money as my list said we needed.. Because I know we would have been just fine with a left over salad or with a second hand stroller.