WigFam Update

Above are some pictures of the last couple of weeks. About the bags...I'd like to give credit to Sarah at Hip to Piece Squares* for the instructions on how to make the three simpler bags shown together in the slide show. The Jonas Brother's logo was found online, reversed and printed onto iron-on transfer paper, then ironed onto material. The orange bag was made from a diplomatic pouch my dad found in the trash at an American base in England. The green one is my own concoction that I'm constantly tweaking. It was originally inspired by a brown paper bag from our grocery store. These bags represent two firsts for me: liners and interfacing! I'm such a big girl now!

*Scroll down to her 3-26-08 post, "How to make a bag," I couldn't link to the post. Sorry!

Below is a short video of MY new exciting thing. Almost EVERY day we spend about an hour sitting on the computer playing on one of Z's three favorite websites: Starfall, FisherPrice, and Julia's Rainbow Corner*. There are some interactive games on the second which allows him to use any key on the keyboard to play, but the rest require the ability to click the mouse. He can move the mouse where it needs to go, but he couldn't click the mouse...at least not the right button. Two days ago, I taught him which button he needs to push to make things work and he got it. First, he moved the mouse with his right hand and clicked with the left, then he used his right thumb and today he's using his right index finger! No one knows what freedom this brings Mommy and Daddy. Now when we hear that dreaded request, "C's!" we just pull up the website and say, "You do it." Bad parenting? I call it individuating. Encouraging independence. Those that know us well know we're a bit doting usually, so a little freedom for us is rare.

*We go to this website out of desperation for something new. It's NOT the best site, but it has a couple of games Z likes. I'd love ideas for other educational kid's sites if you know of any others!



Our baby girl gets the hiccups about 2-3 times a day these days. It's super fun, I love almost every minute of this experience. I've been feeling great. Just four weeks from today I'm due! We know there's lots of people out there wondering what we'll name her and we want to share with you when we know, but preferably not over the world wide web. So...if you're interested, send me your snail mail address and you'll either get a real live announcement in your mail or an e-mail one if we get lots of requests. Otherwise, you'll see the pseudonym on here. My e-mail is beccawigton [at] tusco [dot] net. Thanks for wanting to know!!!

Virtual Make-over!

Ladies, try this!

I'd share the picture I created of myself if I could, but I can't figure out how. It's too fun, and it's free. By the way, I used a picture of myself with someone else in it and still got it to work just fine.

Steps, Before and After Pics

These are the wobbly steps to the entrance we primarily use, at least the way they were for as long as we've lived here (8 years). I struggled with how to get the door open with a baby or groceries in my arms with no where to set stuff and had this dream of a landing...

....turns out my brother-in-law is a carpenter and my
husband is very handy (that's an understatement)...

...I drew this on paper and they made it a reality! How sweet is that? The wooden box is to set stuff on and store things in. The top of the rail is nice and wide to set things on too.

I expected it to be more functional than the other steps, but I didn't expect it to add so much to the aesthetic value of the house. I feel very spoiled to have such a luxurious entrance to our home. We've been sitting on them a lot, eating meals out there and everything because we like our new steps so much! Thank you to Andy, Missy and their three kids for spending the weekend with us and making this dream a reality!

Where to Buy Underwear Right Now

Just had to pass this on. We went to the mall yesterday in search of underwear. We checked WalMart (previously), Kohls, Sears, JCPenney's, and Elder-Beerman's. I figured with all that research I should share with someone that Sears won hands down. They had Hanes* 3 packs for $5 in the men's section and little boy tightie whities in three packs, two for $10. They also had character undies for $5.60 for a three pack which is way better than Kohls' buy one pack at $8 get one half price AND it's better than Wal-Mart's regular price of $6.24.

Is Z out of diapers, no. But, we're planning to potty train soon and I've got to have the underroos to be prepared. Not sure how long Sear's 30% off deal is going for the character undies, but the 2 for $10 on non-character ones seemed to be a regular deal they carry. We don't have a Target in our area, so I don't know if they have them cheaper. Do share if you have insider info on this!

Pictures forth coming of our new steps. I left my USB cord in Mansfield over the weekend and can't upload my pics right now. We had a lovely time with Andy, Missy, Jenna, Ally and Owen. Details and photos coming soon.

I'm nesting like it's nobody's business! I've got 18 tubs of home-made applesauce in the deep freezer we bought. Made that with Gramma H a few weeks ago. I also have some zucchini bread in there and seven strombolis. I'm planning to make freezer jam, several batches of pizza dough and Monday we're mass producing soft tacos for the freezer. Since I'm sharing, here's the rest of my "Do before Baby comes" list:

• Potty train Z
• Get baby gear out of basement and clean it/replace batteries
• Fill in new baby book as much as possible (just got this today from my parents)
  
• Make two dog coats per dog (our hairless pups need new ones for this winter)
  
• Make Christmas gifts for those getting home-made Christmas gifts
• Make Birthday presents ahead of time for next several months
  
• Pack bag for hospital

I've already organized the giant pile of photos that needed organizing. I had wanted to freeze corn too, but Ben helped me get real and decide against it this year. I've never frozen corn before, I can start next year. I wish I could share what I'm making for Christmas gifts, but it's TOP SECRET. I'm not sure how I'm going to conceal it from my mom when she comes to stay with us, but I'm going to try.

More coming as soon....

*see previous "Money for Nothin'" on Hanes products for even more savings.

Book Contest

Win a copy of Mary E. DeMuth's "Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture: Practical Help for Shaping Your Children's Hearts, Minds, and Souls" from Tekeme.

Leave a comment after this post and you will be entered to win a copy of this book.

So many exciting things to look forward to...

I can't wait to meet our baby girl. :-)

After posting so many times last week, it feels like forever since I posted now! Funny how that is. We have a big weekend coming up, Ben's brother Andy, his wife and three kids are all coming. Andy and Ben will be building us new stairs to replace the wobbly old cement ones while Missy and I play with the kids, go to the park, and have fun. I'm very excited about this weekend. I really love having things to look forward to.

I had so many good pictures (Ben took most of them) that I couldn't pick between them. So, you get a whole slide show! The nice thing about it is you can skip it all together if you want. If you came to my house you'd feel much more pressure to watch and appear interested. This way, you can scowl, make snide comments, knock yourself out! Don't you love technology?




Correction!!!
Finally, I had a correction to one of last week's posts. I'd like to preface it with a little story about my late Great Aunt Eileen (Grandma J's older sis). Aunt Eileen used to use some of those old phrases I love so much and she used to say, "Land o'Goshen!" somewhat frequently and I once asked her, "Why do you say "Atlantic Oceans! Is it a historical reference?" She laughed at me so hard she cried. So, to make fun of myself I made her a magnet for her fridge that said "Atlantic Oceans!" with some waves and a fish on it. That thing was still on her fridge last time I was at her house in 1998.

Flash forward to August 2008, perhaps I'm a little pregnant, perhaps I just can't remember things anyways, I quote the old phrase on my blog as "Land Negotions!" My dad, very lovingly, sends me an e-mail (private, mind you, to avoid embarrassing me) that says he believes the old saying is, "Land o'Goshen" and he sites a website I can check this with. So, maybe that's why I don't use old phrases too often in my conversations. I have a tendency to misremember them. I mix up my analogies too. Thanks to Dad for the loving correction!

Did I mention I'm just a little excited about meeting our baby girl!??! I'm way excited. It seems most everyone I know that is pregnant is having the opposite sex baby than their last child (at least seven people!). Very interesting phenomenon. We don't have a name for her yet. Do vote on the new names I listed last week on our name list, your input is helpful, really. I have a feeling we won't decide anything before meeting her, then, as it did with Z, there will be a name that just fits her.

Friday Finale

Becca's Favorite ThingsHere's another one of Becca's Favorite Things! I've been using Auromere Toothpaste for about seven years now. It has no flouride, it's primary ingredient is chalk, it has neem, peelu and tea tree oil in it as well as a plethora of other wonderful herbs. My dental hygienist has been impressed with the results. I buy it from the local health food store and personally prefer "Fresh Mint" to the "Licorice" and "Mint Free" flavors. I've told y'all in the past that I am intrigued with the ancient Indian medical science, "Ayurveda". This toothpaste gets their stamp of approval which tells me it's got to be good for you. I also like that I can let my son use it, if need be, and not worry if he ingests it. Normally he uses fun flavored natural toothpaste.

The tongue cleaner seen in the picture became part of my life around the same time as the toothpaste. I truly don't feel as though I've finished brushing my teeth until I've scraped my tongue. You can just use a big spoon if you want, but this tool seems to do the job the best. I bought it at BanyanBotanicals.com. For those familiar with Reflexology, the tongue (like the foot and hand and ear) is a map of the rest of the body and by scraping off the toxins on your tongue, you're detoxing your whole body. I believe this has helped me avoid sickness at times, reduces bad breath and just makes my mouth a happier place.

Bonus!
Money For Nothin'
Two fun little ideas for you to consider:
1. SwapaDVD and PaperbackSwap: Found these on MoneySavingMom.com (which you should totally check out and be wowed like me). They are on-line borrowing systems for DVDs and books. It's cheap (under $2 per DVD) and easy (you actually print out the mailers and tape them). I'm a little worried about my Veggie Tales getting scratched up by the little kids I know will watch them, and am leaning toward trying the paperback swap instead.

2. Check your local grocery store's websites for weekly ads and coupons. My personal favorite is Giant Eagle's web coupons. You register once with the site, so it has your Giant Eagle card number, then, you browse through their web coupons, click which ones you want and they are directly applied to your Giant Eagle card. You don't even have to print them out. You might consider writing them down though, the only reminder you get is on-line. I saved $1 on butter this way and $1 on any House of Tsang product (great General Tseos and Sweet and Sour Sauce). The next few times I checked I didn't see many coupons that I needed. - - - - If you are into CVS, Walgreens or Rite-Aid shopping, check out MoneySavingMom.com as she regularly posts the best deals at each of those on her site among random freebies she hears about and general money saving tips.

Hope you've enjoyed four posts in one week! Click on "See older posts" at the bottom to see Tuesday's post. I don't think I'll be doing this many on a regular basis, once a week works for me.

Thursday Fun

Modern Day Mayberry

Last Saturday night we were on our way to a friend's house to chop wood and have dinner together when we passed this gun store:

This is what the marquee said on one side....

...and on the other.

I believe that says it all, folks.

Wednesday Fun

Modern Day Mayberry

I kept seeing this sign outside one of the nearby strip malls that I pass on the way to WalMart. The more I saw it, the more I questioned, "What is Alpine JL? What is Clarion JBL? Are they foods?" Then I got chuckling because, I wasn't sure whose sign it was to begin with, or what the two things were that they were advertising, but I did know that they have no tacos. I'm assuming it's some Curves lingo. We'll see, I'm about to call and find out...

....[several hours later] I'm back! I called Curves asking if it was their sign and the nice lady there informed me that it was, in fact, NOT their sign, it was the "stereo shop's" sign which I'm assuming is D.J.'s Custom Car Tunes. I told her I was baffled by the "No Tacos" part of the sign. She informed she was too and actually went over to the shop and asked them what the sign meant. They told her that the "Alpine JL" and "Clarion JBL" were both stereos. The tacos? Well, they explained that the other stereo shop on the other side of town sells tacos and they don't. Why the other stereo shop sells tacos, I don't know! But, finally, I have peace. The mysterious sign that was keeping me up at night (not in the least) is finally clear and understood. Whew! I feel better!

I got tagged.

Thanks to Trish, my friend and former Resident Assistant in college.
The rules are as follows:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Unspectacular Quirk #1
*I am super bothered when there are no hand towels in a bathroom when I go at some one's house. Really irks me. Do they think I'm going to use their musty bath towel that they dried their naked bodies off with? So, I usually walk back out to the gathering shaking the water off my hands with a look on my face that says, "It's no bother, I'll just shake them!" It's about as passive aggressive as I get...I think...

Unspectacular Quirk #2
*I ALWAYS use the first stall when in a public restroom (unless it's taken, then I NEVER use the second stall unless there's only two). I heard someone did a study and people use the very first stall the least and the second stall the most. I sure hope that my sharing this doesn't compromise the cleanliness of my beloved first stall.

Unspectacular Quirk #3
*I use regular salt when I bake. I use sea salt when I cook. No exceptions!

Unspectacular Quirk #4
*I have a penchant for old phrases that people of my grandparent's generation like to use. I collect them secretly. For instance, "Land Negotions!" and "Gosh Ned!" I haven't incorporated their use into my daily conversations but I want to.

Unspectacular Quirk #5
*I am quite lactose intolerant normally and have an eczema problem on my scalp, but am free of both when I'm pregnant! Weird, huh?

Unspectacular Quirk #6
*I have a perforated ear drum. This means there's a hole in it. I can hear air go through my left ear if I try to pop my ears. I also used to taste ear drops the doctors made me use in my ears. I've learned to take showers without getting water in my ear. I can't swim very well because it's been this way since I was two (got tubes and the one never healed). It doesn't affect my hearing unless there's background noise...then I'm about deaf.

I almost didn't tag anyone because, well, because. Then, I decided, these people I tag don't actually have to do it! So, I'll list six people as I was instructed and they can do what they want!

I'm going to try to tag people that haven't posted to their blogs in a while as they must need something to blog about: Peggy (last posted 1/21/08), Molly (last posted 5/31/08), Lisa (last posted 4/15/08), Igglis (last posted 1/26/08), Kim (last posted 4/14/08), and finally my best bud, Chrisie, who last posted on 7/22/08, which isn't so bad, I just happen to know you need some bloggy inspiration. Do what you want, love you all!

Tuesday Fun

Hi there! I have lots of fun stuff to share. I have three Modern Day Mayberry's ready to go and have decided to spread them out over the next three days. Just to keep you coming back! So, one a day Tues, Wed and Thursday. Friday I'll be sharing one of Becca's Favorite Things.

Before I forget, yesterday I deleted three names from our Baby Name List (see button on side bar) and added three new ones that we like. Since the names on the list are arranged according to the voter's favorites (favorites at the top), I deleted the top name (Meredith), the bottom name (Flora) and one from the middle (Elsa). We're pretty certain we won't be using any of those anyways. I added the new three at the bottom, feel free to vote on just those if you've already voted. If your computer won't let you, I'm sorry! Sometimes that site keeps you from voting twice, but you can leave me a comment or e-mail me!

As promised, here's Modern Day Mayberry for today...
Anybody heard of Fried Pizza? I sure hadn't. I kind of imagined that they dumped the whole pizza in a vat of hot oil and slopped it onto your plate. Just because it's my job, I called our local airport restaurant (not affiliated with the airport really, it's just next to it), "Perfect Landing" and asked, "What is fried pizza?" They said they deep fry the crust in olive oil, then cover it with the toppings, then bake it. She said it's really good. It sounds good, if you don't mind dying prematurely. Another fun local thing is dipping your pizza in Ranch Dressing. I actually tried this and liked it. Perhaps this isn't unique to our town, or even central Ohio. Do share if you'd heard of either of these practices before! Needless to say, I doubt you see much of either one in Oregon or Washington State (that's where lots of my earthy, organic, granola friends live). See ya tomorrow, unless I eat too much fried pizza, tomorrow is Wednesday afterall...