Thursday, November 20, 2008

WigUpdates

Hi there! New pictures have been posted in the side bar. I omitted a cute naked picture of Z, he'll thank me someday. Speaking of the Z-man. About a three months ago we were visiting Daddy at work and he overheard someone call him, "Ben," which led to a good week of calling Daddy "Ben". We thought that was behind us when we noticed him calling Daddy "Bubby" last week. That's my pet name for Daddy! I over heard the following last week from another room:

Daddy: "My name is Daddy, so you call me Daddy, Okay?"

Z: "Okay, Bubby!"

More recently I noticed MY name had been replaced. I thought perhaps it was a one time thing when in the middle of a tense dinner moment (we were all stressed out trying to eat quickly before a church function), I give Z his juice and he says, "Thanks, Honey!". Thank goodness for comical moments that bring us out of our grumpiness. I'm trying really hard to only call Ben, "Daddy" when Z's around. It's almost subconscious though! Poor little guy sprained his ankle last night chasing Daddy. He hasn't walked on it all day, crawls around instead.

Updates on things I've talked about with y'all on WigLife:
Update on Juju: I'm still on a dairy free diet, it's been a week and a half. I'm sticking with it for another week and a half before I decide whether it's working or not. So far, there's been no change in Juju's breathing at night. The Ear, Nose and Throat doc said that she's just got dry nasal passages. Though it sounds like she's congested, she's essentially snoring when she inhales and exhales. It's really sad to listen to like one of those snuffly pug nosed doggies. We're to use saline drops up her nose 5 times a day. Anways, we'll keep you posted.

Update on the budget: I'm sold on keeping a budget for our family expenses. Though it's a bit of extra work, it's crucial to keeping organized and sticking to goals. When I was greatly pregnant I went on strike one paycheck and didn't do a budget, we not only didn't make a payment on Ben's school loan that paycheck but we overspent and couldn't the next paycheck either. It seems we paid it down really fast at first (partially thanks to our tax returns) and now it's going super slowly. It's discouraging, especially when we've barely scratched the surface of my school loan, but we'll get there and the budget will only help that goal.

E-Mealz: I did not end up doing that e-mealz program that I thought I might. I've been making my own meal plan and sticking to it, which has been a huge money saver.

FlyLady: I haven't been reading these e-mails since Juju was born, HOWEVER, I did read them and other articles on her website before she was born and I learned a lot about how to incorporate regular cleaning into your schedule. I haven't figured out how to have two kids and do most of them, but I still run the dish washer at night and empty it in the morning which she suggested.

Earth Shoes: I wore my fancy sandals all Summer long and after the first week I no longer felt like I was going to fall backwards. A yoga instructor invented their Kalso negative gravity heels which I really really like. I think the BEST place to buy these is on e-bay though as my friend has bought several pairs for under $20, which is better than the deal I got at Shoebuy.com.

Recycling: I wish I could keep up my nifty plan of recycling all my junk mail, but I'm afraid that was a wonderful symptom of my nesting during pregnancy. I used the envelopes up till a couple weeks ago for keeping grocery and gas budgets on the outside, with receipts on the inside. Now, I realize, I'm not sure why I was keeping those receipts anyways. So, I just keep their running totals on the opposite page in my budget notebook.

TV: I'm being real with you guys here, OK? We waited until last season's "The Office" was over before we cut off our cable for all our noble reasons. I wish in some ways we'd waited until the Olympics and the Presidential election were over too, but in other ways I don't. So, we've missed a TON of American culture and I feel myself becoming more and more disconnected with things.
Like, for instance, I haven't heard of any of the movies listed on the marquee at our mall. I heard enough presidential campaign coverage on the radio. I figured out all by myself that cardigans that button up at the top only are in style right now. Ooh, and puffy vests. Lots of trendy people wear those now. It almost makes me less inclined to follow suit, even if I like the style. But, I guess I was kind of like that before we cut the cable. I learn about new cereals when I get to the grocery store. We learn about breaking news when my Grandma calls me. In a few years I suspect we'll be completely foreign to the culture we're living in.

I like it though, if "Daddy" lets me, I'm rearranging the furniture in my living room so the comfy stuff doesn't center around the TV, but rather is more conducive to discussions and relaxing. Z still watches Thomas the Tank Engine excessively, the TV isn't going anywhere soon, but I like not feeling enslaved by it. Y'know?

5 comments:

Elizabeth Wickland said...

We haven't had cable since we got married and we get by just fine with the 4 channels we get.

But then, I'm pretty sure I never know what's in fashion or what the greatest home improvement trends are.

You'll adjust, and your children will survive on PBS. =D

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you updating. :)

I really don't like the tv, and would gladly get rid of it. I am the only one in the house that feels that way. ;)

My daughter went through a faze when she was about two, when she called me "honey" all the time. It was sweet, and I sort of miss it. :) She has taken to calling her dad "JP" occasionally, since she overheard some of his coworkers calling him that, and she finds it utterly amusing.

I'm glad you are having such success with the budgeting! Go Becca!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Becca,
We have been off and on with having a tv and not having one, having cable and not having it. When we first got married, we had cable, and watched TV all the time. I mean, we hadn't watched tv in years, because niether of us had one at school. then, we felt enslaved by it, so got rid of the tv altogether. Then we moved to the country, and felt we could handle just the 4 channels, and really I didn't even miss cable, since we'd, again, not watched tv for a couple of years. Now, we're back in town, and we have cable, but we hardly watch it at all! I like to find CSI:NY reruns at night, but other than that, it's hardly ever on. Anyway, all this to say, I think you're doing a great job listening to your gut, and I think you'll look just as beautiful as ever, even without the tv's fashion help! Plus, you're saving money, so yay for the budget! I love/hate budgeting! I love it, because it keeps me informed. I hate it because it is such a constant discipline. But, it works, and it's exciting!
Juju is so gorgeous, I think her smile looks like you.
sorry for the inappropriately long comment! I should've emailed!

Kristin L. said...

Too funny, I just checked bloglines and there you were. I was on my way to facebook to message you, just to check up on you all. :) I'm glad everyone is doing great!

Connor calls my dad Boo because that's what my mom calls him. I love stories like that. Kids are precious.

We don't really do TV here. I find when Connor watches TV, I am not thrilled with his behavior. So, on the weekends he can watch a movie or two and during the week he might (rarely) be allowed to watch something on PBS Kids after school. I haven't turned it on for myself in forever, except to watch the Red Sox. :) I'm still having baseball withdrawals...

Anonymous said...

Interesting post.! Well, I got my first pair of Earth shoes from Shoes.com.