How I Got My Name

Mommy and Daddy think one of the earliest challenges faced by parents is picking a name for the new life they have created.  Apparently, choosing one name that will follow this human being throughout infancy, childhood, the teen years, and adulthood can be quite daunting.

They did have it easy when it came to the middle name, though. Elizabeth is Mommy's middle name, and they really wanted to pass that down.

Here are the criteria Mommy and Daddy agreed on for my first name:

Must have a strong meaning.

Be nicknameable.

Contain more than one syllable.

Not send Mommy into a teacher coma by reminding her of any of the behaviorally challenged students she was priveleged to teach.

When Mommy was 5 or 6 months pregnant, the list of possible first names had been narrowed down to:

Hannah was the first to be crossed off the list.  Mommy had a Hannah in her classroom last year, and she didn't want any of her other students/parents to be offended by that name choice.  There was also already a Hannah in Mommy and Daddy's social circle, so it made since to go with one of the other names.

Mommy and Daddy were having a really tough time choosing between Abigail and Katelyn.  They were both asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom to know which name was the right name for the little baby they were about to have. 

  Then, one Sunday morning, our Pastor asked a member of our congregation to share about how God had recently brought her family through an especially difficult time.  Almost exactly one year before I was due, her son and daughter-in-law (who also attend our church) lost the twin babies they were expecting.  When she said the babies were named Ethan and Abigail, Mommy and Daddy looked at each other and whispered, "We can't name her Abigail."  They didn't want their joy to cause this family any more pain.

  So, that's how it was made clear to Mommy and Daddy that I was to be named

And now, they can't imagine their lives without their little Katie Bug.

It really is the perfect name for me!

How We Save Money

Since Mommy has been staying at home with me this year, our family has had to come up with lots of creative ways to save money.  These are the 6 tips at the top of our list:

1.  When shopping at the grocery store, buy the store brand.  Even if you have a coupon for a national/regional brand, the store brand is almost always a better deal.  Occassionally you'll find a store brand product that is truly inferior in taste or quality (toilet paper, for example), but most of the time you won't even notice a difference.

2.  If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are needing baby gear for any other reason, try to purchase big items at the beginning of the year.  That's when many companies debut their new lines, and you can often find last year's model at a great discount. When Mommy was shopping for my convertible carseat this January/February, for example, there were many 2009 models on sale for 30% off.

If you're planning to give this tip a try, you'll probably find that it applies more to online retailers than brick and mortar stores.

3.  Sell your kiddo's gently used, quality brand clothes to a children's resale shop!  Mommy and I like the Kid to Kid franchise.  Most resale shops will give you more for your items if you choose store credit over cash (which we always do).

In case you're wondering, Mommy and I only sell trendy clothes that don't hold sentimental value.  We save the classic and sentimental pieces for the baby sister I may have some day.

4.  Shop children's resale shops for clothes, shoes, toys, and even baby gear.  Some of the cutest clothes I own have come from Kid to Kid.  We always look for BabyGap, Gymboree, and boutique brands first.  Those give us the most bang for our buck.  Last month, we bought a pair of "like new" Pediped boots (for the fall) for $20.  They would have cost $57 if they were brand new.

5.  Don't Go Shopping!

This may be the biggest money saving tip Mommy has learned this year.  If you're really serious about curbing your spending, do not go shopping unless you truly need something. 

Otherwise, your mommy is bound to find the most adorable pair of Robeez shoes for only $14 while the two of you are "just looking" at Marshalls.  And she will feel like she can't afford not to buy them.  So she will.  And then your daddy will remind her that she didn't save money if she didn't intend to spend money.  And he will be right.*

6.  This last tip is offered by Daddy.

Don't put electronics in the washing machine.**

Want more tips?  Head on over to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

*Since I'm sure you're wondering, please believe me when I say that these exact events did not take place in our home this year. 

It was not a pair of Robeez shoes.

**Unfortunately, this event did happen in our home.

Show Us Your Life: Teacher Gifts

Mommy knows a thing or two about teacher gifts. During the 6 years she spent in the classroom, she received her fair share of heartfelt presents. In her opinion, the best gift you can give your child's teacher (or your own teacher) is a letter of thanks. Not just a thank you card with your name signed on the bottom (although those are nice, too), but a real letter. Teachers save these letters to reread when the going gets tough. Promise.

And if you're just itching to include something of material value with that letter, consider one of these.

But whatever you do, don't even think about giving one of these to your child's teacher.

It's just not something that should be found on a teacher's desk.

No, Mommy never received a Grand Assortment like this from a student...but her friend, Kelly sure did!

Show Us Your Life: Organization Tips

This week's Show Us Your Life topic at Kelly's Korner is organization tips. Mommy has been so excited about this topic because she just looooves organizing (not that you could tell my a quick visual sweep of our house)! Here are a few of her favorite tricks.

This cloth organizer came from the Dollor Tree. Mommy put two of these organizers in my closet to corral all of my shoes. They would also work great with socks, tights, bows, or any other baby/toddler supplies with a tendency to run amuck.

Here's another closet organization trick Mommy uses. Anytime one of my outfits is taken off a hanger, the empty hanger goes in a "pile" in the middle of the closet. That group of empty hangers serves as a divider between my 12 month and 18 month clothing, keeps the clothes still on hangers from getting all tangly, and ensures that Mommy never has to hunt for a hanger when it's time to put away the laundry.

Below we have the envelope system Mommy uses to organize receipts from tax deductible purchases. Since implementing this system, she no longer has to look at stacks of recepits waiting to be sorted. She just writes a description of the good or service at the top, then pops into into the appropriate envelope where it will wait until tax return filing time.

This little guy is the official home of Mommy's ribbon collection.

He's actually a pant hanger, but he does a great job of making sure no spool goes unnoticed. The ribbon used to be organized by color, but that made it difficult to get to the particular color Mommy wanted to use. Now Mommy just makes sure the ribbon that is used most frequently goes on the "open" end of each tier.

Mommy was reminded of one more organization trick after reading this SUYL post on cleaning tips: Touch each piece of mail only once. This rule made a huge difference in the amount of clutter in our home! When Mommy and I bring the mail inside, we do all of our opening, sorting, recycling, and filing right then and there. We only make an exception for mail that needs to be shown to or discussed with Daddy.

Thanks for stopping by! Mommy and I can't wait to discover more organizational ideas from Kelly's other readers.

2010 Resolutions

Mommy and I have both compiled a list of resoultions for 2010.

Here are the things I have resolved to accomplish this year:
Learn to walk.
Increase receptive and expressive vocabulary.
Increase animal sound repertoire.
Visit a zoo.
Visit an aquarium.
Attend a wedding. (check) Try cow's milk, eggs, honey, oranges, strawberries, and birthday cake.
Read lots of good books. Visit my great grandparents in Illinois.
Turn one.

Mommy is focusing her resolution on the theme of "discipline".  Many of these resolutions were made because she read this book on teaching spiritual disciplines to children.
Here is her list (she requires more words):Grow in Scripture meditation and memorization by memorizing one verse of Scripture each week, starting with Hebrews 4: 12-16. Mommy is also learning to meditate on Scripture by reading less, but processing more during her daily Bible reading time.

Grow in the discipline of fasting. Mommy really struggles with fasting...in fact, she was secretly pleased that pregnancy and nursing gave her an "out" on this one. Once I'm completely weaned, though, she's going to start fasting one meal each week. She will increase her fasting time throughout the year. We will both be fasting Blogger, Facebook, and thebump.com for the first 3 days of each month.

Grow in the discipline of simplicity. Simplicity is a fairly new concept for Mommy, but she's already found it to be quite liberating (she's been working on it for a few weeks now). Mommy is practicing simplicity in consumption, simplicity in scheduling, and simplicity in her commitments. (She is still debating whether or not my birthday party will fall under the jurisdiction of this new-found discipline.)

Further develop the discipline of study. Study is one of the disciplines Mommy is naturally drawn to, but she has recently been made aware of a crucial aspect of this discipline that she has previously neglected...intentionally looking for God in historical and current events. Mommy is learning to ask herself, "What Biblical truths can be found here?" as she watches the news, reads fiction and nonfiction works, and researches various items of interest.

Eat no more than 2 dessert-type foods each day. Can you believe my Mommy sometimes eats more sweets than that?! She is a sweetaholic, I tell you! She knows that her sugar-laden food intake should be much less than this goal, but she's trying to be realistic.

Be in bed by 11:30.

Whew! It's a good thing Mommy will have the help of the Holy Spirit!