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Vision Forum clearance and drawing

Every year in preparation for all the new items in the new catalog, Vision Forum clears out discontinued items. The Vision Forum clearance sale has begun – check it out!

The new catalog has a ton of exciting new items so you’ll see a lot of wonderful goods on clearance this year, including:

• all the magnet sets
• Grandmother’s Hope Chest collection
• both CDs by the Von Trapp children (vol. 1 is one of our very favorites!)
• The Official Book of Homeschooling Cartoons
• 2 sweet little Lamplighters that the girls were sorry to leave the catalog: Me and Nobbles, and Stranger at Home.
• the gyroscopes
• and a whole lot more!

Important:
The new Vision Forum catalog is shipping now, even as we speak. Be sure to get on the mailing list, because I’m going to host another big drawing this year with many hundreds of dollars in prizes and you will need a new catalog to participate!

Poll: who thinks I’m pregnant?

THE CASE FOR PREGNANCY:

• I am 17 days late.
• I’ve been slightly queasy for 3 days. I always get morning sickness, usually even before I realize I’m late.
• I have always been pregnant before the baby reaches The Boy’s age. This is already our longest gap.
• I have been eating like a pig like a horse like a cow more than usual.
• I have been noticeably more tired than usual.
• In the past, my suspicions have nearly always been accurate.

THE CASE AGAINST PREGNANCY:

• I haven’t been regular since The Boy was born.
• I failed a pregnancy test when I was 7 days late (10 days ago).
• Most of my children are sick, so it’s entirely possible that my queasiness means I caught their bug.
• I stayed up later than usual several nights last week, which would easily explain my tiredness.
• I have failed at least 7 pregnancy tests in a row.

Leave your vote in the comments.

It’s Monday.

updated to add: Don’t forget to bid on our Liberty Doll. The “auction” ends today – just leave your bid in the comments on the original post here: Liberty Doll for sale. She is currently at $40 with free shipping.

It’s Monday, but I won’t tell you how bad my house looks and how many of my children are vomiting and/or feverish, and my suspicion that I am sick too (but my secret hope that I might be pregnant instead, though I can’t find out yet because I used every single one of my stockpiled pregnancy tests over the last two weeks).

Instead of whining about all that, I’ll just tell you what happened to me last week.
I was sitting at the table, happily typing away on the laptop when I felt The Boy playing with my toes. I giggled and pretended to kick and struggle, squealing, “My toes! Help, he’s getting my toes!”
He chuckled maliciously and tickled me even more. The game continued until one of the girls looked under the table and cleared her throat nervously.
“Umm…Mom? He has a marker.”
I looked down and here’s what I saw:

Google maps

For a fun twist on geography, go to Google Maps and type in pyramids. Make sure you are looking at the satellite or hybrid version, not just a map. You’ll see the choices at the top right part of the map.
The detail is amazing, and has improved since the last time we looked. We can now see the old dead Suburban parked below our house.
We just spent over an hour looking at our own house and friends’ houses, the swimming hole, hubby’s place of employment, our church (the shot was taken the day we parked next to the other family with a white 15 passenger van), WalMart, the pyramids and Sphinx, the Nile delta (it really is a triangle of green), Beijing and Tokyo (the houses were packed tightly w/no yards at all), the Eiffel Tower, Ireland, the Bible lands, Madagascar, Honolulu, Hawaiian volcanos…you get the idea. The exclamations and squeals abounded.
You could just type in each destination, but it’s even more fun to zoom out as necessary and navigate your way from one place to another. I think the girls had even more fun when I let them have a turn.
This strikes me as a wonderful way to make geography “real” while improving map-reading skills and a host of other skills at the same time.

More incredible destinations:
Cathedral at Notre Dame – check out the cross visible from above
Stonehenge
Hoover Dam
Panama Canal
Beth’s family enjoyed looking at Disney World
Add yours in the comments!

Liberty Doll for auction HERE

update: Alaskamommy is the winner. Congratulations!
Since you don’t have a blog or email attached to your profile, please email me your shipping address (call her blest at gmail dot com).

My daughter Kittykait is selling a Liberty Doll. She had intended to list the doll on Ebay but she thought it might be fun to auction her here instead.

The Liberty Doll has hand rooted hair can be brushed and styled like real hair. You can even use a curling iron on her! She has a cloth torso, and her arms can move up and down. She can stand on her own, her eyes are brown and open and close when she lies down.

If you have American Girl Dolls, they are the same size and can share clothes.

This doll has been very gently used and looks brand new. She has been an obedient little girl and kept her hair net on so that her hair stays neat and clean. She wanted to do some work while she was with us, but we told her she might get her dress dirty and then she wouldn’t look new.
After that she was content to rest quietly in her box. She will travel to her new home in her original box.

The bidding opens at $40, including FREE shipping. The winner can pay by check, money order or Paypal, and Kittykait will ship the doll as soon as she receives payment.

To place a bid, just leave the amount in the comments. Bidding will close on Monday, October 15 at 11:59 PM, CST. Please make sure we can contact you!
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Incidentally, if you have a doll from Vision Forum that is in need of repair, Wee Maidens does most repairs for $30. This includes return shipping. This business is run by 2 young ladies who were personally trained by a representative of the German manufacturer.
They also design, make and sell a wide variety of beautiful clothes for these dolls, ranging from historical costumes to cute and modest modern styles.
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P.S. We also have an ebay auction that might be of interest to readers.
I am selling a Kelty Kids baby carrier, like new. The Kelty is well-designed with lots of storage and other features. One very nice option: the baby can face toward mama or outward – this is the only thing I miss in my Ergo. The bidding starts at $24.99 with free shipping included. You can see the auction here:
Kelty Kids Kangaroo cobalt infant carrier FREE SHIP!

Can’t wait for frugal friday!

I just posted on Frugal Hacks about 2 very different deals, each fabulously frugal and exciting in its own way.
One could easily be tied to chocolate, and the other has to do with books. See why it’s so hard to choose a favorite?

Chocolate is my friend

My friend Jennifer sent me a reaffirmation that dark chocolate is indeed health food. Now I found this in the latest CBD newsletter. I just might have to get one of these in her honor:
I could toast Jennifer each time I down a cup of cocoa mocha (that’s what we call cocoa made with black coffee instead of water). OK, so the chick on the mug is a little googly-eyed, but so am I on occasion, especially when I’m downing big hunk of dark chocolate.
The mugs are $4.99 for one, $3.99 each for 3 or more. I can think of 3 chocolate lovers. No, I’m not thinking of Me, Myself and I. Well, even if I am, I can think of more chocolate lovers. I think the $4.99 tote is pretty cute too, though I’m not sure I would actually use it. Maybe I could just use it to tote my chocolate stash.

Praise aerobics

Amy shared a hil-air-ious praise aerobics video recently. While we were all gathered ’round the warm glow of the monitor laughing ourselves silly (we do that a lot), somebody has the brilliant idea to set The Boy up on the table where he could see better. Somebody else had the brilliant idea to grab the camera.
Here’s what happened.

Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Share Photos – Free Video Hosting

Too good to keep to myself

We finished most of the big switcharoo last night: moved beds, dressers and hanging clothes from one bedroom to another. It was a big job (esp. on a Monday and grocery day) and there are still many small details to finish, like the mountain of clean laundry that accumulated on the couch while we worked, and the mountain of dirty laundry that pulled the same trick in the kitchen.
The children will still be shuffled a bit between their two rooms, but since they have matching dressers and bunkbeds, those switches should be very easy: “Hey you! Grab your drawer, your pillow, and your hanging clothes and go to your new room.”
There was no sign of our errant tarantula, though Kait did feel a suspicious lump under the carpet.
Last night hubby and I spent our first night in a bedroom with a ceiling (long story) and it was lovely. I slept well and got right to work on finishing the job.
Wait. No, I didn’t. I stayed up too late, read my Bible through bleary eyes and planted myself in front of the computer.
And here I sit.
Like a fool, I’m cleaning out my links instead of facing the real and looming mess about me.
These links have been languishing in my bloglines folder for far too long, much like the pile of clothes to be mended, which is hidden in my closet.
It’s high time to get the stuff out into plain sight. Maybe I’ll drape the mending over my rocking chair where it can mock me publicly until I take care of it. After we clean up some other messes, of course, beginning with my bloglines folder.

• Pastor McDonald has some good thoughts on unity. I especially appreciate the joke that opens his post. It’s so easy to find yourself on either side of that picture at one time or another. The closing line has become a laughing catchphrase among the children and I for when we’re being too nit-picky or divisive.
• His wife, Stacy McDonald is giving a sneak peek to the book that she and Jennie Chancey are collaborating upon, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. update: the book is finished and will be available for sale in 2-3 weeks. Crystal is hosting a giveaway of 10 copies!
• Also from Stacy:
  Later this month, I will be interviewing the Botkin sisters; and in a way, so will you! Starting today, I’m inviting my readers to send in their questions regarding the Botkins’ book, So Much More. In addition, if you have questions regarding the everyday lives or beliefs of Anna Sofia or Elizabeth, this is your time to ask them!

  All questions should be sent to me at Botkin Interview Questions by October 23rd. Please note, questions will be compiled, integrated, and edited as needed for space and brevity. Please keep your questions direct, brief, and gracious. Questions will not be accepted during or after the interview. Please send your questions on or before the aforementioned date.
• While we’re talking about the Botkins, the film is finished and sneak previews are happening around the country. It looks like I’ll have to wait for the official premier at the SAICFF, but I can live with that. I’m sure it’s worth the wait!
• Cindy at Dominion Family is on a rant. First she rants about billboards, then breasts.
• I have long admired the writings of Nancy Wilson. I was delighted to discover that she has a blog. Here is my first bookmarked post from her blog, one that I sorely need: Checkpoints for the Tongue.