Christmas Card Out-Takes

Since I have a few Shutterfly coupon codes, I decided to hurry up and use them to order our Christmas cards for this year. That, and it takes me like a month to get them stamped, addressed and sent out, so better to get an early start.

I booked a family photo shoot with a photographer here on the island, but unfortunately, she's booked until mid-December, which wouldn't leave me with enough time to get the cards ordered and then sent out. Remember, it takes me a while to get the ball rolling. So, I took matters into my own hands and attempted to get some Christmas card-worth shots of the girls. It was a challenge, but I finally managed to get one photo of the girls to use on our card.

Here are the some of the many that didn't make the cut. As per the usual, Adri is being a clown.

Do you send out photo cards for the holidays?

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A Special Holiday Touch

I was provided with a complimentary Hickory Farms product in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

I think it was rather obvious that I was not in the best of moods around Christmas time. Things with our move were not going as planned, and it turned out that our household goods were not going to make it in time for me to decorate the house for the holidays. Instead of focusing on the fact that my family would be celebrating Christmas in Hawaii for the first time, I was lamenting the fact that we had bare walls.

Against my better judgement, we had our friends from Missouri over on Christmas Eve for dinner. Hubs and I love entertaining, but without all of our cool kitchen gadgets, it felt less like entertaining, and something closer to a cafeteria meal. Is that bad? Hehe. I made a frozen lasagna with some frozen garlic bread on the side. Nothing overly fancy for dinner here. I do have to say that Hickory Farms saved us when it came to some pre-meal snacks.

I received the Home for the Holidays Gift Box from Hickory Farms. As cheesy as it sounds, the box actually made our little get together feel like home. Since Hubster was deployed Christmas 2012, I was really looking forward to going all out with Christmas 2013. Without any of our household goods, it simply didn't feel like our celebration had that special touch. The fancy package with it's gourmet sausages and cheese were exactly what we would have had to offer if we had our home all put together. It was the one part of the evening that felt most like home.

Had Hubster been deployed for this last Christmas, Hickory Farms would have had me covered as well. On their website, Hickory Farms has a page that offers gift packages for the military that ship free to APO/FPO addresses. The amazing box that I received being one of them. Inside of the box there were seven different cheeses (the farmhouse cheddar being my favorite), four deployment-friendly sausages, two boxes of crackers, and two yummy spreads. All of which were in perfect condition even after sitting in the Hawaii heat.

I was extremely happy with everything about this wonderful gift box. It'd be perfect for any celebration whether it be for a service member or civilian, and it is something that I will keep in mind as a future gift option.

Have you tried a Hickory Farms product? Is this something you'd send to your deployed service member?

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Christmas Tag!

This year, I was tagged by one of my blog BFFs, Lanaya of Raising Reagan, for a fun little game of Christmas tag. Lanaya tagged ten friends and asked ten questions. After I answer these questions, I'm going to tag ten of my friends two answer the same questions.

1.       What do you love the most about Christmas time?
There really isn't one specific thing that I like best. I love all of the decorations everywhere. I love how excited the girls get when they see Santa or animals that are dressed up. I love that everyone seems to be in a jolly and more giving mood.
2.       Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is Bah-Humbug for you? 
The jury is still out on this one. Last year I was SO excited to decorate and make everything perfect, because I thought Hubby was going to be home from Afghanistan for Christmas. This year, since we still don't have a home, I'm kinda blah about it. If we managed to get into the house and get our household goods before Christmas, I'd probably go all out unpacking that stuff before anything else..
3.       Are you leaving anything out for Santa Claus this year so he remembers to leave your presents?
It really just depends on where we are. I am DYING to make Christmas cookies. It won't be happening in the this hotel. If we can get some baked, Santa will definitely be getting a plate. And I'm going to eat them all myself while the kids are in bed.
4.       What is the one gift you are most looking forward to GIVING? {It can be to your kids, another family member, etc – remember to be discreet if they read your blog!}
I am so so so excited for Hubster's gift. It was something that he kind of mentioned in passing. I found the perfect version on Etsy for his office.
5.       What is your all-time favorite Christmas movie?
Since I was a kid, I've always really like Miracle on 34th Street. The newer one, not the old one. The ending is my favorite part. 
6.       What is your all-time favorite Christmas song?
Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You. I honestly don't even really like Mariah, but I love this song.


7.       If given the opportunity would you participate in an “Ugly Sweater” party and what sweater would you wear?  Peruse one on the internet or even in your own closet and show us!
I would totally do it! I've always wanted to go to one, but have never been a part of the cool group that does it. I don't have an ugly sweater, so I'd have to hit up the thrift shop. No ugly sweater would be complete without the light up earrings and reindeer antlers.

8.       Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward?
As a family, so far the only real tradition is that we drive around on Christmas Eve looking at Christmas lights. Last year, I started making matching pajamas for the four of us, but I don't think I'll have time this year.
9.       It’s Christmas morning … what does it look like outside where you live?
Well, this year, there are lots of palm trees and sunshine. Green grass, green trees and bright flowers. It was very similar around Christmas time in Miami. I've honestly only seen real snow once in my entire life, and that was in March of this year. Prior to that, I had seen flurries maybe three times.
10.   You just found yourself standing under the mistletoe … who comes up to give you a kiss first?
My husband, of course. And knowing him, he'd probably be following me around all day trying to dangle it over me. 

And now for my ten tags. Answer these same questions, tag ten friends of your own, and then come back here and leave the link to your post! Thanks Lanaya!!

Jen - Beebee Belly

Jen - Adventures of Our Army Life

Rachel - The Professional Army Wife

Lisa - Sorority Life to Army Wife

Ashley - Raising our Little Devil Pups

Whitney - Black Little Button

Paulina - Color Me Brave

Jamie - Handling with Grace
Nicole - Adventures of a Semper Fi Family
Miranda - Hurry Up and Wait

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Home for the Holidays

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Just last year, my family was one of the thousands of military families separated during the holiday season. Since it was towards the very end of the deployment, Christmas was especially emotionally tolling. I know better than to get my hopes up when it comes to the Army, but since Christmas fell on the 364th day of deployment, I really, really, really thought there was a chance that Hubster would be home in time to celebrate. After all, word on the street is that they pay you loads of money if deployment lasts over 365 days. Not entirely true.
Celebrating Christmas without my husband around wasn't easy, but it was totally doable. I was lucky to have a great group of close friends whose husbands were also in Afghanistan. Although part of our Christmas Eve and Christmas day was spent sulking, we were determined to make it a fun experience for the kids. For Christmas Eve, I made my typical fancy dinner and invited some of our military family over. We drove around to look at Christmas lights, watched Christmas movies, and drank hot chocolate.
Since I knew that Hubster would be home soon, the girls were only allowed to open one gift on Christmas. They were young enough to not even notice the difference. I have to admit that I cried when I saw Santa fly over Georgia on the tracking app.

Finally, New Years Day came and my love was home! Luckily for the girls, Santa was on the same airplane as Hubster and dropped off all of the presents under the tree while we were picking up Daddy. We went to the welcome home ceremony with our matching Christmas dresses on so that we could start celebrating as soon as we got home. Once we made it home, it felt just like Christmas should. We opened gifts, ate lots of food, and lounged around in pajamas.

Thankfully, this year, we'll all be together as a family. Sadly, there are still many many military families still apart. For Giving Tuesday, Walmart has partnered with Operation Homefront and Fisher House to salute military families nationwide. Walmart’s “Holiday Salute to Military Families” hopes to ease the burden of separation with grants totaling $2 million towards toys, meals, and lodging assistance for military families in need. The donation will also go towards helping hundreds of active duty service members return home to be reunited with their loved ones for the holidays.
If you'd like to help support our heroes and their families, you can do so here: Join in our Holiday Salute to Military Families. You may also spread the word by sharing and tagging a service member that you're grateful for.
Have you had to spend the holidays separated from your spouse or loved ones? What did you do to make it a positive experience?

Wishin' Accomplished

Did everyone have a fabulous weekend?! Aside from still being stuck in this hotel for part of the time, ours was wonderful! I'm so excited that I got all of my Christmas shopping done for the girls without having to set foot in a store.

We spent Thanksgiving in Waikiki at the Hale Koa. During the day, the girls did some swimming, and for dinner they had a nice buffet. We also jumped at the opportunity to spend the night in a different, much nicer hotel. Boy, do I miss that fluffy mattress.

Friday morning, Hubster and I woke up and comfortably browsed the ToysRUs website for gifts for the girls. We got an idea of what we wanted, and then headed down to the pool again. After checking out, we did some shopping around Waikiki and then headed back to our temporary home.

I set a budget of $200 for both girls, and I'm happy to say that we only went over by $25. I'm going to go ahead and blame ToysRUs shipping charges for that. Unfortunately, we learned that those free shipping deals don't apply to Hawaii, plus there was an extra shipping charge. Good thing for my Target REDcard. With it, I got an additional 5% off and actual free shipping.

The weekend brought crappy weather, which led to us staying mostly indoors. Boo. Hubster returns to work today and is taking the car with him, so we'll see if I decided to venture out with the girls in the stroller. I can't wait to finally move into our house and receive our belongings. I'm kinda bummed and jealous that everyone has their decorations out, and it'll still be a little bit until ours are up.

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Don't Take the Leap of Faith

There's this diamond commercial that I've heard a few times recently that just irks me. I don't know if it's just me, or if other moms/wives would agree. Since I can't remember who the commercial is for or what exactly is said, I'm just going to share the version in my head. Hopefully you've already heard it.

This holiday season, you'll ask your wife what she wants for Christmas. She'll tell you that she'd just like for you to watch the kids or make dinner. Now, you can take her word for it, or you can take a leap of faith and buy her this insanely expensive, pretty diamond. Buy her the diamond.

Dear Husband,

No. Please do not take any leaps of faith. I don't need anymore diamonds. I'm scared to wear half the jewelry I already have, because as you know, a vast majority gets broken or goes missing. If you insist on spending ridiculous amounts of money, please purchase items such as kitchen appliances, a deep freezer, crafting materials, or spa certificates. Dinner and a baby sitter would also be nice.

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Anyone else agree? I mean really, the fact that your wife isn't asking for diamonds should be enough to detour you. If I'm asking for mom time for Christmas, isn't that evidence enough that I don't have enough time away from my rascals to wear nice jewelry anyway? Or am I just crazy?

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My Secret Weapon

This evening I discovered a fantastic iPhone app to assist with keeping V under control. Since Hubs isn't here to help out with tantrums, I have enlisted Santa's help instead. I have no idea where she even learned about Santa, because I don't talk about him, but V is deathly afraid to end up on his naughty list. Santa's Magic Phone Call is going to help me finish the year with my sanity and two living children.

The first time I threatened to call, she ended up in tears. Oops. Bad mom. But it worked! If she starts acting up, I just pull the Santa card, and like magic I have a little angel again. At least temporarily.

With this app Santa calls and warns about being put on the naughty list and you're able to choose a variety of reasons why. There are also options for if you have well behaved children. It's cute because it's meant to look like FaceTime, which we do all the time with my parents. V can also call Santa herself and he asks and records what she wants for Christmas. Tonight she called and asked for a "kintar" three times. The best thing about this app though is that it's free! Unlike the Elmo app that I paid for and hardly came with anything, this app has a bunch of fun features.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Right around this time last year the abundance of Christmas decor in stores was almost enough to make me burst into tears. The thought of Christmas really upset me. Christmas meant that within a few days, Hubs would be on an airplane off to Afghanistan for a year. But this year, Christmas means that I get my husband back!

Normally Christmas lights and inflatables on sale before Halloween pisses me off, but not this year! I've been through every aisle of Christmas displays in every store that I've been to. Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, all of them! I am determined to make this holiday season as perfect as possible. I've been trying so hard to keep myself from decorating before Halloween, but it's been SO difficult.

Below are some examples of Pinterest projects that I'm dying to do. I'm excited to try these and maybe come up with cute stuff of my own!

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