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Decking The Halls

December 3, 2012 By

We’re gearing up for Christmas. This is our first Christmas in our new house, so we are pretty excited! It’s been a rough year, but we are taking every opportunity to celebrate life. I’m trying not to let the fact that Jack has a lumbar puncture and chemo scheduled for Christmas Eve get to me. Blech.

Last year our dog ate our stockings, including the personalized knit one I’ve had since I was a child. To write that wrong, I went to Etsy and found an awesome stocking shop called Forshee Designs and now we all have coordinating stockings with our names on them. They are big and sturdy and gorgeous (and we hung them high – out of Lambert’s reach!).

David and I bought ornaments and Christmas lights at Kmart, since we only had decorations fit for a miniature tree (having lived in apartments for so long). David decked the house with white dangling lights and the windows are lined with blue lights. I put snowflake decals in our front window and we have flickering LED candles in all of the windows. That went a long way to making things feel pretty magical.

Our shopping is nearly done. This weekend I did a blitz on getting stocking stuffers at Pier 1 and Target. I also got some holiday crafts to work on with Jack, including a gingerbread cookie decorating kit. I then hung our Stampin’ Up! advent calendar – filled with chocolate and small toys. I’m not super excited about most of the things we got for Jack this year, but I think the top three would be the Little Thinker CDs (a story is told or question asked on the CD and the kid is supposed to draw along with it), the Creatures Card Game and the animated Ewoks DVD (which he may not like at all!).

To complete our home decor, we just need a tree! We’ve decided we’re getting a real tree this year. I found a Christmas Tree farm in our new town where we can cut our own. I remember doing that as a kid and LOVING it. I can’t wait to take Jack and search for our perfect tree and then take it home and decorate it!

One thing I’m super excited about this year is a DVD we got from Your Santa Story. I went onto the website and input Jack’s info and asked that Santa tell him what a brave and strong kid he is. On Christmas morning a note will appear from Santa to tell Jack about the DVD. Santa will then talk right to him and even tell him where his last present is hidden. I can’t wait to see the look on his face! If you want to give your Christmas a little extra magic this year, go check it out.

I thought I would share the other websites I’ve found helpful in getting ready for Christmas this year for those of you who are dragging your feet! I know it can be hard to get started and it can be stressful to spend all that money. We certainly don’t have a lot to spend this year after buying a house, a car, and paying a bunch of copays so we are watching our spending, but the celebration is important to us so I took extra care to find deals and rebates. Maybe you can benefit from my shopping experience via these websites:

  • Pinterest – This is where I keep track of holiday craft ideas, recipes, and gift ideas. You can follow me there if you’d like (not that I profess to have especially great taste). :)
  • Ebates – You get a percentage back from merchants you buy from when you click through the Ebates site. It’s free money, so you are screwing yourself if you don’t do it – I’ve gotten over $400 back since I joined in 2008! This year I am getting cash back from purchases on Groupon, Amazon, Tanga, The Children’s Place, eBay and Zulily.
  • Etsy – For unique, handmade anything! There are some really good stocking stuffers to be found (like mojito lip balm), personalized stockings (as mentioned above), or that special thing for that quirky friend of yours who likes things like Velveteen Rabbit necklaces or beard beanies.
  • Threadless – For unique artsy or funny shirts. Everyone loves t-shirts, right?
  • Tanga – A great deal site! I particularly like the deals on board games, such as this 3-pack of Dominion for $60 (we love this game!).
  • Nomorerack.com – This site has a bunch of new and amazing deals every day. There’s a flat rate shipping fee of $2 per item. You can get some really fantastic deals!
  • Naked Wines – Usually it’s a losing proposition monetarily to run a small winery. This company helps independent wine makers distribute their wines without the crazy overhead, which means cheaper and more unique wines for customers! If you click my sidebar button over on the right you’ll get $100 toward a $160 purchase – perfect for stocking up for the holidays.

What are YOU excited about this Christmas?

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This post is not a sponsored post and only contains retailers and products that I would personally recommend; however, some of these links are affiliate links for which I may receive compensation.

Filed Under: Gear, Holidays & Events, Photos, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Thanksgiving 2012

November 27, 2012 By

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving – the first one in our new house. I was worried because we just had a few people slated to join us. The Thanksgivings of my childhood were full of family, particularly cousins, but we’ve all grown up and spread out and no longer have a single common place to celebrate. Most of my holidays as an adult have thus far has been spent with Jack’s dad’s family, and I feel that loss more acutely during the holidays. I miss the feeling of being surrounded by gobs of family with tons of little kids running around like nuts.

The day dawned, though, and it was great! I had enlisted Jack’s help in baking the night before – pumpkin pie, cornbread muffins, and pumpkin rice crispy treats – so I started on Christmas cards with my friend Kurstan while enjoying mimosas and folding cootie catchers for Jack (who had enough energy for five kids!). We snacked and drank, then snacked some more when David’s sister Stella came over, and then we all dined on the perfect Thanksgiving feast. I didn’t end up missing being surrounded by bunches of people.

We ended our Thanksgiving by playing Cards Against Humanity and cracking up all over the place. If you are into party games (we LOVE board games in our house) and want a raunchy twist on Apples to Apples, definitely check it out. You can download the cards and print them for free!

I was not among the many, many people who engaged in Black Friday shopping. I did order a few things online, but for the most part took it easy on the shopping. After the expenses we’ve had this year, we are trying not to hemorrhage money this Christmas!

I came away from Thanksgiving feeling so very grateful for what I have – a wonderful marriage, an awesome son who is kicking cancer’s ass, a roof over my head and food to eat. That may or may not sound like a lot, but those things make me a happy girl.

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Jack’s #ShineOn Journal

August 23, 2012 By

GapKids


This post is sponsored by GapKids. Check out all the fun Shine On activities at your nearest Gap store. For event dates and locations, visit Gap’s Facebook page and join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #ShineOn.

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On Sunday Jack and I got up bright and early to drive down to The Gap in Los Gatos. As I mentioned previously, Gap is sponsoring some Back-To-School events using projects designed by craft blogger MerMag. The project of the day was a journal.

Jack got to pick out his cover cardstock, coordinating binding tape, a label for his name, and there were a variety of stickers and gem embellishments to choose from. He got right to work and didn’t stop upon completing the project itself – he decided he would start drawing inside of it, too! Then he told the project guides all about his sea monster.

The journal was a big hit. Jack’s been drawing since he was 2 years old, and he absolutely loves art, so I was happy to have this opportunity sent my way. This was a great way to get him thinking about school (he goes back in October!) in relation to something he already loves. He plans to write a story about the sea monster inside of the journal. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

If you want to attend one of Gap’s Shine On Saturdays event and live in a major metro area, check out the event locations listed on the Shine On Saturdays Facebook page. For those of you in California, there are a couple events this weekend (one in NorCal and one in SoCal) on August 25 from 10am-1pm in the following locations:

1139 S. Main St. @ Walnut Creek

Los Angeles: 2111 Glendale Galleria

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Filed Under: Holidays & Events, Photos, School Tagged With: , , , , , , Leave a Comment

BlogHer12 Recap

August 6, 2012 By

I’m really glad I got to go to BlogHer this year. It was a great event and I loved seeing New York City again, as well as my many friends who live in the Internets. This BlogHer, as opposed to BH10, was much less overwhelming for me. I don’t know if it was the fact that I had a buddy (Jana), that I knew so many more people this go-round, or if it was the fact that I went in without any expectations or set plans; it all worked out well and I just happened to run into pretty much all the people I had hoped to see!

This is just a brief recap that does the conference NO JUSTICE. But please consider checking out the posts I’ve linked below and enjoy the pics. Maybe I’ll see you in Chicago next year!

Voices of the Year I particularly enjoyed:

Jana: From a Pecan to a Majestic Magnolia (Identity [read at Open Mic])

Jana VOTY

Elizabeth at Flourish in Progress: To the Person Who Stole My Taco Bell Gordita Savings Fund (Humor)

Neil from Citizen of the Month: The Poet at the Geek Bar (Humor)

Dresden Shumaker: Welfare Queen (Heart)

Arnebya Herndon: Walk This Way (Op-Ed)

Best Party:

RobinPlemmons

Come As You Are – It was hosted by Aiming Low and Mouthy Housewives. I got some pretty sweet artwork drawn on me by Robin Plemmons, plus I got to give out all kinds of compliments on stickers (and got a few myself). And there was the most amazing chocolate covered peanut butter ball dessert thingy…

Connected with and/or hugged (in no particular order and possibly not all-inclusive):

Jana, Issa, Dawn, Cathy, Nona, Alecia, Allison, Katherine, Tanis, Anissa, Julia Roberts, Liz, Andrea, Jenny, Lauren, Frelle, Stacey, Bossy, Christine, Stacey (who also likes ewoks), Robin Plemmons, Angie, Jenny Grace, Julia, EmmieJ, Megan, Kristine, Jenna

Favorite conference moments:

In the “Blogging After Life Change” session, I spoke up to tell my story and was able to connect with another mom whose son had just recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.

When the lovely Robin Plemmons wrote on my arm, “He will be healed,” we both teared up.

Dancing with the very talented Cathy at Sparklecorn.

‘Fancy’ breakfast with Jana and Lauren.

When I drew a schlong on Allison’s moo card during a keynote.

What I did offsite:

Rode the subway, then had ‘fancy breakfast’.
Ate breakfast for lunch at Serendipity3.
Visited Tiffany & Co.

Things I’ll do differently next year:

Go out to dinner.
Buy a memento.
Attend more than 2 sessions.
Pack a suitcase in a suitcase (for swag).
Share a cab to/from the hotel to save cash.
Take an incoming flight that is NOT a red-eye.
Drink more champagne.
Take more pictures!

Filed Under: blogher, Holidays & Events, Photos Tagged With: , , , , , , 11 Comments

Jack’s Birthday Piñata

July 11, 2012 By

I wanted to do something special for Jack’s birthday. I love Jack’s birthday (mine, not so much!). And this year seems extra important, especially considering that most of the craptastic parts of his Leukemia treatment are behind us!

Jack has made two requests for his birthday. The first was that he wants a cake AND cupcakes (no problem – that’s an easily arranged request). The second was actually a wish he stated aloud:

“I wish I could have a piñata at my birthday but with only me hitting it!”

The thing is, Jack is currently neutropenic (immuno-compromised) and we can’t have a big party with a bunch of germ-factory kids hanging around. Instead we will have a small family BBQ and he’ll have two of his cousins to play with. It’s seems lame to me, but I know he’ll have fun anyway. And when his immune system (and our bank account) recovers, we’ll go rent that bounce house we promised him and invite all his friends over to play!

The piñata is Jack’s consolation prize. It’s fairly inexpensive and he’ll get to beat something with a bat and he’ll love it. But what to fill it with when he’s the only kid whacking it? His sweet teeth is almost non-existent since the chemo…

I went searching on Amazon (Prime shipping is a mom’s best friend!) and here’s what I came up with:

Shark piñata (he loves Scooby Doo and dragons too much to hit them with bats)

Filled with chocolate candies and…

Mini Plush Monsters

LED Finger Lights
Glow In the Dark Lizards

Monster Head Suckers

I plan to take a couple of each of these things and give them out to the kids at the party in treat bags, along with pairs of these awesome alien glasses:

I hope he likes everything. It incorporates many of his favorite things and won’t create a ton of clutter! The piñata also doubles as a birthday present ’cause I’m lazy like that.

I’m looking forward to being able to grant him this wish. He deserves it!

Filed Under: Holidays & Events, Milestones, Photos, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments

Hello From Type A Conference!

June 22, 2012 By

I’m currently in Charlotte, NC with one of my favorite people – Jana from Jana’s Thinking Place. She picked me up from the Atlanta airport yesterday and then we went on a roadtrip to get to NC for the Type A Conference.

We got in last night and I’ve already met several awesome bloggers whom I had been following online for various lengths of time. This conference is much smaller than BlogHer so it’s been a lot less overwhelming. It seems to me that many of the interactions with people in the blogging world here are more significant – maybe because they last more than 5 seconds! When I attended BlogHer two years ago it was a whirlwind – this is much more relaxed.

Which is exactly why I came – relaxation. Well, that and inspiration. And inspiration is what I got – we attended a session presented by Ang England this morning on brainstorming blog ideas. And holy crap do I have a ton of things to write about now! Two pages of ideas flew out of my head. I’m SO excited to get back to writing here – I may just have found my voice again, a voice that Leukemia stomped on earlier this year.

Speaking of Leukemia, I got to chat with Anissa Mayhew last night for a good long time about how our kids have dealt with cancer. Her daughter Peyton is in remission now, so I was curious to hear if she had lasting effects. It was so nice to be able to sit and talk about the intricacies of living this new life and get encouragement to seek out support in the cancer community. I needed that push. Thanks, Anissa!

I’m having a great time here. I so needed this!

Filed Under: blogher, Cancer Mom, Getting my groove back Tagged With: , , , , , 3 Comments

A Lot of Heart (sponsored)

May 1, 2012 By


This Mother’s Day, I’m working with Clever Girls Collective in support of Macy’s Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the “Trade, Not Aid” program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake. The program was launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.

“You’re a cool mom.”

“Well, we’d been talking about it for a while and it’s better than taking him where there are a ton of people all crowded in and…”

“YOU’RE A COOL MOM, admit it!”

“Um. Okay, thank you. I try!”

This is the conversation I had with the nurse at the cancer clinic yesterday. I had recently taken Jack to Build-A-Bear and we came out with a cat dubbed Obi-Meow. I hadn’t intended to get clothing for the cat Jack wanted to make, but I couldn’t walk out of there without the Star Wars gear!

We went because the cat (Fluffy) Jack normally carries around seems to have had a tail incident. I could sew it back up, but it was a cheapy toy that I bought on clearance at the grocery store after Easter last year so a split tail is likely the beginning of the end…and anyway, we were looking for something fun to do together that wouldn’t wear Jack out completely.

So off we went. He absolutely wanted a cat no matter what and we quickly identified one. Jack made a wish on the heart (he wished they could be best friends always), we both kissed it, and then it was put it inside the cat before stuffing it. He then took it to the grooming station and brushed its fur. He can tell the story in detail and never forgets to mention the paw-shaped brush he used.

We tried Darth Vader clothes on the cat but they didn’t quite fit so we moved on to Jedi clothing. That was when we decided the cat should be named Obi-Meow. One of the employees found a light sabre for us, as well.

Jack takes Obi-Meow everywhere now. While heading out the door to the clinic yesterday, he said, “We can’t forget Obi-Meow! Remember when you said she’d want to go everywhere with me?”

Putting together and grooming his very own stuffed animal was special to Jack. He now has something he can take care of when everyone is busy taking care of him, and this has seemed to help his outlook. He’s been more cheerful lately and, while he won’t talk about his treatments or much else, he’ll tell all kinds of stories about Obi-Meow. Somehow that cat is reassuring to him.

Taking Jack to Build-a-Bear was an early Mother’s Day celebration for me. I didn’t get breakfast in bed or chocolate but I got to create a wonderful memory with my son. I saw him in a new light as he cared for his new friend, a friend that will sit with him through the upcoming challenges with his cancer treatment, a friend whose heart will remind him that his mom loves him.

That’s probably more cheesy than cool, but I’ll take it!

 

Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com. Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings, and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.

Thank you to Macy’s Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart” promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Filed Under: Cancer Mom, Gear, Holidays & Events, Issues, Parenting 101, Shopping 2 Comments

Unresolved

January 4, 2012 By

We had a good holiday. I missed Jack on Christmas day (he was with his dad in Washington) but we got to celebrate in our own way when he got back. Christmas day we hosted David’s sister, my sister’s family, and our friend Mike. It was our first time hosting Christmas dinner – with place mats and everything! – and it turned out pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself.

We rocked stockings this year. Our dog ate the stocking I had from childhood (two days before Christmas) and that was really sad. He also ate the stocking I had a friend create for David. Looks like we’ll be getting new stockings… In any case, it felt like a very grown up thing to be in charge of stockings in addition to the Christmas dinner. I was very much a mom, filling them with toothbrushes and hand sanitizer and such. (There were fun things, too, I promise.)

I got really depressed after the holiday was over. I wasn’t sure why at first (other than it’s December and it’s winter and I was tired) but upon thinking it over I realized a few things – the biggest of which is that my family is so small. I have David and Jack and then my sister who lives across the country. My mother is embroiled in her endless medical issues – in for tests every week and firing physicians left and right – and seems to be off on another planet. Spending time with my dad’s parents, while lovely, also underlined the fact that I don’t have a mom or dad to turn to these days. I am the grown up. How did THAT happen?

I then started feeling baby crazy. THAT was driving me mad because, holy cow, now is NOT the time! But despite the million reasons I could list why I didn’t want another kid right now, the little voice in my head and the ache in my chest wouldn’t go away. That just made me angrier – upset at my own biology, irritated at my brain grasping at straws in order to create connections that I seem to be missing.

I feel old. I feel like emotionally I’m being propelled into a reality that I shouldn’t be physically facing for another 15 years. Suddenly I’m worrying about older family members losing their minds as well as their fortitude, worrying about how many childbearing years I have left, and feeling as if I must have missed something in my 31 years. But when and where? My life thus far has been overwhelmingly full. Where is it that I could have possibly squeezed in one more thing? And didn’t I already have my midlife crisis?

Needless to say, the new year is here and I am unprepared. I’m doing what I always do – marching on as best I can – and hoping things fall in line. I just wish I could feel like I have more of a say in where that line is going and what tune is being played.

Filed Under: Domesticating, Growing Up, Holidays & Events Tagged With: , , , 5 Comments

A Very Ewok Birthday

December 11, 2011 By

Happy happy birthday to me!  My cake really made my day!

My husband worked with Jennifer at Beyond Buttercream to design THE MOST AWESOME cake EVER – Wicket the Ewok.  I felt bad cutting into the fuzzy guy but, man, is it delicious!!

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Luck, Leprechauns, and Little White Lies

March 17, 2011 By
Leprechaun with rainbow

Image via Wikipedia

Jack didn’t want to leave the house to go to daycare today.  He was whining and moaning about how much he HATES getting dressed and how it’s “stubborn” that he has to go to daycare.  I then came up with the brilliant plan of telling him it’s a SPECIAL! DAY!  He perked up and asked what I was talking about.  I explained that it’s St. Patrick’s Day and some people believe that it’s a good day to catch leprechauns.  He had no idea what the heck a leprechaun is, of course.  I explained that they are little people from Ireland who hide a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  I showed him pictures on the internet, which he loved.  He asked me if leprechauns were for real life and I said I didn’t know and there are definitely some people who do not believe they are real.

I figured he would like this whole idea but I underestimated his enthusiasm.  He wanted to hear all about it so I let him know he should wear green today so he could be extra lucky and maybe catch a “tricky leprechaun.”  They hide and you have to be on the look out, you know!  In fact, I’ve never even see one because they are so sneaky!  Well, he filled in the rest.  These little suckers apparently wear green as camouflage so that it’s difficult to see them when they hide in bushes and trees.  And “no one knows if they are going to be on top of the tree or behind the tree!”

Jack picked out a green monster shirt to wear.  His theory: “Maybe I can scare the leprechaun with this monster shirt and he will run away and leave his gold for me to take!”  Very clever, I thought.  He also came up with the idea of putting traps at the end of the rainbow.  “Well, mom, you just don’t know which end of the rainbow he’ll be at!”

It was so hard not to crack up while he was telling me all kinds of new things about leprechauns even though he hadn’t heard of them before today.  We saw a neighbor’s nanny as we were walking to the car and Jack told her all about the special day and how he was going to catch one of those leprechauns!  He made sure his friends at daycare were wearing green.  I suggested he work together with his little friends and maybe they could find a leprechaun.

I then told him good luck and left for work.

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