What brings comfort and joy to my life...

As some of you know I live about a thousand miles away from my family.  The distance doesn't seem so far most days when I can talk to my mom on the phone, play scrabble with my brother online or chat with my sister over facebook, but...

There are the other times when I miss out on the family time and togetherness... it's especially hard around the holidays when I know that my niece will be opening her presents in front of Grammy and Grampy and my kids won't... It was so bad last Christmas that I broke down and cried in the bathtub...

My mom was able to meet and hold Ella within hours of her birth, and will be able to when her little brother or sister is born this spring, while Erik won't meet them until he's more than six months old...

I missed my sister's wedding three weeks ago... bad timing on my part, but I had Erik the day before...

Well, this doesn't sound so much like a post about what brings me comfort and joy... but I've been setting you up for it...

The biggest thing that brings me comfort and joy is my wonderful husband, Wayne.  We're in South Carolina so that he can be where he needs to be for his career - something that I understood long before we moved - that we would be moving away from friends and family because he's a professor in a very specialized field and  we'd be going where the jobs are... and for him as a tourism prof - Charleston is one of the best cities in the world for what he does... and the College of Charleston is the place he needs to do it.

How does he bring me comfort and joy?  He's made sacrifices so that we can spend weeks at a time home in Canada - anywhere from 4-6 weeks every summer since we've been here.  He puts his family before his work - no matter how much work he has.  He braved the operating room when I went in for my C section - despite being adverse to all things blood related.  He holds me when I need to cry and passes me the Kleenex and just understands how hard it is to be away from my other loved ones - he lets me grieve when i need to... and he was even willing to put me on a plane home with the baby for Christmas this year... but how can I leave him, Robyn and Liam for Erik's first Christmas?

Life is a balancing act, I've known it for years - sometimes you act more balanced than you feel, sometimes you are more balanced than you act... but I know that what keeps me balanced and brings comfort and joy to my life is my life partner and wonderful husband, Wayne.  He just knows... and I appreciate that immensely!

I also appreciate the opportunity to share this post with you and to share a link to the Kleenex Softness Worth Sharing website where you can go to send a box of Kleenex to someone special.

Disclaimer: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Kleenex blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

14 ways to have a fresh and festive holiday

Some of the first things that bring the holidays to life for me are all the wonderful smells that I associate with being festive - the cedar, pine and bayberry scents of the evergreens, the wonderful holiday baking and of course the fresh, crisp smell of the air when Santa is coming!  The other is of course the decorations!

As part of the Twitter Moms and Snuggle writing promotion, I am going to share 14 of my tips for having a fresh and festive holiday, but I'd love your feedback on how you make your home and other spaces festive for the holidays!

1. You need real evergreens - this doesn't necessarily mean a real tree - that's a lot of work, and for me, with three kids and a busy never-stay-at-home lifestyle, not really an option, but I love to incorporate real wreaths and cedar rope into my outdoor decor.  And I sneak a little of it inside too :)

2. It's impossible to be baking ALL the time, so it's okay to have wonderful smelling candles, potpourri and other scents around to help keep the mood festive!  Don't leave candles unattended though - it's definitely better to be safe than smell burning holiday memories!

3. Another great way to bring the scent of the holidays to your home is to simmer a pot with a cinnamon stick and a few cloves on the back of the stove or better yet- put some apple cider, mullling spices and an orange in the crock pot for fabulous smells and yummy warm drinks on a cold winters night!

4. Competing scents aren't good... Layering your scents is one thing - but too many just get muddled... so start with the authentic and put the others away when you can!

5. If it doesn't move - decorate it... this is my mother's holiday philosophy - it's the one time of year when excess is truly okay, so go overboard- why not!

6. In conjunction with #5 - if it does move, decorate it!  One of the interesting trends that seems to be happening is decorating your cars - this is the first year that I'm going to try it - just a few tasteful magnets and just for a few weeks, but I think it will be fun!

7. Don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving!  This is a big one for me and probably should have been first, but it's really disconcerting to have walked into Walmart on November 1st to shop for Halloween discounts and be staring at a Christmas tree and have holiday music piped in!   A month really is long enough to see and do everything!

8. One of my favorite traditions growing up was going looking at Christmas lights after Christmas Eve dinner at my Oma's house - not only can you appreciate the beauty of people's light displays, but it's a great way to wind down tired kids who are excited for Santa!

9. Another festive tradition is the Norad Santa tracker - this is a great way to combine the festivities with learning - it's a fabulous world geography lesson and a great way to keep tabs on Santa too!

10. Make sure you are as fresh as your turkey - make sure you take time out to just relax and enjoy - maybe after a nice hot bath  snuggle up in your favorite bathrobe that's been in a warm dryer with a Snuggle dryer sheet!

11. Not everything has to be red and green!  Mix it up this year and try my favorite holiday color combination - Silver, Blue and Green!   I absolutely love the new LCD lights in vibrant blue - they not only save your energy bill, but they are great for the environment too... wrap them around your pine or cedar boughs and deck the lot with large silver bows!  Gold and red are cool too!

12. That being said... eclectic is good too - some of the most festive decors I've seen have no scheme, but have been put together with love! It's perfectly okay to mix your children's glitter artwork with the antique Nativity scene, with the quirky Santa cookie jar!

13. As much as I love fresh food - preparing cookies, desserts and even side dishes in advance is a way to keep the cook/baker fresh!  Stagger your cooking and make sure you don't burn your holiday dinner or burn out yourself!

14. No matter how you decorate, accessorize, scent your home, or cook, the most important thing about the holiday season is to celebrate the reason for the season and your family!  The rest is just icing on the cake!

This is an assortment of tips from me on having a fresh and festive holiday season - what tips can you share?

Disclaimer: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Snuggle blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”


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10 tips for smarter holiday shopping and gifting.

At this time of year, it's getting down to crunch time for me in terms of holiday shopping and gifting.  I shop all year long and put things away for family, friends and everyone on my list, but there are always those that get left to the last minute, or things that crop up when the kids find out what their friends want!


As part of the TwitterMoms and Office Depot Blogging program, I am sharing 10 tips for smarter holiday shopping and gifting, but I would love your feedback on what helps you be smarter over the holiday season!


1. Be organized!  This is the big one for me - I could easily fill my entire gifting budget with cute things for the kids and completely neglect hubby and some of the other hard to buy for adults on my list, because shopping for the kids is simple and advertising is everywhere luring me to add just one more 'must have' toy to their stockpile.  I keep a spreadsheet of everyone I need to give a gift to and what I've picked up or plan to get, make or find for them.


2. Think outside the department store - there are great options for gift giving that aren't always traditional, but will make people happy!  I often will include homemade items like soup mix, candles or holiday baking in my gifts for neighbors and friends!


3. Research!!! This is a big one for me - I don't have time to be racing all over the city trying to find the right size and color of something, or to sit in the aisle of Office Depot comparing the various qualities and specs of the great technology, furniture and toys - so I rely on websites like https://www.top30smartgifts.com/ to help me figure out what I want to buy before I leave the house.


4. Make sure you get gift receipts!  One of the best things about the holidays is that most stores will stretch their return policies, but if you are like me and shop year round, gift receipts extend the time stores will accept returns in case all that research I did was in vain and I still bought the square peg for the round hole...


5. Wrap as you go!  I bought all my holiday wrapping paper on 90% clearance last year - as well as a lot of gift wrap that could be used throughout the year - colored foil and such, so I can wrap gifts as I buy them - it keeps little fingers from prying into their gifts and saves that last minute rush to get everything wrapped!


6. Gift Cards are great - my grandmother always poo-poo'ed gift cards as being impersonal, but I know that teachers and other people whom I don't know as well as I might to pick out personal gifts can really use a gift card to someplace like Office Depot, the book store, a restaurant or even the grocery store!  It's often easier to find out where they shop than it is to find out exactly what book they'd like and it makes the gift fit their lifestyle better! 


7. And speaking of that, my almost Teenager wants a credit card for Christmas - so I'm going to get her one - a pre-paid Visa or MC - it's more special than giving cash and she, as a young teen will get a kick out of feeling grown up without the headaches of real credit card ownership - and it also means that she can shop online on her own ... I know she wants Wii credits and I don't necessarily want to use my credit card for that...


8. Don't forget to menu plan and shop early for great deals on your meals - this is a great time to coupon and stock up on baking supplies, holiday meal trimmings and the like - by knowing exactly what you need, you can get everything and have less stress as you create your holiday meals!


9. Book your travel early!  I know it's not exactly shopping or gifting, but knowing how you and your gifts are getting to family and friends is important!  Check with your airlines too - many are charging for second bags, so it may be more economical to ship your gifts to your destination, or take advantage of free shipping offers to get your gifts to their destination rather than picking them up at home and trying to pack them yourselves!


10.  Most importantly, remember that the holidays really aren't all about the gifts - there is more to the season than new IPods and Digital Cameras or the 'right' toy.  The holidays are about celebrating your religion, your family, your friends and/or your traditions and the gifts you share should add to that, not overshadow it!


These are 10 of my tips for holiday shopping and gifting, but there are as many ways to shop and gift as there are people - my husband is a last minute shopper - he'll be out December 23rd or 24th with all the other men... luckily he has fewer people on his list than I have on mine, but it's part of his holiday tradition, so we don't mess with it!


What are your shopping and gifting traditions and suggestions?  Please share them in the comments or join the discussion at http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/share-ten-smart-holiday!


“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Office Depot blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 Office Depot gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

10 Holiday Survival Tips

1. Start with a plan - I keep a small notebook for the holidays that includes a list of all the people I need to buy for and what they might like (or if I already have something for them), my menu plans for both US Thanksgiving and Christmas, a timeline and more - and it's all in one place!


2. Update your address book early - there's nothing worse than trying to sit down and write your holiday cards and having incomplete addresses or knowing that Uncle Charlie moved last year but you didn't update your address book.  Facebook and email are your friends here - reach out and make sure your contacts are up-to-date!


3. In the same vein, get your holiday picture session booked early!  Don't wait until the last minute to get the kids spiffied up and get your pictures done - you need some lead time to order your adorable *Tiny Prints Christmas cards and still get them out on time!


4. Clean out your freezer - I have a deep freeze and in preparation for the holidays, I work hard to get the clutter out of the freezer - so I try to use up the various products inhabiting the freezer so I can stock up on really inexpensive turkeys and so that I can prepare some of my holiday meal and desserts in advance!


5. Plan and host a COOKIE EXCHANGE (or better yet find an established one)  - making several dozen of your signature holiday cookie is way easier than making a dozen different kinds of cookie - so if you can get several friends together you can look like an ace baker with several different kinds of holiday cookies available, when all you did was email and call a few people and spread the word!


6. Plan your holiday meals in advance too - can you make Cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and freeze some for your Christmas meal?  Mashed potatoes also freeze well!


7. Use your notebook to keep a budget - know your price ranges for gifts to buy, for the meals you need to plan etc... and keep track of your spending so you don't end up with holiday buyers remorse and a sea of January debt! 


8. If you are going to be travelling by car, make sure you've scheduled all the necessary maintenance well in advance - there's nothing like travelling on icy roads and having a tire go down or an engine problem, and having to sit and wait in the cold for a tow truck, when you could be at your favorite sibling's house enjoying hot mulled wine in front of a roaring fire.


9. If you are going to be travelling by air - try to book your tickets for 'off days' - give yourself a little extra vacation time if you can, and try not to fly on the busiest days of the year - you will get through the terminals faster, pay less money and save your sanity!


10. Make sure you make time for you!  Your holidays do not need to be "Martha Stewart" perfect - they just need to be about you and your family and friends, stressing about the holidays can ruin your enjoyment, so try to keep things in perspective... and always make sure that you are taken care of as well as any of your family or friends.




*Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cardsto thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards,Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.


“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.”