Christmas in July + Meet Rebecca

Y'all, last Thursday was my half birthday. June 25. If you do the math, then you've probably figured out that we're a little less than half way to Christmas by now!
Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's also my birthday. I've always loved it. So the fact that Amanda, Faith and I have something really awesome that's CHRISTMAS related brings me pure joy!

The idea is to bring the joy of gift giving in the middle of the year. So why not have Christmas in July and celebrate spreading the love?

CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!! 

Here's what you need to know...
Dates to Remember:

• Sign-Ups Start: Monday, June 29th at 6AM
• Sign-Ups End: Wednesday, July 8th at 6AM
• Partners assigned: Wednesday, July 11th
• Packages Shipped: Monday, July 20th
• Linkup Opens: Thursday, July 30th
• Linkup Closes: Thursday, August 6th

The Rules:

|| When you are assigned your partner, get to know them, and send items in your package that fit your partner’s wants and likes.

|| All packages should cost approximately $15-$20 before shipping, so that each swap package is fairly close in pricing and no one feels cheated.

|| Please reply to emails from us about the swap in a timely manner.

|| Your packages MUST be mailed on or before July 20th.

|| We suggest you send a tracking number for your package via email to your partner when you mail it out.

|| Please post and link up to your swap reveal, which will be posted on July 30th. Everyone would like to see your goodies after all!

|| Please do not sign up for this swap if you cannot follow the rules above.

|| If anything comes up, where you can no longer participate PLEASE contact either Faith, Amanda, or myself immediately so we can work out something for your swap partner.

** Please note: Non-US-based participants can only be accepted if we have enough bloggers willing to ship internationally (not everyone can afford the higher shipping prices). Thank you for understanding, we want everyone to be able to be able to participate! **

Interested??

Take a moment and fill out this form!! Don't forget to grab the button for the link up on July 30th! 

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<a href="http://www.knockonwoodblog.com/2015/06/christmas-in-july-blogger-swap.html" rel="nofollow" title="Christmas in July Blogger Swap"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3JIPoA6KNK9h8-CdVg7N5f2GODkVMEps6VKmubNUhvSg0W0kIzpoOSW0aYu2CyerHTgAeRIlGaQwNE8W_lK9S5mgn2MUFWrkvvx5FEp1OMF_Cb3YJ-Yn6DiwT3WlbJenSTHYVNiLlXvf/s1600/Christmas+in+July+2.jpg" alt="Christmas in July Blogger Swap" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And now for something even more fun... 

Some of my new followers might not remember this... but maybe. Back in Aug of last year there was a bloggy soul mate pairing. It was meant as a way to connect other bloggers that were either similar in blogging styles or had something outside of blogging in common. I was paired with Meagan and Rebecca. Let me tell y'all, I'm so happy to have been paired with these two. Meagan I already knew from a few link ups, but Rebecca was new to me.

I love this gal, y'all! She has quickly turned into someone I can randomly text for encouragement. We give each other mommy advice. She's amazing. It's my pleasure to finally get to introduce her to y'all!

Describe yourself in four words.
Loyal.
Trustworthy.
Sarcastic.
Fun. 

I really love your blogging style. What made you start blogging?
My husband, daughter and I were living in London and trying to keep in touch with all of our friends and family (mine back in the US and his back in Ireland). I had a photo blog for my daughter's first year where I posted pictures of her growing and changing for everyone who was missing it in person and I started thinking about *writing* a blog too - my husband pushed me to do it! 

You're a new addition to the crayon box. Which color would you be, and why?
Some shade of purple, since that's my favorite!

What's the best advice you've ever gotten about blogging?
Network, network, network! Or more simply - make connections. Read other blogs, comment on them with thoughtfulness, build relationships. Not only will you become friends with some individuals, but you'll find many will support and encourage you, offer advice, and help you learn more than you ever would on your own! 

What's your favorite movie quote?
Ooooh tough question. Totally depends on the movie!

One of my faves though is the sarky interchange between Duncan and Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans...Hawkeye says they're going West and Duncan questions him: "There is a war on. How is it you are headed WEST?" to which Hawkeye looks at him without expression and says "Well, we kinda face to the north and real sudden-like, turn left."

It's the kind of sarcastic crap I'd pull, ha!

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Bread. Who doesn't love bread?? 

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"Mommy, wake up! Santa Was Here!!"

"Santa Came! MOMMY! DADDY! Santa Came! And he filled the stockings!"
This was my wake-up call on Christmas morning, and it absolutely warmed my heart to hear the excitement in Zander's little voice. When I rolled over to check the time though, it was way to early. 3:30 AM early to be exact! "Um, Zander, can we maybe go back to bed for a few more hours? It's very early" He pouts but walks back to bed.

7:00 I'm awake, but laying in bed still. Waiting for the stampede of little children footsteps to come down the hall. Without fail, 5 minutes later, Zander is back. "Mommy!!! Santa left a BIG box and it has MY NAME on it!" (the little things like him being able to read his name makes my heart happy). The excitement in his voice is the best Christmas gift for me. He's dying to open the gifts. I calmly tell him that we have to wait for Daddy and baby sister to wake up so they can open presents from Santa, too. He pouts some more. He's dying to rip open the paper. I offer him hot chocolate and eggs for breakfast, and he perks up. He agrees.

I love sharing a quiet breakfast with Zander. We talk about letter sounds, numbers, how rain is made. His desire to learn is amazing.

Finally, we hear noises from down the hall. Ainsley and Daddy are awake! Zander starts squirming in his seat. "Is it time to open presents now, Mommy??" "Soon, baby. Let's let Ainsley eat a little something and Daddy get a shower in." I swear Zander had the patience of a saint on Christmas morning. The amount of times I had to say, "sorry just a few more minutes" was the equivalent of watching paint dry to a normal adult. He held out though.

The pay off was priceless! Hearing Zander and Ainsley's squeals of excitement as they tore open the next gift was just magical. "OOOH! SO COOL!" and "OOHH! LOOK WHAT SANTA GOT ME!" I loved each moment of it.

Of course, being the bad blogger that I am I got zero pictures of them opening gifts, but I don't care at all. I was in the moment. I was able to watch them tear into everything without being behind the lens. The joy on their little faces seeing everything that Santa brought was amazing. I'm zero percent sorry for being away from the blog for almost a week now. The memories that were made this past weekend were incredible, and absolutely the best gift I could ask for.

Today, I'm grateful that Josh and I were able to give the kids such an amazing Christmas. But I'm even more grateful that Zander is starting to learn the true meaning of Christmas. We read the story of baby Jesus, and he's starting to understand it's better to give than to receive. I'm grateful that both of my kids are so well behaved and aren't greedy. Not once this past weekend while we were visiting family did I hear from either of them, "ugh, that's ALL I got" or anything similar. Zander and Ainsley were even thrilled to get new socks in their stockings from Santa. To me that just warms my heart to know that I'm raising them right. I'm grateful they're so well behaved when we visit family, and that I'm not raising spoiled brats.

best parents! ;) 

Today I'm linking up with Emily for a Grateful Heart and
with Amanda sharing these sweet conversations from Christmas Morning.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas, and I truly hope you got to experience the magic of Christmas like I was able to. It was the best Christmas AND birthday for me!

my sweet babies Christmas Morning

Monthly Musings || Christmas

Hello, y'all!!
Lora and I are so excited that it's time for another round of Monthly Musings. Last month we really enjoyed reading what y'all were thankful about. This month we're all about Christmas! Who else can't believe that it's just a week away? Um, not this gal. Denial is not just a river in Egypt! While I'm very much excited about Christmas, I'm also very much NOT ready. Last minute shopper here. I'll probably get everything else I need TOMORROW! Not exaggerating even a little bit. *Sigh* oh well, such is life.

HOWEVER. We're not here to talk about last minute shopping, are we? Nope, we're here to focus on the finer things in life!

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<a href="http://theramblingllama.blogspot.com" title="The Rambling Llama"><img src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g167/PineappleHead87/December_zpsbb30b11d.jpg" alt="The Rambling Llama" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So, Christmas. This Christmas will be my 27th one. It will also be my 27th birthday. How bout them apples? Ha! I can honestly say that Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. Because I'm a blogger and all bloggers love lists, (right?) and mostly because I'm having trouble keeping my thoughts in line without a list that's what we're going to do to count the ways that Melissa Loves Christmas.

// Family time. Sure. I get family time with Thanksgiving, but the majority of the time my uncles retreat to the football game after the meal. OR everyone is napping somewhere. With Christmas, as soon as the big meal is done we ALL retreat to the family room for quality family time. (and presents. of course there's presents).

// Stockings. I don't know about y'all but ever since I was  a little kid my mom always made my stocking special. She still does a stocking for me and my sister even though we haven't lived in the house for years. I've carried over the tradition into my own family, and I even fill Josh's and my stockings. Because, you know, we're adults. Zander loves it. Stockings are perfect for little toy cars, candy, and of course socks. Since no one wants to get socks under the Christmas tree.

// My Kids on Christmas morning. Before having kids, I didn't really "get" the whole concept of seeing a kids' eyes light up on Christmas morning. The first year Zander really understood Christmas and grasped the concept of Santa leaving him gifts was magical to me. Seeing his face light up as he walked into the living room and realizing SANTA CAME! Oh my gosh, y'all... it's priceless and it's one of those moments that you can never really fully capture with a picture.

// Apple Pie. Sure, I can get apple pie anytime of the year, but for my birthday I get a special apple pie just for me. Not even kidding a little bit. My grandma makes a special apple pie just for my birthday. She makes the crust by hand. She peels, cuts, and cooks the apples. There's literally nothing artificial in this pie, y'all. The best part? It's my special pie. I have the option to share (or not) if I want. Lucky for me, Josh isn't a huge fan of apple pie. Everyone else in my family (on my dad's side) gets a birthday cookie cake. Clearly I'm not spoiled at all. Clearly.

// My Birthday. I've said it once, I'll say it a million times. For me having a birthday ON Christmas DOES. NOT. SUCK! I love it. I've always loved it. My family has always made a special effort to make my birthday feel like a birthday and not a birthday / Christmas combo. Sure, we always DO open Christmas gifts, but there's something special extra. My birthday has never felt like anything strange or forced. I feel like it'd be what a birthday feels like if it was in July. Except for not wearing summer clothes. It's my special day and I will rock it. I'll make sure everyone knows it, too! Except maybe in a few years when I'm in my mid 30's. HA!

My Birthday 2006; Amanda's Fave pic of me!

// Christmas Trees + Lights. I LOVE seeing all of the Christmas decor as I drive through our town. We live in a small town, and everyone tends to go all out for Christmas. It's like "go big or go home" sort of thing. I wish I had a picture to share, but I always feel strange about parking my car in someone's front yard... BUT there's one house that literally has every square inch of the front yard COVERED in Christmas inflatables. Plus their house is covered in lights. I'm not sure how long it took them to accumulate so many inflatables but it's pretty dang impressive! There's just something about the twinkling lights and the Christmas trees that really make my heart smile. I love seeing all of the decor.

What are your favorites for the holiday season? What are some of your Christmas traditions? Be sure to link up with Lora and I and share!

Silent Night, Holy Night

Hey, y'all! We're back again for another round of the Golden Vlog with Faith! All I ask this time around is please, please be gentle. I'm OK with honest comments and constructive criticism. But please be gentle! hahaha. That's all I'm saying...

Enjoy.

And with that, Merry Christmas! If the video doesn't load, you can watch it on youtube

xoxo,

Holiday Overload... Already!

OK... so we've all seen the Halloween decor start to show up in the stores already, right? The pumpkin flavor everything, the cinnamon scented brooms, witch hats, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about fall, and I especially LOVE everything about Christmas! (In case y'all forgot... my birthday is ON Christmas, and yes it rocks)
What I don't love is the fact decorations and advertising start so stinking early. Like, Halloween stuff started showing up in stores maybe a week after Zander started school.

Here's why:
// I have kids.

 More specifically: I have young kids. Kids have zero sense of time. Zero. So when Halloween and/or Christmas decorations start going up, the four year old starts begging to go trick or treating. Or, they start begging to see Santa Claus. I'm sorry y'all but I cannot make a paper chain for everything. We did one to count down to the first day of school, but I'm not about to spend a fortune on paper for chains. I already get bombed with advertisements on TV for the latest toy or gadget. And yes, Zander has already started the whole "Mommy! I have/need/want to have *fill in the blank with awesome new toy*" So as parents we usually play off with "well, maybe you need to ask Santa" for something that shows up after his birthday (and then write down the request to actually remember for "Santa"). I'm not sure if all kids have amazing memories like Zander, but this kids remembers everything. Especially if I told him "ask Santa for new ninja turtle slippers for Christmas". When he starts seeing signs of anything related to the holiday, well dangit obviously it's time to see Santa, Mommy! [face/palm]. I just can't handle it. Granted this is Ainsley's first year where she MIGHT actually get excited about something, but it's doubtful.

// One Holiday at a time, please!


Source

If it's Sept 17 and we haven't even gotten to Halloween, I do NOT want to see a single reindeer or stocking. And if you're wondering: yes, I have seen Christmas decor in September, especially at the malls. So to the marketing genius that thought people want to plan ahead and have to see Santa to remind them: you're wrong. I know Christmas is Dec 25. I know Halloween is Oct 31. They're on the same day every year. I don't need a reminder in my face three months ahead of time.

// I want to feel excited.

 Because of the above mentioned reason, I tend to feel less excited when it does get closer to the holiday it's supposed to be. I don't know if it's because I'm an adult or because the decor being out for too long. I feel like it's the decorations though. From October on, the holidays have always made me happy and excited. Now after seeing stuff out for ages it just feels like the excitement isn't there anymore. Maybe it's just me.

So what are we taking away from this today? I still love the holidays, I really do. Especially Christmas. Call me a grump or a scrooge all you want, I just ask that stores chill out with advertising and decorations. Please? Does anyone else feel the same way?

I'm Not an Event Planner

But my H.R. manager seems to think I'm qualified for the job!

Let me explain... I'm an "administrative assistant" at my new job. Translation: I'm the office "go-fer"... whatever my boss(es) need help with, I do it. It could be filing, data entry, or making spreadsheets. Yesterday HR decided *Melissa is an event planner*

Here's how it went down

Me: "Hey, (we'll call her H)! I've finished with the stop audits, do you need help with anything?"
H: "Actually yes, I have to book the Christmas party by the end of the week. Can you find a location and book it?"
Me: "Um... OK... Sure"
The rest of the day was spent with me searching for places to have Christmas parties near the office since the majority of employees live near the office. Unfortunately the majority of places that people seem to want to have the party at are outside of the area that people are willing to drive.

Time to compromise folks, you either get location or fun. Where our job is, you can't have both. Priorities people... priorities.

WHYYY did I say yes?? Maybe because it's a new job and I wanted to be the good little assistant and help. Ugh. I don't know. Thankfully, I made a phone call to a really good friend and got a some good ideas for where to start tomorrow, and now that I know he reads my blog: Thanks Andy!

The lesson learned here: don't agree to be an event planner when you know nothing about planning events. Or make sure you have a really awesome friend to bail you out and give you really great ideas. Especially when your experience of Christmas parties is a free Outback Steakhouse dinner lunch.

Bloomin' Onions are freaking delicious though. 

Halfway To Christmas

If anyone reading my blog has read my about me section then you already know: Christmas Day is my birthday. I'm sure y'all have seen tons of stuff on TV and the internet talking about "we're halfway to Christmas!" This of course means it's halfway to my birthday!

My Birthday 2006 at Amanda's 

I'd like to clear the air to tell everyone in the world wide webs that having my birthday on Christmas doesn't suck at all. Well, no I shouldn't say "at all"; I live in Georgia and therefore I hardly ever get snow for my birthday. When it does snow in GA it quickly turns to ice and there's hardly anything fun about ice.

I digress...

Growing up, my family never made me feel like I was getting any less presents. We would always do Christmas presents first. After everyone opened Christmas, we'd move on to birthday. There was always a separate pile for my birthday presents and they were always wrapped in pink birthday paper.

I still get excited about my birthday. I'll be 27 this year, but it doesn't bother me. Ask me in three years though... 30 might be an issue. hahaha.

Now that I'm a mom, Christmas is all about the kids. I could care less if I get anything for Christmas or my birthday... I just want the kids to have an amazing Christmas.

SO the countdown begins. For those that are sickened by the mention of Christmas, just think of it as halfway to my birthday!