A Christmas homecoming...

When homecoming meets Christmas, it is very merry, indeed!

My sweet friend, Hadassah, from Whimsical Walls Art sent this awesome car decal to me for our homecoming.  It's fully customizable and added that touch of whimsy that I just love to our car.  I loved all the smiles and waves this brought when we were driving to pick up Hubby, and Hubby loved that even the car was decorated for his homecoming.  It was so easy to apply and remove.  I'll definitely save it for our next homecoming...and maybe even for some random day that I want some more of those great smiles from strangers. ;)  Whimsical Walls Art is a homecoming shopping MUST!!! 

Card Store generously let me choose and design a homecoming card for Hubby!  I chose one with mistletoe because, well, a military homecoming and Christmas just screams "mistletoe!"  Card Store lets you customize greeting cards for any occasion or "just because" reason!  You can choose a design and/or upload your own picture, write a message, and they'll even mail it for you!  It couldn't be simpler to create a personalized greeting card! 

The Albums {Review}...

The Albums is a new photo sharing site with a goal of housing lasting memories in a user friendly and beautiful online setting.  Founders Andrew and Sarah sought to capture the essence of flipping through old family photo albums at a relative's house, drinking a cup of coffee, and reminiscing about each memory in the album.  


"What we wanted was a place built just for families that could capture the feeling of looking through those old photo albums," explained Andrew and Sarah. "Not necessarily as a storage site for every single one of the pictures we take, but as a place to keep and remember our favorite moments and to share them with our best friends and our families at home."

I recently had the opportunity to try out The Albums.  The simplicity of it's conception, design, and ease of use is remarkable.  You can see my album here. 

I totally get the old photo album/coffee/reminiscing vibe that Andrew and Sarah were going for when they created The Albums.  This will definitely be a lasting picture legacy for your family.  And for us military families, one less physical photo album to pack up and move every PCS. :)

Start your free trial here!

Maternity style {Semper Stylish}...

No, I haven't been pregnant in a while.  (Confession: I forgot to post this months ago.)  I usually loved getting dressed when I was pregnant because it made me be really creative.  I found that just a few maternity shirts, belly band, wedges, belt, and/or big ol' earrings, could turn most of my clothes into some stylish maternity wear.

Now, for your viewing pleasure...I give you my maternity style. ;)

And lest you think I always look so adorable, it's only fair for me to show you what I wore a lot of the time.

Kids Cork {Review}...

When I was first approached about reviewing Kids Cork, I was skeptical because, well, everything they offer on their site are things that my family already uses in a variety of media formats--private Facebook albums for pictures, Hallmark recordable books, iPhone for games).  However, when I signed up for Kids Cork and started using it, I realized that this comprehensive site offers so much on one site to help military families stay connected.  "KidsCork.com is an easy, affordable way to stay connected to children in your life who you love, but maybe cannot see every day. Simply create an account, log in, and record a story book your child or grandchild can listen to when it’s convenient!" (from www.kidscork.com)  And it's free for military families!  

Once you register for Kids Cork and start your own cork board, it's so cute and easy to use, even for kids.  You and your invited contributors can upload and share pictures, record yourself reading a book to the kids, learn about the state/country where other relatives are living or are deployed to, and the kids have a variety of online games they can play.  I like this site and service because I don't have to make complicated Facebook privacy settings to share pictures with family and I don't have to buy a $30 Hallmark book to ship to a family member to record a reading.  It's all right there on our family cork board!

Setting up our family cork board with sticky notes, uploading photos, and recording books.

“We have a kid-friendly website that allows parents to pre-record themselves reading their kids a book at night,” said Justin Butler, Founder of KidsCork.com. “When their kid wants to be read a story, they go to the corkboard, open the book, and listen to the parent reading as the pages turn seamlessly along. We wanted to keep it simple for kids, simple for parents. Most of all, we wanted to keep that warmth, the closeness that exists between parent and child, no matter how great the distance.”

Learning about the country Daddy was flying missions in.  

Kids Cork is a cute website that can help keep families involved with each other even when they're far apart.  And did I mention it's FREE for military families?  :)