Richard's Birthday

The only thing Richard has asked for for his birthday is "the best jerkey I've ever tasted" from whittingtonsjerky.com.

It is expensive.  $33 a pound expensive. But he's had it and he loves it and thats all he has asked for. He doesn't want candy or other snacks this deployment, more things that can sustain him for missed meals.

I am going to place an order for the jerky.  Whittingtons will send it directly to him and if we order ten pounds, it will have free shipping, so that's my goal.  If you'd like to send him some jerky, please let me know how much you'd like to contribute and I'll add you to the list.

Thank you!

31

My (very wishful) Birthday List for my husband oh so far away

Smooth Fitness Agile DMT Trainer  he he :-)

Taylor Digital Scale Measuring Cup

Blue cardigan 3/4 sleeve length size M

Adjustable chain white gold necklace

Medium suitcase that rolls in all directions

Calypso Basics Utensil Holder, Orange

Calypso Basics Spoon Rest, Orange

Kindle gift card

Car wash tokens

2 pr key socks, nude and black

Orange flourish shaped 5x7 frame from Hobby Lobby

Le Creuset Dutch Oven 5.5qt in Flame (Orange) 

Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult (softcover)

Crate and Barrel gift card

Happy Yellow Stripe Queen Duvet and 2 Shams

Sakura Queen Duvet and 2 Shams 

Pink framed, orange faced clock at Meijer ($44 I think)

Paper Pot (Tissue Holder) in Orange $11 

Button Box $11
Essie Nail Polish 769 Bobbing for Baubles

Christmas 2012

I have had a couple people tell me things from the girls' list that they have already purchased as gifts.

The girls are already going to receive:
The Little People Princesses
The Little People Nativity Set
The Little People Three Wise Men Set
A brown haired boy Barbie

If you have something that you are dying to get them that is larger than the "shoebox", let me know what it is and Richard and I will discuss it and let you know what we think.

The gifts do not have to be wrapped in a shoebox, just in general, without all of the store bought packaging, etc when the gifts are all open (as they would be stored in our house) they should fit in a shoebox sized box.  You can still wrap them however you wish, in as many packages you wish, in any size box you wish.

The list is constantly updated, as I find new ideas I add them and as I hear of things being purchased, I will remove them.  The list is here.

I have updated our Christmas lists a little bit. The list is here.  Please note that we removed the Little People princess figurines.

Tiny Prints Christmas Cards

 

Its almost November! Which means Christmas is right around the corner. Have you started thinking about your Christmas cards yet? We had cards from Tiny Prints last year and they were fabulous.  The highest quality cards we've ever used. I am so excited to use Tiny Prints again this year.

Be sure to "like" Tiny Prints on Facebook-they have a video up explaining the greatness of their new Premium Double Thick Matte Paper.  Our cards from last year looked great in our online preview, but when they arrived I was blown away by the quality of the paper and printing. And this year, they've made it better!

They have cards that are super easy.  This one would be perfect to just plop a couple instagram pictures from your phone into.



If you want to share a little bit more but a letter is boring or intimidates you, then this card is for you.  I love the timeline look.  And again, so easy. All you have to do is pick a few pictures and add some quick event captions.


Once again, I think some of my favorites are there many round options. I love that its different and I love that they can also hang on trees as ornaments.

Tiny Prints has over 800 Christmas Cards! The only thing better would be if they had a card for military service and/or deployment, but I know I can tweak one of their cards to work for our situation. Even better, Tiny Prints has a promotions page that has all sorts of great offers.  Saving money on a great product always makes my day.

And the best news all day...Tiny Prints is offering a giveaway to one of my readers! I am so excited for one of you to be able to order some of these fabulous cards.  The winner will receive $50 off your total order (not including shipping and it cannot be combined with other offers).

Because there are over 800 photo card options, I'm having a hard time narrowing it down.  As your entry into the giveaway, tell me which photo card you think I should chose for our family cards this year. A winner will be picked on November 1st.

Happy browsing!!

Tiny Prints sponsored this post but my opinions of their marvelous products are all my own.

I have been updating the Christmas Wish Lists, and the most recent version is here.

Christmas 2012

I have had a couple people ask for Christmas lists for this year.  This year is a little different because Richard will be gone and we are in temporary housing.  Richard has already purchased each of the girls a large gift and he would like to make sure that his gifts are the most memorable which for little kids generally means "biggest".  We would like to ask that everything you get for each girl fits in a shoebox. We ask this for several reasons:

We don't have lots of room here.

When we get back home the girls will have lots of "new" toys and things that they have forgotten about.

Neither of them really "need" any "things" right now. 

We would like R's gifts to be the largest, and they aren't very large.

We aren't sure of our living conditions for the next year so conserving space is important.

Thanks for understanding. We want you to still be able to give the girls gifts of your choosing so you may put whatever inside.  If you are concerned about only giving them "one package" feel free to wrap things individually, but please make sure they all still fit into a shoebox. 

We have put some ideas together for each girl.  

For Lillian:

Tickets for a live show or a movie

A gift card to buy some clothes (Target, Old Navy, Gap)

Water Beads

Blonde Barbie Boy (Must have full clothing, no naked cheasts)

Craft Stuff

Snacks (goldfish, gummies, granola bars, crackers and cheese, teddy grahams)

Shoes, size 12

Belts, she loves them

Butterfly Alphabet Puzzle

Butterfly Garden

For Ellison:

Cash towards a bed and bedding 

Gift cards for clothes (Target, Old Navy, Gap, Carters or Oshkosh)

Snacks (goldfish, teddy grahams, graham crackers, cheerios)

Lion Buckle Toy

Any of the Preschool Prep DVDs

For either/both of them:
Scripture song CDs: 30 Scripture songs,  Songtime Kids All New Scripture Songs or Scripture Songs that Stick, 

Tickets to a live show

Tickets to Sloan Museum or the Childrens Museum

Money for savings account

Shabby Chic Chiffon Flower Bows from etsy shop Brightfallenstar (We need the following colors: tan, yellow, grape, purple, turquoise, gray and royal blue )

CD- A Laurie Berkner Christmas 

Fun Bites Squares

Pig Buggyguard
Rainbow Streamers Waldorf Toy Kite

Thanks for working with us to make this Christmas as normal and memorable for the girls as possible.  

PS: I've been married to Richard for awhile now.  No, you cannot go buy a Golliath sized shoe box.  No you cannot buy a large present and stick a picture in the shoebox. No you cannot buy a thigh high boot box.  One adult shoebox please.  

RICHARD

Richard has said that he doesn't need any "things" for on the ship. He does appreciate the snack boxes, but can't store too much so he would prefer no more than normal at Christmas time.  He has asked that for his "gift" this Christmas that he be given money to go towards our "just us" vacation fund for when he gets home.


STACEY
Smooth Fitness Agile DMT Trainer  he he :-)
A custom portrait drawing of the girls from NataliaDENGER on etsy
Taylor Digital Scale Measuring Cup
Black Reef Womens Sandy Flip Flops Size 8
Blue cardigan 3/4 sleeve length size M
Adjustable chain white gold necklace
Small-Med suitcase that rolls in all directions
Calypso Basics Utensil Holder, Orange
Calypso Basics Spoon Rest, Orange
Kindle or itunes gift card
Car wash tokens
2 pr key socks, nude and black
Orange flourish shaped 5x7 frame from Hobby Lobby
Le Creuset Dutch Oven 5.5qt in Flame (Orange) 
Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult
Crate and Barrel gift card
Happy Yellow Stripe Queen Duvet and 2 Shams
Sakura Queen Duvet and 2 Shams 
Pink framed, orange faced mirror at Meijer ($44 I think)






None of these things HAVE to be purchased from these specific places, I just wanted to give you an example.

I need someone who would be willing to send a box to Richard this next week.  He has a couple specific needs.  He needs a box of plastic forks, regular coffee filters (home size) and large coffee filters (business size).

He also needs someone who would be willing to re-charge his phone card.

Let me know if you would be willing to do either thing.

Vacation boxes

Because R's "vacation" is longer than normal and more intense than some in the past, I would like to make sure that a box goes out every two weeks, at minimum.  I am going to put dates here, can you comment if you would be willing to send a box that week? Anytime in the week is fine.

I tend to do themed boxes, just because I do so many it gets boring otherwise, you do not need to do a theme by any means.  By signing up for a general week, it makes sure that he gets boxes regularly, not all bunched up together, which is better because his storage is limited.  It also allows me to give you more information on any more specific things he might need at that time.

Things he likes in boxes are:
Any kind of candy, ramen noodles, Mac n Cheese microwaveable cups, Cocoa, Coffee(none until at least Sept please), Beef Jerkey, Pumpkin Seeds, Gatorade powder (blue or orange), Sunflower seeds, nuts. Toilet paper, ketchup and BBQ sauce are always in short supply and are always appreciated, the smaller the package the better (individual packets of sauce).

Please DO NOT send chocolates, anything that can melt, anything with lithium batteries, or anything liquid.

If you need his address, let me know, if you have it from last time, it is the same.  You will need a customs form, let me know if you need help filling it out.  The best way to send a box is to get the APO/FPO flat rate box from the USPS-it ships for $13.45 no matter the weight.  You can get them in any USPS location or online here...https://store.usps.com/store/browse/uspsProductDetailMultiSkuDropDown.jsp?categoryNavIds=catGetMailingShippingSupplies%3AsubcatMSS_B%3AsubcatMSS_B_Free&categoryNav=false&navAction=push&navCount=31&productId=P_MILI_FRB&categoryId=subcatMSS_B_Free

Alternatively, If you would like to purchase phone card minutes for him, let me know and I will figure out how to have you do that.

July 2- Stacey (blue/orange)
July 16- Stacey (red)
July 30
August 13
August 27-Stacey (blue/green)
September 3
September 17
October 1-Stacey (Anniversary/7)
October 15
October 29
November 12
November 26- Stacey (Christmas presents)
December 3-Stacey (Red/Green)
December 17
December 31
January 14- Stacey (Lillian/Five)
January 28
February 11
February 25-Stacey (Happy Birthday/31)
March 11
March 25-Stacey (miss you)
April 8
April 22-Stacey (Happy Birthday)
May 6
May 20

NO COMMENTS ABOUT VACATION LENGTH/DATES ON HERE PLEASE. If your date needs to be changed, I will let you know.

Ellison's birthday list

Yes, its been forever since I posted.  We've been busy. And lonely.

Ellie's birthday is quickly approaching.  We are planning on having her birthday party either June 9 or 10, so a little after her actual birthday.

We are planning on moving to Michigan for about a year also in June and putting most of our belongings from here in VA in storage.  Because of that, we want to be very careful what new items we bring into our house at this time.

She's little and doesn't know what birthdays are all about so if you would like to just do money for her savings account or a savings bond, that would be perfect.

We have tons of books, movies and music, so please no more of that until she has preferences :-)  She also has TONS of clothes from Lillian, so please no more of those. We do however have some things pop up that she needs seasonally, or just something we unexpectedly don't have.  If you would like to help with those things, a gift card to Gap, Old Navy, Kohl's or Target would be wonderful.

I have put together a small list of things at Amazon.  This is the link:http://amzn.com/w/18LIELRP0F9EK. I did add in some outdoor toys that might be fun now that the girls actually will have a yard to play in this year.  Please help us out though, in that if you order anything that is bigger in size (BRILLS....NO 12foot caterpillars, or any other animals) please have it sent to Michigan, its just one less thing for us to transport there. 


Thanks! We can't believe that she is almost 11 months old.  She will get to celebrate her first birthday in the lovely state of Washington and she will share her first birthday party with the friends who have watched her grow this first year.  We are excited to do some traveling and have a party, and VERY excited to spend some time in Michigan.