5 Easy Ways To Decorate A Yard For Christmas

**I was sent a Star Shower Window Wonderland and a Star Shower Slide Show in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own. No other compensation was exchanged.**


I am all about the easy. So when it comes time to decorate the yard for Christmas, I don't want to spend hours hanging lights. Neither does my husband. So we've stopped hanging lights because, you know, life is short, and if you don't wanna, you don't have to. However, we do decorate the yard in OTHER ways.


If you're all about the easy, here are some ideas!

1. Buy ornaments on clearance and hang on a tree: 

I bought these for 50% off last year so if something happens to one, I don't worry about it. The candy cane was only .98 cents. If you don't have a tree, put the ornaments on a bush. If you don't have a bush, well, lucky you, you don't have to maintain nonsense. (I am terrible with yard stuff. I have a black thumb.)



2. Get a Star Shower Window Wonderland over at buywindowwonderland.com!

It's incredibly simple to set up. You just tape up the screen (the box comes with it, plus the tape!), plug in the projector, and pick which of the 6 movies you want to feature. This would be perfect if you live in an apartment and don't have a yard to decorate too.

A small neighborhood kid asked, "Is that really Santa in your window?" Why yes, yes it is.

(Yes, we need to trim our bushes.)



3. Pick up a Star Shower! These things were all the rage a few years ago because they make life simple. We have ours facing the tree so it looks like sparkles everywhere.

4. Purchase an inflatable!

We've had this one for years so we definitely got our money's worth. Granted, we have to remind the neighborhood kids not to touch the penguins, because they do pop out, and kids want to hug them.



5. You can get a Star Shower Slide Show at buyslideshow.com. This one comes with 12 slides, and they're not only for Christmas so you get your money's worth. It's under $40, so it's the perfect decoration.

We are so putting this out for birthdays, because yes, they have a balloon slide. It takes minutes to set up.

This Santa is from the slide and as you see, we put the Snowman projector up. He says yo. Bring treats.


If you are going to decorate your yard, be sure to stop by CouponKirin to save big with the coupons and vouchers!

How do you decorate your yard?

5 Reasons Why You Should See Wonder

I decided to take my kids to see Wonder over Thanksgiving break. My daughter was excited about it. "It's based off a book. I haven't read it yet, but I heard it's good!" I haven't read the book yet either, but I'm now number 241 on the library wait list for it.

My son? Well, he's 15 and it's tough to get him out of his room. But I promised him food, so he went.

My husband did not join us. He does not like to feel things.



The movie was spectacular and I highly recommend it. Here's why.

1. You'll be reminded that it's always important to choose kind. In the movie, some kids aren't nice to Auggie, who was born with facial differences. Maybe their parents forgot to teach them not to be bullies. I don't know. My son has autism and I always worry people will be cruel towards him. So far, he hasn't been messed with, but if he ever is, I'm going to grab the kids by the ankles, swing them around my head, and toss them into the air.

Source

2. If you have kids, it's a good lesson for them. It will remind them that people are different and we must EMBRACE those differences. I always tell my kids they can learn something for each person they meet. They just have to be willing.

Source

3. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll cry some more. Oh man, I cried so much into my popcorn to the point where my son took the bucket from me. "You'll get your tears all over it. Gross." Granted, my kids did not cry. Well, Natalie said she nearly did once, but it was about the dog. "What about people being mean to Auggie?" I wailed. She shrugged. "I mean...it was sad, but the DOG!"


4. Julia Roberts is in it. I still remember when she was a prostitute....

5. You'll leave the theater feeling good. And possibly crying all over yourself. Or maybe that was me. I had to leave the theater with my sunglasses on because my daughter said I "looked blotchy." I am not a pretty crier. I felt like Bono.



Have you seen Wonder yet? Are you a pretty crier?

Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

Hey, It's Okay....




.....to have had a lovely Thanksgiving. My husband was off work, so we went to my parents' house to celebrate. How was yours if you celebrate?



.....to have not gone out on Black Friday. Well. Not early, but my daughter and I did go out around lunch time. We earned that 20% off coupon at Target for spending over $50.



....to be glad I'm not the only one without a Pinterest tree.



....to have not bought much on Cyber Monday. I didn't find amazing deals. I did get a few video games for my son that were slightly cheaper, but that's about it.



....to have decorated the outside of the house. I only cursed twice!



....to have watched my husband graduate another flight. He's a MTI in the Air Force and loves what he does.

There's No Pinterest Tree Here

Tree photos have been popping up on my feed. And I notice that most of them look...well, like Pinterest trees. There's nothing wrong with it, mind you, but some of these people have kids and I'm all, "How?" I think this because in my house, my kids help decorate the tree, and we have an assortment of ornaments. They are not matching or color coordinated. (And shout out to the people with the fake trees! Whoop!)

Oh, and my daughter picked out the star this year. It looks like we have a disco in the room. Cue thumping music now.

But as you see, it's an eclectic assortment of ornaments. There is not a large colorful string circling the tree because our cat would attack it and the whole thing would come crashing down. And then our cat would look at US like WE did it.

Our tree wouldn't be considered a Pinterest tree, but each of these ornaments mean something.

I've had this Simba one since I was little. And I picked up this house when I was tiny and living in Italy:

I've had these Bert and Ernie skating figures since I was like 5. And in the middle is my first Christmas ornament with my husband.

My daughter put together this Santa butt ornament with the poop emoji underneath. Is it gross? Kinda, but we're the type of family who laughs at farts, so it works. (Chewbacca is clearly excited about it all!)

Also, there are sometimes 3 ornaments on one branch, because when kids decorate, they don't always pay attention. But it's okay because I got them out of their rooms and off their devices. And it's fun when they're like, "Aw, remember when I made this?"

So I'm here to say it's okay if your tree doesn't look perfect. And it's okay if it does.

But imperfections have always been more interesting to me. Each of these ornaments tell a part of our story.

Do you have a Pinterest tree?

Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

Hey, It's Okay....



....to have enjoyed Justice League. We didn't stay throughout the credits though. My husband and daughter were like, "Our bladders! Have to pee!" So what happened? I saw the race, but was there anything else?



....to be taking the kids to see Wonder this week. It looks like such a spectacular movie. Tom isn't coming. He doesn't like to feel things.



.....to be going to Sea World and taking a Christmas Tradition tour. We get to have dinner with Santa and Mrs. Claus and see a reindeer, plus a bunch of other fun activities.



....to be mostly shopping Black Friday online, but Natalie is making me go to Target on Friday. This is because we're going to see her Daddy graduate the new airmen so when that's done, we're having lunch and shopping, which I love to do, but ack, crowds. She's lucky she's cute. And that I adore Target.




....to be thankful I don't have to make all the Thanksgiving food. We're going to my parents' house. I hate cooking.



....to have ordered our Christmas cards from Snapfish this year. They look like this:

How To Cheer Up A Fifth Grader

I could tell she was upset. Her shoulders slumped a bit. She chewed on her lower lip. So I went over to see. And then I saw.

She didn't get a speaking part in the play she had auditioned for. She was in the choir. I could see her staring hard at the paper with the parts listed. Her friend beside her got a speaking part and squealed.

"Congratulations," my daughter said tightly. Her voice sounded a little wobbly.

Another friend also got a speaking part. I could see Natalie teeter a bit.

"Congratulations," my daughter repeated. "You'll do great." She looked at me. "I'm ready to go."

I nodded. My heart squeezed for her. I knew it was tough. As we walked to the car, I could hear another girl burst into tears behind us. "I got nothing!" I heard her wail.

"It's okay if you want to cry," I said. At least that other girl was owning her feelings.

"I know," Natalie answered tightly.

We got into the car. It was silent. Normally my daughter chatters about her day. ("And then Dominic told Stacy that he had enough and Stacy said, no, SHE had enough and stomped away.") It's amusing, really. But now it was quiet.

"There's nothing wrong with being in the choir," I tried again. "I auditioned for so many things. One time I was a tree. I just stood there."

Natalie sighed. "You know, you don't always have to try and be funny. It doesn't work anymore. I'm ten now."

I gripped the stirring wheel. In the past I could get her to giggle with a joke. Or with fart noises. But now. Now. She's ten. She's growing up. The things I could do before aren't always going to work. I'm going to have to adjust how to I speak with her when she's hurt.

"I know," I whispered, and then drove us home in silence.

When we got home I asked if she wanted to talk. She shook her head. A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away.

"You were brave," I told her. "Getting up there and singing in front of all those people for the audition is not easy. Don't ever doubt that. Sometimes you don't always get what you try out for. You know I'm a blogger and I've applied for many jobs and have been declined. You might not feel like you're good enough, but you are."

My words didn't seem to move her. "I just want to be alone for a bit." And I watched as she climbed up the stairs, head down.

I know this is part of growing up. She's going to be hurt a lot. She's not always going to get the part she wants. Things won't always go her way. Middle school is coming. Middle school will get complicated. Middle school frightens me.

I didn't know what to do. Let her stay upstairs?

I was still wondering this when Tommy got home from school. I told him what happened.

"Do you think you could give your sister a hug?" I asked.

Tommy gave me a Look. "Why?"

"Well, she wanted a speaking part and didn't get one."

Tommy blinked. He could not relate. He would hate to have a speaking part in a play.

"Natalie!" I called out.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come down? Your brother is home."

Natalie came down the stairs, head still down.

Tommy said, "Next time do better." He has autism, and doesn't always understand what to say in social situations.

He read my expression, which is win for him, and quickly added, "You did your best. Good for you."

A tiny smile played on Natalie's lips. "Thank you, Tommy."

I wanted to keep that tiny smile going so I asked if she wanted to eat at Panera Bread, one of her favorite places.

The smile widened. "Yes!"

I asked Tommy if he wanted to go and he went, "No thank you. The salad you get looks like snot."

(I think it's the avocado that freaks him out. It's slimy.)

So we went to Panera Bread. And Natalie became Natalie again.

“Beth is using Nahara for her speaker so Nahara said she’s not her friend anymore. Beth says I have to choose between her and Nahara and I said I’ll be friends with whomever I want, thank you very much. Gosh, the drama is only going to get worse in middle school, isn’t it?”

(And she meant a mini bluetooth speaker. I was picturing Beth having Nahara doing the speaking FOR her and Natalie was all, "No silly, it's an actual SPEAKER for your PHONE so you can hear the music better.")

Natalie said, "You know, JoJo didn't always win in her dances, and now she has her own company."

I raised an eyebrow.

"JoJo. From Dance Moms. Hello?"

"Ooooo," I answered. "JoJo's Bows!"

"And JoJo's clothes. And JoJo's jewelry. JoJo EVERYTHING."

We giggled together.

"Thank you for cheering me up," Natalie said, placing her hand over mine. I looked down. It was still small, but it wouldn't always be. "I remember that you told me if I just got the choir that I should rock it."

"And that's what I'm going to do." 

My Daughter Auditioned For The School Play

"Mommy, there are a lot of people here. What if I forget?"

I looked around the room. Natalie was right. It was full. There had to be at least 100 people. Maybe more.

"Do your best. It's all you can do," I answered.

Natalie bit her lower lip. "What if I don't get a part and am just in the choir?"

This was a strong possibility. It looked like over 50 kids were auditioning for the school play and there were maybe 15 speaking parts, if that. The rest of the kids would go into the choir.

"Then you'll do your very best in the choir," I replied.

She leaned against me briefly. After all, she's in fifth grade and it's not as cool to snuggle with Mommy in public. But I held her close and whispered, "You'll do great. No matter what."

She shrugged and picked at her fingers.

The auditions started soon after.

Natalie was number 4. When they called her name, she took a deep breath.

"You can do it, baby girl," I said and gave her a thumbs up.

She nodded and climbed the stairs onto the stage.

I filmed her, and many of you might have already seen it.






When she was done, she rushed back to her seat.

"That was embarrassing," she whispered, cheeks a bit pink. "But fun. I got nervous. I wish I'd have danced, but there were so many people staring."

"It's okay. You did you best."

She wanted to stay and support her friends that auditioned. She clapped hard for every kid that went up there. Some walked to the stage and muttered, "I can't do this," and left. But you know what, that's fine. I couldn't do it. I hate being in front of people. Whenever I had to give speeches in front of the class, I would panic. But Natalie has so much more confidence than I ever did.

We'll find out by the end of the week what part Natalie got. And if she's just on the choir, she's okay with that. She was in school choir last year and was one of the only kids who did the arm movements with excitement.

Have you ever auditioned for anything?

Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

Hey, It's Okay....




....to be excited that I'm going to see The Justice League with my family this weekend. We like super heroes!



....to have gone to At Home to buy some Christmas decorations, and so did most of Texas. The line was crazy.



....to not be putting any Christmas decorations up until after Thanksgiving. It feels too weird to have them up before then. But I have some ready to go!



....to be amused when I watch 90 Day Fiance. You can so tell some of these people are using the US people for a green card.



....to have eaten so many rolls when we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch. I'll never be one of these no carb people.



.....to be proud of my daughter for auditioning for her school play. She was nervous because there were over 100 people in the room. But she did it. (And yes, she is sporting a unicorn hat from Despicable Me.)

Watching Atypical: Similarities and Differences In My Son With Autism

Source: Netflix

Atypical is a show on Netflix about a teenager with autism. His name is Sam, and he's 18. He has decided he wants a girlfriend, and will do what he can to get one.

Only it's not as easy as he hopes. People with autism aren't the best with social cues, and they can be awkward. Neutrotypicals don't always know how to react or deal with people with autism. A lot of them don't bother to try, which is a shame.

As I watched the show, I thought of my own son Tommy, who has autism. He's 15 and also would like a girlfriend but it's difficult for him because he doesn't talk to a lot of people.

I saw similarities and differences between my son and Sam. And here are some of them.

Image Source

1. Tommy doesn't wear headphones like Sam does in high school. Sam wears them because it helps cancel out all the noises. When Tommy was smaller, he hated noises, but he has gotten much better with coping. He still isn't a fan of sudden loud noises, like fire alarms, but most of them are pre-planned, so he can prepare.

Atypical

2. As I mentioned before, like Sam, he wants a girlfriend. He's always asking me how to get one. I tell him to be himself, to always be polite, and to never ask a girl when she's cranky if she's on her period. (And he says this to me: "There was a cranky girl at school, but I knew not to ask if it was because she was on her period.")


3. Tommy doesn't drive even though he could get his learner's permit. He's not interested. Sam is 18 and doesn't drive either. He takes the bus. This is most likely what Tommy will do.


4. My son doesn't have a job. Granted, he's only 15, and in a few years he'll figure out what he wants to do. He knows FOR SURE he does NOT want to be in the Air Force like his Daddy because "I like my hair long."

5. In Atypical, Sam relies a lot on his sister, who is a few years younger than him. I think he's a senior and she's a freshman. She watches over him, gives him his lunch money, things like that. Tommy is 15 and Natalie is 10 so she isn't really a protector. Granted, she would tell someone where they could go if they made fun of Tommy, but I would never put all sorts of responsibilities on her. I think parents who do this are wrong. It is NOT the sister or the brother's job to have to take care of their sibling with autism. The neurotypical sibling NEEDS to have their own life.


6. Sam's Dad struggles to talk with him at times. Yup, this is true with Tommy's Dad. In the show, Sam's Dad said his son was "not like anyone he's ever met before." My husband Tom feels the same, I'm sure. My husband is one of those macho military men, and Tommy has poor gross motor skills. You know how a lot of fathers think, "I can't wait to toss a baseball around with him," when they find out they're having a son? I'm sure my husband thought this and then realized early on that his son would never do this with him because he can barely hold a ball properly.

7. Tommy doesn't mind if you call him autistic. In the show, when his parents are at an autism support group, the dad is chastised for calling him "autistic" and is urged to use "people-first" language. So you'd say, "People with autism" which essentially is the same thing. My son doesn't care. I really don't care. There's so much more to worry about in the world.


8. Tommy doesn't have a bunch of friends. Sam has his co-worker Zahid and (finally) a girlfriend. Tommy says he is an introvert and speaks to only a select few at school. He communicates with people online since he has a YouTube channel, and of course he communicates with family, but that's about it.


9. He probably wouldn't go to a dance, even if it was silent. In Atypical, his girlfriend requests a silent dance where everyone wears headphones with the music coming out of them. That way it's not too loud for Sam.


10. It's not okay to cheat on your spouse because you're dealing with autism. In the show, it really bothered me that the mom cheated and seemed to imply that it was because she's been dealing with autism for 18 years. Sorry, no excuse. Keep your pants zipped. It is difficult, because odds are, it's the mother dealing with mostly everything because she tends to know her kid the best. In my house, I'm the one that knows how to calm Tommy down. I'm the one who arranges and goes to IEP meetings. I'm the one that teachers call if there is a problem. I'm the one who worries what happens when Tommy finishes high school. I'm the one who will do anything to protect my son.

Source

11. Tommy does watch groups of neurotypicals and remembers their mannerisms and sayings like Sam. Sam actually wrote down phrases that he heard. Tommy will say them to me. "What's good?" or, "What's up, homie?" but in a robotic tone, because it's not really HIS words, it's words he's heard from students around him.


12. Sam is obsessed with penguins. He'll randomly spout out facts about them, not realizing the people around him aren't interested. Tommy knows tons of info about weather and will go on about the different clouds, not understanding that others might not care to know about wall clouds.

I will note that some people with autism did not enjoy the show. They called it dehumanizing, and it's their opinion. My son has NOT seen the show yet. I personally liked it and as I mentioned, Sam reminds me of Tommy in a lot of ways. If you're curious, here's a preview of the show:

If you've seen Atypical, did you like it?

Dogs For Our Brave Helps Our Veterans (And How You Can Too)

This post is sponsored by Dogs For Our Brave. All opinions are my own.



My husband was a military dog handler.

So he knows how important the relationship between a dog and a human is. He spent hours training with his dog. They trusted one another. They knew they'd keep each other safe. They had a strong bond.

It's one reason why I knew I wanted to work with Dogs For Our Brave. It's an organization that provides service/companion dogs at no cost for our injured military members. After all, they deserve only the best for all they do for their country. And sometimes they can use a furry friend.

I love that Dogs For Our Brave rescues dogs from shelters and puts them through a comprehensive training program before pairing them with soldiers. No service member is EVER charged because 100% of all costs, which includes rescue, the training I mentioned, dog food, care, medications, and daily care are covered by Dogs For Our Brave. Most of us know how dogs are like more than pets--they're family members, because they're there when you need them.

Veterans Day is tomorrow, and I would love to raise money for this wonderful organization. If I get at least $10,000 in generous donations, I'll even get to name a dog. (For some reason Rufus keeps floating around in my head.)

If you have it in your heart to give something, you can click here. You can donate as little as $1. Just know when you donate, you are helping both an animal AND a service member.

So please. Consider donating.

And remember our veterans. Always.

To learn more about Dogs For Our Brave, you can check them out at the following:

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