not our typical monday

 

jason usually only has one day off every week, and that day is sunday. however, sunday he was asked to go in, and since he is always such a nice guy, he told his boss that he would. of course that gave him monday off, which was wonderful because it was just jason, elijah and i while the rest of the clan was in school.

just one kid. that like never happens. NEVER! i love my kids but this was seriously heaven. it was chilly enough to wear jeans and a hoodie, but the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day.

we were able to go out to lunch, at a sit down restaurant, and not have to scream, give the evil eye, threaten, for use the devil voice while we enjoyed our meal. elijah was perfect, i ate so much i nearly vomited, and the best part is that we got out of there at under $50.

ps. see those jeans jason is wearing up there? those are the new levi strauss line of denizen jeans you can find at target. denizen sent him a pair of their new jeans to try out and jason absolutely loves them. they are now the only jeans he wears when he is not in his uniform. he has done nothing but talk about how comfortable they are since he got them. be sure to check out the new denizen jeans at target next time you are there. they also come in kid's and women's. 

all opinions are our own. i was given one pair of men's denizen jeans for an honest review.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

big family, small budget: having fun - museums

sometimes being at home gets boring, but most people just don't go out because they think it costs a lot of money to have a good time. like i have mentioned many times before, most kids just want you to spend time with them and really don't compare price to the quality of fun. however, there are so many free or inexpensive ways to have fun in your community. although, i can not give you specifics about what is available in your community, these helpful suggestions may give you an idea of what may be available in your area.

for those of you who are curious, i live in the raleigh/durham area of NC and these ideas come directly from what is available in our area. i have provided links to some of my suggestions for those who do live in my area. visit links for specifics for each location.

i can name three museums in our area that are free of charge, the NC museum of natural sciences, the NC museum of history, and the NC museum of art . some special events do cost extra, but there is so much to see and do that paying extra is really not necessary. at times there are even special events that are also free of charge. just recently, the natural science museum had their annual bugfest, which is free to attend. we went a few years ago and had a blast.

some museums do charge to visit their facility, sometimes even for a very inexpensive fee. be sure to check those museums as well for reduced pricing days or to ask about membership. marbles museum is an awesome museum that encourages learning through play. their facility provides a wonderful play and learning environment that encourages social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth. tickets for one day for our family of 8 on a reduced pricing day was over $30. however, i recently purchased a one year membership for right at $100. we can go as many times as we want for one full year.

Another museum in our area is the Museum of Life and Science. an annual membership fee for our family of 8 would be $160. considering the ticket price per person to get in is around $10 each, i would say that $160 is an excellent price for our family to go as many times as we want over the course of one year.

although getting outside is something my children love, museums are great for those cold or rainy days when you want to get out of the house but don't want to be outside.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

semi wordful-less-ish wednesday

apparently, my phone can only take pictures of two things...what i am drinking and elijah.


linking up with the paper mama, angry julie monday, naptime momtog, and then she snapped, supermom, and project alicia.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

back from crudville

oh my goodness, i bet you were wondering where i went. if you haven't been following me on twitter or facebook, then you might not know that i have been so incredibly sick. it started with phoenix about two weeks ago and it migrated to elijah, then tyler, then jason and i. and it seems as if i got it the worst.

it actually began as croup, with a fever, barking cough, and body rash. phoenix, tyler, and elijah had it for about five days. however, when it got to me, i got a fever, barking cough, and lost my voice. then, that turned into a enormous head cold; more fever, chills, stuffy nose, coughing, and pure exhaustion. then just when i felt like i might be getting better, i got an upset stomach and spent an entire night in the bathroom. and if that wasn't bad enough, in the midst of it all, elijah got sick one morning and vomited ALL OVER ME.

so here i am almost 2 weeks later, still blowing my nose and coughing up nastiness from my lungs and feeling exhausted like a chain smoker running marathons. but i am definitely feeling better.

on wednesday, i actually forced myself to do more than leave the house to pick up the kids from school and ventured out to the park for some fresh air.

although it was actually a pretty hot afternoon, the mornings have been really cool around here and we are definitely starting to see all the signs of fall. yesterday it didn't get past 65 degrees all day.

i love summer, but this year i am ready for fall. we have had so many stumbles and roadblocks the last few months, so i am ready for a fresh start.

have a great saturday!

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

three sick kiddos

yep, that's right!

all three of my littlest littles have been sick. it started thursday when phoenix came home from school with a 104 fever.

from experience, unless you have some other kind of symptom other than a fever, a trip to the doctor's office is pretty pointless. so many times, my kids have had a 24 hours fever and then been fine. so, friday phoenix stayed home and by the afternoon, she was fine. then, saturday came a cough that turned into a bark. sunday, elijah got a fever and the barking cough, and monday, tyler got it.

you can't tell it here, but her face is swollen and covered with a terrible bright red rash.

yesterday, everyone woke up with fever and rash, so we took a trip to the doctor.

diagnosis: croup. which was exactly what i suspected, but my worst case scenario mind had me convinced that it might be croup mixed with strep.

phoenix and tyler are home again today. although they still have the rash all over them, and they aren't contagious, i didn't feel comfortable sending them to school. but, don't think i am not ready for them to go.  
they are driving me crazy!

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

we've got the plague

...well, NOT ME, but my kids certainly do. since last monday, one by one they have been sick. just today it was phoenix. it really would be so much easier if they all had gotten it at one time.

it goes a little something like this: vomit, vomit, vomit! there have been three incidents in the van, and guess who got to clean it up?  i am amazed i haven't gotten it yet.


and this is me, losing my flippin' mind.

as soon as this mess goes away, i will be sure to tell you all about gracie, my god daughter's birthday. if you follow me on twitter you know that i actually missed the party because of this crud, but i was able to stop by and take a few photos ahead of time. 





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to grandma's house we go

my grandma's house was broken into recently.

she has been a little anxious about being home alone since the incident so we ventured out this past weekend to spend some time with her. i truly do love it at her house because she has such a large grassy yard perfect for running around.

spring was in the air that day. the warm sun beating down on us, but a chill in the air if you dare step into a shady spot. i could just see the beginnings of little blooms all over her yard.

grandma's yard is like a beautiful garden from a disney movie in the spring and summer, full of buzzing bees and chirping birds. those sounds were not yet among us that day. not yet!

grandma always has some of her delicious southern cooking ready for us to eat when we arrive and some kind of tasty dessert as well. i recently started clean eating but i didn't have the heart to tell her i couldn't eat any of it, so i just kept my mouth shut and devoured every bit of it's unhealthy goodness.

my mom usually visits on weekends too, so we got to spend some time with her as well. the kids somehow always manage to convince her that the nearby walmart is calling their name. we all know that trips to walmart with grandma (my mom, in case all the "grandma" talk got a little confusing) always ends with toys and candy.

then of course more running in the yard to burn off all of the energy from their candy treats.

and yes my kids do get sick of all the photos i take all the time.

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