friday night ramblings and some photos

well, i screwed up my NABLOPOMO goal for the month. i was doing so well and then suddenly this week sped into view and all hell broke loose around here. i have been so incredibly busy! it's so hard to get anything done when i have all the kids at home, but it has been nice to spend the extra time with them.

we had a wonderful thanksgiving with my dad and step mother. i've said it before, but my step mother should totally have her own cooking show on the food network. the woman has spent her entire life perfecting her cooking and i bet she has collected over 1000 cookbooks throughout her life. i seriously don't ever recall anything she has made that wasn't good.

there is nothing better or more important to me than family time and home cooked meals during the holidays. i love that both jason and i share this common value. my fondest memory of this thanksgiving will always be jason and my dad playing soccer with the kids in the yard (photos coming of course)!

black friday shopping...ugh! not my thing at all! i do most of my christmas shopping online every year. a few tips to those who are afraid to shop online...

1. gather a wish list from your kids. we have been using giftbirdy and we love it!
2. start comparing prices early on. once black friday arrives, you will know whether or not the item is on sale and whether you need to wait until cyber monday. if it's not on sale on black friday, wait until cyber monday before settling. 
3.  once you have shopped, be sure to check websites like retail me not for coupon codes for even more discounts. 
4. check with your place of employment for discounts. jason works for directv, so we get additional discounts on a huge list of stores like best buy, target, and more. 
5. if you aren't offered free shipping, or you can't find a coupon code for free shipping, call the company and ask for it. i NEVER pay for shipping! 
6. while you are on the phone with the company, ask about any other unadvertised offers. i was able to get 20% off my order plus a one year subscription to rachael ray magazine last year just by calling customer service at rachaelray.com 

the best part about shopping online is that you can do it right in the comfort of your home, in your pajamas (or in the nude, if that's your thing). 

halloween is definitely my favorite holiday, but for some reason i just wasn't that into it this year and i have really been looking forward to christmas. i have planned some super fun activities for the kids and i just want to take it all in. i even made an advent calendar with activities for each day of december that i will be sure to share with you sometime soon.

last weekend, we went to the raleigh christmas parade and also hopped over to the wake forest seminary for a quick mini session with a cute little family for some fall photos. i will be sure to share our parade photos sometime this week, but in the meantime, please enjoy a few of the photos i took at the seminary.

the rest of the weekend is for spending time with my kids before they head back to school. ever seen the show total blackout? we are totally creating our own version of total blackout tomorrow night and i am pretty excited about it! this coming week i will also be just as busy trying to play catch up, plus, my birthday this week, and my best friend, amanda, who is having her baby shower next weekend. little gabriel will be here in no time.

tell me about your week! what's been on your mind or keeping you busy?

   

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

busy is all it has been.

life has been too busy to blog and when i do, i just can't seem to get my head in the game. i am sure you can tell they are whiny and complain-y and maybe even a little all over the place.

in the last week, we have dealt with our HVAC guy for one. talk about major stress when you are worrying if you are going to have heat before it gets too cold.  the guy is super inexpensive and great at what he does, but when you take off and don't call or show up like you say you are for over 4 days, i would call that unprofessional. he finally came back and fixed our unit, but in the process he told us we would need a new thermostat. rather than have him come back, we just decided to finish it up with our own trip to lowes and a diy HVAC project of our own.

and i am happy to say...WE HAVE HEAT!

but life hasn't been all bad, just busy. i had a photo shoot this past weekend with a beautiful newlywed couple and their daughter. i also shot bridal portraits and wedding photos for this couple back in april and may. their daughter is the cutest. i love this daddy/daughter photo.

thursday was early release from schools and guess what? i forgot and left my critters at school. major mom fail. and friday was a teacher workday. jason was supposed to be off work yesterday, but last minute he was called to duty and our plans to spend the day with just elijah at the fair were suddenly none. no big deal, i just like to complain. 

today phoenix and tyler have dr. appointments and that is sure to take most of the day, so i have to get ready for that.


hope you have a great day!