5 on Friday

<ONE>

Is it Friday? I can hardly tell. Vacations totally throw off my sense of "day". So far, our Thanksgiving break has been amazing. I worked Wednesday in a very quiet building. Got a TON done. I can even see my desk. On Thanksgiving day, we had a slow morning. We went to the lake house at 2 for dinner, then to a playground on our way home. The lake house was quiet and relaxed. It was very nice. Today, my dad and stepmom came to visit. Another quiet day! Tomorrow we plan to go to Boone for the day to pick out our Christmas Tree at our tree farm of choice in Meat Camp (you read that right). We may piddle around Boone for a while, Mellow Mushroom, etc.

<TWO>

I'm knee deep in editing. That's why my blog has been so neglected lately. November is my super busy picture-taking month. In the past two weeks alone, I've done 37 Christmas mini sessions and 2 full sessions. I love how they're turning out. But man alive...I'm exhausted.

<THREE>

Kellan turned one a few weeks ago. I didn't have the chance to blog a letter to him as I did to Finn. Unlike Finn who was sick on his actual birthday, Kellan got sick the day of his party. We ended up canceling it and not rescheduling (due to my busy photography schedule). Had all these cute "Where The Wild Things Are" decorations and outfits and cupcakes...was very disappointing. But when you're running a fever of 103.9, you don't expose it to others. Mommy was bummed.

<FOUR>

Today, Finn announced these exact words: "I've got my life all figured out." I'm glad it only took him four years. I've been here 36 and never had it all figured out. He makes me laugh.

<FIVE>

I did not "Black Friday" shop today (kind of). I went on Nordstrom.com and bought myself a pair of earrings I've been wanting for a LONG time that were on sale. They're usually out of stock, or when they're in stock I'm too cheap to pay full price. Today was the glorious day! It'll be even glorious-er (?) when they arrive on my ears. 

Night.

What's Up Wednesday

So, it's November. And I think WUW is for the last Wednesday of the month.

Oh well. First Wednesday here we go!

• This week we are eating fried rice and sushi (Finn's favorite meal), turkey chili and baked potatoes, a homemade pineapple and black olive pizza, taco salad, Tandoori chicken kabobs with Naan bread, and a pineapple chicken sandwich.
• This week I'm reminiscing about the year in general. Kellan will turn ONE on November 13th and I'm not entirely certain how this year has come to an end. It is amazing how different the first year was with Kellan than with Finn. Kellan is so easy-going, and smiles at everything and everyone. He's much more like I am. 
• This week I'm dreading the weather. November is SLAMMED with photography sessions. Both the many I'm shooting, and our family portraits by Coreyanna Photography. The next 10 days' forecast isn't looking good. Rain. Wind. Rain. Thunderstorms. The combination doesn't make for good pictures, and there's not time to reschedule.
• This week I'm working on editing two photo sessions and planning Kellan's first birthday. Kellan's party is a lot smaller than Finn's. Just our close local family and friends. But there's still a lot that goes into planning.
• This week I'm excited about going to the Panther's game on Sunday. We have a sitter for the boys all day and Pat and I are going to sit back and enjoy an entire football game without a squirmy 11 month old, or a 4 year old that has to go potty or needs a drink or wants to go play on the grass every 5 minutes (that was the App game this past weekend).
• This week I'm sort of reading See Me, which is Nicholas Sparks' new book. When I say sort of, it means I started to read it one day, got 6 pages in, and haven't had the time to pick it up again. I should probably be reading it instead of blogging.
• This week I'm listening to my boys laugh together. The adore chasing each other, and just cackle cackle cackle. Typically this game of chase turns into tears as Finn gets too rough and knocks Kellan down. But prior to that, I love watching them go round and round and crack each other up.
• This week I'm wearing my very last pair of Banana Republic dress pants that I've been trying to fit into for 2 years. It's my 1 pair of pants I've been wanting to be able to button and zip and this week, it happened! 
• This weekend...well, I think I've covered it already: photo sessions, Panther's game.
• Next month, well how about this month? This month I'm looking forward to the Panther's game, Christmas mini sessions, having family over for Thanksgiving, and going to the mountains after Thanksgiving to pick out our Christmas tree.
• What else is new? We downloaded a weekly cleaning schedule from Pinterest. There are daily tasks (like 1 load of laundry, dishes, wiping down counters), and then more in-depth tasks for each day of the work week. For example, Mondays you clean your master bedroom, etc. Oh my word, friends, cleaning is not an activity I enjoy. And it is taking near 2 hours a night to get it all done. Not sure if that means we're really dirty or what. I'm hoping as we continue, the time will get shorter each night as we're more maintaining than deep cleaning. It is nice to have a mostly clean house every day though. Can I just hire someone?