December Photo-a-Day Part 2: my month in pictures

Not a hefty load of pictures today, I actually am missing five, but I'm also writing this 4 days late too....so oops. I'm going to backdate it and leave it at that. I'll pretend that I really published it when I was supposed to LOL.

We watched Elf together and I snapped this picture because it was so funny and cute. Saydee cuddled up between the two kids, licking on Cami, Bella chilling in the background, Nick laying on Cami LOL // SpiderElf, SpiderElf // For our 10th wedding anniversary, Nick picked me up an Aerogarden because the chipmunks ate all of my plants this past summer. It's the coolest thing ever. // Wolfy tail // My Bella kitteh.

We are beyond blessed with a big family and it's grown a lot in 2016 with two new littles added from my husband's sisters. Mason loves his little cousins! Here he is hugging on his 7 mo old cousin, Ezra. // We decided to let Mason skip his nap on Christmas Day to maximize our family time...he fell asleep during Christmas dinner. // My brother-in-law has been helping redo our mantle and fireplace area each time he comes into town. The boys (Nick and Big Mason) built shelves, placed the mantle on, and mounted the tv this time around. They're hoping to do the stone and set in the insert properly in February and that should be it! // Big Mason and Kathleen (my husband's sister) brought their dog Klaus down and Saydee was so sad when he left :( // A week into germination and my little herb garden has some sprouts!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season - no matter what holiday, if any, you celebrated, and I hope everyone has a safe, prosperous, and happy 2017. xoxo

December Photo-a-Day Part 1: my month in pictures

I have no idea what day it is...well, I do, but it definitely takes me a hot minute each day to figure things out. Nick has worked two weekends in December and now he's on vacation. When he works weekends, I feel like it's Monday on a Saturday and then I just lose track of my days. I was supposed to get this up on Thursday the 15th, but failed to do so. I had my pictures ready to go, but forgot to log onto my blog and make this post. I know it's highly doubtful that I will get back on track until my big kids go back to school in January. *sigh* I need an adult! So let me show you what is going on in my neck of the woods!

Mason has discovered boxes and they are one of his favorite things now. Although he got really angry when he couldn't fit all the way in this one.

Cami made her Turkey in Disguise into Elsa and the sign says "Let it Go-bble" which she came up with herself and I thought was just absolutely hilarious. // Another box for the Little // I decided to not take the stroller with when we took Cami to her ENT appointment (which went very well) and Mason did pretty well. Still not there where we can do no stroller all the time. // I'm trying to break Saydee of this habit after transferring a million pictures of her like this one LOL

Books I Read in November

The Empty Throne by Cayla Kluver - 2 stars (DNF)
BOOK 2 IN THE HEIRS OF CHRIOR TRILOGY

I was gifted this book via Netgalley.
I try to make it 10% through books before I decide to put them down if I don't like them. Because I adored the first book so much, I tried very hard to make it through this book, but unfortunately had to "DNF" it at 25%. It definitely fell victim to second-bookitis. The plot moved like pondwater.

Girl Last Seen by Heather Anastasiu - 3.5 stars (finished 11/2)
I was gifted this book via Netgalley.
I'm really into the crime scene right now. It's basically all I'm reading and watching at the moment. I thought I would enjoy a story where a girl goes missing and the best friend is the main character and suspect.

Kadence is a royal bitch. Let's just get that straight right off the bat. Lauren is the "yes" person that Kadence has chosen as a best friend and Lauren feels she is so lucky to have her until she gets an infection that puts her on total vocal rest. Not a big deal unless you are being pressured to continue singing with your best friend after a video she posted of the two of you goes viral. Eventually, Kadence gets fed up with Lauren's recovery time and decides it's time for her to go solo. Then Kadence goes missing and all signs point to Lauren being responsible.

I like this book and I disliked it. It was written well and was very readable, but the characters weren't necessarily my favorite. I felt there needed to be a little more substance in the storyline. The ending was quite surprising though - I have to admit.


Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige - 2.5 stars (finished 11/27)
BOOK 1 IN THE STEALING SNOW TRILOGY

I was gifted this book via Netgalley.
I was really excited about this book going into it, but ended up more disappointed than anything. The story definitely has/had a lot of potential and I will definitely be reading others' reviews of the sequels, but I will not be reading them myself. I think there was a lot of filler, a lot of stuff that didn't make sense in the story, and it did seem to drag on quite a bit.

December TBR List + Upcoming Releases

I finished 2 books in November and DNF'd 1. Not ideal, but it happened. I'm hoping to finish at least 4 this month. It would be incredibly nice to finish 11 and meet my goal of reading 45 books this year, but I highly doubt it'll happen. I don't want to get my hopes up.

Possible reads:

• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
• White Cat by Holly Black - new series
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga - new series

The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland // Split the Sun // Forever, Again // Ever the Hunted

What books do you hope to read this month?

What releases are you excited for?