Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched,

but they capture everyday moments from the last couple weeks.

This is what Hadley looks like when she pretends to "go shopping." She carries her picnic basket (purse) on her arm and walks around the house with her teal blanket and pink teddy bear:

Below is the spring bulletin board I created to promote reading and the books in my school library:

I teach at Savannah's school. Starting in July, the school board wants to change our school day from 7:45-2:15 to 9:15-3:45, so we can share buses with the elementary school next door. In 2018-2019, the school board wants to convert us from a year-round to a traditional school.  Changing our school's bell schedule and calendar would have a big impact on our family's schedule, child care options, and budget. If our school converts to a traditional school, then I would be able to spend summers with Savannah and Hadley, but I would have fewer breaks during the school year, and take a $13,000 pay cut. On April 4, the school board will vote on these proposed changes.

Over the last few years, all of the Pizza Inn restaurants in our area have gone out of business. On a Friday night, Tal was craving taco pizza (pictured below), so our family drove 40 minutes to the nearest Pizza Inn. The pizza was worth the drive!

Savannah read aloud several library books about saving and spending money:

Hadley looked through some of the books about money:

Hadley loved when Tal threw her over his shoulder:

Two weeks ago, our nearest Walmart started grocery pick-up. It has been a huge time saver for our family...and it's free!  I order and pay for our groceries online and then schedule a one-hour window (like 3:00-4:00 on Friday) to pick-up my groceries.  I downloaded the Walmart Grocery app on my phone. Before I leave home to go pick-up my groceries, I click "check-in" on the grocery app, and the GPS on the app notifies Walmart when I have arrived. I park in a designated parking spot (shown below), and an employee brings out my groceries and loads them into my SUV. Grocery pick-up only takes 5 minutes (seriously!) and saves me 1.5 hours of shopping each week...plus the stress, aggravation, and exhaustion of taking the girls grocery shopping with me after a long day at school. 

On a Sunday afternoon, Savannah and I got pedicures while Tal and Hadley were taking naps:

We loved getting our feet pampered!

Savannah got her toes painted purple and pink with white flowers:

My hot pink toes are ready for spring!

While Savannah was at gymnastics, Hadley and I visited the fountain outside:

Savannah got her first watch! In school, Savannah has been learning how to tell time over the last couple months. Wearing a watch has been a great way for Savannah to practice her telling time skills!

Poor Hadley never wants to wake up at 6:15 A.M. for school:

Over the last 10 years, our family has been very healthy...with only an occasional cold, ear infection, or asthma attack. However, the last three months have been rough (health-wise) for our family. Our family hasn't been healthy in three months. For example, I have had three colds in the last three months. Tal has had two colds and one sinus infection (due to pollen and allergies) in the last three months. Savannah has had a cold, an ear infection, and allergies (due to the pollen) since January. Hadley has had colds and two ear infections over the last three months. Our family is tired of taking medicine and exhausted from being sick (or taking care of the sick). We are ready for warmer weather...and ready for the pollen to go away! 

On March 24, Hadley was diagnosed with an ear infection and took an antibiotic for a week. However, Hadley was still complaining of ear pain, so yesterday I took her to the pediatrician to have her ears checked:

We waited in the doctor's office for 1.5 hours. Savannah and Hadley entertained themselves by dancing (shown below) and reading:

Reading in the doctor's office:

Unfortunately, yesterday the doctor discovered that Hadley's ear was still infected and that the antibiotic wasn't working. To treat the ear infection, Hadley got two shots yesterday (one in each leg), two shots today, and two shots tomorrow. After Hadley got her shots this morning (shown below), she cried for a couple minutes and then calmed down when the nurse gave her a sucker:

I didn't win the Biggest Loser competition at my school (or the $612 cash prize), but I lost 15 lbs over the last 9 weeks. I started eating more salads and decreased my soda and candy consumption by about 75%. 

This morning I had Saturday School from 7:45-11:15 to make-up one of our snow days from January. When I left for school at 7:00, Tal, Savannah, and Hadley were asleep in our bed:

Savannah is having her first sleepover tonight! Her friend Liza (who lives in the house behind us) is spending the night at our house:

Hadley is excited that Liza is spending the night!

All of us ate ribs and BBQ for dinner at Shane's Rib Shack: 

After dinner, the girls watched a movie, braided each other's hair, and went to bed at 10:00 PM: