Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

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

but they capture everyday moments from this week.

 Hadley's Painting

Last week had some challenging moments. On Tuesday afternoon, the girls had an appointment at the post office, so they could get their passport photos taken, pay the fees, and turn in their passport paperwork. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. First, Hadley started crying and having a meltdown because she didn't want to have her picture taken. Then, after Hadley settled down and had her picture taken, I noticed that Hadley had blue lips and blue teeth in her passport picture...thanks to the blue lollipop that she had eaten on our way to the post office. Then, I was frustrated when I discovered that I couldn't turn in the girls' paperwork because Tal wasn't present to give his permission for the girls to leave the country. As a result, I had to go to our credit union, get a notarized affidavit, and make copies of our drivers licences. Thankfully, on Friday, Tal took the girls to the post office and turned in their paperwork, so hopefully they'll get their passports in a few weeks.

On Wednesday night, we had a plumbing emergency in our master bathroom. Hadley put too much paper in the toilet, and it overflowed. There was so much water on our bathroom floor that I had to use every towel in our linen closet to soak up the water. Tal and I spent an hour cleaning up the mess, disinfecting the bathroom floor, and washing towels:

On Thursday, Savannah got a 4 for effort in social studies!  She showed responsibility when she completed some make-up work.

On Thursday, I weighed in for Biggest Loser at my school. 30 teachers have joined the competition to see who can lose the highest percentage of their body weight from now until April 19. Each teacher paid $25 to participate, and the top 3 winners will receive cash prizes. (I didn't win last year, but I lost 15 lbs.) Biggest Loser is great motivation for me to reset my eating habits, increase my physical activity, and lose some weight. I struggle with eating healthy, but I'm trying to make some healthy changes to my diet over the next few months. For example, for my lunches this week, I will be eating a chicken caesar salad and some boiled shrimp that I seasoned with lemon pepper:

On Friday, I had a workday, which meant a sub taught my 6 classes, while I processed new library books. During my lunch/planning, I picked up Chick-fil-a for me and Savannah and ate lunch with her and her friends in the cafeteria. I eat lunch with Savannah once a week, but it's extra special when I bring take-out for lunch:

Thanks to Tal's mom for taking care of Savannah and Hadley at her house this weekend. If I remember correctly, it's been about 9 months since Tal and I have had a weekend alone without the girls. On Friday night, we enjoyed having a dinner date at Olive Garden. It was such a luxury to eat a leisurely meal, enjoy some adult conversation, and have some couple time:

For one of our meals this week, Tal and I used this recipe to make breakfast casserole:

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

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

but they capture everyday moments from this week.

On Saturday morning, the girls loved putting their personalized chairs on top of the couch while I vacuumed the living room. They felt like they were sitting on top of the world!

I think Hadley looks adorable when she holds her baby. It amazes me how Hadley instinctively knows how to be a mom by the way she gently holds and burps her baby against her chest. 

Hadley loves playing doctor and listening to her baby's heartbeat:

For our meals the week, Tal made slooppy joes and chicken-style cacciatore (below):

For my 5 lunches this week, I made baked salmon and chicken caesar salad. (I love the prepackaged chicken caesar salads from Walmart that have 230 calories.)

I love to sprinkle Mrs. Dash's lemon pepper seasoning on the salmon and bake it for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. It's simple, healthy, and delicious!

Over the weekend, the girls and I returned our books to the public library in our neighborhood, got some new books, and picked up Savannah's Geronimo Stilton book that she was being held for her:

Hadley's Painting

Today was Savannah's first day as a Junior Librarian in my library. As a Junior Librarian, she and her four teammates will help me the media center 10 times from January-June 2018. From 7:30-7:45 A.M., she and her teammates will take the library cart, go to the 6 classes that have library for specials that day, and collect students' library books. Then, they will check-in the books and put them on the cart, so my parent volunteers can shelve them. Savannah is excited to be a Junior Librarian!

NC State Gymnastics

On Saturday, our family (along with Savannah's neighborhood friends Liza and Sky) enjoyed a fun, family-friendly afternoon at a women's gymnastics meet at NC State (Tal's alma mater):

Savannah (almost 9), Hadley (3), and Tal with Mr. and Mrs. Wuf

Liza, Sky, Savannah, and Hadley

NC State won the 2-hour meet against Ball State and William and Mary. They competed in four events: vault, balance beam, floor exercise, and uneven bars. Each event lasted about 25 minutes, and there was a 6-minute break between each event.

NC State won the meet!

Meeting Mr. Wuf in the stands

After the meet ended at 6 P.M., all of ate dinner and played at McDonald's:

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

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

but they capture everyday moments from this week.

Hadley thought it was hilarious to sit in our blanket basket:

Today was snow day #3 for this week. Savannah started the day by reading in our bed:

Savannah finished chapter book #7!

The girls have slept until 8:30 or 9:00 A.M. while we have been on vacation and/or snowbound over the last month. Hadley was NOT happy when I woke her up at 9:00 this morning:  

This morning the girls and I used one of our free treats from the Chick-fil-a app and got free chicken minis for breakfast:

Our family is planning a trip to a warm destination (perhaps Aruba?) this spring. Savannah and Hadley will need passports for the trip, so this morning the girls and I drove downtown to the vital records office and got several copies of their birth certificates. On Tuesday, the girls have an appointment at the post office to have their passport photos taken and to turn in their passport paperwork:

When the girls and I were done at the vital records office, we ate lunch and played at McDonald's. After being snowbound for the last two days, it felt great to get out of the house and burn some energy:

At McDonald's, the girls enjoyed a free mini ice cream cone: 

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday it snowed for 12 hours, and we ended up getting 5 inches of snow. The girls and I slept until 9 A.M. this morning since school was cancelled:

When we woke up this morning, it was a peaceful and beautiful Winter Wonderland:

Our snowy backyard

The girls were excited that Tal worked from home today. During Tal's lunch break, the girls played in the snow, while Tal shoveled our driveway:

Do you like Tal's snow shovel?

School is cancelled tomorrow, so the girls and I will be enjoying the snow and some extra family time...and probably going somewhere to eat lunch and play since we have some cabin fever: