The Daily Dime / / October 2017

How in the world is it this time again so soon?!  I feel like I just documented one of these days yesterday!!  Anyway, welcome to another edition of The Daily Dime!  Remember all you have to do is post ten photos from a day in your life  - they can include as much or as little explanation as you'd like - and then link up below!

Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Brantley is 5 years + 3 months.

Holden is 3 years + 6 months.

Rhett is 10.5 months old.
I realized at the end of the day that my ten photos are crazy similar to last month's!  And once again, Craig is out of town for work.  (I'm joining him on Thursday!)

All photos were taken with my iPhone 8 Plus (yay a new phone!).

The drive on my way to work after dropped off the boys at daycare and preschool.  I just love these early morning sunrises in Kansas.



I arrive at school, Emergen-C, coffee and essential oils in tow.  It seems I'm coming down with a cold or sinus infection and I'm trying to avoid getting sick before our kid-free weekend getaway!



Planning period.  I finalize a few quarter one grades, reply to some emails, and begin working on my sub plans for Thursday and Friday.  Did I mention I'm headed to Dallas and oh-so excited!  I also snap a photo for my new Instagram account (@schoolinstyle) focused on teacher style/fashion.  I'd love it if you follow along!

Back to teaching.  Today's lesson included going outside to indirectly measure the height of a light pole.  You know, math nerd things.  But a total success when one student said "That was so much fun!"



End of the school day.  First, I get the older boys, then on to get Rhett.  I have them all by 4:20 and headed home!

Once home, my work clothes come off and comfy clothes go on.



And whoa, I come back downstairs and Rhett is halfway up the stairs!!  Apparently, he climbs stairs now!  Mental note taken.

 The rest of the evening is a blur.  Feeding three kids, washing bottles, laundry, packing three kids for four days at Grandma's, packing the dog stuff, bath/showers, bedtime, books, getting things ready to run out the door by 6:55am the following morning.  Whew!

Finally, I sit down with a hot cup of tea and watch This Is Us.  Ummmmm, the ending?!  No spoilers here, but all I'll say is that it made me smile instead of cry for once!!

And back upstairs to finish start packing for myself.  Who knows what time I'll actually get to bed tonight, but hopefully by the time I'm lounging at the pool on Thursday, it'll all be worth it.

The Daily Dime / / September 2017

I haven't had much motivation to blog since returning to school a month ago (it happens every August/September), but today is our fourth installment of The Daily Dime so here I go!

Date: Monday, September 11, 2017

Brantley is 5 years + 2 months.

Holden is 3 years + 4 months.

Rhett is 9 months old.
Craig left mid-day for a work trip to Nashville so I was one my own with all three kids.

All photos were taken with my iPhone 6.

My alarm goes off at 5:30am.  I lay in bed for a snooze or two and then roll out of bed to go get ready.  I wouldn't call myself a morning person, but once I'm up, I'm fine.  My clothes are laid out because I'm still excited about dressing up and on top of my wardrobe game.  Plus, after being pregnant last year, it's like I have all new work apparel that I had forgotten about!  I decide to curl my hair to avoid having to wash it (if you've been around for awhile, you know I hate showering).  Rhett wakes around 6am so I go get him a bottle and give it to him in his crib in his dark room.  At 6:44am, we are both ready for our day (and the only ones awake) so we take a mirror selfie.

The other boys' clocks turn green (and Craig's alarm goes off) at 6:45.  I lay out some clothes for the boys, give everyone kisses, grab my things (coffee, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and purse) and head out for school shortly before 7.  Craig is in charge of drop off for all three boys; I do pick-up.  I have a short drive to work, only about eight minutes away.

On this particular day, I have to be at school for an NHS meeting (I'm a co-sponsor) at 7:20 so I arrive around 7:10.  Normal days start at 7:30.  I do like going to work before the masses; it's mostly peaceful on the roads at 7am and I get to see some great sunrises.  Here's a picture of my school upon arrival.  My classroom is just outside of view, one or two windows to the left.

School starts at 7:50.  This year (and for two second year in a row), I have five blocks of Honors Math 2 (Geometry/Algebra 2) and one block of Math 2 Support (a remedial class where I review, reteach, and help students better understand the material).  It's a pretty sweet schedule, I'm not going to lie!  This was a blue day (block scheduling), so I teach first block and have second block plan.  I use my plan time to grade, make copies, respond to emails, plan upcoming lessons, attend meetings, organize NHS files, etc.  I love teaching, but I really love plan time, mainly because I love thinking about how to adequately teach particular topics.  I always eat a mid-morning snack, lately it's always an apple!

The rest of the day is business as usual.  Third and fourth blocks (with lunch in between), then seminar, which is like an end-of-day study hall.  My contract day ends at 3:30, but I hardly ever leave at that time!  I would rather stay later and get my work done at school than have to take it home.  Plus, I'm a perfectionist and everything has to be just so before I leave.

I did pack up to leave at 3:36 on this day because I had scheduled a Walmart grocery pickup for between 3 and 4.  One of my favorite parts of our new daycare/preschool situation is the proximity to our house/my work, which allows me to swing by the grocery store on my way home.  Still, to save time, I generally order my groceries online and schedule a pickup for the following day.  (Sundays/Mondays are grocery days in our house.)  Also, grocery pickup (and delivery) is the next best thing since sliced bread.  If you're not using it, you should be.  (Click here to save $10 on your first-ever Walmart order.)  

I try to always get the kids by 4:30, but I can leave them until 5 (Rhett) and 5:45 (older boys) if need be.  Once home, the older boys unpack their backpacks.  We all love their new preschool, but holy moly, the amount of papers that come home with them is crazy!  Most end up in the trash...what can I say, I don't like clutter.

The moment I'm home, my work clothes + heels come off and my hair promptly goes in a mom bun. #duh

The boys go outside to play football, while I get dinner ready.  Since Daddy is out of town, dinner consists of corn dogs and leftover mac & cheese for the kids and a leftover Asian skillet meal for me.  (Ain't no cookin' when I'm solo.)  By the way, football is the current sport of choice in our house.  However, it literally changes with the season.  Since football is on t.v., that's what they play!  Give it two months and the basketball goal will be in the middle of our dining room floor.

Dinner for Rhett.  At nine months, he's eating a mixture of pureed baby food and finger foods.  Tonight he ate some diced banana, diced peas, diced watermelon, and puffs (to keep him occupied while I did a few things).  Then, I fed him rice, pureed blueberry/carrot mixture, and meat while the boys ate their dinner of champions.  He's such a happy, fun boy these days!

After dinner, I cleaned up (which took forever, despite the meal of leftovers😩...boys are messy!) and washed/prepped bottles for the following day.  The older boys had gone to play with some neighbors.  It happened to be 9/11 and there was a Royals pregame tribute for the victims of the terrorist attacks.  Taps is what drew me in so I watched while solemnly thinking about that day 16 years prior.  It is still so incredibly sad, yet it absolutely blows my mind that those attacks were so many years ago.  (On a side note, most of the students I currently have in class were not even born then!!  A kid I had last year was born on that exact day.)

Shortly after, it was already 7pm (solo evenings seriously feel like a marathon) so I put Rhett to bed--along with another bottle--and sat down for a few moments.  Around 7:25, I walked to the culdesac behind our house to get our boys.  The sky was gorgeous and I'm a sucker for a pretty sky.  It was a struggle to drag home the boys (they love their neighbor friends), but they were finally in bed at 7:55pm and I had some quiet time to catch up on social media and watch the Royals, my normal nightly things.

Before heading to bed, I got everything ready for the next morning - lunch packed, coffee tumbler ready, Keurig prepped, water bottles filled, boys' breakfast laid out, dog food ready to go, etc. etc. etc.  I don't typically do all of this, but since Craig was out of town, I needed to get up extra early and drop off all three kids en route to work so I over-prepare myself for a smooth morning.  

Once upstairs, I hopped in the shower and made sure to shave my legs (dress/skirt season).  I put my wet hair in a messy ponytail/bun to sleep so that I could just get up and go in the morning.  I didn't take a photo, but I was in bed shortly after 10pm and ready to do it all again the next day!  So there's my day in 10 13 photos.  I can't seem to do it in ten...

Now, tell me about your day and link up below.  Link-up will be open for two weeks so you have plenty of time!  I would especially love to read about other teachers' days!  And fyi, next month's link-up will go live on Wednesday, October 18 so mark your blogging calendars now!

Hosts:

 Kristin // Taz + Belly

Kristy // Seven Graces

Kerry // XO Kerry

Chelsea // Binkies and Baubles

Jennifer // Life in the Greenhouse

Courtney // Our Alabama Life

Guest Host this Month:
Jacqui German // Drink the Day

The Daily Dime / / August 2017

First things first.  Last month's edition of The Daily Dime was a total bust.  I was on vacay in Florida and though I had full intentions of documenting one of our days there (or travel days), it just didn't happen!  But I'm back and {hopefully} better than ever?! 😜   I kid.  In reality, I'm scrambling to write this post because tomorrow is both my students' and own kiddos' first day of school and I need to get to bed ASAP.

As a reminder, we want YOU to link up below!  All you have to do is write a day-in-the-life style post (the daily part) that includes ten photos (the dime part) and link-up using the widget below!  By linking up this month (open for two weeks), you will be automatically subscribed to our email list with reminders for our future DD link-ups!  (Next month's linkup is scheduled for September 13!)  And don't forget, if you post on Insta, use the hashtag #thedailydimelinkup.

Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 - my last day of summer!

 Brantley is 5 years + 1 month.

Holden is 3 years + almost 4 months old.

Rhett is 8 months old.

All photos were taken with my iPhone 6.

7:12am.  Rhett is awake.  I gave him a bottle in his crib, while I quickly and quietly got myself ready for the day.  Quite the change from the beginning of summer when I was getting up early and going for morning walks. 😉   I almost didn't include this picture because it's so grainy, but this was the first time ever I caught him standing in his crib so I had to!

An hour and a half later and we were in the van and headed to a local coffee shop to meet my friend, Erica.  I still can't believe I drive a minivan.  Most days, I feel like I'm still 22...until I climb into my van!!  But I do love it and its sliding doors, cup holders, and all. the. space. #minisFTW

This local coffee shop is only about eight minutes from our house and the cutest ever.  They have the best breakfast food, but my favorites are the breakfast burritos and homemade poptarts! The boys had already eaten breakfast at home, but I bribed them with a pastry for a photo.  #givingawaymysecrets



Back at home around 11am and playing a game of Hi Ho Cherry-O.  I actually hate this game and always have.  Even as a kid.  I prefer our recent game purchase. #waymorecompetitive #takessomeskill
(Shortly after this, Brantley got in trouble for kicking Rhett in the mouth...on purpose.  Boys.😩)

Around 1pm.  All three boys are down for naps.  Yes, Brantley still naps on a fairly regular basis!  We let him skip naps on weekends/special occasions and he takes "short naps" (an hour) when he does nap, but I'm going to stretch these "short naps" as long as physically possible!  Anyway, because it was my last day of freedom, I decided to lay down myself.  I should have written Rhett's 8-month blog post that is still not posted, but I just really didn't feel like it that day...or any day since!

The boys were all awake at 3:30 and I gave airplane rides for awhile.  I'm going to cheat here and post one photo of each boy (and call it one photo) because they are way too cute!

We had post-nap plans to celebrate our final day of summer by getting shaved ice with Vanessa and her crew.  Since our husbands were both busy with work commitments, shaved ice turned into dinner and drinks at a local bar and grill, The Blue Moose.  Our waiter most certainly thought we were crazy for dining with six kids five and under!  (Not pictures are the babies!)

Back at home and prepping for the next day, which happened to be Rhett's first day at his new daycare.  Only four more months of washing bottles - the end is near! 🙌🙌

Rhett went down for bed around 7pm and since the weather was gorgeous, I agreed to a quick game of Home Run Derby before bed.

8pm.  I love my kids, but I also love bedtime.  Scratch that, I hate bedtime.  I love what comes after bedtime - being able to sit and do next to nothing (aka scroll social media), usually with the Royals on in the background.  I'm pretty sure there were a few tears that night about having to go back to work the next day, but once that first tear fell, a kid yelled for something from upstairs and I quickly remembered that going back to work isn't so bad after all.

9:59pm.  The end of the day and the end of summer 2017.  It was a good one and though I look forward to another school year, I look forward to next summer with my boys even more!  Only 9.5 months to go!!

Thanks for following along!  (Nobody noticed my 11 photos, did they?!)  Don't forget to add your link below!

Hosts:

 Kristin // Taz + Belly

Kristy // Seven Graces

Kerry // XO Kerry

Chelsea // Binkies and Baubles

Jennifer // Life in the Greenhouse

Courtney // Our Alabama Life

Guest Host this Month:
Stephanie // Wife Mommy Me

The Daily Dime - First Edition

Welcome to our first edition of The Daily Dime!  Remember, all you have to do is write a day-in-the-life style post (the daily part) that includes ten photos (the dime part) and link-up using the widget below!  By linking up this month (open for two weeks), you will be automatically subscribed to our email list with reminders for our future DD link-ups!  Speaking of, next month's will go live on Wednesday, July 12, so mark your calendars now!  One more thing - if you post on Insta, use the hashtag #thedailydimelinkup.  Can't wait to read about how perfectly imperfect your lives are!

Here's mine:

Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2017

 Brantley is one month shy of 5 years old.

Holden is 3 years + 2 months old.

Rhett is 6 months old.

This is my second week of summer break.
All photos were taken with my iPhone 6...I'm totally counting the days until I can upgrade to a 7-Plus with a better camera!

 Rhett was awake at 6:20am, so I gave him a bottle while I got myself ready (and by ready, I mean teeth brushed and contacts in) and then together, we headed out on a morning walk.  Last summer, I set my alarm so that I could enjoy an hour's worth of quiet time before the boys were up.  I used that time to blog, read blogs, browse social media, or just sit and enjoy my hot cup of coffee.  This year, no alarm is needed; Rhett is an early riser (6/6:30am) and instead of using my time to browse social media, I've been going for morning walks.  There's something extra peaceful about being outside at that time of day and it's always nice to get my heart pumping before the day gets too steamy.

Back at home.  The boys' clocks turn green at 7:30am, which means they can get up.  Of course, they are always "really hun-ga-ry" and want breakfast asap.  Breakfast usually consists of frozen waffles, frozen pancakes, or toast.  #gourmet

After breakfast, I head upstairs to change out of my walking clothes and into my daily apparel.  Summer days = shorts, a tank top, a messy mom-bun, mascara, and flip flops.  Ain't no time (or need) for showers, hair dryers, or makeup.  Also, after having that baby #3, I'm really loving elastic shorts like this!

Back downstairs.  Rhett is crying by now because he's high maintenance and likes to be held.  And he's sleepy.  He will go down for a morning nap around 9am, if we're home.  But four days out of five, we're out doing something, so lots of car and on-the-go naps.  Sorry, Rhett.

On this day, Brantley had Vacation Bible School and I had plans to meet a friend for coffee + the farmer's market.  Since I knew we were going to be gone for a while, I started the Roomba before we left.  Best feeling ever to come home to a clean house and vacuum lines. 😉  If you don't have a Roomba, get one!!!  It's a decision you will never regret!!

It was crazy hair day at VBS.  These are Brantely's neighbor friends (and idols), Easton and Griffin.  He adores them.  Lucky for me, their mama met me in the parking lot and walked Brantley inside.  I quickly learned what a pain it was to unbuckle my two littles, just to rebuckle them five minutes later.  Thank goodness for awesome friends!!

As I mentioned before, while Brantley was at VBS, the rest of us went to the farmer's market.  It has always been one of my favorite Wednesday morning things to do and I've gone sporadically since even before having kids.  This day's purchases: zucchini, a basil plant, and kale.  I hate buying basil every time I need it (which seems like a lot, that gets expensive) so I decided to plant my own, and I've been obsessed with this kale salad lately!



Back at home - after lunch, before naps.  Holden is in timeout because he hit Brantley.  Oh the joys of having multiple children, especially two only 21 months apart!  I know I should enjoy it now because the "days are long, but the years are short", but gosh it can be frustrating.  That, and I'm going to have a third kid that can chime in in just a couple of years. 😬

Naptime.  Not ashamed to admit it's one of my favorite times of the day (my other favorite times include when the kids awake in the morning and when they go to bed each night).  By afternoon, I'm beyond ready for a break!  Lately, Brantley's naps have been getting shorter and shorter and often times, we let him skip his nap (on weekends), take a short nap, or go rest for awhile.  I'm lucky to get an hour and fifteen minutes out of him and I'm extra lucky to get Rhett to nap at the same time as the other two!  Sometimes I spend nap time blogging, other times I nap myself!  On this day, I sat outsides for awhile and caught up on emails, then I went inside to lay down for awhile.

After naps, we headed to our neighborhood pool.  It took until week two of summer break for me to feel comfortable (ambitious enough) to take all three kids to the pool solo.  We got this little baby tent for Rhett and on this particular day, he was loving it!

That only takes me to about 4:30pm, but there are my ten photos!  Next time, I'll try to space them a little more evenly!  Thanks for following along and I can't wait to see what your ten photos show!