Life Lately January/February/March 2023

I haven't written a "Life Lately" post since December. The reason is two-fold: 1) there hasn't been much to share beyond Avalanche and our quick trips to WDW, San Diego, and Houston, and 2) it's been a very stressful couple of months for a wide variety of reasons.

School was completely insane, particularly in March - competitions for Battle of the Books and Challenge 24, Math & Literacy Family Night, Book Fair, and what felt like no less than a million meetings, among countless other things. Even though we are heading into testing season, April looks to be a much more reasonable month and I am very grateful for that!

The biggest non-school news is that my mom moved into an assisted living facility at the end of February and so far, things are going well. It's about 20 minutes from our house and it gives me some peace of mind that care is available around the clock. It's been a very emotionally challenging transition and I'm still learning how to let go of control because I'm no longer the one managing things for her day-to-day. I worry about her all day, every day and I don't think that part will ever get any easier.

this look melts my heart

from one of my awesome students

outfit for Rainbow Day at school

outfit for Multicultural/Heritage Day at school

only 5,000 miles from my goal for my car

the 2023 Caldecott Winner is
an absolutely fabulous book!

As far as Avalanche goes, he's had a busy three months since joining our family...he has stayed at a kennel three times, he's started going to daycare one day per week, and he was groomed! He's got such an agreeable personality that he happily goes wherever we drop him off, and other than not liking getting bathed and dried at the groomer (he was fairly dramatic - a side of him we don't see at home), his behavior has been stellar at every turn. Here's a collection of pics of him from March:

best friends

we left him alone at home for the first time
for about 20 minutes and he just stayed like this
by the door the entire time

his paws before (scruffy) and after (perfect)
his grooming appointment

I'm now able to hug him - the best time to do so
is when he's about to get out of the car -
and don't let his face fool you...
he leans right into me every time and I am
the happiest person on earth!

Happy Tails to you!