Teach Me How to Mommy

Summer Is In The Air! During normal years we are prepping students for final exams and finishing up report cards, all while making a hand-written "Summer Bucket List" to accomplish with our own kids.  But this year I've been focused on preschool concerts, field days and end of the year parties.  Maternity leave has given me so much time with the baby, but also, luckily, time with Lucy and John. You know what maternity is not giving me though?  Money.  I haven't made any money since that measly six weeks of recovery time I received back in January.  So even though it's summer and I do have a list of things I want to do with the kids, we have to be sensible.  Over the past couple of weeks, Amy & I, and our kids, have been researching, checking out locations, picking our work besties brains, and documenting our ideas for summer.  You don't have to be on a budget like us to enjoy these things, but who doesn't love a bargain? 1.  Parks...

Last week, an amazing photographer sent me the photos from the photo shoot Amy and I did a few days prior.  I teared up, then I showed my husband.  He said, "wow, these look professional."  That's because they are - sometimes I wonder what he's doing when I am talking... Rewind. Amy and I don't do professional photographs.  There are a lot of reasons why, (maybe none that are actually worthy).  We have Iphones and take pictures of our kids EVERY day.  Professional photos can be expensive.  Also (and sorry) but the ones we see streaming on Facebook often seem staged, weird, unrealistic (all while, yes, being beautiful).  But, once you start how do you stop?  Do you do them every year?  Wait, it's holiday we should get our pictures taken!  A new baby?  Better line up the photographer.  First tooth?  Call her up! Yet, when a childhood friend offered to update our Teachmehow website with some new pics, we conceded...

Amy and I are not saying good-bye to summer just yet.   We will do that in video form later on, yet the time has come for one of us to return to work (and that’s me).   ·                  So while my husband is downstairs in the basement with a bunch of men creating fantasy football teams (no seriously, it’s what I am currently dealing with), I am reflecting on the best summer of my life.   Much of it was chronicled on the blog and I don’t want to be redundant.   There’s plenty I didn’t do, but I also don’t feel like talking about that either. ·              Instead I am choosing to attempt to permanently etch this summer into my brain.  The two thousand +  pictures I have help a lot.  I am choosing to let them run over and over in my mind while I sit through endless meetings tomorrow.  I am choosing to get excited to see my co-workers ...

Amy wrote a really raw, honest post about her choice (emotionally, financially, contractually) to send Colin to daycare twice a week over the summer.  I bet it was a hard one to write, because she opened herself up to judgement from the moms of the world who judge anyone for anything, but especially judge based on daycare situations. I don't judge Amy (because she's my best friend), and also over the years I have felt very competitive with people and their daycare situations.  It doesn't feel good. Ultimately, no one wins. Everyone has a different situation and I feel like as a whole we are all just trying to do what's best for our kids and the family as an entire unit. Jerry and I chose a daycare that does not require parents to keep their kids in daycare over the summer (or vacations) if they are a teacher or have a unique work circumstances.  I know a kid in John's class whose father is a golfer, so in the winter he is home and so is his kid.  This is hard to...