"The Mediocre Teacher Tells. The Good Teacher Explains. The Superior Teacher Demonstrates. The Great Teacher Inspires."

~William Arthur Ward

I just LOVE that one day every month when my FAVORITE magazine arrives!!!

My new boss is back to school for her first day of teaching 1st grade today...so that means I am ALSO back to work, officially, for my first day with the boys. The day started at 7am when I got to their house a little earlier than normal so that their car seats could be installed in my car by the dad before he left for work (K had already left for work by 6:30am).

It was so nice spending the entire day with the boys. They must have sensed that today was different than the other days I had been there babysitting as both acted a little different than I was used to. Where J is concerned, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that today was his best "eating day" to date. M, on the other hand, had short bouts of sleeping in between some fussiness (as opposed to his normal long naps between feedings). I feel that these changes were in part because of normal differences in day-to-day lives of children, but ALSO because they are used to having their family with them 99% of the time and today that changed. I know that kids react differently to schedule changes, so I knew that this was a possibility. Luckily, M was consoled by his nuk and by being held...it just limited my ability to do a lot of things around the house during the nap time I was counting on. Either way, I was able to check off some things on the "to do" list for K, and no matter what, I really enjoyed my day with the boys. The boys and I had some nice time to hang out and ultimately they were healthy and happy...which is the most I can ask for. The day went well and the only thing I would change was I wish it were cooler...it was 90 degrees and humid so I was happy to be in the air conditioned house with the boys!

Upon returning home, I was happy to find a package for "BABY KING" from one Ms. Kristin M...she's so super sweet of thinking of our baby girl! Inside the package was a set of monkey house slippers for our little girl, some pink pacifier hooks, two pink pacifiers (one that says "Girls Rule" on the nob and one that says "Born 2 Shop") and a cute red and pink polka dot sleeper with a princess monkey on it. Thank you, Ms. Kristin-you are too sweet! I love it! I think it is soooo fitting that our little girl, who already has an entire wardrobe stuffed to the brim, will have a nuk claiming she is born to shop...of course: like mother, like daughter! :)

I did the dishes, made the bed (because I just enjoy going to bed in a "organized, clean bed"), got the mail, let Sugar out to go to the bathroom, and started dinner when I got home. We had marinated chicken, rice, and veggies with soy sauce. I watched the season finale of Bachelor Pad (I know, I shouldn't admit that on the internet, as it's kind of embarrassing, but it's the truth, take it or leave it). I caught up on email and the news online, and had some yummy watermelon while sitting in front of the screen and instant messaging my mom (who is the inspiration for today's blog title/quote: my greatest teacher). I love you, Mom! Thanks for all you've inspired in me!

I'm now ready for bed, as Tony has long since gone to bed and now I want to cuddle with him. Good night, dear girl! I'm thinking about you constantly!