No sugar added...Ahhhhhhh

My son has had some trouble breathing for the past three months. One night was worse than others and my husband and I prayed as led by the Holy Spirit (I know some people may think this is "spooky" or fantasy but I am telling it like it happened). The Holy Spirit led us to pray against swelling and that the swelling would go down. Immediately his breathing returned back to normal and he returned to sleep. We then prayed further and the Holy Spirit directed us to visit a holistic pediatrician for further answers. We did just that and what we found out was mind boggling.

The report came back and his breathing was being effected by food allergies. Our son, age 14 months, was allergic to: banana's, cow milk, egg whites, oats, peanuts and... CANE SUGAR! When the results came I had three meltdowns. 

Melt down #1- I have been poisoning my child!!!! His diet consisted of everything on his allergy list (except eggs, he has always hated egg). I felt instantly deflated and couldn't believe I waited to long to find out what was effecting his breathing. 

Melt down #2- OMG everything, everything, everything has sugar in it. The fruit preserves I got from the store... sugar, the veggie straws he loves... sugar, the spaghetti sauce we buy... sugar. I felt my heart sink a little bit lower. 

Melt down #3- I don't have the time. I wallowed in a place of complaining "I work 9-10 hours a day", when I am not at work I bring work home, not to mention the work of being a mom and a wife. How, when, how am I going to have the time to cook and prepare the food that my son can eat and will eat? 

----------------------- Then I pulled myself together and went to the grocery store-------------------------

It took me two hours in the grocery store, and reading of label after label, but I found some good products that my son can eat. The picture above are the items above. The all have no added sugar, are dairy free, and are free from any of the above mentioned foods that my son is allergic to. My husband and I decided that we would change our diet with our son and eat the foods that he can eat. The doctor stated that it is very likely that our little man will grow out of these allergies, but in the meantime this has caused me to really begin to look at food differently and more intensely. 

This whole blog is about  our journey as a family to sweeten with fruit, cut out the dairy, and read the labels to protect our little guy against any allergens... and change our relationship with food in the process. 

First Family Vacation

We are back from sunny Florida. Our first family vacation was AWESOME! We spent time on the beach, relaxed by the pool and hung out with each other, uninterrupted, for an entire week. It was nice. It was a little different from my husband and I's pre-baby days but it was so fun. I mean it had me questioning if we should speed up for baby #2 lol.

But I did learn somethings about traveling with a baby that I thought I would share with you.

1. Beware of berries
SOOOOO I made the HUGE mistake of packing strawberries, blueberries and apple juice for Micah's first trip. These are his favorites so I knew he would enjoy them. And he loved them, BUT... Can you say poop-splosion. Those berries had him pooping every five seconds it seemed. Running back and forth changing him had his bum a little sore from all the poopy action. So on the trip back I opted for water, bananas and watermelon (and less of it). Only one poopy diaper and a much happier bum.

2. Nix the 17 hour drive
At the last minute my husband and I decided against driving 17 hours and opted for plane tickets. Sure they were a bit pricier but I welcomed that expense to car stops every hour cause baby is fussy and needs activity. On the plan we could read books, bounce up and down, look out the window, play with small toys, all from the comfort of mommy's lap. And babies fly free under two so why not take advantage of that.

3. Eating time- Take off and landing
Micah did not cry not one bit during the plane ride. We made sure to time his eating time during take off and landing, because I got advice from a mommy friend of mine that this helps with that annoying ear popping. Either she was right or our baby just really loves planes... but I do think that this really helped.

How about you? what helped you when traveling long distances with baby? Did you drive? Did you fly? Inquiring minds want to know.

What every working mom needs!

This post is a light hearted attempt to share some tips that have worked for me to make the working mommy balancing act a little easier. I use the word "sanity" in this post to show the intensity of the emotion one may feel when out of balance. I do however want to mention that if you are experiencing anxiety attacks or depression please seek help. I had to go to counseling this year for anxiety and God truly pulled me out. If you are looking for some tips to help restore a work life balance the post below may help. Happy reading. 

So this week I discovered something that I lost this year... MY SANITY! Yes everyone it is back and it only took a few days and three things to get it back. Some of you newbie working moms out there, like me, may think that I am joking. You may be saying "is it even possible to get your sanity back?". I am here to tell you that it is possible and with a few simple steps you to can be a sane mommy.

Tip # 1- Grocery Delivery

All you have to do is take out you smart phone and open your computer and you are instantly transported to the grocery store. You can roam the isle from the comfort of your couch, in your moo moo eating bon bons. Let me tell you this has sky rocketed my sanity level. Thank you peapod. Click the picture above and be transported to grocery shopping bliss. 

Tip # 2- House cleaning

So I was against this. Well honestly my  wallet was against this. My wallet and I had plenty of conversations that usually ended with "we cannont spend $300+ twice a week for this." That is until I found home joy. At 25 dollars an hour I think I have found my sanity answer number 2. The cleaner came to my house and spent 3 hours (totaling $75) to deep clean the kitchen and the bathrooms. Those were our yucky spots. But they do whatever you ask them to do. From bathroom cleaning to laundry. The opportunities are endless. 

Tip # 3- A week off/ or a weekend if you are not a teacher

I did the unthinkable. I committed the guilty working mommy no no. I, I, I sent my baby to daycare while I was home (gasp). Yea, that's right, I did it! And it was amazing. He had fun doing water play at daycare and I had fun...sitting! I had so much guilt about doing this that when winter break came I kept my little man home (while still paying for daycare for two weeks), Spring break came along (little dude was with me), finally the first week of summer break and I was EXHAUSTED! so I did the unimaginable. I set my mommy guilt to the side and I sent my little man off to daycare while I sat at home. And guess what, my sanity returned. It just fell right in my lap and said "Hello".

Try one or all three of these tips and I am sure you will be welcoming your sanity back in no time! Next week I will be writing about our first family vacation, which involves a 16 hour drive with a one year old. Hopefully my sanity wont take a vacation on my vacation lol.

A few words from the trenches!

Hello Blog World,
Just wanted to let you know that I still exist. As I sit here with pieces of my son's lunch stuck to my hand and try to soothe my spinning head from my grad school homework I just finished I would like to write a few things to mommies everywhere.

1. You will be remembered- Everyone is always trying to print their name in the sand or leave evidence that they were here and that they did something that gave their existence worth. I want you to know that a mist the midnight wake up calls from a screaming  baby, or the late night trips over your toddlers toys, that little needy creature will grow to become an adult and with them they will take all the love you poured in and prove to the world you were her and you made an impact.

2. You will be different- Life before baby will NEVER return. You may long for the days where you could stay at the office impressing your coworkers with your "dedication". You may desire the times when the only thing you thought about when girls night came along was what shoes would go with your dress... now the more imperative question is who will watch this little human I am responsible for.

3. You are not alone- Those days when you feel like no one understands,  when you feel like no one has had a house a messy, no one has had a hair day as bad, no one has had spit up on everything they own... remember years before you there was another mom feeling the same way. And years after you there will be another one... shoot you probably sat by one on the metro today!

I type this as encouragement and a reminder to myself and mommies/ mommies to be everywhere. I believe in you. You are doing something amazing. You are learning to love, be patient, be compassionate... You are growing (and boy do I feel those growing pains). You will conquer tomorrow with all the knowledge you gained today.

~A few words from the trenches!

365 days

So my little man has been taking the earth by storm for 365 days (actual 367 days... little late on the post). I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on 12 moments that made these 12 months amazing.

1. BORN DAY- The most life changing moment of my life. My son let out his first cry and immediately tears just streamed down my face. At that moment I just remembered thinking omg I a mommy. God has entrusted this little person to us. What a privileged and an honor.

2. HOME (5 days)- The first week we were home was shock and awe. Never did I know that I could pour out so much love and never did I know I could function on so little sleep.

3. SMILE (2 months)- The transition from the I look like I'm smiling but it is really gas to the Mommy I'm so happy to see you smile!

4. DID HE SAY DADDA (3 months)- The amazing sound of the first words (even if it was Dadda lol)... and then realizing that dadda also means bottle, diaper, toy and everything else to baby.

5. COMMANDO CRAWL (4 months)- His legs did not move but his arms got him every where... and FAST

6. YUM... FOOD (5 Months)- Say hello to gerber... then mommy tried to make her own baby food but it was to time consuming for this working mommy sooo... we said hello to gerber again.

7. HE CAN CRAWL (6 months)- Look he can crawl!!!... uhhh ohhh.... Micah don't touch that... CRASH

8. OUCH... TEETH (6 Months)- Micah's first tooth was super sharp... so sharp that breast feeding came to a stop when that lovely lower tooth came to say hello.

9. CHRISTMAS (8 months)- Realizing that this little guy would be more content with just ONE present. He couldn't understand why we taking his toys even though we just wanted him to open another present.

10. WE'VE GOT A CLIMBER (9 Months)- Micah began pulling up and climbing on EVERYTHING. If we turned our heads for to long I am pretty sure he would be on the roof.

11. HE CAN WALK (11 months)- I though he would crawl forever but then he took his first steps and he was so proud of himself and I was so proud of him then we got him some walking shoes (this is a MUST, no matter what anyone says) and he started walking and walking and walking! #proudmommymoment

12. HE'S 1 (12 months)-smashing a cupcake in his own face then putting the icing in his hair, next taking first birthday, and then finishing it off with a 1st birthday party this weekend at MY GYM.

Being a mommy is the hardest job I have ever LOVED! I am excited about what these next 12 months have in store... maybe they will have more blogging in store...hmmm who knows!

Taking time to enjoy life even more

So I have realized that being a working mommy means putting on the superwoman cape and only taking it off for the few (very few) hours you are sleeping. It can be quite tiring which means that it is even more necessary for you to plan moments to remind yourself that you have an identity other than ____'s mommy, _____'s wife, or _____'s teacher. So I have put together  list of things that I have done or plan on
doing to enjoy life even more. Maybe you can try some or leave a comment with other ideas about how you have fun a midst your mommy duties.

1. Paint night-sipping wine while painting horribly and then sipping wine some more until your horrible panting doesn't look half bad. If you do this with people you love it makes for seriously good times.

2. Sibling day- Nothing brings out the pre-baby you more than hanging out with your sibling. Or maybe that is just me because my baby bro rocks!

3. Swing- Go as high as you can until you feel like you are flying, or about to barf. I realize that as an adult I can not swing that high before i am  in danger of the latter.

4. Spa day- ENOUGH SAID

5. Me day get away- get your self a hotel room and be as messy as you want, don't pick up after yourself, or wake up early... why? Because you can.

6. Date night- there is something amazing about hanging out with your main squeeze without the danger of a massive poopy blow out disrupting cuddle time.

I would love to hear some ways other people take moments throughout your week to enjoy your life even more. I would also like to apologize for any typos. I managed to type this while being a jungle gym for an 11 month old!

Finding me

I have begun to realize that becoming a mommy has brought me to a new place of identity or lack thereof. To define myself outside of the perimeters of wife, mom, teacher, sister, daughter becomes increasingly more difficult the more titles you add. And for some reason the mommy title has caused a doozy on my identity. At daycare pick up I am Micah's mommy, when visiting the house of friends and family the same people who reached out for me now reach out for him and thank me for bringing him. Now don't get me wrong I LOVE this new season of my life. A season filled with baby parties and being known as Micah's mommy however I was jolted recently by the thought that I do not know who I am with out these titles... which means I do not know who I am.

I must admit that for the past month I went through some very interesting (and not productive) processes in attempt to find out more about me. But the only thing that has helped me to uncover myself is to sit in silence and refuse to be afraid of me. Sit in silence with my thoughts, my visions, the intricate path in which my mind moves. I found that as I started this process I was a little nervous about what I would find, however I am not quite intrigued. I realize that I was created with mind different than anyone else, with passions unique to my design, with strengths and weaknesses all my own.

I would like to encourage all mommy's, actually all women, to lay down your superhero cape and sit in silence with yourself and rediscover the beauty of YOU!

Getting rid of mommy guilt

As a working mom one of the first things you hear about in articles or blogs written for Working Moms is how to get rid of mommy guilt. They often talk about being ok with the fact that you have to go away from your baby for extensive amounts of time during the day, or being ok with the fact that someone besides you is watching your baby for large portions of the day. I must admit that having an amazing daycare provider that constantly communicates with me has helped with the portion of mommy guilt... But there is another type of mommy guilt that I did not read about but I experienced.

I felt guilty that I could not be the type of worker that I was before. I felt guilty that I could not be at every meeting. I felt guilty everytime I had to leave early. I felt like I didn't deserve my job. I felt like I wasn't the right person for my position because I could not give everything I was able to give before. Thankfully I have an amazing administration and I can honestly say that these guilty feelings were self imposed. But I went threw this until... well I still go through this a bit but I have learned  a few things that have helped me.

1. Never over apologize- Every time I had to leave early to pick up my son or if he wasn't feeling well I found myself saying "i am so so so sorry", "I am sorry for the inconvenience this has placed on you". The apologies would go on and on and the longer the apology the more guilty I felt afterward. I have learned that there is nothing to be sorry for. Having to leave to take care of your little one is OK and  it is nothing to be sorry about.

2. Don't make promises you can't keep- This phrase "I promise it wont happen again" would slip out of my mouth like word vomit every time I would have to do something for my little man. But guess what... yup you guessed it, It happened again ineveitably and I would lay on the guilt feeling like I was a liar. I realized that I can't make promises like that because things will always come up that require me to take care of my family and that is the beauty of being a mommy (your always needed and you can never loose the mommy job).

3. Say your priorities and be comfortable with them- My priorities are: God, Husband, Children, and then job. I had to realize that this is the HEALTHY order and it is OK that once my child was born my job had to move down a spot on the priorities list.

4. Envision the end of your life- At the end of my life to I want my bedside filled with colleagues that were impressed with the work I did, or do I want my bedside filled with family and friends that were thankful for the love I showed toward them. I would choose the later and I am OK with that.

Working Mommy guilt creeps up sometimes but then I realize that my life has changed since giving birth to my little man, sometimes I have to make a conscious decision between my son and my career and I have become comfortable choosing my son... Every time! I can get another job (though I wouldn't want to because my job rocks) but I can never get another Micah Caleb Young!

Honey I Love You... Debt I Hate You!

So  today is Valentines day and my hubby and I have generally sat around and made goggly eyes at one another while making a have baked valentine's day celebration plan that required us to sit in the house and avoid the mad rush of celebrators... Today is no different. Well, there is one difference we have added a bouncing bundle of joy to our valentines day home celebration so now we are making goggly eyes at him too.

In the midst of celebrating valentines our traditional way Hubby and I had a conversation about our debt. It went a little something like this... "Honey I love you" (pulled up our budget on the computer), "Debt I HATE you". Yea that pretty much sums up the beginning conversation. But then I began thinking, If I truly love myself, my husband and my son then why do I continue to allow us to live with something we hate so much. I went back to my husband and we began to have a real conversation about getting out of debt. Debt (darn you Student loans) has crippled us for years. And then we threw a baby in the mix so our budget consists of daycare, diapers, student loans, and credit cards, and that is a recipe for a mental break down.

So this valentines day along with our goggly eyes, and home body celebration we also made a pact to show ourselves, and our son how much we really love each other by getting out of debt. Getting out of debt to us is like saying I believe in your future enough not to spend your future on debt payments. So these are the four steps we are starting today... Maybe you can join us.

1. Cut down fast food- So we have been eating a lot of our money. We will be cutting our fast food/ restaurant dinning to once per week. This may sound like a lot to you but let's just say McDonalds was like our cafeteria.
2. Give every dollar a destination- We would get so excited when we had extra money after our bills were paid, our allowance was dispersed, our groceries were purchased, and baby stuff was bought. Because we were so excited we would spend that money on... well actually we don't know what we spent it on, and there lies the problem. We are going to sit and talk about where that extra money can go in order to make the biggest impact on our future. 
3. Have a 1,000 dollar emergency fund- We got the 1,000 from Dave Ramsey. But let's face it, life happens and if we 0 out every month to pay debt and live if a tire needs to be replaced we would be in BIG trouble.
4. Continue to tithe- I look around and I see people in financial stress all around me. Steve and I have been there. But we tithed our way threw. I remember when Steve had a minimum wage paying job, I was teaching and Steve says "Babe I want to tithe based on the salary I desire". My response was... well let's just say it lacked support. But we did it and he has surpassed that salary. So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will continue to tithe and believe God that we will be DEBT FREE!

So this is my valentines day declaration to my family "I love you, and I hate debt so I promise that I wont force you all to live with it any more!"

Cry it out...

So for the past  9 months of my sons life I was against every piece of advice that said to allow your baby to cry it out. I would endure sleepless nights in order to ensure that my baby did not suffer through crying for an extended period of time. I would do every parenting no-no to help my son drift calmly off to sleep. I nursed him to sleep, I bottle fed him to sleep. When he woke up I would nurse him, bottle feed him, rock him, or even put him in our bed (gasp) to fall asleep. I was determined that I would make this sacrafice because it was important to me... Until yesterday!

For the past two nights Micah has been waking up at 2:30am. I offer him a bottle and he will not take it. I rock him and he stays awake. The only way he drifts back to sleep is if I allow him to sleep in our bed. And when he does go to sleep in our bed he tosses and turns more than in his crib. I know he tosses and turns because I have waken up to a baby foot in my mouth. So when I wake him up he is still tired and he has been exhausted at daycare.

So last night I decided to face the music and put my mommy draws on. I was going to have to let him cry it out for his own good. So true to form at 2:30am my little man woke up and began to cry and I left the room (he still sleeps in our room... I know,I know I hear the mommy moans) because I knew if I stayed in there I would sabatoge the cry it out method.

The excruciating pain of hearing my baby cry and not running to him lasted for about 7 minutes and then he was back asleep. WHAT!!!! That was it. I was foregoing hours and hours of sleep for 7 minutes of tears. I will continue to try this and see if it helps my little man get more sleep. I hope to be writing a post in a month or so about the amazing  sleep we are getting!

I'm a working mommy...HECK YEA!

So, I have heard that working moms are selfish. I have heard that working moms put their desires over the needs of their child. I have heard it said "I don't understand how you could work even though you know the devastating effects it could have on your child!" I will be honest each of these statements rung, LOUDLY, in my ears as I started my first day back to work after my son was born. I shed countless tears as I read research that went back and fourth on the positive and negative impact a working mom could have on her child. I second guessed myself all the time and laid on the mommy guilt thick, but I have made so much progress as a working mommy and there are 3 things that I have been reflecting on lately:

1. I am one person- My son is going to need more than just me to be successful in his life. Who knows what his talents will be! He is going to need interactions with others. My job as a mommy is not to hoard him all to myself but to guide him in making smart choices as to who enters into his circle. Today my son has some amazing people in his life such as his grandparents, Ms. Angie, his uncles, his God parents, his adopted aunties. All these people help me as a working mom...but they help him also. They each bring something to his life that I don't.

2. I have been given a mission- Anyone knows me knows that I believe in God wholeheartedly. I also believe that we have been placed here on assignment. I new from a young age that God gave me an assignment to work with children that it seemed like the world had given up on. The doors that he has opened for me to be able to do that have been amazing. I have finally come to the realization that if God called me to do something and then blessed me to be a mother that does not mean that I must drop one mantle to carry another. I have realized that God intends for me to rely on him to fulfill what he has called me to do.

3. I am not gone forever- I get to spend some awesome time with my little man... No I don't spend every moment with him (and I honestly would want to). Yes I have to leave him sometimes in the hands of another care giver (and that is super hard). But I am still here and able to enjoy life with him. I work 50 hours Monday-Friday away from him, but I truly cherish the time that I have with him.

I would be lying if I said I had it all figured out and that it was super easy but... I don't walk out of my house with a massive amount of guilt weighing me down anymore. I see the positives of the life that my family is leading. I see the positive impact of each and every person that has supported us during this parenthood transition. I see the amazing person that my little man is growing into. I see that if God has given you a mission he will grant you the grace and support to fulfill it. I believe each mommy has an amazing story. Some mommies are stay-at-home moms and they gather so much information on their child and share things with others (saints I call these women lol). Some mommies home-school and they are causing society to ask the question what can we do to better support children in their academic endeavors. I have been called to be a working mommy at this point in my life... and honestly I'm kinda starting to enjoy it. #itwillgetbetter

Daycare tales

When Micah was born my biggest fear as a working mom was sending him to a strangers house for 10 (yes 10) hours a day. That is 50 hours per week. I had already chosen a daycare provider when I was 7 months pregnant and I had spent time getting to know her I was still nervous to say the least. But I would love to announce that I LOVE his daycare. I know that as a working mom daycare is scary so let me tell you some things that made this journey so awesome for us.

1. Getting a referral- There is something awesome about knowing someone who speaks highly of the person who you are trusting to watch your child. This places you at ease a little. So ask those working mommy friends of yours who they trust to watch their little ones.

2. Choosing home daycare- So this was very important to me. I believe strongly that a good home daycare for a little tyke beats a center any day. It gives the feel of being home hanging out with friends. They can only have 8 children at a time with no more than 2 infants which means less of a chance the baby will be sick often, and your little on will really build a relationship with his daycare provider.

3. Spending a day or two- we spent a few days at the daycare during maternity leave so that I could really get a feel for how the day is run.

4. Starting before you start- My little man's first day at daycare was not my first day back to work. I let him start a few days before work so that I could get out all my blubbering (and yes I blubbered bad) before I went back to work. This also helped me to time how long it would take me to drop him off and then head to work. I also felt comfortable knowing I was available if he needed me

5. Spend time- Every now and then see if you could come to daycare a little early and read a story to the children or play a game with them or spend some time with the daycare provider. This will help you feel like you are a part of your little tyke's world.

My little man started daycare at 12 weeks and I am glad I didn't start any later because he adjusted well and didn't suffer from separation anxiety which can happen around 5 month. His daycare provider has truly become a part of the village that it is taking to raise Micah. She has successfully raised 4 children and is now helping to raise the next generation. Is you are looking for a daycare in the DC metro area check out little leaders daycare with Mrs. Angela Chance. She is truly AMAZING. So now you got your get a referral step out of the way!

Why not...

So a few days ago my best friend sent me an e-mail. This e-mail outlined my pre-mommy goals that I sent her in 2011. Among those goals are things that I am striving for and some things that I have abandoned. As I sat looking at my list of goals I said to myself..."Why not just go for it!"

So I have decided to shift my perspective. Instead of thinking of my life as the working mom scrambling to make time for her family I have decided to be the mom who works and shows her child and family just how awesome it is to go after their dreams. So here goes. For those that knew the 2011 Dominique or the college Dominique who was always doing something and pushing the envelope wanting to change the world... Well she's back!!!! I will be blogging about the adventures to come so stay tuned!

Those days when you think...

So this week I had one of those days. You know the days I am talking about. The day when you think that you just cant take one more step without falling flat on your face. Let me tell you my story. So I made the mistake of laying my son down for bed at 6:30pm because he looked super sleepy...Bad move spidey! I went to sleep at around 10:30 and then 1:30 came along and guess who was awake. That's right, you guessed it, My son and me. This night was different from the other broken sleep nights. This night he refused to go back to sleep no matter how much feeding, singing, bouncing I did. 4:30am I gave up and went to my husband with a grunt and said "I can't anymore". I passed him the wide awake baby and I crawled back into bed for one more precious hour of sleep, knowing that this would set me behind on my morning schedule but that was a risk I was willing to take. But there were lessons to be learned from this sleepless night that I hope may help someone not have to go through this (but let's face it I think nights like this are part of the mommy hazing process).

Lessons Learned

1. NEVER EVER stray from the routine. Night time routines are a working mommy's sanity. When you stray from it you run the risk of a baby that is completely thrown off which means you run the risk of writing your own sleepless night saga.
2. Find a routine that works and stick with it! SERIOUSLY!
3. Remember that not all nights are like this
4. Remember many working mommys before you have braved the infamous sleepless night and have survived.


I hope this inspires you that no matter what you are going through at the moment you can make it through! I know that this four hour of sleep fiasco I dealt with is not as serious as some of the things many of you may be going through but you can make it, God is able, and even if you have to stumble...Stumble forward!

Introducing...

I have read so many mommy blogs since I found out I was pregnant in August 2012. I read blogs about mommys who home school. I read blogs about mommys who stay at home. I read blogs about mommys who are vegan. And although each blog I read was about a different journey they all had one thing in common...Mommys who were embarking on some amazing journeys with their family. I found strength in these blogs and so I decided in 2014 I would share my journey as it unfolds and who knows someone may find strength through my journey.

Introducing...Mommy at the teacher's desk

I am a mommy and I am a special education teacher. Every week day I wake up at 4:30am (when I don't over sleep my alarm) in order to start my daily journey of being the mommy at the teacher's desk. With the hustle and bustle of throwing bottles, baby food, and bibs in a bag, dressing baby, and attempting to clothe myself in the most decent way I know how, I somehow manage to make it out of the house at 6:30am with my beautiful bouncing boy on his way to daycare (thanks to the best hubby in the world). Ready to take on the day I greet my students and their parents at 7:45 am all the while wondering what my 8 month old is doing. Is he having fun with his daycare pals? Is he zooming around in his walker? Then I am jolted back to the moment at hand when one of my students gives me a bear hug with a smile that says, "I'm ready to tell you all about my weekend." While listening to my students weekend story I cant help but realize that my new role of mommy has crept into my profession. I feel overwhelmingly honored that someone has trusted me with their child everyday. For the past four years I have been Mrs. Young at the teacher's desk but now I realize that the role of mommy has followed me. I am now the mommy at the teacher's desk, and it is like I am looking at everything through a new set of eyes. I have had an interesting journey thus far and I hope you will join me as I uncover more aha moments, shed more tears, and give out more hugs as the Mommy at the teacher's desk!