Memorial Day: Carmens

Memorial Day: Walks on the Potomac

The Potomac River is a great place for a nice long walk.

Memorial Day: Golf

Going golfing in DC is always a highlight. I love Little Bennett golf course- especially when we go late in the afternoon and golf into the sunset.

Memorial Day: I sold my soul for a pork salad

Going home for Memorial Day was great, but eating Cafe Rio for the first time in two years was HEAVENLY. I could eat there everyday for the rest of my life. I am serious.

Memorial Day: Kayla's Big Show

We headed home this weekend and got to check out our cute niece's horse show. Kayla did great and we loved hanging out at Markoff's farm.

Best sight

When I got out of work tonight I met this handsome fella at Sheeps Meadow in the Park.

I just realized that every time I say "the Park" I mean Central Park- Any other park I say its name specifically.

Police Museum

A little boys dream museum- Motorcycles, police men, guns, gangsters, jails, play area and more!

Central Park Zoo

I really love this zoo. Its small. Its easy. And I feel like a real New Yorker when I walk around for some reason. Being a nanny is great- I get to do all the kid stuff in the city- cant wait to bring baby egan back.

Picnic in BPC

A Sunday afternoon picnic in Battery Park was exactly what we needed this week. It was so nice to be outside with friends and lots of kids eating and enjoying the warmer weather. Have I mentioned that I love New York?

Taste of Tribeca

We headed to Tribeca today to check out the Taste of Tribeca. It was so fun to check out some of the most well known restaurants in the city- you can pay to try samples of all of these restaurants and take notes for future date nights. Really fun city activity.

Student Teaching at Claremont Prep

I moved to NYC with several classes to wrap up- all online- and 4 months of student teaching to complete. It was a tough decision back in August to quit my job with the DeMares and find something part time that would allow for me to complete these classes and student teach in January. When I found the perfect job and then some amazing part time gigs for the fall it all just seemed too great. I had the opportunity to work at Claremont Preparatory School- which is where Marcus and Luca had gone to school my two previous years with them. It was an enormous blessing to work with teachers and faculty that I already had a relationship with from being a nanny. Most people thought I had been the mom all of that time so that was even funnier when I showed up to teach. I started substituting there first and saw how much I missed teaching. I was very lucky to be placed with a 4th grade teacher- Mr. Tim- who taught with the most passion and joy I have ever seen. He is a DJ and writes and plays music prior to getting his teaching degree and incorporates music in his class daily. I felt a little out of place because on Free Dance Fridays- I couldn't do the robot or hold a rhythm during morning drum circle. But I taught a unit on the constitution and freedom documents that brought out my passion and love for history and teaching. We also visited the African Burial Sites in Tribeca and learned of slavery in New York and the hostile conditions that they endured. Seeing this type of teaching with passion is something that I needed to see first hand.

Next, I moved to 2nd grade to work with Ms. Shore. I was blown away at the amount of preparation and work that goes into teaching children this young and with so many different needs. She has an extremely challenging class because they were on such a wide spectrum. I was able to really focus on my abilities to adapt to their specific needs, but also have several adaptations for different groups of students. It was a lot more work, but excellent experiences. I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with this class as we wrapped up our unit on Bridges.

It was a great experience and I'm so excited to GRADUATE NOW!!

Its a....

Today we found out what we were having so I had the nurse write down the gender on a piece of paper and I went to the store and picked out two outfits- one boy and one girl- the sales rep wrapped up the gender on the paper and I took that package to open with William together.

We opened it together at Rockefeller Center and found out its a GIRL!

Although we both thought it was a boy and at first I felt a little sad to be honest, we are now totally excited for our baby girl!! I guess I should probably start liking pink and ruffles about... NOW!

Street Fair

Our church hosts an annual Street Fair every year and we finally got to check it out. We ate yummy food and treats, listened to music, browsed goods for sale, and played fun games put on by the youth.

The Park

Little spring walk through the Park is enough to brighten anyone's day.

Springing

I absolutely love Spring the the city, but this is my first year working uptown and seeing spring in Central Park. Nolan and I would ride the bus through the Park and see who could find "Spring springing up." Of course the rain is a bummer sometimes, but when we get a beautiful day like this... who could complain.