Back To School...

Ah, back to school time. When stay-at-home moms heave a sigh of relief. Three months of trying to fill a child's days with activities and avoiding the "I'm bored" phenomenon. Thank god for teachers, eh?

After being a working mom for many years of my eldest daughter's life, I am finally able to help out with her education, and when better to start than the first day of school? I want her teacher to know that I appreciate the hard work it takes to keep other people's children in line for 7 hours a day. So I put together a Teacher Survival Kit.

Inspired by a post I saw on Pinterest I decided to go ahead and do my own! Not knowing who my daughter's teacher would be, I put together some basics that I think ANYONE can use. Unless they have allergies. In which case, they can give those things away.

So I went to WalMart and picked up a pencil box, cough drops, a Tide-to-go pen, Blistex, a double energy shot, a PowerBar and travel-sized bottles of Listerine, Jergens lotion, and a sewing kit. The cost? $12.48 plus tax. Not too bad, given the complete necessity of all of these things at some point or another.

Thank you, original Blogger blogger. Your original thought is going to help a LOT of teachers this year.

For the record: the teacher loved it and wished she'd had it earlier that day!

"How To..."

How to properly play with a play mat, as instructed by my 6 month old daughter...

Step One:
Create a Fort

This step is pretty easy. All you have to do is hold down one side, grab the corner with your foot and kick until it flips up behind you.

 Hang out in there for a little bit. Forts are fun, and Mommies and Daddies can't get to you as easily in here.

Step Two: Upside Down
Go ahead and grab that corner one more time and kick again. This should make your playmat stand on its head. Go ahead and stare at yourself in the mirror for a second before going on to the next step.

 Step Three: Observe Fort from Another Angle
Everyone always says that you should walk a mile in other peoples' shoes. Well why don't you just check out that fort from the angle other people see. Not bad, huh?

 The lookie-lou's are a little irritating. Just shoot them a genuine smile and go about your business.

 Nom...Nom...Nom...

Step Four: Shot Put
Really, we've done pretty much everything you can with the mat. Let your parents know that you are done by getting rid of it. Grab that corner with your foot again and kick. Hard.

See? Now it's your turn. Don't worry. You can do it, too. Just follow my instructions and you'll get there eventually.
Happy playing!