'President Glover' has such a better ring to it

I chaperoned a trip to Washington, D.C. last week and, while it was so much fun, I missed Anderson so much! I didn't see him for 4 days! Before this, I have only been away one night before, so I was definitely sad. He had such a blast with Brandon & his NoniBop & GG, so I am not sure he even noticed I was gone. I struggle so much between the parent side and the teacher/me side and ultimately I tell myself that I can't be Anderson's mom 24 hours a day (which I am, of course. What mom is not thinking about her kid every minute??). And if I am not willing to plan things for my students then how can I expect teachers to care about my son? And, the students who went are so awesome & genuinely love history, which made it even better. Maybe that is justification, but it works for me. He got numerous goodies as a result of the trip, so it worked for him, too.

As every good little American should, Anderson loves Teddy Roosevelt. Seriously, what's not to love about a man who won the Nobel Peace Prize, hunted on every continent, read a book a day, mapped a river in the Amazon....I could keep going, but I will spare you. I think his favorite souvenir is his new Teddy! I am trying to avoid saying the word "doll", but I think we all know that's what it is.

I saw the Lincoln Memorial, FDR's microphone, Monticello, the WWII Monument... but the best thing of all was what I saw when I came home! I literally walked into the kitchen to throw away a diaper & this is what I came back to-he opened the drawer, crawled in & started throwing clothes out. It was my favorite.

So, here's a piece of advice: bring your license when you try to go to the White House. Oh, and a picture of it on a phone or a printout of your school website page won't count. Yes, I learned this the hard way. A little background: I have been planning this since March. My name was on the reservation. I sent probably 15 different emails with detailed spreadsheets of information to our Congressman. I don't even know how many phone calls I made to Rebecca, the Congressional aide. I typed the instructions of what to bring (your license) & gave it to the students. I did the license check on the bus. My exact words were, "We are not leaving this parking lot until I see everyone's license." Ha ha. So, about 4:30 in the morning the day of our scheduled visit I realized I did not have my license. I had a starbucks giftcard instead. And, it was only $5, which barely covers a drink so it's not like it was life changing or anything. A lot of franticness followed with Brandon trying everything he could to help me, but being 8 hours away meant that wasn't much. He did listen to me cry & promise we will go again. I really wanted to call Obama up and explain that I am a teacher & I brought 40 students to his Inauguration & even though I didn't technically vote for him, he should make an exception. But, his phone number is not available to the public. So, I watched my students & fellow teachers go into the White House, while I walked away. I think I would have been more concerned (but happy) if they let me in because that would mean our national security is pretty rough. I guess I will just have to wait to visit as the mother of the president. As Nicole said, "It probably smells like old people anyway."

Because Angela is an amazing friend, she stepped out of the security line and came with me to hang out. We went to the Willard Hotel across the street where we had $9 coffee and made friends. It actually turned out to be hilarious & a lot of fun. A stop at the National Cathedral-Teddy Roosevelt laid the first stone to build it!! He touched this altar, so technically we have now met. Or, are BFF. Just depends on how you look at it.

I LOVE the Supreme Court. It is my favorite branch of the government & I follow their blog pretty regularly (yes, they have a blog & I realize I am a nerd.) I like this picture because I look gigantic. Or, maybe photoshopped.

Our tour of Arlington had the most amazing guide-his name was Mel. In a ten minute drive, he managed to convince a group of high schoolers how amazing history is & how grateful we should be to veterans. I can't do this in an entire semester, so I was pretty impressed. They literally all wanted their picture with him but we made them settle for a group shot.
A nice little detour along the way was Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows! I made these amazing shirts that give a shout out to the Marauder's Map (the true Harry fans already knew that, of course). You have never really seen Harry until you've been with 37 high school students, many of whom dressed in costume for the occasion! It was hilarious. Except for the weird dancing scene. That was kind of scary.
Our dates at dinner. Thomas, John & Teddy.