First Day(s) of School

We made it through the first week of school for everyone. Big exhale!

The Noodle started last Monday.  Overall she was ready, but there were some nerves.

She's catching the bus with her good friend, who also lives in the neighborhood.  J meets everyone at the corner and then walks them down and waits until they hop on the bus.

Mei Mei had her Kinder orientation on Monday (J stayed with her) and then she started on Tuesday. I took her to school that day and got her settled before I went on my way.  She was ready.to.go!

Both are now loving school and enjoy their teachers.  When J walks everyone down, he hands off Mei Mei to the neighbor and she goes with her good friend and then about 45 minutes later, they catch the bus.  The routine seems to be working for all!  Yay!

Here's to a great school year!

Back to school traditions

As a child, the back-to-school tradition that I loved most was "girls day out".  My mom and I would go out to eat (my choice, naturally!) and then we would go shopping for back-to-school clothes and supplies.  It was always a great time of bonding (even in the teenage years) and I highly anticipated it each year.

Since I have two school age girls this year (whaaaat?!), I got the privilege of taking each one of them out for their own special day.  I had such a fun time individually with of them!

First up was the Noodle.  We dropped Mei Mei off at Lala's and then we got our shopping game on! We had our list ready and hit up Tar-jay.  Thankfully this year her list wasn't as long or extensive as in years past.  After everything was crossed off, we were exhausted!  A special treat was definitely called for and she chose fro-yo.

We chatted and laughed and she talked about how she was feeling starting 4th grade.  I know she loves 1:1 time so this really fit the bill.

A few days later it was Mei Mei's turn.  On that day, we had decided to join our friend for a shopping/lunch date down in AsiaTown before the two of us went off on our own.  As I've said before, both girls love spending time with L and her family.  They are always so gracious to us and have really helped J and I bring the girls' Chinese culture to life in a real and meaningful way (see here, here  , and here ).  Such a blessing from God to have this family as close friends!!

Those would be live eels in that cooler :/

With full, happy bellies Mei Mei and I said hello to Lala and goodbye to the Noodle and then it was our turn to shop. When you're 5, going to Target (again) perhaps isn't always quite as fun and exciting as it is when you're a bit older-haha, but she was a good sport.  She was VERY happy about getting the items off her list and wanted to make sure that she was the one putting the things into the cart--NOT me.

I was hoping to buy her a new outfit for the first day, just like Claire, but when you're being super particular about what you want (i.e. a dress with straps and a zipper down the back) sometimes things don't always pan out.  She didn't seemed fazed and instead was more interested in trying on the Elsa trucker hat with long rat-tail braid going down the back.  That did not make it into the cart, much to her disappointment.

We ended up at one of our local ice cream shops and goofed around a bit while we gobbled up the cold treat.

I'm so glad that I had a chance to take each one of them out for some special one-on-one time before the school year begins.  It was especially meaningful for me because I go back full time to teaching in just a few days.  Aaagh!  I have LOVED this time off, being at home, but I also knew that I would be going back to teaching, so all in all, I feel at peace about this new season of our lives beginning. We'll see what the fall brings!

3rd Grade Here She Comes!

The Noodle started 3rd grade this morning with mixed feelings.  3rd graders go to a new school so there was a fair amount of nervousness due to this, plus just the general uncertainty of a new teacher, new friends and a new room.

Excitement was also there. A new year!  New possibilities!  Reuniting with old friends.  All good things!

Not gonna lie--there was also a bit of disappointment too, because c'mon, who isn't sad to see summer vacation over?!

Another bonus of this year?  We'll have other kiddos to wait with at the bus stop.  I've said it before but our neighborhood is slowly changing and younger families are moving in--I love it!

I'm looking forward for her to get off the bus so I can hear all about her first day's adventure.  It feels good to get back into the swing of things.  Boom--bring it 3rd grade!

New Haircuts

We're knocking through our back-to-school list of all the things that need to get done.  Most recently? Get haircuts for the girls.

Here's their before snap:

Mid-point:

Mei Mei was in the zone--she loves to play hair salon during quite time.

After:

Obviously the excitement level was high because the Noodle picked up Mei Mei and started carrying her around.  I felt the need to document this.  Ha ha ha!!

Girl's Day Out

Growing up, I always remember those special days when just my mom and I would go out--Girl's Day Out.  We'd grab lunch--I always got to choose (!), do some shopping and yak and yak and yak! It usually coincided with back-to-school, but not always. As an elementary and middle school girl it always felt so grown-up!

So, after swimming lessons, with Mei Mei happily being entertained by Grandma, the Noodle and I set off for our lunch and shopping excursion for back-to-school goodies.  When asked where she'd like to go for her special lunch, she didn't skip a beat when she responded with a hearty and enthusiastic "McDonald's!!"  Okaaay then, not quite what I expected, but I shouldn't have been surprised, especially considering that for her, McDonald's is a treat.  The number of times her little feet have crossed the threshold of the golden arches could probably be counted on one hand (two of those times were in China when we were all getting desperate for food and were seriously hangry).

You guys, she was totally enthralled with just the box!  She hadn't even had the first sip of her pop or eaten any of the french fries but just kept turning it over this way and that.  Too cute!  Finally, I suggested that she start eating before everything got cold.  Ha!  She loved it :)

After that we headed to the office supply store to stock up, list in hand.  J had $39.00 in some rewards bucks, and when all was said and done, our total was $38.99.  Not quite sure how we managed that one, but I'll take it!  Boom--done and done!

Next stop?  Tar-jay, because obvs.  We took our time wandering around, looking at all the things that the Noodle wanted to see but that I usually try to breeze past--think Pokemon cards here. We thoroughly exhausted ourselves and the best way to beat that mid-afternoon, blood sugar dip?  Ice cream of course!

Dipped cones to be exact.  Yum-o!  We got home and she showed off her goods to Grandma and Mei Mei and then got down to business labeling everything.  Pencils were sharpened, folders had her name proudly emblazoned on them and it all was carefully put into her pencil box.  This girl is ready for 3rd grade!

We had such a fun time, just being together, chatting and laughing.  As we were saying prayers tonight, I got a little teary because I just.cannot.believe. that she is going into 3rd grade!  Wah! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding that little person on my hip and stroking her little buzzed head?!  The time definitely goes by too fast!!  

I'm going to go up and give her one last kiss.  Just because.

First Day of Second Grade

After a fun-filled last day of summer vacation yesterday...

we awoke bright and early to start second grade.  How has this happened?!  Geesh!!

Mei Mei is all excited about starting school too, she's just a little confused that her's doesn't start for a few more weeks.

The excitement level was high but, as 8:20 a.m. got closer, so were the nerves.  It was all good, though.  Her teacher greeted her with an exuberant welcome, we found her seat, got her things unpacked, said our last minute good-byes and gave kisses and headed out the door.

Can't wait to hear the full report when she hops off the bus this afternoon!