One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also m I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also my lips are never chapped, so there’s that. 😂 And this is only one of my refill stashes. When I was in middle school, I had literally THE WORST chapped lips ever. Like a complete red ring around my top and bottom lips. I don’t think that’s where my lip balm obsession started, but it certainly didn’t help. Jersey winters are no joke (or our hot summers), so don’t mind me while I just add to my collection. What’s your fave?
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Food and Life

First Day of School {2012}

September 6, 2012 · Narrative

ready to go
There are little moments of today that I want to remember.

And this is one of the reasons why I blog.

To preserve such things.

The kids went to bed much later than planned last night because Nick’s soccer practice was seriously.ridiculously.long. Like enough already. Like it’s the night before the first day of school and we still need dinner and showers. We walked in the door at 8:30 pm.

The fastest dinner ever. Followed by showers and baths. Manicures. Packing lunchboxes. Getting backpacks ready.

manicure

The kids went to sleep pretty fast after heading upstairs. Which is awesome because I was expecting the excitement of a first day to keep them awake.

Thank goodness for small blessings.

The alarm was set super early this morning. Everyone woke up the first time I gently issued the wake-up call. Which is pretty shocking.

But I’ve been a mom long enough to know that that’s not going to last.

But for now? I’ll take it.

Madeline has a uniform for her new school, and the pre-k kids get to wear their gym uniform. Which is another little blessing. She didn’t say a word about having to wear it, and I promised her we could do her nails and hair and she could wear fun sneakers to make sure her personality (all 1,863 ounces of it) was fully present. (And that’s not the exact weight of her personality, natch).

hearts from home
I drew small hearts on our hands, as a small reminder of home and that I love her, should she need a little reassurance during the day.

Nick came downstairs and saw Madeline in her uniform for the first time.

“Maddie, you look cute. But you kind of look like a little old man.”

She made a face at him and stuck out her tongue.

Phew.

Ten minutes early to Nick’s bus stop, leaving plenty of time for first day pictures.

I wasn’t allowed to give him a kiss or a hug as he walked towards the bus. Apparently in front of your friends, when you’re in fifth grade that is no longer cool.

Whatever.

three musketeers

all aboard

And then the dash to Madeline’s school. Her school starts their morning assembly exactly 5 minutes about Nick’s bus comes. One town away. Right.

At the orientation last week, I asked if it was a huge problem if she was late every day of the school year. We would likely be squeaking in at the end of the assembly. When they’re saying their morning prayers as a school, and the Pledge of Allegience. There’s no way I can get her there earlier.

“That’s ok, right?” I was asking more to alert the teacher of the situation, since I had already talked to the Principal about it. “We can make the sign of the cross when we walk in?”

I was half-kidding. No disrespect to our religion, of course. The good news is that for the first day we made it there while the school was still in the assembly, so we caught the last prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Problem avoided. Or for today anyway.

Madeline heard me say something about Catholic school last night, and this morning as she was getting dressed she asked me, “What does Catholic school mean?”

“Well, it means that you will have religion class every day, for starters. And go to church as a school, with your classmates. And say prayers together.”

“What is religion class?”

“It’s where you learn about God…”

She stopped me.

“Oh, like Eli is with God in heaven, I get it, I get it.”

And that was the end of that. Eli + God = all good. (There is not a day that goes by that one of the kids fails to mention Eli, he is sorely missed)

double trouble

last peek
Last peek before I left her this morning.

getting nametags
Getting name tags.

first day of prek4

first day of fifth grade

When I picked Madeline up, she stopped on the steps outside the school to start rummaging in her backpack. She couldn’t wait to hand me her folder, and her first piece of artwork from the day.
excitement

first day artwork
Which is, of course, already hanging up in our kitchen art gallery.

After school, I surprised the kids and took them to Yogurtland. The Ex came with us, surprising the kids at Nick’s bus stop.

after school celebration

mine

All positive reports at the end of the day. Nick was thrilled to discover that there were BOYS in his class. The facebook group for the school had only girls’ parents checking in, as to who had what teacher. I wasn’t worried, but he was a little, um, wtf? Actually there turned out to be more boys than girls, and he knows several of them already. (There are seven fifth grades at his school, roughly 150 kids, so he doesn’t know them all). Madeline reported that they prayed three times, had recess, circle time, wrote their name, went to the bathroom, and she liked everyone.

As we drove home to meet Nick’s bus this afternoon, Madeline told me that everything was very good today, “except one bad thing that you’re not going to like, Mommy. I didn’t finish my crackers and cheese, but the teacher didn’t wrap it up, she just threw it away. I told her that was wasting.”

She cracks me up.

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: first day of school

Comments

  1. Sarah Caron says

    September 6, 2012 at 10:47 pm

    So glad they had a great first day! Hope day two is just as great!
    Sarah Caron recently posted..How to Spend Less on Groceries

    Reply
  2. JOanne says

    September 7, 2012 at 6:36 am

    Yay for good first days! Maddie looks so cute in her uniform! And i love that she told her teacher not to waste…you can tell she’s a food blogger’s daughter!
    JOanne recently posted..Recipe: Beer Bean- and Cotija-Stuffed Poblanos

    Reply
  3. Christy says

    September 7, 2012 at 11:17 am

    Thats hysteical about Madeline and the cheese and crackers! You have such wise, funny kids.

    Reply
  4. holly says

    September 7, 2012 at 9:01 pm

    Time goes too fast. Savor the moment.
    holly recently posted..A Mother’s Fight: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

    Reply
  5. Ramona says

    September 10, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    I’m glad that you and the Ex get along. So good for the kids.

    Reply
  6. Philip says

    September 10, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    I remember those first days of school. This really brought back some memories… thank you.

    Reply

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One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛

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One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also m I mean, I might have a slight obsession but also my lips are never chapped, so there’s that. 😂 And this is only one of my refill stashes. When I was in middle school, I had literally THE WORST chapped lips ever. Like a complete red ring around my top and bottom lips. I don’t think that’s where my lip balm obsession started, but it certainly didn’t help. Jersey winters are no joke (or our hot summers), so don’t mind me while I just add to my collection. What’s your fave?

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