Picture Day

H's picture day was yesterday. Hoping for a nice shot. I got spoiled last year for H's Pre-K shot. We got proofs, different poses and backgrounds to choose from. So if they didn't turn out nice you could just decline. But you all know that you get what you get when it comes to school pictures, good or bad. However they do have a photo touch-up option (extra money, of course) so if you have the dreaded zit or blemishes it will miraculously disappear...."picture perfect".

I remember we would all get a small plastic black comb as we lined up for our pictures back in elementary school. Did you get those? I always thought it'd be nice to have a mirror nearby to do a quick hair check, since usually the photographer wouldn't care. (at least the ones I had) I also remember how they would pose and tilt your head in the oddest angle then tell you to say some silly word... then FLASH be blinded by those lights, oh the memories haha!
Here's a picture of me from Kindergarten. Don't ask what I was wearing, yikes haha! I think I was absent on picture day, so this was a retake.

What are your picture day memories? 
What's your worst picture day photo or were they all keepers?

SAY CHEESE!!!!
Eva

First Day Of School -- E Edition

This week was the first day and week of school for E1, E2, and E3. It was a new preschool for the girls and a new school for E1, who started Kindergarten!

Over the summer E1 had gone from being excited about school, to being scared of the new school and teacher, to excited again after we reassured him that he would have a great time and would be learning lots of new things. There was also great anticipation to sit on the bus again! He really enjoyed it during his summer reading program.

E2 and E3 are actually going to 2 different preschools this year, 1 for M,W, F and another for T, Th. There was no fear on their part just excitement to go to school and have a great time learning!

All this made the first day of school super easy, no tears and lots of picture taking. E1 even asked why I waited with him for school to start since he wanted to do it by himself!

Looking forward to a great school year!

Zi

Rainbow Loom

How many of you know what I'm talking about? or even own one?
Well if you don't, you are about to find out. This is the latest craze among kids. You can use this loom to make the latest "must have" accessory,  rubber band bracelets.

You can make some of the designs without the loom but a must for the more complicated designs. We purchased ours at our local craft store, Michaels. You can find all sorts of tutorials on you tube or just go to their website. H was able to do the basic single pattern rubber band bracelet with minimal assistance.

Basic single pattern

I even had some fun as well.

Nautique pattern

Fishtail pattern

Triple Single pattern

Starburst pattern

This totally brings me back to my youth making those friendship bracelets. Remember those?

What were your favorite "fads" growing up? 
Rubber bracelets in the 80s? Charm necklaces? Friendship bracelets? Silly bands?

Eva

*This is not a sponsored post.

H's first day of Kindergarten!

Here's our annual first day pic! See how much she has grown since last year, here.

Remember how I was debating about whether to let H ride the bus in my previous post?  Well, during orientation the kids got to meet their teacher, had a tour of the school, learned about school bus safety and even went on a ride. To my surprise after orientation H told me "Mommy I want to ride the bus to school!" I had a wave of emotions when I heard this. Part of me was thrilled that she was willing and so excited about it and the other part of me was not ready and saying to myself "What?! My baby is ready to be independent?" 

Of course I said yes but also made sure she understood what it really meant. Given H's history of separation anxiety I had a plan B ready (car keys in hand).
Here we are walking to the bus stop... with H taking the lead!

You can see for yourself how it all went from here! I had to call her name to get a "good-bye" shot haha!

No tears, no fuss, I'm one proud mommy!!! She totally turned a new leaf this year!
As that bus drove down the street and I turned to walk back home, I almost got choked up. I even missed her that morning. It's strange since I should be use to this, H went preschool and even had longer days there. But I guess it's the realization that she's grown up and in "real school"...WOW!
To celebrate we had lunch & ice cream at Chick-fil-a! This has become our tradition.

How was your kid(s) first week of school? 
Do you have any first day of school traditions or treats?

Have a great week!
Eva

Back to school shopping list

We got our list and it's an easy one to tackle. School bag, markers, glue sticks, headphones and a box of tissues... done!

Here are some of my favorite finds!
Cute sushi napkins, would pair up nicely with our lunch buddies line: Double Trouble

www.funkins.com

School gear:
Hello Kitty backpack (H's pick)

Target.com

Cool crayons
Maybe it's the artist in me but I got so excited when I saw these at Target. I love me some crayons! Fun shades for each specific theme. So many to choose from, I wanted to buy all of them haha!

Target.com

Fun notebooks
Remember those black and white composition books? They now have the coolest colors and designs on them! Kids are so lucky these days haha. (You know how we love Hello Kitty!)

Where do you go for your back to school items? 
What kind of shopper are you, do you shop at one place? Or go go to several places and get the best deals?

Happy shopping! Our next stop... clothes.
Eva

*This is not a sponsored post

Checking Off Our Summer List Part 2

As you may remember, back in May I talked about how much we had already checked off our summer list, in this post. And few weeks before that I had shared with you what our summer list looked like here.

I'm happy to report that we pretty much did everything off of our list, except maybe one. I'll share some pictures below (if I have them) for each point on our list and also a quick review as to how things turned out.

Here we go:
1) Go to the zoo at least one more time before our membership expires.
We were lucky enough to be able to go one last time before our membership expired and had quite the experience. The kids got to feed lorikeets some nectar out of a cup, go visit the new kid zoo area, and witness a rhino pee, which really left quite an impression!

2) Go to Please Touch Museum before our membership expires.
Squeezed in one last visit to PTM as well and was also the first time that E4 got to really join in the fun. Didn't really take any pictures though.

3) Have a picnic at the park at least one time.
We were lucky enough to be able to do this a few times over the summer. First time right before we visited Cape May Zoo, a couple times at Valley Forge Park, and also one time before we visited Smith's Playground, mentioned in this post.

4) Plant something with the kids.
Well, technically I did plant a couple of things with the kids, some basil and green beans. So the green beans they actually planted at their summer camp but I did keep it alive and healthy enough to sprout 1 bean! I really don't have a green thumb so I consider that a success!

5) Fly a kite with the kids.
We were able to do this at E1's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party, mentioned here. And also at the beach when we went to celebrate E2 & E3's birthday.

6) Take the kids to see a lighthouse.
We did this early on in the summer and visited the lighthouse in Cape May.

7) Go to the beach at least one time.
Happy to say we were able to go 2 times this summer. First time when we went to see the Cape May lighthouse and second time when we had a special weekend to celebrate the twins' 4th birthday!

8) Make our own bubble solution and attempt to make huge bubbles.
This was probably the one failure in our list. Now it doesn't mean I didn't try, I did but I think I put too much water in my solution or maybe just not quite enough glycerin, because the bubbles popped really easily. I vow to try this again though and hopefully be successful.

9) Go fruit picking.
We got the chance to pick a few times this summer--strawberries, blueberries, and peaches! Hoping to go pick apples too before the summer picking season ends.

How was your summer this year? Did you get to do all that you wanted to? Would love to hear from you!

Zi

Getting ready for Kindergarten!

BACK TO SCHOOL

I still cannot believe my little girl is going to Kindergarten! She really has grown over the summer, in height and even looks more mature (no more baby face, sniff sniff).
We have orientation next week! Hopefully this will give H a better idea what Kindergarten will be like. Become familiar with her surroundings, get a chance to sit on a school bus, meet her teacher and new friends. Fortunately she has 3 of her good friends in her class which is a big plus. I'm hoping she will transition well.

But the question is... am I ready?
Going 5 days a week... We'll definitely have to stick to our schedule every night so we can be up and ready to leave on time. No more "lazy mornings" where we can just chill in our PJs and do as we please.

Riding the school bus... I'm still debating about this one. I feel she's so young or am I'm just being an overprotective mommy? It's great that she has a bus and it would make the mornings "easier". However, she's telling me that she doesn't want to ride the bus. Should I just drive her til she is more familiar with the new school? What would you do?

Doing homework... Yes even in Kindergarten, at least I don't have to worry about not knowing the answers. Seems more intense than when I was a kid, all we did was have snacks and play.

Are you ready for the school year to begin? 
Do you remember your first day of Kindergarten?

Eva