Back to School!

Man, this is different the second time around. The first time I had a kid start Kindergarten, I was a hot mess. There were tears shed and a few little flutters of anxiety watching her shove off for the first time. But with Carolina, things were different. Like so much that she does, this transition to the big first day was a breeze. Yes, it helped that she was in pre-K full day last year (as opposed to the 2.5 hours Elisa had), and she'd already gotten used to some of the routines from watching her big sis walk the halls at AOC. But really, it was also true that she just rolled with it in a different way. The only hiccup being her summer cold that struck after our big roller skating party on Sunday. She had a slight fever that night, only to wake up happy and hungry on Monday morning. We made it to meet the teachers that afternoon and all seemed on track for her first day of Kindergarten and Elisa's first day of 3rd grade. But then the fever returned and we were saying goodbye to only one child on the first day of school. What the hell? 

So happy to see these three amigos from AMB in the same class!

These 3rd graders know what's up

After our meet the teacher blitz, some ice cream in Astoria

Sick day starting K! :(

But her 2nd first day was a success

I shoved her into the building a little after 9 a.m and she needed no hand holding

Finally a synchronized drop off on our third day. I think this is going to work out just fine. Yes, having two kids together in the same school is feeling like a huge accomplishment. And I suppose after waiting 8 years for this reality it is! I'll take it. Hopefully these two will be each other's support in all those little schoolyard interactions. That they are only down the hall from each other is kind of cute. My big girl and her little sis just starting out. Going to miss their faces every day, all day, but I think I'll adjust. Oh yes, September is my favorite month for so many reasons. 

Roller Fest '16

How brave are these guys?? I mean, when I put out the call for a rollerskating birthday party, I could only hope that some of the parents would boot up too. The girls both received new roller skates for their birthdays and so the idea of combining their newfound love of skating with their celebration just made sense. Of course, I wasn't sure how many other kids had skated before so I needed a place that might be easy for the younger or skating-averse crowd.  But really, this whole idea of skating in the city turned out better than I could have hoped. It wasn't the 26-kid extravaganza that I originally envisioned since so many were away on vacations. But sometimes smaller is better. And we definitely had fun with our friends at Pier 2 roller rink in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I'm still so impressed by how little falling there was. Good job team!

Last Week of Summer

Summer is definitely in its final moments for us, but that doesn't mean the fun has to end. This week we harnessed all the energy we could from the outdoors to make it an eventful week out and about. On Sunday we spent a good few hours in SGP hanging out while an Irish soccer tournament provided the entertainment in the form of a free bouncy house and a foot race for the kids. Everyone who participated got a medal with lovely green and white ribbon which looked so cute on these little summery faces flush with heat and sun. Since the girls haven't been in any kind of camp since we returned from Spain, it's been up to me to keep them occupied during the long, hot days that August promises. A quick run to Costco turned into a marathon shopping spree thanks to our arrival time just at lunch (but hey, where else can you eat lunch for 3 WITH dessert for $6.85?), and of course we couldn't leave without Wonder Woman costumes (though I did take a pass on Halloween candy--I mean, it's still August). The following day we did a play date in the park with Kerry and Carmen and Samarra which meant our continuous streak of celebrating August birthdays is intact. Whew! With their move back to NJ this summer, I hope we'll see them again soon. 

And then it was midweek and we were packing our bags for a day trip to Fire Island and back on the ferry. I'd been hearing about this place for a few years now from some of our playgroup crew and it always piqued my interest. This year Tania and Dawn offered to host us for the day and showed us around their digs at Ocean Beach. It was a nice change of pace from hitting the Rockaways even if the surf proved a bit rough. The big kids loved it and I just played photographer and yet still managed to get water up my nose. After a delicious dinner of grilled chicken, potatoes and salad we scooted into town for an ice cream and managed to catch the 8:50 p.m. ferry back to the mainland. It was nearly an hour home still, but a quiet ride as these tired girls passed out. Nacho was back at work the following day and to be honest I was happy enough to spend most of the day cleaning up and resting after our big adventure to the island. The girls were stirring a bit late in the day so we made our way over to Party City to shop for goodie bag items for their upcoming birthday party. After that, we made Friday all about fun starting out with a trip to the always-popular Peter Pan Donut Shop in Greenpoint, BK followed by a drop-off playdate at Leonardo's (with visiting Abu) while I took Carmen to IKEA. We shopped and talked and I managed to pick up a few things I've been meaning to get to complete the girls'  room and our front entry way. Then we finished our outing with a lovely meal at Red Hook Lobster Pound. It was just the kind of girl talk and relaxed afternoon without kids around that I think we both needed. The following day we were up and at it to get to The Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the US Open in Flushing with Carmen and family. Originally Jose and Irene had made plans to attend with their visiting friends and we weren't quite sure what they were buying tickets for since most of the kids activities are free. But then we realized there was a concert with several Radio Disney stars and others like Flo Rida and Troye Sivan and Zara Larsson for only $10 a ticket and I was sold. So off we went to grab a seat in the arena at 1p.m. and the kids were pretty excited to see the musical acts. The tennis stuff not so much. Which is why we bolted soon after things wound down out on the courts. And just like that, the last week of summer before school starts was officially over.  Oh summer, you're making me miss you already...

Birthdays Abound

August and birthdays go together like summer and vacation. There's a lot of them and they all seem to pile up around here. Once we get done with the hurdles of our two girls, there are friends galore to celebrate. So it was great to get our time alone in the city with our two birthday girls on Elisa's special day. And then just a few days later, we were over at Carmen's ringing in Leonardo's birthday on the 20th with a relaxing family meal. In between, we had lots of beautiful summery days to fill and with Adam's visit, there was time for a few more outings--to test drive Pier 2's roller rink--and good meals--at John Brown's in LIC. Yes, this summer might be winding down, but it's definitely not over. 

Watching these kids ring in their 8th year was equal parts amusing and mind-blowing. I really can't believe we're in the upper single digits. How? How did these little 5 and 6 month olds turn into real, grown-ass kids? So much attitude and yet as Elisa likes to explain, she's still "just a kid!" Right. It's that contradiction I'm so amazed by. At times I think that she's been like this all along and then I remember the cherub-cheeked little girl who used to bewilder me with her crazy napping and tantrums. I've traded that in for sassy back talk and teenage-like eye rolls. Yes, she's all grown up but not as much as she'd like to think. And Leonardo is much the same. There is so much drama with these two that Carmen and I never tire of discussing them and their confounding ways. So it's nice that for one day of the year at least we can celebrate them in all their glory. Eight was a lot of fun.