Today was the first day of school....which went great if you care to know. The girls looked adorable in their new school outfits and shoes. Brooklyn also made her lunch which was exciting to do, being in the first grade and all. But what I really want to talk about is last night. Nat and I really wanted to make the last evening of summer vacation special. We wanted to create a "moment" that our girls could always remember. Now I'm not saying you have to go to a lot of work to create special moments. Sometimes they are so natural and spontaneous that they are magical. Sometimes, like last night you need to create magic. I want to share our magical moment with you. Most of my close friends know I have an insane schedule. I have many things going on in my life, but my children, they are my heart and I always want to try and create special moments that we can share together. Now about last night........
I made this really cute garland that I hung above the kitchen table (it's still there because it looked so fun.) It instantly transformed the room into a magical place. I made each of the girls crowns to wear during our special dinner. Each crown had their name and what grade in school they were going into. I stopped at Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes and bought them "a to die for" treat. They are so pretty too! Nat took care of dinner and had a wonderful idea. Our kids favorite restaurant is Sweet Tomatoes, (a salad bar place) so Nat created Sweet Tomatoes at home for the girls. They loved it. It really struck me what a simple idea it was and yet they were giddy about it. Why have we not done this before? We set a pretty table which included wine glasses, that they love to use. They were upstairs in the room as we prepared the special feast. When the girls came down the stairs there were audible gasps and then giddy sweet laughter. They were so excited and gave us huge hugs and thank-yous. We all sat down with our salads and talked about the upcoming school year. I also gave them clipboards of things that they need to accomplish everyday throughout the year. We clicked our glasses and cheered each other good wishes for the upcoming school year. The evening ended with some beautiful Fathers' blessings given to them by Nat.
Although I'm not able to spend as many "moments" with my children as I would like, I try to make as many as I can special. I want my children to have great memories and to feel how much they are loved by their parents. I know that we accomplished that last night. In my kitchen on my wall is a saying, to remind me daily about "moments". I know it's used often, but it still is my favorite.
"LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY THE BREATHS WE TAKE, BUT THE MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY..."
On a side note, yesterday was also my 14Th Wedding Anniversary. I am so grateful to have a loving, kind companion in this life journey together. He is also a wonderful father too! I love you Nathaniel! To many more amazing years together......you take my breath away still.....
Our festive table
Bella's crown
Brooklyn's crown
The daily clipboard assignments....
We love these special "moments" with our girls!
Our festive table
Bella's crown
Brooklyn's crown
The daily clipboard assignments....
We love these special "moments" with our girls!
8 comments:
Okay, I have quite a few friends that have done these fancy back to school dinners with crowns and such. How did I miss that boat? I'm so not creative. And really when do you have time to make fancy, shmancy garland? I'll have to keep all this in mind for next year. In the meantime you need to teach me some crafty stuff.
Wow! You are the coolest mom ever. And you didn't even try to hog the spotlight with your birthday!
Happy Birthday!
What a great, and beautiful idea, I'm storing that away in my memory bank for a few years for when Bevan toddles off to school. You're awesome!
That's all so wonderful! I have to do a slightly different approach with a boy, I suppose. He starts on Tuesday and actually, the less of a fuss I make, the less his anxiety gets to him. What I usually do is have a "party package" waiting for him in the car when I come to pick him up!
Oh my gosh, Jennifer, this is fabulous! You and Nat are such wonderful parents. I love the crowns. They're stunning. And each one different.
We've created some magic over the years, and I'm so glad...because over time the little squabbles and the whining all fades away and what we remember is the magic.
You always make things so fun... the are lucky to have you as there mommy!!! (take note that i am leaving a comment):)
how fun!!! i love those crowns, the garland. what a great idea. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!
That looks so neat! I love the crowns! It's going to be so fun when Calvin is a little older and we can do neat things. When I was young we had "Century Movie Night" and we would transform our whole house into a movie theatre, with a box office, ushers, tickets, concessions, etc. It was a blast!
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