I felt like an unfit mother dressing her in crummy old (actually, brand new) sweats for her first day of school. Isn't it supposed to be a big 'show and tell' of your best, new, back-to-school outfit? Nope. Not these days. Or, at least, not for preschool. Since we were there for summer camp, we knew not to wear anything nice, because it's sure to get ruined. They're 50% in the sandbox with the hose, and 50% in the art room with paint (sometimes fabric paint). So no, she won't be wearing her beautiful clothing to school. In fact, when I picked her up at the end of the day, those sweats were NOWHERE to be found. Hmmph.
She's going in the afternoons, so we had the morning to hang out and prepare. She was so excited, she wanted to go in her jammies! I convinced her to wear sweats, since it was cold out, and she agreed. But the old, outgrown sundress had to go on top of it all. No arguments, there. At least she brushed her teeth.
We arrived, and she was so excited at first. Then she saw all the excitement (I'd say about twice as many kids as in her summer camp there, and many adults getting their 'little babies' off to a good school start), and grabbed my leg, and inserted finger into mouth (this is her new 'shy' behavior).
I set her up with her lunch amongst her friends from summer camp, kissed her, and slyly crept out the door. The rest was history... when I came back at 6pm to pick her up, I practically had to drag her out of there. I'm so glad she loves it so much.
This weekend, we had another first. More well-documented than the first day of school, since daddy and I were both there to help out... and it was a total blast. Riley loved it, and she actually did really well after she realized it was more fun when she listened to the coaches' instructions.
Afterwards, we got to go to one of our favorite (expensive) afternoon spots in San Francisco, Pier 23. It's a restaurant on the bay, with loads of good seafood and burgers and bevvies, and a view of the sea lions floating around in the bay. Often live funk music penetrates the deck, and we just love it there. And, it happens to be next door to soccer. Oh-oh.
And Ri loves it, too. She ate an entire plate of rice and steamed shrimp, and some of my fish tacos with refried beans. And, she met a little friend sitting nearby, whom she took under her wing for the afternoon.
Sunday, we went to a coffee shop in our neighborhood that's recently changed hands in management. I'm going to attempt to use my newly found skills in interior decorating to spice this place up. They clearly need help, no? No money, but, free coffee and crepes for life? And a portfolio piece? OK.
But for now, I'm working on my friend, Randi's, office space. Here is 'before', and 'after' is coming in a few weeks (hopefully). Very exciting!! It's gonna be really beautiful when we're done. Think, tropical. Nice.
Good times!
Oh! And last weekend, daddy found a little street fair where Riley had her face painted. She was such a beautiful princess, even though she was half asleep.
