Back to School Feast

This fall, my first child started elementary school. The occasion seemed deserving of something special, so we copied NieNieDialogues and the night before school started we had a special "back to school" feast for family night (however, on a MUCH smaller scale than Mrs. Nielson). As a mom I feel like it is part of my job to make special days special. It makes me feel good to be able to pull it off. 

 

The theme was simple: apples and chalkboards. I pulled from what I had and didn't have to spend a penny! Wendy & I made a crown for each person with their first initial on it. We used black paper "chalkboard" place-mats and wrote each person's name and educational status at their seat. Harvey wouldn't wear his crown, I don't think he had a clue what was going on (I kinda hope he didn't or he probably would have felt left out). I made Wendy's favorite dinner: hard shell tacos with beans and rice, then we APPLE pie for dessert.

 

 

After dinner, the festivities continued. We had a little lesson about the importance of an education and Ryan gave Wendy a father's blessing for the beginning of the school year (just like my dad used to do for me). It was a very sweet and tender moment for me. I feel very blessed to be married to a man that can do this for my children. I might have cried a little bit. After the lesson, we had Wendy pick out her new outfit for the first day of school (I pulled some options out of the 5T - 6T tub of hand-me-downs and cute clothes on sale I purchased in the next size up) and had her do a fashion show for us with some music on in the background. You can see her dancing pretty hard on that ottoman. I'm pretty sure the song "Gangnam Style" was on repeat. My kids love that song more than I'd like to admit. But it made for a very fun night!  All in all, I feel it's a tradition I can easily keep up and one that will make the special things in life special for my children.

*look at those moves! don't mind the partially finished renovation in the background