Back to school

What a resounding success! Nina hasn't been so excited to go off to school in I don't know how long. She's in the same class as most of her besties (that's how the kids these days say "friends") and has Mrs. Maxim, a teacher who's been there since I was a student.

We baked a topfenstrudel yesterday to bring for her class at snack time and also brought some hollanderblutesirup (elder flower syrup) and seltzer to mix for some tasty Austrian elder flower gespritzt. The kids loved it! The elder flower juice is pretty flowery so we weren't really sure if the kids would like it, but we thought it'd be a pretty fun thing for them to try no matter what. Nina told her classmates that she didn't like it the first four times she tried it, but that wasn't enough to scare them off. She also wore her dirndl and showed them her scrap book. The kids were most excited to hear about her Disneyland trip, though they asked a lot of questions about the palaces too.

Maggie's day was also an unbelievable success. I stayed nearby, kind of right in the doorway so she could look up and give me a wave every now and then, and she was as happy as a clam. She's in the morning session, so drop-off is between 7:30 and 8:00 and pick-up is at 10:30. Just the perfect length.

Since Wednesday is Nina's short day, Maggie and I decided to stay for lunch and recess with her. Corn chowder, yum! Then we had coffee, juice, and a cinnamon roll at the Ebb Tide to kill the last hour before pick-up.

The girls are both super excited to go back tomorrow. Maggie wants me to stay again, but I think if I color with her for a few minutes in the morning like we did in Austria she'll be happy.