driving ms. wan

i got to celebrate valentine's day with my girls.  this SAHM-ing is gonna be super awesome, i can tell - this time around, they're older and we can do all sorts of fun stuff together that we couldn't have done last time. the teen happened to have the day off (one of the presidents' birthdays - i always forget which one is first), and i was excited to have some time to hang out with her.

she and i dropped the bean off at school, assured her that we'd be back for her valentine's day party with her class, and then headed off to have breakfast together.  by the time we finished and ran an errand or two, it was time to go back to the preschool to have some little-kid fun.

when we arrived, the bean's class was playing outside.  we sat inside the classroom and watched them play for a while, walking around and looking at the fun stuff on the bulletin boards.  we ducked every time the bean came near a window, so she wouldn't see us before she came back inside.  and it was fun to watch her face light up when they finally headed back in and she caught sight of us, sitting at the table.

"i'm SOOOOOO glad to see youuuuuu!" she chirped, and we beamed.  it was super cute.

they lined up to wash hands and have a snack ("what are we having today, teacher?" "chex mix." "oh! i loooooove chex mix!"), and we giggled as they all took their seats nicely and waited for their vittles.

the bean was thirsty.  "can i have some more water, please?  i finished mine all gone.  see?"

as they finished their snacks, they got up one by one to dump their trash into the bin and then played with the toys in the room as we helped the teacher set up for the party.

it was fun to get a glimpse of what she does when she's at school.  i want to get to the point to where i can volunteer to help in the classroom, but it's too soon.  i'm afraid she'd go into klingon mode if i were present during the school day right now.

the teen and i helped set up the table for the party, while the kids all gathered around and started putting valentines in their friends' envelopes.

i was all kinds of stoked to see my cookies take their places on the plates.

i think it's safe to say that the teen won't be pursuing a career in preschool education.

but she's pretty damn good with her own little sister.

the kids sat back down at the table to enjoy their party food.

when the party was over, we took the bean home to MIL and hopped back in the car.  we'd taken advantage of the random day off to schedule the teen's appointment to take her learner's permit exam at the DMV.  she'd passed her online driver's ed course with flying colors, we'd gathered all of the necessary paperwork, and she was all set.

as always, the DMV was a madhouse.  it took forever to find a parking spot, but since we actually had an appointment, we managed to avoid a lot of the ridiculously long lines.  it seemed like forever, but after only one hour, we were totally excited to take this:

my baby is on her way to adding to the neverending southern california traffic!  holy shit.  i'm so proud of her.  after sending that picture to the hub, brother wan, and the ILs, we headed off to a celebratory lunch at the mall.  she chose an old favorite - california pizza kitchen.

we looked around at sephora, where we found some stuff that caught our attention right away:

and then we decided to head home - with the teen behind the wheel.  on the freeway!

she did a mighty fine job, i must say.  she drove us to and from dinner - also on the freeway - and she kicked ass.  she's still got a lot of practicin' to do, but she's really getting the hang of it.

it's gonna be a long six months for her till she can get her real license.  in the meantime, i've got me a chauffeur!