because the kids woke up much earlier than i wanted them to. because phil had to work that day. because i just wasn’t quite ready to face the day and all the tasks involved therein. just because. this past saturday the kids and i ended up having a backwards kind of day. give it an official name, like “backwards saturday” or “topsy turvy day” or “pajama-rama. a go-go” and it sounds like i have a method to my madness, doesn’t it? in any case and under whatever title, i let the kids stay in their pjs, teeth not brushed, girls’ hair not pulled back (which normally drives me crazy), and…

betcha didn’t know i live in an art gallery, didya?  strange, but true.  the thing about the art gallery i live in is that all the art hangs at under five feet on the walls.  so you kinda have to bend down to really appreciate each piece.  this is because five feet is about as high as any of the three pint-sized artists i reside with can reach while standing on a stool to tape up their masterpieces.  and while all three artists regularly contribute to the growing collection that can be found on every single wall and door and window in my house, one of them has a particular…

this is my baby.  hi, baby! except…  she doesn’t look like this anymore.  this is how she looked back in may. back when her pink squeaker shoes were all the rage.  with her. except…  they don’t fit her anymore.  it was a sad, sad day.  i don’t know if it was sadder for her or for me though. this is my baby fast asleep. except…  this was how she looked fast asleep back in june.  that shirt, which used to be allie’s, doesn’t fit her anymore either. this is my baby “waked up”. except…  you guessed it, those jammies don’t fit her anymore either.  they did back in august.  which…

this year, halloween kinda snuck up on us before i was even aware that the month of october was already in full swing.  we didn’t get to do the usual things one would do in october– no visit to a pumpkin farm, no pumpkin carving, no attempts at fall-ish pictures whatsoever.  we just ended up at a grocery store last saturday afternoon to let the kids choose a few mini-pumpkins and pick up a bag of chocolates just in case some trick-or-treaters might stop by.  (which phil warned me beforehand was likely not to happen as we are surrounded by chinese neighbors.  chinese neighbors who do not believe in handing…

so the very next weekend after we got back from seattle, we (correction: I) packed up again and we took off for san diego.  phil was attending a conference there and we decided to make a family trip out of it.  but let me tell ya, all that weekend traveling was crazy tiring and i feel like i’m still recovering from it all.  there is definitely something to be said for quiet weekends spent at home, too.  perhaps i’ll have something to say about that when we actually have one of them.  : p but on to the post at hand! the kids were suuuper excited to be going on…