Any good day should end with Bill Paxton

We took a drizzly, shoe-wetting walk around the neighborhood this afternoon. It was a messy affair.

When I dropped the kids off at day care today, they took Lily and put her in a fenced area across the room. I call it The Pen. There are toys everywhere, and the kids seem happy in general; sometimes, though, they have that glazed, slightly panicked look that cattle seem to have. This is exacerbated by the fact that they're in The Pen, and some kids have been known to moo on occasion. These are my kids' peers.

While Lily acclimated herself to being back amongst the herd, I did the daily paperwork for a couple minutes and chewed the fat with the day carers. As I was readying myself to go, I heard a crystal clear and unmistakable-in-its-origin, "daah daah. Daaaah daaaaaah!" Looked up, and there she was, leaning on the fence, smiling away at me from across the room. Beautiful. The day was downhill from there, and it was still a pretty good day; tough when you start on top.

Later...

For more nights than I can remember, Jen's been sequestered in the dining room, typing something. It never seems to end, the papers and studying and businessy business school stuff. Tonight I have noted that, not only has she not done any work, but is resolutely sitting on the couch watching "Twister" on TBS and eating Oreos with milk. This is what happens when MBA students snap.

Day eighteen.

Elly got really excited when we pulled out the camera.

Let me interject here to say that the backpack is fantastic in every way. If you're reading this and you are contemplating/readying for children, I suggest putting this on the short-list of things to get.

I felt a little like Yoda was on my back, a la Empire. I'm a nerd.

A sweet shot from Jen. This is Abby's insomnia-esque, go to bed a little late mood as it happens! Exciting moment.