Uneventful ... but for some reason I'm still tired.

So ... yesterday, I took the three little ones to the museum. First, we went and got Enzo and Olivia all signed up for the bus (as "ceo of the home", I had to get that done ;-). Last year, I had not done so for Enzo since he only rode home, and... I'm not sure he made the cut-off for birthday (too young), so... avoided that hassle entirely. This year, however, Olivia is switching schools and Enzo is, officially, old enough for kindergarten. It was pain-free at the Woodland Hills Admin office for the schools (in Edgewood, we are Woodland Hills - not City of Pitt) - but if you do need to go,be sure to bring 3 forms of ID - driver's license, mortgage statement, utility bill. Then - off we went to the museum where we checked out the dinosaurs, as usual - then... hit all the animals (no interest in mummies.. hmmm...), saw a lighted exhibit they really liked, looked at the entire Frans Lanting photography exhibit (my kids are wildlife lovers) and did a craft in the Frank Lloyd Wright Falling Water exhibit. Big day. We had packed a little picnic snack and stayed all afternoon.

Of course, as is always the case with me, I started to reminisce about the past - how when it was just me, hubby and Olivia, we would go to the museum often. She went to daycare / preschool at Carriage House in Squirrel Hill, and we knew a lot of people there with kids her age, so ... occasionally, we would meet them, but... mostly, we went alone - did lunch - made a day of it. Back then, the dinosaur exhibit was super cool - throughout the day, they would do these rainstorms and it would get dark and sound like it was raining near the brontos and T-rexes - plus there was a big dinosaur footprint to sit in - fossils to touch - AND, if you went to the snack bar in the middle - right out in the open (and it wasn't the sad, depressing cafeteria it is now - it was a bright little cafe with all sorts of kid junk like burgers and grilled cheese), the kids could play with these interactive space and planet games / screens. I appreciate all the renovations to the Carnegie Museum in the past few years, but I do miss the old, more kid-friendly natural history section. I do love museums. You know, I even remember taking baby Olivia to a children's literature illustration exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA when we lived there - alone, we kinda wandered and looked at old Dr.Seuss and other sketches... fun. Is anyone else like me in that you miss the old Carnegie Museum? Maybe it IS just me .... getting "sappy"...

Anyway - our day rounded out with a quick trip to the store for dinner items (just grilled some hot dogs), a stop to pick up our CSA basket and a late evening outing to the pool - where one mother at the baby pool declared "what a perfect day", and... it was, I think (Lil and I ended ours on the deck, picking lettuce and playing Barbies - hubby, a true gaming kind of guy, got in some Wii time with his boys as they enjoyed their frozen treats from the pool - all before bedtime story and pjs). This morning, we are sipping hot chocolate (yep - summer hot chocolate - with cinnamon and real cocoa :-) and looking for Olivia in the camp photos again (quick digression here, Top Chef fans - Kelly Liken on this season is a Calvary Camp alum :-) - will probably register the whole family for the Run Around the Square (lower priced registration ends on 13 August so get those registrations in!). Uneventful (maybe a trip to my gym???).

Photo: Reminiscing.... this is me the day after I had Lilliana (who was almost 9 lbs!) at good old Magee Hospital here in Pitt - with all my little ones around me (though Milo looks a little like "mad milo") - can't believe how young Olivia looks - Enzo's "babyface" ;-).

Quick note: Blogher 2010 conference is today and tomorrow. Enjoy, all who are going!