Many thanks to all of you who sent birthday greetings. I had such a nice day! Oh, and Mel, the answer is earrings. My first ever piece of semi-fancy jewelry. I�d better not lose them the way I do most earrings.

This has been a wildly busy weekend. The block party was fun, although AJ, having been accustomed to living with two people bordering on monastic in their daily habits, is always simultaneously attracted to and alarmed by children running wild in the streets. He kept retreating to Z�s house for quiet time by himself to regroup. The best part of the day was definitely when the fire department came to open up the hydrant in front of Z�s house.

Alas, we were unable to stay late enough to participate in the Silly String fight, as AJ refused to take a nap and was in danger of exploding. We whisked him away as a matter of damage control, and he fell asleep in his car seat within two blocks of our departure.

Today was largely spent recuperating from yesterday, which was mostly accomplished by lying around the house and the pool, with an early evening run for Mexican food and margaritas. This latter element of the day will force me to keep this short, as I am in danger of dozing off into a tequila-induced coma. Tomorrow I�ll be on full-time child-care duty in order to earn a night off for my book group meeting downtown. After a late return home, I�ll be turning around and heading right back first thing Tuesday morning in order to make an appointment with another archive. A friend offered to put me up for the night, an offer that is extremely tempting, as it promises actual sleep without interruption. However, I don�t think the family is going to go for that. In short, my posting schedule is liable to be out of whack this week, but I�ll do my best to keep up.

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