After all these years of juggling and multi-tasking, I am still really bad at managing family with work time. But sometimes the calendar god gives me a break and I make a run for it. So for ten days at the end of last month, I squeezed in family time with my sisters and their families on both coasts as well as some QT with my parents in between. And that explains why I’ve been silent here for a few weeks. But I hope you’ll enjoy the next few entries of my trip around the country.

So I missed the 4/18 Club Annual meeting in NY this year, but I picked up with Lil A a month later. We walked to school,

took the subway,

and even made it to the Plaza Hotel to visit the Heloise exhibit/tea room:

But let’s get to the nitty gritty, shall we? What’s an annual meeting without a trip to the mothership:

Madame President was sitting here while directing me with which outfit to try on next (by the way did you notice her outfit change?!)…

and then it was her turn to give the shoe department a try:

Did I already say we have a new honorary member in the 4/18 Club?

That’s Mr. T, Lil A’s brother, all grown up and much more ambulatory than the last time I saw him. And by ambulatory I mean finding the highest point in the apartment to climb only to cast himself off from it. What is it that people say, a toddler is just an accident waiting to happen? I must have had a few heart attacks watching him duck near-misses in a matter of minutes! And I don’t know how to explain the two photos above, except to say that he was extremely meticulous and skillful in his handiwork. I suspect he inherited that from his mom who loves crafting.

May is for family, and the stop in NY was much too brief. But the road beckons and I’m on to the next segment.