Tonight, Dan is working late. Really late. Knowing this, I decided in advance that I would deploy my super amazing strategy for surviving a long post-nap afternoon and evening with Kate on my own. It's a very complex strategy with three points. Those points are as follows:

1. Get out of the house.
2. It doesn't matter where you go.
3. Seriously, just get in the car.

I know it's complicated, but it really makes the time go by faster once you get the hang of it. On days like this, I find myself so very thankful for the giant corporation that is Barnes & Noble Booksellers. I have a great affection for any place filled with thousands of books, but at this point in my life, I am particularly fond of Barnes & Noble for their childrens' section, complete with a train set for the kids to play with and a conveniently located Starbucks on the ground floor for me. I can sit in peace and drink some (yes, pregnancy police) decaffeinated coffee and maybe even glance through a couple of books, and Kate is happy. Lately she has even started looking at books with me, which I like. Books are good.

Once she was done with that, she started working on climbing the giant tree-shaped pillars in the atrium. While I was taking this photo, she was hollering "Kate climb a tree, mommy! I do it!" She totally thought she was about to get to the top.