.....Picasso in Brazil.....

.....Stefan just returned from Brazil.....he flew us home from Key West on Saturday, got in a cab at Laguardia and boarded a plane at JFK to head way south.....again....I believe when it was said and done, he flew for 18 hours last Saturday....superman....

.....and when he is gone, especially in places like Brazil, he checks in a lot.....I send him videos of the girls, we put him on speaker phone during our meals, he and the girls blow kisses through the phone and we miss each other terribly.....

.....so it was when I sent him this iphone picture that he made the comment, as a kid in Texas when it was too hot, we jumped in the pool.....when it's too hot in Manhattan, our girls are going to The Met....

.....yes they are....and they loved it....especially this picture in which they spent at least 2 minutes on the floor waving at the dog in the oil painting....

.....and it was such a balmy day, we were still slurping down water inside the museum like we would have been if we were bearing the 96 degree day outside....

.....and yes, we just came from two weeks in Florida, but this heat in the city is stifling...it's like the concrete is burning in flames all around us and the breeze is nonexistent....and when I saw the weather channel on Wednesday morning, I knew I couldn't muster a day at the park or a day of running errands....

.....so we breezed through the Picasso exhibit instead.....

......and as many people as there were who looked at me like I was crazy letting my two toddlers walk freely in the museum, there were equally the same amount of 80 year old women, dressed in their best suits and spritzed with just a touch of their favorite perfume.....all perfectly made up with red lipstick and fresh updo's.....waiting in the corridor for their other meticulously groomed friends to arrive so they could appreciate some art, then head for a leisurely lunch on Madison Avenue; complimenting me for nurturing and grooming two young art enthusiasts.....and with that compliment, I simply smiled and said, thank you....

.....I didn't have the heart to tell them I just needed an indoor activity....

.....but those old ladies made me grin from ear to ear....because when I am 80, I want to be doing something fun, all dressed up with my best girlfriends on a Wednesday afternoon too.....

....however, to give credit to the other onlookers who stared at me in disbelief for not having my girls chained to the stroller or on some sort of leash; I did cringe when we turned a corner and they started to race down the Grenician sculpture annex....

.....but they listened well and only touched where I allowed them to use their gentle hands or sat down where I told them they could take a load off....

.....poor Elsie got reprimanded for sitting on a sculpture I asked her to sit on so I could send Stefan another iphone pic.....

.....ooops....

......at least I got a shot of her and the 800 year old mammouth....

.....I had Stefan in mind the entire outing at The Met.....determined to get the girls to sit still for a minute.....wanting to send him their faces so he could have a sneak peak of the littles who love him....Elsie got the drift.....

....Callie on the other hand......

......give Daddy a big smile for his work trip.....he wants to see your sweet  face....he misses you.....come here for a minute.....sit next to this picture of the sweet doggie....none of my pleas worked with her....

.....and it was in the moments like these where I knew I made the right decision in not bringing the real camera....chasing after the two girls, manuevering through thick crowds, pushing the stroller after them, being extra watchful in the highly delicate areas that aren't roped off well and trying to snap photos with the iphone was enough for me....

......in the end, I was the most exhausted one of all.....but success!.....

.....Daddy got some pictures....