Here sits Shep, waiting patiently by the dryer for his Blob shirt to dry.
I had to get a picture of this, because, according to legend in Tom’s family, he used to wait by the dryer for his blanket to dry.
I love when some things in life never seem to change.
I’m not sure how it took us this long to realize Shep and Pantone chips are a perfect match. I give Tom full credit for this realization. Shep is now carrying around six Pantone chips like someone has just given him a pot of gold.
On a completely unrelated note, this kid fresh out of the bath and that magic hour light makes for a photo that requires not one bit of retouching.
Well, other than Shep’s cold, which has left him sort of sad and sniffly, and made us have to cancel brunch plans with Duncan’s family. (That last part almost sent the whole day into a black hole of doom.) But Shep, ever the trooper, never complained once.
But other than that? Perfect.
Trip to the garden store. Vegetable seeds planted (better late than never). Overcame my OCD and let the kids pick out all the flowers for the window boxes on the swing set. They did a fantastic job, and it looks beautiful.
Neko spent hours (and I mean hours) chasing butterflies. Her crowning glory was this swallowtail.
Tom gave me a respite this afternoon, and I went to work on our own Secret Garden.
Now he’s off to a lecture, and all the kids were in bed by 7:45pm.
Perfect. (Or as perfect as it gets around these parts.)
Today we opened our house to 11 of Neko’s girlfriends to have a belated birthday celebration. It went off without a hitch and was downright dreamy. I think we attribute a good part of that to the glorious weather.
Each girl brought a doll or stuffed animal. They silkscreened shirts for themselves and their little friends. Then we gathered for tea, complete with cups and plates for the little friends.
So lovely. One of those days where the camera doesn’t do it justice. But it was—you’ll just have to trust me on that one.
The kids seem to love the new chicken coop. (Let’s hope the chickens love it, too.) And in the meantime, someone is brainstorming names. I suppose I should tell her you’re never supposed to name your chickens.
Countdown: 2.5 weeks.
We went to the school fundraiser last night where we had loads of fun, lost at the trivia challenge, but came home with this quilt filled with love.
There was a silent auction, and the big kids, along the amazing Heidi, crafted this crocheted quilt. All the kids have immediately fallen in love, and are fighting over who gets to use it next.
Neko spent much of her sick day curled up inside it, but by evening she was ready to share. A little bit.
Did you hear? We got a little bit of snow.
Tom and Neko have been gone for hours, plowing driveways of friends and family. Shep, Ellery, and I have been holding down the fort. We’ve made breakfast, played games, watched tv, and played Boy and His Blob. We’re running out of things to do.
At school, the kids do letter practice in shaving cream on tabletops. With these little people, I wasn’t sure I was that brave today. The mess sounded a bit overwhelming.
So I threw them both in the tub. We blew through a whole can of shaving cream, making mountains and messes.
My apologies to the environment for all the CFCs we released today, but Shep has been in the tub for well over an hour, and that, my friends, is time well spent.
