Category: Shep

Saturday morning science

October 3, 2009

My children, you should know that not everyone’s life is like this. Not everyone has a dad who turns cardboard boxes into houses complete with chimneys and mailboxes. Not everyone has a dad who pulls out amps and microphones and turns our living room into a concert venue. Most kids don’t have a dad who dusts off the sewing machine and makes capes on a whim.

This morning as I sipped my coffee, I watched him tearing apart an old hard drive, flanked by the three of you, each holding a screwdriver or a set of pliers.

Your lives are bound to be full of crazy. But based on the last eight years, it’s mostly all the goood kind of crazy with some crazy crazy mixed in. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Happy anniversary.
Comic book workshop

September 27, 2009

I looked down from cleaning up in the loft to see Tom leading a comic book workshop. Everyone was hard at work at their own comic books.
Photo shoot gone terribly wrong

September 24, 2009

I had on a white shirt and my pajama bottoms. And then Neko came out all excited that she’d put on a white shirt and pajama bottoms. Of course, then Shep and Ellery had to get in on the act.

And I was all like, “We should get a photo of this!”

Things I’ve learned:

1. Our kitchen at night has hopeless lighting.
2. I should probably adjust the settings before I hand Tom my camera in hopeless lighting.
3. Our kids never stand still.
4. This may be as good as our family photos get.
Googly eyes

September 13, 2009

I have the weirdest kids in the whole world. And I love them dearly.
Captain Underpants

September 9, 2009

Tom has been reading the kids the Captain Underpants series. Shep has taken this character to be his own like most kids latch on to Batman or Superman.

So most of the afternoon is spent in underwear and cape, saving the world.
Car wash

September 5, 2009

Sheesh. I’m feeling like Boring Mom these days. Every time I turn around, Tom is doing something fun and inventive with the kids. Today while I was putting together the shards of my sanity, he held a car wash with the kids.

Watermelon. Car washes. Never know what you might get yourself into when you head down our driveway…
Arrangement by Shep

September 5, 2009

Christmas for Shep this year is going to be easy. Give me about one hour at Hobby Lobby and then another 15 minutes to hop over to Staples, and I’ll be done.

This kid doesn’t want toys. He wants THINGS.

He spends his days with big hunks of Model Magic, filling hours working it into one big brown lump. He adores a big box of paper clips. A fresh box of crayons is heavenly—not for drawing, but for taking them in and out and admiring the colors. Loads of time was spent this week tearing pom-poms apart into a big pile of fuzz.

Last Christmas I couldn’t figure out what to get him. Now I know why. He didn’t know where we stored the office supplies yet.

Today? Shep discovered the colored toothpicks. A little slice of heaven on a Saturday morning.
The kids make dinner

July 15, 2009

Yesterday, out of the blue, Shep announced that he wanted to make dinner. He said he would be making peanut butter and jelly, bananas, and apples.

I managed to convince him to substitute blueberries for the apples (too hard to cut). But then he did it, all three plates by himself.

Not to be outdone, Neko demanded to make dessert.

Some days they drive me to the edge, but what would I do without these beautiful children?
It’s probably best that we don’t live in the suburbs

June 28, 2009

Photos by Tom.
Neko and Shep get married

June 20, 2009

Neko and Shep decided to get married today. The groom wore black, complete with felt bow tie made by Tom. The bride and the flower girl dressed in princess attire. And, like any wedding, there was lots of dancing and the white man’s overbite.