Some time ago, Neko and Shep couldn't sit on the couch without five feet between them. Any less space, and they got too wiggly and in one another's personal space. The inevitable tears and arguing followed.
But today I looked over and caught them snuggled up next to one another, practically TOUCHING, and this peaceful moment lasted for what seemed like eternity.
Shep is completely into Lego as of late. Sort of weirdly obsessed. He often sleeps with it, and there's 4" x 8" slab that he often sleeps with. Plus, he only likes the blocks with 4 dots.
Today he sized up, found this huge slab, and peppered it with nearly every 4-dot block we own. He could not have been more excited with the results.
I was quite smitten by this lopsided MagnaTile structure Shep created this morning. He was all proud of himself, but was confused as to why he couldn’t find it in the illustrations of suggested constructions.
Maybe I’ve spent too much time exposed to the work of Frank Gehry and Peter Eisenman, but I think it’s got a good vibe.
Just to spite me, the kid is totally going to grow up to be an accountant.
On a side note, yes, Ellery does still exist, and I promise to give her some blog-love as soon as Tom comes home and I have regained my sanity.
From the moment we starting watching the trailers for WALL-E on Apple’s site, I knew he would come to live with us one day. And then when the kids started watching the trailers for WALL-E? We were sunk.
On a random trip through the store with Tom, Neko spied the WALL-E toy display, and almost went catatonic. Of course, she took Shep along for the ride, so they both came home clamoring for WALL-E toys.
We decided this should be an allowance purchase. Now, I will admit, we’re pretty lazy when it comes to allowance. We’ve really only done it for Neko so far, and when she’s not actively saving for something, we kind of forget about it. So she probably hasn’t had an allowance for several months. Which, in case you guys are reading this years from now, NO, it is not retroactive and it does not accrue interest.
Anyway, we gave them a little credit on the allowance account and decided they needed to save for three more weeks to buy their robots. When we realized Tom would be out of town for The Big Day, we almost moved it so he could see the grand reveal. But then we realized these little guys might make my whole weekend a heckuva lot easier, so Tom agreed he would join in on iChat from Chicago later that morning.
Last night the kids could barely go to sleep. You would have thought Santa was due in a few hours. They were wiggly and squirmy and could barely stay under their covers. By morning, they burst out of their rooms, and went charging into the kitchen to find their new friends.
I declare them a smashing success. Neko chose the transforming WALL-E, which compacts down to a cube, but with no electronic components. Shep chose the one that talks and lights up, but with no folding features. I was a little worried Neko would have buyer’s remorse when she saw Shep’s talk, but it seems to be a perfect fit for everyone. Plus, Shep’s is loud enough for two toys, I’m thinking.
My only complaint is the door on Neko’s that opens to reveal a sticker of trash is a complete piece of crap. By the end of the day it wouldn’t stay shut. So when Tom returns home, I’m going to put him to work on a little toy surgery—finding a mechanism to secure Neko’s door and smuggling some blue tape over the interior of Shep’s speaker. Then all will be good in the land of Buy-n-Large.
Which, by the way, have you been to buynlarge.com? I now have something up my sleeve to get me through the rest of the time Tom is out of town…
Neko’s truck has suddenly turned into her “wheelchair”. In a sort of pathetic Tiny Tim kind of way she tells us her legs don’t work and then plunks down into the bed of her truck and painstakingly rolls the wheels forward by hand. It takes her nearly a full minute to get about five feet, which might be the slowest I’ve seen her move since she was about six months old.
I’m not really sure where this came from. Monty from Little Bill? Traction Jackson from Sesame Street? I have no clue.
In other fantastic news, Shep didn’t throw a single temper tantrum today. I feel strangely refreshed and zen-like.
Neko had her last day of Bug Camp today, so I was looking for something to do with Shep and Ellery. We ended up at the farm run by the local park district. We were excited to see they had renovated the playground, and Shep got to test drive a few tractors.
However, our mild summer caught up with us today when we found it already blazingly hot at 10am. The pigs had the right idea by cramming into their water tub, which was clearly the coolest spot on the property.
In good news, Shep was extremely pleasant the whole time and even rode his first horse. Last summer he cowered behind my leg and refused to even look at the horse. Today he was a bit hesitant, but once the horse started moving, he smiled the whole way.
I tried to remind myself what a fun and normal time we had this morning when he completely melted down over some ridiculous thing in the afternoon which, once again, ended in a tantrum.
And then we attended Gregory’s birthday party, which was fabulous, except for that part at the end where Neko had a complete meltdown which ended with Tom carrying her kicking and screaming to the car.
But the morning and the party? Good stuff.
Why is there no photo today? Because every day recently Shep has had at least one, if not two or three, extensive temper tantrums. Not just like a few minutes. Closing in on a hour. If not longer. Often at bedtime.
My nerves are shot and my blood pressure is through the roof. I am so over this stage.
Tonight Neko went to spend the night with Renita and Diane. A few weeks ago she began pestering us that she wanted to go spend the night and she wanted to go all by herself. No Shep.
After some calendar shuffling, we decided today was a good one. She’s been counting the days since Sunday, when she decided she could check the days off one by one. I regret that I did not take a photo when she had the marker taped to the wall next to the calendar, you know, just so it could be there when it was time to cross off a day.
After we dropped Neko off, we took Shep to dinner. I was stunned at how he was a non-stop stream of chatter over dinner. In our daily life, I don’t think I notice how much Neko dominates the conversation. But with his moment in the spotlight, Shep stepped up to plate, and continued to talk on through bedtime.
I think I’ve written about Shep’s nightly ritual where one of the last things he does at night is give me two kisses, one on each cheek.
Well, it’s come to a grinding halt. All of a sudden one night when I requested my kisses he shook his head and said, “Nope. Tomorrow.”
And the next morning he delivered on his promise, but I suspect he’s trying to wean me slowly into his pre-adolescent years.
I know I’ve said it before, but I love the stuff that Tom brings to the parenting table. Like a 7:30am jam session with the little orange amp. When I’m squirreled away in the bedroom, knee deep in finances I get to hear pre-school improv. Excellent.
Bonus photo of Neko and parrots, which, just so you know, we have agreed she may get a real one when she is 18. And thank goodness she has not solidified her grasp on the concept of time, since she will happily tell most strangers that Sally is a toy, but she will getting a real one when she is 18, as if that is just around the corner. I cross my fingers like a used car salesman, and hope this phase passes before she realizes the terms she has negotiated.