The Farm Report

  • Party of four

    Party of four

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    Neko’s birthday isn’t until Wednesday, but we had her party today. It was her first “friend” party where we branched out beyond a small family gathering. (Well, other than her first birthday, but let’s face it, that party was more for Tom and I.)

    Having the party at a recreation facility was perfect. From play area to gymnastics to swimming, the kids bounced from one activity to another, and then finally to pizza and cake. The staff was amazing, and Tom and I were able to sit back and breathe and actually talk to our friends.

    Other than the cake, I’m pretty proud of myself for letting go of all my illusions of Martha Stewart homemade party favors and perfectly coordinating plates and cups. I embraced all the garish Disney paraphernalia and let other people do the organizing. And you know what, it was exactly the right decision.

    Doing all her favorite things for two hours, surrounded by friends and family, Neko was wiped when it was all over. We expected her to pass out the minute we hit the car, but instead, she fought to stay awake and keep the fun going. She and I sat in the back seat together and giggled the whole way home.

    (Thanks to Chris for most of these great photos in god-awful lighting.)

  • Got milk?

    Got milk?

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    I was making muffins for playgroup when Shep joined me. He watched carefully as I measured and poured. And then I turned away for a minute, and when I turned back, this is what my observer was up to.

    I didn’t think this was supposed to start happening until his teens. Good thing he’s cute.

  • Perfect weather

    Perfect weather

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    I’ve been bad about taking pictures. I keep forgetting to charge the diaper bag camera, so I get somewhere, and realize I have no working equipment. And when I have no photos, I forget to update.

    But today the weather made it into the 70s, and we basked in it. I couldn’t even pry the kids off the property to go to the park—the upside of playing at home is that the camera is readily available.

    Neko stripped down to her underwear, and never looked back. Susie brought over Chris and Alex, and all the kids soaked up the sunshine.

  • Playmo-village

    Playmo-village

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    Okay, I totally admit that my obsession with Playmobil might be considered somewhat unhealthy. But, you know, I have very few vices in this world. Tom has CDs, I have Playmobil. I am aware that we own an absurd amount of the stuff, but how amazing is it when you can recreate a whole world in a tiny scale with so much detail?

    I should point out that we began collecting the stuff when Neko wasn’t even able to hold her head up, and owe probably a third of our collection to the fact that Zany Brainy went out of business and had a 50% off everything sale. We still have things in the basement which are waiting for a rainy day. But I’m itching to start cracking them out.

    During quiet time, while the kids spent an hour in their rooms, I turned our living room into Playmo-village. I’d been itching to do it for ages, and I finally decided to ignore the laundry and dinner preparation and set it up. Next time I’m at the store, I clearly need thick masking tape, since I had to use blue tape for roads, but all in all, it turned out pretty well. We had houses, a farm, a school, the zoo, a park, and later on Neko made me crack out the train. Although, it’s clear we need to work on her urban planning skills, since her rail placement was less than optimal. Kudos for her support of public transit, though!

    I think we may need to break out the post office or grocery store, though. I mean, seriously, where are these people supposed to get food? And if they have no post office, they can’t even order stuff from Amazon. Sheesh.

  • Olfactory

    How is it possible that Otto still smells like skunk?

  • Dead battery

    What should be right here are some incredibly adorable pictures of my children at the zoo together. We stopped at the playground on the way in, and they began going down the slides together in a way that only appears on Hallmark cards, where they slide down hand in hand as they toss their heads back with laughter.

    Even though I didn’t have the big camera, I pulled out the little guy I keep in the diaper bag for just there events. I pulled out the camera, turned it on, and attempted to shoot. Nothing. Upon further examination, I discovered my battery was totally shot.

    Obviously, this is a clear metaphor for my life. I can barely put two sentences together these days, much less keep the camera battery charged. Nonetheless, life is still chugging along rather nicely…it’s just not very well documented.

  • (Stuffed) ladies who lunch

    (Stuffed) ladies who lunch

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    Neko has been really excited about making dinner for her stuffed animals lately. She gets all her friends gathered neatly around the playroom tables and then carefully prepares meals for them.

    I know this simple scene looks like she just threw it together in five minutes, but this activity has actually filled the better part of two days. Quite amazing, really, considering the kid can barely spit out a sentence without changing zip codes.

  • Backyard scenery

    Backyard scenery

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    One of the great things about living in the sticks is that in the morning your husband comes running in to make sure the shades are open so you don’t miss a scene like this.

  • Sisters

    Sisters

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    When Shep came along, Neko was not impressed. She didn’t not like him, but she wasn’t particularly interested, either. But Neko is older now, and her interest in babies has changed. She truly adores Ellery. Shep does, too.

    I know we’ll have some rocky, door-slamming moments in the future, but I already see the seed of what I hope turns into a solid friendship.

  • Clearly lazy. And modest.

    Clearly lazy. And modest.

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    This, my friends, is how she watches television.