The Farm Report – Page 148 – Archiving the early years

Valentine’s Day massacre

January 26, 2007

Sometimes I should really think through an activity before I embark on it.

Susie took Shep for the afternoon, so Neko and I had some one-on-one time. I decided we’d do the Valentine garland that Kate blogged about a week or so back. Since Shep was away, it was perfect time to bring out glitter and glue and sparkly jewels.

I guess I had in my mind that we’d delicately sprinkle glitter on the hearts and then pick one precious jewel for each heart. Well, Neko hasn’t perfected her scissors skills yet, so she couldn’t cut hearts. And then it just turned into a big contest of how much glitter, glue and jewels would fit on one heart. They took ages to dry.

So I made a heart garland, and Neko made several indestructible hearts that will still be decomposing in the year 4024.
Knightbat in heels

January 25, 2007

She came up with this outfit all by herself. Hard to believe, I know.
Gentle reminder

January 24, 2007

Morning is a tough time for us. Tom takes the kids until 9am, and until then, I scurry around like a crazy person and try to pack eight hours worth of work into about 98 minutes. Then there’s the hand-off, where I take over the kids, inevitably 5-10 minutes late, followed by Tom making a mad dash to get on with his day. All in all, it is no Cleaver scenario and involves lots of whooshing around at lightning speed and mild cursing under one’s breath.

Wednesdays are even worse, because it’s Tumblebees day, and we need to get out the door by 8:30am.

Today in the midst of a mad flurry of packing snacks and putting on shoes, Neko looked at Tom and yelled, “Dad, STOP!”

We turned around to see what the emergency was.

“Dad, you need to give Mom a hug. And a kiss.”

And after she was satisfied to see her parents stop and take a moment for what she clearly thought most pressing business, she trotted off to resume her day.
Batty

January 23, 2007

We met Nancy and the kids at the museum today. Like a psychic “Omigodwhatwillwedoallday” connection, she called at 8am to see what we had going on. There was almost no one in the train area, so the kids ran laps around while Nancy and I stationed ourselves to make sure no one escaped. A nice little old lady gave the kids a tour of the old trolley car. Then we wandered over to natural history area where they were doing a bat presentation. While the little kids weren’t too impressed, Neko was enthralled.

Tonight she re-enacted the entire presentation for me with her stuffed Ugly Dolls—the Ice Bat version. And when it was time for bed, she noted that I hadn’t tucked in the bats. I tried to tuck them under the covers when I got corrected that bats sleep hanging upside down. Our trusty blue tape was called into action, and she tucked them in, hanging from the shelf next to her bed. A little extra tape solved the problem that they just wouldn’t close their eyes.
Child labor

January 22, 2007

It’s cold and snowy outside, and as much as I’ve been wishing for this all winter, I now realize when you’re two weeks away from giving birth, the last thing you want to do is run around after children in the arctic. So we spent a day inside yesterday. All day. Recipe for disaster.

Strangely, it turned out okay.

First, I brought the water table inside. We filled it with warm, bubbly water and I put the kids to work, telling them they could clean all the plastic dishes. Soon they were busy pouring, funneling, and having a great time. This kept them busy for close to an hour. When that grew old, Neko got out the mop and started mopping the floors. This is where my OCD tendencies usually get the best of me, as she was using way too much water, and “cleaning” wouldn’t really be an accurate description of what was going on. Shep had out the broom, and was within inches of knocking half our possessions to the ground.

But, you know, it all turned out okay. Between the water table and the “cleaning”, we managed to kill the entire morning. I even cleaned a little and did a few loads of laundry. Granted, there was that extra load of towels I had to do after I put the kids down for nap, but it was definitely an activity we’ll do again.
We’re a couple of misfits

January 21, 2007

Okay, Christmas is way over, but Neko is still a little obsessed. She really loves those Rudolph characters.

We got a Dora book that folds out into a stage as a gift. Neko set this up on the mini-tramp, gathered together her cast, and as the movie played, she re-enacted the entire thing on her small stage. The WHOLE MOVIE.

Just as I have cemented the ADHD diagnosis in my head, she goes and does this 1.5 hour focused activity and blows the whole theory to bits.
Snow day

January 21, 2007

It finally snowed. Thank goodness global warming hasn’t kicked in entirely.
Under the sea

January 20, 2007

I think I’m a fairly creative mom, but every now and then, I remember that I was raised by The Master, and that I have a whole lot to live up to.

Tom and I got away to see Jim Gaffigan with Paul and Amy (which was hilarious…I actually cried), and my parents watched Neko and Shep. Fresh on the heels of the Ariel purchase, it was clear the evening would have one focus. However, only my mom can turn hanging out with an absurdly propotioned princess into a creative and stimulating activity.

With a little construction paper, string, markers and a pair of scissors, they turned the space under their dining room table into an ocean for Ariel. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. It’s really quite beautiful, and Neko even put down Ariel to gather some other ocean friends.
Ariel

January 20, 2007

When we realized Neko thought we could just go to the store and get anything, we concluded it was time to start talking about money. Especially when it came to the Ariel doll she was coveting.

Now, this isn’t a doll I would ever normally approve of. The thing is virtually a Barbie, which I swore would never set foot in our house. But I’m trying to tell myself she will be so obsessed with the sparkly, glowing tail that she won’t notice her impossibly small waist and clamshell-covered bosom. This is all rationalization, I know. Be kind. I’m in the last few weeks of pregnancy. My resolve is not what it used to be. We said if she could save the money, she could buy Ariel.

So we instituted an allowance. But how much do you give a three-year-old? We wanted to give her enough that she could actually purchase things after a few weeks of saving, but not give her too much and make it all meaningless. We also wanted to introduce the concepts of saving and donating.

We settled on $9 a week. $2 into savings (for the long haul), $2 to donate to others, and $5 to spend. We made a big chart where she could tape up her dollars as she saved. And you know what? We think she’s actually getting the concept!

This Saturday she had enough money to purchase THE DOLL. It has been the focus of everything all day, every minute, and seriously, have you seen how her sparkly tail lights up?
Recovery

January 18, 2007

I’m still sorting through all the information I’ve lost and haven’t lost from my laptop. I’m actually amazed at the amount I was able to salvage before it all went south.

Like this little gem.