The Farm Report

  • Thomas, represented

    Thomas, represented

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    In the wake of our visit to see Thomas, Neko has been a little Thomas obsessed. The other day she decided she wanted to draw Thomas. I suggested she get out her engine, and look at it while she drew. She was careful to pick out a blue marker. We counted the wheels, and then she made sure she drew exactly three. When I told her the number one was a straight line, she corrected me, and made sure to include each detail of the number.

    For a kid that runs amok 95% of the time, I am amazed at the times when she sits down and effortlessly produces with immense concentration and effort.

    (Photo of Thomas included for your comparative enjoyment.)

  • Commemorative

    Commemorative
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    Taking a break from the non-stop 9/11 coverage to remind myself that all is well and good in my little corner of the world.

  • Thomas & Friends

    Thomas & Friends

    We went to see Thomas today. A fun outing on all counts, but I really need to remind myself that the kids really don’t care about the $16 train ride. They just want to see Thomas and pet the baby goats, all of which is totally free.

  • Doppleganger

    Doppleganger

    Whenever I go to playgroups, people look at Neko and nod with this look of, “Well, of course they’re mother and daughter. They look exactly alike.” But when their eyes settle on Shep, my blonde, blue-eyed child, they look at him, and then me, and then back again. It’s clear they think I must be babysitting.

    Then we see these people at the grocery store, but this time it’s our whole family. And they look at Tom, and there is that look of relief, like when you finally found that missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle underneath a couch cushion.

  • Christmas in September

    Christmas in September

    Bill finished installing the new mudroom shelving today, and, I swear, this ranks up there with some of the best days of my life, including the birth of my children and my wedding day.

    I should mention I’ve been waiting patiently for this cabinetry for months. Bill has been working on some super important project, which has been great for him, but not so good for my sanity. I had the whole system thought out early this year, and then I’ve been calling repeatedly…and having Tom call…to see if he’s free yet. Thankfully, one of the architects got caught in some design snit where they decided to change something by 1/16th of an inch but refused to do drawings in lieu of doing a lot of hand waving. So while Bill waited on some actual documentation, he had a week free to do my cabinets.

    Until you have spent nearly a year tripping over coats and boots that have no home, cramming paper towels into spots where they really don’t fit (and then not being able to find them because you can’t remember where you put them), and listening to the detergent hit the floor every time the washer goes into the spin cycle because it lives on the washer because there is no cabinet in which to store it, you can’t appreciate the absolute zen state I achieved as I one at a time remedied all these problems in the space of one evening. (Total run-on sentence, but it is just that exciting.)

    Lightbulbs? Second cabinet up on the right. 409? Look one cabinet down. The dog meds? Oh, those are actually in the the drawer with the dog food. And the dog bones. And leashes. The whole idea of actually being able to find things, and having items grouped with their like friends is beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

    Don’t be surprised if tomorrow, when I can actually find the children’s shoes because they are in their lockers, I chuck all my plans for the day and instead spend it rolling around naked in the mudroom.

  • Harvest Fest

    Harvest Fest

    Today we attended a farm festival. It was one that sounded exciting enough that I put it on the calendar months ago. Touting tractor rides, old-fashioned apple cider pressing, and wool spinning it sounded like it was up our alley.

    I should know by now that you never should attend these things early in the morning, but let’s face it, when your children wake up at 6:30am, 10am is really mid-day. As one of the first to arrive, it was clear that we wouldn’t stay for long. We did, however, greatly enjoy petting the horses and feeding the chickens. Neko loved the old machines that de-kerneled the corn, although we had a hard time convincing her to leave a few cobs for the other kids.

    Another highlight was the big barn of old machinery, where the kids particularly loved this beautiful old cash register, haphazardly displayed teetering on a chair. But the best moment was when we pulled the kids aside to make room for an antique car coming through. The old man stopped and invited us for a ride, so we sat on old milk crates that replaced the long-lost seats as he looped around the property. It wasn’t until after he parked that we realized it wasn’t a part of the festival, but just an act of kindness to a family that seemed interested in his rusty old vehicle. Perhaps the best part of the day.

    Although it was a good morning, the kids got antsy before any of the demos or tractor rides began. We soon found ourselves in the car, snacking on cheddar bunnies with a full day still ahead of us.

    I’m still on the hunt for the ultimate farm festival. One with pressed cider and donuts made fresh on the spot. Plenty of animals to pet and room for the kiddos to run. Keep me posted if you know of one.

  • Time flies

    Time flies

    We love days when we get together with Ben and Kate and their kids. Time always seems to zip by, and even though it seems like we just sat down for breakfast, it’s actually way past nap time. Neko and Irene orbit around each other for a while, but I’m always excited to see them actually playing together by the end. Shep and Ezra toddle around and make us giggle.

    On an unusually cool day, Tom caught a butterfly. We suspect the weather slowed it down, because it spent a good hour sitting on Neko’s hand, much to her delight. Unfortunately, it almost became Otto’s snack several times, but Tom managed to free it each time. When we finally left the butterfly, it wasn’t in the best shape (Neko was gentle, Otto was not). But I like to think that it rallied and is halfway to Mexico by now.

    By afternoon, we all tucked in for a cozy fall nap.

  • When you wish upon a star…or an alien

    When you wish upon a star…or an alien

    Up until recently, all of Neko’s drawings, although inspired, haven’t resembled much of anything. I continued to hear stories of her peers drawing people and animals and all kinds of scenes. Neko was still scribbling. Which is fine. They were beautiful, inspired scribbles, but I’ll admit to yearning for some sort of scribble that was recognizable as…well…something.

    And then this week it exploded. Suddenly everything is recognizable and there are these amazing stories to accompany each drawing. I find myself sitting with my jaw wide open, in awe of all that raw creativity.

    Tom has been letting the kids paint with water on the chalkboard and the hearth. Which is a great activity, kudos to him for the good thinking. Both kids can participate, and there’s no mess to clean up. However, now that Neko is producing these amazing works of art, I think I’m going to have to crack out some paint.

  • Push-Up (both literally and figuratively)

    Push-Up (both literally and figuratively)

    I’ve been meaning to blog more. I’ve been meaning to add pictures to my blog. But, quite frankly, LiveJournal confuses me and I can’t figure out all the complicated code to make it pretty, so to this day, my LiveJournal is still donkey ugly.

    So I thought I’d return to my old friend, TypePad. I have a 30-day free trial. Let’s see if I can be more productive this go around.

    These are pix of Neko and Shep enjoying Push-Ups at Renita and Diane’s house. Not quite visible in the photo are their tastebuds exploding at the introduction of artificially-colored and flavored, non-organic, nearly 100% high-fructose corn syrup.

    Lordy, did they love those Push-Ups.

  • Libby’s Birthday

    Libby’s Birthday

    Me and Shep head to the race track to celebrate Libby’s birthday.