The Farm Report – Page 74 – Archiving the early years

Chinese acrobats

February 24, 2009

Today, most of our family was lucky enough to go see these amazing acrobats.

Neko went with her school and I helped chaperone Shep’s preschool class. Neko was mesmerized by them and insisted that she and Tom go back to the evening performance.

She was, however, a little dissatisfied with her seats in the evening. Both schools had been lucky enough to score floor seats for the morning show, but for the evening show, Neko had to sit in actual seats in the RISERS.

Nevertheless, it was a fabulous way to follow up all the Chinese new year celebrating that's been going on around here.
Kat and Ga

February 23, 2009

I didn't take a photo today, but I did receive this beautiful photo in my email from my aunt Chele. It's my cousin Garrett (a.k.a. Ga) and his girlfriend, Katrina.

We adore Garrett. We adore Katrina. We adore Garrett and Katrina together.

The other people in our families never seem to make it into the blog enough. Making a mental note to carry my camera into their houses more often…
Anna turns three and we celebrate art

February 22, 2009

We spent the morning at Anna's birthday party, where we celebrated her turning three. She's going to be a big sister in just one week, so it was an extra special celebration. I took a lot of crappy photos there. None worth keeping…but happy birthday, Anna!

Tom took Shep and Ellery home for quiet time and I joined Marlo and Nancy's families at the contemporary art museum to let the kids reunite and check out the museum. It had been ages since we'd been, and there was tons of new stuff for the kids to explore.

Neko's favorite? This old camper that was set up so that when a ton of kids got in and jumped in harmony it rocked back and forth like an old amusement park ride. The kids loved it. Props to Greg, who hung out in the hot (and a little smelly) camper while the kids shrieked and jumped and created mayhem.
Innerds

February 21, 2009

Sometimes I get in the groove of unloading the dishwasher or some other mundane task, and I turn around and see the kids completely enthralled by something across the room, something I would never think of, but am delighted to see.

Today Tom took the cover off the piano. All the kids plinked away at keys, watching the complex behind-the-scenes mechanisms that make a piano work.
S is for Shep

February 20, 2009

Shep came running into our room this morning, wanting to show us something. He made this "S" out of MagnaTiles.

He's not drawing yet, but he's starting to build some neat things with the tools we've got hanging around.
The Piano Man

February 19, 2009

Shep was over at the piano, noodling away at something, so I walked over to see what he was doing.

"These two notes," he said. "Are the perfect notes for my lullaby for Daisy." And as he played them, he looked over at Daisy, who was snoozing nearby. "See? She's falling asleep."
Sometimes life doesn’t have to be awful

February 18, 2009

We're stuck in the doldrums of February. All that pretty white snow has melted and turned the ground into mush. The grey clouds have rolled in and unpacked their furniture—they're clearly here to stay a while. And it's been just cold enough to make being outside (should you find a not-so-muddy patch of ground) a bit uncomfortable.

But life just keeps thumping along, so I'm trying to keep up. The car was due for the 60,000 mile service. When I called to inquire about it I said, "So what am I looking at here?" The nice man in service gave me a price, which caused me to chuckle. Although the price is important, it is also unavoidable, so why even bother to put much thought into it? What I'm interested in is HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE? Three hours, my friends. Needless to say, I've been avoiding this appointment.

So today, faced with an empty schedule, I got all crazy and called to see if they could squeeze me in. And they could. And I went. With two mobile children under four. And you know what? It wasn't too bad.

I freely admit that sometimes stuff like this stinks no matter how hard you try. But sometimes, I think if you can will it to go well, it does. Today was one of the latter.

After we dropped off the car, I popped everyone in the stroller, and we walked about a mile to the mall where there's an indoor play area. We played. We walked. We took a bathroom break. We bundled up and walked to Panera for bagels and then settled into Chipotle for the rest of lunch. Why not go two places? We have three hours to kill.

Over lunch, as Shep surveyed his bagel, fruit cup, and quesadilla, he looked up with a big smile and said, "This is the best lunch ever. Way better than lunch at home."

From there we walked to Target and then headed back to the dealership 15 minutes later than our car was due to be finished. Which, you know, is probably good since it was another 45 minutes before our car was ready. Which, bless them, the kids hung in there for.

It didn't pour buckets. There were no (big) tantrums. We checked a big "to do" off the list. And I think we actually had more fun than we would have staying at home.

A good day. But, now that I think about it, how could it not be when you start the day with a certificate of commendation for making the bed?
How many is 100?

February 17, 2009

As part of their math curriculum, Neko's class has been learning about numbers. Of course, they began at the beginning with the basic numbers, and then progressed to counting by fives and tens and starting basic math. (As I mentioned before, Zero the Hero has been big conversation around here.)

A week from Thursday will be their 100th day of school. In celebration, they be having a big 100 party. They are each being asked to bring in 100 of something. Inspecting the different examples of 100 will give them a sense of what 100 "looks" like.

I started to think about what we had 100 of. 100 pieces of macaroni. 100 coffee beans. Neko tried to find 100 little plastic animals. Even though it feels like we have 100 of those, we actually only have a little over 40.

But Playmobil people? We have 100 of those. While she was at school I lined them up, 10 rows of 10 people. Adults and kids, royalty and fire fighters.

It was pretty impressive to see. 100 feels like such a huge number, but when you lay it out visually, it feels remarkably tangible.

When she got home, Neko admired my work. Then she started taking away people and asked me what 9 times 9 is, and when it took me a few moments to answer, I realized that I'd be perfectly happy if we did kindergarten math until graduation day.
Valentine’s Day: Part 4

February 14, 2009

We're really not Valentine's Day people. I know you can't tell, but up until recently, we'd kind of chalked it up to a Hallmark holiday.

But as our kids get older, I'm becoming more of a fan. Not for chocolates and bouquets of roses, but the whole idea that there's a holiday that celebrates love.

Without my knowledge, Tom made reservations for us at our favorite restaurant, the one that takes a simple Brussels sprout and turns it into the food I would request as my last meal. And not just any reservation, but the kitchen seats.

The restaurant has an open kitchen, in full view of the diners. They've created just enough space on the dividing wall that you can cozy a few chairs up, and watch the chefs at work while you dine. It was like watching an expertly choreographed ballet while we ate.

I can only imagine how far in advance Tom had to make this reservation. The kitchen seats get snapped up quick, much less on Valentine's Day.

Lately we've been missing the "us" we had before children. The spontaneous folks who went out on the town and had interests beyond prepping mac & cheese and tracking nap times. For nearly two hours we sat amongst adults, immersed ourselves in the hustle and bustle, and ate fantastic food.

I can't tell you how refreshing it was.

Special shout-out to Chele, who watched the kids, which made it all possible.

(Shep really was with us today. He just never made it in front of the camera. Will make it up to him this week…)
Valentine’s Day: Part 3

February 14, 2009

As I prepare for my (surprise) Valentine's dinner out, Neko filches my boots, and discovers the power of Very Tall Shoes.

She insists I get the camera and take a few shots, and I hop to it as quickly as I can, because Neko requesting a photo be taken only happens once in a blue moon. (Secretly wishing I'd taken a moment to switch lenses so these would be more in focus…but not complaining.)