Morning commuters

It took me a second to realize this wasn't a crusty old man with his elbow on the window enjoying the spring morning.

At the comic book exhibit at NMAI

On my way to a victory garden

Last weekend, some of my favorite friends came over to help me get my garden in order, plans that started weeks ago with the sage advice of Brent and Heather. Nylonthread tilled the land, Don built the box, and the kids played with dirt.



Man, that was a lot of work. I moved over 1000 pounds of material. I'm not sure I've quite recovered yet. But it'll be worth it when I'm able to reap what I've sown, right?

Thea's thank you cards

We've been trying to get Thea in the habit of making thank you cards whenever she gets presents or someone does something particularly nice for her. We're not always great about finding time to do it and sometimes the cards are shamefully late. But sometimes Thea remembers on her own. This card she wrote for Tara, who bestowed upon her a bounty of Barbie clothes from when she herself was a girl.





And I have this card hanging in my office, which Thea made for me after her Between Party.



It's a skeleton, because, Thea said, "I know you like skellies!" It's true, I do. My perceptive little girl.

Wherein I prove my dorkiness

A friend of mine was asking me which blogging platform I might recommend. I sent him an extended email about different things to consider, one of those emails that you might get and think "Whoa whoa whoa, way too much information," then file away and never read again. So, a few minutes later, I sent him this:



Der hee!

By the way, on the topic of ads, are you aware of the tax deductions you can take if you benefit financially from your blog? Go check it out on Wise Bread. Something to consider.

The new couch

The kids and I took Abigail to pick up a new couch a couple weekends ago. As we were taking her old couch to the loading dock for trash pickup, I had a weird, swoony moment of realization that leaving it on a stinky loading dock would make me cry, so I insisted that we instead wrestle it onto the roof of Todd's station wagon and take it home, where it may or may not have fitted through our doorways.

Fit it did, after much exertion and cursing, and a certain amount of guilt on my part at keeping Todd from his studies. The kids have claimed it as their place to sit, especially Liam, who is kind of in love with Abby, anyway. Here he is after school, pantsless as usual, watching Batman with the requisite 15 toys at his side. Portrait of a typical evening.

The wearing of the green

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I'm super

The Hero Factory is fun. Here's the loose approximation of me as a superhero:



I'm SO looking forward to seeing The Watchmen tomorrow!

21 questions to ask your kids

[UPDATE: See also, 22 questions from other years.]

This is a meme from Facebook. I know I should answer it there, but I already neglect my blog too much as it is.

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Tag me back if you haven't done this; I'd love to hear the answers.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Liam: "No."
Thea: "I love you."

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Liam: "I love you."
Thea: Me and Liam

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Liam: Rolling in the cars. [I have no idea what that means.]
Thea: When me and Liam are gone or hurt.

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Liam: Saying "fart." [This is something I never, ever do. I find that word entirely too vulgar.]
Thea: Tickle us.

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Liam: Me.
Thea: Me!

6. How old is Mommy?
Liam: 16? [I should add, this is as high as he can count right now.]
Thea: 30?

7. How tall is Mommy?
Liam: You're up to the sky!
Thea: This tall. A giant!

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Liam: Having work.
Thea: Be with her kids.

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Liam: Look for me.
Thea: Find us.

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Liam: Bathtime.
Thea: Us.

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Liam: Drawing.
Thea: Running.

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Liam: Screaming.
Thea: Keeping track of her keys and phone. And parking.

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Liam: Having papers.
Thea: Pays money.

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Liam: Squash noodles. [Spaghetti squash.]
Thea: Sushi.

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Liam: Saying "I love you."
Thea: She helps me.

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Liam: Aquaman
Thea: You're really funny, so Shaggy.

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Liam: Hugging and kissing.
Thea: Kiss and hug and love together.

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Liam: Our last names
Thea: Same hair and same eyes and skin.

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Liam: I have white skin and you have brown skin.
Thea: Hair is a little bit more short than mine.

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Liam: Kiss and hugs me.
Thea: Because you always say I love you.

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Liam: Work.
Thea: Aunt Heather's place.

Snow day!

Today was tons of fun. The best part, though, was having friends over for an impromptu movie and dinner. I love being cozy inside when it's cold and gray outside.