A big brother emerges

Asked the kids to hug



L adores her big brother, she just does. She follows him around, much to his dismay sometimes, wanting to do whatever he does. He's building a Lego helicopter and she's right in the thick of things wanting to build too. I think it's sweet, N not so much.


But just this morning I heard him very carefully explaining to her the difference between two Thomas trains. Thomas trains are very important to him and you don't just call them anything you want, no they have names and numbers and status in the railway hierarchies. This lore is sacred and must not be deviated.


N was having a go at some games on the computer and L was by his side watching, when she began to call a certain train by the wrong name. And the more N protested the more she pushed his buttons by insisting she was right. As I waited for the inevitable blow up, or "Mommy, make her stop," I heard him take a deep breath and say, "No, L, look at this." And he proceeded to show her that Percy was a green engine with the number 7 and what shape he was etc. He then showed her a picture of Gordon and pointed out his qualities. Now, I'm sure L already knows all this, but it didn't matter. She was his devoted student taking it all in and asking questions. And, I was so proud of L as he stepped right into big brother mode, he was talking to her not at her and sharing... it was so sweet.


While the rest of the day may have been filled with sibling squabbling and button pushing, that moment was a keeper. And I believe a glimpse into the future of what a great relationship they can have.

Quotes of the Year.

Noah: "Five more days until December, and then it snows!" Another child disappointed by the elements.

"Lucy, do you want me to take your braids out" Pause, pause. "Take my brains out"

CA and/or Patrick: “You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit”

Somehow we got on the subject of the grammatical use of the word 'none' at the dinner table. Out of nowhere Noah chimes in with, "There are no nuns around here".

Patrick, seeing the kids' room, “dear god woman, how did you survive the day”. Me: Ha,hahahahahahahahaha.....

"Daddy, can I have a piece of cheese-y, there's a mousey in my belly" The divine Ms. Lucy, in her best mousey voice

Noah: “Geckos don't like it too hot. Otherwise their bones will dry up and blow away in the hot sun”

Today Lucy argued with me that the color of toothpaste I was using was the wrong color.

N wants modeling clay to which I say, "hmm, I'm not sure I'm ready for modeling clay in the house kiddo." To which he replied, "All women, no matter how big or how small are always ready for modeling clay, mama”

Lucy: "Noah you are very deep" Noah: "Yeah, but I'm not as deep as she thinks I am"

"Noah, why is your hair wet?" "Because I stuck my head in the toilet." "Why?!?!" "Because I wanted to...." This from the boy who reads his encyclopedia for fun....

Nothing like waking up to a sweet girl voice singing "love, love me do. You know I'll be true" in your face.

CA/PW: are you okay?
L: Mmm-hmmm
CA/PW: can you speak?L: Mmm-hmmmm
CA (slightly exasperated) Can you say your name?
L (w/perfect timing and without missing a beat) : PRINCESS

"Sometimes, just sometimes, when no one is looking you fly" N said to me with all sincerity.

"Look Daddy, my nose is melting". (Apparently the divine Ms Lucy has learned to cross her eyes)

Noah says, "Mommy you will have another baby and we will call him Roquefort" When I told him that wasn’t going to happen he said, "oh yes it will. You have plenty of room for an egg in your tummy. You'll see Mommy, it will be a good thing" (for the record we are having no more children!)
”
“Once upon a time there were some letters, they all lived in a school. They lived happily ever after. The End.” by Lucy River

“Taste of Peanut Butter
Taste of Jelly
Taste of Bread
Taste of the Heart eating my blood”.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa:

Do you yawn? Do you spit raspberries, just kidding...

My wish list

1. legos

2. another tutu

3. coloring book

4. a princess

5. please say ho-ho-ho.

please bring daddy new paints.

Love, L

Dear Santa:

I love you. Thank you for the note. Love N

PS here's my wish list

1. Emily, Toby and Gordon (Thomas train friends)

2. Yellow road worker - who lives on the island of Sodor

3. A new floor puzzle, please make it as big as our house

4. new train tracks

5. Lightning McQueen craft kit

6. They Might be Giants - Here come the 1-2-3s (it's a cd)

Please bring Daddy new clown make up, because L used all his old make up.

Love, N

We went on our first family Christmas tree hunt on Saturday. There was no tears, no whining, no yelling and no one cut their finger off with the saw. It was a great success. It was a spontaneous trip, which are as rare as hen's teeth in our family of two preschoolers, a stage manager and a planner. But we did it. We had intended to go to a local lot, pick out a tree and be done with it, but the the lure of a long-held wish of mine proved to strong.


I have a vague memory of going to "the" mountain with my sisters and various assorted family members and friends when I first moved to the Pacific NW. I don't know if it's romance of the passage of time that makes it a or the the spiked hot cocoa. Either way, it's been a wish of mine to take my children up the mountain to recreate a sort of Walton's mountain Christmas tree hunt adventure (don't kid yourselves, you know John and Grandpa had some of the Baldwin sisters' "recipe" with them on those cold winter days)

As I thought about various ways to propose this adventure to the troops the stage manager/worrier/practical/boring side of me began to gnaw at my conscious. There are so many things that can go wrong on an adventure like this (do we learn nothing from the evening news people!) And it really would take us about 2 hours to get the appropriate clothing lined up, provisions, maps, permits, books for the car, Christmas cds to listen to, and "damn, did N take a potty break", "Where's L's pink blankie" on and on... I could envision us in our old, smelly, w/no tire chains car getting half way to the mountains only to realize we had no earthly idea what the hell we were doing.... Somehow the spontaneous magic was fading.

What to do, what to do. Obviously we could grab the little red wagon and trek on over to Fred Meyer or Walgreens, pay the clerk with the Santa hat and a cranky attitude some money and call it good. We could drive to a local neighborhood lot walk up and down the rows of trees pulling them out one by one and turning and posing them. (it's a science people!) All the while trying to keep fun alive in a parking lot for two small children who are wrapped up in the magic of the season this year.

Nope none of those ideas appealed. So, a quick googling of "Christmas trees Oregon" gave me the perfect compromise. There staring back at me was the golden ticket. A tree farm on Sauvie Island where we could let the kids run loose and we could pick our tree- fresh. And hell ,it would already be standing, so we could walk around it, viewing on all sides, to make sure it was perfect. Throw in a $5 off coupon and I was sold!

Off we went! Properly bundled from the elements, a quick stop at coffee shop for caffeine and a sweet treat for the kids. I found the 24-7 Christmas music station and the scene was set for a lovely outing.

"Are we going to the pumpkin patch" "Can I pick the apples" "Oooh, can I climb the hay pyramid again" "where's the corn maze" Hmmm, guess we spend a lot of time on Sauvie Island thru out the year. Careful explanation of where we were going, with repeated telling of same information, finally sunk it. "ohhh, it's a Christmas tree farm" "What's a Christmas tree farm?" "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!!"

It was a small farm, and their first year in operation. It was not crowded at all. Patrick got the law of the land and the saw

N and L grabbed the tree wagon and the fun began.

Now I'd like to say we spent hours chasing each other around the trees shrouded in mist. I'd like to say the adventure lasted longer then drive to Sauvie Island. But the truth is, we trooped into the tree field, looked at about 6 trees. Spotted the tree we liked, took some photos, Patrick cut the tree down and voila we were done. We paid for our tree, kids got candy canes and we headed home. It was a perfect trip!

untitled poem - by N

Taste of Peanut butter

Taste of Bread

Taste of Jelly

Taste of my Heart
eating my blood.


~N. Wohlmut Age 4


When he recited this poem to me today, I swear there was a twinkle in his eye that said, 'heh, heh, heh, I'm gonna freak my mom out with this."

He also said, "because that's what hearts do, Mom. They eat our blood and then pump it out"

and the magic of the season begins

L expected Santa for Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I'm not sure where she got that idea. The best theory I can come up with is this one: N and I were talking about Santa about a month ago and I said we should wait until after Thanksgiving to write out letters and get into the Christmas spirit. She must have heard bits and pieces and came up with Santa's coming for dinner. I told her he probably wouldn't come. N was more direct, "He'll be too busy watching the elves making toys. Then he'll go golfing" But from time to time over the past few weeks L would ask if Santa was coming for Thanksgiving, and we'd have to tell her know.

For a brief and shining moment I thought about it. We could have pulled it off, and have friends willing to step up and make it happen. But, I know how these things work, if you do it one year, you'll have to do it year after year. And long after the truth is out, it will still be expected. And reality says I was just not willing to make a commitment to Santa for dinner for the next 5-10 years.

However, I wanted to do SOMETHING. I mean how cute is it that L wants to have dinner with Santa? So, when we came home from dinner w/family we found the following ltr in our door. With this letter was a photo of Santa (our dear friend James who came complete with suit at 10pm last night - after work and rehearsal- so I could take photos. )

Reactions - pretty quiet, but the you could see the wheels turning. And just before bedtime N turned to me and said, "Mom, that letter was just for me and L. Just so you know" I'm pretty sure the magic is working already.

Thanksgiving 2009


Dear Noah and Lucy:I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. I stopped by to say hello, but it looks like you are still at your Aunt Robbin’s house.


I just wanted to remind you to send me your wish lists, have your Mommy or Daddy mail them to me at the North Pole. That’s where the elves and are busy making toys for all the good little girls and boys. Are you two still being the great kids I know you are?

Have a wonderful holiday season. I can’t wait to see your tree when I come by on Christmas Eve. Remember, I always come after everyone is all snug in their beds.


Love, Santa

PS I sure do like your mom’s sugar cookies and don’t forget to leave a carrot out for the reindeer, they get hungry pulling my sleigh!

What keeps you up at night?

I know, I know, it's the bills and the job, it's the kids and the braces, and the commute and the gas prices, and the government and the health plan, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas plans (family or no family). I know about all that, but what about that crazy stuff that no one else thinks of, and maybe I'm the only one, who knows....

When the wind's a howlin' and the trees are shaking I wish my first thought was how blessed I am to be in a warm home next to a loving husband with children tucked all snug in their beds. But, I confess that is not my first thought. My first thought is What if the tree falls on the house, followed by and if it falls on the house will it fall on our room or the kids' room. And it just keeps going from there. What if all the trees (we really don't have any trees in that close proximity to the house mind you) fall on the house at once, trapping us all in. Will Patrick or I be able to get to the children? And what if power lines have fallen outside the house, so now there's no electricity to the house and yet live power lines dancing on the sidewalk. How will the firefighters get to us. And will I be one of those super-hero moms who lift the giant tree off my children's bunk bed with one hand while single handedly wrapping an ace bandage around Patrick's fracture leg or will I stand frozen in the midst of the disaster unable to move to comfort my crying children let alone move the trees.

And then there's the scenario where Patrick comes home later then expected from a meeting and so of course he's been in a car accident and one of the children has once again accidently unplugged the house phone and my cellphone battery will probably be dead so no-one will be able to reach me. And if they do it will be to ask me if he is an organ donor which, oh I'm sure he is, but what will his parents want, and how do I get to the hospital to sign the papers with two sleepy children in tow and do I call the in-laws to meet me at the hospital or do I let them have their last quiet night's sleep? Do I try and find a neighbor to watch the kids or take them so they can see Daddy.... and how much was that damned life insurance policy for anyway, and I'm not in any way shape or form ready to be a single parent and oh my.....

oh, there's the keys in the door. He's home.

So, what keeps you awake at night?

Did I mention that little teeny rash on N, that no one else can see....