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"