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....

why I let Superman jump off furniture

Just look at that smiling boy.

Ready

Set

FLY!!!!!!

baking cookies the Wohlmut Family Way circa 2009

1. Gather all ingredients and interested parties.

2. Referee disputes over who gets to put what ingredients in the bowl.

3. Take a deep breath and count to 10.

4. Ignore large piles of flour on the table, it all cleans up.

5. Ignore that extra scoop of sugar going into the bowl...no one eating these cookies is expecting to stay on their diet.

6. Let Noah crack the egg(s). Think..."the frosting will cover any shards of eggshell, won't it?"

7. Warn Lucy that the mixer will be turned on momentarily. Lucy should then proceed to hide in the bedroom with Daddy. Afterall, the mixer is "too loud!"

8. Find the stool so Noah can reach the bowl.

9. Have a quicky safety lesson about eletric appliances.

10. Make a quick sign of the cross and tell N he can turn on the mixer.

11. Wait,

12. and wait.

13. Try not to sigh audibly as N decides he too would rather hide in the bedroom w/Daddy and L until the mixer is off.

14. Mix ingredients, don't forget to add time in for interruptions from children every time you stop the mixer, "are you done with the mixer yet? Okay, don't turn it on 'til I'm back in the bedroom"

15. Listen to pitter patter of feet running down the hall, wait for door to close. And resume mixing.

16. Chill the dough for an hourLet N put the saran-wrap over bowl (amazingly he will be better at this then you are)

17. During this hour you will be required to play a variety of games, most having to do with dinosaurs. Or you may be asked to read the same book again and again to Ms. L.

18. Try and slip in a shower, you'll feel better.

19. Dough is ready!

20. Agree that the farm animal cookie cutters are just as Halloween-ish as Ghosts and Pumkins.

21. Roll out dough.

22. See N dumping a pile of flour on the table. "the duck needs a pond to swim in" (remember why you didn't want to get the farm animal cookie cutters out)

23. Take a step back from the table, breath and remember baking cookies with kids is not really about the cookies, it's the 'process'. Count to ten and repeat if necessary.

24. After about 20-30 minutes of kids pounding cookie cutters into the dough, making footprints w/the animals, arguing over who gets which rolling pin you should have enough cookies on a sheet to put in the oven.

25. Realize you just don't have the energy to make more then two sheets worth, breath...

26. Have Daddy strip children of their flour covered clothing, and clean them up.

27. Stare at the mess and wonder if the pick-up fairy has a cousin who does kitchens.

28. Remove cookies from oven.

29. Let kids have a cookie each, no matter how close it is to a mealtime.

30. Put remaining dough in the fridge, and plan to finish cookies after kids go to bed.

31. Look at kids eating their cookies, listen to their joy in talking about the 'turkey' and 'cow' cookies.

32. Smile...breath

33. Clean up and if necessary take another shower.

Monday, Monday.

This is what greeted me this fine Monday morning. I knew I should never have rolled over for "five more minutes" of sleep. Oh, but the wind was howling and the rain was pelting the windows. I just had a feeling it was going to be a long day and I was going to need all my strength. Besides, N wasn't even up yet and Patrick told me that L was happily mezmerized by Curious George on PBS. So, really what could go wrong?

20 minutes later I hear N at my bedside, "mooommmy, I'm hungry" "Okay, buddy I'm getting up" I roll out of bed, grab my bathrobe, stumble down the hall and... "Holy Shi....." (bite my tongue) What a sight! I really don't know what to do first, pee, laugh, cry or clean her up. So, being who I am, I naturally get the camera first, take a picture, pee and then begin to clean her up.

Grease paint, clown make up, this-shit's-never-gonna-come-off-is -it stuff! Out came the baby wipes, they did a little damage control. I must have spent five minutes trying to get the baby oil opened, because now my hands are covered in grease paint and some genius has decided that baby oil needs a child proof cap on it! Breathe... Put the child in the bathtub. Oh, now it's all fun and games. "I need a toy mommy" Reach for the soap, blink for just a second, and voila now she's washing her hair w/her grease paint covered hands. Shampoo, lather, rinse, repeat as necessary.

20 minutes later and things are somewhat restored to normal. There's still a slight rim of white around her eyes, but I'll deal with that later. Breakfast is now 40 minutes late and we have a play date arriving in 20 minutes. Okay, I'm gonna take a quick two minute show. Everyone cool with that? I mean I do it every day without incident. Today will be just fine.

6 minutes later. "Mommy, L's dumped the whole box of Multi-Grain Cheerios (tm) all over the kitchen floor"

"The whole box, really? That's funny N"

"But, Mommy they're everywhere"

"Shit!"

Grab the robe and the broom, and what the hell the camera too.

... L trots off to her room to get a broom and sweeps up right along side me. (sorry no photo proof of that...ha!) We get the mess cleaned up, breakfast on the table. It is only 10am.

What I learned today

Today I learned to always check that the keys you grab on your way out the door are actually the keys to the door. I learned that libraries close when the power outage lasts longer the 10 minutes. I learned that coffee shops, however, will stay open whether they can run the register or not.

Today I learned that you might be able to get the screens off the windows to the house, but if the panes are shut tight there's no breaking in. I learned that using a credit card or debit card is not really an efficient way to get back into your house. I learned that it is possible to climb on top of two lawn chairs w/out falling (don't try this one at home kids) but it really doesn't give you that much more height.

Today I learned my kids are troopers. That to them being locked out of the house w/out keys or cellphone is not a big deal. A trip to the coffee shop and then the local art store are a grand adventure. (why I had my debit card in my pocket is still a mystery, but I'll thank the fairies for it just the same) I learned that pretty much, as far I can tell, my entire neighborhood works day jobs. (or won't open their house to a strange women and two kids) I learned that even on the windiest of fall days L would rather take her coat off then wear it, 'any more time!'

Today I learned that swinging on the neighbors front porch w/my kids is a great joy and I'm secretly glad no one was home. I learned that there is plenty adventure to be had in my neighborhood even when the wild winds are blowing, the power is out and no else seems to be home.

Today I learned that sometimes an unfortunate turn of events can be turned into a grand adventure. Although I'm sure its safe to say that by the end of the 2nd hour we were all tired of our new coloring books (that we could only read as the colors are in the house), and playing hopscotch in the wind.

Note to self - grab the right keys and put you cellphone in your pocket!

Fall preview

Fall is here! We've been to the corn maize and the pumpkin patch. This weekend it's the apple festival with apples and even more pumpkins! The Wohlmut's are out and about and enjoying the bounty of harvest time in Oregon. I hope you, dear readers, are out enjoying these beautiful bountiful days as well.

The kids continue to grow by leaps and bounds. N no longer looks like a baby or even a toddler. He looks like a BOY! Every time I look at him I am amazed at how much he has grown and changed. As fast as his body is changing, his mind is changing even faster. He's reading all that he can get his hands on these days. Can't find him, chances are he's sitting on his bed pouring over his "Living Life" encyclopedia. In addition to the reading he surprised me this week by writing out "Tasmanian devil", not only did he write it but asked no help from me for the spelling of the words! He also wrote out the word snowflake, but that word was really all the letters on the page, like a hunt a word jumble you had to put them together yourself. Still, this is one of those moments when I say...'he's only 4?'

L, is our budding artist and resident comic in training. Tell her its going to be a craft day, and she'll scramble to the kitchen table faster then you can say, 'jackrabbit'. She likes it all markers, crayons, stamps, stickers and water colors. She make smiley faces and apples, and whatever else strikes her fancy (the above is entitled "clown") Beware however, turn your back and she's apt to have drawn kitty whiskers on her face and stamped hearts on the kitchen table. (This artist's muse must not be contained.)

Got a joke to tell? L will laugh at it and then promptly steal it, she'll find her version of the joke so funny that she'll laugh too hard to even get it out. She never tires of knock knock jokes or pratfalls. She'll leave 'em laughing in the aisles even as she's breaking their hearts.

Never a dull moment with these kids.

More photos and tales of the grand autumnal adventures to arrive after the weekend's festivities.