Author Archives: wadmanclan

Like static cling

Posted on January 30, 2010 by wadmanclan

Solvei was kind of sad today. Not sure why, she didn’t look or act like she was sick or overly tired. She just wanted to be held a lot today and in the evening Daddy wouldn’t do. So I had a child attached to me for a good part of the day. At lunch time I sat her in her chair because she didn’t want to be put down. She usually is fussy while I make lunch (because I never make it fast enough) but she just looked sad, layed her head down on the table and waited until I was done. She’s so sweet, even when she’s sad.

Categories: sad, Solvei | Leave a comment

Belated birthday

Posted on January 29, 2010 by wadmanclan

I got another birthday present. A telephoto lens for my camera, and it’s awesome! When I was getting it out of the box Saedi asked what it was, and what it was for – I was standing in the kitchen and she was sitting at the dining table doing homework. So I told her it was a new lens and it “lets me take a close-up picture of you all the way over there without having to go over there.” So I took one, just because I could.

(Yes I know it’s out of focus but I had just gotten it out of the box and hadn’t yet discovered it is not auto focus)

Here are a few more that I got while I was figuring out how it works (and discovering that my vision is not as clear as I thought).

Categories: birthdays, camera, Nels, Saedi, Solvei | Leave a comment

It’s starting to be spring?

Posted on January 27, 2010 by wadmanclan

It’s only January! We come from a land of ice and snow so this is a little strange.

It has warmed up a bit lately, enough that the trees lining the main road into our neighborhood now have buds on all the branches. One can only hope that it is not a false alarm only to be frozen again soon, as happens often where I am used to. I think that it may not be though. I was woken this morning by a rather large, and noisy, flock of geese passing by our house. I heard another large flock this evening.

Categories: wildlife, winter | Leave a comment

My "party"

Posted on January 24, 2010 by wadmanclan

Last night, right before I made dinner, it suddenly dawned on Saedi that it was my birthday and we didn’t have a cake.

I actually planned it that way. I had decided I wanted a homemade carrot cake for my birthday, and that I wanted the kids to make it for me. Knowing that my birthday was on a school day and that I wouldn’t want to undertake any huge tasks in the limited time between school dismissal and bedtime (because it wouldn’t be fair to Saedi if we did anything while she was at school), I had also decided that we would make the cake on Saturday.

I explained it to the kids in terms that they would understand, “Sometimes when your birthday is during the week we have the ‘party’ on the weekend so everyone can be there [since daddy was at work late].” So today was my “party” according to the kids.

We spent the morning as usual, and after Solvei and Nels went down for a nap, Saedi and Gavin made my birthday cake. I did help a little with the making, and I frosted it, but they did a very good job. I think making it also made it okay to eat it. Being CARROT cake and all, Gavin told me before we made it that he didn’t want any, but afterward he had changed his mind.

This is what I ended up with for my “party”

Didn’t the kids make a yummy looking cake?
And this is what it looks like when 30 candles tries to burn it down. =P
We didn’t even get them all lit – don’t worry, I blew them all out before it did any damage. And it was still delicious.
Categories: birthdays, Gavin, Saedi, Sheri | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Posted on January 23, 2010 by wadmanclan

Saedi and Gavin love to make birthday cards, it’s the part they get most excited about for anyone’s birthday. They have each been to birthday parties this last month that the other was not invited to, but they both made cards for both occasions.

On school days Saedi and Gavin usually get themselves dressed in the mornings and then wait for me to do hair and make breakfast. This morning I didn’t want to get out of bed so I was a little late, but when I came out of my room they had both made me birthday cards – Gavin was dressed but Saedi was still in her pajamas. The thought was very sweet, but now we were really late. Saedi barely had time to eat anything before we had to leave for the bus. Also, I usually take the babies to the bus in their pajamas and get them dressed when we get back. Today Solvei’s diaper leaked and Nels was stinky so they had to be dressed before we left and we were really, REALLY late. We did make it just in time though, so at least I didn’t have to drive Saedi to school.

Even with a not too good start, the day was pretty good. Gavin invited the boys from around the corner over to play in the morning and we just hung out at home. After Saedi got home from school I got a delivery of flowers and another “card” made for me.

Knowing that Nate had to work today, possibly late, I arranged for a babysitter for after the kids went to bed. So Nate and I could have a dinner for just us. I made the kids their dinner, which they finished just as Nate came home, and we hung out a bit more, then read some Harry Potter and put everyone to bed.
Nate and I took the recommendation of a neighbor (glad we did) and went to the Iron Chef Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. It was really good.

So, I am now 30.

Being born on a zero year makes it easier to conceptualized decades. I actually remember thinking when I was in elementary school that it would be so weird when it got to be 2010, not so much that I would be thirty but that it was SOOOO FAR in the future and with a number like 2010 it sounded important. But it’s not weird, it is a good future and I am not ashamed or afraid to be thirty.

Categories: birthdays, Gavin, Nate, Saedi, Sheri | Leave a comment

I love how smart they are

Posted on January 20, 2010 by wadmanclan

My kids love books. Saedi devours books as fast as Nate does (which is REALLY fast). Gavin, as I have said, is doing really well at learning to read. It’s not something I am making him do, he really wants to. Even Solvei and Nels love books. As I have also said we have A LOT of books.

In the house we are in there is an eat-in-kitchen and also a formal dining room. We don’t do formal dining (and only have one table anyway) so we have turned the formal dining room into a library. While I was moving the books all in there and setting up the shelves during the winter break, Solvei and Nels discovered the books. Then they got some books of their own for Christmas. Now they won’t leave the books shelves alone. Every time we are downstairs they will try to get at least one book from the shelves if not all of them (at least they only go after the board books most of the time).

This afternoon while I was making lunch, Solvei went to the shelves, got out three books, then gave one each to Nels and Gavin. They all sat down on the kitchen floor (right underfoot) and read their books while I finished, trading books when they were done. Amazing!

Categories: books, Gavin, Nels, Solvei | Leave a comment

Helping Gavin read

Posted on January 19, 2010 by wadmanclan

Gavin likes to think that he doesn’t need a nap anymore. But if he doesn’t get a nap most days, I’m about ready to lock him in his room before dinner. For a while I would lay down with him so he would go to sleep faster and not play around trying to keep himself awake. But then he started to throw fits and refuse to go to sleep, if I didn’t lay down with him. After many days of him getting in trouble for not napping, and my telling him that I can never lay down with him again because of his behavior, we think we have discovered why he wanted it so much. That was the only time that he had my attention all to himself. So I am now making a conscious effort to make sure that I am spending a few minutes with just him between lunch and nap. This makes his nap not quite long enough but he doesn’t fight me about going to sleep.

Since he has started to show such an interest in letters, we have been practicing his reading during “our time.” I write down a word and have him sound out the letters as I write, and then he puts the sounds together. He’s doing really well. Then I sound out a word and he writes the letters that make the sounds to spell the word. I don’t think it will be too much longer before he’ll be reading street signs that we pass, like Saedi did in Monterey.

We had a neighbor family over for dinner tonight, and Nate overheard this little snippet. Saedi was talking to Cassie (the neighbor her age) about a book. They were probably not including him (as usual) so Gavin declared, “You know Saedi I’m going to be reading books someday soon, too!”

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Categories: Gavin, growing up, routine, Saedi | Leave a comment

My silly little Monkeys

Posted on January 15, 2010 by wadmanclan

Solvei has finally figured out that she can climb onto things as well. She has been trying for about a week now but her legs just aren’t as long as Nels’ so she hasn’t been able to. I finally got Christmas taken down earlier this week but hadn’t brought all the boxes to the garage yet, when Solvei discovered this box is short enough for her to climbing on. She was so proud of herself, that Nels noticed and climbed on with her.

Nels is such a ham!

And since the camera was out it attracted the big kids too (if it’s interesting enough to take a picture of I have to find out what’s going on!) so I got a few of them too.

Categories: camera, climbing, Gavin, Nels, Saedi, Solvei | Leave a comment

Thinking things through

Posted on January 13, 2010 by wadmanclan

You know your child is growing up when they can see the impact of small things. Watching “Olivia” today with the kids the story is about Olivia trying to get away from her little “bother” – aka brother – by going on a “trip around the world.” She tells her mom she is going and her mom says, Okay, but don’t cross the street.

Saedi turns to me and says, in a you’re-being-ridiculous tone-of-voice, “How can you take a trip around the world if you can’t cross your own street?”

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Categories: growing up, Saedi | Leave a comment

What Daddy’s are made of

Posted on January 11, 2010 by wadmanclan

Nate always makes the comment that he’s made of sugar and will melt in the rain. The big kids think he’s silly. Today when I made peach cobbler, Gavin saw the sugar on the counter and asked what it was for. I told him I had to put it in the cobbler and he asked why. So Nate told them that he was made of vinegar, and “mommy has to put sugar in things to sweeten me up.” To which Gavin replied, “No you’re not, you’re made of bones!”

Categories: Gavin, Nate | Leave a comment

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