Okay, I have a confession to make: I am the mother of a dramatic child. For those of you who are also parents to this particular sub-set of child, you know the tell-tale signs: over-the-top reactions to everyday ups and downs. If these kids were a font, they’d be in all caps most of the time, with lots of exclamation points.

Let’s be clear: it’s not always bad drama. Emma can summon enthusiasm from nowhere about the smallest things. As in, “Hey everybody in the store!! How cool is it that the pencils in this box have kittens on them AND are already sharpened?!?!” Like Spinal Tap, Emma goes up to 11.

She’s been this way since she was even the smallest child. She would practice making happy, sad and angry faces in front of the mirror at 2 years old. I got her to tell me when she was faking and when it was real, and learned the small signs that differentiated real crying or real laughter from the fake variety. She got GOOD, too—even bringing up tears on command.

As I learned the signs of the fakery, I got better at ignoring it (as that only begat more of the drama). But it wasn’t always easy for others—at one point I had to stop my mother in law who was going to rush to her aid while she was fake crying upstairs. The MIL must have obviously doubted my parenting ability when my 3-year-old (at the time) came down covered in tears and I ignored her. She whispered to me, “But … well, those are *REAL* tears!” I took one look at Emma and asked, to make a point, “Real or fake?”

Big, fat, tears sliding down her cheeks, while at the same time hic-sobbing, “Fa-a-a-a-ke tears.” And, as if to prove I was right, she wiped them away and proceeded to play Cinderella.

Now that she’s gotten older, she’s ratcheted it up a notch. Recently she made some bad choices, and it meant that she didn’t get to play with friends for a few days. She was upset, and set off to her room. I heard some opening of desk drawers and a few minutes later, saw a note slide out from under her door:

“I’m not coming out of my room except for school for two days. Emma”

Well, that wasn’t what the grounding was, but she was obviously upset and wanted me to know about it – via a magenta crayon note. I let her be.

When that note didn’t elicit a response, she slid another out from under the door:
“Go Away” This one was adorned with sad faces in each of the four corners, all crying magenta crayon tears.

Nope. Not gonna bite; I let her be. It was too much for her, and a final note slipped out from under the door to her room:

“P.S. Crying all over the place.”

I admit it, I laughed. (And it wasn’t a fake laugh, either). Oh, child, I love you & your dramatic streak—whether it’s bringing enthusiasm for pencils or the overwrought gnashing of teeth over a grounding.

But I have a feeling it’s gonna get challenging when you get to be a teenager!

It’s almost Mothers Day again. You know, that great holiday that’s all about us. The one where we’re supposed to be pampered and regaled for a whole 24 hours. Only problem is, if you’re family is anything like mine, then if you don’t poke and prod them along, nothing actually gets done right. Including treating you to something nice.

Enter DropYourHint.com. Founded by the same genius women *ahem* who founded this very website that you’re on right now.

Here’s how it works: You visit the site and let us know what it is that you would like for Mothers Day. There’s a huge list to choose from: everything from wine to chocolate to spa treatments to artwork from the kids—even a clean house! (We’re moms. We know.) Then we send a fun little “hint” to your loved ones. You specify the recipients and how you want it delivered—email, Facebook or paper airplane (really!). DYH.com does the work. We even include special offers along with the hints that make it easy for the knuckleheads to buy. A stroke of genius, no?

Becky RT has been selected as the official Moms Who Need Wine “taster” for our Wine Moms Series Wine Club Wines. Here is her look at the wines that were part of the March 2011 shipment.

Vineyard: R. Merlo Estate Vineyards, Trinity County
Year: 2004 (Syrah) and 2008 (Chardonnay)
Alcohol percentage: 13.8% Syrah; 13.7%
Retail Price: $23.99
CA Wine Club Price: $10.99

I was excited to see the note from the Fedex guy stating that he had a package from the California Wine Club for me. I was not as excited to read “P.S. The Fedex truck got stuck in the mud in your driveway, sorry for the mess!” I delegated the important task of arranging the re-delivery of the wine to my husband, and lined up some wine drinking friends for a weekend night to blow off steam minus the adorable, perfect children that compliment my life. It was a brutal week which culminated when I discovered that my youngest son’s ski jacket came home from school mysteriously covered in black permanent marker scribbles. Saturday night could not arrive fast enough. When we popped the cork I immediately started to see those black pen marks fade away. This Syrah tickled my nose with a bouquet of earthy dried fruits and a hint of oak and clean leather. My mouth actually watered as I took my first sip. The Syrah was smooth and enjoyable and the second glass tasted even better than the first. It had a tart dry finish that left me wanting to hide the rest of the bottle for myself. I daydreamed about sitting in a bookcase lined study in front of a stoked fire whilst sipping this wine and watching the snow fall….I snapped back to reality when I realized we had to drink up and head out to the restaurant or we would miss our reservation.

I am not ashamed to admit that I borrowed a sippy cup from my girlfriend’s cabinet and brought the rest of my unfinished glass home to enjoy the next day. So what?

On Sunday morning I had R. Merlo Chardonnay on my mind. I actually planned our evening meal centered on this wine selection. I paid no mind to the fact that my kids wanted store brand mac and cheese instead, and absently fed the little one Ritz crackers to quell the whining as I whipped together stir fried sesame chicken with water chestnuts, broccoli and pineapple. We cracked open this bottle while prepping dinner and it was so good that we polished it off before we even sat down to eat. Chardonnay is not my absolute favorite as a rule, and I was beyond surprised at the flavor and body this wine possessed. What I loved most about this wine is that there was no overpowering oak taste that many Chardonnays’ seem to leave on the palate. The R. Merlo Chardonnay was fruity on the nose, and finished dry, but not so much so that it left me wanting to chug a glass of water. There were hints of oak and vanilla, just enough to enhance the flavor and build the body, but not enough to categorize this one as just another Chardonnay. My husband was somewhat displeased with the fact that I enjoyed this wine so much. More for me, less for him!

Be on the lookout for both of these wines! I would definitely try other offerings from this winery, although I would be inclined to save them for a special occasion, dinner guests, a special event, or a girl’s night out. This wine is worth savoring!

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
9 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon (about) purchased caramel sauce
1 cup sour cream

Preparation:

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies, pecans and sugar in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.

For Filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping. Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness. Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly. Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Release pan sides from cheesecake. Spoon sour cream into pastry bag fitted with small star tip (do not stir before using). Pipe decorative border around cheesecake and serve.

I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Finally. After 5 years of being a fat-ass (and, of course, birthing two children). The miracle of life really messes with the bod.

In addition to working out a few times a week, I am also dieting. And by dieting I merely mean that I have limited my compulsive intake of ice cream to once a week. By normal people standards, once a week may sound more than reasonable. But, I am not reasonable. I am in fact totally unreasonable, partly explaining why I have been known on more than one occasion to eat ice cream for dinner.
Thus, I can once again wiggle into my pre-pregnancy pants, opening up a whole new (but really old) world of wardrobe possibilities. Oh excitement. And yet, I am still wearing snot to work. Regularly. This morning, for instance, after having the luxury to deliberate for a full 5 minutes over what I was going to wear, I picked something relatively cute (including these mossy green slacks that I got four years ago and prior to motherhood) and after quickly glancing in the mirror I must say I felt that my choice was solid.

Then, I went to get my kids up.

They were less than thrilled about that prospect. In fact, two year old was hysterical. And with the hysterics came the snot. And the old, “I’ll just wipe my snotty face across Mommy’s sweater” routine.

Apparently, he had forgotten that I had a very important meeting to go to.

Apparently, he didn’t get the memo about sweater snot attracting the fashion police.

Apparently, he felt that because I’d forfeited my morning shower, clean clothes were too much to ask. Are clean clothes too much to ask?

I was running late, so I wiped it off. I didn’t change. I didn’t put on a jacket to keep the snot under wraps. I wiped it off. With my hand. Desperately hoping I had gotten to it before it crusted up.

I’m really very glad that I can wear my pre-preggers pants again. It’s nice to have people saying things to me like, “wow! You look incredible for having two kids!” in exclamatory disbelief. As if moms can’t just look good. Or, we can only look good if one takes into consideration how many other people we’ve squeezed out. And as we all know, being thin equals looking good, even if the pre-pregnancy pants you’re fitting into were your fat clothes once upon a time.

The fact of the matter is, though, no matter how thin I get, no matter how much ice cream I with-hold from myself, as long as I have kids, there will be snot. And as long as there is snot there will be me, sitting in meetings, trying to ignore the shocked and disgusted looks being thrown my way, knowing that they think I think boobs outlined in crusty snot is haute couture.

Maybe, in my free time, I’ll develop a snot-resistant clothing line. Or at least snot resistant socks. Because then I’ll have somewhere to wipe it those times when all the tissues in my car have been shredded and thrown around by my children in a last ditch attempt to keep them from harassing each other. And me.

We recently had the opportunity (lucky for us!) to get in front of the hugely popular and Grammy Award-winning band, Train. We talked about their music and their new Wine Club. (Apparently rock stars need wine too!) Here’s what they had to say…

MWNW: I know we’re really here to talk about wine… but, hey, you’re Train. It wouldn’t be right to not talk about your music a little first. Especially with the RESOUNDING success this summer of “Hey, Soul Sister.” So how does it feel to hit the top of the charts? Did you ever really think you’d see the day?

Pat: It feels pretty great to hit the “top of the charts”. We didn’t really think about having a song be so big all around the world but we’re all really glad that HSS is making people smile and dance all over the planet.

MWNW: You’re in the midst of a whirlwind tour. What’s the most fun concert you’ve ever played? And the least fun?

Pat: My favorite and least favorite show in the recent past is the same show. Clark, NJ was awesome and we were in the “zone.” Then I went out to the crowd and someone jammed the microphone in my face and chipped one of my teeth. Damn, girl!

MWNW: So you’re talking to a bunch of Moms here. And I know at least a few of us have kids who dream of being rock stars. (One of the many reasons we drink wine!) Any advice? (For the moms, not the kids that is.)

Pat: My mom always had reasonable expectations without ever discouraging me in my pursuit of my dreams. So, I suppose that’s a pretty good way to go. Oh, and she needed the wine too. Trust me!

MWNW: Of course I’m sure you never drove your Moms to drink, right?

Pat: My 6 brothers and sisters drove my mom to drink. I was so bad, I drove her to stop.

MWNW: So tell us a little about the Train Wine Club. I know it was Jimmy’s brainchild. Jimmy, when did you become such a lover of wine, and what gave you the idea for the wine club?

Jimmy: have always enjoyed wine ever since I was old enough to drink (probably even before I was old enough!). While living in San Francisco during the mid-90’s when Train was an up and coming band, I was able to take a few day trips to the Napa Valley and Sonoma County wineries, which gave me a greater appreciation and a deeper understanding of wine.

The idea of starting a wine club was actually a collaboration with our management team at Crush. “Hey, Soul Sister” had brought us a whole new audience of young fans who were buying our records and attending our concerts, so the wine club was something we thought our die-hard fans (who are mostly our age!) would appreciate. The idea was to create a community of Train fans who share the love for good wine.

MWNW: It’s not often that you think of Wine and Rock ‘n Roll in the same breath—it’s always been more of a Jazz, classical kind of pairing—but I like it! Do you think it will have an impact on the band’s image?

Jimmy: It’s still too early to tell, but so far it seems to have had a positive impact. Train has a lot of adult fans, and who doesn’t enjoy a nice glass of wine on occasion?! We get asked about the wine club in just about every interview we do, and most people who ask seem to think it’s a very cool thing. You’re right that wine is more associated with jazz or classical music, but we’re here to show the world that wine can also ROCK!

MWNW: If you were going to send two bottles of wine to someone special as a gift, what would they be?

JImmy: Prisoner Cabernet and Cakebread Chardonnay. However, I’m learning more and more every day and have tasted some really great wine! Those are just my standard go-to wines.

MWNW: If you could share a glass of wine with anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Jimmy: That’s a tough one! I would love to share a glass (or a few bottles) with Keith Richards. Jimmy Page, of course. I would really love to share a bottle (or two) with Marissa Tomei, because I think it’s quite possible that we just might be soulmates. I’ve thought this ever since “My Cousin Vinny,” and she wasn’t even that hot in that movie with her 80’s hairdo. Of course, my 80’s hairdo wasn’t very sexy either. Anyway….

MWNW: And finally, what’s the perfect wine-drinking song? (Or does it change with your mood?)

Jimmy: It definitely changes with the mood. Nothing too heavy, though. No Metallica or AC/DC. That’s beer drinking music! Sting, James Taylor, Brad Mehldau, Elliott Smith, Dave Matthews, Jeff Buckley, Sparklehorse, Steely Dan, Train… that’s some good wine drinking music!

Thanks for taking the time with Moms Who Need Wine. I’ll be sure to put your music on tonight when I open my new bottle of Pinot Noir. As it happens, I’m a huge fan of both!

Cheers!

To learn more about the Train Wine Club, visit their blog at http://blog.trainwineclub.com. And be sure to check out the band’s latest single “If It’s Love” on iTunes or at your local music store.