Mother Tucker

Mother’s Day . . . a day I attribute to my mother, not me.  I’ve been a mother only 3 years, and only to 2 children.  My mother has been a mother for 32 years, going on 33 years on June, and she’s been a fantastic mom to 7 kids, and one more added when she was a teenager; so 8 kids.  We’re all grown up and moved out now but she still takes up responsibility for us when we get in a pickle . . . more or less financially, anymore.  But her moral support and wisdom take the cake.  The older I get the more I’m aware of our similarities and quirks that mirror each others . . .  I’m sure I’m mirroring her more than the other way around . . .

That’s my momma on the left (obviously) and daddy and he’s holding Braxton, my nephew . . . and then Samuel is in my mom’s lap and Tobias is there too. This was July of last year, so a bit dated.

So my thoughts are with my mom today. Of course the card I bought was late being mailed so she won’t get until Tuesday or something but its the thought, right.  And I have a reputation to uphold here, you know.

I woke up this morning and my husband had beat me to the punch; getting the alert kiddos out of their cribs, feeding them, changing them, etc.  I went walk/jogging cuz I was feeling mighty guilty about the pizza I ate last night and I like to walk by myself . . . well, by myself with Bonko Byron

Yep, Bonko Byron . . . that would be the white streak of white off to your right.

Ah, it was a beautiful morning too . . . sunshine and all.  We went about 3 miles or so and came home.  My batteries a bit more charged.

Knowing Justin did have to put some hours in at work I didn’t want to bug him about going to the park or anything but it slipped anyway and he immediately agreed.  We packed Toby’s big wheel and the stroller and headed to Minto Brown Park . . . paved bike paths galore!!  Justin was teaching Tobias how to peddle the big wheel and when that got old . . . which, with a three year old, doesn’t take very long . . . played on the playground and then walked down to the dog park to let Bonko Byron run his energetic butt off. All with thick rain clouds intermixed with bright blue and sunshine . . . gorgeous and one of my favorite types of weather. Gotta compromise straight sunshine here in the Western bit of Oregon, eh.

You guessed it, I forgot my camera . . . again. But thats alright, I enjoyed myself so much that I would have forgotten it was there anyway.

Oh yeah, I got a card too . . . so funny . . . so Justin’s humor and it made it that much more special; and the one-of-a-kind Toby art drawn inside. Love it!

Words that describe how I feel about motherhood, in my severely limited experience:

*Love

*Fulfilling

*Protective

*Unconditional

*Sacrificial

*Overwhelming

*Challenging

*Commitment

*Insecure

*Secure

*Lonely

*Busy

*Tiring

*Worry

*Prayerful

*Hope

*Snuggle

Most of all I wanna be the best mom I can be to both my boys . . . as different as they are, I want them to come to their full potential; not in the world’s standards, but their full potential in what God has for them.  That their lives be full of the fruits of spirit because of their personal relationship with the one true God . . . spilling over into every part of their existence. And that they have confidence, not in and of themselves, but confidence in the one who ultimately created them and know His love and truth are secure no matter what happens in their natural world.

Again, this is July of 2007 . . . the boys were: Tobias 27 months and Samuel 10 months . . . give or take a few weeks. Oh yeah, and thats me, tanned from summer sun. Love that summer sun. I think Tobias was trying to get down and push Sam away at the same time; quite the feat.  And Sam was glaring or something at Tobias. hee hee . . . they were both squirming, I remember that.

So I have many friends and family that take on the same challenges, and more, in mothering their children . . . I want to wish you all a  Happy Mother’s Day and I hope your day was as full of peace and love!!

God Bless!

I’m sitting in front of my computer . . . the boys are sleeping, or should be anyway, and I’m tentatively “clocked out” for the evening. The “clocked out” bit gets easier as they get older and fall into nice little structured routines.

I did well today, diet wise, keeping it well under my calorie goals and worked out hardily in front of my tube to crazy blond Aussie and really really happy ab jam lady. She is pumped about abs! Not sure why the walk didn’t work itself into the picture, except the boys were crabby this afternoon and I didn’t feel the gumption to fight them into the stroller and make the best of it. That, the stroller bit, does not get easier as they get older. Bummer.

But currently I have a gigantic bowl of popcorn . . . I’d like to take this moment to thank my friend, Sarah, for creating an addiction to popcorn out of her generosity to buy me kernels once. Since I have been unable to resist a scrumptious bowl of popcorn . . . bowl is used loosely, as it more resembles a barrel than a bowl.

Nope, not ice cream, not chocolate, not even the whip cream and strawberries I bought on purpose as a ice cream substitute . . . nope, its the salty goodness of the popcorn.

Thank you, Sarah!

Thats really all I wanted to write about . . . making sure credit for the obsession is placed on the correct person, wouldn’t wanna confuse anyone. And I definitely couldn’t take personal responsibility, I’m American!

God Bless!

. . . from Tuckerville.

Justin pulled shift yesterday and is still at school attending classes.  He is suppose to be home around 4-ish . . . but tired he is and I’m sure he’ll crash, hopefully reaching, either, the bed or the couch prior to passing out.

Kiddos have a mild cold but I’m not complaining.  It seems its been a rough winter for folks with kids this year . . . all the illness and stuff.

I’m enjoying being able to leave my sliding glass door open for the fresh air to come in my house.  Thats one of the top reasons I dislike cold weather, it gets so stuffy with closed windows and heaters running.

My plants outside . . . the very few that I have . . . are blooming. I love spring! Hopefully I can get some seeds started here very very soon. I think some vines would be nice, considering they are residing on a lattice railing, it would look nice growing down perhaps. Any ideas of a good vine with pretty flowers . . . majority sun-worshiping . . . let me know!!

I have some good coffee in my possession at this moment . . . thanks to some dear friends of ours that know me a little too well. Mmm mmm, good stuff!! I think I’ve had like 6 cups today . . . hee hee.

Well, here’s some pics cuz I’m outta words for now. I love flowers. If you ever think of me . . . get me flowers. haa haa.

Oh, so tiny white flowers.  Not so much in focus, but I don’t care . . . captures the subtle beauty just fine! And the sun!

Played with the effects on this one quite a bit but its fun and bright.

Nope, not an old country fence (you would see sky if that was the case) just my downstairs patio railing . . . note the ceiling above. But how quaint a flower! Love it! Good thing I love it . . . I might be the only one. hee hee

Light makes a photo . . . thats my personal, have no idea what I’m talking about, opinion . . . caught this one just right, in my naive opinion.

Hey, just a slight celebration of spring in Tuckerville! I hope you all had a great weekend and your week has started off positively grand.

God Bless!!

I’m a bit of house-hermit but this weekend some good friends of ours invited us over . . . an overnighter, folks. I don’t think I’ve done that since I was in my early 20’s and definitely before chitlins. That doesn’t include my Momma’s house. I was a tad nervous of how the kids would do . . . Sam hadn’t traveled for an overnight trip since he was 3 or 4 months old. But, as usual, things went better than I expected . . . actually they went really really well. And, on top of that, we spent some well-needed and overdue time with some very good friends! I enjoyed myself immensely and found myself even more grateful and blessed (and humbled) to have such people as these on my short list of friends.

Then last night we went to church.  I cried (literally) for the time lost at my “home” . . . where I feel most at home . . . and I cried cuz the presence of God was so thick in the place.  The message edifying and convicting all at once. And I can’t wait to get back.  It was excellent to see all of my friends as well! If you didn’t know, my church (Life Bible), is over an hours drive right now; living in Salem while J does his school thing.  And with finances being so slim, getting down there but once every couple of months is a miracle the last 6 months or so.  But I just choose to trust God, even though I don’t completely understand why He has us in this season.

Here’s some pics, hopefully its cool with my friends if they are posted on me blog.

Mixture of families, since there was a birthday party going on for Chad and Ezra.  My hubby is on your far right. hot!

At the table after some awesome burritos, courtesy of Sarah and Linda. Again, mixture of families and my hubby is on your far right.

Playing with our dog, Byron.  It was still relatively warm out at 8pm. My husband is on your far right . . . I’m seeing a pattern forming.

Enjoying cake and ice cream.  Ezra wanted a pink cake . . . so the frosting was, indeed, pink. Very cute! He turned 3 years old.

I didn’t mean for that last post to sound self righteous.  I have my many faults and do not live up to, even, my own standards most of the time . . . much less that of a faultless God. I am so very grateful for the grace God has chosen to show me in this life and lean completely and utterly on that . . . truth is something I’ve been convicted about gaining more of, through the Word, to balance out my daily walk with Jesus.

Nothing new to really update anyone on.  I do want to give honor to God for the place we call home right now.  A misunderstanding of a letter we received insinuated that we weren’t eligible to live here but it was ironed out quickly and we are no worse for wear.  God just keeps providing and keeps giving us favor where its obviously HIM.

And, again, finances just keep coming through! We are blessed with much more than money, but the finances are a necessity.

So, Justin tested for an officer position this past week; interview, written test, peer and teacher reviews . . . all 36 people left in the program did.  He should hear back next week.  Lieutenant or Captain (I believe) are one of the two he could be placed in . . . several people will be.  This is for the fire program and he will be over the first year students come Summer term.  Just the current update. So school is going good! He’s got a much more laid back term than last term . . . he’s home more frequently and he’s able to get to work study more often.

Samuel started going down the slide, at the playground, by himself.  For the past 3 months or so, he would climb the stairs just fine but then wait at the top for me to come set him on his rump and help him slide.  I kinda got busy talking to someone while they were playing and recognized he was at the top of the slide . . .  apparently I took too long; before I knew he was  squealing with delight as he came to the base of the slide. Tobias was on the slide next to him, so I’m sure he was watching and receiving coaching from his elder brother . . . but since then he has it figured out.  So very cute!! He’ll be 20 months May 12th and that means he nearing the 2 year mark! Crazy how life gets away from me . . .

Tobias, in the past couple of months has picked up singing. Mostly with his favorite movies and cd’s and sometimes to the radio with a random song. He mimics the sound and the words aren’t so clear but that does not keep the laughter at bay from mom and dad . . . or to keep us from joining him.  So far he’s been my hippety hopper (quite the moves that boy has!!) and now my crooner.  His dramatic nature just makes it so fun! I love it when he fake falls to the floor or dramatically fakes it as he runs into the wall and to the floor. I’m not sure where he picked that up but he’s obviously acting it out. And we really really have to keep an eye on what he watches cuz he mimics and acts out the stories and words with his toys, words and hands.

I have 15 pounds to go before I’m where I want to be physically.  Doesn’t seem like much but the last bit is so stubborn and motivation wanes with each passing pound. Thanks to Kacy I’ve revved it up with Billy Blanks’ Taebo videos.  I get so sore and keep saying “darn you, Billy Blanks, darn you,” whilst shaking my fist at the sky.  Justin keeps telling me that thats a really creepy thing to do and to knock it off.  hee hee. You know that just eggs me on. haa haa He’s not amused.

Well, geez . . . there’s an earful for ya . . . or eyeful, whatever.

We are in Harrisburg this fine weekend.  We are to be visiting and spending the night at some dear friends of ours, house.  An overnighter . . . thats a first in a long time, minus my parent’s house.  A bit nervous I am but so at ease when I remember how much we are loved and accepted by these cool people we call friends.

Welp . . . God bless!  I hope all of your weekends are fabulously full of family, friends and good times!!

mmm mmm . . . hotness! My hubby . . . don’t tell him I posted this, it would embarrass him.

I put so much chocolate and other stuff, such as bananas, in my friendship bread mixture . . . so its still edible.  BUT about half of them didn’t rise like they were suppose to.  Kinda flat and doughy in places.  Argh! Thats a lot of time and energy (not to mention fundage) that was poured into that carp for them to turn out just ok.  I was bummed cuz I had plans of giving them away to my neighbors and J took some to school but all of them came with a disclosure of apology for the flat dense texture.  My neighbor said the humidity would of messed with it quite a bit and it was humid the last few days . . . so I blame that. hee hee. She still took it and pretended like she was gonna eat it.

Well . . . my life is not all that exciting right now, so I’m going.

God Bless!

It looks beautiful outside . . . from the view through my windows, contained in the warmth of my home.  But we ventured out this morning to be reminded that, yes, winter coats are still needed. And I find myself turning heaters on . . . hmm

I made the best bread ever . . . :)  A friend of ours . . . or of Justin’s, from school gave him a ‘friendship bread’ starter thingy. I’ve never been aware of these baggies of goodness in my whole existence on Earth, but we received one from R, oh geez, 3 weeks ago. I don’t know, about a month ago.  Anyway I made the one she gave me . . . but 4 starters were spawned from that one start.  You’re suppose to give them away . . . not horde them as I have done.  I tried, mind you . . . I tried to give them away, I did!  But to no avail . . . they remained on my counter and baking day was last Sunday.  If you aren’t aware of this phenomenon . . . you get the start and you mush the bag and add some minor ingredients for 10 days and on the 10th day you add some more stuff and bake it . . .

Ok, so I made one baggy of the mix and decided in my pea-brain that putting instant coffee in it would create a nice flavor. So, I proceed to boil 6 oz of water, dissolve the instant coffee (I do this with cookies, mmm)  and pour the boiling contents directly into my prepared mix.  Ok . . . somewhere along the line I forgot you HAVE to cool the instant coffee water to add it . . . so, as some reading this have already determined, it came out like rubber.  It didn’t rise like it was suppose to.  So I wasted that baggy.

I had to buy more flour so they other 2 baggies remained distilling on my counter (the fourth baggy had busted, yay me).

You can flavor this mix pretty much anyway you want. So Justin buys apple pie filling.  That doesn’t interest me greatly, so I go to the store and pick up chocolate chips and cream cheese.  Yeah, can we spell h.e.a.l.t.h.y.  Apparently I can’t cook healthy.  Anyhoo . . . that was the first baggy . . . turned out too good, cuz I ate the first loaf (it creates 2 loaves per baggy).  I sent the 2nd one to school with Justin today.

The second, ok . . . ok, I’ll use the apples, geez.  I did and I added a lot more cinnamon and then did an oatmeal and brown sugar topping. It turned out nice too . . . but the chocolate is what called my name. That second loaf went to school today too . . . something tells me I’m going to be pretty popular with the fireman/woman in hubby’s world. Maybe . . .

Do you like all the positive and arrogant speech I’ve written so far about my spectacular bread. :)  It did turn out nice but then if dog crap had chocolate pieces in it . . . I’d be tempted to eat it . . . so that ain’t sayin’ much.

Yay for good bread . . . actually it reminds me more of Costco muffins . . . you know, the gigantic oily lumps of goodness? Mmm!

Ok, I will end this rambling post for your sakes.

God Bless and happy bread making . . . if you want a friendship bread starter baggy thingy . . . let me know . . . right now I’ve got 12 or so distilling on my counter. :)  I can’t seem to get anyone to take them. Or maybe I haven’t tried hard enough.

Alright . . . some good friends of ours gave me a bag of popcorn kernels . . . is that what you call them before they’re popped? How old am I? Why don’t I know the answer to that?

Anyway . . . I have never popped popcorn outside of a prepackaged microwavable bag . . . careful opening it, its hot!

Ok, so I had a bit of the munchies (no I don’t smoke pot) yesterday and decided that that would be a healthier munchy than, say, cookies or candy . . . the two that were also on the mind’s list of yummy edibles.

If you weren’t aware I’m working on losing the next 20 lbs of flab that has stuck itself to my ribs (thighs, arms, fingers, butt, etc) and so healthy was gnawing at the back of my mind.

I read the directions (crazy!!) and decided it sounded easy peasy.  And it was easy peasy! And oh so good!!

If you choose to follow my diet ideas . . . be aware that tiny 1/3 cup of kernels pops a gigantic bowl of popcorn . . . the popcorn you then must drizzle with olive oil and salt it until tastes as though it came from the sea.

Yes, my friends . . . not so healthy after I mutilated it.  And I had one bowl (or barrel, whatever) . . . I did share with my boys, but how much can a 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old actually eat?

Then hubby came home and we were hanging out after the chitlins had drifted to sleep and I was going on and on about how good the “real” popcorn turned out, compared to crappy microwave popcorn.  I went on so much that he asked me to make some, that it sounded good.

Um . . . so I did.  And then I proceeded to eat over half the bowl (barrel) of popcorn cuz apparently he wasn’t as impressed or something.

So, diet didn’t go so well yesterday.

But, on a brighter note . . . I have started jogging outdoors in the wee morning hours, before the house wakes to the chaotic. I have found such solace in my time out . . . I take my crazy Jack, Byron, and we hit the pavement. I’m able to get home, take a shower, get dressed (for the day!!) and have breakfast on its way before the boys start screeching and talking from their cribs.

Mind you, its been COLD here . . . in the 35 or so when I start up at 6:45am . . . but I warm quickly the jostling of jogging and its been tolerable . . . though I’ve decided I still hate the rain.

So, one of my friends, K, and I are planning on a 5k in the fall . . small goal but not so small at the same time.  Maybe I’ll actually be in shape for it. weird

Ok, I’m going now.  Hubby is back to school and shift today . . . so I’m on my own . . . though I was pretty much ready for a day to myself, so thats cool . . . ask me in a week . . . I’ll be ready for him to be on break again.

God Bless!!

Upclose Byron . . . my crazy and obnoxious Jack Russell 

Communication. I know you wouldn’t guess, by how much I write here, that I’m not a good communicator . . . but that’s also why I write so often on my blog. I write when my day slows enough for me to empty thoughts that would otherwise go unrecognized. I am absolutely horrible about calling people, making dates and keeping them, and just plain contacting people that I love. Out of sight, out of mind is very much how my brain functions. I’m not proud of this. Some of the most important relationships get overlooked because I’m blind to maintaining them. And when I finally do get to meet and hang out with my friends (the ones that will still claim me) I find my line of thought and conversation differs from most.

I inherited this Conversation Dysfunction gene from father. He is the same way. Love ya, dad, but this is neither of our strong suites! So he’s going on 62 this year and, if anything, the phenomenon of C-D (Conversation Dysfunction) is getting stronger . . . so I’m not sure there is much hope for me.

I love beautiful weather . . . just this morning the boys and I got out into the sunshine . . . and oh boy, it was nice . . . fresh air . . . what? Oh, what was I talking about again? Crap. Oh yeah, the recessive C-D gene . . . back to it

One other sign of having the genetic disorder is that, while having a regular conversation with someone, on a subject both of you are interested, you will suddenly interject something random that, either comes to mind or that you see out the vehicle window or crack a joke that really doesn’t have anything to do with what you are discussing. You will know the interjected phrase/joke was improper due to the awkward silence and quizzical look of the 2nd party. The subject of conversation is interrupted, most of the time, so badly that it is forgotten and minutes later a completely different subject matter will come up . . . sometimes following the lead of the C-D random thought.

The only time I am not aware, so much, of the C-D is when I’m hanging with family. I believe this is so because we all, for one are carrying the dysfunctional gene, and for two we are so used to C-D we can’t even pinpoint when it happens. Subjects of conversation change on a dime and no one gets too invested in a subject matter to avoid feeling hurt when someone mentions how funny the news cast lady looks with her new hair do . . . as though they are oblivious to the passion on which you referred to the plight of starving children in Ethiopia.

We are not an uncaring bunch, we are just suffering from C-D. So if you are getting to know any of us, my blood relations, just be aware of what you are dealing with. Be fully alert for sudden subject changes in conversation and random thoughts . . . oh and the distraction due to shiny objects will make us completely forget what we are talking about and, yet, change subjects again. Just gently lead us back to the subject at hand, as though we are ’special people’ and we then will happily talk, yet again, of whatever was the conversation topic.

This is frustrating at times, I know, just be patient with us.

God Bless!

My main sources of exercise, prior to children, was jogging and hiking.  With pregnancy I slacked a lot! So I’m a bit out of shape but walking is still my favorite form of getting fresh air, whether it be on a wooded hillside, down a well known bike path or alongside a busy parkway; the latter is the option when walking from my current residence . . . not my favorite but it works and it keeps the boys’ attention due to the amount vehicles, big rigs, motorcycles, and anything else that rolls on wheels with an engine to mobilize it.  This is to Tobias’ great fascination and keeps the whining about sitting for so long to a minimum.  And by the way its situated, there is plenty of land between the busy road and our vulnerable pedestrian state and Byron is allowed to meander aimlessly on his extend-a-leash contraption due to no grumpy human lawns to poop on and the dodging of the multitudes.  If I could just block out the mass amounts of traffic whizzing by at 60 mph.

Tobias, always camera ready and Samuel . . . they’re hangin’ while mom gets a jaunt of exercise in.  Hard life, that! 

Byron loves these outings more than anyone else, and that’s saying something!  Thank goodness for person that invented the extend-a-leash!! They must’ve had a Jack Russell!

God Bless!!

ps, by God’s grace that I can do this . . . a good friend, (hint, friends that visited Saturday) gave me the double jogging stroller . . . I wouldn’t have one otherwise! Thank you, you know who you are!!!  I try not to idolize it, its hard sometimes . . . its my favorite material possession right now!