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 have two beautiful boys. Beautiful, I’ll say it again. Inside and out, that is.

Today a third was added to our numbers, just for the day, while my sister went to Vancouver to check out a new car. Yeah, we’re on the way here in Salem-land . . . so she dropped off my nephew, Braxton. This wasn’t a rare occasion when we lived less than 10 minutes away, but now we are over an hour . . . its a rare occasion.

I enjoyed the day, despite that we were basically trapped indoors due to the weather and, on top of that, my boys decided it was melt-down day . . . yeah, can we get a nap time. They did but they didn’t sleep. Ugh.

Braxton was a dream . . . as my boys probably would have been outside of their element.

We watched lots of Disney movies. Well, they played in the background whilst the business of playing with trucks and out on the patio, during sun-breaks, took place. They didn’t seem to notice the flicks of animation until they were over . . . then they proceeded to beg me to turn on another. And I was in the mood to indulge. So the tv and dvd player will have less visitors the next few days . . . I hope the weather gets better so we can live outdoors.

Ok, I also have to say . . . Tobias turned 3 years old three weeks ago and, if I’m not mistaken, he’s changing . . . and not for the better ( not better for mother tucker anyway). I thought I had it bad with tantrums from, a bit before two on, but this isn’t tantrums this is just a bad attitude or something. My mom told me yesterday she was gonna tell me that 3 years old is crappier than 2 years old when I complained about the 2 year old era but she didn’t want to scare me. Great. So here I am, terrible 3’s? Ugh! He’s usually not hard to discipline but I’m having to be more direct with him and really talk to him about what he’s doing . . . so much more energy.

Alrighty, I’m done whining. I’ve got it made, I tell ya, I’m home with my kiddos . . . what a blessing!! And I get to deal with the different stages, instead having to leave it someone else’s hands . . . its a gift and I know it.

So I mentioned I started jogging early morning . . . yeah, Justin’s work schedule changed for him to be there, majority of the week, at 5:30am. Guess what, I don’t have a treadmill and I ain’t runnin’ in the dark in this here neighborhood. I’m not sure I would in any neighborhood. So, back to work out videos but as it warms, I’ll get my jiggle on . . . in other words, I’ll run more. Sorry if that creates too much visualization for ya.

Alrighty I got some pics of the boys for ya from today. I do love pictures, mostly my own, but I love looking at other people’s photos too. I can go to flickr and look at random photos for hours . . . odd, you say . . . maybe but there are some pretty professional looking photos there. Type in ‘light’ in the search bar and it brings up some nice pics! Mine, not so professional . . . but fun nonetheless.

Braxton and Samuel, focused on Retro Rocket . . . super toy.

Tobias, Braxton on Retro Rocket and Samuel . . . apparently Retro Rocket and its rider are hypnotizing . . . this is the first glance of still life I had all day. And, yes, that is the very popular Cars movie playing on the screen . . . and, yes, no one is watching it.

This is more like it . . . chasing the pooch for the millionth time. Byron looks defeated but I’m pretty sure he’s also chewing up one the stolen crackers he managed whilst the chasing occurred.

Where the pooch goes when the tots have bestowed too much loving attention.

This is what it did most of the day . . . well, weirdly intense moments of sunshine, then this, then some rain, then some really intense sunshine, then this, then some rain . . . you get it?  Yeah, crrrraazy weather we’ve been gettin’.  I think they call it spring . . . maybe cuz it springs back and forth from winter to summer until summer finally takes over, eh?  Like that one?

I’m done jabbering.  I’m home alone tonight . . . today was/is Justin’s official shift day . . . Sunday was a makeup day since he missed last week’s. Thats my excuse for writing so much in one sitting.  I really really want some fatty butt ice cream . . . like Ben and Jerry’s S’mores . . . so bad, yet so good. I think I’ll go to bed instead. Can’t gain calories (i.e. more fat) by sleeping instead of eating, eh?

God Bless!

Tobias might be slightly confused.  He received a birthday card, in the mail, from grandma (my mom) last Sunday and toted it around for 3 or 4 days. The card was a bit larger than a regular birthday card and Thomas the Train graced the front and interior of it. The center, sort of kind of, popped up when you opened the card. I explained that his birthday was this week and so on.  So its been Tobias’ birthday for nearly a week, in his mind I’m sure.

To add to the confusion, I bake a cake . . . a nice cake, mind you . . . and Justin, myself, Tobias and Sam all celebrated together last night, after our trip to Toys’R'Us for him to spend the gift card that had been enclosed in the card Grandma M. sent.

Tobias on our way to Toys’R'Us . . . mmm juice

Tobias admiring some of his gifts . . . ones he picked out Very concentrated!

Pics of the cake . . . nothing spectacular but it turned out to be a good carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting . . . and, of course, candy ocean decs.

Tobias blowing the candles out . . . he was so proud of himself! So cute!

Tobias, thoroughly enjoying his gigantic piece of cake . . . not sure what I was thinking.

Samuel, enjoying a generous helping of T’s bday cake.

So we had much fun with Tobias yesterday afternoon/evening and then I went to the party warehouse place up here in Keizer and bought a few things to decorate for today’s extravaganza.  My sisters and their offspring came up today to celebrate, yet again, the 3 years Tobias has graced us with his personality and presence . . . 3 years that I am beyond grateful for.

In the midst of decorating for today (late last night) . . . remember we are in an apartment . . . at least until J is out of school . . . excuse the ugly pantry doors. hee hee

We had a great time hanging out and reconnecting (its been awhile since I had seen them all)  . . . we also utilized the playground. What else are you going to do with 3 toddlers and a 10 month old baby?

My sister, Amy, and her gargantuan camera . . . she is always the designated photographer . . . her own fault for buying such a load of camera! :)  Nah, she loves it!

My sista, Tiff, feeding Aidrik . . . he’s 10 months old! Holy mackerel, where has time flown to?

My eldest sister, Kelli, um . . . she’s concentrating real hard on that bag of chips . . . I think . . . Look at Toby, I think he’s frightened a little bit.

All the tots at play . . . thank goodness for playgrounds!

Samuel is covering his legs in bark-a-mulch . . . Braxton is digging in the potted flowers, aka throwing dirt with glee . . . and Tobias is happily playing with a few of his new cars and trucks.  I believe we called it quits outside seconds after this shot . . . the boys were getting very tired and it was warm . . . almost hot today, so we had had our fill.

The cupcakes created just for today’s fiesta.  Easy peasy and fun . . . nothing worth writing home about, but it cured the sugar craving of one 3 year old and 6 other hungry patrons. . .with the help a little banana cream pie icecream on the side.

Tobias water-painting for the first time, thanks to Aunt Kelli for the gift of the paints and book! Check out the cupcake in his right hand . . . hee hee

He got so much from his Toys R Us run we picked these hideous monster trucks out for him (he loves them!!) and waited until to today to give them to him.  He went to bed tonight . . . his monster trucks resting by his pillow.

Samuel managed to finagle two monster trucks from Tobias’ hot hand . . . no idea how!

So, there’s the picture show.  Hope it wasn’t too dull. I decided I didn’t want to be up until 3am editing pictures and such . . . so I just put them on here as is.  I tend to do this blog thing more for me and my fam than anything else, so there it is.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Tobias . . . many many many more to come!! God willing.

God Bless!

Yeah, I told myself several times this morning to put the battery in camera and take pics of Tiffany and Aidrik while they were here today . . . did I do it? NOPE. She spent all day, from 11am - 5 or so pm, here at my house. We did a store run, made about 10 dozen of a variety of cookies for her friend’s wedding and just plain played the kids and caught up . . . since I hadn’t seen her about 4 months! I couldn’t believe we came to that conclusion! 4 months . . . we live an hour away from each other and thats how often I get to see her?! grrr. Both of our lives are crazy busy with kids and family, so its understandable when life just gets carried away with us, individually.

We had a great day! And, to top it off, the cookies turned out awesome. We made double chocolate chunk mocha cookies that we then dipped half way in melted chocolate, we made peanut butter cut out cookies that were shaped as hearts with chocolate drizzle, and we made chocolate and oatmeal bars with nuts on top. Oh, and my handy pb cookie recipe with choco chips. All turned out beautifully!! I was pleased and I hope the bride is pleased as well . . . if she even gets to see them . . . so maybe I should say, whoever is coordinating the wedding is pleased.

We ordered pizza and picked up Starbucks and just, generally, enjoyed the day together!  I think we both will avoid sweetened anything for at least a week (a day or two) so we can come out of the sugar-induced coma we are in at the moment.

I thank my Heavenly Father for HIS provision and grace today!!

God Bless!!

Tiffany, February of this 2007, we had traveled to Vegas to visit my parents together . . . she’s posing at Red Rock Canyon, NV.

I stay up later and later these days. Not sure why. Mainly because the kiddos don’t rise and shine until approximately 8am. Which is about an hour and a half later than they did 6 months ago. Nice, eh?!

I just thought I’d throw a blab of the day in and then call it a night.

Nothing much new in the Tucker household. Justin has mid-terms this week so he’s been studying his brains to a frazzled pulp this weekend. Which means he hasn’t been around much. Mentally or physically since he studies at the firehouse/school.

My sister Tiff will hopefully make it up this week as well another good friend of mine . . . preferably different days; gotta spread’em out a bit. Then some good friends of Justin and I’s are coming down this weekend. They just moved back from CO recently and it will be good to see them again!! I love all this company I’ve been having!!! I’ve felt isolated at times and I’m thankful to God for all the encouragement as of late in this department of life.

Ahh, boys are doing so good. Being on the same nap schedule has freed two hours of my day, smack dab in the middle of my day at that. I call it my break. “I’m going on break” Once they go to bed at night I’m “Clocked out”. Figuratively speaking, that is, cuz you know who goes running into their rooms if they even make a peep . . . me, that’s who. It’s like working a 12 hour day with one 2 hour lunch break and on call all night. I’ve definitely heard of worse . . . and I don’t necessarily have to change out of my pj’s if I don’t wanna.

So I’ve been doing so good on my diet/workout plan. Today was my ‘day off’ from exercising so, of course, I had to devour the piece of chocolate cake and a bit of icecream waiting for me in the fridge (thanks a lot J . . . and Thank you so much, it was soooo good!). So back at it tomorrow am! I dropped 4 lbs this week and gained 2 lbs back just by eating a giant piece of cake. That’s not very productive.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to blab about tonight. I know, I’m so exciting you almost fell asleep. Oh well, just like tv, no one is making you read this . . . just turn the channel.

As you all have probably gathered we moved from Huge-Jeans, Oregon (Eugene) to Salem fall of ‘07.  All three of my sisters live in Eugene and I would visit them (mostly my eldest sister, Kelli) on pretty regular basis, weekly or even more depending on J’s work schedule.  I miss my sisters like mad sometimes, though I have grown from having to “be on my own” more, less dependent on my family.

Well, Kelli came up to visit me for the first time in over a month and it was good to see her smiling face!  She brought Braxton and the kids played together great, for the most part.  We just hung out, nothing note-worthy happened.  But now I feel a bit refreshed from the whole afternoon.  Just re-connecting with my sista and being able to talk to someone other than a three year old . . . or myself, yeah happens more than I like to admit.

Seems like I’ve had many visitors in the past week, more so than normal (for me anyhoo).  I like it.  I might get spoilt.

Kelli is showing the boys how to use the camera, so they were taking pictures of each other . . . which was extremely exciting!  In the pic is Kelli, Tobias and Braxton.