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!

Since the purchase of our pooch, Byron, 3 years ago, dog parks have been an active part of our weekly . . . if not . . . daily lives.   He is, as you probably are already aware, a Parson Russell Terrier . . . also known as a Jack Russell (I’m not sure if “Russell” is spelled with 2 L’s or not, who cares).  Jacks are notoriously high energy, they were bred that way for fox hunting purposes.  We are the idiots that bought a high energy breed of dog but now he has wormed his spring-like self into the center of our hearts . . . so he’s stuck with us.

Since the big move to Salemland we had yet to find a loverly dog park to take our exercise deprived animal, to wear out him adequately.  No amount of walks or jogs can squelch the amazing resilience of his Jack energy. But dog parks take a little bit of it out of him, thankfully.

3 weeks ago we found one.  A dog park.  25 acres of leash-less abound! So many dogs, so many acres of green grass to romp, pee, and poop . . . but mostly romp.  And it is so spread out that I don’t mind the kiddos walking on the bark paths with us, instead of squashed in the stroller to watch the going ons.  So, in a fashion, its a dog and kid park.

And, thankfully, summer is slowing taking over, so the weather has been oh so nice!

Here are some pictures of the outing yesterday, late afternoon.  We’ve been multiple times but I managed to remember my camera . . . and I managed to remember to take pictures once we arrived.

Setting out for a walk around 25 acres of off-leash glory!!

Byron, Tobias and Samuel . . . in the lush scenery.

Tobias, growing up . . . so good looking. I’m not biased in any way though.

Samuel at the dog park. Didn’t have time to edit this one before the real live Samuel woke up from naptime.  And now that he’s sitting on me, fresh from a nap, I’m going. He’s good looking too, by the way.

I took my pooch out potty the other day and the boys locked the door behind me . . . forcing me to go get the office staff to unlock it.  I had not a clue that they even knew how to work the deadbolt.  Lesson learned. Uh-huh.

Today Justin had to go up to Brook Firestation and do some pressure washing and some other stuff . . . its his job, work-study, fun fun.  I loaded the kiddos in the stroller at the same time he was getting into his car, to enjoy this happy happy warm weather we’re experiencing at the moment. We waved, Toby cried (always does when dad leaves), and we walked practically right next to him out of the drive . . . which just prolonged Tobias’ crying. Ugh.  Half way down the Salem Parkway Justin honks as he’s driving back toward the apartment.  We wave and my mind starts pondering what he might of forgotten.  And then something shiny caught my eye and I forgot about him.

We went for quite the walk and we’re coming up on our road that will lead us back to the apartment complex when it dawns on me that Justin is religious about locking the door.  I am not.  I did not bring my keys. So, of course I get agitated about it before we ever reach the apartment . . . in part because I had to use the restroom something awful.

Yes, the door was locked . . . but the sliding glass door, I found after I shimmied over  the 5 foot (ok, maybe 4 1/2 ft) enclosing wall, was not locked and we were inside in no time.

So the lesson here is, quite possibly, to carry my keys with me at all times. No matter if I’m the last one out and did not have a key in the first place to even lock the door . . . just carry the keys.

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!

I am a dunce. We, Justin, myself, Tobias and Samuel, all went to the zoo with Justin’s grandma, aunt, niece, his mom, dad and sister. I had only met his grandmother once and had never met his aunt. It was not a beautiful day but the rain did hold out until we were loading into our cars afterwards. But, despite the lack of sun, we had a fantastic time and the boys warmed right up to their extended family and all was well.

Oh yeah, I’m a dunce . . . I’m a dunce because I forgot my camera. Forgot my camera like I get together with these people every weekend and the zoo is a monthly affair . . . like I’ve got so many pictures of this type of outing, who needs more. Ugh! Yeah, I regret forgetting the camera more than I have anytime in the past.

His Aunt and Grandma were taking plenty of pics . . . so I’m hoping I can solicit pics from them . . . out of the goodness of their pee-pickin’, related-to-me-now, hearts.

No, they are fabulous people and I was honored that they included us and blessed us with their limited time in the area, as well as his grandma treating everyone to the zoo.

Now, I just need pictures so I can bore the heck out of all of you with the excited-toddler-running-for-the-primate-cage-faces and look-its-an-elephant-pooping . . . wow-that-stinks-face.

The Portland zoo is a very nice park! Very very enjoyable. And, bonus, we got to hear Tobias mimic the Peacocks all the way home.

Ok, thats all . . . that was Wednesday, by the way. I guess its been a few days since I’ve written. oops

Starting yesterday, if we weren’t sleeping, we’ve been outside . . . has anyone experienced how warm it is out there today! Holy mackerel!!

God Bless! Enjoy that sunshine!!

ps, today is the T’s birthday . . . . I will post more later on that.

My sexy sweet man came home at 3:30 yesterday afternoon . . . surprising us all.  Midnight is more likely the time that I see him come in. And as tired and beat down as he felt, he showered, got dressed  . . . while I was slapping on makeup and dressing the kiddos . . . and we headed out.  We got mexican food and ate way too much . . . hung at the park with the kids and, as the sun set, we headed to DQ for icecream magical goodness.  After the boys went to sleep we just hung out laughing at random crap on You Tube and fell asleep peacefully around 11 or so . . . I really don’t keep a timeline on my day . . . I’m mostly guessing.

I enjoyed it thoroughly . . . thanks, partially, to this awesome spring time sunshine we’ve been getting! And warm, nice!!

My plants have started to sprout, the ones left from last year. The ones I thought were goners for sure . . . but lo and behold they liveth!

Ah, thats it folks . . . I write too much here . . . but its all good, right?  Remember that saying . . . I’ve always always thought it obnoxious  “Its all good.” And you have to say it with an southern accent. Special. So many special things coming from my generation.

Mums alive!! 

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!

Warmth, that sums up the last few days around these here parts. I live in the northern Willamette Valley of Oregon . . . warm enough through the winter we don’t get snow (rarely) but we deal with cold (15-35 degrees) and rainy days. The much needed break has come . . . signs spring is slowly taking over winter’s position as weather-master. Winter is stubborn and will speak up a few more times before moving on, I’m sure; but the break of sun and warm temperatures has been altogether refreshing. I look forward to fresh growth on trees and in flower beds and long stints outside, hiking, walking, jogging, playground shenanigans and more! Maybe I’ll finally drop that last 25 lbs or so. Oh yeah and to shed the thick winter coat for good! . . . well, until next year anyway.

I hear my boys waking from nap time slumber so I’m going for now.

God Bless!

And Happy Spring Moments!

Well, this is more of summertime moment . . . but you get my general drift. Byron and Tobias . . . Best friends.

I forget my camera anytime I leave my house. You shall note the majority of photos you see will be in my house or right outside my front door. So to no amazement, I forgot my camera on our giant outing to nowhere on Saturday and I forgot to take it out with me today on the longest walk we’ve been on all year. Gorgeous was the weather and happy were the children to be free from the bondage known as the indoors.

Well, I’m done writing for now. God Bless!

Spring is on its way!! Yay, indeed!!