I Love Boys

These boys . . .

We’ll ignore the constipated look on Byron’s face . . . he was mad cuz I made him stop bouncing incessantly  and sit down for the photo . . . at least he obeyed, which is more than I can say for Samuel.

I am amazed God trusted me with these two beautiful human beings . . . I, at times, want to slow the clock a bit.

I, at times want to just take a nap.

But I know how blessed I am . . . no matter the outcome of life circumstances . . . I know I am blessed.  Thank you, Jesus, for my boys!

Ok, Byron still looks concerned he’s being told not to move . . . but a tad less constipated. Still couldn’t get uncooperative dog and child to look at the camera.

Blessings!

Oh, Hey, Its Me . . . We Live

It is November already and I can’t even get close to getting over how quickly this past year has flooowwnn by.  Blows my mind actually.

The boys are doing fantastic!  Tob enjoys school so very much . . . Sam is huge.  Huge, I tell you!  Yeah, he wears size 5.  5. Size 5.  Tob and Sam wear the same size in clothes and are about size apart in shoes. They are 17 months apart, right?

Just checking.

I hate rain . . . hate it.  I went out into it anyway today . . . walking and jogging (jogging used lightly) for Byron’s sake, really. Poor puppy dog, I think he misses summertime more than me . . . thats pretty bad.

I put his rain coat on . . . thats why I bought it.  A bright yellow rain coat made for Byron’s size.  We get home, I take it off and the underside of the “raincoat” was damp.  Whats the point if its not waterproof?

Anyhow . . . then my loverly friend, Jalaine, brought Taebo Kick-My-Butt over and, well, kicked my abs really.  Buns are tomorrow . . . I know you’re thrilled. Maybe I’ll actually start making a dent in the 10 or so pounds I put on through the past 6 months . . . grr.

We did get a membership to the Kroc Center, thanks to Tob’s preschool, its a brand new fitness club, pool and community center not a mile from my house.  That has been the biggest blessing!  And in the nic of time, this stinkin’ cold winter weather limits the old outdoor time, for sure. The pool is super cute, made for kids and the boys have loved every second.  Mom loves the workout facility and daycare so I can actually USE the workout facility.  Nice!

Justin is in the thick of the Paramedic Program . . . he has started clinicals, about 2 weeks ago, and next week that ups to clinicals three times a week, plus school, plus studying, etc.

Holy Crud . . . and thank ya, Lord . . . all at the same time.

We do get to make the trip to Washington for Thanksgiving with my parents . . . yeah, they are currently residing in the Trij-Cities, if you didn’t know.  Much closer than Vegas. Justin has the weekend and I’m so looking forward to the family time!!

Tob has taken to calling us different kinds of animals.  He has settled on me being a rabbit, Justin being an elephant, Sam being a turtle and himself being a frog.  Its been this way for a month . . . he reminds me of our animal kingdom names every few days.

Myron . . . that is what Tob decided Byron’s name was today and there was no telling him otherwise!  Myron, kinda cuter than Byron.  Hmm.

The imagination of a 4 year old boy. I won’t talk about the smartelic remarks that come from the same beautiful face.

So, here’s to living . . . my life is really not very exciting so I haven’t written very much lately.  Just wanted to pop in here and let ya’ll know we still exist . . . our hearts are still oxygenating blood and pumping away . . . though Justin has informed me after the billionth time of listening to my heartbeat over the course of the last few months that I have an irregular rythm every once in awhile.  I asked if I was going to die, he said no, so I think no more of it. The heart has its own electricity . . . I love learning this stuff and making it my very own . . . how freakin awesome is that?  And I’m not tested and graded . . . much funner!

My wisdom teeth were pulled out, all four of them, on Friday.  Awesome, cuz the two bottom ones were rotting.  Painful, it has been . . . but apparently very normal healing process. They feel like giant holes in my head . . . my friend informed me the grow together, in other words the holes go away over about a month’s span of time.

Cool . . . hurry up about it!  I love almonds and almonds are IMPOSSIBLE to eat without getting the little almond crumbs in those gosh darn holes.  grr.

The hardships of life.

Justin was at school all day . . . now he’s at the gym . . . he’ll be back anytime now.  I better go for now, I suppose. I might need to go to bed as well.

Huh.

Well . . . have a loverly week!  Happy Veterans day, for Wed., I surely appreciate whats been done for me and mine, including my country!!

 

Growing Up Tobias

As I’ve said so many times I can’t count, time flies!

Tobias . . .

. . . is growing up.  That’s kinda what they’re good at . . . well, that and getting amazingly dirty in an amazingly short period of time, eating anything sugar laden, and being so adorable I want to cry.

Tob starts preschool in one week.  We went and replaced his worn out summertime shoes and got him a few pieces of clothing . . . because he’s outgrown all 4T clothing, especially pants, from last year.  Interesting what happens while they’re running around in shorts for 3 months.

We go and meet his teacher and check out his school on Friday.  And Tuesday he rides their little bus to school.  They welcome parents on the bus with them . . . so I’ve officially elected Justin to ride with him the first time (if not the first week) . . . I would but I’m, um, what they refer to as “emotional”.  I don’t think I’d be much of a calming agent whilst accompanying my kid.

I put in Tob’s height and weight and found out he’s tall.  44 inches tall. Yeah, I used one of those converter things online to come up with 3′7″ (no math problems until after coffee is consumed).  Height averages . . . granted I don’t know what is a legit site and what is not . . . but this was written out very plainly for me to see, so I’m using it.  You know you can roughly try to figure out how tall your kid is gonna be but its based on the parent’s height.  That only works so good . . . don’t you take into consideration how tall the mammoths are on the momma’s side? Check it out here

These are 2 of my 3 brothers . . . and my dad.  My dad is 6′4″ . . . Bill is 6′7″ . . . . Jon is around 6′3″ or so.  Not out there tall but definitely taller than the 5′11″ I was given based on mine and Justin’s height.

Um, not sure why I’m going on and on about this.  Obviously there is more important things than the height of your child, now or at 22 years old . . . but I find it interesting.

Ope, speaking of the tots . . . I hear them, finally arising from slumber.

Turning Into Little Boys

I had two baby boys . . . I think they are turning into little boys and not babies so much anymore.  I like to pretend Sam is still a little baby . . . I often get in trouble for coddling him . . . but, in reality, he is not.  Not gonna stop me from savoring every second left of his latter half of his second year of life! 

I am planning Tobias’ 4th birthday party.  4th!  When did that all happen.

I’m gonna say it . . .

You can’t stop me . . .

here I go . . .

Yep, thats right . . .

TIME FLIES!

Especially as I age.  A year seems so short now, when it used to seem like eternity.

I love these two hooligans and I’m so stinkin’ blessed to be home with them to be able to mother them . . . they’ll always be my babies!!

ps . . . so I’m thinking a toy train cake or a hotwheel cake . . . not sure which one.  or I might do something totally off the wall . . . like a polka dot cake.  Ok, maybe not.  Any ideas??

Past Couple of Days

Justin graduates after next week.  The Fire Suppression program.  I think we both feel like he’s graduating, yeah, but he isn’t because he’s not done.  Paramedic will follow in the fall. He will fill Spring and Summer terms with prerequisites and electives.  

I’m proud of him.  

Kind of a rough term with a severe sinus infection that landed him in the emergency room . . . a week later one of his molars blew out . . . it had been giving him a little trouble but it surprised him.  And, yes, the severe sinus infection and the tooth thing were related, just didn’t know it at the time.  So, with doctor and dentists appointments and being on pain meds and antibiotics, which we’re nearing 3 weeks of that, he’s been kind of out of it.  But he pulled through, showed up at class and did his projects despite feeling like road kill.

Speaking of the dentist.  We drove down to Eugene, where our dentist is, and I dropped him off for his 2:30pm appointment and then headed to my sister, Tiffany’s, house.  My other sister, Kelli, had dropped her son, Braxton, off and so the four nephews played and played and ransacked Tiffany and Dan’s house for several hours.  Tiff and I caught up.  Dan and his dad fixed the sink.  And we made pita pizzas.  mmm mmm!  

Prior to trekking to the Eugene area, I went grocery shopping with my friend Anne.  Quite the outing with both my boys and a ton of grocery shopping to do between us (between Anne and I). But we got it done! . . . 2 hours later.  The boys did so so good for me!  

It ended up being a long and rushed day yesterday but it was fun and the time spent with family and my hubby! . . . love those long drives . . . was priceless.

The closed captioning on the tv screen at the gym read that it was to be sunny and warmER today.  And it looks as though they were telling the truth.  So we will take advantage of the out of doors today, I’m sure.  Maybe walk to the playground or just stand outside our front door and soak it up.

My parent’s 40 year wedding anniversary is this weekend.  They are a stunning example of, even through rough waters, how to stay connected . . . hang in there and you will pull through and be better and have a better relationship for your effort and forgiveness.  Sometimes it isn’t fair, the wrongs done, but mercy is the key.  Keeping God in the center and realizing the whole of it is bigger than you and your insecurities. 

I was preaching to myself . . .

So HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!

I’m jetting out of here for now.  Hubby is here this morning and I like his company.

God Bless!

Fat Lip

Not that this has never happened to us before . . . I do have two toddler boys, accidents, spills and full on tragedy happens frequently.  But today Tobias really hit the pavement hard.

Now, please have mercy.  The boys was eating a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips that melt before and during this photo session.  He was also avoiding eye contact, or camera/eye contact in this case. But look at that upper lip!! Yikaroo! I felt so bad and he cried so much.  Lucky though we didn’t lose any teeth and/or have serious damage . . . just a split, bleeding and, now, very very sore lip.

Trying to smile but still avoiding the old eye/camera contact thing. Yeah, see the bump on his forehead too . . . ouchy wawa!

Back to my job of making sure nothing else tragic happens today . . . one time a day is enough.

Daddy Antics

One thing I’ve had to get used to be with being a mom of two rough and tumble boys and being married to the manly man of a dad is that they are just that . . . rough and tumble. Both boys love to wrestle, pick on each other and play wrestle with dad. I have had to purposely lower my blood pressure a few time amidst the dad antics.

No, the above picture is not one of a whimpering little toddler walking hesitantly into the grasp of his crazed father . . . quite the opposite. I believe Tobias ran into dad’s arms and proceeded to beg to be tossed, haphazardly, onto the well-cushioned couch behind him.

This is where I tend to start praying.

When the laughter erupts after the landing bit . . . well, its the only thing that allows me to consider it is ok to be tossing a 3 year old up and onto the couch by quite some distance (3 or 4 ft away).

Now Samuel has always been a bit hesitant when it comes to the rough housing of dad and Tobias (two peas in a pod, Justin and Tob). In fact he would protest even when Justin toned it down a bit. So I stood up for him, I told Justin there are different personalities . . . different likes and dislikes . . . and Sam didn’t like the rough and tumble bit. I say this as Samuel is curled in my arms, such a Momma’s boy and I’m milking that for all its worth!

But most, if not all, of that has changed in the past few months. He picks the wrestling matches with Tobias and he jumps on dad in hopes of a good hard tickling . . . he’s starting it and I’m now having to adjust to three rough and tumblers in the house.

He joins right in. Flying through the air with the greatest of ease . . .

Landing in a pile of pillows and cushy couch. What a face though, eh.

Yeah . . . for some reason I missed, with pictures, the laughing . . . oh so much laughing!

Another of the dad antics . . . because there are quite a few, is THE BOX . . . not always the same box, but a box nonetheless.

This has happened numerous times and the boys always react the same. At first they are scared of the “live” box and then, once assured by Mother Tucker, they proceed to pounce it.

Eventually the big one, namely dad, gets bored (and a bit bruised) and abandons his post as the Great Box Entertainer of ‘08.  The above pic is of our eldest son attempting to feed the captured dad a nourishing Hot Wheel car.

No worries though . . . the box proved to be hours (well, at least half an hour) of toddler play hard equipment . . . even without the dad.

Boxes are awesome and so is the dad!

God Bless!

Shift

Yep, you guessed it . . . its shift day in the Tucker house . . . meaning Justin is fulfilling his time at the fire house and we are here . . .

I’ve managed to loose my keys, so I’m also home-bound.  Very very home bound. The youngest son’s shoes are in the van . . . the unlocked but armed van. I see the sun peeking out from the clouds . . . holy carp, its getting sunny out! I might have to set the van’s alarm off for the shoes . . . worth it?

Its been a long and bit of a lonely week for me.  Justin is finishing up final projects and he is, as I’ve already stated, on shift today. He also has shift Monday.

Ugh

So, as proud as I am of him . . . and as grateful as I am that he is such a hard worker, allowing me to remain home with my boys . . . I’m a bit burned out today.  I think I might be in need of a tot break . . . and not just for an hour and a half while they sleep in the middle of the day.

Which is what they are suppose to be doing right now and I hear Tobias in there, 45 min after I laid him down, still whining.  I’ve been in there checking on him and he’s fine . . . apparently just not sleepy. He still does his time . . .momma rules.

This day has proven to be carppy.  I know I’m suppose to look for the blessing and the lesson out of everything but sometimes that just ain’t so.

Tobias is 3 years old and has gotten into a funk of rebellion (for lack of a better word) that is about to send me over the edge.  He defies me constantly and does stuff he knows he’s not suppose to do.  He has started to tell me “NO” and follow it up with a tantrum if I make him . . . I still make him.  I’m not going into how we have decided to parent and how we discipline and all of that . . . but he has gotten his fair share of discipline, especially the last few weeks.

I am a very hands on type person. I love to hold my kids, hug them, kiss them, etc.  In a good, wholesome way.  So they get plenty of that. And I love to read to them . . . gives me an excuse to hold them and they sit in my lap for longer stints.

My nerves were frayed this morning due to Tobias’ assertion of his personal will and Samuel, coming up on 2 years old, doing the same . . . just on a lesser plain.

I decide a walk is necessary and, fighting back my own attitude, I start getting the kiddos ready and head out to the van, praying a door is unlocked.

Yep, the driver’s side door is unlocked . . . bonus.

Or NOT . . . the horn alarm starts blaring.  An alarm that I was told was disengaged when we took the van . . . one that I had never heard operate since we’d owned it . . . going on 2 years. Oh, it works and loudly too.

I forget the shoes . . . since I was taken off guard and scoot back inside . . . a little embarrassed.  Ok, a lot embarrassed . . . why is that embarrassing? I hear you asking this.   It doesn’t take much to embarrass me. Ok, stop laughing.

And, I’m apparently, allergic to car alarms . . . especially when I set them off because I start to hyper ventilate (for lack of a better analogy) and cry . . . a lot. This has never happened before with car alarms, so it must be a new allergy.  Which, in this hormonal point in the month, crying doesn’t take much.  But I was.  And Tobias is watching me, unfortunately, asking me why I was crying . . . which didn’t help and, since I couldn’t stop, I eventually retreated to my room and emailed Justin . . . which always makes it better. I don’t know why . . . it just does.

Am I revealing a little too much, of how human I am.  Oh well . . . there are other blogs to read if you don’t like it.  I feel the need to vent . . . and this is my blog.

Yeah, my keys are on hiatus somewhere amidst my messy home, so the alarm blared for several minutes before shutting itself off.

Nice.

So I got over it.  Called my mom and unloaded on her but didn’t cry again, since there was no real reason to cry anyway. She just laughed and told me it would get better and Justin won’t be in school forever, etc etc etc.  All very encouraging and I appreciated it so much.  Even that she was willing to sit there and listen to me complain and moan was enough to lessen the magnified loneliness that the morning fostered.

Also, this is the simplified version.  I didn’t mention that it rained here yesterday so all my ant friends decided they needed to pay me a visit today . . . yeah, I thought I had divorced them but they came back full force once their little ant nest was flooded outside. I feel used.  So I vacuumed ants and killed ants and then got the restraining order out (ant traps) that I had been hording for this very day.  I found them on the wall near my potted plants . . . they do love a well-watered potted plant.  And in my room where a lone spoon had been left by my true love last night after he ate peanut butter off of it.  Grrr. Does anyone else eat spoonfuls of peanut butter? I did when I was pregnant, it aided the 50 lb weight gain with Samuel . . .

Wow, this is one lengthy blog post.  I apologize and, I also, commend you. Kudos to you.

God Bless you as well.

Bad days come and go but God is faithful through it all.  If you wanna call this a bad day.  I think it could be much worse.  Maybe what I need is a good dose of perspective.

Three is a Crowd

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!

Calling

I grew up being a pastor’s kid in a non-denominational church. That was 15 years of my life (age 10 on). So I was fully aware of “callings” and the like . . . all the religious jargen associated. I truly feel like my day in and day out, comings and goings, are what God has called me to. My eyes being focused on the one we were created to worship (Jesus) and letting the overflow of that . . . the fruits of being in HIS Spirit . . . effect my daily contacts and life. How I choose to treat my upstairs apartment neighbor is just as important as how I portray Jesus and HIS teachings in a message to thousands (I haven’t had the opportunity to do that, by the way). So I don’t have a clue what my “future” calling is . . . but I know what God has laid in my life and path to do today . . . raise my boys to truly know HIM, treat all humanity with the love and grace of our Saviour, and be the best wife possible.

As for dreaming, I dream about going back to Africa as a missionary . . . to somehow be involved in placing orphans and bringing a solid and truthful knowledge of Jesus where hope seems depleted. If thats in the cards God has for me, so be it.

I’m learning daily that I’m loved by an amazing and gracious God. I yearn for truth and wisdom . . . as much I do for grace and mercy . . . having more grace than truth is spiritually off balance . . . I’ve always leaned more on the side of grace and God is really convicting me to balance it out a bit with more truth.