Preschool

Tobias started preschool yesterday.  We are poor, in this season of our lives, while Justin finishes school and such.  So I enrolled in him Community Action Headstart . . . where they take the lack of fundage into account and work with us.  I don’t wanna sound stuck up but I was a little concerned about what the classroom would be like, his fellow students and what kind of staff they would have as a low income facility.

I went to orientation last Friday and was beyond pleasantly surprised with the bright, well stocked, and cheeriness of the classroom.  It was relatively new classroom with a large, fenced, yard with playground equipment, sand box and other fun things.  Then I met his teacher and was again happy with her warm but direct nature. There’s an assistant teacher as well.  There’s only 15 or so kids and I wasn’t as worried about them as Tob just having the opportunity to learn.

So, as much as I wanted to find the top notch preschool and pay through the nose (which we can’t right now) I am so very grateful for the ability for us to send Tob . . . and for it to be so great despite being a low income labeled thing . . . and for him to be able to interact with other kids his age and learn and grow, spread his wings, just a little, away from home.

At 11:50am . . . we are standing in the parking lot of the local Senior Center, which happens to be just down the street from me, waiting with a few other classmates for the bus to arrive.

Eventually it pulls in and  Tob about came out of his skin he was so thrilled.  Justin climbed onboard with him, buckled him in, and accompanied him, on the bus, to school.

So, I was all worried about Tob not wanting to go or just having a hard time once he was there or just the next few days adjusting to the time away from home, lack of nap and the routine of it.

But, no, Samuel is the one that had the hard time.  Adjusting to his bro being gone and not getting to ride the bus too . . . my goodness.  Every 15 – 30 minutes Sam would ask where Tob was and if he could ride the bus too.

But, all in all it was a good experience.  Tob was thrilled when he arrived home and jabbered about it for quite some time . . . apparently the sandbox was fabulous and his favorite.

Back today, for day 2 of preschool.

Sorry if this is way to detailed of a report regarding . . . did it more for my fragile memory than anything else.

God bless!

Sam and I

Sam and I at the zoo last Saturday . . . ridin' the train.

Ok, so I found a “scrapbooking” bit on my editing thingy that I use online and I’m going a bit crazy  . . .  so here’s another to add to the mix.

Happy Sunday!

Spinning ‘Round

Sam loves to have the tire swing spin.  So he kept asking me to spin it, spin it!

He then wants down, as the natural course of things.  He can’t even stand up and walk he’s so dizzy.

He looks at me, a little bewildered and asks “what happened to the playground?”

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??

Don’t Pick the Red or Green Ones

The boys tolerate about 40 minutes, sitting in the stroller . . . munching whatever snack I remember to bring and sipping juice or milk, whatever I end up bringing. The whine a bit, they goof off a bit but mostly they talk and pick on each other. I have fallen in love with the trails at a local park and we get there as frequently as the gas money will allow. The above pic is of the trail that runs along the river . . . we took that for the first time yesterday. Nice and shaded, even at 11am or so whilst I jogged my backend off.

The payoff for the boys sitting so long is the promise and the action of stopping at the playground area after we (or mom) gets done on the trails.

Though the playground is becoming less of an attraction to them than the nearby wilds of the park . . . but the playground is approximately where we park the stroller and Byron gets tied up.

And then they noticed the blackberries . . . berries we’ve picked in the past but this day, this day they figured out they can pick the sweet berries themselves.

Tobias, obviously the more experienced of the two, would routinely feed them to Samuel.

And then they couldn’t resist it . . . they escaped into the wild!

The cutest darn creatures I’ve seen in the wilds of Oregon!

God Bless!

Seaside

Amazingly we had a family outing and I (we) remembered the camera . . . and, to top that off, we remembered to USE the camera. Do I get a prize? I mean we, can we get a prize . . . preferably chocolate, thank you.

So our destination was Seaside, Oregon. And, we made our destination . . . I think that calls for more chocolate prizes.

The day’s weather ended up being gorgeous . . . though we were concerned with the sprinkles of rain on the way up.

I had never been to Seaside, Oregon. The farthest north I had been, on the coast of Oregon, that I remember, is Lincoln City. Seaside is built right on the beach, with a boardwalk . . . pretty rare on the Oregon coast. And it was busy busy.

Justin took the above picture off the boardwalk . . . which was not made of boards but of concrete . . . I believe thats what they are called anyway. Thats a pretty expansive beach for Oregon. You see them but normally when the tide is out or in a park somewhere . . . not with a city built right on it.

We meandered a bit . . . they have a cute downtown area.

Then we couldn’t stand it anymore . . . the beach was calling our name . . . mostly Toby and Sam’s names, but whatever.

Myself looking mighty chubby in them baggy jeans . . . I wonder if you ever outgrow critiquing yourself in photos . . . my mom still does it, so probably not, eh.   . . . and the Samster . . . he’s always cute!! Though he absolutely hated the sand on his bare feet.  I couldn’t figure out why until I realized when I let go of his hand is when he freaked out . . . he lost his balance easily in the soft sand.  He eventually got over it.

Oh yeah and, as usual, Byron Jack Russell Extraordinair tagged along.

Did I mention Sam hated the sand . . . standing, walking, sitting and/or having it cover his feet in any manner . . . HATED IT!

This is the very next picture . . . taken, probably 5 minutes later.  He realized the hard sand was much easier to walk on and then he discovered the OCEAN! Did you know the ocean is made up of water? . . . Samuel’s favorite thing ever! Doesn’t matter that its the same temperature as an ice cube.

Oh the ocean . . . such a wonder . . . such beauty . . . so frickin’ cold!

And, yes, you guessed it . . . I was the one elected (volunteered) to dodge waves, oh so unsuccessfully, with Samuel.   Yeah, look at that pic, I’m clearly tortured by the act of playing in the ocean.

Oh yeah . . . our whole clan was there. Tobias was not that interested in the freezing water, just in his trucks and the sand.  So this is what dad and Tobias did much of the time we visited the beach.

Hangin’ with dad . . . and there’s Sam and myself in the background . . . still in the water.

We grabbed pizza for dinner and headed out . . . loaded with drinks and Dibs ice creams for desert.  Tobias had landed 2 new cars, an ambulance and fire truck . . . I know, shocking!

God Bless!

SCTucker

Within the last week or so Samuel has been tripping over his own feet . . . more so than normal. And then I realize he is not fitting any of his 18 month pants, and some 18 month shirts. And then I’ve received several comments regarding how big he’s getting and it dawns on me that he has grown considerably, relatively fast . . . hence the reason he is falling down, randomly, more often. His poor little knees are scraped and I’ve caught him starting to run and then slow down and start tip toeing. Not kidding.

It is about time he outgrew his 18 month pants . . . he is going to be 2 in September. But its another reminder that there is not a baby in the house anymore.

Two toddlers.

And I’m ok with that.

Samuel on his bro. And, yes, they are standing in an ice chest full of water. It was a hot hot afternoon, the other day, and we were hard up for cooling entertainment . . . they loved it.

Mother Tucker and the Samster.

He’s at least 4 foot tall here . . . of course he’s standing on something.

dog park

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.

self righteous

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.

18

#18

Tobias was a wee 17 months old when Samuel was added to the fam.  You were more aware of how to support me and took time off work to care for Toby in the last week before and during Sam’s first week of life.  Then my mom took over. Awesome sums up how you were during that routine but stressful time. I was in and out of the hospital within two days . . . with a happy and healthy baby boy.

Being only 17 months now, Samuel is still very much a momma’s boy but he’s slowly being converted to your side . . . but for the cuddling; unlike Tobias he’s not for the rough-housing bit. You didn’t quite know what to do with the cuddle bug of a boy for a little while but have realized recently he just wants to be held and loved on.  So different his personality than that of his elder brother!

I watch as the bonding blossoms between you and Sam and know, in a matter of time, he will be a member of the dad fan club and I will marvel from the sidelines.

Our little family feels so complete at this point and I thank God for such a fantastic man by my side . . . husband and dad!!

Hubby and Sam Christmas day ‘07. Typical rough-housing . . .