Tagged...

Traci tagged me and so I'll give it a go...6 quirky things about me.
The rules are: List 6 quirks about yourself and then tag six people. Leave them a message on their blog letting them know they have been tagged( I may skip this little bit).

1. I love Sauerkraut in almost any variety. I've even made a chocolate sauerkraut cake that was delicious...I'm considering learning how to make my own sauerkraut.

2. Perfumes and smelly candles give me a headache. Don't ask me why? I tend to purchase unscented deodorant, lotion etc. I can handle very lightly scented varieties. I like to smell them on others but if i have them on me I get a bit sick after an hour or so.

3. NO big surprise to all of my loyal readers...I love yodeling.

4. I have a crooked face...no kidding. One side is longer than the other.

5. Ricky and I love to can food together. Ever since we were first married. It is our annual tradition. Even when we had a crappy little apartment and no room to store the bounty.

6. hummm this is tough...I'm a jackie of all trades, but master of none. I tend to want to learn everything but shift to something new before I have actually mastered it. I think this is genetic.

I tag...Betina, Ashley, Susie, Annajo, Joanna, Jen.
I generally don't do these tags...so if you don't that is a-ok.

Day Four and Five...

Ahhhh, Sunday we decided to head back north to another set of tide pools. These were in the Ecola park area. We ended up at Indian beach. It was beautiful, and once again we were reminded that if you indeed want a great beach...follow the surfers.
The tide pools were great! Tons of rocks and we got there a few hours before low tide and had a lot of time for exploring. This was by far the best exploring spot. The rock pools were everywhere and the rock crabs were fun to chase.
Oscar spent from 9:30 am -2pm scouring the rocks. I finally convinced him that the tide was coming back in and that we should explore some other areas.
Poppy found a little fresh water spring shower, just her size. It was really cold water and she would run in and out of the spring.
We had forgotten sunscreen and because it was so warm compared to the other days, I had dressed the kids a bit too warm. They decided to wear their swim suits and we all got a bit baked!
It was really warm and very beautiful.
Oscar is standing at the look out above the beach. The rocks in the back ground were the tide pool rocks, after the tide came back in.
We went back to camp to once again shower and head off to dinner. We had a half way decent sea food dinner in a little town outside of Nehalem. It wasn't the best but it filled our bellies sufficient to sleep well that night.
Oscar had looked forward to a camp fire the entire trip and so as the last night there, we decided to have one. I asked him if he would rather have ice cream and watch the sunset or have a fire and smore's...

The fire won out. We still watched the sunset and enjoyed a beautiful evening on the beach, and then went back to camp for a fire.
Oscar ate a bunch of smores and then ran around camp playing with other kids, while Ricky poppy and I enjoyed the fire. It was nice. So, for those of you who think we really weren't "camping" since we watched dvd's and ate out everynight, you can be appeased that we had a fire at least ONE night.
The point of our vacation isn't exactly the camping...it is finding ways to spend the most amount of time on the beach. We do this by not havign to spend hours cooking food over the fire, and by not needing a fire because we spend so much time exploring that the DVD viewing is merely a means of mellowing out for bed.
The kids get so worn out and it is all about living these few days to the max.
Then, you wake up and it is time to go home... we pack the car and we head down the road.
At the end of day five, we are back in our own snuggly beds.

Day three...

After another tasty breakfast of oatmeal we were back to the beach...This time Oscar stuck around for breakfast before taking off.
This is him in his "chipmunk" pose (look familiar grandma Edge?). It was a bit chilly and foggy.

Oscar demonstrated his large lettering skills.
After enough of the fog we decided to head back north to the Oswald park beach. This time we packed a lunch and had all day to spare.
The opposite side of the cove from yesterday we found even more awesome tide pools.
Oscar and Pop's loved exploring the rocks and consented to pose for yet another pic.
Poppy on the other hand was all to happy to pose for me. She really came into her own this go around. She stayed out of the waves but the sea creatures were her thing.
She and Oscar made a couple of sea stars into their "pets" and had a great hour long pretend game in a little tide pool where they were their owners and would bring them things to eat.
After spending most of the day at that great beach we headed back to camp in time to shower, avoid the neighbors Latin/elevator music and went to dinner at a yummy Pizza shop. Poppy was so worn out that she fell asleep and wouldn't wake up the entire meal! This is how Ricky ate his dinner.
Then, after a meander on the dock we headed back to camp to snuggle into bed and watched "The Incredible's".

I need my binky to breathe!!!

Day two of no binky...
The Popster lost Both of her new binky's in ONE day. I decided that was it. After a very long night last night and a very long day today. Where i heard about 1000 times "I need my binky mama!" and "Mom I NEED my binky to breathe!"
I have stayed firm and after two days with no naps and a very tired girl she fell asleep on our bike ride to Oscar's soccer practice. She slept the whole time and woke up a happier girl. In fact after I said "Poppy you are such a big girl you can nap without a binky!" She seemed to have a new sense of empowerment.
Tonight, she went to bed asked me twice for a binky and then stayed in her room without crying and went to sleep...we may actually make it this time.
I hope she will sleep through the night and that tomorrow we can figure out how to take a nap WITHOUT the binky!

On a positive note, she seemed to talk a lot more today and was fairly pleasant when she wasn't thinking about it.

Don't worry I'll post day three of our trip tomorrow...assuming we make it one more day without the binky.

Day two...

Here we go...day two. Oscar was up at the crack of dawn and pulled the all-to-willing-and-ready dad along with him. Poppy and I on the other hand were happy to sleep a bit longer, make us some oatmeal and then venture to the ocean. Poppy, a bit apprehensive after the previous nights tumble, kept a very conservative distance from the shore and was happy to build me various cakes.

(Ricky feeding the birds what was left of our squirrel-eaten pitas)

The boys took a very long walk before coming back to humanity. They found a cool wooden shelter, that even later when we thought we would walk to find it again, ended up cutting back because Poppy couldn't make the distance (remember, she doesn't want to get strong legs).
We then ventured to Cannon beach which was 18 miles north of our campground. The camp ranger gave us a nice tide pool map and boy were we glad to have day trips where we could escape to the underworld of the ocean.
Although cannon beach was pretty and has haystack rock, the tide pools were mediocre compared to the others we would find.
Poppy found a lone crawling sea-star that they could touch an feel. (always making sure to put it back safely)
(It was a bit foggy here in the morning, and a little chilly, but the boy loved to explore.)
On our way back to the campground we decided to stop by another tide pool stop. Oswald park. There was a .5 mile trip down tot he shore. It was the beautiful green and lush trail with a bunch of hideout trees.
Oswald beach had a TON of surfers. In fact we have now decided that if you want to find the BEST beaches, all you need to do id follow the surfers!
Look at this place. It was such a beautiful cove with fresh water streams flowing into the Ocean.
The moss and tide pools were amazing! The kids and dog couldn't get enough. We hadn't packed a lunch this time around and we were certain we were coming back to this beach the very next day with food to hold us until we were all fully content.

(Typical edge family photo!)

(Smiley dog checking out the awesome moss!)

After leaving the beach and heading back to the camp ground and re-grouping, we ventured over to the Manzanita town farmer's market. It was fun to see a friendly farmer's market. We had some delicious blueberries and crapes for dinner. After hanging around we found our way back to the beach. Oscar and i walked the beach back to the campground and daddy and Pop's went in the car.
As he and I were walking down the beach he would randomly say, "mom I want to go back to camp." The very next moment he would want to go explore another batch of driftwood. I kept reminding him that we had a couple of miles to walk back... he then was off running down the beach again.
Once back in camp we all showered, had some hot cocoa and finshed watching Star-Wars before snugguling down to sleep.
Another fun-filled day on the beach.

To all of you who actually read this entire email, I salute you! This is really my way of clearly documenting what we did and where we went. Not to mention, I hope to make all of you a little jealous to the point of making your own trek to the coast...you won't regret it...that is unless you need fancy things and parties to keep you happy.

Day one...

After a 7 1/2 hour drive we arrived at the Nehalem State park campground, set up camp and headed to the beach. Here is the view right before you come over the top of the dune ...
And this my friends is what our Ocean vacation is ALL about.
Oscar can hardly hold back long enough for us to set up camp before he is leaping to the shore. Poppy, the more cautious of the bunch tried to follow suite but was quickly swept off her feet into the frigid water. She lasted about ten more minutes before it was imperative that I take her back to camp to change. It was at that moment I decided that I in fact DID not over pack. She was going to use up what I brought for sure!

This particular beach seemed to get pretty windy int he evening hours so we would venture back to camp and go find some place yummy for dinner.

This night we found a little restaurant who served a bowl of chowder the size of my head. It was delicious and yes, I ate the entire bowl full, a roll, salad and some of the tikes fish and chips. We all had our fill of dinner and headed back to camp to cozy down to watch Star Wars #6 while we snuggled in our sleeping bags.

This was just the beginning of the late night dvd movies and snuggle time under the star speckled sky. Lucky for us, our tent is equipped with a huge star gazing cealing.

3rd annual Edge Family Ocean trip...

Every year I think that it can't possibly get better...and yet, that is exactly what happened. I am up to my neck in laundry and house stuff, so no pics will be posted YET. However here is a breakdown of central themes of the trip that I will elaborate on later...

Poppy: "I don't want to get strong legs!!!" (this was the protest to having to walk, we heard it about a thousand times each day)

Oscar: "Is today day 4? I really don't want to go home tomorrow. Can't we just live at the Ocean?" (This is the same boy who was up and the crack of dawn on the first morning, getting his dad out of bed to walk 3 miles down the beach to find a log shelter...he never got sick of being on the beach)

Mom: "ummm...more fried fish and chowder? Do you serve that with salad, bread and pizza?" Seems my appetite has returned to normal (if not a little more aggressive) just in time for our trip.

Ricky: "No thanks, we're vegetarian" Said to our Neighbor on the playground After our neighbor offered him some of their sweet smelling terriyaki dinner. I think after sleeping for three nights next to this very LARGE group of neighbors, who insisted on playing Latino/elevator music the entire day and night. . .he wasn't up for the offer.
Luckily we spent most of the day at the beach and only had to be subjected to it in the evening and morning hours. My head was full of the constant background noise. Finally they turned it off and immediately I felt a weight lifted off my brain!

More is coming I promise!

Way behind in the blog world...

Ummm...lentil chili. This is actually a post that should have been finished a week ago...alas my friends (my few readers) you get things a bit behind schedule these days.
The one thing that is VERY notable about the Lentil festival, is that it seemed to be the beginning of some better energy/not-so-nauseated days! I'm thinking it was the lentil chili. More scientific evidence will have to be conducted but really, after that lentil chili I have felt SIGNIFICANTLY better!
So much better, that I have actually gotten my Lazy rear off the couch, and have pick up my beloved past time of running.
I did have to recruit the newest locals to come support the cause of the lentil fest 5k. They were great sports and so fun to hang out with! I figured since I wasn't up for the 100k Tour de Lentil, I might as well run the 5k.
And as withl many of these small-town races, when you have a crappy race time and stick around for the awards, you discover that you actually placed 3rd your my age group! Not so bad for a prego-post morning sickness mom. Truly it was a pretty small pool...but it made me feel better. Maybe placing in my age group is the cure???
We then ventured down to the lentil festival parade and festivities. It was the first year we have actually experienced the ENTIRE lentil festival (short of the lentil pancake breakfast). Wyllie Gustafson was there, and if you have been a reader for a while you will already know that i am a lover of yodeling!!! And especially our local Yodeler. He was great and I loved watching Ricky and Poppy enjoy the music.
After Poppy's day of Lentil festivities you can see that snowcones, cotton candy, and parade candy to not make for a very nutricious diet. Thus the sugar low melt down.
This picture actually was her response to the lentil chili...do you think she liked it?

All good times at the lentil Festival. If you are ever in town in late August you'll have to stop by.

First day of first grade!!!!

Here's the first grader...Do you think he has grown a bit since last year?

(Oscar last year)

Kindergarten was just the beginning. I had no idea that first grade would bring all of the important choices like: Will he eat cold lunch or warm lunch? Will he like warm lunch? Will I let him ride his bike? Will I let him ride his bike by himself with his buddy Austin?

There seems to be a whole different feel to me about first grade. I feel comfortable with Oscar at school all day, and I don't worry about him being a good obedient boy at school. I know that he will absorb a ton of information and that I will have to filter it and pry it out of his little head.

On the other hand I find myself this paranoid mother int he realm of the biking to school world.After practicing over and over again the route, that he should ride ont he sidewalk (not the road) that he needs to watch for cars and PEOPLE (especially other students) it was all thwarted by the fact that it was garbage day and everyone had they stinkin garbage cans on the sidewalk!
We ended up ridign the road and due to the inherited race instincts of my child, he insisted on tring to pass Austin or I if we ever ended up in front of him.
I found myself shouting "move to the side of the road", "Don't pass out into the middle of the road", "OSCAR STOP!!!" Why did you go to cross infont of that car???? I don't care if they are stopped!! They have the right of way!"
Unleashed was this over-protective mommy that couldn't just let the boys ride...
My justification is the fact that it only takes ONE wrong move between you and a car and that is it!!! There is no replay or learning curve!
ahhhhhhh just typing this I feel myself tensing up. I know that if Rick were riding with them he woudl be a bit more laid back. Truly the majority of the time when they were making a riding infraction they were not in any serious danger, but still...before I can let them ride solo I NEED to know that they are going to follow the rules!

On a good note, Oscar came home alive and LOVED his first day. he loves his teacher ( who on more than one occcasion has been described to me as the very best teacher). He is excited to learn and was exstatic taht they got to climb on the climbing wall in P.E. today. He ifnormed me that the younger kids aren't allowed to go to the top until they get bigger...he was a little diapointed but loved it anyway.

Poppy adjusted well to the one on one time, that is after she threw a few tantrums just to make sure she had my undivided attention.
tonight she used her sweety voice and was a nice bird. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

Dog days of summer...

(Poppy girl happy as a clam in the mud!)

I'm currently wrapped up in a warm blanket posting a blog about the toasty days of summer...Why you ask am I bundled in a hoodie and blanket? Let's just say that this summer mama is not accustomed to the 60 degree weather we have had for the past few days...therefore i will indulge in a little bit of some warm day recap!

(And here is clam #2 Ivy bug basking in the muddy goodness)

If there is one thing that can be said about summer, it would be the copious amounts of food snacks that get devoured at all hours of the day. In fact, as you can see all of these kiddies are loving the treats that us three mommies had to share. In fact I think there is an unspoken rule that if you are meeting for a picnic with friends be sure to include extras so that it can become a snacking feast.
Oscar ate nearly nothing (aside from the brownie Betina brought)...he was much more content swimming or laying in the sunshine.
And what summer on the Palouse could be complete without seeing a bit of the food chain. Here we see a barge full of the Palouse gold...wheat! So cool to see the wheat go from the green stubble in the spring, to the golden flowing fields in July, to the combine, grain truck, barge, bag, and then...to my wheat grinder where I always love to open the flour catcher to a dust of freshly ground flour.
There is something special about living amongst such active agriculture. I love it!

Now if this Pregnant mother could learn how to cook again, we might be in business. Seriously I think my family may throw me out and never let me come back! i wouldn't call myself a Fabulous cook, but I have been known to cook some tasty food, that is when my taste buds are in normal order. Let's just say last nights dinner was not so great. It may have something to do with the fact that I CANNOT taste test the food during preparation without it becoming a black listed food.
Sad dinner days at the Edge house...fair warning to all who dare to share a meal at this house!! That is, unless Ricky is on duty and then all is well.

Eight years plus...

Eight Years ago today Ricky and I were on our honeymoon in Jackson Hole/Yellowstone National Park. I had forgotten to pack any sort of hiking shoes, and only had my Wedding dress wedge flip flops and my generic flip flops...not the best choices when you are planning an outdoors honeymoon. To make things worse my regular flip flops broke the first day and I managed to pick up some sort of illness that left me puking (no I was not pregnant).

My poor sweet husband I'm sure was wishing he could step back a day to find his more collected and level headed Fiance'. If he was in fact thinking this, he didn't show it one bit. He was supportive and bought me some Pepto-Bismal at the wee hours of the morning to calm my wrenching stomach.

After I believe three days of very low-scale hiking (yes we found a replacement pair of flip flops) we decided that it was time to head home...who cares if it was a couple of days early??? It seemed that the cure laid back in our humble little apartment.

This certainly wasn't the Honeymoon that story books are made of, but it was nice. It was nice because every day, trip and experience from that moment forward has just kept getting better. I can think of a hundred vacations that were more fitting of the typical honeymoon mold. Yet, I still hold on to that honeymoon as the beginning of something great.

I really can't think of anyone that could be a better fit than my Ricky (here is where he gags on my sentimentality) but really...I'm a happy girl, with a happy family, in a happy place. What more could I ask for. Life is good!!!

Grandma and Grandpa's visit...plus Anutie Nat

To see some the fun pics of the bike riding excursion to Harrison you can check out this blog and this one...in the meantime, here are some fun shots of the visit...from my lens. The same lens that forgot to accompany us on the bike ride. But was lucky enough to capture...

Grandpa trying out the wet slide...

Grandma Toting around the Poppy Princess...

And two soggy bottoms.

It was so fun having the family around. It makes me miss all of the fun times that families have that live a bit closer. But as they always say...it's Quality, not quantity that counts.
Thanks G&G+N for coming to visit. We miss having your fun faces around.

Oh, so good...and Oh, so bad

When Pregnant I develop this strange relationship with food. At first I hate ALL of it. Nothing is good everything is bad, and if I'm not careful the food may remain on the Black list for a very long, long time...
I then seem to go into transition where food becomes something of a obsession...In fact I clearly remember (and Ricky does too) that when I was pregnant with Oscar we went on a date to a Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant (a buffet, salad bar type joint). You take a plate and fill it with whatever you like and then take a seat and eat.
After getting my food and sitting down to the table Rick looked at me, looked at the plate, and said "Are you really going to eat all of that?"
At that very moment I had no clue that my plate was actually THAT full. In fact if I recall, I remember eating ALL of it and then going to the little dessert bar for some tasty ice cream. I was in my second trimester, when I start to feel alive again and food tastes like you have never had good food before.
Shortly after this "date", my Doctor informed me that I had gained 9 lbs in ONE month. He said I should probrably watch what I was eating a little closer...

I share this experience, not so much to illustrate my complete loss of self control, but to put down on blog, a very important truth...Food never tastes SO good, and SO bad as when I am pregnant.
Case in point...Yesterday while at the Farmer's market, we collected our fresh veggies and proceeded to ride our bikes home.
Rick had picked up a few danishes to eat at a stopping point on the way home. For the entire 10 miles to that stopping point my mind wandered through various types of food I would have very much liked to have been shoving down my face at that very moment...Patty's kitchen tamales, burritos, the danish sitting in the trailer in front of me...the list goes on and on.
It was as though My mind was in a constant state of food lust.
When we finally stopped to enjoy the treat I was completely in foodie heaven...Never had I tasted a danish that was so delicious! It was light, fluffy with tart cherries and some heavenly creamy cheese middle. In fact as I sit here typing this, I find myself wishing it were not Sunday, and that I could venture over to Moscow to find another.
I may find myself at the Wheatberry bakery tomorrow after spin class, and I may also gain 10 lbs this month, but wow....they are delicious.

Next up is the delicious dinner we had last night. Ricky took me out to Swilly's (a local favorite) for our 8 yr anniversary (I'll post on that tomorrow).
For dinner I ordered come green curried trout, with a tomato-coconut curry sauce, placed over jasmine rice and green peas. Once again I ate every bite with a renewed love of fish and all things curry! Food was suddenly my best friend and I relished in every bite.

Yesterday was a good day...not too sick and overall wonderful. Had it not been each of those items could very well have ended up on my black list...

I'm sure it has something to do with teh old addage that "you have to have somthing bitter so that you can taste the sweet" that makes the whole fenomenon occur. In the mean time I'm really looking forward to briding the second trimester mark, where I'm past that nausea and all food tastes good, nearly every day...
Oh, and I'm certain to be craving those danishes for the next 6 months!!!