Note to self...

When purchasing an item on-line and from the UK...It would be smart to note the exchange rate from pounds to dollars before purchasing said item. Rather than having the husband get the credit card statement and ask "how much was ___ item?" Only to find that it was double what I thought it would be.

Happy 31 Ricky!

You can see here by his charming good looks and great legs...why I can't help but gloat over such a great husband!
Saturday Ricky turned the big 31. To celebrate, me and the kids took him camping...ate at a little Old European restaurant (not so great), did a 15 mi run, and went and saw Shrek the Third.
All the while, he was his great, accommodating self for my sometimes less-than-well planned out activities.
Tonight, we had his tasty birthday cake. I can't help but wish that we had gone digital back when we were first married...oh, the good pics I would be able to post...but these are pretty good too!

Here is a glimpse at the fun and joy I have, being married to the Rickster. He certainly brightens our world. Rick seems to bring out the best in me...pushing me to new lengths (literally...yesterday he carried all of our water and support for our 15 mi run...Me? I carried nothing!) Not to mention that he frequently will push our two children on 13 mi runs!! His strength and endurance is quite amazing!
(I'm sure he is blushing right now as he reads this...) ;0)
And last but not least...I can't help but adore the fact he adores our kids...and they adore him. He is such a great daddy!
Happy Birthday Numero-Uno Big Papa!

Pics: Ricky on our mother's day ride, Ricky sharing the simple-

but cool things of the world with lil'O, and Ricky and Poppy on the

beach last fall.

Tattle Tell

"MOM! The wind is following me!!!!" (whined in the usual tattle tell tone)
My response...
"Wind, Stop following Oscar!"

Living without ID

Tuesday morning my spouse left on a business trip for four days...Taking with him my purse that I accidentally left under the driver seat. Since Tuesday I have been trying to survive without my purse. At first it seemed impossible...then I went to my bank and asked them to give me money (without ID). I had my check book in hand however and they were kind enough to oblige. I then went to the grocery store and they allowed me to write my check and the clerk was nice enough to let me go without ID.
Since then I have been doing alright...surviving with the $ the bank gave me. I do however experience this panicky, naked feeling without it. Today, being that I forgot to purchase some of the groceries we needed...I tired to write a check. The clerk however was not as nice, and made me use the cash I was reserving for "just in case". I hate having to reiterate my story about my situation, in hopes that they will count me honest enough to let the no ID thing slide.
I have found I really do need my drivers license and bank cards to feel comfortable in a store...knowing that if at any moment they ask me for the ID to prove my Identity, I can give it to them. I find myself getting red in the face at the idea of writing a check out, hoping that they are not going to ask for my ID.
Discovering that I could have millions of dollars in the bank and no way to really access it with a check, without ID, is quite frustrating! Not to mention the people behind you in line who are listening in on my dialog with the clerk, who are no doubt trying to decided weather or not they should trust me. I find it all very disturbing!
As of tonight, I have $14 left of the money I took from the bank and one day left until dad's return. I think I can make it. Next time I think I will be a bit more prepared!

Happy Five to Lil' O

Five Years ago at this very moment I was sitting in a recovery room admiring the little hands and feet of our little Oscar. I remember thinking that he had a great head! The perfect side profile, identical to his dad's. He was such a pretty baby (I'm not bias...Poppy wasn't as well defined and proportioned as lil'O). One thing was for sure and that was that Ricky and I were so excited to have our boy. I don't think that has changed. Him and his daddy are still like two peas in a pod.
I can hardly believe he is five! I know we hear that all of the time, but it is sooo true!
Some time warp has taken place and left me with this adorable, smart, funny, quirky little boy who thinks he is full time super-hero, part time boy and brother.
That was then...
This was Monday...Oscar's Progressive birthday. With daddy being out of town today, we celebrated his birthday on Monday. I made a smokin' volcano cake, and Oscar got his new bike.
Road rash won't spoil this boy's enthusiasm. He begs me at every down-time moment to be on his bike. This boy was born to ride! I can't help but want to just squeeze him and snuggle him...He is after all still my little boy.

Mother's Delights

Nothing quite says "Happy Mother's Day!" quite like: A Yodeling concert, sour dough waffle breakfast, fresh lilacs on the table, fresh trout dinner, strawberry layer cake, with a little road rash on the top!
Ah, Yes...all the typical family variety spice, that keeps us Mommies coming back for more. I have definitely had a perfectly great weekend.
Saturday: Sour dough pancakes, 13mi run, yard work, pizza, Oscar's bike ride with his new bike garb (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Edge), Rick and I leaving the kids with the babysitter for a Wiley Gustafson concert (one of my little known secrets is that I adore yodeling! It makes my hart sing! Seriously, it was probably the best concert I've ever been to!).


Sunday: Sour dough waffles, Dancing around the house to my new yodeling CD with my kiddies, our regular Sunday walk, Church, a tasty dinner, then a bike/walk with little O' that tragically ended with his first good dash of Road rash. After my special mother touch of band-aids, hugs and kisses, my kiddies are now tucked sweetly in bed.

The happy days of motherhood...sweet, spice and everything nice. Happy Mother's day to all of our sweet moms in blog world!

Oscar sprouts bike wings...

Yesterday Oscar sprouted his bike wings...on his first try he was off and flying. Two days ago he decided he didn't want his training wheels on anymore...yesterday he took flight.

Honesty...the best policy!

Earlier this morning as my kiddies and I were entering a book store to purchase our Grandmommy presents, I happened to notice two, somewhat odd, gentlemen standing outside the door. Thinking nothing of it, we went in the store, made our purchase and continued to the car. Upon arrival one of the characters (we'll refer to him as "Shades") approached me and said "Excuse me, I think you must have brushed your car against mine". Being entirely unprepared for such an inquiry I was taken back.
I said I'm sorry I really didn't brush up against your car. "Shades" looking at me with disbelief showed me the mark and (honestly the mark was in a position that truly it would have been very difficult to do) even after seeing the little scuff mark I apologized (because it seemed like a nice thing to do) but I said I'm certain I did not bump his car.
So, here is the dilemma...A. Yes there was a scuff mark...B. I know I did not make the mark...C. I really felt somewhat like it was a set up...(I should probably note that the car was a really nice royal blue BMW coupe)(These two gentlemen were students...I could tell because their car was packed with all of their belongings...and they seemed to be just standing around watching the people coming and going).
It was all so strange! After discussing the scuff and me explaining that honestly I did not make the mark, "shades" said "well if you didn't do it I guess you didn't...I guess I'll just have to see if I can buff it out" (said in a tone that was meant to inflict guilt and a confession).
After leaving the parking lot I called my lawyer husband to see if there was something more I should have done...and of coarse he said I probably should have called the police. So, as I arrived home I called and explained to them what happened...just in case "shades" decided to call in a hit and run or something.
Now, a few hours later an officer called to see about my report and he informed me that they haven't received anything at all.
So, now I feel like a schmuck! Here I was feeling like a victim of circumstance and treating "shades" like he was a conniving student looking for an easy target to blame his scuff mark on.
I realize that I was hurt that someone would question my honesty. Yet, at the same time I was questioning his!!!!! I truly did not do the scuff mark, and truly there was a scuff mark. So, why was I so brash to think that he would be trying to frame me???
I am sad that we live in a world where we question honesty and integrity because we are afraid of being naive and stepped upon. I don't feel bad about not confessing...(I had done nothing wrong)...but I'm sad that out there somewhere "shades" is questioning my integrity.
So, Shades if you are out there in blog world reading my blog...I hope that the scuff buffs out! Sorry I doubted your intentions.

Embracing Avacado!

Tada! Here we have the new and improved Avocado Kitchen decor. Looking at the top left corner you will notice the sweet, vintage, light fixtures we inherited with the house. Along with the lights, we have the avocado counter tops to boot!
When one is placed in such an environment, they have two choices...A. Convince the husband that the light fixtures and counter tops must GO! Or B. she can Embrace the Avocado!!!!
Here you can see my completed curtains along with the lovely chocolate colored walls.
I think I really like it...Ooops...did I say that out loud????
I have included a picture of the "knobs" I had ordered...After Painting them to look like the actual knobs I ordered...this is what the finished knob looked like. (No need to fear, I called the knob company and they said they would give me a discount, considering the knobs looked quite different than advertised.)
So, there you have it...looks a bit like minty chocolate!

Seaport River Run

70 degrees, dogwoods blooming, kiddies in the stroller with the hubby long-gone, smiley by my side...ah, the sweet feeling of a good Saturday run.
Yesterday, we did the Seaport River run 10k in Lewiston. It was a beautiful day (warmest day yet of the season). On this particular run, when you get to the end of the run you get a boat ride back to the start. It was sooo much fun. Smiley was over-heating for the majority of the run. (I think he needs to lose more of his winter coat.) Twice I had to stop for him to get a drink and to dip himself in the river. He was pretty exhausted by the end.
As for the Rickster...he pulled a 44 min flat pushing the stroller(didn't even phase him!). I did my own pace and did a 52 min. We had a great time and polished off the day with a little yard work and a swim.
Oh, how I love the longer days of spring with nice weather and the fun of spending time with my family!

Ebay treasures...

Recently we have had occasion to purchase a few items on eBay. I thought I would share our treasures with you!

Ricky's New wheels...After pulling the third-wheel and being shaken up a bit we decided it was time to get a bike with a little bigger tires and a more sturdy frame. (Last night I pulled the third wheel behind my bike and I can attest to the very unstable, (especially when climbing) and quite tricky balancing act. Also, the Rickster will be able to ride this bike to work without fear of losing his sweet Lightspeed.

Next up we have a dozen vanilla beans...great for making our own home-brewed vanilla!! Umm, I can't wait!
Lastly, I just purchased four of these sweet vintage knobs to accent my lovely avocado kitchen. The curtains I'm making will hang from the four knobs...pretty cute eh?

Well, that's all for now! Happy trails!

School Lunch...

Today we received word that our camera's repair is complete and I should have it back in four days!! Woohoo...I have been feeling a bit of a camera withdrawal. So, here is a Oldie-but-goodie pic of the Popster last summer (she kept her outfit entirely clean!).

A few days ago one of my friends approached me with an idea about trying to re-inspire the school lunch system within our area. The main premise of the idea is that we would try to convince the school board that instead of feeding our kids the trans-fat laden, sugar loaded, pre-processed food that they are currently receiving. We would try to devise a plan/alternative that would supply our children with healthier food at school.

Basically the thought process of this brainchild is this: With the childhood obesity epidemic taking hold of our nation, and with children who probably rarely ever eat "whole" foods, why is it that our school systems encourage this poor dietary consumption. It would seem logical to me that children being in a learning environment should be learning how to eat well. Why is it that if parents such as myself, want my child to have a "real" meal for lunch, I have to send it with my child who will, no-doubt, actually want to eat the pre-processed terriyaki-dippers(that was actually on the menu this week) that all of his friends are eating?
It would seem like a much better idea to serve our children healthy whole foods and then if the parents decide that their child would not like to eat the real food, they could send the wonder bread/ Bologna sandwich with Velveeta on the side. Have we as a society just embraced the fact that obesity and poor nutrition are the norm? Do we sit complacency on the side and let these health issues destroy these children, before they have a chance to make the choice to eat healthy? We tell them they should be eating whole grains but we don't supply them with it. We tell them that fruit and vegetables are good and delicious, but we give them canned processed, syrup laden food. What ever happened to actually giving kids fresh fruit and veggies?
With all that being said...I am trying to devise a way that we could encourage others to see the good that could come from giving these kids at least one good meal a day...especially if the parents aren't helping them with good food choices.
I recently heard on NPR a report that said, that the lower class of America tends to be the most at risk for obesity. During the study they actually showed that when people were obese their earning potential goes down and that when they lost weight their earning potential went up.
It seems strange that the poor people of our country are the people who are struggling the most with obesity. Does that seem backwards to anyone else? OK, I think you get my point here...sorry to get on a soap box...but I would love suggestions and ideas from the blog world. Surely there must be a way to gain leverage against obesity. It seems to me like a good place to start would be with our children.

Luau Limbo...

Jack be nimble, jack be quick...Jack jump under the limbo stick...
Yes, tonight I nearly (that is, I was the last person over 3 ft, to be standing) won the limbo contest at our ward's Luau. Not to worry, the little munchkins beat me out, including Oscar. I still felt this surge of joy at the fact that I could make it under the stick at all (as a side note: tonight I have discovered an advantage to having a depleted chest size)!
Oscar however, is quite devastated the he was not the "winner". After we were both disqualified, he got all teary and sad. In fact, still at this very moment, he is in his bed bemoaning the fact that he was not the limbo champ.
I tried to comfort him by saying..."don't worry, you still beat me!"... and..."It's OK I still love you"...but to him, the limbo loss is a setback. To this I'm certain there won't be a question of whether or not he can successfully win at the limbo, on his college entrance application. But to a 4 and 3/4 yr old tonight, the limbo is everything.
Oh, to be back in the time of my life where such travesty is just too much to bare. In fact the funny thing about doing the limbo tonight is that is brought back all of these fun memories of doing the limbo as a kid. I also was doing the face painting booth tonight, and had a great time drawing doodles from my younger years.
My cousin Heather and I would sit and paint on our arms and legs for hours as kids. We would doodle on paper and pretty much anything we could find. She still is very much into art, and is creating quite a name for herself in the art world.. as for me, it is a past time that is fun to visit from time to time.
So, tonight as we go to sleep, I'll dream of past times and memories of being a kid...while Oscar dreams of how next time he will be the Limbo champ.
The Rickster did admit, that he too, was distraught for not winning the limbo when he was a kid. I suppose our little Oscar apple didn't fall too far from the tree.
Tomorrow...we will have a Edgie limbo contest, where we will all be winners!!!!

Random Tidbits

1. Mr. Digital camera took a fall and will be out of commission for a little while. Hopefully, all the kings horses and men will put him back together again!
I may have to go to photo archives to keep my blog a photo happening place.

2. Currently I'm on a no-junk food diet (including: anything chocolate, candy, cracker, snack food variety items) during the week. Having said that, this is what I ate this weekend (besides my regular food intake):

-Copious amounts of Easter candy that I deprived myself from during the week.

-Chocolate fudge strawberry waffles

-Strawberry yogurt ice cream with hot fudge on top (twice)

-Chips and salsa (due to comments, I may need to add this to the ok-to-eat list)

-Cookies from a going-away party

-A few chocolate chips

As of yesterday morning, I am junk-food free until Saturday! (Betina and I are still looking for a great reward for the winner who can do the challenge the longest. Any suggestions?)

3. I was recently thinking about Pullman and all the cool people I have met since we moved here. This is a list of countries that I have met people from:

-Ukraine: Natasha

-Russia: Irina

-Germany: Lotah and Umgard

-India: Susmita and family

-Korea: Lee family

-Palestine: Reem and Samer, and cute mom who was visiting

-Mexico: Javier and Sara

-Argentina: Marcos

-Ecuador: Andrea

-France: Natalie

-Canada: Betina and Family

-I have also met people who have (or will be) adopting babies from: Kazakhstan (Emma), Ethiopia (to be determined), and Guatemala (baby Marcos, not here yet, but soon!).

What a cool place to live where so many different cultures come together!

Oh, Boy!

While preparing for our wards primary activity yesterday. Oscar entertained himself by watering the flowers. Being the nice mom that I am, I told him to make sure and wash his feet off before he comes in the house. After a few minutes left alone, I looked out the kitchen window to find, my sweet little Oscar frolicking through the mud!
Oh, to be 4 3/4 and feel the sweet freedom of frolicking about, naked in the mud!

Easter Family Photo Success!!!

Recipe for a successful family Photo: 1. Forewarn husband and children of their desired cooperation in said activity(two weeks notice). 2. Take picture before church (instead of after), and following Poppy's nap. 3. Get a third party to take picture (rather than setting the self-timer like we normally do.) 4. Demand conformity and withhold Easter baskets to attain desired cooperation!
Now I'm happy to report that we took two good pictures (out of 10). Here are the two I liked best.
Not to worry however, I wasn't too hard on them. I even let them play in their Sunday clothes following photo shoot. Daddy was pleased to have the pictures over with.
Best part of it all is that we now have a family photo, with me included, that doesn't have me wearing Lycra! Woo Hoooo! We have now saved the eyes of our posterity. Not to mention captured my cute family in their Sunday best. :0)

Static!

Poppy reminds me of a Fraggle. Her wispy fuzzy hair and big eyes. She is this little Fraggle puppet who buzzes around the house like a busy bee. She is sweet and adorable, smelling all the sweet flowers of life. Then all of a sudden, she stings the innocent passer-bys. Yes, she has a stinger made of little pinchers. Frequently she applies her pinching to the Lil'O. Then she runs away for one second then returns for a second shot. She is quite the little tease. I know immediately where she genetically received that quality (and it wasn't the Y chromosome).
Some of her sweeter attributes include (but not limited to): She can dance...this little girl has a groove. She has this contagious laugh that makes you want to squeeze and tickle her. She also has quite a few words...Cookie, daddy, momma, BOY (this is what she calls Oscar), dogie, more, please, thank you, NO, ninky (binki), bottle, yucky, kitty, up. She knows how to get peoples attention (good or bad). She also has developed a talent of eating dog food and mixing the dog's water and food together (just think she is a cook in training!).
This little fire cracker of a girl, is so adorable you can't help but adore her...but be careful...she bites!

Postal package delight!

In the world of Edge, there is nothing more exciting than getting a package in the mail. The minute we get a package we go through the routine of calling Grandma to see if it is something we can open "now"(vs. waiting for birthday, Christmas etc.)
Today Oscar, the spideysuperbat hero, received a new addition to his super-hero wardrobe. A spiderman glove that has multiple attachments including water-sprayer web action, actual silly spray action, and a torpedo/suction cup shooter. Now what in the world could a super-hero fanatic want more?
He has spent the last two hours alternating between the three attachments.
Grandma seems to know just what is the coolest stuff kids could want. Poppy was given this super-cool all zipper purse that if you unzip any of the 17 zippers that make up the bag, you can see inside. What girl wouldn't love a bag like that??
Grandma also likes to include things of great humor quality...
While they were visiting a couple of weeks ago. We went out for Chinese food. Oscar was quite sleepy and grumpy at the time and was not the usual lovable boy we typically enjoy. No, we actually left the restaurant, me carrying him, with him screaming "I WANT A FORTUNE COOKIE!!!!".
Quiet amusing for the other customers and grandparents... to the parent traumatic.
Grandma was gracious enough to include in the package a delightful little box of fortune cookies. Clearly compensating for the mean Mommy's denial of said cookie, because of poor behavior.
Thank you Grandma for supplying all the truly fun things we own and enjoy. You definitely know how to make the grand kids happy!

The Eaton Ranch and a recipe...

Today we Edgies had the pleasure of going to the Eaton ranch. This is owned by Nikki (a friend I met who takes my spinning classes) and her family. They raise organic beef...If you are in the market for some sweet beef check out thier website.

We had the pleasure of roaming the Wawawai grade hills, shovel in hand, eliminating the thistles that dared to rear their fuzzy heads. The kids and Smiley had a great time roaming in the freedom that only a farm can bring. Here are a few pics from the day trip.
Recipe: This is a tasty recipe we like to eat over rice. Poppy loves the stuff... Hope you like it. I would give you the source for the recipe but, my lawyer husband informed me it would be copyright infringement. So, I omitted the source. If you like the recipe and want more like it let me know and I'll tell you where I found it! ;0)

Cajun Skillet Beans

1 medium onion,

chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 celery stalks (about 1 cup chopped)

2 green or red bell peppers (about 1 1/2 cups chopped)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

pinch each cayenne and salt

2 cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes (14.5 ounce can)

1 tablespoon honey or molasses 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 cups cooked black-eyed peas or navy beans (2 10 ounce frozen packages or two16-ounce cans, drained)

chopped scallions (optional) grated cheddar cheese (optional)

In a heavy saucepan or skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat. Chop the celery and bell peppers and add them to the pan. Continue to saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme, basil, oregano, black pepper, cayenne, and salt. Cover and cook for five minutes or until the onions are golden, stirring once or twice. Add the tomatoes, honey or molasses, and mustard, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the beans, cover, and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated. Canned beans will be hot in less than 10 minutes, but frozen beans need to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Top with scallions or grated cheese if desired, and serve.

A day in the life of another...

After posting my previous post I re-read it and realized how ungrateful and whinny it sounded. I do still have the dialog but really...did I need to post such trivial matters? Today as I logged into our Internet and our home page came up. NPR web page if you must know...there on the screen was an image from Iraq. It was a Picture of a little girl with blood on her face standing amidst some soldiers. My heart sank and I felt this pang in my heart for this little girl who was in the back of a car that was fired upon by US soldiers. The blood on her, was that of her parents.
As I pulled up the picture Oscar (who had been eating lunch on the table behind me) said "Mom what is that?". I explained it was a little girl who lived in a place where there is a war going on. He went on..."What happened to her?" Deciding that I should tell him the truth (clearly wanting to illustrated that "war" is not a topic to take lightly.) I explained that she was injured by soldiers that accidentally fired on her families car.
Oscar's eyes got very big with sadness and asked "Are the Soldiers bad guys?" (how exactly was I supposed to answer that one?) My response was that they were not "bad guys" but that sometimes in war bad things happen like this.
Oscar then asked..."What about her parents? Why is she so sad?"
I explained that her Mommy and Daddy died and the soldiers were trying to help her.
Oscar got really sad, looked forlorn and went and sat on the couch. I gave him a big hug (a hug that if I could give that little girl I would) and told him that the little girl was probably taken care of (to this I'm not certain). He then asked if her mommy would come back to life? I told him no. The soldiers would find her a home with someone to take care of her.

I'm saddened that there children in the world who don't have a Mommy to explain things to them. Sad that humanity has the capacity to do such horrible things. Yet, hopefully that I may give Oscar the capacity to love and to feel sorrow for those in distress and a hope that he may be able to comfort and care for those less fortunate than himself.

It is about his time I question my decision in sharing this information with my 4 3/4 yr old. I want him to understand that truly there are horrible things that happen in the world. At the same time I also want to shelter him and prevent him from ever having to experience such sadness and terror.

For those of us(myself included) who may take the Iraq situation lightly I would recommend checking out this blog. It is heart wrenching but helped me to truly understand the sacrifice that is taking place on both sides of this war.

If only there could be more peace and love on the earth (And a surrogate Mother for all who are without.)