Time out for Mom

Ladies Ride fall '08 L-R Me, Ana, Betina, Sue, Kelly, Aubree, and Maren
If you look closely you may be able to tell that us three ladies on the left are all pregos!

I've hit the good zone of pregnancy! I have energy again, food is yummy, and I feel that I can accomplish so much more. My sweet spouse suggested that I should organize a ladies bike ride for a bunch of us that enjoy getting together. I took him up on the offer, along with the superdaddy babysitting service he provided to the Workman kids. So, after he woke up at 5am and did his 12mi. run, he took charge of a bundle of kids.
In no way was I in desperate need of a time out day (time out as in away from my family vs. me with my nose in the corner), but it was a great day of feeling good and being lifted by the great and wonderful world around me.
After a ride from Pullman to Troy, we went to lunch at a local Italian spot. I came home to kids who had a great morning and a Hubby who was trimming the bushes and herding the kids.
We did a bit of cleaning and Yard work for a couple of hours before i again took leave to attend the General Relief Society Broadcast. As a group of women we stuffed humanitarian sacks for some of the local charities in our area. It was amazing to see how a group of women combine in a single cause could accomplish so much.
We then watched the broadcast, which truly filled my spiritual cup to the rim. I felt a renewed sense of my purpose as a mother, daughter, and friend.

I love my family, especially my kids and husband, but I am grateful for the wonderful day of rejuvenation I was lucky enough to experience!

Great memory of a Great Grandmother

My Great Grandma and Grandpa on their 60th Wedding anniversary. I was three years old. She died when I was 7. I didn't realize I had such a great memory from such a young age, until I went to find a picture of her. I soon discovered that our walks together had to be when I was five or six years old.
(In my calling at church I occasionally have to give a little Presidency message to the women of our congregation. Being that this has been on my mind this week, I thought I would share it with you too.)

As a little girl my Great Grandmother Esther Johnson and I would take walks around the neighborhood together. She was well into her late 80’s and was experiencing dementia. I remember my parents telling me to just listen if she began to repeat something she had told me before, and that is exactly what I would do.
Hand in hand we would walk; she adorned in one of her many flowered aprons, me happy to be along for the walk.
During our walks over and over again, she would repeat one of her favorite poems.
Come Little Leaves

"Come, little leaves,"
Said the wind one day.
"Come down to the meadow
And we shall play.
Put on your dresses
Of red and gold,
For summer is past
And the days grow cold."

As soon as the leaves
Heard the wind's loud call,
Down they came fluttering,
One and all.
Over the meadow
They danced and flew,
All singing the soft
Little songs that they knew.

Cricket, good-bye, we've been friends so long;
Little brook, sing us your farewell song-
Say you're sorry to see us go;
Ah! you are sorry, right well we know.

Dear little lambs, in your fleecy fold,
Mother will keep you from harm and cold;
Fondly we've watched you in vale and glade;
Say, will you dream of our loving shade?

Dancing and leaping
The leaves went along,
Until winter called them
To end their sweet song.
Soon, fast asleep
In their earthy beds,
The snow lay a coverlet
Over their heads.
By: George Cooper

I would walk and listen, never interrupting or reminding her that she had just told it to me ten minutes ago. I would listen as she rehearsed the words, images of dancing leaves in fall gowns would dance through my head. I would envision myself twirling in a golden gown of leaves.

Each fall as the air turns crisp and I see the first leaves fall, I remember the verse, and more importantly I remember my Grandmother. I can still hear her words and smell her dress. Fall fills me with a reminder of her, and all of the wonderful women who have graced this world before me, each of whom have left this world into the rest of God. I too can sense the desire to dance in meadows of life, singing a sweet song, until just like winter, God calls me home.

( I should note that I generally do not remember the poem in it's entirety...I had to look it up. But I generally remember the first, second and fifth verse. )

Acorn Cookies

CHOCOLATE ACORNS

1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided use
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
FOR DIPPING:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, 3/4 cup chopped pecans, and vanilla until well blended. Add flour and baking powder and mix well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Slightly flatten by pressing balls onto ungreased cookie sheets; pinch tops to point to resemble acorns.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

In top of a double boiler ( I just melt mine in the microwave) melt chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; keep chocolate warm over water in the double boiler.

Dip large ends of cooled cookies into the melted chocolate, then roll in remaining 3/4 cup pecans. Cool on wax paper to set chocolate.

Makes 3 dozen

A delicious fall treat!

View from Oscar's lens

Smiley...from Oscar's view.

Poppy...whats with her dress ensemble?? Can you tell that she has her arm through a hole in the dress?

And because I am rarely the one in FRONT of the lens. Here is a semi picture of the forth-coming bump. I know not the best picture, but it was last Thursday and Oscar was picture happy, and I happened to be the subject.
I wonder if all of the pictures we have of me in years to come, will all be from my kids stealing the camera???

In other news on "the bump" I had my Dr. appointment last week and I got to hear the heart beat. The Doc said she would bet it is a boy because it was so squirmy (not that it IS a boy). Doc said she will put in her notes what SHE thinks it is, and since we don't actually like to find out, she will see if she is right...who knows???
She also gave me permission to run the half marathon next month, if I'm feeling up to it. She said the only risk is falling and that if I feel like I have the skills then I can do it...We shall see.

Musings...

It occurred to me about ten minutes ago while cooking dinner, that although my blog is called motherly "musings" I really haven't done a whole lot of musing lately. I'm sure it is somewhat related to the lovely little being growing within my body, but still...I need to muse a bit more.

Here we go...we are musing...As the mother of our clan I have recently been on this roller coaster of ups and downs. Ups because I have two great kids who really do love me but downs because sometime they hate me too.
Currently we are up...They are happily playing together outside (and have been for the past hour) . Contentedly they are making up games, sharing and keeping each other happy. I love it because I know that they miss each other lately because Oscar is a full time student, and I can't help but beam with happiness when they escape in to play land and love being together.
Then on the downs side...
Take for instance two days ago when the mother of the house had declared (early in the morning) that their rooms were a mess and would need to be cleaned before they were allowed a play day. To much weeping an wailing. Not to mention that BOTH of them explained to me in great detail that they do not know how to use their fingers to pick things up.
Oscar then informed me that he works much harder than I do and that i was the meanest of moms. I then explained that he coudl make dinner, so the laundry and clean up all of the other rooms int he house if he wanted to wage a worker war.
He informed me that he spent a lot of time at school in SCIENCE working on rocks!!!! It was very hard work!!!!!! (tune in the wailing and tone of injustice)

It was in this moment that I had a moment of clarity...here is my boy who indeed had had a very busy day at school with science. And was not allowed to do what he wanted to do all day long (like in the pre- 1st grade days). I suddenly realized that yes, he was indeed a hard worker and I love that, but I'm still NOT goign to be the one to pick up all of his mess.
I even gave him the opportunity for help by telling him to separate his clothes in to clean and dirty and then i would help him pick up the piles.

Finally, after a couple of hours. He hurried and finsihed things up and was done in 10 minutes.
That leaves the other 110minutes of play time totally wasted!

Poppy on the other hand still kept insisting that she did not know HOW to pick up the beads on her floor...I had already picked all of the clothes and the ONLY thing she had to pick up were her spilled beads. Alas, she took 3 hours and the help of a kinder, more gentle father who taught her how to use her fingers to pick them up.

It was a rough afternoon. Not to mention the fact that this mother had all sorts of fun things planned to do. I wanted us to do a fun trip to the library as a family, take some cookies to a friend, and have a fun FHE. All of which I tried to bait my kids with and was totally unsuccessful.

I suppose that is how it goes...I don't want to be the bad guy (truly I do not), and I certainly would have loved to help my kids with thier rooms, had they not been willing to help me. And at the end of the day I hope they have learned this lesson becasue next time...I really want to go play!

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.