Sunday Walk

Feeling Thankful...in a nutshell

Felling VERY thankful for...

1) Friday.....and I'm not on call this weekend...need I say more :-)

2) A recent wonderful email from my lovely Grandparents, 80 years young and going strong. My Grandma Sheila has gotten wonderful news from Stanford that the carcinoid, (a form of cancer) she has been fighting is under control! Still a daily battle for her, but such great news for the best Grandma you could ask for!
3)These two lovely boys. Forrest with his smiles, growing vocabulary which is primarily positive and loving, and crazy spirit, (takes some getting used to, but still wonderful!)  Having a conversation with Forrest is wonderful. Sure there are still aggression issues, obedience issues, etc, but he is becoming a person. A person full of ideas, mostly good, nice, and thoughtful ones. When he will converse with you, he is a small amazing human being. We read books together every night and he LOVES this. He snuggles in your lap and we read and read until bedtime sneaks past us. Very thankful for these moments!

And Talin, my wonderful blue-eyed baby. I NEED him to stay a baby just for a while longer! I love his little baby feet and toes, his joyous expressions at the simplest things, (a spoon sends him over the moon!) Life is wonderful when so simple. I have had several of my wiser patients tell me I should hug him extra hard, as their babies are all grown up and have babies and grand babies of their own and there is "truly nothing like a baby to make you smile". I agree. He is really amazing. To hear this from an 80 year old who has fought breast cancer, an invasive belly surgery, and a broken hip all in the same year....well....you tend to listen. Savoring these moments as much as I can as he is now a mobile baby, scooting around, and full of smiles, laughs, baby language, and "mamamamamamamamamamamamaaaaaaa"   :-) :-) :-) 



4) My hubby, hard working, fish catching, wonderful partner. He is also a happy camper as his steelehead have shown face and he has been catching dozens of the fishies down at our beach and up river, (as witnessed by the last post...) A break in the grueling firewood routine by a few hours of fishing can really lift the spirits!!! He has been amazing in picking up the loose ends, be it dishes, laundry, or kiddie detail, he is there!!! I love him SO much!

5) For my body. I'm working on it....trying to mold it back into decent shape after two babies and lots of physical inactivity have left it pretty weak. I truly believe if I had never been a rower in college, and therefore not known what good shape our human body could be in, I wouldn't be so motivated to try and make it STRONG again. Maybe not college rower strong, but strong enough for this mama to chase after her boys, for her to keep up with a good garden, to kayak the river, to run or ride a race if she felt so inclined, and, most importantly, for her to feel truly happy. I do now completely realize that my happiness and therefore my thankfulness, really does stem from a strong body...
So therefore, it's in the works, a few workouts at a time, (the goal is 4 a week), and a LOT of sore muscles, ( and I mean a lot....I kind of doubt my abs will ever get back to the way they were! Sculling crunches...what is that? I would be happy to do 10) I hope we will get there one day. I'm just happy for the opportunity at the moment. Opportunity means goals get achieved. It will happen....

"Worry less. Smile more. Accept criticism & failure. Appreciate. Listen. Don't hate. Love deeply. Embrace change. Take chances. Be thankful."

                                                                                    -unknown

Yet another Fulton Fish Adventure...

Days like these make me SO thankful for the beautiful and amazing home we have.

As you all know...we have two young ones under 3. I think everyone would agree that this scenario equals a HUGE ordeal to really go anywhere out of the house. Driving to that place....ginormous ordeal. Okay, so maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion, but we seriously hole up during the weekends. Fulton hemits, yes we are. I relish not having to be ANYWHERE by ANYTIME, with dozens of people counting on me to do what I do. It really is my sacred time.
So....just how sweet is it when the rain gives us a break, the river finally drops a bit and cleans up, and the Fulton Family comes out of the little ranch cave and wants to adventure! All just with a hike out our front door! Mind you, we still pack up the whole nine yards, with kiddies you have to. But no driving, no money spent, no worries over car sickness, getting somewhere in time, or who we might see when Talin poops up to his ears or Forrest tests his vocal cords and brute almost 3 year old strength, (oh except the occasional bald or golden eagle, bear, or steelhead...;-)
So....you get my drift. Pictures follow on our great little outing today. It wasn't without tears, or major dumps, or even a fall in the river, (first of many for Mr. F I'm sure...)
But it was with some great fishing for Forrest and Alex, some great hiking and outdoor time for little T and myself, and some outstanding beauty for all of us...

Forrest gets a keeper! Hatchery steelie...

Food and fishing all at the same time...bliss I tell ya...

Happy and always hungry river baby

Father and son, with many more to come like these....:-)

In awe of the steelie....

Little T, waiting for his turn with the rod!

The weekly grind...

"Heigh Ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go...."

 I'll call it the weekly grind because for our schedule it's just that. Every Monday night I pack for much of the week. We spend the night in town closer to my work 2 nights a week so this means making sure the appropriate clothes, diapers, milk, toys, etc get put in the car. This also means timing it all right to be sure someone or TWO someones don't puke their little breakfasts up. This last week it was Mr. F who's stomach lurched...and let me tell you that starting the week with vomit in your backseat just isn't all that peaceful, serene, or even tolerable! But, we're slowly developing a routine...and just when I think I've figured out how to manage it all, something changes. The last two weeks it has been Forrest realizing he can climb out of his crib. I know, this really should have happened years ago, and physically he's been probably able to do it for at least 1 1/2 years. But, now he KNOWS he can and our somewhat peaceful bedtime routine has been shot down. 8:00 bedtime? No way. Now it's 9:30, if we're lucky. Couple this with sleeping in the same room as baby T and myself at my mother in law's house, a couple of night terror's on Mr. F's part, and Mr. T not sleeping through the night and WHAM!!!
you get a very grouchy mama feeling very overwhelmed.
So, change it up again..... I think it's better to just go home, do the hour drive each way, and be in our own space, with our own rooms, so at least some sleep is had. At least until something else changes, which could be in months, or days, who really knows.
Much worth the drive I think.
One of the biggest realizations about parenthood, especially parenting TWO, is that you really relinquish control. That feeling is not fun. You've got to roll with the punches, be able to see other options, even if they aren't ideal.

The second realization, equally important, is the beauty of a good partner. This is the primary reason for me deciding to just go HOME when Ive got both boys, he's my sidekick in this adventure of parenting and without him, and WITH a full time job I really don't like how I feel. Those that are single parents, major props to you!
Trying to keep it all sane over here in the woods...
and we get some moments like the one below, taken on a little "mama's trying to avoid the duo carsick kiddies" break on the top of one of the passes on my morning drive.
Pretty serene....for the moment ;-)

Talking about the weather....again...

It seems we talk about the weather...a LOT....around here. Maybe because we live in an area where we do tend to get a bit more crazy weather, (I know, for those on the East coast or in Alaska, it's down right boring here probably...) or maybe because we do have to be out in it more than most due to our rural area, (can't just go shopping or go to the gym to get the rainy day crazies out here!)
Regardless, both Alex and I are regular NOAA watchers and it is not at all unusual to have the radar map going to see when and how much rain we're getting, and if we might get a break in it all for a brief time to get the kiddies and our crazy selves out of the house to keep from going totally nuts...
Yes, totally nuts. Two little ones that LOVE to be outside under 3 years of age, and two snotty noses nonetheless that probably shouldn't be in the cold rainy weather too much make it a bit nuts in our teeny tiny house. We may have a lot of land, but, you know if you've been here, our house is a bit small.
So....we get outside when we can. We've been lucky enough to have sunny (but oh so frigid!) weather thus far this winter. Now the rains have come with a bit of a vengence and we are trying to acclimate to the change. It is much warmer now, but the wet stuff does keep falling....and falling....and falling....with some areas near us getting a whopping foot of rain with this series of storms.
So....any cool rainy indoor activities you all have? (Besides the usual play-doh, endless choo-choo trains, fort building, dishes doing (Mr. F's fav) and loooooonnnnngggg baths?
In the mean time, in order to try not to go tooo bonkers, we'll just keep walking over here when the skies give us a break and don't absolutely pour down....

Juvenile bald eagle, greeting us on our rainy walk

Little T baby was all smiles! (maybe....;-)

The boys surveying at River Bend

Loving the cold winter sun....

Winter wagon walks = one happy but tired Talin = one LONG afternoon nap, (I hope!!!!fingers and toes crossed!)

Talin baby, knocking on the door of 8 months old....

I really truly can't believe little Talin is already 8 months old! Forrest at this age was already practically walking....that fact stuns me and scares the willies out of me as the thought of two mobile boys is a bit hard to fathom!
Little Mr. T is still doing so well though. He, I am quite sure, will not be a 9 month walker as his brother was. He is trying to get more mobile, can pivot pretty well and rolls pretty well too. Still no actual crawling, and he does love to stand. We try to put him on his belly as much as possible though, as...again...the thought of two walkers is a bit scarey!
Talin has officially started daycare. 4 days a week he is now in another home, and lucky for me, a lady that lives just 1 block from the hospital I work at AND has extended hours when I need them. I often work very late Wednesday nights and she can watch him until 11pm if need be. An operating room nurse has her son there until this time, so that is always nice to have a comrad to do the late pick up with if need be. I absolutely hate leaving him there that late, but he is often asleep after 730 pm anyways and, I know he is in a safe spot, being well taken care of. I can also give my one late night a week and feel like I am contributing to my job as I should be. Still, it is not ideal in my mind, but it is working and on this late night Talin baby and I spend the night at my mother in law's house just a few short minutes from the hospital....so, no late long drive and a much better more relaxed morning as well for Thursday.
Talin  has definitely found his appetite. Although we are still breastfeeding, he seems to love food more than anything at this point. I'm doing my best to make our own babyfood as much as possible. We still have carrots, winter squash, and potatoes from our garden and some of his fav combos include all of the fore mentioned veggies with maybe a cooked apple, an avocado, or just a bit of olive oil, and all puree'd up to his liking of course. He is a big fan of the fruit and cereal as well, lapping the sweet stuff up with the best of them. And....yesterday was his first salmon dinner! I made a pureed salmon, avocado, and carrot batch that he loved....can't say this baby isn't getting his omega 3's! We do use a bit of jared food for daycare, simply because of the ease of it.
Talin does now have 2 teeth, popping his 2nd one out somewhere in between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. #3,4,5 and who knows how many are close behind though as he is a teething monster and we are keeping the chew toys, Motrin, and carrots close by.
Not sure of his weight, though he is comfortably in 9 month clothes and still has his beautiful blue eyes and big wonderful noggin.
Sleep and Talin are hit and miss. 2 nights ago he slept the entire night, 11 hours. It was....AMAZING. Every other night though, including last night, have been up and down....with us having to get up and soothe him several times, (thanks Honey for taking much of these little wakings,) and with me feeding him at 2 or 3 am. This age is hard, as I know he's teething like a little banchee, and I just can't let him cry and be in pain, much less wake up Forrest, so we are giving in, trying to soothe him, and hoping that we maybe get a few more of the entire nights full of sleep in the next...ehhh....year???;-)
We love our Mr. Talin baby....here's to the last 1/3 of your first year of life!!!

Christmas x 2!!!

Santa came!!!A train table for Forrest amongst other loot :-)

 This year our Christmas was broken into two, the first being on Christmas day with just our little family and Alex's mom, and #2 being on the 28th with my parents. I didn't have much time off for the holiday this year, but managed to sneak in the morning of the 28th off to be with my parents and family. It was a great time for all of us and our little kiddies made the day with their smiles and cuteness.

Talin baby has smiles for everyone

New waders for my hubby....

A new mountain trike for Forrest!

A new bath tub and sink fishing pole from Dad

What could it be???

....a Radio Flyer wagon!!! For the whole family :-) (great garden veggie loading wagon ;-)

Granny loving her little Talin

Talin with his loot

T baby's first Christmas in his mama's favorite hat

ring toss with Granny!

It was a fabulous week and we feel very grateful to have wonderful family and friends to celebrate the holiday with.

I'm one lucky wife and mama....

We are on our way to our wonderful neighbors house for Christmas dinner, but I have a spare moment to relay just HOW special and wonderful today has been. I, currently, am the proud and lucky girl to own a dishwasher!

YIPEEEEEEE!!!!
Those that know us also know that our house has not had a dishwasher. And I have wanted one for quite some time. Well today my mother in law bestowed one upon this crazy household for Christmas! I was not expecting it, but it is wonderful as it gives us more time to be together as a family in my mind, and less time for myself and my hubby to scrub dirty dishes, bottles, sippy cups, etc. Time is really truly the most valuable thing in the world right now, time spent RESTING, spending time with your loved ones, and yes, working at times.

Additionally, my hubby gave me....drum roll please....

Laundry baskets!!!! 5 of them!!!

And before you can roll your eyes and say "Aleeeeexxxx"....STOP...because, the entire gift was the fact that he is going to take over the kids and my laundry detail.
Yes...you heard right! Or at least I think I heard right....;-)   (right honey?)
And the 5 laundry baskets was his idea of "organizing" the situation.
Wow, I am one lucky girl I tell you.
 Truly the best two gifts I could have asked for.

PS Alex and the kiddos had a wonderful day as well, which will be shared later :-)

Merry Christmas to All....

Wishing everyone a great Christmas and 2012! We value and treasure all of the wonderful people and relationships this blog brings, weather it is strictly web based, (love all you mama friends out there!) or family and friends who check in to see how we are doing. We hope you all have a WONDERFUL holiday and new year!