Mom

How could I have written all those posts about life in Fallbrook and not mentioned my mom? Well, I better, because if anyone deserves props for those long weeks, it's her.  She was the one who had to put up with the 4 of us invading her space, her quiet, her privacy, her clean floors and her fridge.  She did mountains of laundry.  She made lots of cheese and crackers.  She took care of us when we were sick.  And, if she had any energy left at the end of the day, she made yummy dinners for her and I to eat in peace after the kids went to bed.  

Many nights though, we were both so tired we'd both fall asleep on the couch waiting for our husbands to call from Long Beach and tell us how soon, or not soon, they'd be done.

Oh yeah, and did I mention she had to live without her husband for weeks on end?  And have him be up at my house doing projects when she has a honey do list of her own that is rather lengthy.  That she held William and tickled him when he missed his Daddy so much.  That she listened to James and his million and 1 "do you know what, Granny?" And that she offered to let William or Lilly sleep with her on those long nights when both of them were waking up over and over and I thought I might die from fatigue.  Did I mention that?  

One day, James, Lilly and I were all sick.  I was laying on the couch, almost unable to move and holding Lilly to keep her from crying. James was on the floor.  William had completely covered the living room with toilet paper.  And she was going to the library to get movies for James to watch, to the store to get popsicles for me, and not saying a word about the chaos that my family had created in her home. 

 

I said it then, and I'll say it again.  Mom, you are a saint.  

Thanks for taking care of us.  Still.  You are the best.

Home is Where You Hang Your Hat

We moved in the day before Mother's Day.  It was an emotional day.  For all sorts of reasons. One of them was this.  My sweet husband had these roses, in a paint can, a card and our house keys waiting for me.  We'd been apart for 5 long weeks.  It felt like I was coming home, not just because we were finally back, but because I was finally back with him.  It was so good to be home.
There was still a lot to be done.  Besides the moving in, the unpacking of boxes and finding of things, there were still closets to be painted, and door knobs to be put on.  And the really bright yellow paint that I picked for the dining room to be covered up.  Aaron said it would be wrong. Why is he always right about this stuff?  
My Dad came back up and repainted the dining room for me the very first week.  He really came to finish the closets, but he did the dining room to make me happy.  What a wonderful Daddy I have.  I guess you never stop taking care of your kids.  The boys ate breakfast and watched Dziadzi paint.  
They used the boxes I unpacked as pirate ships and sailed the green seas of the backyard.  We all love that backyard.  
With each passing day, our house began to look more like our home.  We're setting up shop. We like our new to us coffee table and orange chairs.  We especially love our turquoise lamp.  I think we need a table for it though.

After years of waiting and saving we are finally here.  I tell the kids all the time how blessed we are to have a Daddy who takes such good care of us.  Our home is such an amazing example of this.  In a place and time where so many people can barely make it with 2 incomes, we do it on 1.  Aaron works very hard.  He was faithful to bring us to this point.  He is a good man.    

And while we never know what the future may bring, it is so good to be home right now.

The Last Hike

Well, not really the last hike, but the last for a while.  Auntie Kristen wanted to visit the Santa Rosa Plateau, and we wanted to visit the vernal pools that we learned about on our first trip, but didn't see, so off we went.

Even though we got there by 10 am, it was already pretty hot.  The ranger warned us about rattlesnakes, and bees, but said not to worry about the mountain lions.  "They're sleeping at this time of day."  Well, that's a relief.  We can relax.  

However, the instant we got out of the car, we heard this, rattle.  A lot of rattling actually.  It was loud.  We wondered.  "There can't be hundreds of rattlesnakes, right?  That's just the dry grass blowing in the wind.  Isn't there some bug that makes that sound?"  We stuck to the middle of the trail.

Do you see that dragon fly on the blade of grass?  Even though the vernal pools were mostly dried up and therefore a little disappointing, there was still enough water, and enough green grass to make it interesting.  We will go back in the winter, after some rain, when the pools are supposed to be beautiful.  The boys enjoyed the raised bridge.
And especially the view it offered us of snakes cooling off in the mud.  Auntie Kristen was the expert spotter.  The snake sightings were the highlight of the trip.  Especially since they weren't rattlesnakes.
We couldn't stay out much longer.  The sun was pretty intense and I had a baby on my back. We stopped to climb a tree. We were warned by a worried, grandmotherly hiker that there were hundreds of rattlesnakes around and we better stay on the trail.  We tanked up on water.  And then we headed back.
In a few days we were moving back home.  To our new home.  Let the new adventures begin!

I Miss the Beach

While we were still down in Fallbrook, it hit me one day. "I miss the beach."  At home, we see the water almost everyday.  We can smell the ocean.  Besides the park, the beach is our most common destination.  It had been nearly a month since we'd been there.  I love hiking the wilderness, but I love walking the sand too.  So we headed to South Carlsbad state beach. 

The waves, the sand, the sound of the surf, the sky, the smell of salt water, the circling birds, they restore me.  

It was nice to be there with the kids.

Cute.
Silly.
Fun.
Sweet.
Teething.
Still teething.
Wonderful.
Beautiful.

"How many are your works O Lord!  In wisdom you made them all: the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond numbers --living things both large and small."  Psalm 104: 24-25

I am thankful for the ocean.

Sick Day

What do you do when you are laying on the couch with the stomach flu, 2 of the kids are laying on the floor or you with the stomach flu and your very busy 3 year old is perfectly well and really bored?  You give him a roll of toilet paper and say "have fun."

And he did.

It bought me at least an hour.  Not very green, I know.  But totally worth it.

A Wilderness Adventure at the Santa Rosa Plateau

As mentioned before, I tried to make the most of our time away from home in the city, by taking advantage of country life.  We hit lots of hiking spots and this was a new one.  It is now a favorite.  

The Santa Rosa Plateau is way up in the hills above the Murrieta Temecula area.  The kids and I drove up one afternoon to check it out.  I was amazed.  It looks like what I imagine Southern California looked like a hundred years ago. It looks like what I wished Southern California still looked like.  There are oak trees and rolling hills and long waving grass, and quiet.  Just quietness.  No cars.  No voices.  No airplanes.  (at least while we were there).  We hadn't been on the trail for for 5 minutes when we saw a coyote under a tree right off the trail.  Boy was that exciting.  Maybe those warnings about mountain lions were meant to be taken seriously. 

After the coyote sighting, we stuck to a trail that had other people on it.  After all, I was a mom alone with 3 small children. I have to use some common sense when we are in the wilderness.  There were rattlesnakes to watch out for too.  
But even with a couple other people on the trail, it still felt like we were all alone, exploring this new and beautiful place. With every step, the views were more beautiful.

We saw California quail.  I just love the way they scurry into the bushes.  They are so cute.

We also spent a lot of time trying to identify mammal scat with this handy dandy paper give to us by the ranger.  The boys thought this game was delightful.  No mountain lion poop sighted, but lots of others.  We thought this one was coyote. 
There was so much of the trail left when we had to turn back.  But it was getting close to dusk and I didn't feel like being stuck on the trail at night.  We all voted to come back.  There are lots and lots more trails left.  I'd  to explore them all. Maybe with a strong man around to be on mountain lion watch.

I hope you'll visit the SRP.  It really is a beautiful place.  James thinks it would be good to bring our nature notebooks and draw all the animals we see.  But we'll be waiting for fall before we return.  Unless I get there at the crack of dawn, it will be too hot for kids.  And rattlesnakes like the heat.  

Happy hiking.

Wheelbarrow Rides

My dad gave us lots of rides when we were little: horsey rides, piggyback rides, crab walk rides, rides on the top of his feet, rides on the top of his shoulders, bike rides, and wagon rides. Wheelbarrow rides, though, were among the favorite.  These were not leisurely rides, taken at an easy pace.  Dad could never be that sedate.  He went fast.  He twisted and turned and went over every bump he could find so we would feel like we were going to fly out of the wheelbarrow.  The best part?  At the end of the ride, he's stop short.  Suddenly.  And he'd tip us forward until we were sure we'd fall out.

How we laughed and laughed.  And said "again, again!"  "More, Daddy, more!" 

He's still at it.  Another set of kids are in the wheelbarrow, but they are still laughing and loving it.  

"More, Dziadzi, more!"  

Thanks, Dad, for all the rides.  You made our whole life a fun ride.  And now you're doing it for my kids.  We all love you for it.

I intended this post for Father's Day, but as is my trend as of late, I am a few days behind.  But better late than never.  Happy Father's Day, Dad.  I love you.

Five

The day after Jack turned 6, James turned 5.  It was an unusual birthday.  We were still staying in Fallbrook and Daddy wasn't going to get to be with James on his special day.  Thankfully, he was able to get the day off and come down to surprise James.  We wanted to do something special all together on his birthday.  James picked Sea World.  So after presents and breakfast, we were off.

Oh, but before we left, we had to have cake.  Every year, I let the kids pick the kind of cake they want for their birthday. This year James picked chocolate with white frosting.  And he wanted a whole cake this time, not cupcakes.  Since we wouldn't be home until close to bed time, we did the cake before we left.  It was his dream come true.  Cake in the morning,  Right after breakfast even, not at snack time.  Bliss.  

These pictures are priceless.  They so clearly depict James and his love for food.  First of all, he is enjoying his favorite breakfast, eggs and toast, and when he was nearly done, he yelled out, "I'm ready for cake!"  But since there was still a bit of eggs and toast left on his plate, and he doesn't want to miss a morsel, you see him stuffing his mouth as the candles are being lit.  Oh James, I can relate.  We really love a good meal.

  

"It takes a lot of air to blow out 5 candles."  So says the wise 5 year old.

I can't believe it has been 5 years since that moment in the delivery room when my mom yelled, "it's a boy."  It was the greatest moment of my life.  I couldn't believe that the world outside my hospital room carried on as usual when the greatest miracle of all had just happened.  I had a son.

I still marvel at him daily.  I make sure I stop and look at him, hold him close, say, "I love you son."  I smooth back the hair from his forehead, I admire his little boy physique, his firm little body and smooth skin.  It wasn't very long ago he was learning to walk, and now he can swim the breaststroke, ride a bike and run really fast.  It has been 5 years.  3 more of those and he'll be 20.  Is it any wonder I feel weepy? 

James Westley Eskridge.  5 years old.

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear,  Jamers

Happy Birthday to you!

We love you so much.

Jack Turns 6

April is a busy month in our family.  We have 3 birthdays right in a row.  The 3 cousins, Jack, James and Cora. That is actually a real trend in our family, or may family at least.  My mom shares her birthday with my 2 brothers while my dad, sister and I have birthdays within a week of each other.  It can be hard to keep track of all these birthdays.

 

In fact, one of our favorite family jokes involves the time my brother Ben remembered it was some one's birthday, but he wasn't sure who.  Dad, Kristen, Greta?  Just to cover his bases, he called my parent's house and left a message on the answering machine saying, "birthday!  It's a birthday.  Birthday!"  

Neither my sister or I lived at home anymore, but I guess he figured he was getting the message to home base and the word would be passed along.  You can be sure that Ben's famous birthday message is now delivered every year.

  

Birthday!  It's a birthday! 

Our wild man Jack turned 6 and we helped him celebrate his birthday.  

Jack loved going at his pinata.  Being the birthday boy, he went first.  We weren't sure if there'd be any pinata left for the rest of the kids.  We also had to put up a barricade for the other guests to stand behind.  For safety.  They were kind of in awe of Jack's intensity.
It was William's first time hitting a pinata.  After his initial feelings of insecurity, he discovered he really enjoyed it.  He was all smiles when it was done.  That bag of candy was one sweet surprise.  He had to sit and relax with Papa John after all that work.

Unlike myself, neither my sister nor my Mom are big fans of throwing birthday parties.  (I believe I began planning my own birthday parties by the age of 8.  Maybe earlier.)  Despite this, both Mom and Kristen still do the parties.  I guess their love for their kids supersedes everything else.  I have many, many memories of wonderful birthday parties.  Sleepovers, beach parties, park parties, balloons, games, the guests and I even remember many of my presents.  

I know Jack will remember his birthday parties too.  So, even though you don't like to throw them Kristen, as usual, you are thinking of your boy before yourself.   You always do a great job. 

Happy 6th birthday, Jack.  We love you.

De Luz

De Luz is a rural area between Fallbrook and Temecula.   It has one of the last free flowing rivers left in California running through it, the Santa Margarita.  It has canyons, and rock mountains, and lots of wild animals.  Even though it is minutes from town, it feels like you've traveled far away.  It is a fun place to visit, especially with boys.  Especially with city boys, like mine.

My Dad used to take us to De Luz and I loved it.  We would go in the winter after a big rain and see if the bridge was washed out.  We would go for hikes along one of the many streams and climb giant boulders.  On hot days, we would go splash in the river.  Even in summer there was still a lot of water.  For southern California standards anyway.  It isn't the Mississippi. Sometimes we would go for bike rides on the back roads whizzing up and down hills on our ten speeds.  Whenever we were there, I felt like I was getting to experience a little bit of wilderness.  I guess that has appealed to me for a long time.

My sister and I used to take our dogs, Bunnie and Micah, to play in the river.  Now we take our sons.  Actually, this is the first time I've taken the boys.  Kristen, being the boys' mom that she is, takes her boys often.  

It took James and William a while to warm up to the idea of swimming in the river.  These beach boys are comfortable with the ocean, but this was a whole different experience.  I remember feeling the same way the first time I swam in a lake.  I wasn't scared of waves, but the lake was somehow terrifying.  At first they just had fun throwing rocks, but after awhile, they joined their cousins and made the plunge.  They even crossed the river to climb a very tall rock cliff, wearing wet and slippery Crocs, while a nervous Mommy climbed behind them in a sundress and tried not to spoil the fun.  You have to be tough when you are in the wilderness.

After they tired of swimming in the river, James discovered another fun thing to do.  He gathered some sticks and began building a fort.  I think he would have stayed there for hours constructing it, but soon it was time to head for home.  As we hiked along the trail back to the car, I asked the boys what they thought of De Luz.  

"Mommy," James said, "wouldn't it be fun to have our very own river?  Then we could play in it whenever we want.  Someday I want to have a house by a river."

Me too, James.  Me too.