it's been a year...

A year ago yesterday, Kai had his big surgery.

It was one of those days that i'll never forget. I remember every little detail about it. The smell of the waiting room, his last little cleft-lip smile over the nurse's shoulder as she carried him into the operating room.

The waiting. And waiting...

The tears that fell as I held him in recovery.

My heart still aches when I look at the pictures from that afternoon.

And the joy that I felt when he was safe, healthy, and breathing in my arms.

But more than anything, I remember the outpouring of prayers from family and friends, and feeling absolutely overwhelmed by the love and support that was given to us during that week.

Look what a year of healing and {prayer} has yielded...

Still smiley, still healing, still a joyful, happy blessing.

Thank you, Jesus!

just a boy & his dog.

Give a boy a dog and you've furnished him a playmate.

Berton Braley

For me a house or an apartment becomes a home when you add one set of four legs, a happy tail, and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog.

Roger Caras

“He taught us the art of unqualified love. How to give it, how to accept it. Where there is that, most other pieces fall into place.”

John Grogan

No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old laughing with a puppy.

Bern Williams

The dog of your boyhood teaches you a great deal about friendship, and love, and death: Old Skip was my brother. They had buried him under our elm tree, they said—yet this was totally true.

For he really lay buried in my heart.

Willie Morris, My Dog Skip

Thankful!

i did really good posting a daily FB "thankful" status. for like, two whole weeks. needless to say i've slacked a bit. but certainly not out of lack of thanks.
 
i haven't blogged in a while so i thought this a perfect opportunity to have unlimited space to be thankful--

so, here are my "24 Days of Thankfulness."

1: Kai's stats from 15 month check-up: 32" long and (only!) 23 lbs...looks like somebody's gonna be built like their uncle mikey :) #Thankful for my healthy orange-haired string-bean!

2: Thankful for naps. Even the ones that happen on accident on the couch right before dinner...(referring to Kai, not me, unfortunately). I play this little game with myself to see how much i can get done while there is no little boy "undoing" everything i put away/clean up/fold/etc....and then some days i just lay down with him and sleep :)

3: Thankful for my Honey-dog. For cardio accountability and an ever-watchful eye on my boy :)

4:  thankful for my siblings. i love them.

5: ‎12 freezer meals whipped up in 2 hours...with two toddlers runnin' around. {Thankful} for a kitchen savvy mama (and wine!) 

6: NOT a fan of the early darkness of winter. But *thankful* that with it comes holiday cheer and powder to shred :)

7: borrowed thoughts on thankfulness...

8: {thankful} for my little house. it's no mansion, but it's 1600 sq. feet full of everything i love with a wood stove and roof on top.

9:  thankful that i have a job that i enjoy. i love what i do, who i work with, and who i work for.

10: TGIT! thankful that the Echo School District operates on a four-day work week, which means on most weeks, Thursday = Friday :)

11: thankful for my parents. they have been the greatest examples of love, kindness and faith. i pray that i can set the same example for my son that i have been so very blessed to see them set for me. i don't know where i'd be without them and am thankful for them every. single. day.

12: {thankful} that my joy is not wrapped up in circumstance.

"It's not happy people who are thankful, it's thankful people who are happy."

13: never thought i'd say this but i'm thankful to live in the city i grew up in. i sure never envisioned coming back after leaving for the bright lights of Seattle, but ya know what? i love that my son gets to play and grow up with my friends' kids, that he'll get to go to my same elementary school, and that i often run into people at the grocery store who talk about watching me play high school sports. i love that i live 5 minutes away from my parents and 2-blocks from a couple of my childhood best friends :)

14: tonight i'm thankful for pumpkin spice in the scentsy, bedtime snuggles from my baby, a warm honey-dog on my feet, a hot cup of jasmine green tea and a pile of good books on my bedside table.

15: i'm thankful for the adorably excited way Kai shouts "Mama!" when i pick him up from daycare every afternoon...melts my heart every time :)

16: thankful for my grandparents. they are generous, hard-working, loving, God-fearing, FUN and adorable. i have a deep bank of wonderful memories with each of them and am lucky to have them in my life!

17: i'm thankful for prayer and for parents who taught me how to pray....who said prayers with me when they tucked me into bed at night and prayers before dinner each evening. i look forward to hearing Kai's little bedtime prayers!

18: now-a-days i'm SO thankful when i have a chance to get a workout in. there is no better de-stresser, mood-lifter or energy-booster (in my opinion!). i DEFINITELY took for granted my pre-baby days of getting to workout whenever/wherever i wanted. so it is no understatement to say that i am THANKFUL for gym-time or a pavement pounding session with Honey.

19: thankful my mommy likes to run with me. and for a nice toasty hot tub to de-thaw in post-race!

20: thankful for parents who read to their kids and take the time to talk with them about their day...

21: thankful for my students, who are often the best examples and reminders of resilience.

22: thankful for new days and new seasons. for fresh starts.

 
23: thankful that the niners are having a good year...

24: "and thank you for a house full of people i love. amen."

Step into my office...

(or "closet," as some call it)

hours of operation: monday-thrusday from 7:30am-4pm.

well, not always there at my desk but you know, around...

sometimes buried under piles.

my office isn't one of those offices you walk into and immediately notice how organized, neat and clean it is. nope, thats not me...

but i'm ok with that.

i am a notorious "piler."

i make lists and piles like there going out of style. it's just how my brain works.

the only time my office is free of stacks of papers on the floor, files on the desk and crumbs on the carpet is, well...hmmm. 

sticky notes (see below) are detrimental to my memory.

i color code them and order them by priority on the wall right in front of me. i'm not sure how i started doing this, it just kind of happened. my students make fun of me but really, it helps a TON on those days when i sit down and have so many emails and things to do i don't even know where to start.

and, i usually sit on a bosu ball (you know, work the core while "working," a good ol' 2-for-1) but last week i rolled over a tack (sigh) so hopefully this weekend i'll replace this awesome student chair with a big ol' bouncy ball :)

 here's the "student corner."

 i've had fun coordinating Red Ribbon Week this week.
i've enlisted the help of my Senior Seminar class and they have been quite wonderful production assistants (most of them).

Here are a few of their artwork samples:

Natural High: An activity, art form or sport that you LOVE to do and makes you feel good inside. A Naturaly High does NOT involve drugs or alcohol. EVERYONE has at least one Natural High. (pens and sticky notes available for students to post thier "natural high."

some posters were more "high school" appropriate.

(neeless to say that this one hangs in the high school wing).

  

My favorite!

recognize these guys?

yesterday we decorated the commons with Red Ribbon and wore P.J.'s to "put drugs to rest," today we plastered the halls/cafeteria with post-it notes with drug facts/statistics written on them and wore sunglasses since "our future is TOO BRIGHT for drugs," tomorrow we'll post the faces of meth pictures (scary!) and wear boots to "stomp out drugs," and Thursday students will have an opportunity to pledge and we'll wear crazy hats to "use our heads and stay drug-free!"

putting together weeks like this one is just one of the reasons i enjoy my job.

sure, there are definitely days--and weeks that i feel stressed, overwhelmed and/or underpaid underappreciated...

during those times i often find strength in re-reading the words of advice and inspiration that my mentor-counselor emailed me four years ago when i was new to this very rewarding, yet often draining profession:

i keep this tacked in the corner wall by my desk and it has served many times as a much needed reminder of the crucial importance of balance, strength and faith.

but these days, "bad days" seem to disappear about 5 minutes from me driving out of the parking lot,

onto 395, 

and into the snuggly (sometimes sticky) embrace of my baby boy.

i may be busier these days but one thing is for sure:

this little "bee" keeps me balanced.

15 {whole} MONTHS!

i took my little punkin' head to the pumpkin patch today!

it wasn't really a planned trip. we want to wait for daddy to actually go on the hayride...

but our home is in desperate need of some seasonal decor and as i drove by Bellinger's on my way home i couldn't help but get distracted by thier cute autumn display (and plus, i always like to do something fun w/Kai on my half day of work!).

he ran like mad through the little hay bale maze full of very large orange and white pumpkins and he did THE CUTEST thing when i held up a miniature pumpkin and said "look Kai, a baby pumpkin!": he took the pumpkin out of my hands and snuggled it between his cheek and shoulder, like it was his actual baby. OMG. too cute.

needless to say we came home with lots of colorful gourds and mini-pumpkins

and Kai's BIG pumpkin for carving....

like the big ol' bump on his noggin? yeah, he likes to climb unstable objects. like, all the time.

 and this is his new "trick" that is happening way too often.

 here's an example:

the other day before his bath i left (quickly) to take a diaper out and came back to find his butt-naked body up on top of our wicker under-the-counter storage bin trying desperately to reach for his toothbrush at the back of the counter. what next?
(scary thought).

no joke, last night at dinner he requested to have ketchup with his grilled cheese.

i had cut the sandwich up and placed it on his tray with his peas and he pointed to the fridge and politely demanded something in his baby-speak. i don't know how i knew, but it was ketchup.

i squirted some out on a lid and he went right along with his meal, dipping each tiny piece of grilled cheese in the red tomatoey blob.

not sure where he learned this (hmmmm DADDY???!)

silly mommy + crazy daddy =

mr. personality.

with each month i keep changing my mind that no, THIS is my favorite age...

but really, he is more fun with each day.

here's a few reasons why:

it still melts my heart just as much as it did the very first time when he calls me "Mama."

he is obsessed with balloons, and often points to tomatoes hanging from the vines and calls them "bbbblllooooos"

he literally understands everything i say to him. i'll tell him to go get something, he does it. i tell him to "throw it in the garbage" he does it. i ask him if he wants a snack and he goes to the fridge.

he nods his head "yes" and "no"

he LOVES Elmo

every night after bathtime when we are brushing his teeth, he points to the picture in the corner on the counter of me and G and says "Daddy" and if G's gone he'll wave "bye-bye." yeah, it kinda breaks my heart.

today he had everybody in the library laughing when he was running through the stacks and shelves of books shreiking and laughing playing "peek-a-boo" and "i'm gonna getchu!"

he wants to be a big boy and walk everywhere. unassisted.

this hurts my feelings a little bit, but is a welcome relief on my back.

he always ends up sneaking onto my lap.

i plopped him into the booth next to me at McDonalds the other day (for our Monday recovery date) and he wriggled his way right up into my lap.

it's always better that way.

he still falls asleep on my chest with his little arm wrapped around my neck...

and wakes up every day with a huge smile to remind me that no matter how stressed, tired or late i am... 

everything is going to be ok. 

thank you baby boy for a refreshed perspective and giving me the most rewarding job of all.