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

what i've been up to (besides blogging, obviously).

yes, yes, my record-breaking blog-break has ceased.

i have hundreds of pictures on my blackberry just begging to be uploaded, but don't have the energy or patience to mess with it...maybe one of these weekends that i either don't have some kind of training, family event or out-of-town obligation i'll catch up. Kai's pretty much doubled in size since my last post for cryin' in the night....

so where-oh-where do i begin....

my job.

you know you are in the right profession when you find yourself thinking, while working, i get paid for this! i'm always encouraging my seniors and career-class freshman to find a job that involves something they LOVE doing and are passionate about--and then "work" becomes play and is so much more than just a paycheck. i am so very blessed that i have a job like this. i love what i do. i love that no single day is the same. i love that my sole purpose on site is to listen, encourage and help. i love that i get to work for a small district with kiddos from kinder-12th grade and that i literally know every single student's name (well, getting there, at least!). i love that i work with an awesome, supportive staff and administration. even on the hard, hectic, sweaty-by-10am-"where's my duty-free lunch?" type of days...i wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

Homecoming Week! (at work)

 Nerd Day.
This one was my fave.

Celebrity Day.

I opted for "tabloid girl": oversized glasses, starbucks venti, dog in purse, and like, omg, don't forget the cell phone...

neon day.

i forgot to have a pic taken at school that day so Kai and I did it after school :)

there was also super-hero day and i just wore a vintage batman/robin tee with jeans and chucks.

it was thursday. i was tired....

half-marathon training(?)

yeah, so i'm attempting to run 13.1 miles in exactly one week from Saturday. heaven help me. i did really good with my training right off the bat (late July)...and after putting in a 30+ mile week WAY too soon (i got a little too excited and overdid it. so typical) ended up with a MOTHER of an IT band strain. that sucker HURRRRRRRRRT. and took what seemed like forever to heal. of course i stayed busy with spin, Jillian and the elliptical but it was quite frustrating to not be RUNNING. well, i'm back at it but not nearly as often as i should be. i'm probably running, at best, 3X/week. one long run, one short/up-tempo run and one mid-range run. (p.s. beckyjo, i have been quite inspired by your blazing half-marathon pace and have pushed myself harder in my runs, so THANK YOU!!). i would run more, and longer but the whole work/daycare/kai/no-husband combo is really NOT ideal for training. oh well. Kai comes first. Prayers will be appreciated for me on the morning of October 15th. I hear they serve beer at the finish line so thats a plus....

Kai, Honey & me are logging lots of after-school miles, though. and Kai's new thing is holding Honey's leash, so actually Honey is walking Kai?? (and I get to run alongside!!!)

Yes, passerby's laugh....

Puke.

nope, not mine. Kai's. i was quite spoiled all throghout Kai's infancy as he very rarely spit up. well, i'm confident that this last weekend made up for the months of spit-up free life i had for so very long.

my poor baby boy came down with his first bout with the stomach flu last weekend. here's the kicker: we were out of town. he was a bit fussy on the drive to portland--i just thought he was tired so somehow he we managed to eat almost an entire bag of red vines (you do what ya gotta do on long rides with fussy babes. don't judge!). early that morning i awoke to my sweet red-haired boy covered in the most foul-smelling chunky pink vomit. i was sure it was fresh because i surely would have smelled it had it been there for too long. however, he had managed to roll in it. it was in his hair, down his jammies, in his ears...bleh. i threw him in the bath and his bedding in the washer (this was around 6am mind you) and we began our day. the plan was to continue north towards Mt. St. Helens to do a bit of hiking and then head to the lodge (in Ariel, WA) for cousin Amber's wedding. We did all of the above and Kai continued to puke. About every 45 minutes-2 hours. mostly just water/pedialite since that was all that was in his poor little tummy...but when/if he did eat, it inevitably came back up. he threw-up in my hands. he threw up in he blankee. he threw-up ALL over in his carseat. one time it splattered all the way to the dashboard. he never cried, though. not once. he just looked at me all confused like "what's going on? why is this happening Mommy?" and then would curl up on my chest exhausted and relieved. it was horrible to not be able to make it stop. and to not be able to get the smell of puke out of your nose.

we finally made it home late sunday night. since then he's been puke free and i've done EIGHT loads of pukey laundry--not to mention dismantled his entire carseat to sanitaize, wash, and re-wash every washable component of that nasty thing. but i will say one thing: it was sure nice to snuggle. especially yesterday staying home with him--he fell asleep on my chest...something he hasn't done since he was an infant. i just laid on the couch and listened to him breathe on me and cuddled. it was a welcome change from chasing him all over the house, yard, street, garage, store......

thankfully he's on the mend. still snuggly and wanting to be held, but it's less and less with each immune-boosting minute.

Kai! (just a few for good measure):

such a big boy.

eating AT the table w/the cousins AND with a FORK!

snuggles with Elmo

(or "Mo" in Kai-speak)

playing on a tired Daddy :)

and that is what i've been up to since we last met...

catching up with Kai!

It's been awhile!

here's life according to my blackberry...

 fact 1: you can NEVER have enough fresh flowers in your house.

fact 2: flowers really do brighten moods, spirits and rooms.

the yellow roses (my favorite!) came from G and the sunflowers (my OTHER favorite!) came from Tiff. it was a rough week last week and Tiff and G were my saving graces. love you both to pieces.

this little guy came from my sunflower patch.

i love the look of a big sunflower bloom in a cute wine bottle--so much you can find them all over my home!

 ..........

 the other day Kai was playing with this noise-maker toy that makes a "vroom-vroom" noise.

he kept hitting the "vroom-vroom" button and then took off on his super crawl and started banging on the doorand begging to get into the garage, which was weird because he doesn't typically do that. well, turns out he wanted on Daddy's toys that go "vroom-vroom." i think he sat on there for almost 20 minutes (saying in his sweet little squeaky voice "vwoom-vwoom." (and of course cried when i pulled him off!)

..........

 iiiiiiiiitttttt's birthday week!

(for Kai AND Mommy!)

Kai received his first birthday package and couple of cards yesterday. it's so fun to see him get excited when we get the mail and there is stuff for him. my Grandma Roberts (Kai's Great-Grandma) is a super-star of a card sender. she never misses a birthday, anniversary or holiday and often sends cards just "to say hi," which i adore. anyway, she sent a bright yellow-smiley faced box and as i opened it for Kai his eyes lit up and he reached out for the soft fleece sweat suit that he will be SO warm and snuggly in this fall....but he freaked out (with joy!) when a little tonka firetruck came tumbling out...and then munched on the card, of course.

 mhmmmmm...."one" tastes good!

 how cute is Great-Grandma?

{blessed!}

..........

 little red's startin' to sport some curl!!!!!

(LOVE this!)

..........

 Kai: that's Honey. she's my friend.

today the boys played outside for a LONG time!

i got all of my weeding and watering done while Kai played with the hose (i let it run at a trickle) and, well, Micah played with a dagger (plastic, of course). he sure loved that thing--watch out Tricia, he may have a heightened desire to reach for knives now...sorry ;)

 the view from above. they are playing a part, but talking the whole time--back and forth little baby babble language.

i like to imagine that they know what they are saying but then i get a weird feeling that they are talking about me...

 and this is two 11 month olds keeping busy while i put away lunch...

and that clears out my blackberry pics.

there will surely be birthday-related posts in the near future...

xx 

My "favorites" of summer...

Favorite summertime.....

coffee:
Venti sugarfree hazlenut iced coffee w/a splash of soy. bomb diggity. and easy on the pocketbook.

"adult" drink:
i usually stick to a good red wine but in the summer i like to cool off with either a tall glass of skinnygirl margarita on the rocks or a spiked Arnold Palmer. {salivating}.

snack:

vegetable:
tomatoes (from my garden, of course), corn and CABBAGE! why cabbage, you ask??

well, the two BEST summer salads in the whole wide world just happen to be cabbage based. these salads are super duper easy AND healthy (cabbage is GOOOOOD for you!)

Sarah's addictingly delicious avocado-cabbage salad/dip/salsa, whatever you want to call it!:
ingredients: cabbage, avocados, tomoatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and/or packet of guacamole mix if desired.

finely chop all ingredients and throw in a pretty bowl. she likes to use more avocados than tomatoes, but play around with it! enjoy with chips, as a topping for fish or chicken tacos or honestly, just plain! SO GOOOOD!

ramen noodle cabbage salad:
this is a pretty well-known and popular picnic staple, but my Mom ROCKS it. here's her ingredients: 1 bag coleslaw mix, 1 cooked and chopped chicken breast, 1/4 c. red wine vinegar, 3/4 c. olive oil, 2-3 T. of sugar, 1/2 t. salt, 1 bunch of green onions chopped. sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, 1 bag of crushed ramen noodles on top (crunchy). note: add ramen noodles just before the meal so they are crunchy and not soft!

bbq dish:
the cabbage salads listed above!

meat:
wait, i don't really eat much meat. well, it's not meat! these baby's are delish. on the grill or in the microwave!

ice cream:
you gotta splurge once in a great while, right? well, when i do i want to make it worth it and Fiesta Foods whips up THE MOST DELICIOUS pink "cupcake" ice cream. no lie, i almost fainted upon the first taste.

sunglasses:
anyone who knows me will tell you that i live in these. i have a pair in almost every color: {via}

pastime:

...and swimming/sunbathing (so sue me) and cool evening walks with Kai and Honey.

tops: breezy, light and hip. (most importantly, affordable!)

mode of transportation:

longboard.

flower:
the cheerful sunflower. i have hundreds popping up and can't wait to post photos of those big bright blooms!

ground cover:
i have this pouring out of one of my planters and it's beautiful!! and as an added bonus, it does EXCELLENT in "dry" climates.

moss rose!

means of exercise:
mowing the lawn. with kai on board (quite a workout!) AND anything in the water....(rafting, swimming, aerobics).

Hey Bloggy buddies! Re-post and showcase your summertime faves!!! :)

Yay for Summer!!!

An afternoon with Micah & Kai (and Honey & Mr. Turtle, of course)

 Kai: Mommy, look! We're picking up the living room! NOW can we go swimming??

Micah: (GASP!) Did you say SWIMMING??! Like a bath outside but with no stupid soap?

Kai: Sure did....

Kai: ok, Micah, it's kinda cold at first, but just at first...you just gotta tough it out.

Micah: Wait, isn't this turtle supposed to be filled with sand??

Micah: SAND, I said! Not balls!

I wan't this thing outta here, this turtle sandbox isn't big enough for the three of us!

 Kai: Alright buddy, the balls goin' out.

 {smack!}

 Micah: Ahhhh. Much better. So much room for activities!

Kai: Woah there, don't get ahead of yourself now.

I've slipped in here too many times to count.

Micah: Hey, what happened to the turtle's eye?

Kai (after Micah decided to take a crawling break): Time to sprawl out and stretch out my pirate feet. MA! WHERE'S MY BOTTLE?!

Micah: Pirate shmirate. I bet Kai doesn't even know how to hide under his slide....

 Kai: Well, I don't! It's scary and itchy under there. I like to stand on top of the slide. With no help. I HATE when my worry wart Mommy tries to help me, so. annoying. I'd rather fall off the back...ok, so I've done that and it kinda hurts but still, I don't like when she treats me like a baby.

All this chatter has got me all steamed up, lets get back in the pool!

Kai (behind true-to-life mischief look): I have an idea, lets bulldoze Honey!

 Kai: Micah, you want your head wet?! This is how Mommy does it in the tub..

Micah: Well, Kai, not really. But see those dry flowers over yonder?

...they look thirsty..

 Micah: Kai these are cool shoes. Ya mind if I pull this one off and give it a try?

Kai: Hey man, hands off the pirates. I need these guys for stompin bugs.

Lets shimmy ourselves outta here and play trucks!

{together ramming the turtle with anything and everything}

 and then, they napped.

~ THE END ~