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.

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...

smiles for monday.

my house is a disaster, our a/c is busted, i'm sleep deprived and forgot to shave my legs this morning....

but i'm really, really, happy.

i'm back to work and i love my job. have you ever had the feeling when your working that you are right where you are supposed to be? that you were made to do what you are doing? best. feeling. ever. i'm so blessed that i have found a career that fulfills not only my pocketbook, but my soul.

as tough as it is to be away from my smiley son during the day i'm so very pleased with his daycare and rest at complete ease when i drive away. the adjustment is honestly going better than i EVER could have imagined. THANK. YOU. GOD!

my half-marathon training problem is now solved. i had a work/training dilemma on my hands. you see, G will be working in Vancouver for another few MONTHS and is only home on the weekends. i'm aiming to run at least 3X/week for the half-marathon that i JUST RESGISTERED for in October (or should i say OKtober!) with my sis-in-laws. i'm gonna realllly try and be a bad-ass and follow that half up with the local half the following weekend. so technically i'll be running a full marathon. just in two weeks time. that counts, right?! anyway, back to the dilemma. my work hours are mon-thurs and a handful of Fridays from 7ish to 4ish (that "ish" is SO very broad, too). Kai is at daycare during that time and the LAST thing i want to do when i pick him up at 4(ish) is either take him to my mom or sisters OR have a babysitter come over so i can train. seriously, NOT OK! i've just been away from him for the bulk of the day and to leave him again feels wrong and selfish on so many levels. i have a few working mommy friends who get thier workouts done while thier HUSBANDS are in bed and their children are still asleep. THAT is ideal, really. you get it done before baby is up and they never knew you were gone. perfect....oh, wait....husband is only here on weekends. shoot. BUT, i did manage to find an AWESOME babysitter who lives oh-so-conveniently right down the street from me. what if SHE could come early a couple days a week and kind of be my fill-in husband (you know, sleep while i work out! haha)?. 5:15 is crazy early for a 17 year old girl, but i told her i'd compensate well...for an hour or so of sleeping/watching tv on my couch and listening for baby and maybe feeding him breakfast. i'm happy to report that she went for it (YAY)...now to keep on truckin' with this training...(i'll blog about that later!)

and, oh yeah...it's fair week! i'm pumped to take Kai (last year he was so tiny when we walked around w/him in the baby sling people asked me if i was carrying my puppy around in there. no joke.) to see the animals and ride a few kiddy rides and nibble on an elephant ear (haha!). G and i are also excited to have some grown up fun (what is that?!) on Saturday night at the rodeo, too.

it feels good to smile on monday.

Kai thinks so too.

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 

5 randoms...

1.

This is my handsome husband at the ripe age of 18.

I think he is the epitomy of a "late bloomer." He was 5'8" here and is now 210 lbs and 6'2".

Crazy how much 10 years can change a person...but mostly,

Hilarious. 

2.

notice the bags.

no wasteful plastic in my shoppin' cart!!

i have found that i am MUCH more likely to remember to use my "forever bags" when they are already IN my car...

 3.

 i used to have cute decor where the toys have taken over...

G hates this as a toy storage area but until i find that "perfect" piece of furniture (with drawers/bins for toys) this will just have to do!

just one of the many changes that came with the arrival of little Red...

4.

i heart yardsales!!

there was a GEM of a yardsale down the street today. TONS of great kiddo books an toys...and some awesome furniture. i came away with Kai's first tee-ball mitt, a handful of books (i buy children's books like they are going out of style...for Kai and my students!) and a beat-up mini-basketball he would NOT put down.

all for $1.25, thank you.

5.

my little quarterback.

he rolled his football to the couch, pulled himself up and literally threw it right in my face.

we play lots of "catch."

20 things i heart about summer.

i know i've been coming on a little strong with all of my overexcited seasonal posting.

but really, i love summer....

and here's just 20 reasons why:

1. putting "yard & garden" appearance over house cleaning, or weeding over laundry.
2. tank top and flip flop tan lines.
3. sunglasses. cute ones.
4. no work (public education, baby!), only play.
5. taking chlorine baths, a.k.a. swimming instead of showering (not ALL the time, just sometimes...).
6. dirt underneath my fingernails. no-minimal makeup. natural hair.
7. pedicures and the standard black(ish) polish! (can't help it if i know what i like...)
8. falling asleep to the sound of crickets with the bedroom patio door open and waking up early to the sound of birds and sprinklers.
9. country music with windows down.
10. spending {most} weekends away on adventures--which means never fully unpacking the travel bag!
11. dinner outside. fresh cut grass. bbq.
12. farmer's markets = HERMISTON watermelon!
13. parades, fair(s), rodeo(s), concerts and rides.
14. afternoons at the river with a happy Honey and very sandy Kai.
15. happy hour. preferably patio seating. preferably with a view.
16. boating...rafting...floating...friends....
17. flowers of all kinds.
18. reading for pleasure. maybe in a hammock or on a towel in the sand?
19. late nights and early mornings. ICED coffee.
20. sunshine. on my skin and in my soul.

via

two-fer-one's.

we all like to get two things for the price of one, right?

think of time as money. we want to make the MOST out of our moments, hours, afternoons, days, weeks....
and time is precious. we often are forced to sacrifice one thing for another due to lack of time, which is a drag. but let's face it, there just aren't enough hours in the day.

unless, of course, you master the art of the 2-for-1.

yeah, you little multi-taskers, that's doing two things at one time. many of us do this all day, and yes, we often may do three, four, or heaven forbid FIVE things at one time.

but to REALLY achieve the 2-for-1 status you have to think outside of the box. (yeah, so cooking dinner while watching the news or eating breakfast on the road doesn't really count, sorry.)

................................................

here is a morning hygeine time-saver that i began doing when i was late for morning class back in college.
brushing my teeth in the shower. some of you may do this, it's genius if you ask me. you clean your teeth and your bod simultaneously! brilliant:

once crowned with the wonderful title of "mommy," i gleaned a handful of additional two-for-one's that just may be useful for you, dear bloggie. who knows?

like this one! feed Kai snack, AND clean the floor! (a chore that i HATE):

OR working on my core strength doing planks and other various abdominal exercises while waiting for Kai to fall asleep (i usually wait for him to finish his bottle before i leave because if i don't then it leaks all over the place!). i'm sure G would die laughing if he walked in to Kai's room thinking that i was rocking him but instead found Kai in his crib and me diligently holding plank position on his floor! he has asked me a few times why i was breathing so hard when i crawled back into bed after "putting Kai back down." haha! that's a 2-for-1 at it's best, my friends.

...then there are the more practical, everyday kind of 2-for-1's like me (or honey! j/k) taking a bath with Kai. that's a time-saver. even if i don't get all the way into the bathtub with Kai, every night i put my feet in with him AND wash my face...that's a lil' two-for-one.

we also eat breakfast together. out of the same bowl and everything. i've had to alter my daily oatmeal recipes a bit to be more conducive to a 9-month old stomach (1/2 c. old fashioned oats w/1/2 a sliced bananer, blueberries, sometimes strawberries and always raisens) but he LOVES to share breakfast with mom. i'm not sure when this all started, but that little stinker will eat every meal BUT breakfast in his high chair. it's like he knows that once mom cleans up his mess and put the high chair away she's breaks out the "good stuff" and thats just what he wants. mommy's oatmeal. at least it's healthy. then, (here's another 2-for-1) when we are finished with our oatmeal honey licks out the bowl and once it's shiny and clean (er, sort of) Kai pushes it around the floor for usually a solid 30 minutes AND bangs on it with our spoon. seriously. just about every day.

another 2/1...or actually 3/1: walking (exercise) with Kai, and Honey (dog walked!) TO the library (or any other destination of an errand we need to run!). we do this quite often. one of the benefits of our home being wonderfully centrally located  in this grand metropolis.

...and then there is the little game i play with Kai's naptime. i like to see HOW MUCH i can get accomplished in any one period of blessed nap time. more often than not, this is at least 2 hours. but sometimes it barely eclipses an hour and it's those naps that keep me movin' fast! during Kai's morning nap i usually have my daily quiet time outside after feeding Honey, picking up the house and either folding or starting laundry. then i either work in the yard or get a bit of a workout in.

(this is an unfinished project!!)

this is a very random blog topic, but making the most out of your day is great, dontcha think?!

do YOU have any tried and true 2-for-1's you'd like to share (silly or not...)??

Tuesday .02 (five randoms & some GOOD NEWS!)

1. Kai threw my BlackBerry in the FULL bathtub last night. Yeah, it's a goner (phone numbers, video clips, yet-to-be-printed pictures of Kai {tear}!). Talk about "device detox!" (I think I jinxed myself). However, I DID find the time today to take our HUGE pile of recycling AND 5, yes FIVE loads of laundry (all folded, too!). No, I didn't let our dirty clothes build up to 5 loads, I washed blankets, sheets, towels, car-towels, dog-towels, kitchen towels....
2. I did this workout today from Shape magazine. I haven't done any of her dvd's but judging on how fatigued my legs feel (a GREAT feeling, btw!), maybe I need to.
3. I've been meeting weekly with a "mentor" of sorts who has encouraged me to return to my long-lost habit of keeping a prayer journal. After about a month back into it I can't believe I ever stopped. Talk about rejuvenating the old prayer life! Writing my prayers down like letter to God is a wonderful way for me to keep focused (I have an ever-drifting overly imaginative mind!), yet also keep a record or diary of sorts of what I'm going through that day. It's pretty awesome to be able to look back and see how God worked even the hardest of situations out for good!
4. I've also been LOVE, LOVE, LOVING The Message (MSV) Bible. I've owned a copy for awhile but never really delved into it...until now. It's reads with a wonderfully personable feel and allows me to gain insight from the dryer or more difficult passages.
5. GOOD NEWS!: Today I received word that my Initial I (K-12) School Counseling license is in the mail! Due to some unfortunate circumstances this has been a LONG time coming, but at last I can reap the fruits of my grad school labors and put the past year of waiting and paperwork behind me! I actually cried (for joy!) when I got the message. YAY!

device detox: a challenge for a technology dependant, socially unsatisfied generation.

[sound of fingers tapping keys]

We've all had it happen to us. Somebody texting or scrolling through email or Facebook during conversation/dinner/meetings/church/a movie/[insert your own instance].

I don't really mind this if it's sparce and done at random, but there are people who do this every 10-15 minutes (or less!) and it DRIVES ME CRAZY!

If you can't get through a movie without looking at your phone/texting you need a device detox!

Cell phone addiction is just as rampant as Ipod addiction, and both are equally harmful to the innate human ability to COMMUNICATE. Once one becomes so reliant upon technology to make them feel "normal" they are unable to properly or comfortably function in a social setting, which is really quite unfortunate and something that I see all too often in mine and (especially) younger generations.

Many of us struggle with technology vices. Maybe you constantly check your email. Maybe your always on Facebook. Maybe you spend hours surfing the web. Maybe you send hundreds of texts a day. Maybe you can't seem to stop working via email received on your phone...

Daniel Sieberg, author of The Digital Diet writes that "constantly checking your BlackBerry, Facebook, and Twitter can be addictive--when you aren't online you worry somebody needs you or that fun things are happening without you. This habit can stress you out and damage real-life relationships. It's tough to conect with someone stitting next to you when you keep checking for texts." Sieberg suggests going a day without using your phone or a day without logging in and instead "HANG OUT with friends, read a book, enjoy nature and you'll begin to see things you never did before when you were always looking at a screen."

I'm not going to lie.  I have three active email accounts (1 personal, 1 school, 1 work) and I receive all of them via BlackBerry. I check my FB, I text, I surf the web and sometimes play games on my BlackBerry. I check my BlackBerry frequently, but once I noticed myself reaching for it during frequent lulls in conversation or caught myself messing around on my phone mid-convo I knew I needed some distance.

After re-evaluating my device-dependance my realizations were:

1. The world will not end if the blinking light on my phone flashes for an hour or two unnoticed.

2. There is no email that can't wait. Really.

3. Facebook is more fun and interesting when you limit your checking to once or twice a day (if that!).

4. There is a great deal of real-life CONNECTION to others that is missed when you are slave to the screen (addicted to the constant checking).

5. Less is more. Balance is best.

I began to leave my phone in the car during social events, dinner dates, hang outs, etc. If I felt like I needed to have it with me (like if Kai was with a babysitter) I would silence everything BUT phone calls and keep it zipped in my purse until I heard a ring. I have also begun to make a point to NOT carry my phone around with me everywhere I go. I have so much more to do than pounce on my phone at it's demanding alerts, not to mention a pair of little blue eyes that want MY FULL attention and love.

Are you slave to you phone? Your laptop? Your IPod?

I challenge you to break free. Take a technology fast and walk on the wild side:

Listen to the breeze blow through the open window. Hear the birds chirp in the trees. Spend a solid hour playing with your niece or nephew. TALK and take interest in the lives of your kids. Your spouse. Pick up an old, perhaps forgotten hobby. CALL an old friend or even better, write a letter.

Just think of all of the hours you've spent staring at a screen or drowning out the world...what if you had devoted all of that time to something else? Your life may look a bit different...you may be happier...you may feel more fulfilled, you may find a renewed sense of purpose...

LIVE.



three things for thursday.

1.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to pick up my interlibrary loaners today. If I'm missing from the blogosphere for awhile this is why:

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games).

I'm not a big fan of genre, nor was I very happy about the ending of The Hunger Games (an interlude to the next book) but I obviously got sucked in because I automatically went for it at the library...and it's the one I'll probably start in on first. SO different from what I typically read. A refreshing chance, perhaps?!

2. Night Road by (who else?) Kristin Hannah.

THIS is her brand new book and I'm VERY happy to have my hands on it. I can't wait to devour every word.

3. I can't believe I haven't read this yet, but I WILL finish it before I watch the movie:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

 2.

I caught Kai indulging in his FAVORITE, FAVORITE treat:

Blackberry.

3.

DIVA?

Pouting in purple.

 (cousin Jude's bib).

Mommy: "Kai, quit acting like what your bib says and eat your peas..."

Tommorow I will post some pics of my brand new niece, Parker Jo!

I get to hold her for the very first time and

I CAN'T WAIT!

Goodnight friends! (I'm gonna go READ!)