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.