A new job

I think most people know this news, but it's not really official until it's on the blog, so...I have a new job.  It's a permanent position with a non-profit called LifeCenter Northwest. They, um, we are the organ procurement organization for Washington, N. Idaho, Montana and Alaska.  An organ procurement organization, or OPO for those in the know, facilitates the organ donation process.  You might not realize that it's a process that requires facilitation but in fact it does and quite a bit of it, as I am learning.

The organization is consists approximately 100 people and does about $25 million in revenue.  I am the vice president of finance and administration, supporting the finance, accounting and IT departments.  Yes, you read that right.  IT.  Scary, I know.

Today was my 3rd day on the job and it's going so, so well.  I am thrilled. (And tired.)

There have been so many "first day of school" pics on Facebook and I thought it'd be fun for me to take a "first day at LifeCenter" pic holding my very own chalkboard to include with this post.  But, I didn't make that happen so instead you'll have to settle for completely unrelated but very cute pics of the kids.  I am sure you're not too disappointed.

Pillow No More (Almost)

I've mentioned her on this blog before, but I have to give another shout out to biomechanist Katy Bowman.  I've been doing her corrective exercises and implementing some of her suggested lifestyle changes for several years, as a means of dealing with my pelvic floor issues.  I don't wear positive-heeled shoes, I try and walk as much as possible and sit in a chair as little as possible and, now, I'm almost done transitioning to sleeping without a pillow.  All of these things have helped me (and my pelvic floor) more than any of the traditional (and useless) advice provided by docs.

I'm super excited about the no pillow transition because I have experienced a lovely increase in the range of motion in my neck and a significant reduction in the amount of neck pain.  It's pretty neat that something I do while sleeping (my favorite activity) has helped me feel really good during my waking hours.

Here's a link to her original blog post about the topic.  It's a great read.  

http://www.katysays.com/your-pillow-is-an-orthotic/

  

And, another post about other things that "cast" our body:

http://www.katysays.com/a-list-of-body-casts/

Mom, how can you write a post about the importance of free range of motion after having stuffed me in this restrictive life jacket last week?  Not cool.  Not cool at all.

PS - I know you're just posting this pic of me so people will read your post.  I get it.  And I am fine with it.  I understand my role.

The Hair

Uncle Coco is SUPER hairy right now.  It doesn't seem to faze Rhys and Lorelei at all.  In fact, Lorelei seemed to enjoy rubbing her cheek on the beard when giving kisses.  The rest of us, though, are pretty perplexed.  The beard is one thing, and something we've seen before, but the long head hair was just a mystery.  Why grow it out?  It's not particularly cool (as some would argue the beard is), so what's the redeeming value?

Well, after nearly a week with Carl, the truth finally came out.  Carl is hoping and hoping and hoping that if he just keeps growing his hair, it will eventually look like Brian's. He's always had a thing for Brian's hair.  It's weird. Trust me, I know.

The scary part is that he thinks he's achieving his goal, so now we have to wonder, is all that hair here to stay?  I guess only time will tell.

PS - Guess who took this picture?  Rhys!

Reunion

I have lots to post about our trip to Spokane/Coeur d' Alene but I wanted to single out one event for now...

A couple of weeks prior to our visit Carl and I thought, "hey, it might be fun to have a few friends over to the farm (our dad's house) for a little BBQ."  Boss-lady Donna ok'd the deal so it was a go...at which point "a few" friends somehow blossomed into nearly 30 people, 11 of which were kids under the age of 9.  Pa and Donna were a little nervous but graciously hosted the event and it was such a fun time.

Here's the group picture that I am amazed by.  Not only is every single person in the picture, but the kids are all looking at the camera!  Incredible.  (I wish I was in closer proximity to my hubs and kid #1, but whatever...)

And, here is a nice picture of me and my forever friends.  It is shocking that not one of our seven cumulative kids is climbing all over us.  Just goes to show what a great party it was.

     

Taylor Swift

The Taylor Swift concert was SO MUCH FUN! 

This is before the show started, so Brian is still looking pretty happy.  By the end he wasn't unhappy, per say, he was just tired and ready to go home (some of us were tired but all jazzed up!)

In the age of digital photos you'd think I wouldn't have to post a fuzzy picture.  But I was consciously trying to not take a million pictures and rather just be present and enjoy the experience, so fuzzy it is.  I think I've captured the essence of two happy, long-time friends, so I am good with it.

Shane had an AWESOME time.  Don't let him tell you any different.

The creeper in the middle is Carl, just in case you didn't recognize him.  People were probably scared of him until they saw him singing and rocking out just as much as the 12-year-olds behind us.  Then they knew he was a Swiftie.  Probably the hairiest one ever, but still a Swiftie.

While we were having a great time with Tay Tay and 60,000 of her fans, our kids were at home having a fabulous time with Katie.  (Which was a huge relief to me and Alisha.) They made pizza and had popsicles.  Does it get any better than that?

Haircut

Yesterday, Rhys cut off a fairly large section of his bangs.  We are getting family pictures taken on Sunday.  Our holiday card this year is going to be SO GREAT!  :)

Happy Anniversary to My Beloved

On July 5th, Brian and I celebrated our 7-year wedding anniversary.  The day was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, chores (see previous post), giving in to Lorelei's constant demands to be held and, as always, answering Rhys' questions. After all of that, we drug ourselves out to dinner (sans kids) where, after one drink, I was so tired I wanted nothing more than to lay my head down on the table and have a snooze.

I'm probably supposed to say "I'm too exhausted to enjoy dinner out with my husband but, no biggie, I have two beautiful healthy children that make it all worth it!"  But, for me, that statement would be mostly false.  The true part is that I have two beautiful, healthy children and I am most certainly grateful for them.  But I was really disappointed that dinner was kind of a bust.  And the kids, in all their glory, do not cancel that feeling.  To me, that's what the phrase "make it all worth it" feels like - a cancellation of sorts.  I feel X, but Y "makes it all worth it" so X doesn't really matter (or even exist).  Nope.  My kids freakin' exhaust me and I love them a whole bunch.  Two simultaneous, somewhat contradictory feelings.  They both exist.  One does not cancel the other.

(Has anyone else noticed how much our culture supports this whole "one cancels the other" thing?  I eat like crap, but it's ok because I exercise. I sit 10 hours a day but it's ok because I run marathons.  I don't get enough sleep, but it's ok because coffee gets me through the day.  Eating, exercising, sitting, sleeping, caffeine - they are all inputs to the body with unique results.  They do not cancel one another out.  Really, they don't.  We need to understand this.)

So, anyway, back to our anniversary...I was exhausted and disappointed that I was exhausted.  What made me happy, and what always makes me happy, is being married to Brian.  There is a lot I love about him, but what I truly cherish is this simple fact - he is a genuinely good person.  Did anyone read that without nodding their head and thinking "yep, true"?  I didn't think so. You all know what I mean.  He has such a big heart and truly cares about everyone around him.

It's an honor to be married to this good man.