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.

 

          

Cheap Labor

He only charges $0.50/hour. Any takers?

Sibling Love

Brian and I both feel blessed by our sibling relationships.  It is one of my greatest wishes for Rhys and Lorelei that they grow up feeling the same way (about their one sibling, not siblings -  just to be clear.)

Saturday morning adventure

Rhys and I had really great time together last Saturday morning.  I was happy to be out of the house and away from Lorelei as her clingy phase is driving me batty.  So it just was icing on the cake that Rhys and I had such a fun time. We were out and about, on foot, for nearly 2.5 hours and at the end it was only me complaining about me hot and tired! Rhys' new shoes must be magic (more on those later).

First stop?  Haircut for the little man.

He was thrilled when I let him have the sucker they offered him and could hardly believe it when I told him he could have it all.  In retrospect, maybe this is why he was in such a good mood the whole time...

I loved watching him get his haircut because 1) he did not talk the entire time (he typically only goes more than 30 seconds without talking if he's sleeping) and 2) he clearly loved how it felt, which was so fun to watch on his little face.  When they used the electric clippers, he was soooo in the zone I swear I saw a little drool.

Next stop?  Toy store.  They have a great little train set that he loves playing with; he can actually entertain himself for 10+ minutes.  I am guessing that would not be the case if it were at home, so I just enjoy it for what it is at the toy store.

Next stop:  Park.

We had a break for a snack, played on some toys and then did a bunch of "balance beam" walking around the perimeter of the park.

You can see his new shoes in the previous pics and video really well.  They're from a company in Oregon called Soft Star Shoes and they (both the company and the shoes) are fabulous. I'm really picky about shoes for the kids as proper foot development is crucial for proper body development. AND YET, the last pair of shoes I got for Rhys were too big for him but I didn't do anything about it until now (and only now because the velcro was wearing out).  Bad mommy.  Luckily, I feel like I made up for it with these great, minimal shoes that he clearly loves.

And then we headed home, which was another mile or so of walking and looking at plants and talking and talking and talking and talking. And some more talking.  Even with all the talking, it was a really fun adventure.  And, we certainly covered a lot more ground than we would have with Lorelei in tow as going for a walk with her these days looks a lot like this:

Katie Strikes Again

 Katie got these shots of the kids waving in sync.  Aren't they great?!

Walking Fool

Walking has definitely clicked for Lorelei.  We took our first outdoor walk this weekend and she rocked it.  We went quite a long way; here's a short clip:

Rhys loved not being the slowest one.  He did a great job of saying to Lorelei all the things I usually say to him "come on", "keep moving", "drink some water", "we're almost there."

I love this stage of walking because it's kind of like being around a perpetually drunk person stumbling around.  Pretty damn funny.

This pic has nothing to do with walking, but it's too pretty not to post.  Is this a great pose or what?

 

Strawberry delight!

We went strawberry picking this weekend.  It was fun-ish.  Fun because it was a beautiful day and there were lots of delicious berries and it wasn't too crowded.  Ish because...well, because, pretty much anything you do with two young kids is a lot of work, no matter how fun the activity!

It's kind of embarrassing but we don't have any pics of Rhys.  He was being somewhat annoying and whiny so we sent him off to other parts of the field to find the "really good berries."

Group photos

Brian and I pretty good about taking lots pics of the kids but we usually find it nearly impossible to get them both in a shot.  Fortunately, Katie's got it figured out.  Check out her handy work:

This selfie is about the best I've been able to manage as of late...and it's not even both kids!  Getting 3 of the 4 family members felt victorious nonetheless.

Free Little Library

At the end of our block, there is a "free little library."  For those unfamiliar with the concept, it's a small structure that facilitates the informal exchange of books within a neighborhood.

This weekend we let Rhys ride his bike to it all by himself.  (Remember, it's just at the end of our block.  But, yes, we did debate whether or not someone may call CPS on us for allowing this expression of independence).  When he returned he had this book:

So hilarious!!  I think we'll save it for him for his teenage years.

Happy Birthday, Lorelei

It is almost 11pm - WAY past my bedtime.  But, I couldn't let this day pass without at least a short post.  More to come later, but for now...
 
Dear Lorelei,

Happy birthday my precious girl!  You are such a wonderful, perfect addition to (and completion of) our family.  We are so, so lucky to have you in our lives.  You've healed me in more ways than you'll ever know.  My relationship with you means so much to me.  I love you.

Love,

Mama

Life is Good

I am not afraid to complain about motherhood, as I think you all well know.  But at the moment, I have no complaints.  Well, a couple maybe, but generally life right now is really good.

A random assortment of happy things...

1.  Lorelei is walking!  Not consistently and not a lot, but she put together a nine step walk tonight, so I think that makes her a walker. This video is not of that walk, but it'll give you a flavor of what we saw.  (Oh, the headstand thing at the end?  She does that all the time.  Why?  Pretty sure she's imitating her big bro.  See #4).

Many people say that mobility is "highly overrated" but I love it.  I am excited to move on from the baby stage as it is simply not my favorite.

She's even better with her walker.  We made it all the way around the block the other day.

2.  Brian got me a salad spinner for Mother's Day.  This may sound like a bad thing, but it's actually awesome.  We got a salad spinner for our wedding and I used it pretty much every day to store greens in the fridge.  It always annoyed Brian because it was big and bulky and took up a lot of shelf space (read: got in the way of his beer), so he wasn't too sad (read: was thrilled) when it broke and I tossed it out.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when he got me a new one.  I think giving me something that I love that he kind of hates is so sweet!

3.  Rhys hasn't been shithead and, in fact, has been pretty fun to hang out with.  I really hope I'm not jinxing us, but he's just been a really cool little kid lately.  There's nothing specific - just a bunch of different stuff.  He's taking swimming lessons and is really into it, so it's very fun to watch him.  He's figured out the concept of making people laugh, so he tries to be funny a lot which is, in fact, hilarious.  He's getting more and more articulate.  He told me today that he doesn't like hugging me when I have wet hair.  Of course I didn't like being told that he didn't want to hug me, but I was so happy that he could say why.  Here's a good pic of him from when he, Katie and Lorelei went hiking in Seward Park.

4.  Lorelei and Rhys are starting to play together.  This is the THE BEST.  Now, do they play perfect and nice all of the time?  No, no they do not.  But, for two young kids it's pretty darn good.  And, what I really love, is how much they love each other.  Rhys totally adores Lorelei and is a doting big brother.  Lorelei squeals with delight whenever she sees Rhys.  It's fantastic.

5.  Sleep is good.  I should have put this first since, really, it's what makes everything in life better.  Is Rhys really having less dramatic tantrums or am I just better able to handle them now since I am consistently getting a decent amount of sleep?  I'm guessing it's a lot of the latter.

Brian took both kids out for a walk on Sunday and I took a 1.5 hour nap.  Awesome.  Here are some pics from their outing.

6.  Beautiful, popsicle-worthy weather.  The weather has been gorgeous which, as with sleep, just makes everything in life better.  Katie made some yummy popsicles to enjoy in the sunshine.

Rhys' smile almost shows how much he enjoyed the treat.  The kid is a bottomless pit and he just loves food - all of it.  At dinner he got mad at me because I gave Lorelei more broccoli than him.  And, before we finished the popsicle he was already asking for another one.  Not bad considering they are made of coconut milk, berries and dates.  

Alright, I am off to bed for more delicious sleep!

Rump Shaker!!

One (top) tooth wonder

No commentary, just some really cute pictures of our almost-one-year old.

Growing up so fast...

New Life

I am pregnant!

JUST KIDDING!  I was going to write this post on April Fool's Day but never got around to it.  I figured I'd go ahead and pull my prank anyway.

So, no, I am not pregnant but, yes, there is new life at our house.  We have planted a garden.  Well, really a half a garden at this point, but given that we have two young children to take care of, I'm pretty impressed that we even managed half a garden.

Before we could plant a garden, we had to build one.  Rhys was an excellent helper:

As for the actual planting, we got both kids involved:

Lorelei was in charge of the box of seed packets.

Rhys helped with the actual planting and...

...helped write the identifier stakes.

 The planting itself was a little anti-climatic for Rhys given that nothing happened, but he wasn't too disappointed.  We've got our first pea shoots now and he psyched!