Treading Water

Oh dear friends, thanks for hanging in there.

Life is still moving at breakneck speed around our house, although I see a glimpse of less busy times up ahead. Here's a little random run down of what's been going on recently:

I'm finished with orientation at work, which means I've talked poor Megan's ear off about labor curves and fetal interventions (among other things) and she still wants to be a Labor & Delivery nurse. Our six weeks are finished and she's on to learning new things before getting thrust into the world of nursing on her own two feet. If you ask me, I think she's going to be a fantastic nurse.

This also means I'm back to part time hours again. Huzzah!

This past weekend was supposed to be our great and glorious Girls Retreat 2013. Notice the "supposed to be." As it turns out, our high school football team is doing really well and advancing in the playoffs, which meant they had a big time playoff game this past weekend. Considering that would've knocked out several of our girls AND a few leaders, I felt it was most right to postpone.

Do you know how difficult it can be to schedule an out-of-town retreat? Between the already-nailed-down youth events, and the other adults' schedules, and the student's extracurricular activities, and my own work schedule, and available dates at our location of choice.... it's nearly impossible to pick a date that is 100% commitment free. Oy.

This also means that I have some extra time to beef up and refine the retreat materials (quiet times, small group guides, large group discussions). Have I mentioned how great "Gods at War" is? Not to be confused with "How Great is our God" #punny I plan to share some excerpts and high points from our weekend as well as an awesome video that a friend of mine put together just especially for our weekend. If you go to her blog, you can watch it now. It's totally worth the 10 minutes. I promise.

Last Wednesday, Isaac had some swollen gums. By Saturday, he had TWO new molars AND a new canine... with another canine on the way. Poor boy has been c-r-a-b-b-y. I'm looking for the silver lining... three of his four molars and two of his four canines are in. My hope is that once the remaining molars/canines break through, he'll catch a break from teething for a little while. #momneedsabreaktoo

We've also passed a nasty upper respiratory infection around the house. I was down most of the weekend (so it's a good thing I wasn't in Brenham trying to entertain 20 other people). Isaac still has some drainage and a cough. Fellow mommies: Did your kiddos ever revert back to frequent spit ups during a cold? Isaac spit up 4 times this morning between breakfast and lunch. Most of it was mucous, so I can only assume it is drainage-related. (?)

I just happened to check the date and realized my little snotty teething lump of boy is 13 months today! Lets celebrate by throwing a temper tantrum and drooling on everything. Seems to be the norm around our house these days. Between teething and sickness, I am ready to have my happy boy back.

Thanksgiving is coming up shortly and we are both hosting another couple at our house and traveling to Houston to visit family. I've never actually cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving (last year we broke all the rules and had a ham instead.), so I am crossing my fingers on this one.

I started, endured, and finished my second 24 day challenge! This time I lost 10lbs and 8 inches overall. I'd be back to my pre baby weight if I hadn't put on a few extra pounds right before it was challenge time. Either way, I'm finally fitting back into my normal clothes without the aid of spanx or flowy-top-like-camoflage. #win

The Dallas Half Marathon is only a couple short weeks away and I am both excited and petrified. I've finished several "long" runs here lately and there's nothing that I should be nervous about, but I just can't ever shake the jitters. I think i'm currently more concerned with the logistics than the actual run, but I guarantee you, by race morning, I'll be taking nervous poops. Not lying.

The weekend after the half marathon, we're braving the skies with an almost 14 month old and heading home to Augusta for a Christmas visit. I'm open to any and all tips for flying with a wild child. Suddenly, last year's trip with a 2 month old doesn't seem nearly as daunting as it did at the time.

So maybe life isn't slowing down.

But the blog has.

Hang in there friends. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Busy doesn't even begin to describe it.

It's been quiet here on the blog front for the last week & a half. And of course that's due to the fact that our lives have been busting at the seams here at home! I have been busy with several really large commitments which just seem to take up every spare moment in my day.

• My half marathon training is really starting to add up these days. Saturday I ran 10.15 miles with my running buddy. I like making that time for myself (including two other short runs during the week), but it is definitely a considerable chunk out of my overall day. 
• I'm throwing a baby shower for a sweet friend this weekend and have been planning and prepping and organizing my buns off. I enjoy throwing parties, but the ahead of time grunt work can be ridiculously time consuming. Thankfully, there are several other hostesses who are sharing in the shower, which takes a little of the responsibility off of my shoulders.
• Isaac seems to be dropping another nap. This time instead of it being at my leading, it's at his insistence... which hasn't gone over so well around here. Last week he was like a bionic baby, taking no naps for a few days. Zero productivity I tell ya. Zero. Thankfully, I think *fingers crossed* we've got him sorted out and are just down to one longer nap each day instead of two shorter naps. In any case, last week was stressful. 
• I was in a catalog photo shoot. Yep, you read that right! I can now add "catalog model" to my resume. I like to think that all those years of watching America's Next Top Model while I was in college helped prepare me for this fancy pants role. Also, my mom enrolled my sister and I into "modeling" classes when we were in elementary school. We learned how to have more poise and how to hold really still in a store window. So maybe Jordan and Isaac were also included in this catalog. And maybe I was posing for a local fertilizer business. But we definitely had fun and were all handsomely rewarded for our time with Spray-N-Grow gift certificates.
• In less than two weeks, I'll take 2 dozen high school students out of town for our annual Girls Retreat. I still need to write materials, order books, design T-Shirts, send out parent letters, meet with my adult leaders, and tie up about 100 other loose ends. I am absolutely overwhelmed right now with this and kinda feel like I've pushed myself up against a wall, but am really looking forward to a weekend away with these girls. 
• I'm over halfway done with my preceptorship at work, which I am superthankful for (the being halfway over part.). I've enjoyed teaching and leading my orientee all about Labor & Delivery, but it is both time consuming and a little frustrating. Mostly because I know I could do everything that needs doing in a fraction of the time, but taking the reins entirely isn't conducive to learning and so I have to hand over some responsibility little bits at a time, while also explaining rationales and such in the process. Plus, adding in an extra 12.5 hour shift into each week makes such a huge difference in my overall available time. Ready to be done.
• Lastly, I'm about 3/4 of the way through a 24 day challenge. Which doesn't necessarily take up a substantial amount of time (unless you count the fact that I'm pretty much cooking every meal... no ordering pizzas, which strangely enough is what I miss most of all), but I've definitely had a few cranky afternoons since dropping sugar & simple carbs. 

Here's hoping for a few lazy afternoons in the not so distant future...