Only a year later...

I took a 14-month hiatus from this blog, as evidenced by my last entry announcing Zane's birth. Now, he is a walking, talking, squawking little fella who is slowly but surely developing his little personality. He is also unfortunate enough to not have had the milestones that got him to this point recorded for all time. Facebook took on some of that role, but I recognize it's just not the same as having several paragraphs (or pages) written about him here.

So much has changed since that entry over a year ago. After figuring out some technical glitches, I am hoping to get back to blogging some more for posterity's sake. But I am also hoping to chronicle two personal projects I have for this year: one is to train towards a 10K and the other is to make some clothes. I am in the process of moving forward with both goals today, but I wanted to add another dimension to making them a reality. I began thinking about what I could do in that regard, and it suddenly dawned on me that I had a dormant blog waiting for content. Boom. Plus, I kinda miss writing.

Obviously, my most important goal is to raise my boys to be happy and healthy. I would scrap both of my above goals if I thought pursuing either one would cause any harm to the kiddos. So I might mention them from time to time here, too.

Like, maybe, right now?

So, Mateo: He is already in kindergarten. Wa wa what?? The transition has been a little intense, although it is only two weeks in. I think a lot of the intensity comes from the fact that Mateo has been a napper his whole life, and kindergarten does not include naps. Most kids I know have dropped the nap by 4 or 5, but not Teo. So he has to go! go! go! from 6:30 am until I pick him up in the late afternoon, and I think he is just exhausted and overwhelmed by the time I get there. The last few days, he has cried over the smallest and strangest things. I am trying to stay zen overall, and most importantly in those moments when he is freaking out, but it is a little tough at times. On the positive side, he is writing and reading and he has already said, "My friend so-and-so" with several different names filled in that blank. He has learned some dances and songs, and I think he really enjoys his classroom. Homey is just TIRED.

Zane: where do I start with the cute? Right now he is walking a lot but still falls on his tush. He started crawling around 8 months and took his first steps the day before his first year birthday, so we are now in the wobbly drunken midget phase, if you will. Words he knows include the following: baloon, ball, go, mama, dada, dog, night-night, pee-pee, poop, water, milk, bowl, apple, bye-bye, hi, no, uh-oh. He is wearing size 2T already, so I am pretty sure he is a giant by toddler standards. He eats a lot of food, and occasionally does so for 1-2 hour eating marathons. He likes odd foods such as pepperoni and olives. He has also turned out to be a big flirt and a bit of a prankster.

Both boys love to dance and we spend a lot of time playing/singing music together and holding dance parties in our living room. Jeff invented a song called "Go Crazy!" in which the kids, well, go crazy. We went on a lot of adventures this summer, including: camping at Olallie Lake, a family trip to Sun River, a long drive to see the grandparents in Idaho, a day trip to the coast to go crabbing, and a week-long road trip to San Francisco and back. Our kids are awesome travellers! They really are adventurous and fun to take along. I am so grateful that they travel well.

While in Sun River, the majority of the adults in our family signed up for a 5K and the kids did a fun run. This was a great experience. I had been training for the 5K (alongside my sister, Kari!) for almost two months and it was great to see I was able to do it! The experience has pushed me towards my current 10K goal. For the first time in my life, I am enjoying running in a different way. It is so amazing to feel my body adapting to the exercise and then being able to be pushed a little further. We have another 5K in about ten days. After an annoying foot injury, I think I am back in the game and I am excited to give this run a shot.

And sewing. I have had two months off before I start a new job (oh yeah, I finished grad school and got a job, too...). It has been amazing. Much of it was spent on the adventures outlined above, but I have also dedicated a lot of time/energy to learning to sew. This has been a goal for me since 2007, but as a single mom, it was impossible to make happen. I put it on the back burner for awhile. I picked it back up again in 2009 when I took an introductory sewing course. That was great, but still not enough, as sewing is a pretty mighty beast.

This year, I have started to learn in earnest. I have taken a couple different courses, and I have now successfully sewn a few different things: baby wraps, some skirts, various clothing items for the kiddos, a tote, and a knit shirt. I have so many projects in my head and am starting to be able to look at a pattern and imagine the construction. This is such an amazing space to be in, where I am finally able to envision both execution and finished product. So great.

When I sew, time seems to move at lightning speed. I can begin a project and suddenly three hours have sped by. This is how I know I am truly doing something I love. Because of this, I am thinking of keeping track of my projects here, as a way to look back on my progress. I may make a separate site, not sure. At any rate, I am going to finish up a skirt today and then my next project I will try to get recorded. I am thinking next up will be something from Meg McElwee's course on knits.

So. Anyway. It's been a great year. Just take my word for it. :)