created especially for us: Busy, Crazy, Awesome Life

On a weekly basis I write the skeleton of a blog post in my head, the things I want to share and go into more detail about because that week is going to be the week where I finally go less than a month between posts and not a whole lot has happened in that short amount of time that I can actually write about the smaller stuff. Clearly these are just fantasies. I'm not going to complain though because I'd rather be living my life than constantly writing about it. =]

My last post was just before mine and James's birthdays. Both of them were wonderful, spent with family and enjoying food and laughs together. Being around the people I love is my favorite way to spend a birthday. I still have a hard time accepting that James is over a year old (or that I'm this much closer to my 30s). He's a TODDLER now. Blows. My. Mind. I still can't quite get over it when he comes walking around a corner rather than crawling around it.

A few other quick updates on James:

Walking: as you know from my last post, James is walking and is now doing so about 90% of the time. It's to a point now where it's kind of weird to see him crawl.

Stairs: for several months now, James has LOVED climbing the stairs, and he's shockingly fast at it, too. Recently we've been working on how to go down them (or get off of things) by going down feet/butt first. We're practicing on the couch right now (cushions removed) and he's definitely starting to get the hang of it which is exciting and a little sad to see him becoming so independent.

Talking: he's still not quite there yet. He recognizes a lot of words/commands and their meanings (e.g. blow a kiss, wave, clap, he can do the sign language for milk, etc) and he LOVES to point at things and say something that sounds like" what's that/huzzah/wassuupp". He does say mama and dada but not often with meaning behind it.

Sleeping: I started night weaning James at the beginning of September and he took to it extremely quickly which I was both surprised and ecstatic about. Then we both got the flu and all bets were off. I didn't mind though because I was so miserable myself that I felt terrible for him. We're back to it though and he's doing okay. Some nights are better than other. He has nights that he's gone 9.5-10.5 hours before walking up. Other nights he makes it only seven and I have to give him back his pacifier for him to settle down and even that doesn't always work and he's left to his own devices. Which last way too long some nights. But it's a step in the right direction which I am very happy and thankful for. There is a light at the end of the tunnel to this constant mombie (mom zombie) status.

Things have been CRAZY around here, which is the main reason I haven't had time to blog. The last three weeks Brian averaged 60 hour/week at work and he's studying for his professional engineering (PE) exam on top of it. The test is an eight hour test at the end of October and covers, as you can guess, A LOT of information. He would get up early to go to work, come home late and study until bed and get up and do it all over again. Thankfully things are settling down this week and he'll be back to normal working hours. It will be really nice when his test is over though, for both of us.

On top of all that, and my taking on some of his normal responsibilities (lawn mowing, etc), I have also had extra on my plate. Remember when I said I finally figured out what I want to do job-wise that will also allow me to work from home? **Drum roll please** I decided to become certified as a personal trainer! Anyone who I talk with on a regular basis has already figured out that fitness has become a huge passion of mine over the last several years. I love talking with people about it and helping others using the knowledge I've gained doing a lot of research on it in my own time. I began studying towards the end of June and have until mid-December to take the test. My goal with this is to be able to train people online using social media like Facebook and Instagram and work with them on a personal level through email, text, chatting, etc. I've been headed down this path already using Instagram (@gluteusmammatus) and have just recently created a Facebook page to help me reach more people. You can find it at www.facebook.com/gluteusmammatus or search "Gluteus Mammatus Fitness" in the search bar on FB. Details about the name and what the page will include are located in the "about" section on the page. For those of you on FB, please "like" it and feel free to share it with friends!

I hope to evolve this in several other ways, but this is my starting point right now. For anyone who has questions/comments/etc for me about any of this please feel free to contact me through the FB page or send me an email at: mammatusfitness@gmail.com and feel free to follow me on IG as well!

I'm really excited to be heading in a direction towards something that I love and have such a passion for, even if it's adding to the chaos right now. It will definitely be worth it. Life is good!

Love,
-K