January and February 2018 Updates

2018 started off with a bang. If you recall from the previous post, both girls got sick in the first few days of the year when we were in upstate New York. We arrived back in North Carolina on January 3rd with a double ear infection (Rose) and RSV (Zoe) and rushed to get back before we got our first few inches of snow in North Carolina. We had experienced about 10 days of single digit (ie -freezing!) temperatures, and unfortunately brought some of that cold weather back to North Carolina with us. January 2018 was the coldest January I've experienced since moving south, and we had a handful of snow days, one of which included the most snow accumulation I've ever seen at our house. Cold is a relative term and it being "cold" in North Carolina is much more manageable than "cold" in New York. We could actually be outside enjoying the snow for an hour or two, with temperatures near the freezing mark (~30 degrees F).

Most snow we've ever had on our deck in the 6 years we've been here

The day after January 17, 2018 snowstorm

Sledding and building snowmen at the neighbor's house

The entire month wasn't freezing or snowy. We had two "snow storms." The first produced only a few inches that mostly melted the next day. The second big storm mostly melted within two days. That is why I love North Carolina.

During the month of January we also went to our beloved Museum of Life & Sciences in Durham, went to the bounce house, found kid play areas in new places (like Home Depot), and celebrated Rose's 4th birthday a little early with a few friends who had January birthdays. I celebrated Zoe mostly being potty trained (and the end of cloth diapers) by buying a new washer and dryer. I also decided that 2018 was going to be the year to really work on "fixing" my back. I started back up with a physical therapist to work on strengthening the core.

Painting at Home Depot

Rose and Landon's 4th Birthday and Liv's first!

Celebrating the birthday girl with her friends from school

The month of February always goes by so quickly. It's a short month and we celebrate Rose's birthday several times, including the day of her birth. We like to celebrate her birthday with the other February birthdays in the family - Rose's aunt and grandmother (Colin's sister and mother). That means we usually take a trip up to New York. This year we drove up and I spent the week with the girls. Thankfully the weather wasn't nearly as cold as it was in December/January. We actually had a warm spell and went to a snow tubing park where most of the snow had melted. Thankfully, we came back to North Carolina without illnesses the second time around.

Even for her birthday, Rose isn't quick to wake up

Dancing to end her birthday (and use up the cupcake sugar!)

Driving the 12 hours to New York

Lots of bilingual singing in the car on this trip!

Zoe now loves smiling for the camera for selfies (when she's in the mood)

We checked out some programs at the Music School in Albany - both girls had a blast!

Sledding with cousin Isabella

This year, February was even busier because of a grant application I wasn't prepared for. Over the past few years, I've had to write some federal grants that bring in significant funds for the state to offer health programs, but they've been written to the same funder each spring. My agency (and by "my agency" I mean "I") was asked to take the lead on a big, competitive CDC grant. It involved collaborating with a lot of internal and external partners, creating a complex plan for meeting very ambitious outcomes, and figuring out how to detail it all in a narrative and workplan with page restrictions. It also came at a time when I knew we'd be applying for another federal grant soon after (likely to overlap), and while my office was/is short-staffed at leadership and project management levels. It is really difficult to find the work-life balance when work is over-the-top stressful. I tried to engage with the girls and Colin during "family time," and to keep work separate, but the mental and emotional fatigue and stresses are harder to separate. I struggle daily with patience, and really had to work on it the past few months through the writing of two big grants from February through May.

Stay tuned for updates from March and April. There was an unfortunate injury in there for me, but spring and nicer weather mean we had a lot of fun outdoor activities start back up.

Celebrating with friends in the Albany area (May 27-30)

I usually join former Knoxville, TN teammates for a weekend soccer tournament in Charleston, SC for the Memorial Day holiday.  This year, however, Colin was a groomsman in his good friend's wedding.  Our travels for the long weekend instead brought us to upstate New York for a wedding!

Enjoying the wedding atmosphere!

From late April until mid-May, we unsuccessfully bid for cheap flights on Priceline.com.  We jumped on a (non-Priceline) $149 roundtrip ticket to Providence, RI, hoping the airline would overbook the flight on Friday evening so we could fly directly to Albany on Saturday morning.  Failing that, we'd still get to spend extra time with my family, resulting in a win-win situation.

The addition to our family posed some challenges.  Because we now had a puppy to think about, we gave serious consideration to driving up to New York for the 3-day weekend.  If you've ever driven in long weekend traffic, you probably know that was not tops on our list.

The planets aligned for us that weekend.  The first wonderful thing that happened was our roommate graciously agreeing to watch our little guy all weekend.  The other wonderful thing was that Darwin stayed in his crate all night without any accidents while we were away!  It set the precedent for keeping him in his crate in the living room overnight - which led to more restful nights when we returned!

Our travel plans worked out just fine.  While our flight was delayed 2 hours out of Raleigh, it was not overbooked and we still made it to Providence, RI almost on time.  Nothing like making up the time "in the air."  We also had some smooth riding for the three hour drive from Rhode Island to Albany.  My family was nice enough to drive us to western Massachusetts for the first part of the trip and Colin's parents were nice enough to pick us up and drive us the rest of the way to Albany.  It was also really helpful that Colin's parents let us drive their second car all weekend!!

After freshening up and a quick snack, we were off to the afternoon wedding rehearsal, which was followed by cocktails and a catered meal in the garden of the house of the groom's mom.  The weather complied with a perfect 80 degrees and even felt quite hot in the mid-day sun.  Apparently we brought Raleigh with us, and the airline didn’t charge for extra luggage!  It was great to catch up with Colin's friends, whom we only see a few times a year.  Thankfully, most still live in the Albany area, so it's easy to see them when we visit Colin's family.

The big wedding day arrived on Sunday.  In my typical "fashionably late" way, my late arrival resulted in not getting the best seat in the church.  But I was grateful to sit in the back near the open door when I realized how hot it was in the church!  I would call 80+ degrees in upstate New York in May, "unseasonably warm."  Most people didn't have to worry about overheating though, because the church service was among the quickest I have attended.  I'm sure the groom was grateful, considering how nervous he looked the whole time.

Mr. & Mrs. Paul and Lynn Hoffman

Partying with the Albany crew is almost always a good time.  After a few drinks, most everyone is on the dance floor.

Even Colin gets out there to cut a jib on occasion.  The food and cake were delicious, the conversation enjoyable, the bride and groom looked fantastic. Overall everyone seemed to have a great time.  I would consider it a great success!

A group photo with the Bride and Groom

Friends over 15 years

It was nice to have Monday off as another travel day to get back to Rhode Island to then head back to Raleigh. Colin's friends who live in Boston were able to take us most of the way, which made it easier on my family.  While our time was short in Rhode Island, we enjoyed a nice Memorial Day barbecue.

Coming back to Raleigh was exhausting.  With all the excitement and adrenaline of traveling and a wedding behind us, the lack of sleep hit us when we returned.  Thankfully, the memories of a good time made it all worth it. 

How often do you get to see friends who live far away?
Do you find yourself only getting together for major events, like weddings?