Our Month

We've been coughing, hacking, sniffling, breathing heavy all of December. Oh my goodness are we tired of this. I cannot stress enough the bummer that occurs when you go from a person who is never ever EVER sick to constant congestion, runny nose, and nastiness. People have told us it will get better. New place=new germs. Gosh, I hope so.

We've gotten out quite a bit despite sickness, on good days when symptoms aren't as bad or things seem to turn a corner. I hate how inconsiderate this seems, but we try to be careful. Cabin fever is real, especially when the world outside your door is so awesome. I hope we haven't spread anything. Maybe we aren't contagious anymore, just adjusting to a new location.

So, here's a mash up of random photos from late November and December.  Christmas is almost a week away, which is pretty incredible. I love this time of year; despite sickness it's always a magical time.

Notice my husband can levitate snowballs in the last few photos. Kind of amazing, eh? 

BOO! 2016

I'm not sure how October passed without a single blog post. All I know is, we were sick for about a third of it, and now it's November. Yikes.

Yesterday was Halloween, and Charlotte was completely into it. She talked most of the month about trick-or-treating and "spooky stuff." 

We took her and Eliza to Fairhaven for a local business-sponsored trick or treat. It was kind of magical. Growing up in the 90's, I watched all those seasonal movies, like Casper and Hocus Pocus. These movies were set in fictitious small towns decked out in Halloween paraphernalia, with a backdrop of beautiful fall colors, and a chill in the air.  Being from the South, I figured towns with this atmosphere were a Hollywood myth. Halloween in Alabama was warm and not a big deal. The people, in ever-lingering flipflops, didn't think too much of afore mentioned "spooky stuff" for various cultural reasons I won't go in to. It really just wasn't a "thing". Fall festivals and trunk or treat, yes. Halloween "stuff," no. Which is fine, I'm not saying good/bad either way.

BEST costume ever.

BEST costume ever.

Fairhaven though. The stuff of movie legends. It was so neat to see this little historic district so colorful, the shop owners completely in costume, laughter, excitement, and fun in the air. It sounds corny I know, but really. It was too cool. I'm an adult and I was excited. I think Charlotte had a pretty great time too.

 

 

Struck Down

Well it happened. My body finally gave it up and accepted a hardcore cold with warm and open arms. I have roots in daycare so normally my immune system is an impenetrable fortress. Not without sleep. I can count on one hand the number of *ok* sleep nights since arriving in Bellingham. My husband and I have burned the candle at both ends. We ran outta wax.

This week I've had to SLOW. DOWN. Leftovers. Ricolas. Kleenex. Lots of herbal woo-woo witchdoctor wellness tea. (this is not a paid endorsement of Kleenex or Ricola) It's been quite hard.

Today I woke up feeling a little bit better, and clearer, despite a very restless night. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, if we can all. just. sleep. 

Maybe, just maybe, we'll all wake up tomorrow rested and well. If not, blogging is a very low-key thing. I'll just prep more posts in this down time. Silver linings  :-)

Where Have I Been?

Hello all,

Sorry for the silence the last month and a half. Things have changed drastically for our family in a short time, but no worries, it's a very positive change. 

Around a month ago we decided to move to the Pacific Northwest. Over the last 8 years, we had traveled here often, made great friends, and fallen in love with the culture and environment of Washington. We talked often of moving out here, but the timing was never right. Finally, back in June, our stars aligned, and years of strategic decisions paid off. Very long story made embarrassingly short: WE MADE IT and we're trying out the PNW for a year.  

I'm so excited to be here with my husband and our girls. Hoping to branch out and get some work in the city. However, I'll definitely be easing back into things. Our first is still getting settled, as best as a 3 year old can (putting pictures on her walls, visiting parks, getting our library card).  Our second is still only 5 months and not sleeping through the night just yet.  AND, there's still a lovely pile of boxes of stuff to deal with in our new dining room.

Also, we just moved to one of the most beautiful places in the country, full of mountains and water and great food and all the things... SO, you won't be seeing a crazy amount of "work" from me for a while. But I will try to keep our Bellingham journey updated. It's hard to take family shots these days. When I do, it's so hard to decide what to share and what to keep just for us. Stick around, though. A year in Bellingham, ready, set, GO!

PS:

I'd like to take a moment to shout out "THANKS" to our great friends in Olympia who let me and the girls stay with them while my husband, sister-in-law, and other friends drove the dog and our cars from Alabama. And "THANKS!!" to the people who helped my husband drive out. We couldn't have done any of this without you guys' help <3 <3 <3