Wordlight Wednesday

Best buddies!!!

 

 

Can't you just tell they are going to get into some serious trouble together?

Who can complain about getting up at 6AM when this is what you get to wake up to?

Almost crawling!

Sweet baby!

Pumping mothers, it's safe to go to Phoenix again

If you remember a couple months back, I was having nightmares about being kept in the security area by the TSA for traveling with breastmilk. I made it to and back from DC with no problems at all. Well, when I found out my next trip was going to be to the very same airport where this original nightmare occured for one woman, I was a little anxious to say the least.

Well, I'm sitting in the Phoenix airport now, Medela cooler bag in hand, completely unscathed. No emotional rollercoaster, no dirty looks and no drama. As I approached the security area, there was even a line dedicated to travelers with children and/or medical liquids. I did notice the screener glance to see if I had a baby with me, but I think he was just curious more than anything. All in all, an effortless experience.

Now, I'm just counting down the minutes until I get to see my babies! A big thank you to my wonderful mother-in-law for taking time off and coming up to help keep the boys while I was away. It makes traveling away from your babies a bit easier when you know they are being sufficiently spoiled!

Let's get this party started...

Made it to Phoenix after a LONG 5 hour direct flight, and now I'm ready to get to work!!! Just got our booth set up for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. This is one of the sub-centers within HSRC, where I work. I can't wait to start meeting and talking with other highway safety geeks. It's such a small field of work. Lots of people work in transportation, but not many work specifically on safety. I LOVE this part of my job - talking to people around the country and hearing the cool things they are doing to save lives.

ABCs of me

Let's see...I am about 2 hours early for a flight that is already delayed, so I was catching up on my blog reading. Saw a post like this, so I decided to get it a whirl! 

1. Age:30
2. Bed size: King. Once you go there, you can never go back.
3. Chore you hate: Cleaning toilets.
4. Dogs: Never owned one, but as I've said, we'll definitely get on the future once we have time for one more animal in the zoo!
5. Essential start to your day: Coffee, anything dark roast
6. Favorite color: Carolina blue!
7. Gold or silver: Silver
8. Height: 5’4"
9. Instruments that you can play:Used to play the coronet, which is like a small trumpet
10. Job title: Mom and wife (24 hours a day), Manager, Research Information and Education Programs (9-5)
11. Kids: Tyler - 3, Jake - 7 months
12. Live: Mebane, NC
13. Mom’s name:Linda
14. Nicknames: KDD, Kate 
15. Overnight hospital stays: 2, the births of my babies! 
16. Pet peeve: Rude customer service people.  
17. Quote from a movie: "Nobody puts baby in a corner"
18. Righty or lefty:Proud lefty!!
19. Sibling: 2, older brother and younger sister.
20. Time you wake up: Between 6:00 and 6:30
21. Underwear: Always bikini briefs, Toss up between Victoria's Secret and Hanes
22. Vegetables you dislike: Not many, maybe kale
23. What makes you run late: Not many things, but traffic occasionally. 
24. X-rays: Ankle/foot, right hand (twice)
25. Yummy food you make: pecan tassies, stuffed shells, chili 
26. Zoo favorite animal: The otters!

Friday Night Leftovers

• Headed to Phoenix tomorrow for the Lifesavers Conference. Basically several hundred people from across the country who are also extremely interested in all things highway safety. This will be my first overnight trip since I had Jake. In fact, it will be the first time I've been away from him overnight since he was born. I'm a little nervous about it, but it has to happen sometime. My amazing MIL is here to help out and sufficiently spoil the kids! 
• Speaking of highway safety, I am super excited the AAP released new guidelines for rear-facing car seats this week. I turned Tyler around at about 15 months, but I'm going to try and keep Jake rear-facing a lot longer.  
• Really excited to watch the Tar Heels play tonight!!! (and also excited to see Duke go DOWN last night) 
• My Blackberry died this week. I didn't realize how addicted I was/am to my Blackberry until I didn't have it for a few days. I almost got irritated when I would reach more my phone and couldn't use it. I think I might need Blackberry detox. 
• Going on over a month of only cooking one meal for dinner! 
• Jake is sitting up on his own. How did this happen so quickly?!?!? In about a month, I feel like he'll be crawling. He follows Tyler around with his eyes constantly, and with Tyler bouncing around the room, Jake is constantly rolling and turning to keep up.

Thankful on Thursday

This week I am especially thankful for the savings ecstasy that is also known as Harris Teeter Super Doubles! I scored $105 worth of groceries for $27!!! And everything I got was something we needed or will use. Personally, I don't buy 50 boxes of pasta or random things just because they're free. I'm not judging or anything - just don't have the space to keep it. 

I am now officially a loyal Harris Teeter shopper for the following reasons...

1. Double coupons - hello?!?! What's not awesome about getting twice the amount off of a coupon.

2. Balloons - They are never out of balloons. This is Tyler's favorite part. It's also a nice distraction from the Lucky Charms or whatever else Tyler wants at the moment.

3. Starbucks - There is a full service Starbucks in the Burlington HT. With the money I save, I splurge on a tall skinny vanilla latte. Yum!!!

4. Amazing customer service! - I have never once had an issue at any of the HTs I've been in and they don't give me the stink eye when I come down their aisle with a big stack of coupons, unlike some other places...ahem...Food Lion.

I Totally Meant to Do That

Tonight I enjoyed a lovely girls night out with a few of my favorite co-workers. We started the evening out at one of my new favorite restaurants, Vimala's. It's a little Indian place in Chapel Hill. In addition to the fact that their food is absolutely amazing, all of their ingredients come from local, family-owned farms. 

Next we headed over to Flyleaf Books for a book reading of I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden. She's a UNC grad who has a book out about transitioning from North Carolina to New York City. 

Here's what comedian Ed Helms (Andy from The Office) has to say about her... 

"If you took Mark Twain, shaved the mustache, added lady parts, and dropped him in present-day Manhattan, he’d wind up writing this fabulous book. Instead, the universe provided Jane Borden, who nailed it." 

The reading was refreshing and hilarious! She was just as funny in her commentary as she was reading excerpts from the book. I have definitely added this one to my list! SZ - I definitely think you would like this one!  

Overall, a great (and much needed) night out!