Over the weekend I had the privilege of touring a Garment Factory that one of my expat friends owns. It’s a large-scale production, producing roughly 25,000 pieces per day and employing over...
Foreign Service Life
Click the photo to check out the highlights from our most recent photo book!
Hi all- I hit the halfway mark of the pregnancy this week and thought I’d post another picture since I’m finally starting to have a legitimate belly. Just pulled out the first maternity...
I know I’ve been MIA for too long by the large number of emails and FB messages I’ve been getting about why I’m not posting. Thank you all for being such devoted readers who...
Little did I know that when I got back to the States I’d become a garage sale addict, but boy is it intoxicating to find great deals on barely-used baby stuff. Seriously, for those who...
Last week was stressful. So stressful, in fact, that I couldn’t even write about it until today when all the residual stress had been massaged out of me. And what, you might ask, had me in such...
I know you’re sick of hearing about baby and my amazing garage sale finds. The thing is, that’s what I’m obsessed with at the moment. I think garage-saling is my form of nesting...
Big day today. After an extensive search, I finally selected my Prenatal Yoga Studio. I ended up choosing Blooma in St. Paul, which is devoted exclusively to Pre and Post-natal Yoga, in addition to...
As with all things in this pregnancy, I am finding it impossible to wait. Yes, I could hold out on you and not tell what the name is till the birth. But that’s just not my style! Surprisingly...
Miller Sisters at the Groom’s Dinner. L to R: Beth (3rd), Emily (2nd), Jenna (4th), Sarah (1st) It was a big weekend in the Miller Household. Emily Miller (second oldest) married her superstar...
Owning a cabin is pretty dang amazing. I mean, there was nothing like the ‘cabin lifestyle’ in Manila. Hence, I am appreciating all my glorious time here. As you might imagine, the three...
One of the best pregnancy benefits I’ve experienced thus far has been an increased awareness of my body. I think this occurs naturally for most pregnant women, but to varying degrees depending...
As I wrote yesterday, I’ve had a fascinating time tuning into my body over the course of this pregnancy. I’ve realized that my physical body is just another way that I receive messages...
As most of you know, Nick and I have been apart since early June. While we’ve both done pretty well with the separation, I was pretty bummed that he wouldn’t be here for my birthday on...
Hi Blog Readers – I just got my first US ultrasound done last Thursday. Boy was the tech surprised when she casually asked if this was my first ultrasound and I replied that it was actually my...
On Sunday afternoon my Mom and Sisters threw a Baby Shower so our friends and relatives could celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Nia. Given that my Mom was in charge, guests knew that they could...
Have I mentioned that my husband amuses the heck out of me? Get this. He’s been begging me for months to find him a baby that he can practice diapering and swaddling on. He initially wanted a...
Nick and I spent the last week hanging with my family at our cabin in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. While our ultimate goal was just to relax and enjoy each others’ company, Nick managed to try out a...
My belly is finally getting some substance to it now that I’m two weeks into the third trimester. Nick and I are currently in Bend, Oregon with Nick’s parents and I’m taking...
As some of you may remember, we had booked our dream trip to Bhutan back in early 2011, about 2 weeks before we found out we were pregnant. Unfortunately, the altitude of Bhutan is such that they do...
We just wrapped up our fourth week of home leave (two more weeks to go). A week ago we transferred from Minnesota to Bend, Oregon to visit Nick’s parents. This is my first time visiting the...
What a fantastic second week in Bend, OR! We got to check out a couple of the hot spots including Smith Rock (top 3 photos) where rock climbers do their thing. Unfortunately we went at a time of day...
Nick and I started our 8-day Road Trip in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday. We left from Bend, Oregon in our borrowed mini van (thanks to the in-laws) and motored our way west to the Oregon Coast. We...
After three months of being transient, I am pleased to say that we are finally en route to DC where we’ll reside for the next nine months. The car is stuffed to the gills with all my garage...
We had our 7th ultrasound of Nia today and I’m pleased to report that she’s thriving in my womb. She is up to a robust 5 pounds now and is measuring in the 78th percentile. I let her know...
It’s been a heck of a week folks. Â Last Friday we pulled out of MN at 6 AM, headed for our nation’s capital. Â Given that I feel like humpty dumpty now at 34 weeks pregnant, I convinced...
With less than 6 weeks to go now, I’m starting to acquire quite the bump. Â Honestly, it doesn’t feel that much bigger than the 30 wk bump and I’m crossing my fingers that it just...
I thought you’d enjoy seeing a couple pictures of where we’ll be living for the next few months. The decorating could definitely use some work (the downside of pre-furnished housing), but...
I’ve been a girl on a mission this last week. While the setting up house was important insomuch as it made Nick and I feel more at ease, the critical issue at hand was putting together our...
Fact: 10-15% of women are affected by postpartum depression (PPD). Fact: If you have a history of depression in your past, you are 30% MORE LIKELY than the average woman to get postpartum depression...
I am officially registering a complaint! At 36 1/2 weeks, pregnancy is no longer fun. Yes, up until Saturday, I would have told you that I was having a jolly good time being pregnant. I felt like my...
It started out as one of those normal Thursday mornings. I woke up, got dressed and headed out for my short walk to Caribou Coffee to get my morning mocha. There was however one fun small change-up...
Well folks, we’ve reached the 37 week mark and with all the recent pain in my legs from her compressing my sciatic nerve, I’m VERY ready for her to come out. And technically, I’m...
A Brief History of My Relationship with My Body I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about when I say “my relationship with my body’. Surprisingly, we all...
In case it isn’t obvious, I’ve got some MAJOR control issues surfacing around this whole birth thing. This is frustrating for a variety of reasons, but most notably because I’ve...
Baby is slowly starting to make her way down. Hopefully it’ll be any time now that we’re welcoming Nia into the world. . .
I had an experience on Wednesday that gave new meaning to the phrase “Rolling Out the Red Carpet.” It was, hands down, one of the most exceptional service experiences I have ever had. I...
Patience has never been one of my strong suits and honestly, these last 10 days have been downright torturous for me as I await Baby Nia’s arrival. So much open space on the calendar and...
This is very amusing (and definitely makes me sound more important than I am). Browhaus, my favorite eyebrow threading place in the Philippines, turned my blog post into an endorsement of their shop...
So, tomorrow (October 21st) is my official due date. I had what I **HOPE** will be my last Doctor appointment this morning and was THRILLED to finally get some uplifting news. Here’s what we...
We are delighted to announce that after a 14 hour labor, we welcomed a healthy baby girl into our family. Her name is Nia Marisa Novak and she weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz. She was 20 inches in length...
It’s hard to believe, but Nia turns one week old today! As most parents would attest to, it’s been a complete and total blur. Nothing could have prepared me for the delusional state that...
I was starting to go a bit stir crazy in the house and decided it was time for Nia and I to take our first outing (Dr’s visits don’t count). It was a WILD adventure. We started by going...
So, I’m afraid I’ve hit my max. With a diagnosis of Shingles yesterday, a dead car battery today and Nick going back to work on Monday it’s just not looking so optimistic for Mama...
Oh friends, it’s starting to become laughable how many things have not gone according to plan. Of course, I’m still shedding a few tears over each miss but I expect that I’ll...
So last night I decided to make my first solo trip out to Target to get some miscellaneous baby items I needed in Minnesota. My Mom was happy to watch Nia for a bit and I was excited to get out after...
Nia got to meet her Minnesota Aunties for the first time this past weekend. They’re helping me take care of her while I get a hang of this parenting thing.
Auntie Emily
Auntie Beth
Auntie Jenna
Well, we finally got Nia’s Photo Shoot proofs back. Actually, they were better than I expected given how uncooperative she was. You can see all 16 final shots HERE. Would love to hear which are...
We are in the habit of making videos for Nick each day. This one was so good I thought we’d share it with a wider audience! Warning: Projectile Vomiting at min 00:25. Watch at your own...
Every year I select an ornament that captures something representative of the year. It gives me a way to collect meaningful ornaments for our tree and also helps me remember the major events. I was...