Each year, I struggle to find good things about the month of February. The month is so cold and dreary, and it really is the only thing standing between us and springtime. Usually, I celebrate the Super Bowl, as it is the last time until at least October that my weekend activities will be influenced by what time Steeler game is on. This year, after resisting for the past 3 seasons, I decided to just give in and join Mike in his obsession. Unfortunately, there was not much celebrating following that game :-(
Although, on Super Bowl Sunday, I was able to save my good friend Rachel from some temporary post-delivery insanity with some Steeler Smiley cookies, delivered straight from 'da burgh, and was able to meet her new baby Dean! He is such a cutie, and was probably the youngest baby that I have ever held. He didn't scream either, which was encouraging for this non-mother! I love that his head is smaller than the smiley cookie.
Speaking of near-term birth control, Mike and I made a visit to Pittsburgh the last weekend in January. I am very lucky that my husband's family lives in Pgh, and therefore we make it up there often, because two of my
best friends from college live there. Trips to 'da burgh are not only trips to see the Pascarella clan, but I get to see Diana and Angela much more than I would otherwise, which is awesome! On our most recent visit, we had made lunch plans which Angela (who was 15 days away from giving birth) and her husband Denis. We decided to take our 8-year old neice Bailey with us for the day. Bailey and Ang were already friends, as Bailey was the adorable flower girl in my wedding, so we figured it was a good opportunity to bring her along for a special trip with Auntie Alex and Uncle Michael. No joke, as soon as Bailey got into the car, she started talking! Gosh that kid has a lot of energy! At some point, she confesses that her daddy told her Uncle Michael wouldn't mind if she was a chatterbox, so don't be shy (thanks Steven)! So we did what any sensible auntie and uncle would have done in this situation - we took her to lunch, fed her lots of hot chocolate, cookies, and other sugars, and sent her home to mom and dad! All in all, we had a great time, and I think she a had a fun day too!
best friends from college live there. Trips to 'da burgh are not only trips to see the Pascarella clan, but I get to see Diana and Angela much more than I would otherwise, which is awesome! On our most recent visit, we had made lunch plans which Angela (who was 15 days away from giving birth) and her husband Denis. We decided to take our 8-year old neice Bailey with us for the day. Bailey and Ang were already friends, as Bailey was the adorable flower girl in my wedding, so we figured it was a good opportunity to bring her along for a special trip with Auntie Alex and Uncle Michael. No joke, as soon as Bailey got into the car, she started talking! Gosh that kid has a lot of energy! At some point, she confesses that her daddy told her Uncle Michael wouldn't mind if she was a chatterbox, so don't be shy (thanks Steven)! So we did what any sensible auntie and uncle would have done in this situation - we took her to lunch, fed her lots of hot chocolate, cookies, and other sugars, and sent her home to mom and dad! All in all, we had a great time, and I think she a had a fun day too!
We also welcomed Mike's dad, Ray, to DC for a weekend visit in February. He flew down, his first plane ride in 10 years, and we had a great weekend! Since it was the dead of winter, we did little besides eat, drink and relax, but we still had a terrific time, and I think he enjoyed the change of scenery.
Continuing the tour of babies for 2011, I also had the priviledge of meeting Lucas, adorable son of Jen and Eric, more friends from coll
ege. We popped up to Philly to meet the little guy during a trip to Delaware to visit Julie and Joe. I held Lucas for about an hour and a half. He screamed for the first 30 minutes, but eventually calmed down and fell asleep. I guess there is hope for me! We were able to spend a nice night with Julie, Joe and their adorable pugs. We had a great tapas dinner followed by a trip to their favorite Wilmington pub. Julie and I were hit on by 21 year olds, even after explaining that we were actually married to the guys sitting next to us. Apparently, we 
were so attractive, that they were willing to risk life and limb to continue the stimulating conversation. Either that or they were too drunk to understand what it means when I said the "my husband fights terrorists on airplanes." Oh well, Jules and I have now confirmed that we still got it (at least when it comes to 21 year olds on a friend's bar tour!)
ege. We popped up to Philly to meet the little guy during a trip to Delaware to visit Julie and Joe. I held Lucas for about an hour and a half. He screamed for the first 30 minutes, but eventually calmed down and fell asleep. I guess there is hope for me! We were able to spend a nice night with Julie, Joe and their adorable pugs. We had a great tapas dinner followed by a trip to their favorite Wilmington pub. Julie and I were hit on by 21 year olds, even after explaining that we were actually married to the guys sitting next to us. Apparently, we 
were so attractive, that they were willing to risk life and limb to continue the stimulating conversation. Either that or they were too drunk to understand what it means when I said the "my husband fights terrorists on airplanes." Oh well, Jules and I have now confirmed that we still got it (at least when it comes to 21 year olds on a friend's bar tour!)Since the month of march will start in 14 minutes, pretty safe to say that I did indeed survive another February! With Feb being my least favorite month of the year, I always have so much more hope when March arrives! Up next, a work trip to Brussels followed by a weekend in The Netherlands with friends from Duke, the annual Huvane St Pats Party (my 7th year in attendance!), and a trip to NYC at the end of the month. Hopefully the sun comes out and the snow is done.
