March 2015

March 2015

The month of March went well for us.  As you will see below, I was gone for a week traveling for work, Allison is trying out a new sport and we have had our hands full with the 2 girls who can go from acting like best friends to enemies very quickly…but I assume that is the start of the rest of their relationship! 

 

I went to Asti, Italy during the 3^rd week of March.  This is the same location I’ve been to a few times and by now, I’m pretty comfortable with my surroundings and adjust pretty easily to the time difference.  I was traveling with 2 people I hadn’t travelled with before, so that made it a little interesting, especially when you consider that you are spending most hours together in a conference room, eating meals or travelling.  The day before we left to come home, we learned our flight from New Jersey to Indy was cancelled so we got new flights with a stop in Detroit.  By the time we arrived in New Jersey, everything was delayed due to weather and we weren’t going to catch our flight home in Detroit.  It was at that time that we decided our options were to drive 10 hours from New Jersey or spend the night and come home the next day.  We left and I got home at 2:30 in the morning.  So, we flew 9 hours to only end up driving 10 to get home.  Not the best way to end the trip, but I was glad to make it home late Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon.  Deb said the girls behaved well while I was gone and that it was getting “easier” when I have my rare trips for work.  Thankfully, Aunt Beth came by one evening with pizza and helped out with the girls. 

 

This month marked 4 years since my dad has passed and although each year that day comes and goes with a little more ease, the thoughts or memories when I’m by myself are still frequent and difficult.  As my dad’s son, there were really only 2 things that I ever really wanted (and I got frequently).  I wanted to laugh with him and I wanted to know he was proud of me.  Now that I’m a dad and trying to figure it out as I go, it sure would be great to hear his laugh after a long week or just to know that he is proud of how I’m doing. 

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah has been waking up early most days.  She is waking up between 6 and 6:30 most mornings and will talk to herself for about 20 minutes before yelling out for one of us.  Since we are used to both girls sleeping until we get them up for school, this has made our ability to get ready for work a little more difficult.  The good news is that she is starting to communicate more, so we can talk with her as we get ready for work and if she happens to wake up Allison, then they can interact and entertain each other.  

 

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison has started playing basketball Saturday mornings at the YMCA.  We were motivated to do this by a neighbor who Allison loves to play with, so the two of them are on the same team.  Along with that, his dad and I are the coaches of the team.  We are coaching 3-4 year-olds and it is quite entertaining to attempt to teach them about offense, defense, rebounds and not fouling.  We have 30 minutes of practice followed by a 30 minute game.  The game starts with the national anthem and then we play a few quarters of basketball.  I have a great time with it, but it sure is a test of patience when you have all these kids running around!   

 

A few more items from this month:

• I went to a Board of Director’s dinner at Amalfi’s.  Each March our company has our annual shareholder meeting and the night before the management team usually accompanies the Board to dinner. 
• We were fortunate enough to meet up with Brad and Jenn out in Plainfield in mid-march.  It was great to catch-up with them and see how their transition to Chicago from San Francisco has been going. 
• Deb had a girls night at Amy Pigman’s and it was their first one of the year with that crew.  Their theme was “Canadian” foods, so I think Deb brought some Labatt Blue! 
• Matt invited me to a Pacer game toward the end of the month vs. the Mavericks.  It was good to catch up with him and meet some of the people he works with. 
• For lent this year, we decided to institute a policy that we put our phones on the kitchen counter when we are at home.  We hoped this would allow us to spend more time with the girls and not be as distracted, but I don’t know if that occurred or if we were more concerned about what we were missing!