Coming back to blogging means having things to write about. I did what anybody living in 2019 does, I crowd-sourced topics through Instagram questions. I got a lot great ideas, promised I’d use my writing muscle and then I got stuck on how to tackle one of the topics:

Life update, career goings on, how [I] stay connected to Latinx roots away from fam.

Of course that’s a few topics, but I thought I could easily knock out the life update post. And then I struggled with writing about the birth of my niece Zoey in August 2017. I’ve always been close to my sister Lori, but seeing her become a mother strengthened our relationship.

Zoey is a joy and I wish our kids could spend more time together. Zoey’s birth was the impetus for us to take a fall trip to meet her. I got to repay my sister in a little way for all the help and support she offered when Xavi and Archie were newborns. I wore her in the same sling ring I used with my kids too and got more than my share of newborn snuggles and chest naps.

That was the first of four trips I’d take over the next eight months (1 solo, 3 with the family). We typically don’t get out that much just because flights are expensive, but we managed with help from friends and family and a little luck.

In March we visited for Zoey’s baptism. Sean and I had the honor of being her padrinos and it was a nice respite from the endless winter weather (we came back to snow). In April I got lucky and won a trip to LA during Mother’s Day weekend thanks to the Super Mamás podcast. The contest included a hotel stay in Downtown LA which Sean and I used for some time to ourselves.

Other things in the last 18 months:

My kids insist on growing and checking off milestones. Xavi is now in kindergarten, has had a haircut (just one!) and is still all about trains.

Archie is almost 2.5, has strong opinions and is way stronger than you think someone his size could be. With new milestones comes new challenges and opportunities for learning about this parenting thing.

I got to meet 20+ of the moms in my online mom group in LA last January. These women became friends as we all had babies due in summer 2016. They’re a great source of support and having some time to connect with friends was fun. During this trip I got to surprise my sister for her birthday which was amazing.

I stayed up way too late to watch the Dodgers in the World Series (twice). I should feel lucky just to be able to say this, but now I just want a championship. Being an LA sports team on the East coast is hard.

I’ve always been a fan of podcasts, but I used to be able to balance them with other forms of entertainment like books and music. That dropped off with my newfound interest in true crime podcasts. At least I can doodle and work on my bullet journal while listening.

After about four years in Ithaca I’m still trying to make it feel like home by finding my community (read: friends). I have made it a point to explore more of my surroundings and am slowly checking off things.