Tuk & Tam is 1!

It’s hard to believe but it’s been a year since I started this blog. This was definitely a year of ch-ch-changes for us. Here are the biggies:

• Paul and I quit our magazine editing jobs.
• We packed up our daughter, our two cats and all our worldly possessions and moved from FL to temporary housing in the Washington, D.C. area, so my dear husband can start a new career as a diplomat.
• Paul went through A-100 (the initial training all new US diplomats get) and got his first Foreign Service post: a one-year assignment at the office of eDiplomacy in Washington, D.C.
• We became fast friends with wonderful people from Paul’s training class, which made the move and transition easier.
• I “met” more wonderful people (mostly ladies) through my blog and the Foreign Service blog world, which has helped me stay sane and learn more about what’s ahead in this lifestyle.
• We spent time with family and old friends from the D.C. area, which has been a blessing as well.
• Nia started at a new school, with new teachers and new classmates.
• We moved again (from our temporary apartment to a more permanent one).
• I took the FSOT (Foreign Service Officer Test) and failed miserably :-(
• We got pregnant again – yey!
• I surprised myself and Paul, among other people, by deciding not to go back to work during the pregnancy and for at least the first six months thereafter, ha!
• My mother visited us during the summer and we helped her apply for her US citizenship.
• Paul got his second Foreign Service assignment: consular officer at the US Embassy in New Delhi starting in May 2012.
• I (preemptively) started learning Hindi with the help of Rosetta Stone (but have not gotten very far).
• My mother came back in December for her US Citizenship Test, which she passed with flying colors but we are still waiting for an invitation for her to get sworn in as a US Citizen.
• Nia was moved from first to second grade in the middle of the school year, which did not go as smoothly as anticipated but we are slowly ironing out the kinks.
• Our precious son Max was born five weeks early on 2/12/2011 but is doing very well and getting cuter by the minute, if I say so myself.

• The last three weeks have been a sleepless blur but we spent them getting to know Max and getting used to being parents of a very hyper 7-year old and a newborn.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings. I didn’t expect this blog to be therapeutic but writing here and hearing from all of you has helped me deal with difficult situations and I truly appreciate you being there for me!