Hi, everyone! These last few weeks (months?) have been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of changes and new routines to get used to. I’m here with an update on all of the newness in our lives including a new job, Invisalign, new daycares, and a new furbaby!

Beauty

I cut my hair and I started Invisalign!

You can’t even see them!

In middle school, I wore braces for two and a half years. Over these last few years I could tell that my teeth have been shifting. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my smile and finally decided to do something about it – Invisalign! I started mid-November and wear a special set of trays for one week and then change to the next special set. Each set applies the right amount of force to move my teeth to where they need to be. I’ll be wearing them for about 9 months, which is a piece of cake compared to the years I spent in metal braces. I’m slowly acclimating to them but the best part is I’ll be done before you know it!

Work

In November, I started a new job at Duke University as a program coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research and I’m housed within the Department of Population Health Sciences. I coordinate the social and behavioral sciences program for investigators who research HIV/AIDS, so I’m still working in the field of sexual health – my passion – but in a slightly different capacity. I’ve been with this job for a little over a month now and I’m loving it so far. My team is amazing, my office is bright and happy, and I really like the work I’m doing it. It was a much needed change of pace and a great step up in my career.

My sweet digs at the new office.

Home & Family

As if a new job and new teeth (sort of) weren’t enough, we decided to move Sebastian to a new daycare and then we adopted another dog!

New School

Santa visited Sebastian at his new school. He was so excited! He told Santa he wanted cars for Christmas.

Seb’s new daycare is about 10 minutes from my new office and I like being so close by in case anything happens. It’s located farther away from our house than his previous daycare (about 20 mins vs. 7 minutes) so we’ve had to create a new morning routine to make sure we’re ready and out the door without being late. It has been worth it, though, because in the short time that he’s been at this new daycare he has flourished! He’s happier, speaking more, and singing songs. At his old daycare, he was having a bathroom “accident” almost every day but at this new daycare he hasn’t had a single one. I had had some suspicions about his former teachers not paying enough attention to the kids and this kind of confirms it. But the important thing is that he’s thriving now!

New Puppy

Meet Milo, our new puppy!

Milo Pilo

He’s a 1.5-year-old Chihuahua mix, and he’s quite the snuggle bug. We adopted him at the beginning of December and fell in love immediately. He’s such a sweet, wiggly little guy and we’re so happy to have him. We had a few early hiccups but he’s settling in quite nicely! We chose his name because we thought it sounded good with our other dog, Mia. Mia and Milo… kind of rolls off the tongue! His full name is Milo Pilo with ‘Pilo’ being a subtle nod to Nick’s and my favorite TV show in the whole world, Parks and Recreation per the clip below…

…and also because we make our dogs’ names rhyme! Chico Antonio, Mia Sophia, and Milo Pilo. It’s just what we do 🙂 I mean, look at how cute they are!

Mia & Milo

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. With the holidays coming up, we’ll be even busier but I have a few things in the works for the new year so I hope you’ll stick with me. Wishing you all the best!

Xo, Nicole

The hardest thing for me about being a working mother is dropping Sebastian off at daycare every morning. If I had my way about it, I would cuddle him all day long until he was old enough to leave for college. But I can’t, so daycare it is. The next hardest thing is pumping at work. It isn’t really that difficult, but it is a pain in the rear end to have to stop what I’m doing every 2 to 3 hours to hook the ladies up to a machine to extract my baby’s liquid gold.

Surprisingly, my office does not have a specific lactation room where I can pump undisturbed. I say it’s surprising because I work for a women’s health organization that wants women to have all the choices. I supposed it’s hard to walk the walk sometimes, but I digress. For a while I was pumping three times a day in a vacant office but then they hired someone to fill it and I either had to get creative or pump in my team’s bathroom. So here’s what I do: I pump at my desk in my cubicle.

Cramped quarters, but it gets the job done

To do this, I purchased a tension rod and curtain panel to place in the doorway of my cubicle so I can have some privacy. This works for me because we have tall cube walls, and our office space used to be an apartment building. My team is located in an area that used to be a small apartment and there are only  5 people on my team who use the space, so I actually have a lot of privacy already. Add in the fact that we have very little foot traffic on our floor and I was able to create a little space for pumping.

Curtain door to provide some privacy

I placed a clip on either side of the doorway to secure the curtain in place so there aren’t any gaps between wall and curtain. I didn’t want to take any chances that the curtain would blow open or something like that when someone does walk by. It’s still a pain to have to have to stop what I’m doing to get set up, but I don’t have to leave my desk so my flow doesn’t get too interrupted.

Clipped on the sides to prevent gaps

I’m not going to lie, I would love to leave my curtain-door up all day long so that no one bothered me, but I can’t. So the rest of the time, I’ve clipped it to the side so it isn’t in the way, and to let my coworkers know it’s alright to approach me. Lately I’ve tried to fold it a little neater when I clip so it doesn’t look like a hot mess (like in the photo below) but as long as it’s out of the way, I don’t usually worry about it.

Clipped out of the way the rest of the time

Even thought we have tall cubicle walls, I’ve warned my coworker who sits in the cube right beside me to be careful when he stands up because he’s really tall and can probably see over the wall. That’s more for his comfort than for mine; it’s pretty amazing how little modesty one has when one becomes used to whipping out a breast to feed a baby. The only other con is that if my boss or other coworker isn’t paying attention, they’ll run right into the tension rod when they walk into my cube. But as long as they’re alert, it isn’t usually a problem.

So, that’s how I turned lemons into lemonade. I figure I only have to keep doing this for the next 9+ months until Sebastian starts eating PB&J sandwiches, right? 🙂

Have you ever had to get creative/resourceful for work?

I work for a nonprofit organization and I love it. It wasn’t something I set out to do but, once it happened, I was hooked. I’ve always wanted to spend my life doing something meaningful that helped people, and health is my jam. So it’s only natural that I ended up at an organization that specializes in women’s health and rights. My current role is grant writing so I’m responsible for writing and editing donor documents to raise and sustain funds needed to operate our programs. AND I get to work with our colleagues in Latin America. But I’m not here to give you my LinkedIn profile. I want to talk a little bit about what it’s like to work for a nonprofit.  Of course, every nonprofit is different but here a few of the things that I like most about mine:

Office Attire

As you can probably imagine, my office environment is very casual, so my work outfits seriously range from jeans and a t-shirt to a suit. Just kidding, I’ve never actually worn a suit to work – not even when I interviewed for both positions I’ve had there – but I could if I wanted! I do try to keep it business casual, though, so I usually try to include a blazer or trousers or nice blouse in each outfit. I do appreciate that on the mornings when I struggle to find my motivation, it is totally acceptable to throw on jeans and a sweatshirt. 

You’ll usually find me sitting at my desk in something like this:

Or this:

Overheard conversation from yesterday:

Coworker 1: “Look at you in your fancy dress and fancy shoes. What are you all dressed up for?”
Coworker 2: “Because it’s Tuesday!”

And she really was looking super cute in a floral shirt dress and thrifted mules!

Everyone Cares about the Same Thing

We’re very mission-driven and we’re all there to do our parts to make the world a better place. That doesn’t mean we don’t have our different (and sometimes clashing) personalities, difficult meetings, and office politics but we do have a common goal that reaches way beyond making money. It’s a great feeling to be surrounded by like-minded, intelligent people who are willing to fight the same fight that you are, and it’s comforting to know you’re doing it together.

We save lives, people!

Big Cubicles

My cube has actually shrunk recently, but I’ve had pretty big spaces up until now. BUT I get a window with lots of natural light. It doesn’t get much better than that!

I’ve since added a small bookcase so my space is super cozy and did I mention I get to sit next to a window? I almost forgot to mention that getting a cube next to a window is coveted by everyone who doesn’t sit near a window (except maybe those with offices and the higher ups who have offices WITH windows) and is a pretty big deal.

The Other Perks

Aside from saving and improving lives, I’m incredibly lucky to work for an organization that provides pretty good benefits. Health and dental insurance; a full kitchen that makes preparing lunch a breeze; 4 hours per month of time off that you can use for running errands, doctors appointments, or just going home early to nap; a committee that shows documentaries related to our cause once a month during lunch. It really is the best.

I know there are plenty of for-profit companies that offer all of these things and more. Nick’s company gives employees amazing incentives like hockey tickets, lunches, and other cool things. But I get the satisfaction of knowing I’m making a difference! To be honest, I’m still not sure what my calling is in life but I do know I’ll find it in a nonprofit.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy | Flashback Fashion Fridays

These are my bangs, and this is a mocha coffee. I needed a little something to get my morning started right. Happy Monday, y’all.