Keeping it real!

This week has flown by. I have no idea where it went and blogging fell to the wayside once again. Honestly, I have been making a conscious effort to stay "unplugged" throughout the day and in the evenings have been focusing on spending uninterrupted time with my guy. Moving 1,000 miles away is really hard on a family and marriage. New job, new house, and trying to make new friends all while learning the new normal for your family. It's hard. So we have been really focusing on what is most important which is the four of us. Josh travels a good bit and doesn't leave a lot of time for quality time together. Of course, we are very calculated in all of our travels trying to get the most bang for our buck so to speak. The girls and I travel while he travels so that there isn't extra un-needed time away but the return is always a game of catch-up and trying to get back into a groove leaving little time for fun. Thus why we have started to really focus on our family. I recently had to remind myself of the pecking order of relationships. I had lost sight of it in the hustle and bustle of moving and just trying to keep up: God, husband, children and so on. I feel like being "unplugged" has really given me more of an opportunity to take time for daily devotion & prayer, my husband and my children. To be honest, I can tell a difference it each of those relationships. I'm feeling calmer, more grounded and balanced throughout the day which is like a domino effect touching each of the relationships most important to me. If you are moving or have recently moved, remember not to lose sight of the important things. The boxes can wait!

I challenge you all to take a week or if your job doesn't allow it, allot a few hours a day to go unplugged and focus on what's important. 

Happy Friday y'all! This week my sweet friend Stacy sent me our family pictures. Man, did they put a smile on my face. I can't wait to share the ones for our Christmas card!

We're Moving

Two years. That's how long my guy promised me would be the maximum amount of time we would live in Central New York the day we found out he was promoted to Senior Operations Manager for Budweiser. This news followed the news of our pregnancy by one day.

My words on moving day, "One day down... 729 to go."

Our CNY home taken on move-in day.

Fast-forward 729 days... or 2 years... and I am crying as I type this post.
My sweet and loving husband kept his promise and now I wish he didn't.

This is my official announcement. We are moving to St. Louis, Missouri. Josh got a promotion and we are moving. I am heart-broken. If you would have told me two years ago that I would be sad to leave CNY I would have laughed at you. No kidding... I cried for days... heck, months when we moved here. After I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I got out and started doing nursery planning and shopping. That is when I met a fellow mom of twins. She spoke very highly of and recommended me to join to local Multiple Moms Mingle group. <---- This group is why I am heart-broken to leave.

I joined that day and was added to the private Facebook page. I introduced myself and had an outpouring of offers of support when the group found out I was expecting AND new to the area with no support other than my husband. I made a few friends before the Zabies were born and many, many more after. I spend the first Wednesday of every month at the MMM meeting with all of my fellow moms of multiples. I have bonded with these ladies on a level that I never new was possible. We've bonded over breastfeeding, poop, vomit, food, pregnancy, loss, love and motherhood. They have become my CNY family. When I make friends the only way I can is to open up my whole heart. I'm an open book. I share it all... bond over it all. I never felt judged and they have always accepted me as I am.... southern accent and all. The hardest part is knowing that I will never see some of these people again... thankfully there is social media and I will pay MMM dues for the rest of my life to have the support of these amazing women. I have made friends outside of the group as well... friendships that started in the group and grew to smaller more intimate play groups outside of the group. We do ladies night out, group texting and play dates regularly. I have no idea how I will function away from them. I just hope and pray that I can stay in touch with them like  I never left... maybe just without the play date part.

The ladies that I have bonded with throughout my time here have supported me during the most difficult times in my life. When I was on bed rest they were there with food and advice; I wouldn't have eaten without them bringing me food when my babies were in the NICU; and dropping by food and/or caffeinated beverages when I had sick babies while my guy was traveling for work. Let's not forget to mention that one of my dearest friends saved mine and my girl's lives when she delivered them 8 weeks early. I also have so many friendships here that run deep and some that don't. I have my ocean {a friend who is thoughtful and deep in all things she does} and friends who have been there and done that, offering the best advice. My mommy friends here rock {and obviously like to feed me!} They are from all walks of life and each of them offers something unique to my life. I truly appreciate each and every one of them.

Multiple Moms Mingle Gals

Playdate guys and gals

Playdate Kiddos

Another playdate group

We have amazing neighbors here. They were so welcoming when we moved onto our street and many of them have becomes great friends. I am going to miss them terribly and our new neighbors will have VERY large shoes to fill. Luckily, I know that I will see many of these friends again when we visit CNY or them visiting us in STL... Until then I will miss them terribly.

These are all reasons I'm sad to go.

The part that hurts the most....
Leaving my home. The one that was just a house. The house was just a structure until the day I brought my children home from the hospital. When I moved here I felt homeless despite having a house and that all changed the day I brought them home. It is my home... our home. As the seasons change the angle the sun shines through our family room windows changes. This past fall I found myself lying on the couch and the sun was shining through my windows in the exact way it did those first few days the girls were home from the hospital. For a minute I remembered exactly how we had the girls in their rock and play sleepers and had to move them out of the sun along with all of those overwhelming new mommy emotions.  If we lived here forever that would be something I would remember every fall. I'm going to miss watching the girls play in all of their favorite areas of our home; the built in shelves, the built in mudroom seat, playing chase around our island, and behind the couch. Every room has so many memories.

The day they came home from the hospital

A favorite hang out

They love to sit on the step

Snacking in their favorite spot

Playing in the mudroom

There are many, many positives to our move and I will explore those later {because we are very excited and we will be near Josh's parents!.. it's just bittersweet} but today I am mourning what I am losing. I know we will make new memories and home is where my children are... But for now I'm going to be sad. It will pass, I'm sure. Change is so hard.

Despite how sad I am to leave, I am so proud of Josh!

Congratulations to my guy. You never cease to amaze me. You have been climbing the career ladder at a rate that is impressive; you are focusing on your weaknesses and changing them to strengths; you are moving and shaking in your field of expertise; and  you are building relationships with your employees that will leave a lasting impression. You are growing and changing in ways that make me the proudest wife in this world, words will never express how proud I am of you for accomplishing all that you have in the short 31 years of your life. 

You should be proud, too. 

Zone Packaging Director has a nice ring to it!

Linking up with Annie and Natalie.

Whirlwind....

It's been a while since I last posted. It's been a busy few months for me to say the least...

  In September I drove from New York to Georgia and back, visited most of my Georgia family with the girls and had dinner, drinks or both with many of my friends that are near and dear to me. It was a whirlwind of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts for me and the Zabies. My guy drove from New York to Georgia, flew to St. Louis and back to Georgia, then flew to New York for a few days only to fly back to St. Louis and then back to Georgia so we could then drive back to New York... whew... are you tired yet? Just thinking about it makes me exhausted all over again. The Zabies are troopers to say the least. We had days where they napped both naps in the car or ate snacks en route to our next destination. Georgia, Atlanta specifically, is much different than Central New York. It takes a minimum of 20-40 minutes to get anywhere, and lets not talk about the possibility of traffic. Traffic = 30 more minutes, at least! The two weeks I was there was crazy... cray, cray, I tell 'ya. I'm thankful to be home but miss my parents terribly...

October was full of playdates and sickness for the Zabies. What started out as a minor cold that took out our whole play group turned into secondary pneumonia for my feisty Kensington and an ear infection for my sweet Quinn. It took a few weeks to recover fully so our days were filled with lots of Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse all while cuddling with sippies of milk on the couch. Halloween was thrown into the mix and we were lucky enough to have a nice evening for trick or treating on our little street.

Our Little Pumpkins on Halloween!

November was a busy, busy month for us. We had several play dates, I had TWO girl's night outings, a friendsgiving dinner, followed by more play dates, my guy traveled to St. Louis for a week, we had traditional Thanksgiving dinner with family from St. Louis and North Carolina joining us and my guy traveled back to St. Louis again ending his ABI class finally bringing us into.....

Friendsgiving group picture

DECEMBER!

One of my favorite months. The month that holds Christmas and many traditions of both of our families' and now we are gearing up for our own family traditions. We held a huge Christmas party with about 70 people in attendance only one day after Josh returned from a week long business trip to St. Louis. The following day were TWO more christmas parties that filled our days and the list of Christmas parties to come goes on and on!

Whew! What a whirlwind the past four months have been! I can't even believe it's December and that 2014 is coming to an end.