Friday Favorites|| Home sweet Georgia

In honor of our up and coming trip to my favorite state in the good ole' USA. I'm going to share with you my five favorite things about Georgia and why I cannot wait to set my feet on southern soil again {because it really is different, y'all... it's called red clay}

Family- This one is pretty obvious... man do I miss our family. My entire family resides in Georgia with very few scattered elsewhere and much of Josh's does, too. I am so stinking' excited about seeing my Mom, Dad, Grandmothers, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I almost can't contain the excitement. I cannot wait for Kensington and Quinn to see and spend time with their big cousin, Emerson, and of course to spend some much needed catch up time with my sister-in-laws and brother-in-law. 

Here are a few pictures of my parents, grandmothers, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law and niece {which is totally outdated}. Can't wait to see them all in person!

Friends- Before I moved to New York every one of my friends were in Georgia. Everyone of them are near and dear to my heart. Some of my friends are from elementary school and some were made just before moving. My days and nights will be full of meet-ups with each and everyone of them. It will be exhausting but so worth it to hang out and catch up. I usually have breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert plans with someone almost every day that I visit. I wold be here all day if I named everyone of them and posted a picture. 

Think big hair, trendy clothes, and great make-up... 

Those are my friends and I just love them to pieces. 

Food- holy moly is the food good in Georgia. I mean there is such a variety of places that I LOVE to over indulge in when I visit that I usually leave Georgia a few pounds heavier... not kidding at all. My first stop will be Chick-fil-a...yum... I can almost smell the waffle fries and chocolate milk shake. Appalachian Grill, Sidelines Grille, Taco Mac, Ate Track, Waffle House, Big John's, Larry's Giant Subs.... my mouth is watering over here. Good thing I'm working out like a crazy person to prep for all over my over-indulgence.

Heat- I live in Central New York where we get the most snow out of any city in the USA... self explanatory. I need heat.

Humidity- Refer to #4. Heat and humidity are like peanut butter and jelly, they just go together so well. I'm hoping for some really nice weather when I get there! Luckily we are there for a while so there is plenty of time for hormonal mother nature to give me a day or two to my liking. 

Did I mention that I am SOOO excited... I could just squeal!!

Linking up with:

A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, and Grace and Love.

 September Farm and The Farmer's Wife

Chicken noodle soup

I have been making a great effort to cook foods that the whole family will eat. I don't give my girls enough credit, they are excellent eaters. I sometimes get stuck in a rut with what I offer them and tend to turn to our go to items. Recently, I have come to realize that they are eat better when they get something totally new and full of flavor. So I decided to try one of mine and Josh's winter favorites, homemade chicken noodle soup. 

They loved it. 

Ate it like champs!

They even enjoyed left-overs for lunch a couple of days later. 

Toddlers are just like adults. They like things that taste good.

Once your child has teeth and is eating solid foods well, soups are a great thing to offer them.

I literally eye everything and don't follow a recipe but thought I'd share. 

Here is what I do:

I boil a whole organic chicken in just enough water to cover it for a few hours on low-medium. 

Chop and sauté three whole organic carrots and one medium onion in separate pan.

Strain chicken out of broth. Let the chicken cool and then de-bone it. 

Add the sautéed veggies to the broth. 

Add additional chicken stock if needed.

Boil kluski noodles in broth until tender.

Add deboned shredded chicken back into pot.

Salt and pepper. 

Serve. 

Next time I'll measure things more specifically. 

When Daddy is away, the girls will play

To say that Josh travels a lot is an understatement... He travels more now than ever before. 

I have come to love the days that I have alone with my little ladies

and have special routines for when he is away. 

My favorite part of those days is that we spend them in our pajamas. 

The girls love to take their clothes off after supper and run around with only their diaper on. 

Today they only made it down to their onesies and were as happy as could be!

We spent the day dancing and playing our hearts out. 

The girls even exercised {jumped up and down} with me. It was adorable.

Can you say personality?

They just melt my heart when they give each other love. 

Happy Hump Day friends! 

Weighing on my mind

Initially, I decided not to blog today but this has been weighing on my mind all day long.  I had a hard time putting it into words but I feel like there is someone out there that needs to hear this. 

 This week I haven't been "Mom of the year" worthy by any means. I lost focus on what is truly important. Over-analyzation of schedules, balanced meals, adequately planned learning times and napping has been occupying the mind space that my children should be filling. I have reached out more to other Moms than I ever have to answer questions that I would have never thought twice about. Sure, they are great support for me and I am beyond thankful for them but where did my instincts go? I was second guessing everything that my family thrives on. I've never been one to read a ton of books on parenting, ask a lot of questions or over-analyze what I am doing as a Mom. I have definitely gained great advice through my question asking such as 1:00 is the sweet spot for one afternoon nap but I had some real soul searching to do since I was caught-up in a tornado of my own life.

I needed to regain focus, patience and remember what my goal was as a mother and wife. Then I realized that I have been so caught up in all of the detail of my life and worrying that my personal prayer time has severely faltered. How could I have let this happen? He is, after all, the reason I am here on this journey of life. He has blessed me with my wonderful husband and amazing children. Have I given thanks to him? Sure, I have thanked him a million times over for my family but what about recently? Nope. It has been at least a week, maybe longer. No longer having two naps a day to do what needs to be done has me doing them at night and by the time my head hits the pillow I am out like a light.

Last night I changed that. Obviously, our whole family is adjusting to all of the things that come along with a new routine and I needed to tweak my personal routine. I had been leaving out the most important part of my day....prayer. So after our nightly work-out, I showered and laid in bed in prayer.... in tears. My heart felt so liberated. I prayed  for the things that I was over-analyzing and asking others for advice on, for my children, my husband, my family and my patience among many, many other things. I fell asleep in prayer like I have done so many times before.

Then....I had the most special dream. I dreamt of the first days home with my sweet girls and the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and awe was as real in my dream as it when I experienced them. I vividly re-experienced the initial indescribable feelings of love at first {second, third, etc} sight. Those instincts of being able to listen to my babies and know exactly what they needed kicked in to high gear. My patience for two crying babies was unsurmountable because I had cried and prayed for them for many years before they were given to me. I had a crystal clear vision for our family. 

The dream was one of God's many blessings in my life. It was his way of speaking to me. 

I woke in tears. Today I am listening to my children and their needs. I making educated decisions based on their needs but most importantly I am praying about it and trusting my instincts. My instincts have gotten us this far with happy, healthy children. I just needed the confidence that prayer so often provides to listen to my children and my instincts. 

I know exactly what I need to do for my family for it to thrive. I need to pray.... I had lost sight of that. 

"When life gets too hard to stand... Kneel" -Gordon B Hinckley

Oh, 1:00 really is the sweet spot! Both girls just napped for 3 hours! 

The early days. My heart is full. 

Weekending

Happy Monday Y'all!!

Awesome is the only word I have to really describe my weekend. 

Saturday was a lazy and relaxing day as the Zabies recuperated from a nasty cold. 

I made a quick run to the grocery store but otherwise spent the day with my family. 

{I have instituted a new monthly/weekly grocery shopping schedule

 that seems to be working pretty well} 

Josh generously shared his bowl of cereal with both girls AFTER they both ate all of their breakfast. 

We played a lot in their forts in the basement and danced our hearts out most of the day. 

We caught up with our dear friend, Paige, who lives in Idaho and her husband, Andy, through Skype. 

{Paige made our beautiful blankets in our nursery mentioned here}

It was so nice to finally catch up with them. 

It has been at least six months but I feel like it's been even longer than that!

They got to see the girls run amuck, showing off their silliness and sassiness. 

They also saw the Zabies meltdown and "self-destruct" at 15 minutes past their bedtimes. 

Those kids are like clockwork... the slightest variation causes a complete melt down.

Like ramming their heads into window seals {Kensington} and head butting daddy's knee then hitting said head on the hardwood floors {Quinn}. 

It was the first time anything like this has happened for the girls. I had to laugh after the fact because I've seen every child I know "self-destruct" when they are over tired but we try not to let the girls get to that point. Now we know... They, too, are capable of self-destruction from being overly exhausted. Fun times!

In case you aren't sure if your child is capable... Trust me... They are! 

Sunday was also lazy for the most part. 

Quinn only napped for 1 ½ hrs but Kensington napped for 3 hours 10 minutes! WHOA!!! 

Now big sister needs to teach little sister a thing or two. 

We did some more organizing and cleaning while the girls napped and then watched The Jungle Book as a family before going on a family date night. 

Josh took all three of his girls out on a date. 

The Zabies were very excited about their date with Daddy. 

Sweet sister kisses

Our guy took us to The Cooper Top for supper.

She just adores her Daddy... Can't say I blame her. 

This picture sums up Quinn's mood from not napping well. Lucky for her she's so darn cute. 

The girls were troopers at supper even though we ate thirty minutes after their normal supper time.

We ate and danced in our seats to the music that was being played throughout the restaurant drawing lots of attention to our duo. 

Quinn pepped up as we were leaving and had her very own parade, waving to everyone as we walked from the back of the restaurant to the front. 

It was adorable.

We started a nightly clean-up routine that involved the girls and it went better than we expected. 

They picked up most of their toys and put them back in their place. 

It's amazing how much they actually know at this point. 

They both put many of the toys in the exact spot that I put them, nightly, without direction. 

I think that is pretty awesome. 

Just an awesome weekend!

How was your weekend? What fun things did you do?

Linking up with:

Mommy Moments with Faith at The Life of Faith

Weekending with Biana at Beloved Boston


Show me the Love with Brettni at Bringing up Brumfields

Friday Favorites|| A sweet surprise

My Friday Favorites came in the form of a sweet surprise.
I mentioned earlier this week how my guy and I have been cleaning, organizing maniacs. I mean going through every box we have in our storage closet, purging what we don't need, saving sentimental items and preparing for Mom's of Multiples and neighborhood garage sales galore. 

I stumbled upon an old leather suit case that I remembered being in my parents home and wasn't sure what exactly I would find in the old, raggedy jewel. Probably old clothes or pageant dresses...

Boy was I in for a surprise. 

I found my Mom's old China that her mother bought for her and my Dad.
I love every piece of this set. 

I vividly remember her China situated perfectly in her China cabinet in the dining room of my childhood home. 

What I don't remember is when it was taken down. 

This warranted an immediate phone call to my mom for answers. 

{Isn't this plate and bowl just beautiful!}

My Mom quickly updated me on the who, what, when and where of the situation. 

Apparently my Granny gave my Mom her China {which is extremely similar in pattern} when she was downsizing homes a few years back which set off a domino effect. 

Mom packed up her china in an old suit case, put it away and then gave it along with several other containers of my childhood sentiments to me just before we moved to CNY. I must have missed the bit about China being packed away in the old leather suit case when my Mom gave it to me. 

{I love the pink roses and gold rim}

It is probably a good thing I waited so many years to open the suit case. 

A few years back I might not have been so emotionally tied to it. 

Having children does crazy things to you I tell ya

and this Momma is super sentimental!

There you have it, my five favorite photos of the sweetest surprise from this week. 

Josh and I can't get over the beauty of the collection and are feeling very excited to have such a special China set. 

If you give a girl a beautiful set of China, she's going to ask you for a China Cabinet to place it in!

{Hint, Hint Mr. Zabek}

Linking up with:

A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, and Grace and Love.

 September Farm and The Farmer's Wife

 A. Liz Adventrues, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, and The Good Life.

2 years ago || A special throwback thursday

Two years ago today was an experience of a lifetime.

I woke up early that morning and Josh drove me to a scheduled appointment with my acupuncturist, whom I adore. Nobu Wago is by far the best acupuncturist in Atlanta. 

His words were calming to me. 

While inserting one of the needles he said, "This one increase blood flow to uterus. 

Perfect for IBF {IVF} to work." <--- Insert your best Japanese accent here.

The session was quicker than normal but just as relaxing as every other session I had before. 

I quickly exited the building and hopped into the car with my guy.

He had went down the street and gotten me a yummy breakfast sandwich from Subway since it's usually not a good idea to eat before acupuncture. 

I could only eat part of it because my nerves were a wreck and I was full of water. 

I had already downed 16 ounces of water and was working on my next 16.

My Reproductive Endocrinologist recommended 24 ounces of water before doing the embryo transfer. 

We arrived 30 minutes early and were taken back only a few minutes later. 

They gave me a super stylish gown and hair cap to change in to. 

Can you say trend setter?

I should have just stepped out on to a runway. I was that hot. 

See for yourself below. 

Then Josh was given his super snazzy scrubs, hair cap and mask.

Can you say hottie!

Taking pictures of one another and selfies helped to ease my nerves and pass the time until they called us back along with praying, hand in hand, for our unborn child(ren).

See that Turvis of water? Well I have always drank a lot of water and in this case was an over achiever. I started having really bad pains and had to potty SUPER bad!

I was literally in tears. I was still swollen and bloated from stimulation and retrieval. 

They let me run to the restroom quickly and potty for a 10 count. 

You know one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand.... you get the idea. 

I did so and was STILL in pain. 

They went ahead and took me back to the retrieval/transfer room and checked my bladder with the ultrasound machine. My bladder was huge and full of water. They asked me to empty my bladder for an additional 15 count. 

I did so and we were all set to move forward.

{We had way too much fun taking pictures of ourselves.}

Everyone got all set up and they transferred two little embryos.

Then we were given this picture of them. 

This is technically Kensington & Quinn's very first picture. 

Looks just like 'em huh?

It's so weird to say this and unless you have experienced IVF you may or may not understand but my heart was attached to these embryos the minute I saw them. 

They were Josh and myself put together. 

Our embryos. Our babies. 

I loved them and prayed for them the moment I saw them 

{and every day before and after, for the rest of my life}.

This transfer was not like the other I had experienced. I was much calmer and more relaxed. I'm sure having acupuncture sessions before and after helped in that category but through the whole process I prayed for a positive attitude, to stay clam and for his will to be done. 

Honestly, the prayer for a positive attitude was key for me. It was so easy for me to worry or be negative from experiencing so much hurt along the way.

I wanted needed to be positive. 

If my mind was in the right positive state then my body would have positive energy and flow which would also bring calmness. 

I felt like God had his arms wrapped around me, that day, because the worry that was there the first go 'round had vanished and excitement had replaced the fear that typically had me on my knees in tears. 

This time I was on my knees in prayer and worship. 

I knew this was it for us. I knew it in my heart. 

Linking up with Annie and Natalie.

Linking up with Jennifer.

Toddler Activities || We Finger Paint

We spent most of the very, very cold day indoors yesterday. 

The Zabies only napped an hour for their ONE nap 

so this mama had to do something to keep them busy!!

Finger painting, for the first time, was a huge hit! 

They loved how it felt on their hands and that the idea was to intentionally be messy!

I stripped them down to make the clean-up easier. 

They enjoyed it and it kept them busy for a little while. 

Now this Momma is searching Pinterest for cute ways to display their art!

They are masterpieces, after all. 

How do you keep your toddlers busy on these cold winter days?

Linking up with Jess with It's the little things link-up!