Transitions

You know those times in life when things really don't seem or even feel stable? Kind of like you don't really know the exact direction you will go or what the other side is going to look like. But you know you have to make choices and decisions based on what you "think" is the best for yourself and most importantly your family. Sometimes you make the decision you think is the right one and you then realize maybe it really wasn't the best or it doesn't work out the way you expect. When a choice is put in front of you, you weigh all the options good and bad and maybe even pray about it or ask others to pray for you. You put your heart on the line and it doesn't always go according to plan. These are the times of transition, the times you wish you knew how it would all end up. There is a bit of uncertainty in these times and this uncertainty can make you question things you would have never questioned before. Doubt creeps in and things begin to appear overwhelming and difficult.

I've debate writing about this topic for some time not sure how it would come across or be perceived. But the reality is my family and myself are in a time of transition. A time that has us relying on people we didn't think we would ever need to rely on. A time that has us relying on our faith more than ever before. We've been learning and growing as a family during this time; it's not been without bumps or stress or even a few (many) shed tears. I personally have questioned myself a lot over the past few weeks... and we know those types of "questions" often go unanswered.

Even though we are finding ourselves in this transition we know there is an end in sight. It may not be exactly what we think it should be or the timing may be off. We may have to change our plans or do things we think we cannot. But isn't that what trying times are really all about, learning who you really are? Learning that difficult times and times of transition are just that "times".. times that will pass and times that will surely be back again. We learn new things along the way... things about ourselves and those around us. Some of them are things we wish we didn't have to learn but we know they are part of the process. When we come out on the other side we know we are stronger for having made it through and when we look back we realize "that wasn't so bad". I know that time is coming for my family and I can't wait to share it with you when it happens.

~Kristy

New Years Eve

When you move away from "home" you often find yourself creating your own traditions, if you are lucky some of them stick. When we moved to Florida in 2011 we didn't have any family so we quickly made friends with some of my husbands co-workers. Our first New Years Eve here we went to one of those friends house for a small party and some fireworks. And that "tradition" continues to this day (yesterday). We've added my husbands family to the mix as well as some other friends, this tradition has been one of our most favorites for the year.  Fun for this kids, lots of food, and of course fireworks. But aside from all of the fun "things" we do and great food we eat one of the  most important things we celebrate aside from the New Year is the friendships we have created. The people you can be real with, the ones you know won't judge you for past mistakes, and the ones that you can count on to be there no matter what.

So here is to many more years of this tradition.... and to family we call friends and friends we call family.

Christmas 2015

Our last Christmas as a family of 6! That sounds a little strange but it's a fact, so we decided to do something a little different this year for the kids. Around September Kendal and Maddy asked if they could go to Disney for Christmas and as I am sure many of you know Disney is not an inexpensive "gift"; so we told them we would think about it. After some discussion Curt and I thought it would be a good idea to spend the money on making memories verses gifts (even though they did get some gifts under the tree). We were even able to include the grandparents in on the gift!
So the weekend before Christmas we headed to Disney it was a blast for all the girls even mom and dad. Charlotte and Olivia loved seeing their favorite characters mostly... Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto. I was worried they would be afraid but the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless and even brought tears to my eyes. The hugs, the kisses, the smiles were so amazing to watch. Kendal and Maddy looked forward to the rides and had a blast on some of their old favorites. It was a great time and we certainly look forward to taking them again. We loved making this memory with the girls and hope that they too will remember it for years to come.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was pretty low key just the family relaxing and enjoying some of our favorite traditions; making cookies and our annual Christmas Eve "party". Making cookies with seven kids...two of them 2 year olds is a lot of fun and entertainment for the adults. My sister in-law usually does all the prep (thank you!) and I take the photos and watch the kids eat the dough and icing. The twins love to add the sprinkles on more than just the cookies and the older kids love to make designs on theirs. Cookie making is not complete without at least one cookie consumed during the process.

My husbands family has had the tradition of a Christmas Eve party for a long as I can remember (I'm pretty sure I talked about here last year). This year was no different we celebrated with family and hung out played some cards and waited for Santa to show up. Christmas morning was so much fun; we are staying with family right now so there was seven kids to open gifts...the smiles and happy faces were plenty. It's so much fun watching the kids excitement with each gift. Charlotte and Olivia had a blast I just loved how they were concerned if the other one didn't get the same gift they had just opened. I love this aspect of twins... so heart warming.  We literally sat around all day munching on stocking stuffer goodies and left over Christmas Eve snacks. After a late dinner the kids pretty much passed out from all the excitement and playing from the day. It was a great Christmas celebrated over a week and spending it with family (even though we don't always have all of our family near) makes it all the more special. Next year we will have a new little one to celebrate the holiday with and I can't wait to continue our traditions as a family of 7.

Twenty - Five

How Far Along - 25 weeks 3 days

Total Weight Gain - Officially 15 pounds from the Doctor visit today. I feel pretty good about this number, after a twin pregnancy everything seems different. According to the Doctor I am right on track. Belly is even measuring 25 weeks although it feels like it's about 30!

Maternity Clothes - Everything "maternity" still fits at this point but I am beginning to see some of the size "small" shirts I bought in the beginning... thinking I could wear them to the end are starting to become a bit tight and short. I'm sure they will be good for a few more weeks and then they will need to remain "home" shirts only!

Sleep - I wish this report could change but unfortunately sleep is still not an easy task for me. Now that my belly is getting bigger, baby girl is moving more (and more forcefully), braxton hicks are picking up, and muscle aches are starting sleep is just not a friend of mine...comfortable sleep anyway. I can still fall asleep pretty quickly and easily but that only lasts about 3-4 hours (sometimes longer if I'm lucky) then it's about 30-40 minutes sleep at a time. Add to that two toddlers that are not sleeping well and it's not always a fun night.

Miss anything? I haven't felt myself missing anything recently and overall I feel pretty content with with what limitations I have because of this belly and growing baby girl.

Cravings - Chocolate tops the list again, along with the returning favorites of subs, pastries, and Starbucks refreshers. The other day I was killing time between my oil change and picking the kids up from school so I grabbed some lunch at one of my favorite sub places. When I was getting ready to pay I put my phone number in for my "rewards" and image my delight when they said my sub was free!! Woohoo craving satisfied and money in my pocket!

Symptoms - Since I am nearing the 3rd trimester (holy cow!) many of the usual symptoms are starting to show up. Back ache, muscle cramps, and braxton hicks are the top of the list right now and they are pretty manageable. I have to remind myself to slow down and take it easy from time to time especially with the twins being so active.

Looking forward to- The New Year! We will hopefully be moving into a new house (to rent) sometime in January and I can officially start nesting and then this little one will be here very soon after! I can't believe how crazy fast this time has flown (don't we all feel that way), I'm really just trying to cherish every single moment I have with this girl all to myself.

Toddler Talk - Three

Why yes it has been two months since I last talked about these crazy toddlers in my life. Today they are 28 months and of course my time hop is full of photos from 4 months and 16 months ugh why must they grow so quickly? As I type their little sister is wiggling around in my belly no doubt letting me know how quickly she is going to grow as well. This age/stage is a lot of fun and a lot of challenge, as we go day to day I am reminded of things their big sisters did that pushed the limits; the only difference is there are now two of them, making the challenges that much more ehhhh challenging.


Talk: Since when did these crazy little girls start speaking to each other like adults? I mean seriously they now have full on conversations usually ending in a some sort of yelling (aka fighting). They can be heard telling each other to say please, or saying things like "My turn now sissy", "it's ok sissy", "I do it", "sissy funny" and there is so much more. It seems like each day there is a new word or phrase that just stops us in our tracks wondering how the heck did they know to say that.  Many of the things they say are sometimes hard for us to understand especially when they are needing something from us. They don't really know/understand that there are opposites, everything is "on" even if they want it off, or "up" even when they want the window down, and even "no" when they mean yes. This is especially frustrating for big sisters that are trying to help. Patiences and Practice will get them there.

Play: Color? Color? Paper? Color Paper? These girls L O V E to color, draw, write you name it, if it involves some sort of writing instrument they want to use it.. sometimes all over the walls (But we won't talk about that). I have loved watching this skill grow from scribbles all over the page to drawing "ovals" and intense focus of color certain areas of the paper. Both girls appear to be right handed at this time... maybe baby girl will be my lefty. Park... good lord these two love to be at the park and would gladly go all day every day if we let them. They are getting very daring and willing to do a lot more that they have in the past. Sometimes wanting help and other times being very independent. The smiles we get when we tell them we are going to the park are unlike any I've seen from them... such excitement.

Food: These girls eat well some days and others they are just not into it. They will try pretty much any food we put in front of them but do have their favorites. They love to snack and must also have some sort of drink within close range.

Sleep: The.struggle.is.real.  Ok so it's not THAT bad but it has been WAY better. I think we are entering the next teething phase. We've also had some transition in our lives the last few months and I am certain it is and has been affecting their sleep habits. I know that once things settle down and get back to normal for them their "issues" will correct themselves.

News: About a month ago we successfully gave up the pacifiers (blogged about it here). And they did amazing with it... so much better than I gave them credit for. These small steps away from "baby" are so bitter sweet and a hard reminder that they just don't stay little for too long. They already love their baby sister, Charlotte loves to lift my shirt and see "baby" always wanting to hold her and give her a drink. Livy knows when my "belly hurts" if I am carrying her and she is sure to point it out and say "sorry mama". I can not wait to see these two as big sisters this little one is going to be so very spoiled. We have regressed a bit with potty training, mostly while in the car, I am sure this is also related to all the change we've been experiencing lately. Definitely looking forward to this going back to normal ASAP.

These little girls bring us so much joy and laugher and remind us every single day to choose patience over frustration and grace over anger. We love you girls.