Holiday Party and Zurich

So Gabe left for Florida on November 30 as he had to be back down here for work, and I was leaving on the 3rd so it was going to be the first time ever we have both traveled for work the same time. We always said we wouldn't do that but this time we didn't have any choice. It was the longest time ever we have been apart. Thank goodness for our wonderful au pair, my sister and my mother in law as they all took such amazing care of my boys!!!

On the 3rd, Caroline went with me and the boys to the kids holiday party for my job. The boys LOVE going to this every year. They go all out with the food, crafts, face painters, balloon makers, a cookie stand where you can decorate your own cookie, a caricature artist (we do this every year and have them from when they were born, TOO CUTE!!!) and most importantly Santa Claus. We have the BEST Santa that comes to the office, takes pictures and talks to the kids and all for free...doesn't get better than that when you don't have to wait in line at the mall :)

Landon was all about Santa this year and couldn't wait to tell him what he wanted...Dylan on the other hand just wanted presents but wanted nothing at all to do with Santa :)

Priceless!!!

Here is a cute one of Dylan and Aunt Cee Cee!

After the party was over, we rushed home to spend some time together before my car came and picked me up for my trip. Poppa (my dad) came over to see me before I left and Landon had a ball with him making a giant play-doh pizza. It was so big we couldn't even roll it (I think it had 10 small jars in it), so Landon resorted to his feet!

And yes, this is the same table we ate off of!

My car came, I hugged and kissed my boys and I was off. I do enjoys my trips even though I work a ton because I see one of my closest work friends who lives in London...it is like summer camp every 3 months. The flight was great, I SLEPT THE WHOLE 10 HOURS... UNINTERRUPTED!!! It was so nice.

Zurich was beautiful but not what I expected. I was there in December ans there was not an ounce of snow on the ground but it was beautiful...and the most expensive place I have ever been to! We stayed at an amazing hotel (it is the same hotel filmed in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) which has the most bizarre artwork. It could be offense to some but we took pictures of all of it because it was so out there!

NOTE - The pictures are worth it but it is a large download. You can open one pic and then scroll to the right. The last 2 pics are of the hotel and our car for the week...needless to say, we didn't suffer :)

While I was there I was able to sneak away one night and have dinner with our previous au pair, Jacqueline. It was so great to see her and catch up and I am grateful that I am given these opportunities to travel and see such amazing places and see wonderful friends!

After 8 very long days away, I decided to head home one day early...I didn't care the flight was direct...I was going home to see my family. I hopped a flight and got home around 11 pm on Friday night. I surprised Gabe since I didn't tell him I was coming home early...the look on his face and my boys the next morning was well worth the jet lag :)

Thanksgiving!!!

After I got back from Tampa, it was back to crazy town :) I had one week of insane work followed by Thanksgiving followed by my work trip to Zurich!

Work is always nuts but I always know before my big trips that the 2 weeks before that are beyond busy and call for very late nights of work. At least I know it in advance!

So I was back, full speed ahead! Somehow this work trip I was ahead of the game and it wasn't as insane as it usually is which was a nice thing. I was able to get home at a decent time, spend time with the boys and see friends before the holidays started.

We decided that since it was going to be our last year in our house that we wanted to host Thanksgiving. It turned out great! We always do a pot luck with us fixing the same stuff every year...we know what we are good at making. My mom always makes her famous sweet potatoes, Caroline makes her banging Mac n' Cheese and I always make my Caramel Apple Pie. Of course we have a few other things but those are our most important staples :) Dyann (my mother in law) went to see her Dad for the holiday so we missed her and her turkey...which meant it was up to me and Gabe to make the bird.  Now for those of you that don't know we too well, you need to know that I DO NOT do well with any sort of raw meat. Of course, the bird had been thawed and it was time to pull the gizzards and giblets out...and of course, Gabe was out of town. People would have paid money to see me gagging and dry heaving while pulling these objects out of this bird...I mean seriously, it is beyond gross!!! But, I did it!

Thanksgiving was a huge success! We all enjoyed each other and had a blast! The only picture we got was the one my mom used for her Christmas card. We always take her holiday card picture on Thanksgiving day since we all look nice and are together. Thanks goodness for my amazing au pair who took the picture...She is super talented!

Really is one of my favorite pictures ever!!!

After Thanksgiving I had one week and then I was off to Zurich. Remind you that before I left for Zurich, Gabe and I had not packed 1 thing...we were in denial! I left for Zurich on December 3...and we were moving on December 28...

More on Zurich to come...

In between holidays and making decisions...

After we decided that we were for sure going to move to Tampa, we had A LOT of decisions to make.

We had to sell our house, sell our of our cars, find packers/movers, find a new house, new school for the boys, new pediatrician, and much more...all of this while Gabe was basically in Florida full time and I was working full time and coming home to the boys at night!

We had one week between when Gabe accepted the job and when he started. In that one week, we packed up a lot of our house, put it in storage, had it staged to sell (thanks to Autumn Banks - - she is the BEST STAGER EVER!!! - If you need help, she is the person to call), listed it and put it on the market. After that one week, Gabe was gone.

I was very nervous about our house selling...let's face it...the market STINKS!!! So I was very anxious to see how everything was going to pan out. I also am a big believer in fate and I truly believed that if Tampa was the place we were supposed to be then everything should work out. People get roadblocks for things they want sometimes and I feel they are ignored...I had my eyes open wide and was very eager to see and Gabe and I were being realistic about that...after 2.5 months of changes, it was very apparent that we WERE supposed to be in Tampa.

We started getting showings on the house right away...but nothing more than once but at least we had traffic which I was told was a lot more than some people were getting. After about 6 weeks, we decided to lower the price a little and then we had A LOT more showings..we had a guy who was very interested but the street killed it (we live on a busy street) and then one day, we had a showing call with a barely another notice...they came and saw our house once and BAM...we had an offer...was it a great offer? No not really but it was an offer and in this market, we decided to make it work. We wouldn't have to take a check to the table which was the most important thing to us right now. So after a bit of back and forth, we had a contract and a date for closing...January 27...so please PRAY that nothing changes in the next week and a half!

That was all said and done by mid-November. One week after that, we were headed to Tampa for a long weekend of finding a place to rent and schools for the boys. We had lots of homes to look at but schools were an issue. I couldn't find ANY preschool that had spots for both Landon and Dylan. I would find one that had a spot for Landon and another that had a spot for Dylan, but nothing together so I was a bit discouraged.

I got to Tampa late Wednesday night and Thursday morning I went to the one and only school that had a spot for both boys...it was NOT GOING TO HAPPEN...I would have left them at home all day before I would have sent them there. I was not happy but had to hold it together because now it was time to find a place to rent.

I got in the car with the agent at noon and we finished at 8:30 pm...we looked at over 30 houses and I was brain dead. I narrowed those 30 down to 5 which Gabe and I were going to look at together on Friday after another visit with another school. I was beyond exhausted.

Friday morning I went to Panera to just relax for a bit and have lunch with a friend I work with as McKinsey has an office in Tampa...by the way, another reason I say Tampa was meant to be is that I got to keep my job...not just with McKinsey but with my boss. I was so happy...I would get to work from home which meant spending more time with my boys and more time for myself...I have an easier time walking away at night when  I am home than when I am at the office. It was just a great feeling to know I was moving somewhere I had never been to before and knew no one but for 8 hours a day, I would know exactly what I was doing and I was good at it...just a good feeling of comfort and security!

Anyway, after lunch, I went to the only other school that was left as nothing else struck me and they only had a spot for Landon...I walked in, took a tour and knew Landon would be great here. Very similar set up as to the day school so I was at least happy for that. I sat down with the Director at noon (supposed to meet Gabe and agent at 12:45) and after blabbing with her for almost an hour, she looked right at me and said she would be right back....She came back in and said, she couldn't bare for my experience not to be great and that she had made a spot for Dylan...I was ECSTATIC!!! Needless to say, I was late for the realtor but I didn't care...I had BOTH my boys in a good school TOGETHER!!! I got the paperwork, wrapped things up and went and met Gabe.

We went and looked at the 5 houses and he helped narrow it down to one. Those who know me know that I am awful and making final decisions. I am glad we met when we did and made a decision. We picked a house and called the agent. He said he needed the paperwork filled out and the deposit check. We booked a time and met him. He said he couldn't tell us on the phone but another couple wanted it as well and were on their way to get their cashiers check...we beat them to it by about an hour...just another sign!!! Gabe and I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and looking around...I was happy as I knew I was going home with a house and a school...mission accomplished...the cherry on top was a friend in Atlanta put me in touch with a couple here and we went to their house for a party and met some great people...we left there with new phone numbers and email...so hopefully leaving with some friends as well!

More to come but don't want to bore you to tears...even though this is mainly for my remembrance, I have to remember people read this :)

Halloween!

Halloween was so fun for us this year....Landon really got it and he couldn't wait to go and be with his friends, run down the street, ring the doorbells and scream "Trick or Treat"!!! He of course learned the typical preschool Halloween song..."Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...if you don't I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear." He thinks it is the funniest song ever because of the underwear part :) After convincing him he shouldn't sing it at every house we were off.

We went to a little buddy of his house this year, Graham. The street was perfect. Well lit and safe from cars driving too fast!

We got everyone dressed and before we went to Graham's we had to make our annual stop to my Aunt Debi and Uncle Fred's house. However, right before we loaded up, I could tell Dylan was a bit off. Gabe and I thought he should stay home but he insisted on going. So we were off!

Dylan when I said maybe he should stay home...Not happy!

Much happier when I said...ok, let's go"!

Landon waiting patiently...very rare occasion!

We have arrived at Debi and Fred's!

Debi and Fred's house is so fun...one because they are our Aunt and Uncle...but because their driveway is lined with spooky candles while very spooky music plays and the house house it pitch black...when you get to the front door and ring the doorbell, Uncle Freddie flips on all the lights, opens the door and scares the bejesus out of you...Needless to say, we are always the first one's there since that wouldn't go over so well at this age...but very comical to watch!

Annual picture on the stairs

 After Debi's house, Dylan really started to not feel well so Gabe decided to take him home and Landon and I went to Grahams. I couldn't get really any pictures because they were moving so fast, but they had a BLAST!!!!

Nice older man being accosted by 8 kids ages 4-7

Landon made it to about 12 house and then he was wiped, so we called it a night...not sure who had more fun...Landon for his first real Halloween experience or me witnessing some of the cutest behavior I have ever seen!

Halloween Parade!

The boys school has a Halloween Parade every year where the kids wear their Halloween costume to school, they sing a couple of songs and then they have a party in their class! I was a party mom in each of the boys classes so it was interesting to run back and forth to both classes as Gabe was out of town and not able to be there...at least I got my exercise for that day :)

Dylan's class (2 year olds) was precious but really just stand there staring out at the audience...Landon's class (4 year olds) was more active this year with their singing and dancing...it was so cute... When you see the video below of Landon you have to know that Landon NEVER dances so seeing him shake it was so comical to me!

Landon was Spiderman (shocking) and Dylan was a fisherman (since Landon was a fisherman when he was Dylan's age)!

Landon and his class coming in

Dylan and his class coming in

Such a typical 2 year old move...

His head and hair is so big, his hat really isn't fitting...HA!

Thank goodness I got a 5T...can you imagine how short a 4T would have been?

Dancing...

Cute but cheesy smile :)

Landon with his "girlfriend" Kate

Isn't he cute!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We have gone to the same pumpkin patch for a couple of years now and the boys love it...They have an old tractor that you can get on and pretend, get your face painted (for Dylan as Landon had no interest), look at some animals, pony rides (again for fearless Dylan, but Landon did do it last year) and most important to my boys...a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patches!!!

We had wonderful weather this year and made the most of it as we knew this would be our last year at this patch.

Pretend riding the tractor...had no interest in looking at the camera!

Just being silly :)

D getting his face painted....he wanted a snake!

Family picture...if you can call it that!

Getting ready to carve the pumpkin....

Finished product!!!

Now it was time to get ready for Halloween!!!!

What was happening behind the scenes...

So behind the scenes of Landon's birthday, Gabe and I had lots of decisions to make...

Here was a rundown on my insane week before the party...This was my Facebook post at the beginning of the week:

The week is just starting....just thinking about a work week in general, covering an extra person at work for a few days, planning a HUGE meeting in our office with our Managing Director, planning our au pairs farewell dinner for Tuesday, work dinner Wednesday, date night Thursday, new au pair arrives Friday and planning Landon's 4th birthday party for Saturday....I am exhausted already...but I am determined to get it all done :)

What was not mentioned in that post as I didn't want to jinx it was that Gabe and I were waiting to hear from McDonald's on whether he would be their new Area Real Estate Manager for Central Florida! This interview process had been going on for almost 2 months now so we knew it could be any day...

On Thursday night on our date night, Gabe had news for me...he GOT the job...I was so thrilled for my husband as he has worked so hard for this and this would be so wonderful for our family, but on the other hand I knew this would mean we would have to move to Florida...I was born and raised in Atlanta and we moved once...it lasted about 7 months before I was begging to come home...so I was very nervous!

We picked up our new au pair on Friday night, Miriam, and she is wonderful by the way :), had Landon's party on Saturday and spent Sunday talking and weighing our options even though we knew he was going to take it...Gabe accepted the job on Monday and was down in Florida working for McDonald's exactly one week later. However, the Tuesday after he accepted we had a stager at our house, furniture was being moved out, our house was on the market, and we had to tell our brand new au pair that had come to live with a family in Atlanta that we were moving. To say it was overwhelming it to put it mildly!!!! 

But we survived...he went down to work and he knew right away that he made the right decision...he LOVES the job...

In the weeks that followed, we worked out that I was able to keep my job...THANK GOODNESS!!!!, that our au pair would come with us and that we were in fact going to Tampa (as the cities kept changing from Jacksonville to Tampa to Orlando and back to Tampa)...More to come on the move!!!