What a difference a year makes.

It's been just over a year since I last posted on this blog and so much has changed. The new title of this blog only tells part of the story. As I sit here in Bronxville, New York, writing this post, my two kiddos are asleep in the room they share down the hall, and Christopher is working as a real doctor (no longer a student doctor!) in his first year of residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. The last year has been the most challenging of my life thus far, but my heart is swollen with love and gratitude for these beautiful, healthy children, and their super-dad who keeps life interesting and exciting every step of the way. I wouldn't want to be on this journey with anyone else.

One year ago, I was working full time and looking very pregnant with the soon-to-be Miss Everly. One year ago, Christopher was waiting to hear back from the residency programs he had applied to. Where would we end up? One year ago, I was feeling nervous and excited about our next adventure and hoping that it would be New York. One year ago, my baby boy was about to turn 2. One year ago, I was looking forward to spending more time with my Leo and watching him grow into a little boy. 

Now, here we are. In the place I imagined, with the kids I imagined. But of course nothing is exactly how I imagined because I could never have known what all of this would be like. How it would feel or how much work it would be. Being a stay-at-home-mom is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. For a while after Everly was born, each kid felt like a full time job. Now it just feels like one very intense job...long hours, late nights, lots of overtime, no personal time, no vacations, oh and did I mention no pay? Ha! I complain but I really do love the experience of being able to be home with the babies now, to watch all their firsts and to watch them grow closer as siblings. Every time I get frustrated with the latest mess or complaint or crying fit, I try to think about how quickly this time is passing and how I won't get to hold them like this forever. I know the day will come when I will need and want to do something other than be their mom, but for now, I am relishing these moments and working on my mindfulness parenting as best I can. 

I have decided to turn this once food-focused blog into a blog about our family's New York adventures and milestones, mainly for family and friends who want to follow them. I also want to document this time in our lives for my children and for me and Christopher. This seems to be a perfect outlet for that. I am, however, planning to start a separate, more sophisticated food blog in the not-so-distant-future that will document our exploration into food health with delicious recipes and kitchen adventures. Stay tuned for more news about that! 

-A