He's HERE!

He's here....
he's here....
he's here....
My nephew made his debut into the world yesterday afternoon and I got to love on him ALL MORNING!!!! There is nothing like new baby smell. His name is Hunter GIll Hodges and is absolutely precious! And to answer everyone's question, NO this does NOT make me want to have another. I am so blessed with my four that I could not ask for anything else. My four are plenty......
Hugs and Kisses to Courtney, Darrell, Hayden, and Hunter.......

waiting......

I am just sitting around my house today waiting to become an aunt again. My sister in law is having her second little boy today, as we speak. After going through childbirth four times, can sympathize with her not wanting to call and update and talk to people but THE WAITING IS KILLING ME!!!!!! Hopefully, it will not be to much longer....keep all your fingers crossed.......

BIG NEWS

WE GOT THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK 3!!!!YEAH!!! The kids (park and coop) have spent the past 40 minutes running around the kitchen dancing........too much fun!

Goodness Gracious

Well we went to the grocery store this morning and GOODNESS GRACIOUS food can be expensive. I had a very rude awakening about how expensive it can be to feed a family of six, and sadly realized that it was not going to get any better in the future. In FACT, it is only going to get MORE expensive!!!!! AAAAHHHH!!!!!! I am going to need to take out a second or third mortgage just to feed the family. BUT, I DID get some good stuff and we should be set for at least awhile. We will see?!?!?!?!?!

Yeah for ME!

I did it! I did it! My goal was to try and post at least a little something each day this week and I DID!!!!! It is friday afternoon and things are quiet. Chad is coming home on time and the kids can just relax. Hopefully, these are signs of a good weekend to come. Oh yeah, and I already bought tickets to see High School Musical 3 on Sunday with the crew. I am such a good mom......

Mommy jeans part 2

One of my good friends made a comment the other day about my mommy jean conundrum and I thought I needed to share. It upset me a little but I had to disagree with her. She said now that we were mommies, we would never again be cool and I should buy only for comfort, not for style. WELL, I beg to differ. I think we can have the best of both worlds ( now how many of you burst into Hannah Montana after reading that, because I certainly did:):):)) I think just because we are mothers, does NOT mean we can not be stylish as well. I strive to wear the typical Mommy Uniform with style and flare. Turtlenecks and tee shirts YES but form fitting ones, khakis YES but low rise or boot cut at that, tennis shoes yes but cute fun ones, so jeans YES but Mommy jeans NO WAY! Therefore, I continued my search to find the perfect pair and I went to the denim Mecca of Kohls. They had at least 3 BAZILLION styles, colors, and fits. I tried a ton on and think I found my match! Dark blue, boot cut, mid/low rise AND a NO GAP WAISTBAND!!!! What could be any better? I am going to wear them soon so I will keep all posted on whether I did indeed hit the jackpot. Look for updates soon! I am SURE all of you will be waiting with baited breath...................

The Joy of a Playdate

For anyone out there with younger children, I KNOW you will agree with me when I share my joy about playdates. I know when we were growing up, our moms and dads did not have to plan out our days with playdates and lessons and gym classes but in this day and age it seems to be the norm. I try not to do so. I try o keep each child's life as simple as possible but we still do schedule playdates with those friends we do not see very often. So, as of right now, my house is completely quiet. Parker is napping and Cooper is playing outside happily with a friend. Thank heavens for playdates...... when they go well, they are truly a mom's little gift from God.

in a rut

in a rut....
do not have much to write.....
doing same old same old everyday.......
check back tomorrow!

The Twos

A typical monday in the Gill house. Parker and I spent the morning reorganizing the house and putting everything back where it belongs after super crazy weekend (no crazier than anyone else has with a young family but crazy just the same) The cute thing that happened was while I was putting Barrett's clothes away, Parker was playing fetch with his stuffed dog. He would throw the tennis ball then make DOGDOG run after it and carry it back in his stuffed mouth. TOO CUTE!!!!! Then, he played on the Build A BEar skateboard for another half hour. He was wonderfully behaved while I spent the morning scurrying around. I have now decided that I love this age....2 1/2. He has gotten so fun and cute........ Everything is new and exciting for him. He laughs so deep and smiles so freely. He is willing to help me and shows me how wonderful life is and how good the world can be.........
Remind me of this next time he decides to do something not so cute..........

Sleep anyone???

I guess I should have realized that with four young children and a dog sleep would not be a very abundant commodity in our house but I did think I was past the awful times of up all night since the children are not babies anymore. Well, the past four nights have proven me wrong....here is how the last few nights went:
Saturday- 12:45 Logan woke up, threw up everywhere, and I was up until 4:30, Chad's alarm then sounding at 6:30 for work
Sunday- 11:30, 1:45, 2:30, and some other time when I did not look at the clock Parker was up crying
Monday- Barret came home with the throw ups so all night was slept with one eye open waiting to be beckoned to the bathroom
Tuesday- Cooper woke up three times to go potty and wet the bed
What do I have in store for me tonight? All that is left is the dog or my husband, both of which I might have to threaten with bodily harm so I can get some rest.
I suppose the best way to look at is at some point in the future, I will be having trouble sleeping because it will be too QUIET in the house.

Out to get me

So I could not go for my run today because one of the kiddos was home sick. I think they are out to get me and my fitness levels. Every time I seem to be on a good roll, someone throws up! What is it? This trend does not bode well for my fall and winter if kids are already home sick from school. Maybe I can run again in the spring?????????? AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Mommy Jeans

I need some new jeans. My jeans I have right now are great but I am constantly pulling them up and down and all around so as not to reveal my underwear. As a side note, my friend suggested I change the type of underwear I chose so that when it showed, it was more hip BUT my problem is I do not want my underwear to be HIP and show I want it to NOT SHOW!!! So, I began searching for a good pair of jeans. I tried on 9 pairs at Walmart and found a pair that fit really well. They are No Gap Waistband and are great. I really think they would work well but they are not the coolest style. They look more like Mommy jeans than I would really like. SO, the issue is, buy the jeans that fit well and are super comfy, OR keep the jeans I have that do not fit super well BUT look cool. What to do, what to do???????

My Brave Boy

Things are just about back to normal here after Barrett's surgery. I would say his is pretty 100%, despite the cam cast on his left leg. He has run wild in the yard, played tackle football with friends, gotten on and off the bus without help, and went to school today without his crutches. I am so proud of my little guy, who is so brave. I do not know if I would have chosen to have surgery on my foot and go through what he did. Especially, if it meant not being as mobile for awhile, but as I said before, the cast is not slowing him down a BIT!!!!! I had a picture of him posing but it is vertical and I can't figure out yet how to rotate the photo. So, the Gill household is back to normal, or as normal as a house with four children can be!

Fall Fun

We went to Carter's Mountain over the weekend for the Apple Harvest Festival. The kids and I (and Chad) had a wonderful time. We chowed down on Apple doughnuts, rode a hayride, picked (and ate) apples from the trees, listened to music, and saw some friends. The weather was gorgeous and the children were awesome. We finished the day with a yummy lunch out then home again for quiet time. Here are some pics from our weekend adventure......

Favorite Time of Year

For those of you who know me, you know Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing leaves, sweatshirts, colors of orange and reds everywhere, and anything fall food or flavor related.......have apple or pumpkin in the name??? I LOVE it! So, because this is my favorite time of year, naturally I buy the kiddos new Halloween tshirts each year. So, as tradition, I take a photo of them on the first day of October in their new Halloween shirts......
Here it is.....

The boys tshirts read...
Who Needs Halloween? My sister scares me enough.....
It would be more fitting for the girls to have something catchy about their wild brothers but those were not available. Anyway, at least the weather was perfect today for our long sleeve tshirts. Do notice in the above photo Barrett's camouflage cast. He is VERY proud of it!
So, Happy Fall Everyone.......

Little Taste of Freedom

Barrett went to school today for a half day SO I had a little taste of my freedom back. However, I did have Wildman home so it was not completely free. ANyway, I picked him up at lunch and he did great. Hopefully by Friday it will be a full day affair! Keep all fingers crossed.......