outside

i am currently siting on my back porch under the ceiling fans enjoying some well earned peace and quiet. Bear had surgery earlier this week so we have been homebound BUT thanks to an amazing friend, he is happy watching TV with a friend and the rest of my children are playing with friends. It is times like these that I am able to really recognize how important friends and a good support network are in today's world. The saying is it takes a village to raise a child, well it certainly takes a village to raise 4 children, even as a stay at Home mom. Sometimes I think it takes more help when you are a stay at home mom. I have the most wonderful, caring, kind hearted, and amazing friends. I am so blessed. How do people raise children in this world without friends? I know I would not be able to. So thank you are my wonderful friends out there, you know who you are and know I would be lost without you.

whew!

we did it....we made it through OPERATION CLEAN OUT ROOM day 1 and i am exhausted. we needed to do it. i actually filled 3 1/2 trash bags with only trash from barrett and the girls' rooms. i have not tackled parker's room yet and do not have the energy for it today. we are going to do it soon though because we are about to have a major shifting of rooms in the very near future. cooper has decided she wants her own room and her daddy told her (against my opinions) that if she could stay in the playroom for one week alone then we would make it happen. well of course she did so now i am stuck trying to make it happen. what daddy did not realize what that it would really involve much more than simply moving hr bed next door. now we have to move parker and cooper and clean out the playroom. AND daddy also did not realize that when he made this promise she was going to want it to go into effect immediately, not in a few weeks! now i have to figure it all out and make it work.....i was so happy with the girls sharing a room but i guess i did not have a say in this. maybe daddy should take off a few days of work to shift things around since it was his bright idea in the FIRST PLACE!

movies and sunshine

today we had a very typical summer day. we went to the free movies this morning, lunch out using report card coupons, then spent the afternoon at the pool. we played with friends and mommy got to hang with some of her friends as well. after being there for 3 hours i did decide it was time to go home. now the kids are having quiet reading time in their rooms while i get dinner ready. summer time bliss! maybe we can talk daddy into taking us out for ice cream!

day 3

so it is day three of summer vacation and my mental state is holding strong. kids have been pretty good and getting long as much as I can expect. i have not been writing for awhile because i felt like it was not doing much for me. it was almost stressing me out more than relaxing me but i am going to try another time. maybe this time it will help me reach out and tickle my intellect just a touch to keep my brain from feeling like mush. summer does that to a person! i will try my best to write here on a more frequent basis but i will not let it overwhelm me in anyway. i hope to be here again soon :)

time to catch up

Parker has a playdate over so I actually have five minutes to catch up on the blog. It amazes me how much time I spend out and about and how little time I spend at home. You would think with the few hours a day I am at home I would be better at posting. Not the story for this SAHM.
Anyway, to catch the 10s of readers up our past few weeks. The puppy is doing great, growing like a weed. He has gained 15 pounds in the month and a half we have had him, already losing his puppy fuzz and getting the grownup coat of a full grown golden. The kids are doing pretty well however one would think at times we had a pet tiger the way they run screaming away from Macon and avoid trying to get the numerous socks out of his mouth.
Barrett celebrated his 10th birthday May 5th and is now officially in double digits. He seems older and wiser everyday and it makes me sad at might to think my little guy is gone. He is almost as tall as me and could eat me out of house and home.
We only have 5 weeks of school left for the crew and I am already having small panic attacks about how to keep thigns calm over the long summer break. Please send me happy peaceful thoughts........
well, the playdate is starting to go south so I am off to referee......

Worth the fight?

Is it worth the fight? I think this a lot when dealing with not only my children, but my husband as well. Sometimes the issues I have with them are not really worth the fight it takes to fix them. It is a pain for me to have to do so much but sometimes it is more of a pain to fight them on it. Sadly, this is more true with my husband then with my children. I tend to fight the necessary fights with the children because they then learn what is expected and do the right thing. Chad on the other hand just listens to me, gives me a look, and continues right on doing what irks me. In fact, yesterday I asked him to stop doing something that really bothered me. I openly admitted that I had not solid reason for it to bother me or for him to stop bu that it simply really bothered me. Furthermore, I then offered a few compromises on the issues. You know what he did? he looked at me and said he was going to need to think about it because the fact that it bothered me made him want to do it that much more. Huh? What is wrong with this picture?

Late at night

Why is it that as I lay in bed at night I can come up with such wonderful things to post about? I can formulate perfect sentences and thoughts flow freely. But then the next morning, nothing.....zip, zilch, nada, nothing comes to me. My mind is like a blank screen, very similar to the face my children give when when I ask them to behave. So, because I could think of nothing else to write, I thought I would write about that......the fact that I have nothing to write. I guess I should write the ideas down or come down and knock them out when I am thinking about them but really I am not THAT concerned with keeping my few bloggers entertained. Sorry folks.......maybe I will remember more next time!

Been quite awhile

yes it has been quite awhile I know but things have been jumpin' here in the Gill home. The biggest and most exciting news to date is our new puppy we got last weekend. His name is Macon Trouble Gill and is 12 weeks old. He is fuzzy and sweet and trouble and fun, all rolled into one. I took this picture on Easter Morning, as our fisrt family picture together. I can not believe i was able to get all kids AND dog looking and smiling.
We are on spring break this week and have very little plans. Daddy is working and the kids are playing with the puppy. It is kind of a mini taste of what is to come this summer. Have to be honest with you, not sure if I am going to be able to take it. We are going to have to have some set plans or things to do each week or I may not survive. The idea of sleeping in and hanging out always sounds so good to me but it never really happens. Oh well, at least this week they have Macon to keep them busy! What should I do when the newness wears off and it is not fun to watch the puppy anymore?

JAMMIES POWER

I just realized I had not been really good about posting pictures of the kids. Here is a pretty recent one. They are all in their jammies inside out trying to make it snow. Yes make it snow! This was the night before our first big snow storm. Who knew their jammies had so much power?

Cookies

in the midst of making cookies for Coop's VDay party tomorrow and I had to stop and pause. I found myself licking my fingers so often that I lost count. Why is it homemade cookie dough is SOSOSOSO delicious? How can one say no? I certainly can not. Do you think Weight Watchers counts point for finger licking? If so.....I wonder how many it is?

The Gimmies

My kids have the gimmies.....you know what I mean when I say that...."I NEED that item." "I HAVE TO HAVE that item." "BUT MOMMY, What am I going to do without that item?" I know we have been home basically all week because of snow so maybe I am just a little more on edge or sensitive too it but COME ON! I took them out to lunch and inflation nation, spent $75 and all they could do is ask for MORE??? I know it is not the kids fault that outings like that cost so much, it simply costs a lot of money to take a family of six somewhere. But how do we teach our children to be gracious and kind and thankful for what they have? How do we teach them that they do not need the new Wii game because a lot of kids do not even have a Wii. How do we show them that they should be thankful for the Ipod shuffle they have and can very easily use the four extra pair of headphones we have instead of purchasing new ones. I know I must sound sour right now. and do not get me wrong, all in all my kids are good kids. They are friendly, compassionate, gentle, caring children but they just seem to have a bad case of the GIMMIES!!! Hopefully, we can ride it out like we do the flu and all will pass in time. I just hope I can make it until then.

On the Wagon Again

I went to the dr. yesterday for my annual checkup and was SHOCKED by what the scale said. I had been pretty happy with my weight but it seems I have been a slacker so things have creeped up and up and now are in a not so happy zone. For the past few weeks I have said I would cut back, track my food, lose the dessert, etc. but it never seems to happen. I seem to say to heck with it and eat it anyway. Well I decided to go back on weight watchers for a few weeks. It has ALWAYS worked well for me. I thought I could do it on my own, since I know all the tools but obviously not SO I am back on the wagon again, the Weight Watchers Wagon that is, at least for the next few weeks. Wish me luck....just in time for Tri and Suit season.....

Pets

Today marks one week since Jodi died. Some people would have moved on and been no worse for wear but I believe those would be the people that did not know Jodi, people who had not met my sweet, gentle, caring dog. It seems funny to me how much I miss him. He was not a person, not a spouse, child, grandparent, or even an uncle, aunt, or cousin. He was, however, an integral part of our family and our life. Jodi seemed to quietly be in our everyday life and not make much attention but his loss is massive. I talked a lot of big talk how I would not want another puppy any time soon after Jodi. How I had my hands full with the kids and the house and it would be a little bit of a relief not to have one more living thing depending on me all the time. Yeah well....that was a load of CRAP!!!!!! We are dog people. We need a dog in our life. I can not stop myself from walking to the back door every night to let our dog in. I need to hear the breathing of that sweet gentle soul at night at my feet while I watch TV. Oh Ginny will be swallowing her words in no time and we will be embarking (no pun intended) on a new adventure ( not yet, but soon). Yet, no other dog will be able to replace or even come close to competing with my first baby.
Sleep well and peacefully Jodi Boy.....
We miss and love you........

My baby

My baby, my puppy, my first child, my confidant, my friend, my pal......Jodi........died this morning at the ripe old age of 12. He was our first baby. We got him 10 months after we got married. Chad bought him for me as a mother's day gift. He has always kept us safe, watching over me and the children. He has lived in 5 homes, and watched four babies enter our lives. Through it all, his sweet manner stood by my side through it all. He was always up for a game of fetch and could hang with my right until the end on a good run. My children loved him dearly and do not know what our life was like before our sweet dog. I can not remember that either. Over the weekend, he got very sick very fast and this morning we had to take him in to the vet. He could not walk of even lift his head and Chad and I both knew it was time to give him peace.
Sweet sweet Jodi you will be horribly missed and you have left a hole in our lives that can not be filled. Sleep peacefully and run happily and freely. Chase all the balls you can and eat every loaf of bread you see. We miss you already.......

A good feeling

I went to church this morning with the kids in tow but no Chad. He has to work I had told myself I would only go if everyone was up and ready well before 9am so as not to stress me out. (It can sometimes be hard getting the entire crew out the door on my own.) Making excuses why I should not go is very easy for me. As I lay in bed this morning parts of me wanted to just stay there, snuggled deep down in the warm covers. My children had another idea. By 8:10 they were up and three out of four had already decided thy were going to church and were getting themselves dressed. Huh? Who would think? The kids made the decision for me and I got up and going as well. We ate breakfast and trotted off to church. And I am so glad we did. I always leave church with such a wonderful and peaceful feeling in my soul and I needed that today. In the midst of the craziness we call everyday life, it is so calming to be able to sit and just be for one hour a week. So thank you to my children for motivating me this morning and giving me the chance to recharge for our week ahead.

summer break

being stuck in the house with it being super cold has made me think about our summer vacation and what type of vacation we want to take. we normally head to the beach for a week. sun, beach, ocean, pool......yum! however, after just coming home from snowshoe makes me think a little harder about our next trip. do i need to graduate to 3 bedrooms? is a king bed or ocean front worth the extra money? decision, decisions, decisions....wouldn't it be nice if we were just made of money and we could scoot off on vacation at the drop of a hat and not worry a bit about the money or extras..........i will be sure to keep everyone updated on the decisions, as I know you are all waiting with baited breath!

Good times

homework.....good times in the Gill house.....since the promotion to third grade, the homework has become intense and shows no signs of letting up....it takes Bear at least 45 minutes a night to complete his work PLUS Logan's homework...add in entertaining Cooper and Parker and trying to keep them out of their siblings way and you have one HUGE PARTY!!! I feel very outnumbered when I am trying to help with homework, cook dinner, entertain 2 children, and drive to and from all the various afterschool activities.....I shudder to think how it will be in two years with all four in school and homework galore....

SAHM

What in the world would my kids do if I was a working mother? They have only been back to school for 3 days and I have already gotten 7 calls from SCES with my children needing something. From notes to clothes to lunches and more, they just expect me to drop everything and bring them what they need. In fact, if I do not do that, I get yelled at by the child who needed something. I got yelled at today by one of them because I forgot to pack his lunch (he has not packed lunch in 3 1/2 years) and I was supposed to KNOW he did not want soft tacos today and telepathically realize he wanted me to pack his lunch. What a rude awakening they would have if I was not able to stop the world for them. Sadly, their father thinks very similar thoughts. Maybe they learned it from him.

pics of snowshoe

pictures of christmas

Updates for the new year

I haven't posted in awhile but I am going to try and do better. I guess you could say that will be one of my resolutions....
Anyway, after this post, I will put some pictures of our christmas and ski trip on.
Our christmas break was wonderful. The kids really enjoyed their time off and Chad was able to take a huge chunk of time off with us as well. Parker got his ALIENS that he wanted and the others got fun stuff as well. The big present from us for the kids was a family ski trip to Snowshoe.
So, on Monday morning, we packed up the car and headed off to the snowy mountains for 5 days. It snowed everyday we were there and the slopes were perfect. Fresh powder everyday and COLD COLD COLD!!!! We put all four in ski school and attempted to spend some time to ourselves skiing and enjoying the time. Funny thing is, the entire three hours off ski school, Chad and I spent going down the bunny slopes checking on our little skiers. I mean come ON! What is more cute than kids in ski school? Nothing I would say.
The first afternoon was a bit tricky. We had this idea in our heads that was not very realistic. Chad and I finally had to agree that we were simply outnumbered. We could not possible attempt to ski with all four at the same time. SO as good parent do, we adapted and changed our course and had a wonderful rest of the week. By the end, Logan was going down the big lift and not falling and Coop was almost ready for it. Parker was a wild man and simply strapped on the skis and headed straight downhill, not a care in the world as to how to stop. Bear was cautious as usual but really started picking up the snowboarding. He even let Chad take him down a SMALL slope on thursday.
All in all, it was a fabulous week. The time was filled with laughter and smiles. Everyone got along and enjoyed the family togetherness.
We had such a wonderful time that we are already planning for next year's trip.