Happy Holidays!

I have been so out of the blogging loop!!
Life has been so crazy with a WALKING 10-11 month old, a preschooler, and a husband! There is hardly enough time in the day to get my daily chores done, so my blog unfortunately has been slacking. Today though I figured while Gabriella is napping I'll post one of our holiday pictures for everyone! I wont have ANY time until January to blog again but I promise you, when the next blog comes it will be JAM PACKED with our fun from Christmas and Gabriella's 1st birthday party!
Until then, I bid you ado.
Happy Holidays from the Hills!

Talk to you soon!
J

Thankful Thursday- 9

I know its been a while since I've clued everyone in on the things I am thankful for, but I'm back and ready to type. =)
So this week I am thankful for...

81. That the new seasons of all my favorite shows have started finally!
82. For a brand new computer! (Thanks Ryan!)
83. Gabriella's appetite.
84. A friend that will stay at my house with my sleeping boy until five in the morning, while I take my baby girl to the ER. (Thanks Allison!)
85. My mom that never fails to try and calm me when things are not going the way I planned.
86. A very very understanding husband.
87. Max's song and dance routines he does for me.
88. My ability to plan for the future.
89. That I ended up with a son and a daughter, if we never have any more kids it'll be okay.
90. That Ryan and I have known each other long enough and have accepted each others differences. I love the peace that we have with each other.

So what are thankful for this week? Don't forget to link up over at The Tarr Pit!!
Talk to you soon,
J

Guess Who's Back!

So I think it's been at least a month since I last blogged. I wish I could say I've been non stop busy but really...I haven't. I have just been lapping up the little time that I get with my husband (who works so so hard for his family), and really enjoying being a stay at home mommy. When Ryan has a day off we are out and about, shopping, playing at the parks, and just spending time with our kids. And when he is at work the kids and I hang out and just play together.
So some updates on the kiddies!
Maximus is doing amazing in school. He had a rough start with a slight kick to the face on accident by a little girl and ended up with a black eye. Then the next day he bonked his head on the jungle gym, and the next day a little boy threw a toy dinosaur at him. My poor guy, hes just so accident prone...except for that mean little boy, that was no accident. =/ He is learning more and more everyday and I couldn't be prouder. I feel like I say that quite often but I mean it...every time I feel proud its even more than the time before! Also he is officially out of the T sized clothes! I hadn't thought much about the size of the jeans he already had because I always buy clothes at the end of seasons when they go on sale, but I guess at the end of last winter when I was buying I must have under-estimated the size he would be by the time school started...because the 5T's were too short for him. Sooo our little buddy Chace got a bunch of jeans for himself and Max got some new size 6's from the little boys section of the store!
Gabriella is also doing really well!! She is about 15lbs and 26 inches according to her 9 month check up a few days ago. She is soooo full of personality! She stands completely on her own, with no help from us or the couches or anything! She has taken two steps only BUT I know shes going to be walking any day now! She says Dada, Baba, and occasionally Mama. She only drinks from cups with straws and will not drink from a bottle. Overall shes great. She keeps us laughing right along with her best friend...Max! She follows him everywhere he goes!! I love that they get along soooo good =) and Max has so much patience with her, its amazing.
As for Ryan and I, we are still as happy as ever. We are saving up money to make our way to Jamaica! Ryan is working a lot of overtime to make it even easier for us to get there! He just bought me a new desktop computer (which I'm writing this blog from as we speak)!! I've been asking for one for a while now and he finally got it!! I have been watching new shows when I have time. I watched every season of Desperate Housewives and LOVED it! And I recently started watching Glee!
So now that you're all caught up with us I'll leave you with a picture!!

Talk to you soon,
J

One Week Down...Don't Know How Many To Go.

Max's first week of school is officially over!
AND it was a success!!
The first day was a little rocky...due to my inability to let someone else take control, but by the third day I caved in. The second day he scraped his elbow on the playground and the fourth day he sang me some songs he's learned. Today he brought home a picture he colored...of an alien and a meteor. Overall the three hours that he is gone may not seem like very much but there is a big difference in the house when we're all here and he isn't. I can't imagine what it will feel like when both of the kids are gone all morning and it's just Ryan and I here!
I love this program BUT I have one complaint. Now I understand why they have this rule but it really broke my heart. We cannot bring home made treats for the kids for birthday parties or the holiday parties. Everything has to be store bought. I have always always always looked forward to baking heart shaped cupcakes for Valentines Day and cupcakes with all the kids names on them for Max's birthday and other neat treats for the parties. So naturally when I learned of this I almost cried. I am really hoping when he starts kindergarten at a different school that they'll have different rules and I'll be able to do everything I have been waiting to do!!
Just wanted to update you all!
Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays-8

I am thankful...

71. That Max LOVES his school.
72. That I didn't have a mental break down when I left him at the school for the first time.
73. That my husband doesn't mind if I skip cleaning for one day. =)
74. That one of my best friends (Allison) has come back, I really missed her.
75. That Gabriella has started trying to talk, we've gotten DaDa and baba clearly but other words are slightly jumbled in that wonderful baby talk.
76. That I have never had to really buy Max clothes. There is ALWAYS someone buying him some. =)
77. That my kids have inspired wonderful change in my life. I am forever grateful to them.
78. For parents that teach their kids manners.
79. That safety rules for kids in the car have changed...for the better.
80. For the rare times when Max falls asleep in my arms.

What are you thankful for this week?
Talk to you soon,
J

Do Something Good!

I am not really sure if this drive is happening like EVERYWHERE or if it's just in my town BUT keep a look out for flyers for a back pack drive! There are thousands of kids that go every school year without back packs and other school necessities. One back pack can really really help a kid in need. It may not seem like much but with the prices of back packs almost doubling from even when I was in high school there are some parents that aren't able to afford them. So right now with the sales of school supplies going on is a great time to buy one and donate it! So When I went shopping for Max's back pack I picked up two that I thought he would like, asked him to pick his favorite, and then told him we were going to give the other to another little boy in need and he was totally fine with it! And after school today I took him with me to WalMart to pick up a bunch of supplies to fill the back pack with. I literally bought one of almost everything they had that I could think of that an elementary aged kid would need and I didn't even spend more than $20.00. The back pack was on clearance for $11.00 at Target. So I would suggest you look into this...or just look out for other drives for the kids in your community. Our drop off for these are at our police station just in case anyone from my town is thinking about participating. You don't have to buy the supplies but, why not spend five more dollars if you can?

So theres 2 folders, 2 notebooks, a package of paper, a composition notebook, colored pencils, glue sticks, crayons, black and red pens, a stretchy book cover, calculator, highlighters, scissors, glue, and a 24 pack of regular pencils.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Day Has Come...

To say good bye to my first born's toddler years and hello to his school age years! I have 13 more years of first days of school with him left and this was probably the hardest first day of all. I surprisingly didn't cry but I did get a little flustered as we were leaving thinking about if he was going to have any separation issues...but he didn't. He just said bye to Ryan and I and went back to talking to his new buddy. So today isn't a sad day for me. It's a day filled with joy and pride that for the first three years of his life I raised an awesome little boy all by myself and since then Ryan has been by my side making him even more awesome!!

The backpack he chose =) He loves Buzz Lightyear!

He was trying to make a P for preschool!
So cute!!















Talk to you soon,
J

YUMMMMY SEAFOOD!

My oldest little brother Hugo (22) came down from Northern California a few days ago to spend some time with all of us! He has lived about 12 hours away from us for the last four years!! He moved up there to attend Humboldt State University with his then girlfriend (now wife). Because he lives so far away we only see him like twice a year, so for him to come here for five days is a big deal for us. So my mom (once again knowing her kids all too well) decided to do one of our favorite things and cook a huge seafood feast! She steams crab legs, boils shrimp, and always makes corn on the cob, and this time she made some garlic bread (Hugo loves it) and also made some pigs in a blanket for my picky little Maximus. These happen to be my moms favorite times. Whenever all four of her kids (and now 2 grandkids) are in the same place together, she is happy as can be. So it was me, Ryan, Max, GiGi, my brother Andrew (17), brother Matthew (16), Hugo, his best friend and long time family friend Scott, and my Moma and it was amazing! We ate, we joked, we laughed, and we just had a good time. Hugo goes home in a few days and we'll have to wait a few months before we see him again which sucks, we're grown ups now and our lives have taken us miles apart but hes ALWAYS in my heart. Like my rhyme? =)
So here are some pictures of our seafood night!!

Hugo, Scott, Ryan and GiGi, and Matthew.

Hugo and Scott with some crab legs.

Scott and Ryan being silly.

Scott and Ryan talking.
Matthew and Max waiting for everyone to sit down.

From left to right; Andrew, Mom, Hugo, Scott, GiGi, Ryan, Matthew. Max was on the ground next to Matthew.

=D

Eating

Thank goodness for self timer or else you'd never know I was there!!

The remnants!




Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays-7

I actually forgot about blogging today! So as I was checking out everyone's blogs I remembered it was my favorite day Thankful Thursday!! So here we go!! This week I have been beyond thankful for my ENTIRE life. Like I am thankful for:

61. My ability to be honest with myself and everyone else.
62. The way I was raised.
63. My husband who is so happy to make me happy
64. How happy my brothers make Maximus.
65. Friendships that outlast petty disagreements.
66. Gabriella's laughter.
67. My husbands face...(he's just so handsome)
68. Vacations!
69. That my car is officially paid off!!
70. Rainy days that knock our power out so that we can enjoy the rain together.

So what are you thankful for this week?!

Talk to you soon,
J

Sorry I've been busy...

I took a few days off from blogging.
Actually I wasn't even on the computer as much as I normally am the last couple of days.
It's been quite busy around here...and just a tiny bit stressful.
I love making lists so I thought I would put this blog into list form.
So here's whats been keeping me busy!!

1. We have been having major difficulties with our fridge! I don't know if any of you have experienced life with only a freezer...but its not fun. SO...we bought a stand alone freezer to make sure that our frozen foods didn't go bad. (Thanks Hubby) And finally this morning (almost two weeks later) we got a new fridge delivered from Lowes. It was on the landlords dime so I didn't get to pick it out. But it is brand new and it has enough fridge space. The freezer is a little small but that's not really important right now since we have the stand alone.

2. We've been preparing Max for school!! Trying to get him adjusted to an 8:30/9:00 bedtime and just talking to him about the things he will be doing and stuff. Just trying to pump him up for it that way we wont have ANY issues when that first day gets here. And we've had his friends (and my little faves) over for swimming, playing, cooking, and other fun stuff to celebrate the end of summer!! This is something I plan on continuing for all of my kids every summer until they all graduate from college.

3. I've been spending a TON of time with my kids one on one and on the ground playing with them. I sometimes forget that GiGi will only be this age for such a short amount of time and because we wont be having another baby for a few years I need to soak it all up to last. And Maximus is about to start his school career! This marks the end of his toddler years. He is officially going to be a big kid. I need to soak up these moments because these babies are growing faster than my brain can process it.

4. I have also been planning an anniversary vacation/belated honeymoon trip for Ryan and I! And since we are no longer having a wedding our budget for this trip got a little larger! We originally were going to go on a cruise...BUT THEN...I talked to my mom about it and she (knowing me all too well) told me that she didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I would an all inclusive resort. So we talked about it and I did some research and it looks like were going to......JAMAICA!! I'm sure I'll be blogging about this much more in the future so I'll stop now before this gets too long. =)

5. And lastly I've really been working on myself. I've been looking into myself for the things that I need to purge out of my soul. I am no longer going to stress so hard on the problems in other peoples lives. In the past I have gotten extremely upset for my friends when things happened to them that I felt were so wrong and undeserved. I would get angry and these issues would literally bring me down. I could feel it in my heart, the pain that my friends had. So I decided to literally stop being mad at people I've been mad at for years and talk to these people. The very few...actually only one person that I want nothing to do with EVER is far removed from my life and my family so, if that particular person has nothing to do with us then that person does not exist. I have forgiven those I feel have done me wrong in the past and closed the door on the resentment. I am a new me.

So as of Thursday I will be back to blogging, but staying off of the computer for the rest of the day. I will spend all of my time with my kids, I will cater to my husband, I will treat people I haven't spoke to in years as if I just saw them yesterday, and I will focus on the things that really matter.

Talk to you soon,
J

A wedding gift.

So as I've said before my best friend Evette got married recently...
Well we waited to buy her and Nick a wedding gift because I knew I wanted to make sure we got them something AMAZING!
We decided to get them a 16x24 canvas wrap of one of their favorite wedding photos for their living room. Needless to say it turned out FABULOUS!! It happens to be the best wedding gift I could imagine buying for them, and the happiness on Evette's face was totally worth the money!! So without further ado here are some pictures!!
















The cutest wrapping paper! $3.00 at WalMart!

Just wanted to show that the photo keeps going, hence canvas"wrap". It isn't hollow on the back either! It has a black backing with two little hangy things (I have no idea what they're called but they look like a row of pointy teeth LOL) on the top two corners and on the bottom two corners are two rubber dots, I'm pretty sure those are to even out the hanging and to make sure it doesn't rub onto the wall.

And here's the picture!

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays-6

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
--Matthew 11:28

This week although it has been a long one, I am still thankful for so many things!!

51. The noises Gabriella is learning to make. So entertaining!
52. Max's face when we talk about going to school.
53. Ryan, for agreeing to buy a stand alone freezer. LOVE IT.
54. Netflix.
55. My mom for reassuring me.
56. Change.
57. My nightly routine with the kids.
58. Max's new car dancing skills.
59. Common sense.
60. That I know the truth about the things people try and act like never happened.

What are you thankful for this week?
Talk to you soon,
J

What do you do with three bored kids?

You give them a box of crayons and tell em to draw you something pretty!

I just love that they're big enough now to focus on the same thing for more than five minutes!!
And I love when they do things like this together!
Talk to you soon,
J

Baby's first time in a highchair at a restaurant!

I'm not sure why this excited me so much but it does.
We rarely eat out so I decided when Max was born that I would document the first time in the highchairs at restaurants with all of my kids! So today I wanted to post the picture I have of Maximus and his first time and the picture we took of Gabriella and her first time!! They both LOVED it! Whats better for nosy kids than to be in the mix at the table with all the big people??! I had taken a thing of baby food for her so I fed her that before our food came but she still was going crazy trying to get our food. This girl can put it away, and you would never know by how petite she is.
So here is Maximus and his first time in a restaurant high chair.












And here is Gabriella!

They are both about the same age (71/2 months old) and they are both so HAPPY! I love it!!!
Talk to you soon!
J

A Friday in Pictures.

Gabriella in her new shades.

Max and Ryan at Johnny Rebs

Our order of fried okra...with half of it already ate.

My food. Didn't even eat half of it. 

This place gives GIANT servings.

Ryan with his food. 

Yummy!!

Max and his food. =)

Gabriella after she ate her baby food.

Shirt for Gabriella on clearance for $2.80
Two pair of silly sunglasses each from the dollar sections of Target

LOVE IT!

Swim trunks and tank top Max picked out for himself 

$2.99 each at the Childrens place!!

Shirts and bathing suits for Gabriella $1.99 and $2.99 each at the Childrens Place also!

The bathing suits are sized for next summer and a few of the shirts too. Shop smart!!!

Who can pass up deals like these when the clothes are SO cute!!! 

Talk to you soon,

J

Thankful Thursdays-5

This week has been particularly long for  me. I've never been scared to talk up front about the struggles of motherhood. I'm not ashamed to admit that some days having kids drives me crazy. BUT, I also am VERY aware that the things I go through for a few hours are totally out weighed and seem minimal compared to all the ways my kids enrich my life. They have changed me into not only a more tolerant person but also into a more calm and understanding woman. They bring joy to my life even on the days they are driving me up the wall, all I need is a little dance from Max and one of Gabriella's HUGE smiles and all is better.

So this week I am more than thankful for:
41. My kids
42. but I am also very thankful for naptime & bedtime! =)
43. My Mom for being an amazing Grandmom.
44. My husband who is willing to spend serious money on our friends. We LOVE to see the smiles on their faces when they realize we actually listen when they say they want something.
45. The alone time Ryan and I get when he is home from work and the kids are sleeping.
46. Joel Robert Costa who is leaving with the Army to Iraq to help fight for our country.
47. My sister, who is beyond funny.
48. The show Big Brother, I never knew something so simple could be SO entertaining!
49. Prayer. I prayed over my little boy when he was in bed in hysterics because of a tooth ache and when I said Amen, he fell asleep. Thank you Jesus.
50. My Moms cooking.

So what are you thankful for this week? Don't forget to link up over at The Tarr Pit!!
Talk to you soon,
J

What's going on??

I'm not exactly sure why I haven't been blogging much this week but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.
I would normally be posting a Watcha Eatin' Wednesday's blog but honestly I didn't even cook dinner tonight. Ryan is at work, Max is gone with my mom for a few hours, and Gabriella doesn't eat the food I cook. So, why do it? I hate to cook for one person ya know?
I do wanna fill you in on the last few days though! Lets see, Gabriella has randomly started yelling. Not like an angry yell but when she is talking in her baby babble...shes yelling. I don't really think this is too weird because both Ryan and I are VERY loud people. We both have voices that really carry, so I assumed she would end up being a pretty loud kid. It is really funny though to see little Gabriella standing by the couch yelling in baby language. =) Here she is in front of the sliding glass door. Allison was watching her while I ran to WalMart to buy (yet another) safety gate and she snapped a few good pictures of her...and even a video! I'll upload that too.

ALSO, I surprised my hard working husband with a game I secretly knew he wanted but he wasn't going to go buy it...Starcraft II Wings of Liberty. He is constantly on the computer playing the first Starcraft so I knew he would LOVE to have the second one. Look at his grin!!

I didn't tell him I was buying it so after lunch I made him close his eyes and put it in front of him. He was so excited that I dont even think he waited more than ten minutes to start installing it on the computer. I also bought a new rug for our living room! I've been wanting to but I'm slightly picky about stuff like that so I kept waiting and waiting and today I came across one I couldn't pass up! It's 4.5ft by 7ft and it was only $19.00!! My kind of price. Now you may be asking yourself why the heck did you even want a rug in your living room...well this is where my OCD kicks in. We had a dog for a while and the little runt tore a hole in the carpet...now, its not a very big hole but its still that, A HOLE. This hole happens to be placed directly in front of where I always sit on the couch and before we bought our first rug I couldn't help but to TAP MY FOOT (????) obsessively on the hole. So we bought a rug to see if it would change anything and it did. Well the first one we bought was not very nice or cute, but it did its job. So that's why I was looking for another one. So without further ado, this is what it looks like! It may look like we really like brown but It just goes well with my couch and the carpet in the house is definitely not my choice. I personally really like blues, that's why I actually chose this one, well that and it matched really well. I plan on having a lot of blue in the house that we buy eventually!

And now I'd like to leave you with one last picture of Max wearing one of Ryan's hats and making a super silly face! He is always trying to be like him. That alone makes me thank Ryan for everything he does for him.
 Talk to you soon,
J

P.S. Here's the video too!

Mini brownies...YUMMMMMM

I just wanted to share with you a little somethin' somethin' that I tried out yesterday.

When my mom and I were at the grocery store in the baked good aisle I saw a 3 dollar and some change box of mix to make mini brownies. After reading the box I realized that it was just some regular ol' brownie mix with different instructions for cooking time and such. So I bought the cheaper (.99 cents) bag of brownie mix and decided to try it out myself with just that. And it worked!! They were so cute and yummy!! I even put a peanut M&M in half of the batch!!

My kids have been particularly difficult the last few days...and the only reason why I'm able to post this right now is because they're both peacefully sleeping.

 

Talk to you soon,
J