"Skinny Jeans"

So, I know my "skinny jeans" are not the best around being a size 14 and all, but an accomplishment none the less!!  I haven't comfortably fit into these since buying 2 years ago, actually as of last month when it started getting cold, I tried the "dreaded" jeans on and couldn't pull up over my big booty!!  So, I guess this whole diet and exercise thing is really working after all:-)!
When I was 26, losing the almost 70 lbs seemed like a piece of cake, not so much at 30 I'm afraid:-(.  I don't know if it was because we were so busy and active then with 3 little ones 4 and under, or if my willingness/willpower was stronger then than now...who knows?!  I will admit my will power is much lower now, still haven't figured out why, but I want to officially be smaller than my ever shrinking husband, so I feel thats good motivation so far!  I've had a hectic last couple weeks w/ my sister having her baby, which by the way, I can't seem to get enough of, and life getting in the way of my regular walking schedule w/ my awesome friend Molly, I was up 1 lb this week after losing 3 lbs the week before which made me just 2 lbs away from my first 5% loss on WW.  So, now that things are getting more back to normal, I'm hoping to loose now 3 lbs to get me to my 5% on Monday and hitting both the YMCA now that it's getting cooler and walking hopefully 4 days a week with Molly to put things into high gear to reach my 10% by Christmas:-)!!
I have had so many people around me who have been able to loose some awesome amounts of weight this last year, that it is worth the hunger pains(stomach currently growling) and the gradual pain that occurs after a good workout!  So, needless to say, I'm super psyched that I could actually zip my "skinny jeans" and can't wait until my size 12 "skinny jeans" fit again too:-)!!!

I'm an Auntie:-)!!!!!

Little Miss Emmalynn Joy Miles entered our wonderful, crazy world last night at 11:10pm. She's weighing in at 7 lbs 1.6 oz and 20 in. long, born on 10-20-2010(that's pretty cool too!) Katie is doing well, especially for laboring for 36 hrs and 3 1/2 hrs of pushing resulting in a forcep delivery in just 1 AWESOME push:-)!!!! I was able to be there about 24 hrs total of the 36 with which she was in labor-huge thank you to my wonderful husband and in laws for putting up with my kiddos the last couple days so I was able to be apart of Katie and Richard's amazing daughter's entrance into this world! I spent most of my time in the waiting room w/ Mom and Dad, but around 7:45 last night, our good friend Shelby, came and got me saying Katie wanted me. So, naive Anna went into the room hearing the nurse tell Katie we were starting to push(I honestly thought she wanted my advice on whether she was to start pushing or not). So, for the next 3+ hours I helped Katie and Richard through the pushing process and actually didn't pass out(I know, I can birth 3 children, but the sight of blood/stitches/etc. can make me throw up or pass out like a little girl:-)! Our sweet girl gave her Momma some awesome challenges along the way, but everyone is so excited, and kind of still feeling like we can't believe she's actually here(very surreal)! She's just perfect in every way and looks like both Mommy and Daddy w/ her awesome dark hair and eyes, like Daddy and her beautiful button nose and chubby cheeks, like her Mommy!! I just can't seem to get enough of our little girl(yes, I said our-Katie's my baby girl, so therefore Emmie is ours too:-) and can't wait until we're watching her 5 days a week and getting love and enjoy this awesome treasure that the Lord has bestowed on the Hopper/Hilton/Miles family!!! We love you little Miss Emmie!!!

Poopy Butt....

So, while back in the saddle of Weight Watchers and exercise, my first week was a weight loss of 7lbs!! However the 2nd week wasn't near as beautiful. Although I didn't gain any weight, I didn't loose any either:-(. I walked 3 days last week and ran around like a chicken w/ my head cut off, yet managed to exceed my "extra" 35 points for the week and dipped into the activity points...ugh! Then, while talking w/ some friends at bowling on Sunday, I realized that either WW has changed their points system or I have too many points. My sister and another friend have recently done WW and had close to 6-8 pts less than I currently do, which is weird. So, Courtney and I have decided to decrease my points from 29 a day(which, quite honestly, I can't use every day unless I don't eat correctly:-) to 26 and see if that helps w/ a loss this week, and try to stay out of my "extra points" too, and definitely my activity ones...man, that's lots of points talk:-)! We're going to the YMCA later today to re-sign up for this year(it expired the end of August) and Patrick is dead set on staying to play, so I'm thinking a good weight circuit since I walked for 75 minutes this morning will be in order. (Sorry, incessant rambling, needed to get it all off my chest)...

So, other than weight loss disgust, we've been doing well. My sister is almost 4 weeks from her due date, and I can't wait to be an Auntie!!!! Sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!! It's been almost 4 1/2 yrs since a baby in this family and it's about time:-)! Although, who knew these words would ever come out of my mouth, but I'm glad it's not me having to push that baby out this time(sorry, Katie!). Courtney is finally over his cold it appears and the kids have remained cold free since school started, yahooey! That makes me one happy Momma!!! Well....long boring rambling done....Patrick won't leave me alone to help set up his bike in Daddy's shop, so until next time, have an awesome day and enjoy this wonderful fall season w/ you and yours!!

I'm back!

Okay, so hopefully I am back from my ridiculous almost 4 month hiatus on the blogging front, and back to the land of the living/blogging:-)! Lots has happened since early July in our household...imagine! School started in mid August w/ the girls being in 1st and 2nd grade and Patrick being in 4 day a week afternoon preschool. I've been continuing to work for my Dad 3 afternoons a week while Patrick is in school, been walking with a dear friend 3 morning a week, started back on Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago(I know, shock and awe:-) and trying to get all my "motherly/wifely" duties done in all the spare time that is now.... I feel like I'm constantly running and can never get all that needs to be done accomplished, but somehow I am always able to finish all of my to do list by weeks end, only by God's grace, I've finally figured out:-).

Wow, that is easy to sum up the last 4 months in a nutshell(paragraph).... So, that leads us up to now! Now consists of constantly counting WW points to try and get back down to where I was over 2 years ago and be back to being skinnier than my hubby, who, by the way, has finally broke the wall of his weight loss blockade and is down a good 15 lbs in the last couple months. I'm finding that this time around is much easier than the first time. I was pretty adjusted after the first few days, and lost almost 7 lbs last week, eekk!!!! I'm hoping for another 3 or 4 this week to be almost at my 5% goal!!! I'm so excited to be back where I was before and personally can't wait to wear the clothes that have been in my basement the last year too!!!

In transition, we've been very busy with our normal routine of dance, gymnastics, watching some awesome cyclocross races, which Daddy is doing just awesome at, and on our way to learning so much more in Sunday School(the kids that is) and meeting new Moms/friends in the awesome MOPS group I've joined, took long enough if you ask me:-)....and finding just enough time to spend together as a family to remember why we're here day in and day out!!

So, now that I've typed my way through the most boring, not making sense movie I've ever seen...I'm off to my night of watching a little DVR shows!! Have a great one all and I will be back in just a few days!!!

Happy 8 Years!!!

I know it's a few days late, but on July 6th, Courtney and I celebrated 8 wonderful years as husband and wife!! So much has happened in the last 8 years! I remember celebrating our 1st anniversary in Omaha, leaving our almost 4 month old baby girl with Mimi and Umpa and calling every 2 hours to check on her!!! How times have changed. We were fortunate to go out on our actual anniversary, thank you Mimi, and had a great time having dinner and drinks with only us...and the Tour de France, at The Stadium, on Tuesday night for a couple hours. It's nice every now and then to get some alone time to reflect on what has happened and how we need to charge into the next year w/ so many awesome changes and fun, not only for each other, but as a family!! I just wanted to give a huge I LOVE YOU to my Prince Charming, the man I can't imagine my life without!! I love you Courtney and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us...Lord knows it will go all too quickly again!!!

The crazy travelers!!

So, here's an update to last week....Courtney ended up leaving on my birthday, June 17th, for his 620 mile trip across Wisconsin, and I got a phone call on June 18th around 7:30pm telling me he's calling it quits after 117ish miles in his day. Now, you have to understand my husband. In order for him to pull the plug on anything in his life, especially a pre-planned 10 days of vacation and an incredible chance to create history on a 1st time ride by gravel/single track(mountain biking, for the non-biking people) and to get to do it in a different state to accomplish this...my hubby is more than game!! After getting lost from his riding companions and taking an hour long detour, he decided to call it quits and after 2 hours of a combo of his parents and mine and myself searching for a hotel in the town of Prairie du Chien, just across the river, which happened to be having it's annual "Festival" which apparently the entire state of Wisconsin shows up for, we found him a small room 7 miles outside of town to take a hot shower and sleep in a real bed for the night. So as luck would have it, I got to travel to Wisconsin for the first time, yeah, I know, I'm sheltered, with my Bob(the oldest and youngest hanged w/ Mimi and Umpa for the day complete w/ garage sales of buying things we don't need and they're first bowling experience...which I can't wait to witness myself:-)!! I must say, taking a 5 year old on a 4 hour out and back road trip was a bit scary, but she was the biggest trooper(mind you, I would have lost my mind w/ all 3...I know, you thought I was super Mom, but guess again:-)! We had a nice 2 hour layover in Jim's Bar in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin w/ lunch and a couple cold ones, then took a small tour of the crazy roads Courtney explored the day before. Now, I was very excited for him to be back with us, but I feel terrible that he wasn't able to accomplish what was his hope for his week....there's always next year in this house:-).

Sidenote-I never realized how beautiful and hilly(mountain-like) northern Iowa and Wisconsin was, but WOW!!! That is some beautiful country and if you are anything of a landscape/bridge fanatic like I am(thank you Bob Ross), then you will just love that area of God's awesome world he created for us!!!!

So, that brings us to having a Happy Father's Day w/ our favorite Daddy and a great visit with Uncle Chris and Auntie Annie, to decide that the end of this week we'd take ourselves a little road trip to visit them and the new house!! So excited to just get out of DM proper for a day or two, don't care to where, but excited to do whatever is offered:-)!! So on Thursday, we will load the family into our little Fit(and this time it will be quite a fit), all 6 of us...Peanut included...to go and do our 2nd road trip of the summer! So fun and hopefully be back in town for the Boone 3/6 hour on Saturday to see our men in black and our PRC girls kick some serious butt to represent DM this year:-)!!

That brings us up to speed, other than the dog chewing Daddy's Father's Day gift(a new wallet), trust me, not the happiest Daddy ever, and the crazy wacky dog who loves tabletops, countertops, anything that is off limits, every trash can in the Casa de Hilton and has officially learned her name, although I think it's more screamed than spoken lately....we're golden:-)!! Have a great rest of your week and I can't wait to share our fun adventures from this weekend, because you know it will be interesting:-)!!

The Big 3-0!!!!

So I've been told that turning 30 is the best thing ever...the beginning of the rest of your life. I'm hopeful for this to take the wonderful adventure that has been the last 30 years and create a new chapter w/ the next 30! I've had a wonderful time celebrating with Courtney a couple nights ago w/ dinner w/o kids...Huge thanks to Auntie Katie-who on a side note is going to be the mommy of a baby girl!!! Also, great times with the kids, if you include screaming and fighting as great times, hey, it's my life w/ all 3 home for the summer and 102 heat index outside:-)!! We've gotten used to the relaxed schedule this summer...but I feel it's time to ramp it up and put an orderly schedule if you will into effect so they have certain things to do w/o driving me or each other crazy several days a week.

On a segway...Courtney has left for a week long trip to Wisconsin on the TransWisconsin "Race"-it's gonna be a mountain bike touring ride for he and a couple buddies, complete w/ tent camping, lots of exploration and 620 miles on the bike over the next week. I still can't comprehend how he can pound it all out, but I know he can accomplish anything he makes his mind up to, so it will be so exciting to hear all the fun stories and posts throughout the week and after he gets home too!

So, here's to the next chapter for me!! My 30's will be fantastic, or at last that's what they all say:-)! Now, to go sit outside for 1 1/2 hrs at swimming lessons!!! Have a good one and talk w/ you all soon!!

Laying guard.

Our new little addition!!

So America, we have the newest family member announcement to the Hilton family upon us....and NO, it's not #4...it's a NEW DOG!!!

Courtney and I have been talking about this for about a month, and then last Saturday morning, low and behold, my precious husband offered up the idea of checking out the Animal Rescue League here in Des Moines in the effort of finding us a poochie!!! So our journey started at the West Des Moines location, which had one beagle that was being reserved. So we traveled onto our next location on the South Side, which had only 1 dog that was not too great w/ kiddos under 7! So our final destination was the main site in almost Saydel(like 30 minutes from home for all you out of towners), and we went right past the big dogs, which I figured we'd get, just solely because we've been around them for so long, and went right to the medium sized pooches. After looking at a beagle and a jack russell terrier(wow, that dog never stopped barking), we came across a beautiful little bassett hound that appeared to have the Hilton name stamped all over her! She had been found wandering on the side of E 14th Street(a busy one for the out of towners again), and had been there just 9 days as luck would have it:-)! We asked to take a look at her and w/in the first couple minutes of talking and playing with her, Courtney was ready to start the adoption process before anyone else snatched up our little baby!

SIDENOTE: We told the kids that after Patrick was potty trained we would get a dog, but last summer just didn't seem right, so we put it off and the kids had kind of forgotten about it until spring hit and dog fever was back in full swing! In all reality, the idea of potty training another child, oh I mean puppy was daunting to me, as I kinda suck in the dog potty training dept. So when we actively started looking a month ago, we decided to go with a dog from the ARL(Animal Rescue League) that was older, but not too old:-).

We were signed, sealed and delivered w/in 1 hour and we had our new baby girl, Peanut, weighing in at 24 lbs(still a little underweight, but she's finally eating her food now, so hopefully we'll get up there soon) and a huge ball of love and laziness:-)! She's even responding to her new name of Peanut, chosen for Patrick's peanut allergy(her previous name was Arwen, poor dog) and has started to tell us when she needs to potty and is not doing it on the one room of carpet in the entire house, yeah Peanut!!! We feel like she's always been ours and can't wait to find what the future holds for us and our newest addition.

Sidenote(again): Yes, this does mean we're officially done w/ the baby making factory now that #4 is of the canine variety, sorry for all you hopefuls out there!! Here's a few pics of our new little lady!

Date Time with Daddy!!

So after Courtney cranking(literally) out 135 miles yesterday, I know, insane:-), we decided that we'd go for a ride downtown for some breakfast while Patrick was in school this morning! These times are few and far between for us, but so grateful for them when we're able to make things happen!! So my sweet dear husband saddled up and we ended up deciding to hit Panera at Jordan Creek instead, better breakfast than Java Joes, says Courtney, I would have no idea...I lead a sheltered coffee shop life! Nice ride out on a incredibly beautiful day w/ only a few huffs and puffs from me, thank goodness Courtney enjoys riding company and rode "slow" with me the whole way there:-). Excellent breakfast and wonderful time sitting on the patio at Panera with the love of my life getting a chance to talk about anything and everything we could cram into an hours time w/o little people sticking their oh so precious little noses in the middle of. It's so nice to take time to remember what is important in our life together and make plans for the future, mind you, we don't make long distance plans, we make how are we going to survive another week plans in our home, and things are much calmer now too! We recalled today after seeing a mom at the mall with her 2 little girls, probably 2 and 4, pregnant w/ #3, very pregnant, how that used to be us!!! I look back now and have decided that when the kids were little, we must have survived only on pure survival mode itself!! I constantly see families w/ 3 little ones like we had and think how on earth do they do it? Then again, how did we do it??? I think we were crazy for popping those little babies out so quickly, not that I'd change a single thing about any of it! It definately made us so much closer and be able to connect on a totally different level than just husband and wife, the role of Mom and Dad suit us very well and I can't imagine being on this roller coaster ride w/ anyone else but him!!!

So I digress, but it's fun for us getting out once every 3-4 months alone for an hour or so, I know it's not much or often, but it's better than nothing, right:-)? Can't wait for our next fun outing together and hope it's a wonderful birthday dinner in a month before my hubby takes off to brave the gravel in Wisconsin for a week! I know, crazy, but hey, we wouldn't live up to the title of this blog if there weren't random adventures to keep us all on our toes!!

So much has happened around here!!

So, I know it's been what seems like forever since I've last posted, and that would be true, 6 weeks to be exact, but lots of weird crazy busy things have been happening in Hilton Land!! Where to begin???? Well, lets start back in April, when we found out that we are going to be getting a new cousin in our house!!! My sister, Auntie Katie, as she's affectionately called around here, is expecting her first baby, due November 5! She told the world on her 25th birthday on April 15th, and we couldn't be happier!! We told the kiddos about a week ago while she was overseas for a college class, and now that she's back home, the kids think it's weird still that there is a baby growing in her tummy, but I'm sure they will figure it out soon enough!! The next week after Katie's birthday and grand announcement, she graduated from Grandview College after a mere 7 years in the collegiate world and is going to be furthering her education through the University of Chicago, I hope I'm right on this:-), getting her masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology hopefully in the next 2 years, while becoming a Mommy!!! Right on the tail of this wonderful landmark came the death of my Grandpa Larsen, my last living "official" grandparent(I have a step grandma, hence the official thing). He had battled lots of things in the last 6 months, with a partial leg amputation and the possibility of another, when he peacefully past away in his sleep in early May. I was unable to get to the funeral in Milbank, South Dakota, but have been able to grieve the best way you can long distance. A few days later, my little baby, Patrick, turned 4!! Oh my word, how is this possible?? I am now a Mom of a 4, 5 and 7 year old, ahh!! We celebrated his birthday on Mother's Day, which was a big Transformer's bash! I have to be completely honest, I really never thought I'd ever know so much about one subject that I care so little about!! But, he's my world daily and if I'm gonna survive, I'm for sure gonna need to know every Autobot and Decepticon's name and what they transform into and what their powers are:-). Too fun!!! Mother's Day was wonderful home with the family and dinner out on the eve of another big event around here(I know, it never ends lately)! Last Monday morning, my father in law has hip surgery to get a new one! We spent many hours this last week traveling back and forth downtown to Mercy and many trips to Mimi and Umpa's house to let out the dog! He threw us w/ a little scare when his little ticker decided to not cooperate post surgery and he was taken to the cardiology floor for a day, being released on some meds to help control things for the next couple months during recovery. He is now home and impatiently waiting to back to "normal" again real soon:-)! In the midst of all this, we had a member of our family become famous, well, to the Des Moines community anyways and of course w/ family!! Courtney had been interviewed by a friend who blogs for KCCI Channel 8 news, a while back about being Car Free in DM. He is officially car free and we are a "Car Light" family, according to all parties who determine stuff like this:-). His article was published to the KCCI blog now 2 weeks ago and then was approached by the actual anchors of the 10pm news for KCCI, for an on air interview which happened 4 days later!! Our famous Daddy!!! He then received a call on Thursday night saying that he had been picked as "The Commuter of the Year" by the Bike to Work Week staff and will be doing a ride tomorrow, Monday morning, which is the first "official" day of Bike to Work Week, with Leonard Boswell and other elected officials and then will be given his award by the Mayor of Des Moines! WOW, is about all I can say about that!! He's very deserving of such an award and any and all of this "fame" he has received in the last couple weeks, we're SOOOO PROUD of our Daddy!! He's accomplished so much for himself, his family and his community and we're so happy someone else also sees how wonderful he is!

Well, I think that brings us up to speed, with the exception of Patrick learning to ride his bike w/o training wheels a few days before his 4th birthday, Momma getting her own "commuter" bike for Mother's Day/Birthday(not til next month, but hey, who won't take an early present especially w/ the deal we got on it!!) We've now got the end of the school year trips, picnics, dance recitals and the beginning of what we hope to be a laid back summer, with some swimming lessons, Vacation Bible School, and maybe some camping/biking adventures scattered in there too!! So here's to the craziness that will now ensue here at the Hilton household for a wonderful, relaxing, busy summer!! Hope everyone has a wonderful May!!

Spring is Finally Here!!!!

So I know I'm not the only person who has been desperately wishing for spring to get here, but I feel like I'm the happiest that it's here now:-)!! It was a long winter for the Hilton's w/ early bedtimes, lots of tv time and lots of screaming, bored kids and parents! We are such an outdoors family that it was one brutal winter season this year that Patrick woke up every day from January 1st on asking if it was summer yet! We were able to get out several times last winter and go for some good snow hikes on the local mountain bike trails, but we didn't get a single one in this year due to the ridiculous snowing and the freezing cold temps. We even only went sledding a couple times, we went close to a dozen times last year b/c it was sooo cold! Well, I'm going to optimistic and say that winter is officially over, at least for the Hilton's and move on to much greener, warmer pastures of spring!! We've already hit our first family bike ride w/ dinner and playing at Raccoon River Park last week, Patrick and I have gone out for several bike/runs, he bikes and I huff and puff my way through a run, and we've walked to get the girls from school every day but one in the last 2 weeks! Not a bad start if you ask me:-). Also, I've started early this year on working on my bronzed self with spending the afternoons outside watching Patrick play, we got new sand and toys for the sandbox today, highlight of the week let me tell you!!! I've been working on getting moving as much as possible and we've started a new "healthy living lifestyle", if you will, to kick start our spring/summer with more whole grains, fruits, veggies and less meat, but lean cuts/kinds when we do. I've already seen a 6.5 lb loss since we started the beginning of last week, and I can't wait to see how this pans out. I will say that I'm not near as hungry now, with cutting out fast food, diet pop and candy(I did sneak a 1/2 of a 3 Musketeers bar today, but I did stop at 1/2!) And with today being a wonderful 75 degrees here in lovely Iowa, we spend all day outdoors and grilled our little hearts out:-)! So here's to you and yours: Have a wonderful spring!!! Enjoy all the warmth and time w/ your loved ones!!

Holy cow, what's with the baby boom lately??

Austyn at almost 7!
The day we brought her home...12 days old
The first pic of our Little Peanut!!

So I've found it very weird how so many friends/acquaintances have had or are going to have a baby in the last 6-12 months!! I was told that over the long cold winter that there was nothing to do, but that doesn't account for all the babies born during the snowy season here!! We've had close to 8 friends have babies in the last 6 months and have about 4-5 more due in the next 6 months...crazy!!! I've been thinking that it's in the water, and my lovely hubby has been repeatedly telling me to stop drinking said water:-)!! We've been so fortunate to have 3 healthy, happy kiddos in the last 7 years and couldn't imagine starting over again(hard for me to swallow!) We had always wanted 4 kids, but after Patrick came along it seemed like the perfect fit had finally made his appearance, along with the fact that Daddy thought he might loose his mind if we entered any more little people into our flock:-)! This being said, our first baby will be turning 7 this Tuesday, the 16th. 7!!!!!!!! Am I old enough to have a 7 year old???? According to Courtney I am, he never lets me forget my age, which isn't officially OLD quite yet, give me 3 more months and then we'll talk. Austyn came into this world with such a surprise for the whole family with coming almost 7 weeks early, breech and emergency c-section! She's kept us on our toes from day one!! But being such a big baby, 5 lbs 6 1/2 oz, for that early, she was huge, she only had to spend 12 days in the NICU at Blank and was able to meet the world a month after her birth for the first time! Had we known then what we know now, she was just the beginning of the roller coaster that would insue in our lives over the next 3 years! We can't imagine that our baby is going to be 7, perfectly healthy, opinionated and a fashion forward little girl who's pushing 16 faster than I'd like her to!! Just thought I'd take my trip down memory lane to what was and how far we've come in these last 7 years!!! Happy early birthday to my Austyn!! Mommy loves you so much, no matter how crazy you drive me!

So proud of my hubby!

I have always been proud of my husband, but after reading his blog today, I feel a new found love through thick and thin with one heck of an awesome man!!! Check it out, I've got the link on my blog! I can't believe he's the same man I married almost 8 years ago, but love him more every day that passes and can't wait to make more memories and spend many more years with the love of my life!!! I love you baby!!!!

My 3 hour commute

So, our girls have been involved in gymnastics at Jacobs Gymastics in Waukee for the last 3 years. Fabulous facility, wonderful, caring teachers and reasonable prices(my favorite in all three of those)! However, in the past 2 years my girls have either been in the same class or when their ability levels changed, were in different classes at the same time. This fall brought the new schedule with staggered classes, which for us means one goes from 5:30-6:30 and the other from 6-7. Add in drive time to drop Patrick off at Mimi and Umpa's(my in-laws) house and the almost 30 minute commute out to the middle of Waukee and back to pick up little man and get home, we're gone from 4:45-7:30 every Wednesday night. I'm done! I feel like my Wednesday nights are nothing but driving and listening to complaining children about how hungry and tired they are on the way out and back. So, I've done some research here closer to home and found a wonderful gym close by that is actually a little cheaper(happy Mommy) and has the same structure for their classes, by ability, not by age. Corner House Gymnastics is just off 72nd and Douglas in Urbandale and on a good day, 15 minutes from home, which will mean a 1 1/2 commute total which saves my time and gas!! I'm very excited to have the girls start, we'll be starting the beginning of March, had to give notice at the other gym, but looking forward to the new journey we will experience! The girls were actually not too upset about the change, hoping tonight was at the new gym! I'm thinking they're just as tired of the driving and waiting as I am, but have just never said anything. I'm going to miss the relationships we've built with the owner of the gym, the teachers and the other families, but know that this will be a very welcome change in our lives so we can spend some more time together!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

So, with tomorrow being Valentine's Day again, I'm reminded of our first Valentine's Day we spent together, we being Courtney and I! We were married the July before and I was 7 months preggo with our first daughter, Austyn and we had a blizzard, surprise, surprise! And to top off the blizzard happening, my parents were moving out of our current house, they rented it from my inlaws before we found out we were expecting, 4 weeks after getting married, and they offered to downsize so we could have the "big" house for our growing family! I don't remember going out to dinner at all, funds were short back then, but I do remember my first Valentine's gift from my beloved. A huge green frog(I was obsessed with frogs, being I grew up w/ the last name Hopper) holding a big red heart saying "I love you". The fun in this gift is the playful childlike spirit of my husband and soon to be "the world's greatest Daddy", was oozing from this!! Also, he had hidden it in moving boxes about a month before and I had no idea until he went to unpack every box to figure out which one it was in:-)!! Those were the days!!! Simple, to the point, goofy gifts from my baby!! In the years since, I have received lots of boxes of chocolates, special cards from my little ones and the love of my beloved for another fantastic year!! I know, sappy, but man, I appreciate every moment I'm able to spend with my Courtney and the wonderful children he and I have been so greatly blessed with! I know my husband hates the commercialized catholic holiday, but it's just another reason to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be so loved by everyone in our lives and to be able to love them unconditionally in return! Hope everyone has a fantastic Valentine's Day with your loved ones!!

When will there ever be enough time?

I have come across a common problem with me. I'm either too busy or bored out of my mind! The last couple months have been pretty low key after losing the job cleaning the church building we meet in. My wonderful Daddy took my inexperienced secretary of a self and allowed me to help him out 6 hours a week while Patrick is in preschool, which was just the right amount of hours to feel like I'm contributing something so my family can buy groceries and still fulfill my duties here at home also. Then my eager self accepted a cleaning position with my Dad's church just a month ago, which ends up being around 2 hours once a week, which the kids have helped with quite a bit(yes, they love to clean toilets, who knew?) And if this wasn't enough, I found someone needing part time child care, which I love Patrick to have a playmate and the extra cash helps too(groceries:-))! I love being active and busy, but I always seem to be all or nothing these last couple years! I just think I have a problem finding the balance between doing something but not too much... How do I find that right amount of time? I don't even have time for a workout lately, ugh! How does one find a balance in it all??

Who ordered this new snow?!?!

Okay, as far as I'm concerned, enough is enough already!!! I'll surrender! Uncle!!! We have got to start spring sometime this year, right??? I think I'm so fed up with all this snow and ice and yuck! I have 3 little kids that are officially driving each other nuts with their stircraziness, a Mom and Dad who are about to throw the kids out in the snow to camp out there and a car that appreciates the initiation into winter, being it's first and all, but golly molly! I'm hoping to find some things in the following "ending" weeks of winter to help curb our stir crazy family. Any thoughts on the matter?? I'm open to any and all ideas, although free ones are always terrific! My mother in law suggested going to Open Gym night at the YMCA, which I have to check the schedule on, but beyond that, I think I'm out of ideas right about now. I feel like the other parents we see at the mall play place are about to become our new best friends if we don't find other outlets for creative loud play here soon! What fun things do you currently do or did when you were growing up to pass the winter blues away??? I look forward to any and all ideas to come!

Valentines is just around the corner!

You know when any holiday is about to make an appearance in the Hilton household. Little ones start to mill away about how things will be and how they will be planning and what they will be wearing for it. It's all about Valentines right now, and has been strongly the whole last 2 weeks! Abbie took her box to school last week and got to decorate it on Friday with her Tiger Pal(6th grade buddy). Austyn and Daddy decorated hers today in only a way that a fun creative Dad can do:-) and Patrick keeps talking about how he is going to be decorating his bag at school for his Valenpines(3 yr old speak). We took out the cards that I got last year on clearance, Crayola color your own w/ a stale lollipop and have started coloring and writing names on them! The craziness that ensues in this house around a holiday is incredibly exhausting! Then there's what to wear!!! Now any of you out there with little girls, or fashionable little boys, know where I'm coming from here! The girls and Patrick are already deciding how they are going to color coordinate with each other and how exactly they will pull it off! Each year they're grandparents, Mimi and Umpa, always get them new shirts/outfits to make the day even more special!! I love this year because all my kids are now old enough to understand what this whole Valentine's Day is all about. Now, I'm talking beyond the cards and candy here! They are beginning to see how it's a special day to spend with those you love and care for in your family/life. It's so neat to see all of this instilled in them at such a young age and see those little eyes and faces light up when they realize how important they are to someone and how much someone care about them!! That's why I love this holiday. It may be utter craziness here almost 24/7, but when it all comes down to it, it's about spending time with the people who care about you the most, FAMILY!!

The beginning of the Hilton Blog!

So, I've started a blog! I've decided that without a whole lot of adult interaction, this would be the perfect time to start this up! To start things out, I'm a psuedo-stay at home mom, I work part time, 6 hrs a week for my Dad, as his receptionist at the church, and 2 hours a week, cleaning said church, and occasionally do part time drop in child care too. Sounds crazy, but all is going good with trying to provide for my family what I can and still fulfilling my duties as mother, wife and home manager! A little about me, for those of you who don't know! I am married to the most wonderful, caring beautiful man in the world, Courtney!! He and I have been married for 8 years in early July. We've been through so much together and I still get butterflies every time I see him and can't wait to see what the Lord has next for our lives together!!! On the Mom end of things, I'm an almost 30 year old mom of 3 wonderful and active kiddos!! My oldest is Austyn, she will be 7 on March 16, ugh! My middle beauty is Abbie, who will be 5 1/2 at the end of February and my baby, Patrick, who will be 4 in early May. They are all the highlight of my life and everything I could have ever imagined for my life!!! Well, that's a little about me, tomorrow onto the craziness that is the Hiltons!!!