It's been a while...

Well, here I am. Forgive me readers, (all like 3 of you) for I have sinned, it's been 6 months since my last post and a lot has happened in the Gill Family. In case you live under a rock, we will be adding to our family in about 3 months. Not just one more baby Gill, but TWO new baby Gill's. Two more BOY baby Gill's to be exact. Yes, I am out numbered, that's for damn sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

CoopMan turned 3 in December but I swear it was more like he turned 7. Man, that' kid's got an attitude, he must get it from his Dad ;) He talks all day long, doesn't ever stop, must get that from his Dad too, we all know how quiet and reserved I am :D He is still in pre-school and he loves it! He looks forward to it every week. It's gotten better, but he still has major meltdowns and fits of not wanting to listen, but what 3 year old doesn't? At least that's what I tell myself when I'm rushing him to timeout every single week during class.

Let's see, what else is new in my life? Colin and I just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. Yay us! I am now a stay at home mom, oh the joys. It wasn't by choice, but now, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I love that I get to stay home with Cooper everyday and play and do fun activities! Plus, it's good prep for when the twins get here and I had planned on staying home anyways, now he has time to prepare for it rather than just throwing it in his face like "oh hey, I'm home with you all day now, and so are these 2 new babies that cry all the time, you're welcome!"

Mr. Gill has truly stepped up to the plate and has taken on a second job. He's a line cook at Amore and from what I can tell, he loves it! I'm so proud of him for taking this step and doing what he can for his growing family. He really has no idea what it means to me for him to do this! It just makes me love him that much more. Awwww, how sappy. Ok, enough of that.

That's about all that's new in the life of the Gill's. Well, all I can think of right now since I've been awake since 4:30am. Gotta love that pregnancy insomnia *eye roll* I will try and keep ya'll updated more!

Here are some pictures in case you forgot what we all look like. =)

From our Gender Reveal 

Marshmallow Painting

25 weeks pregnant w/twin boys 3/18/12

It'll get better...right???

Last night was CoopMan's first night at Central Park Co-Op Preschool. He talked about it all day, had his bucket and his supplies ready and jumped at me when I walked through the door after work, ready to head out. We'd had discussions prior to leaving for school, about who is in charge, who he needed to listen to, what was expected of him. I may have forgotten that he's only 2 1/2 years old. He agreed with me on all counts, he was totally ready. First picture taken (well, like 3 pictures since he's a ham) and out the door we went.

Finishing his dinner while posing =)

Once we were in the car, we had MORE discussions on who was in charge, who do you listen to, etc etc etc. Yes, Right and Ok were all of his answers. We pull up to school and screeches from the backseat erupt. He was SO excited. First thing out of the car, we see cousin Sophie. Of course we had to snap a few more pictures. It was OUR first day of school after all.

Cousins! Sophie & Coop

He looks grown up. Make that stop.

Into the classroom we go. Here.We.Go. This is it, he's going to be good, he isn't going to be that kid that acts up or talks back or doesn't listen. Yeah.Freaking.Right. I can say now, that it's the day after, that I've chalked it up to the following: A. He doesn't go to daycare, so doesn't have a ton of interaction with other kids and B. He doesn't really have a structured schedule at home. We do the same thing pretty much every day, but there isn't any rhyme or reason to it. That is going to change, as of today.

He played well with the other kids, but playing is all he wanted to do. When it was time to clean up toys, he did that too. Oh and PS. now when we clean up at home, I'm required to sing the clean up song. Thanks for that Teacher Tina ;) Anyways, when it was time to get down to business, sit and listen, sit and have snack, stand on the blue line for further instructions, he was like a dog being let loose from the kennel after being stuck in there all day. Running around, yelling, you name it, that was Cooper. Frankly, I was embarrassed. I was pouring sweat from chasing him. (I guess we'll call that my workout for yesterday)

Playing...it's his favorite subject in school.

I'm hoping that next week will be better. It can't get worse? Right? RIGHT??? It's an adjustment, for all of us. But, now, we know that we are going to have a little more structure at home. I may even get some damn blue tape and throw it on the kitchen floor and get a bell and ring it at any given moment, just to practice. He will stand on that blue line with the other kids. I'm telling you, he will.

He stood there long enough for me to snap a picture, then he bolted.

I even went as far as making a fun chart with our new daily routine on it, that I will tape up in the kitchen. I need to figure out a sticker system for it, since that worked amazingly for potty training. Anyways, here's to a great school here and to next week being a million percent better than this week!



Pre-Skoo

Fun times ahead this week for us. I signed Cooper up for the Central Park Co-Op preschool. For those that don't know, a co-op preschool is like a "parent run" kind of thing, one teacher per class and parent volunteers. I'm so excited for this, but I definitely think that Coopman is waaaay more excited. Everyday he asks me if it's time to go to "pre-skoo" This year he'll be in the the toddler class, which is one night a week and the parents stay with the children during the class. I can't wait for him to make some new friends and get socialized.

I'm hoping to get to the gym Monday morning at 5am, since I work all mornings this week. Some days at 6am and some at 7am, so Mon is a 7am day, I'll be hitting the gym (hopefully) at 5am. Oye, we'll see. I need to do it, no more excuses.
Monday is parent orientation day at the school. Wednesday is Meet the Teacher night. Cooper has asked me every 20 minutes today if he can go to pre-skoo, meet his "teatchurr" and meet "fwiends". It's pretty cute how pumped he is about this. So pumped in fact that we have a countdown going. Coloring pages that say "Countdown to Preschool" with the number of days left till school. Everyday he gets to take a page down and color the picture. It's pretty adorable, if I do say so myself.
Also on the to do list Monday night, an old friend, Cinnamon, is also coming into town and I haven't seen her in years. So after orientation, I'll be going out with her and a bunch of others for a few drinks.

Tuesday I work at 6am, so I WILL be going to spin class. No questions asked. I will be there.

Wednesday is Meet the Teacher night at preschool. Coop is more excited about this than a kid on Christmas morning. I tell ya, it's too stinkin' adorable. I really should record his excitement so you get the full affect.

Saturday is the Aberdeen/Hoquiam football game, AND pregame I will be attending the KIX 95.3 tailgate party to hopefully win some Taylor Swift tickets I qualified for last week. Fingers crossed for that. I love me some concerts!

Last but not least, I leave you with my meal plan.

Sunday: Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
Monday: Beef Stroganoff
Tuesday: Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Wednesday: Corn Chowder
Thursday: Beer Meatball Subs
Friday: Blackened Tilapia
Saturday: Turkey Burgers

Hope everyone has an amazing week! =)

More excuses...

My life is full of excuses.  And I'm sick of it.

I couldn't go to the gym this past week because I had to work the morning shift all week. So I was up at 4:30am and when Colin got off work he went to help some friends remodel their house so I couldn't go to the gym. Cooper hates busy town at the Y after many attempts, so I've given up on taking him while I workout. Which means, if Colin has plans after work, I'm SOL.

So, apparently because I couldn't make it to the gym all week, that also meant that I had to eat like shit. I didn't track my food all week, I didn't stick to my meal planning for dinner, I ate fast food, I bought lattes, my week was shot by Monday afternoon and I was done caring.

My bestie, Erica Rezac, has lost 70+ lbs so far this year and she has been an inspiration to so many. I am so proud of what she has accomplished and the goals that she has made and think to myself "I will never do that" because lets face it, I just don't have the determination. I wish I did. I say all the time I am fed up with the way I look, with the way my clothes fit, with how unhealthy I am. But I don't do a damn thing about it. I will do great for a week then it just falls apart and I don't know why. What is wrong with me? Why can't I do this? I have the focus, while I'm actually doing it, but one little thing disrupts me and shit hits the fan. I lose track.

I've lost the same 5 lbs so many freaking times I can't even count. I posted a while back with my "back on the wagon" speech and since then, I've been up and down 5 lbs over and over and over. I'm sick of it. What do I have to do to stay focused?

I have my online support system and a few friends that go to the gym with me every now and then, but all in all, I should be able to do this on my own. After all, it's not for them, it's for me. So again I ask you, What the hell is my problem???

Don't worry, I'm still alive.

It's been a little while since I've blogged, but don't you fret, I'm back, you can all breathe easy now. I know your life just isn't the same without your Julie dosage.

What's been happening in my life lately? Not a whole hell of a lot. I do have a new obsession with www.pinterest.com It's become a bit of a problem. It's all I want to do all day everyday. If you've never heard of it, it's basically a virtual bulletin board you can categorize and "pin" different interests to. Get it. Pin. Interest. Pinterest. Ha.

This past weekend, some family came up from Vancouver, WA to visit. I don't get to see them often, so it's nice when it happens. I actually hadn't seen one of them for 8 years. Way too long to go without seeing someone who is literally a week younger than I am.

What else? Oh, I'm training for a 5k that I plan on running on Thanksgiving. I'm doing the Couch to 5k program and it's supposed to train you in 9 weeks. So far so good, I even jogged outside last week, which I've never done before. My goal is to run the entire 5k. Go me.

Oh, and I'm starting my own business. Don't want to get too detailed on it now, since it's still a work in progress, but I will be selling baby "stuff" online and participating in another mama's auction at the end of next month, so stay tuned =)

Cooper, oh Cooper...I am about ready to give him away. If anyone wants a 2 year old that defines terrible twos, just let me know, I've got one for the amazing price of FREE. He has his moments where I just can't help but think "ok, you aren't so bad, I like you, you can stay" But lately, those moments are rare.

That's about it, I'll leave you today with my meal plan for the week, (most recipes are from Pinterst, cause I'm that cool) since I don't think I did one last week.

Monday-Buffalo chicken wonton wraps
Tuesday-Sweet & Spicy honey grilled shrimp
Wednesday-Creamy Italian chicken
Thursday-Lasagna Soup
Friday-Sweet jalapeno chicken & rice
Saturday-BBQ & fight night at Virginia's house

Meal Roundup

Mr. Gill is jumping on the healthy eating wagon with me this week! Horray for him! I hope that it makes it easier for the both of us to stay on track! Go us! =)

Sunday: Taco Casserole
Monday: Grilled balsamic chicken, herb couscous
Tuesday: Pulled pork sliders, homemade cole slaw
Wednesday: Grilled pollo sabroso, spanish rice
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/06/broiled-or-grilled-pollo-sabroso.html
Thursday: County fair!!! (I will to my best to be semi-healthy)
Friday: Stuffed shell, garlic bread
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/spinach-stuffed-shells-with-meat-sauce.html
Saturday: Turkey chili cheese dogs (with turkey chili and turkey hot dogs)

Happy Eating Everyone! Please feel free to share your meal plan or favorite recipes with me! =)

Houston, we have a big boy.

Well, The Coopman is no longer a baby. This kid is potty trained. On July 12th, he woke up and decided that today was the day. He wanted to pee on the big potty and be a big boy. His "treat" for doing so, was a cute sticker chart that my girlfriend Erica made for him, and stickers. 1 sticker for #1, 2 for #2. He caught on so quickly that we ran out of stickers, so I finally stopped giving them to him, unless he asked, and most of the time he forgot. He was still wearing a diaper for naps and bedtime, just in case, but when he woke up consistantly for over a week with a dry diaper, I figured, why not give it a shot. Well, 2 weeks (tomorrow) later, and we've had only TWO overnight accidents and NO daytime or nap accidents.

I can't believe what a big boy he is. It's so bittersweet to see, I just want my little baby back. But oh my, the money we will save on diapers. That is, until the next baby Gill is around, which isn't now, so don't get all excited.

Now, what kind of Mom would I be if I didn't document him on the toilet? Not a very good one, I'll tell ya that. So, here are pictures that I plan on haunting him with when he brings his first girlfriend home, or his first date to a dance.

Where's that wagon???

Confession time. I've completely fallen off the weight loss wagon. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I told myself everyday "today is a new day, you can do this" and then by 5pm, shit hit the fan. So, here I am, to tell you, to hold myself accountable and to do it already.

I've been overweight as long as I can remember. Not crazy overweight, (well, at least not in my head, you might think different by looking at me, but I don't give an eff what you think) but overweight none the less. It's time to change things. I'm sick of not looking good in my clothes, I'm sick of being so lazy, I'm sick of wanting to eat the bad things that I do. Maybe someday I will be one of those people that is hungry and can say "just drink a glass of water and let it pass"...That's not me, not at ALL. A glass of water doesn't fill me up, a carrot stick doesn't fill me up. Cookies, chips, pizza, beer. That's what fills me up. I want those days to be over (I'm not giving those things up, but moderation would be a nice word to join in my vocabulary)

When I started this journey in January, I was counting calories on www.myfitnesspal.com , I was able to do that, until all my friends started joining Weight Watchers, and since I'm a follower, I joined as well. I believe now, looking back, that I was doing better on MFP than with WW. I lost weight with both, but I still had cheat days. Those days are over. If I want it, I'll eat it, track it and move on. I will no longer let it ruin my entire day. I will no longer say "Tomorrow is a new day" I am ready, NOW.

Working out. I need to do this more. I was working out at least 4 times a week, including one hour spin classes twice a week. Now, I'm lucky to get to spin twice a month, out of pure laziness. My new plan, is to spin at least once a week, along with working out before Mr. Gill goes to work, at least 3 days a week. That will put me back to my 4 days a week in the gym. I CAN DO THIS. Gone were the days of "I'll start Monday" No lady, you'll start today. Who gives a rat's ass if it's the middle of the week? No me, not anymore. I'm back on the wagon and I will stay there until I hit my goal weight.

As of today I weight 171.8. That's right, I posted it, because I'm sick of hiding it and frankly, I really don't give a shit what anyone else thinks anymore.
My goal weight is 140.
When I graduated high school in 2003, I weighed 155.
When I got pregnant, I was 183.
When I gave birth I was 213.
When I started this journey in January I was 186.4
Today, 171.8
If I wasn't at work right now, I would post my "today" picture, but you'll just have to suffer without it and imagine what my pretty face looks like while you read this. :)

Thanks for reading and following me on my journey to a healthier, skinnier, happier me.

Food for thought

I'm a little late in the game this week with my meal planning, since I'm still trying to recover from the weekends festivities. Oh man, I wish there was a better word for Epic, but there isn't, so Epic weekend is what it shall be known as.

I'm feeling like I need new recipes or new ideas because I feel like we're beginning to fall into a rut of eating the same things over and over. Here is this week's boring meal plan. Enjoy.

Monday: Ground venison & gravy w/mashed potatoes & green beans
Tuesday: Grilled bbq chicken, roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus
Wednesday: Cilantro lime tilapia, white rice, green beans
Thursday: Grilled rosemary garlic chicken, vegetable fried rice
Friday: Homemade lasagna, garlic bread, corn

Happy Eating!

White Class & Trashy

Another epic weekend has come to an end. Oregon Jamboree 2011 is in the books and I can just say, it was amazing and I do believe we've started a tradition. So many memories, so many great performances, so many new friends, so many laughs, so many, so many, so many.

Day 1:
Loaded up the car, and I mean loaded. Poor Ashley had to take Cari's direction, because she couldn't see out of the back window, due to all of our stuff piled to the top of the car. Outrageous. 3 girls + 3 days camping = waaaaay too much stuff!
We left town early afternoon on Friday, for a long drive. 4 1/2 hours to Sweet Home, Oregon! The drive didn't feel like it took that long, that's for sure. We listened to some great music and had some great conversation on the way. I just love my girls!

Once we arrived in Sweet Home, we found our way to our campsite, where Ashley and Cari put up our tent. I supervised because I don't know how to do anything like that, because generally, Mr. Gill is with me and I'm told not to touch anything, so I let them do all the work. ;)

We headed to the concert site, on a school bus (shuttle) where they let you drink beer on the way. Amazing! The first night of shows that we saw, was JoDee Messina and Ronnie Dunn, both spectacular performers! I was too drunk to get any pictures of Ronnie Dunn, sorry.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Packing the car
JoDee Messina
Stranger Danger
New friends

 Pitched a tent

JoDee Messina

Day 2:

Ashley was supposed to interview and introduce Troy Olsen that morning. Apparently his bus broke down in Reno and wasn't able to make it, so she was told, very last minute, that she would be announcing Margaret Durante instead. If you're wondering who that is, don't worry, we didn't know either. We googled her and found out as much info as we could about her in less than an hour. Ashley did a great job announcing her and it was pretty amazing watching her up on that big stage!

That afternoon we watched Sawyer Brown, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and LADY ANTEBELLUM! And, why wouldn't my camera batteries go dead RIGHT before Lady A performed?! Their show was even better than I thought it would be, and to top it off, the ended with an Aerosmith song. Classic!

HIGHLIGHTS:
Watching Ashley on stage.
Passing out in the beer garden, people thinking I was dead
Lady Antebellum
Not getting back in the beer garden because it was at max capacity.

 Ashley, introducing Margaret Durante

 Our new friends from the Harbor, Annmarie & Heather!

The only pic I got of Lady A, their interview before the show.

Day 3:

Last day of the festival, no showers, hair a mess, lookin' like we rolled in dirt, lets go meet a celebrity! Ashley interviewed and announced Laura Bell Bundy on Sunday. LBB was probably my favorite performance of the weekend! She's got so much energy, I just wanna put her in my pocket and take her home!
We headed back to the campsite to have a little lunch before our meet and greet with the gorgeous Clay Walker. (I don't have pictures from that either, since they only took professional ones, I'll post one as soon as they post in on his website) And then for his show and finally, Darius Rucker! HOOTIE!!!
Clay Walker in a nutshell. Cute butt, adorable walk, amazing smile, drinks hot starbucks in 80+ degree weather, super friendly, great performer. After his show was Hootie, I mean, Darius Rucker. All I wanted was for him to sing some old Hootie and the Blowfish songs, and he did. Yay him! I like his country music, but I LOVE Hootie!!! Great end to a great weekend of shows!
Packing up after that show, was interesting to say the least. Trying to get all that stuff, back in the car, yeah, next year, we'll hire someone to do that for us, or rent a truck and throw it all in the back.

 Ashley, introducing Laura Bell Bundy

 The adorable LBB

 Awesomeentity

 Clay Walker

Hootie, I mean, Darius Rucker!

 

Epic weekend finally came to a close around 2am when we rolled into town. I want to thank the fabulous Ashley Greninger for inviting me along and for being so freaking awesome. Another thanks to Cari Jewell, just for being her. I love her. And to all our new friends too! Can't wait to see ya'll next year for the 20th anniversary for the Oregon Jamboree!!!