Our Adventure Called POTTY Training!

So a friend of mine and I were talking and we started on the discussion of potty training. So as not to give you all the details of your lovely conversation it came about that there was a book that taught your children how to potty train in 3 days. So if you know me at all, I needed a project. We prepared by getting all of your gear together because you literally have to lock yourself in the house for 3 days. We bought our beverages and underwear and hunkered down for my last and final potty training experience. The first day was quite exciting for Levi and myself. He took to the potty training like a natural. He would get so excited. He had his mishaps but needless to say he did amazing. By that night he seemed exhausted and so did I. I couldn't figure out why we were both so darn ornery and then it hit me that we had both been cooped up all day talking of pee-pee and potty. That's enough to make anyone go crazy (let alone a adult conversation craved woman). The second day we both had had it but we hung in there. Times were tough and tempers high but my little man  and I made it through and by the end of the second day he was a pro. Levi is only 20 months and he has done so well. It was a HOORAY moment and now I can say we are officially outta the diaper stage.

Back to School!

 

Luke's first day of Kindergarten!

 

To get ready for school I was able to take them each individually to lunch and then to get their school supplies. (A fun tradition my mother started) It was fun to be able to spend that time with them and find out their likes and dislikes. We also let the kids choose a favorite meal and had back to school meals till school started. This was Abby's meal. Tin foil dinners and Sm ore's. The problem is have you tried to have a cookout in 100 degree heat plus 100% humidity? We weren't going to attempt it. So we baked out tin foil dinners in the oven and then afterwards we took the grates off the burners and made our Sm ore's. They have these really huge marshmallows the size of your fist that takes a whole graham cracker on each side and almost a whole bar of chocolate. Needless to say everyone could only eat one.

So school officially started on August 6th. The kids go to the on Post Schools. Luke goes to the Primary School which has Pre-K thru 1st grade. It is just below our house. The bus picks him up and brings him home every day. He is not allowed to get off the bus unless I am there and you aren't allowed in the school unless you have you military ID. It's nice they take guarding our kids so seriously. The girls go to the Elementary School just up the street which houses grades 2nd thru 6th. All other grades are off Post. They ride their bike there and I think they enjoy it except when it's extremely hot. They have quite the system down at the cross walk. The MP's direct traffic. The kids gather at this little park across from the school and at 7:30 exactly it's like a stampede across the street. They refuse to let the kids dismiss if there is any thunder or lightning in the area (which happens quite often). So then you have to drive down and enter at a certain point where they then have cars in single file and you yell which kid you have. They radio it up and they allow them to exit the building directly into your car. That's not my preferred way I have to say.

The kids start so early because they get all of the same holidays that the military gets off because of so many people that would just pull the kids out anyway. It all works. They seem to have it down and I can't complain. Both schools are less than a mile from our house so I can walk to either at any time. 



Daniel Lyman Hills

Daniel is having fun flying his helicopters. It's stressful for him trying to remember it all because it goes at such a fast pace. This is a TH-67 that they first started to train in. He is now flying the Apache.

Sorry had to make it big for dramatic effect. He gets to shoot missiles, guns with bullets as tall as your hand and fly at the same time. What guy wouldn't like that. Heck I would like that. The Apache has some pretty cool technology. He will come home and tell me some of this stuff that it has or what he has learned and it is pretty amazing. He is about a month into this course. Our last and final course until our journey home. It will last a good 6 months.

We recently celebrated 12 years of marriage together. He ended up having to fly on our anniversary so we kept it simple. We ate banana splits out on our back porch after the kids had gone to bed (Thanks James Noble). I made him a jar of Hershey kisses and on each on had a word taped to it that said why I loved him. There were a ton. It was fun to see how many reasons why I love him. I also made him his own 5 and 9's of Marriage. OK I guess I have to explain. They have what is called 5 and 9's for the helicopters and what they are are the rules for the helicopter. It also has the limits that a helicopter has. Thus the limits are the 5's and the rules are the 9's. Anyway so made up my own and we got quite a kick out of them. He bought me a frame for my diploma! Yeah! We had fun and it was nice and relaxing.

Levi Miles Hills

Little Levi is our youngest and is quite the handful. He gets into so much stuff. With all the kids gone all day I don't dare take a shower for fear of what I might find when I get out. After we get the kids off to school he and I go for a 5 mile walk. It takes about an hour and a half. He falls asleep for half and then gets bored the other half. He's not your normal almost 20 month old. He doesn't like a lot of baby toys. He wants the kids toys especially Luke's light sabers. (Man after my own heart) He recently fell and hurt his tooth. He still has his tooth but the dentist made us give up the binky cold turkey. That was not fun but man can that kid cry and talk. He talks a ton now. His favorite words are "NOOOOO!, Mine! and one more?!" He loves it when dad gets home and runs to the back door when he hears him pull in and is yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" He equally loves helicopters. The closest air field to our house is the Blackhawk. He gets so excited when he sees them take off, hover and land. He likes us to pull over and roll down his window so he can watch and will just keep saying "Copter!" Sometimes the nice little pilots while they are hovering will turn the helicopter and wave to him. He likes to see that. He recently decorated our kitchen with sugar. Tayci had left it out from her science project and he went to town throwing it this way and that. It ended up in our pantry, the dog bowl, all over the carpets and in cupboards. It still is sticky. Little stinker. He is a hoot though. He misses his brother and sisters through the day though an gets bored with me real fast. He is quite the character but we love him.

Luke Daniel Hills

Oh my Gosh Luke you kill me with laughter and curiosity. Luke is now 5 and in all day Kindergarten. He rides the bus to and from school and loves it. He has a little friend named Landon across the street (who will be moving the end of this month) that they constantly get into things. The 2 of them are so passionate in all they do and have so much energy that when I watch them it makes me tired. He loves his trains and has a new passion for helicopters (go figure). He plans on flying all the different helicopters when he grows up with his little friend Landon. His favorite is the Chinook.

He loves to drive past their airfield and watch them and gets just as excited to see them flying over head. He loves to ride his bike. play soccer, play with friends, and make art out of our recycle. Needless to say that  gets recycled too. He says the darnedest things and even when I am upset with him I have to turn my head so he won't see me laugh. He is very sensitive. He is determined on marrying his Aunt Shauna (we have had talks about it already) and gets mad when he hears she has been on dates without him. He is such a sweet little kid!

Abigail Ramah Hills

Oh Abby, Abby, Sweet Little Abby! She is so determined, quiet , stubborn and helpful. She always looking after Levi and loves to baby him. He now know to go to Abby if I won't do it for him. He has her wrapped around his cute little fat fingers. Abby is now in 3rd grade and has a great teacher that helps our sweet little Abby come out of her shell. Don't get me wrong she still give strangers crusties. She loves school and loves to do her homework. She comes straight home and gets it all don before she does anything else. She is my little cleaner upper. She also was in piano but we are waiting to hear if they get another teacher. She was quite good. Her and Tayci both received awards for their recitals. Abby loves to draw, work hard, play with her friends and her sister Tayci. She says the most random things at times and keeps us laughing all the time. She is till the little tooth pick. Luke weighs more than she does. I only wish I had her metabolism. She is such a character.

Tayci Elizabeth Hills

Tayci is 10 1/2 and acts like she is 16. She is such a sweet person and so tenderhearted but is so full of drama! She is in 5th grade now and actually has the teacher she had last year. She likes her and I think was a little relieved when she found out it was someone she knew. She attends the military school here on Post and rides her bike to school with her sister. She is very smart but would rather not extend her brain to work too much. She had been taking piano lessons but both teachers had to move due to the military so that is on hold for a bit. That is one bad thing about this, is that no one stays put for long. Along with friends. She loves to make friends but is heartbroken when they have to move away. She recently said goodbye to a good friend that just moved to Korea. Tayci has been drawing a lot and loves to bake. She is putting together a genealogy cookbook made from recipes from her granparents and great grand parents. It will be good. She just made an "Incredible Edible Cell Project" for school and had to make a plant or animal cell out of all edible material. She did both and made the cake from scratch all by herself. She is quite talented. She loves to read, watch TV and movies and play with the Izzy her dog.(Yes we got another dog. This one isn't quite so bad) Anyway, she says she can't wait to grow up but I sure can! 

Work in Progress!

So I am just giving you fair warning that this is all very new to me and will take me some getting used to. Please feel free to comment and give suggestions(good and kind) as to what could help with my blogging. I appreciate your patience and will try to get things up a couple of times a week. I will be posting pictures of the kids and what they are doing and also of our life here in Fort Rucker! We love all our friends and family so feel free to share this website with whom ever I have left out. Thanks!

Family Theme Song!

Man I feel overwhelmed with raising our kids in today's society. So much bad in the world and it's easy to get someone down. I find myself getting grumpy when things get tough and then that rubs off on to my children especially my oldest, Tayci. I got sick of feeling this way and having my kids feel this way and couldn't figure out what to do. Then one day I heard Colbie Caillat's song "Think Good Thoughts." It was awesome and had such a great beat! I decided then and there that this would be our Family Theme and Song!

"Think Good Thoughts"

I'm just gonna say it,
There's no using in delaying,
I'm tired of the angry hanging out inside me,

So I'll quiet down the devil,
I'm gonna knock him with a shovel,
And I'll bury all my troubles underneath the rubble

When I'm alone in my dark dark room,
I have to tell myself to,

Think good thoughts,
Think good thoughts,
Imagine what the world would be if we would just,
Think good thoughts,
Stop the bad from feeding,

I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy,
Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me,
That's how I want to be
Na, na, na, na

I'm not saying that it's easy,
Especially when I'm moody,
I might be cursing like a sailor till I remind myself I'm better,

Cause words can be like weapons,
Oh and you use them, you regret them,
Oh but I'm not gonna let them take away my heaven

And when I start feeling blue,
I remember to tell myself to,

Think good thoughts,
Think good thoughts,
Imagine what the world would be if we would just,
Think good thoughts,
Stop the bad from feeding,

I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy,
Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me,
That's how I want to be

I just think rain on a summer night,
Stars filling up the sky,
Sunshining on my face,
Making a secret wish,
Finding my happiness,
That always makes me hold my head up high,
I wanna hold my head up high,

I wanna think good thoughts (Imagine what the world would be if we would just think good thoughts)
I wanna think good thoughts (wouldn't that be something?)
I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy,
Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me,
That's how I want to be
Na, na, na, na

Needless to say that Tayci event though I know she secretly loves it, continually rolls her eyes at me each morning as I play it when the get ready and head off to school. She will thank me some day and it  makes my day go better!

The Beginning of Our Blog!

So now that I am officially done with school and I have little to do here in Alabama, I have decided to start a blog. There are any reasons for this. 1. Is that I don't have school to keep me busy. I know many of you would say that well "she has four kids that should keep her busy." It does but all but one are now in in school all day. That's reason #2. Reason 3. Is that Daniel is very busy in Flight School and we are here in Alabama so what better way than to blog so all of our family and friends can come to one page and read about the Hills Family. 4. Is that I am really not that great at keeping in touch with people. By phone or mail. It's just not in my nature. So Here It Goes!