Housekeeping

Chris and I have been very boring... busy the past few weekends. We adore our little house, but it is just that... little! And with a new tiny roommate on the way (one who, I'm told takes over the house), we realized that we need to get rid of half our "stuff". So my saint of a mother has been coming over and helping me make the hard choices (no, we don't need to keep the plastic cups from Mardi Gras, 2008!).

We very close to being finished and I couldn't be happier. Especially since "phase two" of prepping the house will be more crafty (making decorative pillows, hanging more photos/artwork on the wall, etc).

BUT there are some housekeeping things with this blog that I need to take care of too!

If you read this blog on a regular basis, consider "following" or "subscribing" to the blog (or both!). By subscribing (the orange button on the left-hand side) my blog will automatically come up in your "reader". If you don't know what that means... just follow me and continue what your doing. :)

Next I'll explain those other buttons:

1) The "subscribe" button that I just talked about.

2) I have two pages on the blog. You are probably familiar with the "Home" page-- it's where all my posts are! I've also created a "Disney" page where I've consolidated all of my Disney experiences. This has been helpful when I'm helping pals plan their Disney trips (the page is under construction-- more to come!)

3) Want to have my blog delivered to your inbox every morning? Just put in your email and you'll get the update between 3am-5am each morning.

4) Heard of Pinterest? Want to follow me? Click on the button!

5) Have an idea, comment or question? Contact me here.

6) Do you remember that amazing blog post about being a kid at heart? You want to share it with your pals, but you can't seem to find the post! Just search here and it will come up for you!

If you continue on you'll see a timeline of posts and photos of items from my etsy shop-- that's pretty self explanatory.

Housekeeping finished! Hopefully that clears up some questions you might have been having and hopefully you've found a new way to receive the quirky updates from the Hill House. Now I'm back to cleaning out the house and making tough  choices... like whether or not to keep my collection of Adventures in Odyssey cassette tapes from 1989... 

Lucy Loves her Cousin

While hanging out on the patio for the "Hills Hit Houston" weekend, I had some good snuggle time with my niece, Lucy:

Lucy, enjoyed spending time with me, I'm sure. But really, she just wanted to give her cousin, Baby Boy Hill, a hug:

I mean really... how cute is this?

BBH, you're coming into a family with two boy cousins in Maine and two girl cousins in Baton Rouge... get ready for lots of  cousin adventures!

Girl Loves Cheetos!

Our friends, Tara and Lyon, have an adorable little girl named Kate:

(Unfortunately, I haven't mastered the art of photographing toddlers...)

After we had all eaten our hamburgers and hotdogs last Friday, the kids were watching a movie and the ladies were in our sitting area (off of the kitchen). That's when we saw Kate toddle up to the (tall) table where I had set out an assortment of chips.

She marched right up to the bowl with the Cheetos and stuck her hand in:

Then, like "the claw" from Toy Story, she grabbed her prize:

Satisfied with her loot, she toddled off:

Munching on the Cheetos all the way back to the living room:

After about 10 minutes, she'd toddle back to the kitchen for more Cheetos! Completely unaware that her mom and all of the ladies were watching (and laughing) the whole time!

Kate, you're welcome to our home anytime... just call ahead so I can make sure to have your favorite snack on hand!

WBW: Can you predict the future?

Chris was a cute kid:

But had (has?) a tendency towards mischief:

I was also an adorable child:

But had (have?) a propensity for pouting:

And a bit of what some might call an "attitude":

In fact, the one time I ever had detention was because I rolled my eyes at a teacher. (I still think my detention was undeserved and that my eye rolling was totally warranted. Hmpf!)

Meanwhile, Chris' mom tried washing his mouth out with soap when he gave her some sass. Once she put the bar in his mouth, Chris bit down and started chewing, "Yum... tastes great, mom." Uh... how do punish that?!

So I might need to load up on some parenting books for Baby Boy Hill. He's sure to be adorable... and quite a handful!

Have a Way Back When-sday story that you'd like to share?

Step One: grab a button and to put on your WBW post (that will send readers here):

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thehillscountry.blogspot.com" title="The Hill's Country"><img src="http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac296/katiebhill/WBWR32.jpg" alt="The Hill's Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Step Two: fill out this easy form and a link will pop up here to send readers to YOUR WBW story!

Hills Hit Houston

Just a few shots of the "Hills Hit Houston" weekend. They aren't very representative of all we did... they're just my favorites!

Papa PD on the Patio:

We spent 90% of the weekend in the backyard!

Chris, trying out the Baby Bjorn:

I think he looks like a natural!

Maria found Gordon to be very entertaining:

And learned to look at the camera and smile!

She's quite advanced. (And the fact that her mom was behind me while I took the picture might have helped!)

When Lucy went down for a nap, Justin followed along:

I didn't get any shots of the lady's shopping trip, the boy's Bean-boozled game or even the group beer tasting! Overall it was a wonderful weekend of relaxing and catching up-- we love hosting the Baton Rouge Hills and look forward to many more memories!

Friday Night Grill

Since we were having eleven family members over to share the good news of Baby BOY Hill... we decided to tell invite some pals over to enjoy the evening too!

I didn't get very many "people" shots (note to self: work on that), but here are an assortment of photos from our Friday Night Grill!

First, a close up of those Macaroni and Cheese Bites I mentioned:

(I originally found these on pinterest, but here's the website that it links to: http://www.macaroniandcheesecake.com/2009/09/macaroni-cheese-bites.html)

 I also made a whole-lotta cupcakes:

They were "baby" sized. (By the way, one of the harder things in life is to NOT lick the batter when you're making cupcakes!)(Which I normally always do, but was afraid because of the raw egg.)(Sadly my pal Harley wasn't in town or I would have hired her to make them!)

Here's a shot of our patio:

Chris should be SO proud of the work he's done in our backyard!

Not a great photo:

But it shows some adorable condiment bowls that we got for our wedding... and (if you click on the photo, it gets bigger) what I used to label the food! A free printable (found here), a that I glued to a twig and put into little cups with rocks. I think (hope!) it had a cute, rustic look.

Here's a shot of my pal and former roommate, Brittainy:

I enjoy living with Chris... but I sure miss living with Brittainy!!

We encouraged our friends to bring their kiddos... and ended up with four toddlers and three infants in our house! After they ran through our non-baby-proofed house and found the mud spots in the backyard, we turned on a movie. That kept them entertained for a while!

All in all it was a successful first party with the finished patio. And it didn't stop there... as the rest of the Hills were staying the weekend! Look for those photos tomorrow!

Bumbo Baby

Nothing is cuter than a baby in a bumbo.

So on this Good Friday, I present to you my niece, Lucy... in a Bumbo!

I mean really... nothing's cuter!

Stop! Can't handle the cute-ness!

Truly. Too cute.

Whoa. I might need a Part 2 of this post... Baby in a Boppy!

Have a Happy Easter!

Sechler's Pickles

You might have noticed that I have a new opening photo on our blog. Here's the story behind the photo...

In 2010, Chris' family hosted a reunion in Indiana. We decided one day to visit the Sechler's Pickle factory. PD made all the calls and arrangements and we hopped in multiple cars excited for the adventure.

When we arrived, PD had an announcement for us: there were no tours at the pickle factory that day. He found that out, but thought we'd still have fun, so he didn't tell anyone until we got there!

Turns out, he was right! We shopped around the gift shop (you can too, here: http://sl6dev.mailordercentral.com/sechlers/) and took iconic photos with their giant Sechler's Pickle. Here is Chris and I:

 Justin and Laura:

Jeremy and Johanna:

PD and Dewey:

Michelle, Gabrielle and Audriana:

This features Gma! (with her two sons, her grandson (Conrad) and his dad):

And the whole gang who came for the pickle factory tour (and instead ended up with a bunch of pickles and a souvenir photo):

I've spent the morning giggling over these photos... what a fun memory!

WBW Easter Greetings

Welcome to Way Back When-sday!

While searching for Easter photos from Chris' side of the family, I fell a little short. It's not that there aren't any, it's just they aren't really obvious Easter photos.

Take this one, for example, of Jojo and Justin:

They might be in their Easter best? Or, it could just be a typical Sunday. (Ms. Karen dressed those three kids very well.)

I found another shot of Jojo and Justin with a basket... maybe an Easter basket?

Upon further review, I've been informed that's just a basket they kept next to the TV.

This for sure is an Easter basket:

But I'm not sure what baby that is... probably Jojo?

Lastly, I was sure that this must be an Easter photo... just look at Chris' outfit!

And look at those socks!! But Chris says this must have been taken before a birthday party because they were all holding gifts. I'm holding out that it's Easter...

Meanwhile, in the state next door, my parents made every effort to capture obvious Easter moments:

I'm rocking the hat and the bangs!

And again:

I think that was right before the Easter egg hunt!

So to all friends and family: take a few photos of your family and yourselves with some obvious Easter gear this Sunday. It will help out your future WBW bloggers! But also take a note from Ms. Karen and Papa PD-- those kids were dressed special every day. Because, shouldn't every day be celebrated?

Have a Way Back When-sday story that you'd like to share? (Particularly ones where you are wearing a floppy Easter hat??)

Step One: grab a button and to put on your WBW post (that will send readers here):

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thehillscountry.blogspot.com" title="The Hill's Country"><img src="http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac296/katiebhill/WBWR32.jpg" alt="The Hill's Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Step Two: fill out this easy form and a link will pop up here to send readers to YOUR WBW story!

Pink or Blue

On Friday Chris, Baby Hill and I had our 20 week ultrasound appointment. Of course I was excited to see the tiny hands and feet... but also I was on pins and needles to find out if I would be having a BOY or GIRL??

The Baton Rouge Hills (all eight of them) were traveling to Houston for a relaxing weekend, so Chris and I decided we would have some fun telling the family that afternoon.

I had seen this balloon gender reveal photo all over pinterest:

How cute is that?

Instead of US finding out with the balloons, though, we decided that's how we would tell our family.

Which is how I found myself meeting my new neighbors while taking a large cardboard moving box from their curb.

And how I found myself at Party City on Friday morning buying 20 balloons...

Friday afternoon the family gathered in our backyard.

I put out some appetizers (including mac & cheese which has been somewhat of a craving for me):

And some refreshments:

 (That's Baby Boy Blue Punch and Little Lady Lemonade.)

After some hilarious photos with the box and our dog,

("It's a... Schnauzer!)

We gathered the grandparents.

And that's when everyone (except for Chris and I) found out that It's a...

 (See Gordon looking up too?)

Sorry... that It's a...

BOY!!!

Here's a shot of the rest of the family watching the scene:

Afterwards there were lots of hugs and head scratching (no one had predicted boy... everyone was expecting to see pink!):

 Unlike the original inspiration from pinterest, I decided to keep the balloons tied to the box. So we could get some photos like this:

And a this:

We had more friends join us later that evening (that blog post to come later) and this way they were able to see the balloons as they arrived.

We are delighted to share the news about Baby Boy Hill and can't wait to meet him in August!