Operation Gillespie

Since becoming a mom, I sometimes find myself using military terms to describe life with my kids. For example:

Airborne (refers to kate jumping off high landings)
AWOL (i hear birds; the kids are not in the house)
United Fortress (Dad backs up mom; mom backs up dad)
Secure the Perimeter (Deadbolts in place)
etc. etc.

Well, during the last month of pregnancy and now having 3 kiddos, I've been formulating a new philosophy on how to be a happy, enjoy-every-minute kind of mom. It's called I SURRENDER.

I surrender trying to have everything be perfect, my house clean, everyone's hair done and clothes in order. I give up, universe, and it feels great!

I was up every 2 hours with Dash last night. At 6:30 i went back to bed. Thirty minutes later i awoke to the smell of nail polish.

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"Katie!"

"Uh oh."

"What happened?"

"Ella."

"No, I don't think so."

"Fez?" (Kate's cat)

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But since I had already surrendered, I wasn't even upset. With Anne's help we cleaned it all up. Just in time for kate to take her diaper off and make another kind of mess . . . which i will spare you the details.

My mom was talking about helping me lock things up in a cupboard. But . . . kate is vertically mobile. She climbs, uses chairs, and can balance on just about anything. I mean, sure, lock up the chemicals, the super glue . . . but, sugar? handsoap? toilet paper? spoons?

I SURRENDER. And I love being a mom. Even today.

Please call Kyle Keelay

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are a few pictures from our christmas eve fun. Kyle has taken to calling himself Keylay this holiday. He is also sporting the Edward Cullen hairstyle. His spikey hair is getting spikier.

yes, her vision is really that bad

my sister and her family made the drive from texas to hang out for a few days. we showed them the highlights of demopolis:

1. quality eye care: karin is getting reading glasses.
2. the neighborhood dog "balls". he's got jangles the size of your head.
3. the duck pond.
4. the country club and a couple rounds of golf.
5. the goldfish pond, tombigbee river, tugboat, and park.
6. local entertainment: the shumways didn't know kyle sang

recovery is going well. i'll have a sappy post soon about being a mom of three. its funny how the more kids i have the more i want. dash is perfect!

Just when you thought he couldn't get any cuter

miracles, blessings, and happiness

Dash Morgan Gillespie
Dec 11 @ 4:58 p.m.
7 lbs 2 oz
18 1/4 inches long


Yeah, baby! Let's talk about timing. For weeks I have been having consistent contractions, about 10 minutes apart. Thursday, kyle went to work and I went to my doctor's appointment. They hooked me up to a monitor and unbelievably they started coming every five-seven minutes. mom arrived at the airport from utah at 2:0o p.m., my lifesaver tricia took my kids, shuttled my mom to the hospital, my water broke, and kyle arrived two minutes before surgery at 4:30 p.m., just in time for some real action. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly.


He seemed so alert for only being 12 hours old!


first bath, getting all cleaned up.

grandma anne is awesome. she is like having a personal vacation package on wheels. she brings food, entertainment, reading material, child care, emotional support, and a variety of other services at one low price! FREE. thanks, mom! you made this weekend perfect.

here is the handsome kyle holding his handsome son. love you, babe.

the mischevious katie-kate.

we seriously need a king bed. there just ain't enough room anymore!

lifesaver tricia! thanks for everything, girl! not having to worry about my kids on thursday made all the difference!

ella, the new big sister. she is saving up for a princess bed and is already begging me for babysitting appointments.

dash, throwing a peace sign with his toes.

i loved the santa hat. i couldn't think of a better christmas present.

one of the few moments where he has cried this weekend. he is so absolutely perfect, and we love him so much! merry christmas, everyone! thanks for all your prayers, emails, and calls! we love ya!

twilight

so, i've been reading too much non-fiction this year. decided to try out the twilight series, since i'm pretty much on bedrest anyway and can't sleep.

thursday: twilight
friday: new moon
saturday: eclipse

check out their cool music video

Paramore - New Music - More Music Videos

stephenie meyer uses lots of the same albumns to curb writer's block, so i feel a bit of a bond :)

yeah, jason bourne 3000

so, i think kyle is hot. can't wait to see how many he can do with 3 piled on.

i'm dreaming of a . . . .

my walls are dark gray and i have a bunch of black and white pictures that need a home.

i am dreaming of this purple duvet, a new color choice thanks to ella.

Thanksgiving

There is an eerie calm before the storm here in demopolis...

My house is clean, the girls are being awesome, and Kyle has been extra sweet ...

Dash Morgan Gillespie even has a name. We're way ahead of schedule.

I am more nervous for this one than the other two. Maybe it's because the hospital is two hours away. Maybe because surgery hurts, dang it! Or maybe its because I have no idea what to do with a boy.

Regardless, i am really enjoying the last few days of peace and calmness. I am also grateful for such an awesome support team.

It's amazing how much you need your mom, even if its just over the phone, even if you're across the country . . . and how much family, good friends, and a loving husband and kids can make all the difference.

This thanksgiving I am thankful for all of you and for the new adventures that are coming. and if any of you are short of things to pray for this season, add me to the list. i am going to need it.

Triplet

The Volvo is out of commission so this is our transportation for a little while. The ride to church was a little brisk but our afternoon ride was better. The girls love it.

Anyone want to race?

I noticed today that Brittney really looks pregnant, only 6 weeks to go. She is so cute when she is pregnant.

"mormon mom" Best Halloween Costume Thus Far

Ali Shumway is my sister's sister-in-law. She cleaned up at her work halloween party with this little ditty.

Kyle and i laughed outloud and had to repost it for all those mormon moms who feel just like this!

Reclaiming my life

And I am not letting the 5:00pm hour of darkness stop me. It doesn't hurt that it is 70 degrees at 6:45pm either. Ella and I suited up and headed to the country club to ride some laps, we had a great adventure, spotted a dear with her two babies and chased them into someones back yard and a fox was staring us down with his glowing fire eyes but he got away into the woods.




Kate wanted in on the action too. She also loves the stick together bike but her feet don't reach the pedals yet. At least she had fun wearing Ella's helmet.



My car broke down near Selma, yesterday and Brittney had to come rescue me. The Volvo should be ok, it is just stuck in drive so it would not start, hopefully just a broken or loose transmission cable. I have been working in Selma once a week for a doc on maternity leave for the past few months, but she is not coming back so it will be permanent.

The golf situation has been a little bleek lately. I was playing the best I have every played over the past few months, and I attribute it to a special club I put together an R7 460 TP 9.5 degree driver with an Aldilla NV 55 stiff pink 48" shaft. A few months ago I started to notice a hairline crack on the face of the club but it was so awesome I did not want to do anything about it, so I continued to use it and the crack got worse but I could still hit 300+ yard drives with no effort at all. It got so bad that the face was starting to cave in so I sent it back for warranty and went into mourning.

Luck has it they do not produce the same driver anymore and they sent me a new Tour Burner TP driver, which is a great club, one of the best I have hit in a long time but nothing like my old baby. I just cant play golf anymore unless I get a driver I can hit like my 460 tp, it is just not as fun. I am on the search for a new one and hope I find one because I do not want to quit the game. This is a sad, sad situation.

Maybe I will become a regular blogger again.....

girls day out and a few randoms

So I decided to make an appearance at the doctor today. I haven't been since early september because it's two hours away, and seriously, all they do is say, "yep, you've gained weight. Yep, your belly's growing. Any questions? "

So today my game plan was to move my due date up four weeks. I've been having regular contractions and can't sleep and my belly is BIG. But before i could present my case, my doctor said I'm measuring 5 weeks behind and sent me for another ultrasound. i told her she is crazy because the kid has to be at least the size of a watermelon.

needless to say, after the ultrasound we set a date for Dec 18 at 5:00 a.m. She also told me that if my contractions continue and since it's my 3rd C-section, she won't turn me away if i show up at the hospital sometime in December. anne gets here Dec. 17 so i'll try to hold out until then for ella and kate's sake.

so since we were in bhm, we made a day of it. museum, park, carousel, sushi, and more. kate and ella make for great company.

Other interesting things:

• Ella informed me last night: "Mom, I don't actually live here; i'm just visiting. I actually live with Grandma."
  
• Sometimes it takes Kate a minute to get my attention. Until today, when she was frustrated with me and yelled, "Bippity Boppity!" When I asked her what she said, she did it again. "Bippity Boppity!" No joke, it was hilarious. I guess the girls need to cut back on cinderella I, II, and III.


• also, today kyle took his life back. it gets dark here at 5:00, so today he got his golf in at lunch and put lights on his bike. laps around the golf course make for a nice time trial. 12 minutes a lap, 4 laps. love ya, babe! glad to see you back at it.
  

halloween

"mom, it's a flood!"

So, the kids wanted a bubble bath. Nothing unusual there.

I had to start the dishwasher. If i can hear them, they're safe and out of trouble, right? I am a slow learner.

When I returned about 3 minutes later, the kids had soaked the floor and were out of the tub skating on the slippery tile.

"Mom, it's a flood! A bubble celebration!"

Where does she come up with her lines? Anyway, good times at the g house :)

ella's pretend b-day

ella woke up and said, "i want today to be my birthday." So we made a cake, sang a song, and bought her a load of presents. Okay, so we didn't do presents, but she got the special treatment all day.

You may not be able to see it but ella sculpted an E to put on

"grandma's" head. She also said that the figurine is wearing a baseball outfit.

Mom, don't feel bad that you look like a snowman. You should see her rendition of me preganant.

Kate the cook

my two little pumpkins