Putt Putt

Yesterday we went and played Putt Putt Golf at the Riot Zone which is a local place with gocarts and putt putt and stuff. We had so much fun! Hilton was bored by the 8th hole and started to wade into the fountains and waterfalls filled with a scary blue-colored liquid. Caroline was brilliant! We have a mini Michelle Wie on our hands! She got 2 holes in one and usually was able to get the ball in by her third putt. Justin was so impressed! He taught her how to line up the ball and when to hit soft and when to hit harder. Her long game is great, she just needs to work on her short game. So maybe we should forget the violin, start homeschooling and get her hooked up with a golf pro! Just kidding! She loves the violin, but now we have something really fun to do on a Saturday afternoon. By the way, I did not do very well... I'll stick to knitting.

Easter picture

I finally figured out how to post a picture! So, here you have it folks! Here are my kids at Easter! Aren't they just the cutest in the world!!!?

Bubble gum eyelashes

If you have never gotten bubble gum stuck in your eyelashes, you might not know that there is really not much you can do to remedy the situation. Once again, my adventurous son has found a way to confound me. You can't do the normal things you might do with bubble gum in your hair. You can't cut it out or use peanut butter. It is much too close to the eye. I tried peeling it off and almost took out all of his beautiful eyelashes. So for now, he just has to live with bubble gum in his eyelashes. It doesn't seem to effect him much. He looks like he has a skin growth over his eye. I thought the bead in the ear yesterday could not be topped. I was wrong.

A Bead in the hand is worth one in the Ear

As many of you know, Hilton has a tendancy to put beads in his nose. We have been to the ER multiple times because of this hobby that he finds so stimulating. Well, today was no exception. Except that today, the bead was in the ear. I don't know why he likes to put beads in the holes in his head. Who knows how many beads he has swallowed over the years that I have never known about. Today I spent an hour waiting in the doctor's office for them to remove the bead. When the doctor looked it was miraculously gone. He said it must have fallen out. I know I looked like an idiot, but there was a bead in there when we left the house! I am sure it has made it's way up to his brain... When asked why he put the bead in his ear Hilton's reply was, "I talked to the bead and I couldn't hear it!" There you have it folks, a perfectly good explaination. He couldn't hear the bead. I am going to have to get some louder beads, I guess.

Shopping for bargains

So, as many of you know, I am addicted to ebay. I love it. I love everything about it. It is so easy to navigate. (Isn't funny all of these words we associate with the internet now?) I can find anything I want just by typing in a word or two. I have to tell you about some of my deals that I have recently bought on ebay. Just yesterday I got Justin some shoes for 19.99. They are Born shoes brand new in the box. Never been worn. ABout 3 or 4 years ago he bought some in the store on sale for $110! I think we got a bargain on ebay! I also recently got myself some Birkenstocks for $15. Brand new!!! I love them. They are the thong kind so they make my feet look skinny. I want something that looks skinny. So, I am a bargain shopper. I got Caroline an Easter dress which came with a matching dress for her doll for $15. Those usually go for over $50. I am good! For those of you who do not know the evils of ebay, don't go near it. If you do, you will never be able to get away. I have also had some not great experiences. I bought a beautiful crock and the person did not package it well and it arrived in a million pieces. It was insured, but not for enough. I was very angry. But I am always looking for a deal. I love to find bargains. I went grocery shopping on Wed and save $20 in coupons. I am proud of this. I realize so many people don't have the time to bargain shop like this. But I do, and it is necessary for us. So it is with great pleasure that I undertake my shopping. Whether it be on the internet or elsewhere. I am always getting coupons from internet stores. I got Hilton and Caroline's bathing suits on Disneyshopping.com for 50% off. And they will have bathingsuits that are well made and that they like. All for the same price I would have paid at WalMart or Target. My point is, I am a shopoholic... I like to shop... and not just shop, shop for bargains. I confess. Please don't think less of me. And you want any tips, let me know! I have even gotten some family members great bargains!

Lots of stuff

Today will be a better day. I will be much happier today!!! I will make myself. I went to the doctor yesterday and he checked my hemoglobin levels and they are pretty good. This is really not that good. Because apparently there is a medication that I need which are injections. It is extremely expensive and my insurance won't pay for it unless my hemoglobin is a certain level and it is right on the boarder. Apparently they are very strict about it. So he gave me another medication to try and he said to exercise a lot. But my glucose levels have not been too bad so he is pleased about that. One good thing about this recent diabetes diagnosis is that now I know! Now I know why I have felt yucky all of these years. I can recognize when my blood sugar drops or spikes because of my symptoms. Like right now I am shaking so badly I can hardly type, I need some orange juice. Okay, better. So that is cool that I know what my problem is. All this time I just thought it was something I had to live with. It never occured to me that it might be an actual illness! Tonight is my book club! I am excited. We read a book this month called, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It is a sort of mystery but not really. What it is, is a book written from the perspective of a teenage boy with autism. He feels like what he is writing is a mystery novel. It is so interesting and intriguing. I can't wait to talk about it. My best friend, Vicki has an almost 3 year old son with autism. They found out shortly before we left Louisiana last summer. She has been so great about taking this challenge and just dealing with it. I never hear her complain. So I sometimes forget how difficult it must be. She has so much faith. I am amazed at her strength. This month is Autism Awareness Month. Be aware that it is out there. If you know someone with a child with Autism be sensitive. They are not bad parents. The children are not undisciplined. If you work with an Autistic child in your primary or nursery be sensitive to the parents. Yes, it may be difficult for you for a whole 2 hours a week. But the parents have to deal with it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This may be the only opportunity they have for peace in their hectic lives. One more cute thing. Yesterday I was getting Hilton out of the car. He was fake sleeping. I said, "Hilton, are you sleeping?" To which he replied by fake snoring. It was hilarious and totally made my day. He has also been fake sneezing a lot too. AAHH, AAHH, AAACHOOO!!! People in WalMart also find this quite amusing, people in sacrament meeting, not so much.

Today, I will be...

I read my friend, Shana's blog yesterday and she had a rough day yesterday. If it could go wrong, it did. That is how my life feels lately. My Mom and Dad say that Heavenly Father must have something important in store for us. I think it is just the universe's way of amusing itself. No, I don't really believe that. But it is an easier explaination. Just when we thought things were working out for us, we get more challenges than ever. I felt very secure about 3 months ago. I felt a lot of hope. I felt like we were here so that Justin could get a permanant job, we could buy a house, and have that ever ellusive third child. And it all gets taken away in an instant. One little meeting changed my happy little world. Now we are looking for a cheaper apartment because our rent was just raised, a new job since this one will be over next April... and that third baby will have to wait in the Spirit World for a while longer. I know everyone has challenges. And the challenges we each have as individuals are hard for us because then they wouldn't be... well... a challenge. But couldn't we have more than a few weeks free of challenges? Couldn't we have a year that is full of happy, joy and only blessings? I guess it doesn't work that way in life. We look at the challenges in others' lives and think, I wish I had HER challenges. But then it wouldn't be my life. It would be hers. So I guess I should be grateful for what I have and what I don't have. I should be, but today I am just not going to. Tomorrow I will be a better person. I will do my visiting teaching, I will play Candy Land 40,000 times with my kids. I will fold the laundry perfectly so that there are no wrinkles and all the dishes will get done before they are even dirty. Tomorrow I will make the kids a healthy, well balanced breakfast instead of chocolate chip pancakes. I will read my scriptures and actually pay attention to what I am reading. I will give the kids a bath and not yell when they splash water all over the floor. I will keep my mouth shut when I shouldn't say anything. I will not talk my husband to death when he walks in the door. I will do the grocery shopping and stay within a budget.(A What???) I will wash my hair and actually take time to style it. I will wear my contacts and put on makeup. I will make sure the beds are all made, the violin is practiced, the homework is done, the clothes are on and clean, the pull-up is dry, the tummy's are full, before school in the morning. I will pray. I will pray. I will pray earnestly and sincerely without blame, or malice. I will. I will do all of this. I promise. Tomorrow. Today, I will just... be.

All Snowed In

You are not going to believe what I woke up to this morning. 4 inches of snow on the ground and it hasn't stopped! We are expected to get 8-12 inches by the end of the day. After a gloomy and rainy Easter, we were not expecting this at all. Justin's parents are here and are snowed in. They will have to call in to work for tomorrow. So, now I have to figure out what to have for dinner. I made ham yesterday and we have leftover, but no side dishes. What a world. A foot of snow the day after Easter. Where do I live!? Yesterday we had a lesson about death and dealing with death. It was very sad and depressing. Not exactly what I would have liked on Easter Sunday. But maybe there was someone there that needed to hear it. I just thought of my sister, Tina, the whole time. They were talking about losing a child. It has been almost two years since her daughter died. She would have been almost 3 now. It is sad, even with the knowledge that I have. I still cry when I think about it. When I think of how difficult it must be for Tina and when I think of how different our lives would be if it never would have happened. One of the good things I did get out of the lesson is that just because we do have knowledge of life after death, it doesn't mean that we don't miss the person that has died. We should not be ashamed of our grief. And it will not necessarily go away in a month or a year or ever. We will miss that person forever. We don't need to stop talking about them or pretend they never existed. Justin's mom was sitting next to me during this lesson. She lost her eldest son, Justin's brother, a year ago. I could tell she was struggling during the lesson. Even though Jeff was sick for a long time, it didn't make it any easier when he died. I don't deal with death well. It is too sad for me. I hope I don't have to deal with it again anytime soon.

Library

I love the library. I could go everyday if I had the time and no children. Don't get me wrong, the library is a great place for children. But I would rather be there alone. I don't enjoy sitting there watching Hilton play the computer games when I could be browsing through hundreds of books. Our library is very kid friendly. It is small because we are in a small toen, but the children's section at the Rexburg Library is almost as big as the children's section at the Lafayette Library! And that is saying a lot. That library was huge! Granted the Lafayette Library had a ton more things going on. There were magic shows and all kinds of story hours with crafts. This one is pretty lame. Plus it is closed on Saturdays in the summer! What kind of library is closed in the summer. Also, this library is VERY strict about due dates and fines. In all of the libraries I have been to, they have been very lax about that. If the book is a day past the due date, they wouldn't fine you. Sometimes even a couple of days late didn't matter. Here, I have paid at least $8 to the library. Maybe my $8 is going to good use. Maybe it will end up buying a book that I read. So I suppose I will just grin and pay the fine. I will consider it my contribution to the Madison Library District.

potty training??? right...

I hate potty training. I know I need to let it happen, but it is not happening! Usually I just go with the flow, but today... I noticed I couldn't find Hilton. I went straight to Caroline's room and there he was, behind her bed pooping in his pullup. ARGH!!! So I said, come on, let's go potty. But he had already gone. So I took off his pants and his pullup came with it and I got poo all over the front of my shirt and all over the floor. ARGH!!! again... So I cleaned him up and he runs to the potty because he apparently had not finnished when I got to him. And he always wants to wipe himself. No matter what I tell him! He wants to wipe by himself. So that was another mess to clean up. I hate potty training. It wasn't this hard with Caroline! He turned 3 in Feb for pete's sake! In high school he is going to be calling me from gym class to bring him a clean Buzz Lightyear pullup!

pink and blue fingernails

We went to Walmart to buy all the stuff we need... and one of those things was Spring nail polish! Caroline has been disappointed by my taste in colors all winter. Mostly white and beige. So she helped me pick out 2 BEEEAUUUTIFUL colors... Bright, shocking pink and BLUE! I painted my fingers and toes pink. It lifted my spirits considerably! Especially now that the sun is shining! And Caroline wanted every other finger painted pink and then blue. So she is wearing "an AB pattern" on her fingers. One pink=A and one blue=B. She is smart! Hilton wanted all pink but we decided not to give him any. I know it sounds cruel. At first, Justin said, just paint them, what is the big deal? But then he thought about it and decided to agree with me. We need to teach him what is and isn't appropriate. I know, I know, but people already think he is a girl because he is so pretty. (I think it has NOTHING to do with his hair cut!!!) So we didn't do it. He was over it immediately. He was like, "OK." It traumatized me more than him. Because he is not a baby any more. More and more everyday there is evidence of this. He immediately started shooting spider webs at me and saying "Buzz Likeyear to the rescue!" So I don't think he will be scarred for life because I told him nail polish is for girls. This morning he had some Mardi Gras beads on and he said, "I am Mommy." I said, "Not Papa?" He said, "Nope, Mommy." I said, "Cool!" I will not take away all of his dreams and aspirations!!!

walking, walking

Walking is something we do everyday without even thinking about it, right? Well, now I am obsessively thinking about it because I bought a pedometer. I thought it would be a good idea to know how much, (and how little) I am doing so I can keep track and do more. I need to be actively trying to be more... well... active! I have got to lose weight so I can kick this diabetes and be healthy. I would like to play games with the kids for more than 10 minutes. Justin has made it very clear that he doesn't care if I weigh 10,000 lbs as long as I am healthy. Luckily, I am nowhere near 10,000 lbs. But, unfortunately, I am also not healthy. So I have started the Insulin Resistance diet which is good for diabetics, and I have started moving. It is going to take FOOORRREVVVERRR! to lose weight. But maybe I will get healthy... just maybe...

Whatever!

I asked Hilton to get me a diaper. He asked why, of course, and I said, because you are getting ready for bed and you need one. He ignored me. Hilton, go get a diaper, please. Ignore, ignore. Hilton, I am giving you to the count of 3 to get a diaper! 1...2... Hilton, I mean it! Get a diaper now, before I get to three! "Mom, whatever!" Can you believe it? My darling, 3 year old baby, said "whatever" to me. I just don't know where he gets it from... Who, me????? I am incredulous that you would even think it!

snow, again???

It is snowing today... Yes, snow. It is Rexburg, ID afterall. The kids woke up today and were very disappointed. Caroline was convinced it was almost summer. So was I, I guess. She wanted to wear a short sleeved shirt today. Sorry, kiddo! Back to the heavy coat. Our landlords are supposed to have a garage sale on saturday. Do you think they still will? They need to get rid of all of their stuff before they move and get us kicked out... Okay, that is not fair. We don't know for sure if we will have to leave this house. For now, we are praying fervently that we won't have to. If so, we will be moving into a much smaller place. A Much smaller place. Good things come in small packages? We watched Lost last night! As soon as that show starts answering questions, they pose new ones. The show is crazy! And I am convinced they just make things up as they go along. I have read a ton of things saying that the writers really know what is going on and what the last episode will be, but I think they are lying. I think every week they think of something more twisted to put in and at they end they are going to have no clue how to wrap it all up. Caroline got school pictures yesterday. They are so sneaky!! They take these adorable pictures and send them home with your children and say, "Send back the ones you don't want, and pay a billion dollars for the adorable ones you would like to keep" What is up with that? What happened to ordering BEFORE they take the photos. That way, they take the photo and you have no clue if they turned out badly because you never see them if you don't order them. What has this world come to? This is definitely a comment on society! I am NOT ranting...

A Momentous Occasion

Today, I step into the world of high-tech. I am now a blogger. Who would have thought it? This seems like such a

narcissistic practice. Not that I think that my friends who participate are narcissistic, but I just think that I must be to do it. Do I think that my thoughts are so important that I want it on the WWW for everyone to see. Yes, yes, I suppose I do. The goings on in my home and in my life are so interesting that the world needs to know about them! Come, view my life! Now you can hear my bragging about my children several times a month instead of just once a year in the Christmas letter! So welcome, friends and family... to the wonderful world of the Bates. I will entertain you and delight you with the many activities that happen in our house! You will not be able to contain your excitement and you will check this website daily to see, "What is that crazy Bates family up to now?!"