Survey Says Adam Style

Sweet, Sweet Adam. These awswers are written exactly as Adam answered them.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Adam, are your ears working? So I made bigger ones. (He really did too.)

2. What makes mom happy? Me

3. What makes mom sad? Nothing

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Saying Cusses

5. What was your mom like as a child? Long hair and braces

6. How old is your mom? 32

7. How tall is your mom? She's 5' um...... I dunno!

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Be lazy

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Be lazy

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Cuz she works hard?

11. What is your mom really good at? Taking care of all of us especially me.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Playing Video games

13. What does your mom do for a job? Takes care of us.

14.What is your mom's favorite food? Chocolate

15.What makes you proud of your mom? The way she hugs me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Blue from Blue's Clue's

17. What do you and your mom do together? Hanging out, read together....

18. How are you and your mom the same? Same eye color, freckles, we both make Spencer very angry.

19. How are you and your mom different? Mom's older, Mom has longer hair, Mom is married, I am not.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Cuz she doesn't want me to leave her for very long. And doesn't want me to stay the night anywhere.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? His face and his muscles. she says he's yummy. (Giggles)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? That mexican food resturant place.

My Favorites

I know, I'm on YouTube overload this week, but I loved this song when I was younger. I was watching the Top 20 Country Countdown and Carrie Underwood's version came on and I thought I would share it with ya'll. I love me some Randy Travis:) And Carrie Underwood is by far one of the best country singers today. Her voice is like butta. (In my most humblest opinion.)

Moto Moto

I think most parents with little ones have seen Madagascar 2. Well, this is my favorite song from this movie:)

Week in Review

 Happy Valentine's Day to me. What a wonderful husband I have. Seriously. I think I'm one lucky girl. These beautiful roses arrived late in the day on Saturday, while Todd and the kids were visiting Todd's mom. These kid, and I do say kid now cuz I am that old, came to the door and asked if I was Meelee. Well, no I am not, but I am Melea:)
 He then prceeded to hand me these beautiful roses. How stunning. I felt loved and adored this Valentine's Day. What a sweet lover I have. I think I might keep him forever.
 In other Bates news, well, there just isn't much to report. We are still working on recovering from the sickies last week. Spencer is doing great. Sweet boy that he is. It kills me that he is so responsible and so wonderful, but Todd and I have recently had to have a talk with him about 'half assing' everything he does. It's a huge pet peeve of mine and one that seriously needed addressed with him. It wasn't a fun talk but he listened and has been doing a little bit better. I hate having to talk to him about his 'issues', because truly, he is an blessing to get to raise. And he gets the most remorseful look on his face and understands what we are talking to him about. Anyway, I think half assing things is a kids trait, and he will eventually grow out of it. Hopefully soon.
 Adam, Adam, Adam. Words that I say daily. Sweet man. Adam has always had a huge imagination. Lately, he has been working really hard on creating stories and asking 100's of questions on 'what if' scenarios. Like "Mom, what if you could marry Justin Timberlake or Daddy? Who would you marry?" To which I always rely "Adam, Adam, Adam, I would marry your Daddy." These stories and questions don't just happen daily, they happen several times a day. And he is always talking, I mean always talking about an idea for a story or whatever is on is mind. Spencer gets so frustrated with him. I get frustrated with him, because there is NEVER a break. But I love his imagination and his sense of wonder.
 I thought this was an adorable picture of Todd and Lily. He is such a sweet Daddy. And Lily has him totally wrapped around her little fingers and piggies. Lily is doing great. The only thing that we are working on with her is her little bits of attitude. We are very careful with what the kids can and cannot say and do with regards to being respectful. Sometimes it's a face, sometimes it's words, but we do have to keep our little princess in check and try to teach her right from wrong while still allowing her to be herself and express her feelings. Sweet girl.
 O' Sara. Sweet Sara. Busy Sara. Sweet Angel Lamb! I think I am going to find her hanging from the chandelier. In this picture she was helping Daddy tighten up the thingies on the end table. Sweet helper. She loves to follow us around, figuring out what we are doing and just how she can copy us. You know what, it doesn't take her long to figure it out. I think I have said this before but we believe that she is a genius:)

Happy Valentine's Day Lover

There are no better words to describe my love for you.

Music I Love

The first time I heard Jason Mraz I thought.."Eh..another pop singer." But I have fallen in love with his crisp, yummy voice and great songs. And Colbie Caillat is such a great singer also. I love when you see a singer(s) preform live and they sound even better than on the radio. I absolutely love this song and the way it just flows. I thought I would share it with ya'll. Enjoy:)

Spencer Normy

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant? IN THE BATHROOM OF OUR TRAILOR
2- Who was with you? TODD
3- How did you find out that you were pregnant? PREGNANCY TEST
4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant? I WAS SO HAPPY. HE IS AND WAS A VERY WANTED LITTLE MAN.
5- What was your husband's reaction? EXCITED
6- Who was the first person you told? TODD AND MY NANA
7-Did you plan to get pregnant? YES
8-Was everybody happy for you? EVERYONE SEEMED VERY EXCITED
9- Did you go out and celebrate? I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER. WE WERE SOOO BROKE.
10- Did you want to find out the sex? YES
11- What was the sex? A BOY
12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower? YES
13- If yes, who? MY BFF AT THE TIME
14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby? ABSOLUTELY, DON'T WE ALL
15- How much weight did you gain? 18 ILBS.
16- Did you loose all of the weight that you gained? YA.
17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks? YES, THEY ARE MY MOMMY BADGE:)
18- What did you crave the most? SOUR THINGS AND WATERMELON
19- Did you crave anything crazy? NOT REALLY
20- Who or what got on your nerves the most? I WAS CONSTANTLY ASKED IF I WAS HAVING TWINS, BECAUSE MY BELLY WAS HUGE. I'M 5' TALL AND HAD AN 8LB. 14OZ. BABY INSIDE ME, WHERE ELSE WAS THAT BABY SUPPOSED TO GO BUT OUT?
21- Were you married at the time? YES
22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? NOPE
23- Where were you when you went into labor? IT WAS A SNOWY DAY IN JUNE AND MY WATER BROKE AS I WAS WALKING DOWN THE HALLWAY.
24- Did your water break? YEP!
25- Who drove you to the hospital? TODD AND MY NANA
26- Did you go early or late? LATE! SPENCER MADE HIS GRAND ENTRANCE 10 DAYS LATE
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth? TODD AND MY NANA
28- Was it video taped? NO
29- Did you have any drugs for the pain? NO, THE ROCKS SPRINGS HOSPITAL SUCKS ASS.
30- Did you go Natural or have a c-section? NATURAL
31- What was your first reaction after giving birth? THE DOCTOR PLOPPED HIM ON MY BELLY AND I TOLD TODD HE HAD TODD'S DAD'S HANDS. THEN I THOUGHT 'HOLY CRAP' LOOK AT ALL THAT HAIR.
32- How big was the baby? 8LBS 14OZ 19 INCHES
33- Did your Husband cry? O' YES.
34- What did you name the baby(s)? SPENCER NORMAN
35-Did the name have any significance to you? YES. WE WERE HAVING A HARD TIME AGREEING ON A NAME AND ONE DAY WHILE IRONING MY GRANDMA'S BEDSPREAD, MY NANA SAID, "WHAT ABOUT SPENCER? IT'S A GOOD STRONG NAME." I CALLED TODD AND HE AGREED. NORMAN IS TODD'S DAD'S NAME.
36- Does the baby's name fit? DEFINITELY.
37- Did the baby(s) have any complications? NOPE.
38. Due Date: JUNE 8, 1998
39. Birth Date: JUNE 18, 1998
40. How old were you? I WAS 22, TODD WAS 27
41. How long were you in labor? 15 HOURS.
42.- How old is your baby today? 10 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS
43.- When is the next one(s) coming? ADAM, LILY AND SARA FOLLOWED OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS
44- If you could would you do it all over again? IN A HEARTBEAT. I WOULDN'T MISS OUT ON HIM FOR ANYTHING.

The Fly Lady

I was introduced to the Fly Lady when I was pregnant with Lily. My friend Keri, lent me the book. I think she got it from my other friend Angie. Anyway, the main rule is to keep your sink so clean you can see your reflection. And making sure your kitchen is clean, especially when you go to bed. I cannot tell you how much this impacted my life. Since I first read the book, my kitchen is almost always clean before I go to bed. It became an obsession for me. There is also another big rule to get up in the morning, shower and get ready for the day, down to the shoes. Well, we all know I don't enforce or even remotely stick to that one. I do get up everyday and shower, but then I put on a clean night gown:) And rarely EVER do I wear shoes, little lone wear them all day. My main shoes year round are flip flops and in the winter, when it gets really snowy, I have crocks ( I know, they are ugly) with a furry lining in them. I call them my snow boots.
There is also the decluttering thing, which is the bases of a clean house. She uses the acronym C.H.A.O.S. Can't have anyone over syndrome. And that is so true. Everything should have it's place. That process is done in 15 minute cleaning sessions everyday. And every week you concentrate on a different area of your house. If you don't love it and it doesn't bring you joy, your either throw it away, sell it, or donate it. Another thing is, keep your 'hot spots' cleaned off. These are the spots in your home where everything seems to land. Our has always been our island. I feel like I am constantly cleaning it. The other thing she stresses is to only 'clean' your house for 1 hour, once a week. I haven't been able to follow this rule at all. I do subject my kids to 'deep cleaning Saturdays' every weekend. But all in all, think I spend about 2 hours through out the day cleaning, plus what the kids do when they do their chores in the evening. I think everything needs a little tweeking when you have a huge family and I have no idea how many kids the Fly Lady has. There are a few more rules or suggestions, but I think those are the basic things I follow.
Now, while I am still on my soapbox talking to all of you, I must tell you that my house is rarely spotless. There are books, Lego's, baby dolls, Batman figures, lightsabers, Barbies, crayons and many other things strown about my house most of the awake hours of the day. The Fly Lady is just a great way for me to manage my household without being overwhelmed and insane.

Pizza and Movie Night

Friday's at our humble abode are almost always pizza and movie night. Sometimes I make pizza, but more often than not we call Pizza Hut and grab a movie. Sometimes it's a rental, but most of the time we watch a movie we already own. The only real rule is that we all have to agree on it. Todd and I really don't care but the kids definitely do. There can be no Barbie, Star Wars, Princesses or Super Heroes. So that usually leaves one of the Pirate of the Caribbean movies or one of the Harry Potter movies. Well, my personal favorites are the Harry Potter movies. Tonight, I was in luck. We started reading the first book in the series to the kids, so the boys wanted to watch the movie. And Lily agreed!!! YAY!!! We had a rough week of strep. Saturday Sweet Sara Rose started out with a rash and a fussy night. I had started feeling crappy last week and Todd and I both felt terrible through the weekend. Anyway, Sunday, Sara was worse, I was worse and Todd was feeling a little better. Monday, Sara and I went in to see the doctor. Strep, both of us. Antibiotics. Tuesday. I was feeling even more terrible than the weekend and Sara was still so fussy, although her rash was improving. Wednesday, Adam and Spencer were feeling crappy, now Adam had a rash. Lovely. More strep tests. Adam's was positive. Spencer's was negative. The Doctors office sent Spencer's off to be cultured. He turned out to be positive. Thursday, Lily wakes up feels great, goes to school, feels crappy. She has strep. The doctor didn't even test her. She just put Lily, Spencer and then Todd on antibiotics. Lily had sores in her mouth. She was definitely streppy and Todd was bound to get it. So the whole family is on antibiotics and starting to feel better. Thank heavens. We haven't felt great for sure. The thing was with this round of strep was that we all just felt crappy. No one really had sore throats. Some had fevers (Sara and Lily), some rashes (Sara and Adam), and others (Spencer, Todd and me) felt like someone had beat the crap out of them with a tired stick and stuffed their noses full of cotton. So we are on the mend and really excited for next week. Next week we will all feel better and be well rested for the next round of yuckies.

Thoughtful Thursday

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes -- I already have everything that I really need.'
~The Dalai Lama

My ultimate goal, besides raising happy children is to be content with what I have and understanding the difference between needs and wants. It's been a huge mountain to climb, but I'm climbing it. However slow it might be. I am impulsive and so imperfect. And seriously in need of this in my life. Contentment is achievable, it's just at the top of a steep climb.

Adam 'Labron' James Bates

 My little Adam was lucky enough to be able to do a Jr. Jazz basketball camp last week. Now, mind you, my sweet little man doesn't know anything about basketball. That is, up until last week. He learned passing, defense, dribbling and of course shooting. And on Thursday Spencer, Todd and I got to go see what he had learned. He was precious! Seriously, I thought he was really good. And so very handsome.
 So anyway, I noticed a few things that surprised me while watching him. He isn't the same kid I usually see at home.
 The main thing I noticed is that he wasn't aggressive at all. He seemed to bounce around the outside of the other kids and never tried to steal the ball. He even had the ball stolen from him a few times. Then one of the sweetest things ever happened. One of his best friends, who just happened to be on the opposing team, fell in the middle of the court. Adam ran over to him, helped him up and brushed him off. He was just making sure he was ok. I smiled at my sweet little man and felt so proud of him.
 So, in four days, Adam started to understand the game of basketball. He seemed to enjoy it and do very well. As his Mommy, I got to observe, how loving and tender hearted he is. I see his sweetness at home but he doesn't mind kicking the crap out of his brother and tormenting his sister. There was none of it in his game playing skills. He was gentle and kind. I love that he was social with the other kids and was conscience of what was going on around him. I love my little future basketball star.

All Things Sara

 Sara Rose and her Daddy are best buds. His days off are filled with sword fights with curtain rods. Sara always wins of course. Although, I think Todd lets her win. He seems to end up on the
 floor with 'wounds' all the time. Sara immediately falls on him giggling, playing and so excited her Daddy is now able to be pounced on. Sara also loves to put on everyone's shoes. That's kinda funny because she NEVER keeps her own shoes on. Anyway, she found Daddy's shoes and was trying so hard to walk around the living room.
 Todd's days off are also filled with early mornings. As I have told you before, I am like a teenager in the morning, I HATE getting up. Todd, being the wonderful husband and even more wonderful Daddy, gets up with kids. Sara has always been an early riser. After her morning nursing session, she rolls over and says "Dada...Hi." Until he is up and holding her. It's so very sweet.
 In other Sara news. She colored on her face, kinda like lipstick, with a rogue pen she found laying around. She washed most of it off with a wash cloth the moment she was in tub, but I managed to take a quick picture before it was all gone. We love our sweet little adventurous baby, sword fights, shoe stealing, early mornings, drawing on her beautiful face and all.