Easter Dresses

I like this one even though Adora's eyes are squinty because you can see Salem smiling through her thumb. I am so excited that our new baby girl is a thumb sucker, too!

Sweet picture of my two big girls.

Salem running toward Daddy to get the camera.

Kids didn't wear their Easter dresses on Easter Sunday because they were sick. Neither went to church anyway--Jake and I split up. He went to the vigil Saturday night, and I went Sunday morning. Anyway, they did wear them this last Sunday, and we got pictures and videos.

Today, Adora was in the bathroom. She sometimes gets really into teaching Salem how to do things. So Salem was in there helping out. Adora was trying to get Salem to give her some toilet paper. Long story short, next thing I know, I hear Adora saying, "Ok, Salem, now come wipe my bottom!" I obviously had to intervene so Salem didn't get messy, ha!

We had a fun day today. I bought a Minot Area coupon book thing a couple of weeks ago and used four coupons from it today, haha. There are lots that you can use monthly, and I wanted to get the April ones checked off before we leave for our trip! So I ran into the grocery store to get a free muffin (and picked up two pounds of strawberries b/c they were on sale). Then, we went to Tutti Fruitti, a frozen yogurt place where you get to pick your flavor of yogurt and then pile on whatever toppings you want (you pay by the ounce). I had a buy one get one free there. Then, we went to the bowling alley, where I had a free game of bowling (and I paid for shoes for me and Adora and her game of bowling). After that, we stopped by the gas station to pick up a free 20-oz. Coke for Jake. It all cost me about $17, which saved us about $11. Plus, we got out of the house on a rainy day and did some fun stuff. After all of that, we went to church and played in the playroom before mass. The bishop was here to do a mass for the flood survivors and volunteers. They had a free pizza dinner after church! So it was a fun, busy afternoon. Jake is flying his pre-checkride, so he is still not home, so it helped fill up the time.

Here is a video of the kids dancing with their dresses on. We have a longer, better one, but it takes too long to upload. Adora's tag is still on her cardigan because I had to figure out if she liked how the sweater felt before I took it off.

Eli, Eli

Jake often tells me certain things I should post on the blog. I think I have followed his advice once. The main problem is that I just don't post often enough, and when I do, I don't think to post what he wanted me to post. He just told me to post this, though, and since he left for church and both kids are asleep, I am going to do it.

The other night, he was reading Adora the Bible before bed, as we usually do. She has a really great children's Bible that she got for her birthday. Anyway, he was reading her, "My God, my God, why hast though forsaken me?" and Adora said, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!" Jake just about had a heart attack because she was apparently translating English into Syro-Chaldaic. He recovered enough to ask her how she knew that, and she reminded him of the Tajci concert he took her to last Sunday when they had said the phrase in English AND Syro-Chaldaic. She is smart, but not that smart, apparently :)

Bismarck Zoo--That's How God Made Them

Here is Salem hanging out in the stroller at the Bismarck Zoo. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Bismarck for the day for a rally for religious freedom and then went to the zoo afterward. Salem, of course, napped on the drive up there (not her normal nap time) and then opted to stay awake all afternoon. So she was resting a little bit in the stroller. She has been trying to strap herself into stuff now, which is super cute except that I'm afraid her little fingers will get pinched when she helps me do it.

The tiger came up and walked by Salem pretty closely and took a good look at her, but of course this is all we got with the camera.

I did explain to her, off camera, that camels use can use their hump(s) for energy and water if they can't get to food or drink :)

Hair Donation

I am donating my hair again. I actually got it cut in January but haven't sent it in yet. I am getting it together today so Jake can take it to the post office tomorrow, along with a couple of other packages and even some letters since we are completely out of stamps. I am donating to Pantene Beautiful Lengths instead of Locks of Love because they provide wigs for free to cancer patients (LoL relies on a sliding pay scale). I asked for 8" cut off, but in typical hair-donation fashion, they cut an extra 2.5" just for kicks. So this is the shortest my hair has been in awhile. I just took this picture tonight, so it has grown out a little bit, but I also got another 1/2" cut off last week when Adora & I went to get hair cuts (side note: I really miss Kids Hair Safari from Wichita Falls. There is no kids' hair cutting place here.)

Confession

I have a confession to make. I use my $72/month YMCA membership mostly to be able to take a shower. Yes, I pay $72/month (plus $4.50 childcare each time I go!) to be able to take a shower. I somehow haven't mastered the art of showering during the day with the kids home. When I shower at home, it is usually after they go to bed, which is scary because the shower backs up to their bedroom, and then I have wet hair all night, too. In order to justify the shower at the Y, though, I force myself to workout before. The class that I usually go to is from 9:15-10:30, but I always cut out at 10:15. I figure an hour of cardio is enough for a pregnant lady (I take a bathroom break mid-way through, too, haha), and I want to make sure I have enough time to get my shower in before I have to pick up the kids from the childcare (they can only be in there 2 hours), plus, if I stay the whole time, they get REALLY HUNGRY and whine for lunch when I pick them up. I have a feeling that as this pregnancy progresses, I might start using my membership mostly for the hot tub and the shower--maybe I will skip the working out part.

Another great thing about our super-expensive gym membership is that you get discounts on classes and camps for the kids. I say this is good, but I haven't ever used this benefit. I tried to sign up Adora for swim lessons, but although they supposedly have signups for 5 days or so, they apparently fill up within the first hour. I think there is only one more session before the summer (and I'm not sure they have swim classes in the summer--it's an indoor pool), and I don't know if we'll get her in. I feel kind of bad about it since Jake really wanted her to take swim lessons over the winter (oops) to keep up her swimming skills so she will really improve in the summer time. I don't know that she will really swim any more here in the summer than in the winter, though. There is no spray park like there is in Wichita Falls. The lake is ice cold (actually, she probably wouldn't care about that) and is like 30 or 45 minutes away. They also have an Itty Bitty Sports class that sounds pretty cute. It's for five weeks, and they do a different sport each time to introduce the kids to different sports. I have a friend whose kid is in it, and she said it's neat to see which sports her kid likes and which she doesn't. That sounds great, rather than committing to a sport for a season only to find out your kid hates it. Anyway, we are going to be gone for a week of the session, so I am debating on whether or not to put Adora in it. I will probably do it, though, since I don't know that she will get another chance to do it since she starts preschool (again) in the fall. The camps are a week long, and Adora wants to do the Summer Fun camp. It is in the last part of July and the first part of August. I know she will love it, but I bet she will also get exhausted since it goes until 2 p. m.

I am also planning on taking Adora to a figure skating show. I am really excited about it! Adora told me she is going to be really mad at the end when she doesn't get to go ice skate. She can have such an attitude! I told her that maybe I wouldn't take her then because I am afraid she is going to throw a fit. So we will have to see how this plays out. It helps her to talk in advance about what my expectations of her are and to pose scenarios to get her to plan her behavior. For example:

Me: Adora, I don't know if we will go to this ice skating show because I think you might throw a fit afterward.
Adora: I won't throw a fit!
Me: Even if you feel angry that you don't get to ice skate?
Adora: I will be very good even if I don't get to ice skate.

Then, I remind her of it when the event is about to occur, and she usually does a pretty good job of following through with my expection. This technique requires me to think through every situation and potential emotion in advance, though, which I don't always get to do. She has gotten much better with her behavior since she turned four, though. Her twos were not so terrible, but the threes were extremely challenging. I'm glad she's four now.

Pictures from Oct./Nov., our time at Barksdale & Baton Rouge

This is my Aunt Cheryl with Adora at a park.

My dad met Salem for the first time.

Adora playing in the rain. We'd gone so long without rain in Wichita Falls that she loved experiencing it in BR!

Happy with an umbrella.

We read 10 Apples Up on Top at the Logies's house, and Adora wanted to put some apples up on top :)

We went to the Sci Port in Shreveport, and Salem loved this car thing because there was a button you could push and it made a horn sound.

This house was also a favorite at the Sci Port. Salem loved going up the stairs, and Adora turned a lever to move building materials in and out.

Who doesn't like a water table?

At the BR Zoo with cousin Tyler.

Everytime we go to the BR Zoo, I get a pic of Adora with this globe thing. She loves it!

Trips planned!

Here are the kids playing at our house. I am doing Adora's hair, getting ready for church. I had picked out a black skirt to go with my top, but Adora decided that this gold skirt looked much nicer.

Here is Adora in her baking gear that she got for her birthday from the Steads!

I am so excited! I finally have two trips planned that have been stressing me out. Now, what will I do with my evenings? The first trip coming up is to Houston and Baton Rouge in just a month! The kids and I are actually flying into Houston to visit with the new, expanded Bennett family. I am really excited. It's good for us to fly into Houston because it saves us quite a drive there, from Baton Rouge. We will drive back to BR, but at least we only have to go one way. Then, we will go to BR to meet Liam, my sister's new baby! The kids will play, we will hit up the zoo (we bought a membership in hopes that the zoo here will open this summer--it is iffy since the flood devastated it, but the BR Zoo is a reciprocal zoo, so it's free for us to go there, too), and I will hopefully get in lots of baby-holding. Then, in three months, we are doing the long drive to Yellowstone! This is a huge Hostetler trip. All of Jake's bros & sisters except one are going to be able to make it out. Two of his siblings also have families, and we will all be with his mom and dad in a house that sleeps 18! Good thing since there will be 17 of us! I am really excited to see everyone AND to see Yellowstone. And on the way back, we will spend a night or two "camping" on Jake's sister's land in Montana. Hopefully, I will get to sleep on the bed in the camper since I will be, oh, 7 months pregnant.

Salem swinging

New swing in backyard

Here is our new swing in our backyard. We can easily take the kiddo swing down and hang our two-person "porch" swing, too. It's a lot of fun for everyone :)

Thankful

Ok, I was in a really bad mood that last post because Salem was waking up AGAIN and I am afraid to go to bed because Adora is in my room and I have to transfer her to her room, risking waking both of them up again. Jake is flying right now, so I have to do it by myself.

These are the things that I have to be thankful for, though:
My kids' health--despite minor illnesses, my kids are both healthy--I can't say the same for everyone I know
Our finances--I hate that our home in WF hasn't sold yet, but I am joyful that we are able to pay for both of our homes and even to fix the flood damage in this home and even still be able to consider things like trips to Baton Rouge, Houston, and Yellowstone, and even the super-expensive YMCA membership (did I mention how expensive it is? It is a non-profit! It is $72/month plus $4.50 each time I take the kids to the childcare!)
Our new baby on the way--I am so excited to get to know this new little person. Adora is so sweet and she wants to learn about the new baby each day. He or she is the size of an apple and weighs 2.5 oz right now.
The weather--I didn't realize how hard the winter was here until it warmed up this weekend and we could actually go outside! It was in the 60s today, and it was beautiful. We went for a walk in Oak Park, I pulled Salem in the wagon and Adora roller skated around our street, we went for a walk in our neighborhood, and I pushed the kids on the swings--all this afternoon! Plus, I got to cook dinner while the kids played together outside almost the whole time, 'til Salem started eating rocks. And I got to turn the heater off for the first time since we moved here! It was all glorious.
A newly-born nephew and two nieces on the way very soon!
People who love me

I need to go to bed, but I could go on if I wanted to. Good night!