Memorial Day

Our family had a great Memorial Day. In the morning we headed up to Bloomington, Idaho with Ross' sister, Lark. There we met up with Ross's parents, his grandmother, and the Nicholls family. Nigel was really happy to be around so much family. 

Ross mowed Grandma Lark's lawn. Nigel was whining and fussing, watching his dad out the window. He was a whole lot happier riding the lawn mower with Dad. He just loves to be where his dad is. 

Mowing the lawn isn't hard when you ride on the mower.

Nigel didn't want to leave the mower seat!

We all went to the Bloomington Cemetery to visit graves of deceased relatives. Nigel thought all the flowers were really cool.

Ross and Cathy at Ross' Great-Grandparents' grave.

"Hold me, Momma!"

Nigel checking out his Great-great-grandparents' grave.

Nigel at his Great-Grandpa Ben's grave. Grandma Lark's name is there, but she's still with us.

Having fun with Grandma Bateman!

Ross and Grandma Lark looking at Grandpa Ben's grave.

Smile, Nigel..... Or not.....

While Nigel took his afternoon nap, Ross and I went to see the Minnetonka Cave. It was a lot of fun.

These are the "Three Sisters"

These are the "Seven Dwarves"

These cool little stalactites are called soda straws.

There was tons of water dripping here. One of the tour members said, "It's like all the fat from lip-suction just got dumped here!" 

This is what happens when you touch cave creations. They turn all funky.

After we got back everyone chatted for a while before heading home. 

Nigel enjoyed looking out on the yard from the porch.

Nigel was so exhausted on the way home. What precious little thing.

One More Project

I crocheted this bag. It is going to be my 'project bag' to keep whatever I'm working on in. Then it's easy to take along when I travel this summer. Woo hoo! It took me about 5 hours to make. I did it over a few days though, not all at once. It was really fun to do and I like how it turned out!

Crafty Momma

Since losing my color guard job, I have been keeping busy with crafty things. It sure is a lot of fun. I'm finding that I really enjoy crocheting a whole lot. I learned how to read patterns from a lovely crocheting website and now I am unstoppable! Well, maybe not. We'll see. Here's pictures of everything I have made since being a full time mom.

First I had to finish crocheting this blanket for my niece, Rachel.

Next I pieced and hand quilted (with the help of my mother-in-law) this beautiful blanket for my cousin's baby.

Then I made another baby blanket.

Following that I made a snazzy winter hat. Used a loom for this one.

Then I crocheted my first hat. I was supposed to use a larger hook, but I didn't think it would matter. Apparently it does. So this is a baby hat.

And finally, I made yet another baby blanket. This style is just really simple to do and thus I've made three of them. Go me.

And that is what a crafty momma named Melanie has been up to in her spare time these past 5 months. More awesome crafts will be coming as I am finding some pretty awesome patterns on Pinterest. I'm excited to get crocheting!

Warmer Weather

Pretty much when the weather is warm, I am happy. Nigel is also happy with the warm weather. So that means lots of outside adventures! Here's a few pictures from things we've been doing this past week.

We went to the park. Ross and I sat on a blanket in the shade and read books for an hour. Nigel was entertained with the woodchips that entire time. He would put a handful on the bottom step of the playground then push them around until they all fell down into the holes on the step. Silly boy of mine!

Hey, Nigel! Having fun over there?

Me and my awesome husband!

Nigel sure was having fun over there. What a fun boy!

Nigel and I went on a walk to Gossner's to get cheese. It was really hot, but it was a great walk. We went about 3 miles total, there and back. Nigel thought this little pony was pretty awesome. We were really sweaty when we got back, but that's ok. It was a fun adventure. 

What on earth is that strange little creature?

When we're in the house, Nigel is getting into everything. He is finally learning not to touch Mom and Dad's books and only get out his. His favorite thing to do with his books is to pull them all off the shelf and make a huge mess. 

I have also been crocheting like crazy lately. Just doing stuff to keep my hands busy. I'll have to do another post with pictures of all the stuff I've done. Woo hoo!

Understanding Why

Contacted the Principal at MCHS a month ago to set up an appointment to figure out why I was fired in January. He replied a day later and said he'd check his schedule. And I haven't  heard from him since.
And thus I have concluded that there wasn't really a great reason for me to be fired. It has been a long, rough road and I've come to a few conclusions on my own.
If you read this article: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200411/nation-wimps you will understand how crazy parents are these days. Now, I love my son more than anything, but I love to sit and read a book while he does whatever the heck he wants. I need 'me' time. And Nigel bumps his head and roughs around and learns stuff. And I really believe that this is good for him. He's not in school yet, but I hope I'm not a crazy psycho parent arguing with teachers to get his grades up.
Working with the color guard I felt that if they wanted to be praised, the kids had to earn it. If they did terrible, I would tell them. I will not congratulate someone for failure. That just seems absolutely ridiculous to me. However, parents love to see their kids succeed. And these days, they want to see them succeed by doing nothing. And that is where my issues arose. Parents were not happy with me because I was hard on their kids. They went to administration and complained about me and how I worked until I was removed from the position. And they just taught their kids that if you hate your boss, you can get rid of them by complaining. There is no reason to learn to cooperate with different kinds of people, because life should be handed to you on a silver plate and you should do absolutely nothing to get there.
Yes, that is absolutely messed up. I understand that I have no control over how parents want to raise their kids and do everything for them. That's fine. I hope you still do everything for your kids when their 30 because they are really gonna freak out without Mommy there to hold their hands.
As much as it sucks, it's ok. I understand the worldly reason for me losing a job that I loved. I was teaching kids how to work and how to achieve things by working hard, something many kids don't learn these days. For my belief in that I lost my job. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I will not change who I am to make people happy. I am happy. And that is most important for me.
I have also come to realize the Spiritual reason for losing my job. I have been holding a lot of anger inside these past four months. Anger to people I thought were my friends, anger to people who lied to me, anger to the ones that fired me. I've been blocking out the one person I have been most angry at. Last week I realized I was really just angry at one person: my Heavenly Father. He is supposed to be a God of love, right? Then why the heck would he take away something that I love so much? Didn't he care about my happiness? If he really loved me, he wouldn't have done this to me.
And I finally realized why.
I haven't been in a Spiritual place for four long months. I was angry and grouchy and pretty much just no fun at all. I realized something needed to change. As soon as I let the Holy Spirit back into my life, I was able to receive inspiration from God the Father and learn the true reason for trials.
Humility. It sucks learning to have it. But learn it we must. I have learned, as Moses did, that man is nothing compared to God. Without my God, I am nothing. He gives me strength and with his help, I can accomplish amazing things. Knowing I cannot do things alone is hard to come to terms with. Yet here I am, relying heavily on my Lord and my God to help me forgive and move on with life. They have always been there for me, waiting for me to accept their help.
Family. Such an important part of my life that I was taking for granted. My husband is such a supportive man. He works so hard to support our family and to make Nigel and I comfortable. He is an amazing man. I am so happy that I met him and have him as a part of my life. Nigel is just as special to me. He is such a ray of sunshine every day. He has so much happy energy flowing through every inch of that little body.
I love my family more than anything else on this earth. I know that I am here to raise children in the true Gospel of Christ. I am excited for the day when Ross and I are ready to have another child. Being a mother is the most difficult thing I have ever done, but it is the most rewarding thing as well.
I know that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Redeemer and without his help, I am lost.
Life is hard, but I can work through it. And I can feel the accomplishment of my hard work.
I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Bikes and Sprinklers

The bad  news is that our VW Beetle is not working. Again. Two weeks ago it wouldn't start, we got it fixed, and now it won't start again. For this cause Ross and I have been riding bikes wherever we need to go. Well, we've been riding a singular bike. We have two bicycles: one that is in good condition and one that is not. Seeing as we may be riding these bikes all over for the entire summer, we decided it would be a good idea to fix up the one that is not so healthy.

Yesterday Ross was working on studying for his finals and I went out with Nigel to work on the bike. I got it fixed up pretty good, if I do say so myself. And Nigel had so much fun being outside 'helping' me. 

Then Nigel noticed the neighbor's Barbie bike. Which is way cooler than a boring blue bike, naturally. So he went over and pushed it all over the place and had so much fun. He was entertained for almost half an hour. 

Nigel then noticed an even cooler bike. And went over to explore it. I wasn't fast enough with my camera to get him stroking it, but here he is looking at it. Crazy kid. 

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk. It was really windy. Nigel loves going on walks, he likes to watch the cars drive by and points at them as they pass. A little ways into our walk, the sprinklers came on on the park strip next to us. Shouldn't bother us, but then the wind picked up and blew all the water from the sprinklers right into Nigel and I. So I began to run. I ran pushing the stroller speedy quick out of the watery mess. I was soaked. We got to a safe spot and I came around to check on Nigel. Water was dripping out of his hair and all down his face. His little bottom lip was poking out. Poor little man. He was very distraught at his unexpected shower. I bundled him in a blanket and we continued on our merry way. 

Moral of these stories? Nigel loves bicycles but not sprinklers. Good to know for future reference.

The Casual Vacancy

J. K. Rowling, the wonderful author of the Harry Potter series, recently came out with an adult novel: The Casual Vacancy. Me, being a great lover of Harry Potter, wanted to give this book a try. Now, when I read a bad book, I usually push on for a while to see if it gets better. I got 22 pages in. And I'm taking it back to the library. Here are my reasons that people SHOULD NOT read this book:

1. Astounding amounts of swearing.
2. The town the story takes place in is dull.
3. There are far too many characters that don't even apply to the plot.
4. Inappropriate explanations of sexual things.
5. Not written in a way to engage.
6. A completely boring read.

Now I know some of these are quite my opinion, but after looking up a good number of reviews for this book, it turns out I'm not alone in my thinking.
This post is simply to inform you not to waste your time reading, or starting to read, this book. And to Rowling: Stick to young adult fantasy. That's what your good at.

Playing at the Park

Today Ross and I got the internet in our apartment! So now I am excited to be posting more on this wonderful blog of mine. 

These pictures were taken a while ago, but there is a park about 5 blocks from our apartment and it is super fun. Nigel loves playing there, and I love getting out of the house and playing with Nigel. It is a really nice park and we love it! One Sunday evening we all went to the park to play.

Ross and Nigel up so high on the play-gym thing. 

Nigel loves to swing! 

There are these fun drums at the park that Nigel loves to play.  He has so much fun there!

I love my family so much! It is so weird that Nigel is a 1-year-old now. I can't believe how fast time has flown! He's a wonderful boy and I am so blessed to be his mother.

Nigel Is A Year Old!!!

I really need to blog more often. And I really do want to, I just don't have the internet at my apartment and it's hard to get out to the library to get online. However, at the end of the month Ross and I will be getting the internet and my posts should go up! I hope so anyway.
Here's a few updates on life for us Bateman folk:
~I am applying for jobs for the summer. Ross isn't able to work as much as usual since the Obama-care thing. His work can't afford to give insurance to the employees, such as Ross, so he will be working less and needing to fly planes more. So I'm looking for a job, which is kind of fun.
~I went to the Utah Color Guard Circuit Championships. Leslie, my dear sister, came along with me. It was really hard. I miss color guard so much, but it is really what makes me happy. I love the sunshine we've been having and I go out and spin my flag a lot. It is so wonderful! The Mountain Crest kids got first. I am proud of them. However, I thought their show was boring. Definitely a judge-pleaser not a audience-pleaser. Oh, well. I guess they can turn into AF if they want to. I'm not there to stop them anymore.
~Yesterday was Nigel's birthday! So I now officially have a toddler. Eek! Nigel has been walking all over the place. It is so crazy! He took his first step two weeks ago and just keeps picking up speed with the walking. It is nuts. I am so proud of my handsome little boy! He is so precious to me and I am so happy that I have him in my life. He is truly a blessing.
Sorry I didn't have any pictures. I'm at the library and didn't have time to put some on a thumb drive before coming. But that is ok!
Also, I rode my bike here. Go me! I have bad knees, and my awesome therapist cousin says that riding a bike is really good for my knees. And I rode my bike. Woot! But my knees were sure sore when I arrived. And I still have to bike home. Lovely. I is good for me though. ;)

The Most Important Thing

Color guard has pretty much been my life for the past 2 years. It was really hard to suddenly be thrown out of that world. Suddenly, I have all this time at home with Nigel, and no winter guard shows to write or work on. What was I supposed to do with my time? I started out with some crying, lots of crying and then I moved on to moping and playing on my phone. 

Next came the time when I fixed up all my old color guard equipment that I own. I need it to stay nice so that it is nice when I'm a director again. (And I will be one again, so be prepared...) 

I then finished up making an afghan for my niece, Rachel. I adore that little princess! So here's a picture of her since she's just so darn cute.

I then began another afghan that will be given to my next niece or nephew I guess. All I know is that I'm entering it into the fair in August. Hopefully I'll win some moneys from it. Too bad I already noticed a mistake, but I'm not gonna pull out all that crocheting to fix it. I'm too lazy. 

I started another project of which I cannot say at the moment because it is going to be a surprise. Just know that Nigel got in the way a lot while I have been getting stuff ready for it. 

It's been a little over a month since I was fired. It was been really hard to be at home all day with Nigel. I'm getting better at it as time goes. 

Even with this large setback in my life, one thing has been constant: My Family. Ross has been there for me through every breakdown and venting session. He always shows that he loves me, even when I've been really out of it and got nothing done all day. Ross works so hard to take care of me and Nigel. He is a wonderful husband and a spectacular father. Nigel gets so excited whenever Ross comes home, it is so fun to see! I love my husband!

Nigel has been growing so fast. I wonder if I would have even noticed if I was still focusing on color guard. It seems like my little boy is learning new things every day. Nigel is getting so tall and so much fun to play with! He has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. I am so lucky that I get to have this child smile at me every single day. He's been giving hugs, too. Which is wonderful and amazing. I am totally in love with this little boy! 

Struggles and setbacks will always come up in my life. Trials will always be there. My family is my most important thing. As long as I have them, I know everything will be ok.