What We're Up To

A brief (kind of) update on our comings and goings...

JACOB...
...is Mommy's little helper! He helps by being so easy to keep happy that I'm able to get everything done that I want to in a day! We are enjoying our one-on-one time together - we read lots of stories, bake cookies and run errands. Jacob loves his weekly playgroup with 4 other little boys in our ward and he always looks forward to going to the Childrens' Museum with mom once a week. Despite all that fun he is anxiously waiting by the window for the school bus to drop Danny and Lyssie off each afternoon.

DANIEL...
...is totally loving the all-day kindergarten thing (as am I!) Because he's a late August birthday and could technically have gone to kindergarten last year, he is very ready for this schedule. When we ask him what his favorite thing about kindergarten is he always says, "ALL OF IT!" He comes home filthy every day. It cracks me up. This kid gets grass stains on his back, even. Thank goodness for Spray 'n' Wash - we would be tempted to buy stock in it if the market weren't so bad! Danny's also playing soccer and loving it. His energy amazes us - he is all over that field and is usually able to stay very focused on the ball. He's the first child we've had who doesn't need encouragement to be more aggressive when he plays. In fact, it makes sense that he is enjoying organized sports because for once his activity level does not have to be tempered. His parents are on the side of the field yelling, "Yes, Danny! Go, Danny! More, Danny!" instead of, "No, Danny! Calm down, Danny!"

ALYSSA...
...loves 2nd grade so far. She was fortunate enough to get the same teacher as her BFF (who happens to be the daughter of a good friend of mine from high school!) Her teacher makes learning lots of fun and Lyssie refers to her as "The Nicest Teacher Ever". Like Danny, Alyssa is also busy with soccer. She has really turned a corner this year - she's scored several goals and she's saved many a goal while playing goalie. She is still a fairly 'polite' soccer player (if someone else is going for the ball she'll often hold back in an 'After you' sort of fashion) but she is having a really good season and loves it. She also started piano lessons this year and is doing very well with them!

HALEY...
...is feeling pretty much back to normal after her pneumonia. She still can't play sports because of her knee surgery (the year this kid has had!) but after Nov. 11th she is supposed to be able to return to full activity. This means she'll likely get to play basketball this year and she's thrilled about that. Haley is also busy with piano lessons (she's getting quite good!) and has taken up the Alto Sax in the school band. She had her first babysitting job last weekend the the report back was that she did a very good job and may give Amber competition where babysitting is concerned.

AMBER...
...is still babysitting lots and enjoys it greatly. She loves playing with kids (except the other day she babysat for someone while she was in the middle of a 2-week grounding from the TV and evidently was a little more interested in the kids' television set than she was in the kids themselves!) She is still playing the clarinet in the school band and really enjoys that. She's also getting great at the piano. She has been working on two songs from Phantom of the Opera the last few weeks and I love to hear her practice them!

AMY...
...has had a great month! I can't believe how much 'down time' I have with the 4 older kids in school all day. I have been on a cleaning/organizing rampage, tackling closets and drawers and cupboards. I also decided that I could groom the dog better and cheaper than a professional (I can't) and gave her quite the hair cut - that was a 2-day ordeal. Once a week I get to help in the kids' classrooms at school, which is a fun opportunity to be a fly on the wall. I only help in Alyssa's and Danny's classrooms because helping in Amber's and Haley's would be "so embarassing" for them. In fact, the other day Amber forgot something important at home and I had to drop it by the school for her. They called her down to the office to get it from me and throughout our entire conversation she was looking at me with fear in her eyes! Relax, Amber...I'm not going to break into song and dance in your middle school lobby! I just wanted to give you your picture money! I'm still teaching the Gospel Doctrine sunday school class at church and I really enjoy it because it's only every other week and it forces me to study where I am prone to procrastinate normally :) I'm also looking for a good book to read (but not too good or I won't keep cleaning my closets!) Any suggestions??

BRAD...
...is busy with work. He is still loving his new job and we are loving his more regular hours (home by 5:30 like clockwork and no more Saturdays or holidays!) He is on a health kick trying to prepare for his upcoming high school alumni basketball tournament. This is a tourney held annually at his high school up in Canada. He loves it so much. Seems like every year he says it's his last and I smile knowing it's not. It's not uncommon for him to leave the tournament on crutches (I'm not joking - that has happened twice!) and he even cracked a rib one year, but for some reason he keeps going back. And don't tell Brad, because I like to pretend the whole tourney is a hardship, but it's pretty fun to watch him play :)

The Little Seed That Could

At the end of last school year Alyssa came home with a Dixie Cup full of dirt. Her first grade class had planted pumpkin seeds. So, as I have done through the years with all our kids' Dixie Cups of dirt, I put it in the kitchen window sill. Normally these poor seeds are fairly neglected, never sprout or sprout and quickly die. But Lyssie was pretty religious about watering and caring for her little seed. It sprouted and was green and everything. By the end of July the plant itself was getting too big for the Dixie Cup. It was up to Brad and/or I to plant it. Again, normally this would be the end of the plant's life :) But Lyssie pestered us and pestered us until finally one night after work Brad planted it in the back yard garden. By now the plant was quite yellow and looking near death. We apologized profusely to her and crossed our fingers. Well, we came home from our 2-1/2 week Canada/Utah/Seattle trip to find THIS:

Alyssa's plant turned into a monster! It swallowed the barbecue and is threatening to overtake the entire back yard. We have had to keep re-routing it's chutes back into the garden area. So far there are 8 mature pumpkins, which means Alyssa has supplied this year's Halloween pumpkins for her whole family! Thanks, Lyssie!

Are you trying to tell us something, Jacob?

Danny and Jacob argue over who gets to say the prayer at meal times. It's to the point where the girls have probably forgotten how to pray over a meal because it's been so long since any of them have had the opportunity. Usually Jacob's prayers are kind of mumbly and hard to understand but today I could clearly make out what he was praying for. It didn't have much to do with the food in front of him and it made me wonder about the quality of life in our home! He specifically asked that nobody in our house would get owies, throw up, take medicine, cry, fight or scream. Doesn't that make you want to visit the Nielson family real soon?!

Middle School Drama

We are on the roller coaster ride that is middle school - Amber is in 8th grade and Haley is in 6th. I've had the opportunity to relive this stage of life vicariously a bit as they come home with their struggles and triumphs and I have decided that I could not be PAID to go back to my middle school years! Seriously. No amount whatsoever.

Amber's BFF moved away over the summer and she is really grieving that now that school has begun. I feel so bad for her.

Haley had been enjoying middle school...emphasis on 'had been'. Today they had their pictures taken for their student ID cards and - horror of horrors - her bra strap was showing in her picture. Oh, the mortification! She came home completely distraught at having been mocked all day long. And to add insult to injury, the first reaction of each of her parents upon hearing of her humiliation was to chuckle! Bad form, I know.

It's hard enough to have to go through the drastic ups and downs of these years personally...but I am finding that it's equally painful (if not moreso!) to have to watch your child go through them. One day they are on cloud nine and the next day they are miserable. If I'm ever in charge I'm going to have kids skip from age 10 to 16 and bypass it altogether! Although, I have to admit that some of my funniest memories as a child are from those awkward years...but they aren't funny until about 10 years have passed. And now that I think about it, they're all funny at MY expense!

Cute Kid Comment

This morning over breakfast Jacob told us, "I miss my Heavenly Jesus." After the older kids had finished "oohing" and "ahhing" over that cute statement, I reminded Jacob that he can talk to his Heavenly Father every time he prays and he said, "But doesn't He have a cell phone?"

I AM

My friend's little boy wrote a very sweet poem at school. I liked it so much that I used the format and had Danny and Alyssa write their own.

I AM, by Danny Nielson
I am a good boy,
I wonder about my dog, Mabel,
I want to be a wrestler,
I am a good boy.
I pretend to play soccer games at home,
I feel happy when mom and dad give me hugs,
I worry about Haley when she is sick,
I am a good boy.
I say "I love you",
I dream about Lyssie and I getting eaten by a big T-Rex,
I try to help with things,
I am a good boy.

I AM, by Alyssa Nielson
I am awesome,
I wonder about what's going to happen,
I want to be famous,
I am awesome.
I pretend to be a fairy,
I feel happy when I get cake,
I worry about monsters,
I am awesome.
I say, "Please" and "Thank You",
I dream about the Jonas Brothers,
I try to be good,
I am awesome.

Haley's First Day of School

Haley likes to be distinctive so it is only fitting that she be fashionably late to Middle School :)

So really she has had pneumonia and missed the first 2-1/2 weeks of 6th grade. She hasn't been happy about having to start school late because it's her first year at middle school and she doesn't really like to be that distinctive. Like most 11-year-olds, she'd have preferred to start this new venture the same day all of her friends did.

We tried to help her see the bright side of this whole experience...then we realized that there isn't much of a bright side so we had to get creative. We figured everybody at school would want to sit by the girl who flew on a special jet with a pediatric pulmonary team to Seattle. She'll probably have instant middle school popularity while everyone gets in line to hear her exciting story! So she's got that going for her.

I added "No PE" as a bright side, but Haley loves sports so that wasn't as much of a plus for her as it would have been for me. Would have been a big plus for me.

In the end, she went to school this morning feeling pretty nervous. Amber was in protective-big-sister mode, which was great. She gave Haley numerous middle school pep talks this morning. And when we pulled up to the school there was a big group of Haley's friends waiting for her on the curb. They all squealed when they saw our car and ran over to hug her and say hello. I don't think I even got a "Goodbye Mom" out of her she was so overwhelmed with her reception committee!

She's hoping to make it all day, but still gets fatigued pretty easily so she'll just play it by ear. And in the meantime, I am home alone all day long with just Jacob. I wanted very much to put an exclamation point or two after that sentence, but I feel too guilty about how excited I am to just have one child home all day long so I left it a simple period. Don't be fooled. This is awesome.