Fire Marshall Pete

Sunday morning Pete and Daniel headed outside after breakfast to start the gas bbq so they could smoke the ham for our Easter dinner. I don't know all the details (feel free to ask Pete), but as Pete went to light the gas bbq, flames shot out, burning the top of his hand and melting the sleeve of his jacket (Daniel witnessed it and said we were lucky the side of the house didn't catch on fire). For the entire day, Pete switched off between running his hand under water, sticking it in the freezer, laying a bag of frozen hashbrowns on his hand, and soaking it in a bucket full of ice water. That night I was up and down in bed about 5 times helping to take care of Pete (and we have a waterbed, which I always have a hard time getting off of). I got him ice packs; I got him a wet washcloth; a glass of water, etc etc. After all this and I resettle myself in bed to fall asleep (it was about 10pm), I hear him say "How much do you love me?" I slowly respond with "why?" His reply is "You know what would help? Some burn cream ointment". I just quietly laid there for a few minutes, trying to ignore that last comment. I finally let out a sigh and got out of bed AGAIN. This time I drove up to Wal-Mart (in my pj's) and bought him the burn cream ointment. I came back home, had him apply a layer of it, and FINALLY went to bed for the night. The next morning while I drove kids to school Pete texted me asking to make him a doctor appointment for his hand. He went in and received another cream to use on his hand as well as some pain pills, since his job mainly consists of using a computer. I just hope his hand heals up and he'll be ok.

p.s. I forgot to mention that Pete's eyelashes even got a little toasted! Sorry, no pics of that.

This is basically what Pete did the entire day
Pete's burnt jacket sleeve
Some pics of his hand. These were taken a few days after the incident, but you get a good idea.

Easter Weekend

We had a FUN-tastic Easter weekend. It kicked off Friday with Daniel, Jessica and boys coming over to our house and staying for the weekend. The weather was beautiful that day. The adults sat around outside while we watched the kids play. Donavan is now walking, so that was a whole new set of entertainment in itself. I made a delicious dinner, and the kids were able to have a picnic and eat dinner outside. The next day was another beautiful sunny day. We got everyone up and ready early, and took the kids to a community Easter egg hunt. We arrived super early so we could get parking, so we let the kids run around before the events started. When it was time for everything to start, we took the kids over to have their face painted, jump in a bouncy house, have balloon animals made, and visit with the Easter bunny. The egg hunt itself was sectioned off onto two different fields, with two separate timed egg hunts, depending on your child's age. Donavan was first to go grab eggs. Pete and I stayed behind to watch the four older boys while Daniel and Jessica helped Donavan. Two minutes later they returned back to us (seriously, that's how long the hunt lasts. It's a blur of craziness as kids run out for the eggs, and it's over in a flash. we decided next year to have Easter at Daniel's house, or car camping if the weather is good, and have our own egg hunt for the kids). We then had to wait for the next egg hunt to be set up for the other boys' turn. That egg hunt was done and over with in seconds, and we quickly left to head back to the cars so we wouldn't hit any traffic leaving. We then headed to Meadowdale Park to hike down to the beach. I think we spent a good four hours or more down there. The older boys spent the entire time digging for crabs. Donavan was not a fan of the sand. He fussed every time his feet touched it. It was sad when it was time for us to hike back up. The weather was just gorgeous and it felt so good to sit out in the sunshine. But it was getting close to dinner time, so we had to go. The hike back up seemed to take forever. We eventually made it home. I made another delicious dinner while the men watched the kids play outside into the late evening.

Sunday morning came way too early (or at least it felt like it). The kids were excited to see what the Easter bunny brought them. They also had a mini-egg hunt around the living room. After breakfast and getting dressed, we all worked on getting the day started. Pete worked on getting the smoker ready to smoke the dinner ham (and burnt his hand in the process); Jessica and I let the kids dye eggs; and I worked on prepping a few items for our Easter dinner. After lunch, we crashed. Jessica and I napped on the couch while the kids watched a movie, and Daniel and Pete sat outside watching the smoker. We ate an early, but scrumptious dinner. Daniel and family got everything together and headed home, while we did a whole lot of nothing for the rest of the evening. We had a busy, exhausting but fun weekend :)

Some pics of us at the Easter egg hunt











Our visit to the beach. It was a gorgeous day, and the sunshine felt wonderful!




A Nielsen get-together wouldn't be complete without a kid getting hurt. The guys work on getting something out of Dominic's foot.
The Easter bunny came! The boys received new hiking backpacks filled with a bug net, bug catcher/home, and lots of candy (of course).
Older boys dying Easter Eggs

Clifford's First Filling

Clifford's attempt at a smile after getting his filling at the dentist :)

I just got back from taking Clifford to the dentist for his first filling. He was a trooper! We decided against doing the nitrous. For a week prior to today, Pete and I have prepped him on explaining exactly what to expect. He didn't flinch when the doctor numbed him up (I was informed, too, that they don't like calling it a 'shot' or 'needle'. I guess it scares kids too much, but whatever). The procedure lasted less than a half hour. I went up front to make the payment on our portion that insurance didn't cover. I found out that I was quoted wrong. Instead of $38, it was $88 (needless to say we will need to pay off the difference next week). It's not that big of a deal, until you do the math: $88 x 3 (b/c Kristjan has 2 he needs filled) = $264. Kids are so expensive! And this is ONLY the beginning. Pete and I pray they don't need braces in the future lol. On the bright side of this, I'm just grateful that we have awesome medical and dental insurance, and that we are able to afford to pay our portions, considering we're a one-income family at the moment. But believe me, I will be the 'tooth nazi', making sure my boys are in tip-top shape when it comes to their teeth. Not only for their general health, but for our pocket book :)

Party Time

I wanted to share a few cute pics of the boys from today. They went to their friend Grant's sixth birthday party today. The party was held in their apartment complex cabana. The boys got to run around in the gym, getting lots of energy out. There were two soccer ball pinatas where the kids got to kick around until all the candy flew out. I honestly think Clifford and Kristjan came out of it with the most candy. Their bags were practically overflowing. A majority of the candy will go to work with Pete for his co-workers to munch on. They played 'pin the plunger on mario'. Kristjan was one of two kids who got it almost exactly right. He was a lucky boy-his prize was a barbie doll and a princess puzzle (Grant's mom Stacie picked out 2 set of prizes: one for a boy and one for a girl. The other winner was a boy, so she got lucky with Kristjan lol). There was some more running around, cake time and the craziness of opening presents. It was a great party and the boys had a lot of fun :)

Clifford and Kristjan's sense of style. They dressed themselves. They actually got complimented by many on how awesome they looked! :)
The Mario cake. Grant wanted a Mario Bros themed party.
The boys' loot of candy. See how full it is?!
Kristjan snacking on a few pieces of candy
Cake Time!

More Set of Projects

Sick and Achy

I'm sick...again. It started last night with my throat feeling sore. During the night I woke up to it hurting (not sore, but actually HURTING) and having a hard time swallowing. This kept me up off and on during the night. (Side note: this has been a recurrence lately. I don't necessarily have 'sore' throats. The sides of my throat just hurt, sometimes one day being one side then swapping to the other side the next day. Anyone find that odd??). Anyhow, to make it worse Pete planned on going on an overnight hiking trip with Daniel today. Not only do I not get a relaxing weekend and have help with the kids, but now I have to take care of the kids (w/o help) and I'm sick. I tried very hard to be nice to Pete before he left, but in my head I was frustrated that he wouldn't be an awesome husband and realize he should cancel his camping trip to take care of me. Instead, him and Daniel couldn't get out the door quick enough, giddy like two little boys. As the day has gone on, I've only continued to feel worse. Besides my throat, my body aches something fierce. When I move around I have chills; when I sit I feel flushed and hot. I just want to sleep this off. On the bright side, though, I was able to (slowly) move about and do a few things around the house, like dishes, laundry, and finish rearranging the linen closet. And the boys have been good (for the most part). I had to take them this afternoon to a birthday party, which lasted three hours(!). They each came home (unfortunately) with a bag full of candy. Since we got home from the party, I fed them hotdogs and chips for dinner (their request), and then bribed them with a little candy and a few movies so they'd let me rest in peace on the couch. Bedtime for them is soon. I just hope I can sleep this off tonight. I think Pete owes me a 'make up' weekend. Oh, and since he left me home sick to go have fun, here's a pic I'll share of him taken a few days ago. His sinuses were acting up and he used the netty pot, which I happened to get a pic of (don't worry...the pic is right at the beginning of the treatment and it's only water coming out of his nose) :)

A Sad, Sad Day....

Pete and I are so very sad today. We have been lucky enough to avoid this for six (and five) years. We were so proud of this. But sadly, the day the we hoped would never come has arrived: both boys have a cavity (or two)!!!! I just got back from taking both boys to their six month dental check up. Clifford has one cavity to be filled, and Kristjan has two cavities to fill. They're small ones, between their teeth, in the back. I suppose I should be happy about that at least. But it still sucks. I have always been on top of them about brushing and flossing their teeth twice a day (ok, well, maybe not so much on the flossing, but it still got done eventually). I was in with Clifford while the doctor talked with me (Kristjan was in another room getting worked on). I verified with the doctor that he would need a shot in his mouth. She and her assistant gave me a look as if to ask "is it ok to discuss this in front of him??", since I guess most parents don't want to freak their kids out. I told her to go ahead and be honest in front of him; he needs to know what's going to happen and we (as parents) never 'sugar coat' anything with them. So yes, they would get shots in their mouth to numb them. It was suggested to use nitrous, especially for Kristjan since he wiggles a lot. Since Kristjan has to go in two separate appointments to get his fillings, I suppose maybe we should for him. At least we get a (slight) discount on the nitrous. I think Clifford could handle the procedure without it. But we'll see. Pete and I will talk tonight, and I'll call tomorrow to schedule their appointments. Guess now I need to be even MORE on top of their teeth.