Art Extravaganza

Tonight was the boys' school Art Extravaganza. Donations for refreshments that evening were requested, so the last two days I worked on whipping up 3 different delicious goodies to give. They must have been good because about 40 minutes into the 2 hour event 3/4 of all the goodies I had brought in were completely gone! As for the art event itself, the halls were decorated with artwork from every student. When we entered the school, we were given a ballot. As we walked around, we were to vote for our 3 favorite pieces for each grade level. I believe that the top winners then go on to some state art contest (or something like that). We of course voted for our boys' artwork. We stayed for a bit before our tummies started rumbling for dinner, so we stopped by Subway to grab a few sandwiches and headed home for a little family time before bed :)

(Clifford's art is the top pic and Kristjan's is the bottom pic)

Spring Parent Teacher Conference

Today Pete and I met with both boys' teachers for their spring parent-teacher conferences. Again, as with the fall conference, both their teachers had nothing but positive things to say about them. Mrs. Castelle, Kristjan's teacher, even told us that we're a model family (wow!! we're obviously not perfect by any means, but it is nice to hear this, especially since I've been having a tough time these last few weeks with trying to be Super Mom and feeling like a failure at times). Both are at standard level, but we were told of a few areas where each need to try to improve on:

Clifford: He needs to slow down and pay attention when it comes to math. Mrs. Webster was slightly confused because he'll understand the concepts in class, but then miss a lot on his tests. We told her he likes to rush through things just to be done, which is what she figured. Clifford also needs to work on not tattling and minding his own business (this is a HUGE problem with all the kids in class, which is typical at this age). We've been stressing this at home with him, but now we'll increase the reminders. And lastly, lately Clifford hasn't been too good on reading. He can read; he's right where he needs to be. We just need to increase the number of days he reads at home (minimum for for class standard is 3-4 days a week).

Kristjan: The main focus at the meeting was his speech. We met with the speech therapist. Kristjan will be tested later next month to see if he qualifies for extra help (he has to meet a certain score before she can prove to the state that he needs the extra help). We discussed how to help Kristjan out with his speech and how to properly explain to him how to make certain letter sounds. We also spoke with Mrs. Beaman. She's the teacher's assistant as well as works one-on-one daily with Kristjan with extra help on learning words/letters/sounds etc. Whatever learning program is being used in the school, this is the first year they've implemented it, and she said Kristjan is the perfect example of how well this program works and she is pleased with his improvements. So basically we just need to help him with his speech and with learning sight words.

Meet Squeaky and Fuzz Ball

Pete and I took the boys to the pet store after I got off work last night. They had received about $50 each in birthday cash last weekend. All week Clifford has been talking about going and buying himself a pet fish. Kristjan wanted a turtle. Our intentions were to get Clifford his fish....and convince Kristjan to get one as well. We looked around the entire pet store, looking at fish, turtles, birds.....and then we ended up in the rodent section. Kristjan decided he wanted a pet mouse.....and then Clifford decided he wanted one too. As for me, being all excited for both my boys to buy their first pet and be responsible little men, said "Sure!" The three of us looked up and down the aisles for supplies while Pete had this annoyed look on his face. We grabbed all the necessary supplies, and then found a worker to pick out the boys' mice. Kristjan wanted a white one. Clifford wanted a black one. Both are female. They come with a 12 day guarantee, so if we change our minds we can return the mice. The boys made their purchase, and we grabbed a pizza for dinner on our way home. After we ate, Pete started to set the cage up. It was time to put Squeaky (Clifford's) and Fuzz Ball (Kristjan's) into their new home. As Pete tried to grab onto Squeaky, he jumped out of Pete's hand, onto the floor. So we had a little chase trying to grab Squeaky and put him in the cage. Let me tell you, mice are very squirmy and hard to hold on to. Fuzz Ball was easy enough to put in. Along with the supplies, we bought a small mouse ball. We wanted to try it out, so we put Fuzz Ball in it and watched him roll around inside it. Out of the two mice, Fuzz Ball is more entertaining to watch at the moment. He definitely has personality. The cage is placed in the boys' bedroom. Rule have been set. I went online and requested some books at the library for the boys about having a pet mouse. Pete thinks I'm crazy for agreeing to this. He was set on just getting a fish. Instead, now we have rodents for pets. I must admit, as I was laying in bed last night, I had the thought "WHAT was I thinking??!" This will definitely be an interesting experience for us :)

An Unexpected Trip!!

So next month I'm flying to the east coast to visit my dad and family. I received a Facebook message from my brother Christian (who lives in Massachusetts) asking if I could come out for a visit in April. Our brother Josh (from Nevada) whom we've never met (I should add I've never met Christian either) is flying to Virginia and Massachusetts to visit my dad, sisters, and Chris. So what better time for a mini family reunion than now! My plane ticket is covered. I just need spending money. I'll fly out of SeaTac on April 17th to Washington D.C. where I'll be picked up at the airport by my dad. He'll then drive me to Virginia, where I'll stay a few days visiting with him, Pati, Josh and my sisters 'n their families. From my understanding, then there will be a drive up to Massachusetts to visit Chris at his house for a few days before driving back down to Virginia. I fly back home April 25th. I'm still in a bit of shock that this is actually happening. I'm also freaking out a bit. Not only am I going to see family whom I haven't seen since I was 13 years old OR have never met, but I'm also flying on a plane for only the second time in my life by myself! Insane!! :)

Nielsen Boys Birthday Bash

Family and friends came to celebrate the birthdays of Dominick (9), Clifford (7), Damien (7), Kristjan (6), and Donavan (2). Combining these as one huge family party was a success! I made up some delicious side items and decorated the cakes. For whatever reason, I accidentally bought Damien a number "6" candle instead of "7", so that's why you'll see a mismatched candle in the pics (hahaha). Daniel and Pete bbq'd burgers and hotdogs. Kids ran around and played while adults mingled. The party started to wind down early, so we cleaned and packed up. Daniel and his gang came over to our house to spend the night. We decided not to have boys' open up their gifts at the party. We felt it would be to chaotic to have 5 boys open gifts at the same time. So later that night we lined the boys up and let them open up their gifts while Jessica and I wrote down gifts given for 'thank you' cards. Clifford and Kristjan mainly received money as gifts, which was fine by them. All of us spent the rest of the weekend doing absolutely nothing, which was my personal plan :)

An unexpected request!

I received an unexpected email this afternoon from the gal who is heading up the nominating committee for the PTA (who also happens to be the mom of one of Clifford's buddies). She asked if I would be interested in being nominated for the next years position on the PTA Board for either President, Secretary or Membership.

We know that you would be a great leader within our PTA and are hoping you will consider filling one of our vacant board positions, she wrote to me.

OMG!!! I was seriously surprised by this! And what an honor to even be considered for such positions. I received a small list detailing the duties for each position. Membership didn't sound like fun, and as awesome as it would be to be President, I just have too much on my plate at the moment to even attempt such a responsibility. The duties for Secretary, however, sounded right up my alley. I would be in charge of the weekly Hot Sheet (weekly newsletter sent home with students), keep minutes at all PTA meetings, and participate in all PTA-sponsored activities. I think I can handle that.

A few weeks ago the PTA president asked if I would take on the task of being in charge of the PTA clothing (fulfill orders for sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc; keep track of inventory; to sell items at certain school functions). I was excited to be asked to tackle on this particular task. Now I'm over the moon at just being nominated for the PTA Board!! I'm not sure when I find out if I'm elected, but I'm assuming before the end of this school year. Wish me luck! :)

Pack Meeting

Clifford went to his first Pack Meeting in Cub Scouts. He was super excited for this. He kept asking us if it was time to go yet. We finally put on all the required patches onto his shirt. We just glued them on.....come to find out they're iron-on patches (go figure)! I stayed behind at home with Kristjan while Pete took Clifford. Clifford's group performed the flag ceremony. He even received a patch for it! Clifford was all smiles when he came home to share with me that night's events. He was just all wound up with excitement and can't wait to go again.

Leprechaun Trap

Clifford had a school project to make a Leprechaun Trap. Pete and I were soooo excited to help him out with this (our boys are so lucky to have an engineer for a dad and a very crafty mom). The only restriction was the trap couldn't be bigger than their desk. Clifford and Pete did some brainstorming and drew up some ideas. Clifford had to write a proposal and turn it in to his teacher before bringing in the trap. The weekend prior we made a family trip to Wal-Mart and Joann Fabrics for supplies. Then this past Sunday evening after we returned from our trip to Yakima, Clifford (with a little bit of our help) started building his trap. It was so much fun. Ever since my boys were babies, I've been anxiously WAITING for the day to come where I could get in and help them with school projects (seriously!). And the trap (in our opinion) turned out brilliantly!!! Clifford and I even made a cut-out Leprechaun to put in the trap as a visual. Clifford took his project to school today, and either tomorrow or Friday he'll present it to his class.

Weekend Trip to Yakima

We headed down to Yakima for the weekend. March 6th was my Grandpa's 80th birthday, so we made him a special birthday dinner, cake and gifts. He requested homemade hamburgers with the works, so that's just what he got. I made some cupcakes prior to coming down, and Kristjan helped Grandma frost them. I tried to get creative with my Grandpa's gifts. I found on Pinterest this gift idea where you can fill a jar up with hard candy and make a tag that says "80 Sucks". I put one together, and when he saw it, he got a kick out of it. I also put together a basket full of all his favorite likes. The main gift to him, which he absolutely loved, was a framed collage using all the pictures he had up on his bedroom wall. I had my mom fib to him by saying she was taking down the pics so she can get frames for all of them. She then mailed me the pics, which I then put together in a collage. At the end of the night, the plan was for Pete and I to go back to his parents house while the boys stayed behind to spend the night. Clifford changed his mind at the last minute, so just Kristjan stayed the night. I was told he used his manners, stayed up watching cartoons with them, and had popcorn.

While in Yakima, we stayed at Pete's parents' house. His brother Eric and his family were also in town visiting for the weekend. Pete and Eric helped their dad out with a project while I hung out with all the kiddies inside the house. Poor Emma was really hoping for some girl time with me, but sadly I just didn't have enough time. I did try to make a try at bonding with Louis, Matthew and Samuel. I'm not close to them as I am with the older kids. Anytime I'm around those 3, I make a point of trying to keep them comfy with me. I think I won Matthew over a little. He followed me around outside in the garden, helping me find items for Kristjan's school project. Samuel, however, doesn't want anything to do with me. Anytime I look at him he avoids eye contact (it's cute). I was able to sit right next to him on the couch for a few minutes before he realized it was me lol! As for Louis, he'll talk and look at me, but that's about it. He definitely gave me lots of laughs during my visit . That boy, let me tell you, is a feisty one.

Anyhow, we enjoyed the weekend. The drive was long but not so bad. It felt good once we were back home.