Party Time

This last Saturday we had a little family shin-dig to both celebrate Kole's birthday and enjoy a little time with Keaton before his Army deployment.  (He left Tuesday for Kuwait where he'll be for a month to get culturally acclimated and then off to Iraq for about 9 months.  He'll be fine, I am sure.  But pray for him nonetheless).  I suppose both are a little something to be sad about.  Nevertheless, we still had fun.  We ditched the kids and had to get a babysitter other than our parents for only the second time since Eve was born.  Yet another advantage of having the only grandkids on both sides of the family and only living 10 minutes away from both. 

Among the games we played was "The Name Game."  It's easy to play and and lots of fun- if not a little embarrassing.  Basically everyone playing takes three little pieces of paper and on each of their papers writes the name of someone that they think everyone will know.  They can be names of real people, characters, living or dead, famous or just infamous to the people playing.  Then all the papers are folded and gathered into a bucket or basket or bowl or whatever.  Everyone sits in a circle (boy, girl or however you wants to divide the group into two teams with the players of each team sitting every other person). Each person gets a set time (one minute or so) to get their team members to guess as many names as possible before the time runs out.  When their time runs out, you go to the next person in the circle (who is on the other team) and just keep going until you're out of names.  Of course there is a little bit of a catch:  The first round is kind of like "Taboo." Just don't say the name but anything else is fine.  Second round you can only say one word.  The third round is no speaking or sound effects, only charades.  The third round is especially fun- but I'll be the first to admit, I'm no actress.  I took some pictures of everyone else playing.  All pictures of me have been completely erased. 

See if you can guess who they are acting out.  Some of the names were: Sandra Bullock, the Flash, Jack Nicholson, Austin Powers, Kermit the Frog, Edward Cullen, Loraina Bobbit, George Carlin, Lady Gadiva, Elvis, Captain Kirk, Steven Segal, Bruce Lee, James Bond, Richard Simmons, Brant the bicycle guy, Spongebob Squarepants, Tinkerbell, Moses, Ronald Regan, Cher and that's all I can remember.

The Big 3 0!

Well, it's official: as of January 19th, Kole is no longer in his 20s. Just to rub it in a little I gave him a sympathy card and 10 black balloons (One to mourn each year of the decade of his prime. Years which have come and gone and which he can never get back). I am sure I will be regretting my insensitivity next year when I turn 30.  Nevertheless, I will still always be closer to 20 than him!
Just know I love you, babe.
To celebrate my older yet still handsome hubby finally maturing enough to sit at the grown-up table, I have included some quotes which will make everyone feel so much better about getting older....

"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest." - Father Larry Lorenzoni

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened." —Cora Harvey Armstrong

"Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed." -Charles Schulz

"Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang, 'Happy Birthday.'" -Steven Wright

"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative." -Maurice Chevalier

"Getting old ain't for sissies." -Betty Davis

"I'm at an age when my back goes out more than I do." -Phyllis Diller

"The first forty years of life give us the text: the next thirty supply the commentary." -Arthur Schopenhauer

"When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not." —Mark Twain

“about the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age.” -Gloria Pitzer

"Of late I appear
To have reached that stage
When people who look old
Are only my age." -Richard Armour

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." -Robert Frost

"You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime." -John P. Grier

"Growing old is like being increasingly penalized
for a crime you have not committed." -Anthony Powell

"If we could be twice young and twice old we could correct all our mistakes." -Euripides

"Age is a high price to pay for maturity." -Tom Stoppard

"Call this an unfair generalization if you must, but old people are no good at everything." -Moe, from the Simpsons

Jack Jack Attack

Notice the picture to the right --->

Like I've said before, kids make great slave labor.  Keep scrubbing.

Today, Eve comes up to Jack and orders him to give her a kiss- which he does. She then turns to me and says "Jack's a good kisser! I'm going to marry Jack one day because he's a good kisser." I hope her marriage criteria improves over the next couple decades.

Lately Jack has been thinking he's a big boy and that means he thinks he's ready to start potty-training. I'm not too sure about that but at least he tells me when he has to poo so I can take him to the toilet- which I suppose is really training me more than training him, but atleast it is a start. Last night he told me he needed to go so I took him to the toilet and sat him on the kid seat and told Kole to keep an eye on him and listen for when he says he's done while I worked on something upstairs. Unfortunately, what I didn't realize at the time was Kole hadn't hear a word I said. A few minutes later I hear Kole yelling for me and I come downstairs to find Jack had gotten off the potty and was running around bare-bottom. That's all fine and good except he didn't finish his business on the toilet. It was definitely an unwelcome sight. Luckily he kept most of it in the bathroom but still I wonder why he left a perfectly good toilet and decided a towel would be a better thing to poo on.
Still the situation is better than the time I was changing his bum and he wouldn't hold still to let me get his diaper back on. I got frustrated and decided to let him "air out" for a couple minutes while I went downstairs to do something. When I came back I could tell there was something wrong from the distinctive smell. That's right, there was poo smeared everywhere... all over my chair, the walls, his body from head to toe and my white carpet (which we obviously got before we had kids).  And doesn't it seem like this kind of thing always happens when you are in a hurry to get somewhere?

I love when I catch him in the middle of doing something he shouldn't.  First the look of "oh no, I'm in trouble" crosses his face and then he immediately stops what he's doing and runs up and gives my leg a big kiss- like that will keep him out of trouble.  Admittedly, he must be wise beyond his years because how can I get mad after such cuteness.  Gotta love him. Anyway, here is my picture homage to that darling kid of mine.

Like father like son.

Enjoying the helicopter he got for Christmas.  Still hasn't stoped him from running to the window every time the Life-Flight Heli flies over.

Getting a hair cut from daddy.  I love that boys hair is so easy to do.

 For some reason brushing your teeth is just not exciting enough without some accessories.

 Jack loves my treadmill. He knows how to use it all by himself. If I don't fold it up, he will put the starter magnet where it goes and push start and he will just walk until he's done. It works out rather well for me since winter can be hard to keep the kids from bouncing off the walls.

  That's right, go get really tired.

 Put your bum in the air like you just don't care.

Ravenous

This is what happens when I'm a little slow at getting breakfast for the kids in the morning...

 Right beforehand I remember thinking: it was quiet... too quiet. And then I thought to myself, there is a whole big bag of Marshmallow Mateys cereal sitting on my kitchen counter.  But no, they wouldn't risk getting that... would they?  Sure enough I came downstairs and found my children acting like wild animals consuming a carcass.  I'm just thankful the fridge was locked so they couldn't get the milk. 

I suppose I could have been upset but instead we all just sat down and picked out the marshmallows.  Nice breakfast, I know. 

Happy Birthday 2 You!

Happy Birthday to my little buddy Jack! 2 Years old, going on 20.

I guess time seems to go by more and more quickly, as each year and day and hour and minute becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of your life. Sometimes it feels like it was only two days ago that Jack made his grand entrance into our lives and other times it feels like he's been a part of our family forever. Strange how some feelings can seem completely opposite to each other and yet still be part of the same experience. Even before he was conceived I knew he was supposed to be part of our family- I knew I would have a boy next. Since the beginning, having him in our family has just felt "right."

Just over two years ago I was big, pregnant, miserable and crying hysterically in the bathroom on New Year's Eve because I was so desperate for him to come before the new year (of course the idea of not getting a nice tax break for a whole extra year was just the tipping point). After my little breakdown, Kole thought we might never have any more kids.  Despite the begging and pleading aimed at my belly, my little guy was stubborn and decided not to budge until the 3rd of January. I should have known even back then just what I was getting myself into. Raising him has been, and I am sure will continue to be, a new and surprising and insanely intense experience each day. It has been more fun and more work than I ever expected. Nevertheless, we are all so happy he is in our family... Eve too, even if it is really deep down.  When Eve was born I never thought I would be able to love another child like I love her but somehow it's miraculously possible to love them both and more than I could have ever thought myself capable of.  Ever since the moment I first saw Jack I was totally head over heels in love. As a result, I think my sweet husband often feels like the #2 guy in my life. Poor Kole. It's just one more thing to add to the running list of my spousal abuse and neglect towards him.

Anyways, yesterday, we had a small family celebration: dinner, cake, ice cream, and presents- the norm. Overall, everything was great- despite my extreme lack of planning and making Deb do everything at her house. Thank you to everyone who picked up my slack so my child could have a nice birthday.

Even though it was a party for Jack, we practically left the kids to entertain themselves while everyone else tried to kick eachother's butts on Wii Sports.  Even though Kole and I have been playing our Wii everyday since we got one for Christmas, I still need major practice.  Meanwhile he's playing at a pro level on practically every sport.  The only thing I seem to be good at is getting hurt.  Boy am I sore.  Pretty sad.

I feel like we just got our house in order from all the Christmas presents and once again I am trying to find storage space for the new influx of toys from the birthday.   Did I mention my kids are spoiled?... mostly it's not from us... but from the grandparents. It must be rough being the only grandkids on both sides of the family. Yea, life is good. I am told that one day I will miss the toys strewn all over like a tornado blew through. We'll see.  Hopefully one day we will have a bigger house with more closets and maybe, if I'm really lucky, even a play room and where I can stash all the toys.  Right now everything "kid" goes (or is supposed to go) somewhere in their tiny/shared bedroom and there just never seems to be enough room for everything. Despite my affinity for donating to the DI, more seems to be coming in than going out- especially this time of year. I normally don't think we have a lot until I try to make it all fit.  I've really learned to be organized since we moved into this house.  I find it strangely therputic to get rid of old stuff.  Some women shop, I donate.  And it's especially nice to find ways to guilt my family into donating their stuff too- but it's harder than it sounds.  Somehow we find we all need everything. Hopefully our little house won't end up bursting at the seems. 

I think it's nice that Jack's birthday is just as big an event 9 days from Christmas as it would be six months from now.  Like I said, they are a little spoiled.  He hasn't yet experienced the dual Christmas/birthday gift... and that is good for him even though it's not so good for my storage solutions. 

Jack, we hope you have 100 more years of happy birthdays and that you enjoy every day in-between.  We love you.

Christmas Day Déjà vu

WOW,  can you believe Christmas is over!?!   I always feel a little blue when any day I've been looking forward to is over but it seems doubly so with Christmas. The holiday season is like a whole month (or three months if you're Walmart, or a year if you're some people) of build up and then it's just over in one day. Good thing there is all the fun stuff to play with afterwards because come January, there is nothing to do (unless you ski or snowboard which I am far too out of shape to do anymore).  I can handle the cold and snow for Christmas.  I mean, it helps the season feel traditional and the naturally white washed backdrop of the world is at least enhanced by some sparkly lights.  But in Utah, the snow doesn't stick around just for a white Christmas... no,  it lingers long into March and April and even sometimes May during which it becomes nasty and brown (and some other unappealing colors too) and the bitter cold is just bleak and depressing.  But enough about the next few months of despair. 

When it comes to Christmas I actually love all the anticipation as much as the day itself.  Though I'm sure Kole would disagree.  I know he loves the gifts.  And so it's fun to have an extra big kid around on Christmas day to be as excited and giddy as the little kids.  If only everyone could have seen all their cheery little faces.  But to me, it's not the gifts that make Christmas so special (please don't be offended because I do thank all our family and friends for being so kind and generous.  We were really blessed).  But I feel the specialness comes from the amazing spirit that is everywhere - like the true reason for the season still lives on inside everyone, no matter how deep down it may appear most of the year.  For me, this spirit is practically tangible.  I already miss "the feeling" of Christmas and all that surrounds it. From my perspective, the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas day people are different, a little better, a little kinder, a little more like they should be all year long.  I only hope that I was too.  However, I don't think I have yet mastered the art of fully cherishing the season as much as I should.  I'm sure I complained a little too much about the chaos on the roads and in the stores, or the painful cold, or the mind-boggling struggle to find gifts, or the evaporation of my time, or the amazing depletion of our bank account.  Perhaps in future years I will find a way to really soak up all the blessings of this time of year and find a way to make it feel like the season isn't just flying by with me clinging on for dear life.      

The good thing is, it did feel like we were reliving Christmas morning over and over- probably because we did. First, on Christmas Eve we celebrated and opened gifts with my parents.  We had dinner with them and then went to their church to sing Christmas songs.  Next, on Christmas day we opened gifts at our house with just our little family.  I am amazed at all the mess that is still strewn all over from this one event.  And after bringing home the gifts from our families there is even more to put away- but in our tiny house I am struggling to find a place to put everything.  Anyway, finally we headed to Kole's parents' house and plundered what was left of the presents there.   We also had brunch with even more family members and listened to Kole's brothers "play" rock band on PS2.  I have an embarrassing video involving Kole and Damion and a "No Doubt" song but I decided not to release it on the web.   You both should thank me.  No worries though, there are other pics of everyone here which are equally awkward.  Anyways, good times all around.  We all got sooooo spoiled- not just the kids.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our families.  You all made our Christmas so special and we love you all very very much. 

Here are some moments in time from our Christmas.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that your new year is all you are hoping for.

Have an amazing 2010.

Interesting

So, yesterday I had to have a minor surgery and was put under anesthesia for the first time in my life. (Don't worry. I am doing fine. All is well.) But it was a very strange experience. I don't know exactly what I thought it would be like, but I would say it was different than what I expected. I am still pretty loopy today so if this post doesn't make sense, that is probably why. They told me I shouldn't drive or make any big decisions for the next 24 hours and they probably should have said not to send things out into cyberspace which can never be taken back. Oh well. Anyways, before the surgery I remember being wheeled into the surgical room and laying there as the anesthesiologist told me he was giving me the stuff to knock me out. I asked how long it would take and he said about ten seconds and jokingly told me to try to fight it. So I started to count to ten in my head and when I got to ten I still wasn't out yet so I felt rather proud of myself (as if I could will myself to stay awake). That stupid feeling must have lasted about one more second because the next thing I know I am back in the recovery room in the middle of a conversation with Kole and my doctor. It's weird that I don't remember waking up. And I find it more than a little strange that I was talking and asking questions and I don't even remember it. The doctor had to tell me things over and over again. Kole says I said some pretty funny stuff- which I won't mention in my blog. I'm embarrassed. Evidently, when I started to come to, the doctor told me I could roll over and talk to Kole but instead I told the doctor "He's not that interesting." I just have to laugh. Poor Kole. That had to dent his ego. The doctor said they must have put some truth serum in the anesthesia but for the life of me I cannot remember why I thought my husband was so boring. I think it will be a long running joke for us. Now he asks me things like "how can I be more interesting for you? If I took up juggling while riding a unicycle, would that make me interesting? And every time I tell him he's funny or strange or something, he replies "... but not interesting." Kole says if I ever have to be put under again he's going to grill me to find out how I really feel about things. I guess maybe he'll get some answers that even I didn't know I felt.

P.S. A very big thank you goes out to Dr. Noorda for taking such good care of me and being ever so patient through my groggy babbling. He's such a good doctor and I really appreciate everything.

Don't we look festive?

Well, the Christmas season is in full swing and that means it is time to attempt a family picture for my Christmas cards. This year, Kole's mom Deb took our pictures. Some years are more successful than others. My own attempts are usually pitiful. This year went pretty well. At least we had a few smiles and it didn't end in tears. That's always a good sign.

Anyway, I am sending out my cards to as many family and friends as I can this week. If you do not get one by the end of the week, this does not mean we have forgotten you or don't love you. Chances are I do not have an updated address for you. Email me at KristyLynnNielsen@hotmail.com and I will gladly send you a card to treasure all season long- until you throw it away before the new year rolls around. I know how it is and I'm not offended. And if you are environmentally friendly, you can just look at the picture highlights below.

Finally a family picture where we are all looking at the camera and smiling. I am amazed. I could practically hear the Hallelujah chorus sounding in the background. Jack has been here almost 2 years and this is the first such picture. This is what is going on our Christmas card. Sorry to spoil the surprise.

Almost good enough for a Christmas card... I guarantee it would have made the cut in years past.
Kole and I rarely get pictures of just the two of us together because who wants to see pictures of us old fogies when the kiddos are so cute. But it is actually nice when I look at us together and remember that I am married to my husband, not my kids. Maybe one day we will look back and think we looked pretty good. That's a big maybe. It is strange to see both of us in the same picture since one of us is usually wielding the camera and trying to get the kids hold still for just one second.

Bribing with suckers made the smiles flow more freely.

Poor Jack, tortured by his sister all the time. Don't trust her innocent looking face. Like she doesn't have the evidence hidden right behind her back.

All tangled up... if only I could keep him restrained.

I guess this means he's had enough. We couldn't get the lights off quick enough.

Have a fun and happy and safe and peaceful and white and wonderful and warm and fuzzy and everything else holiday season. And remember, the joy of the season is not in the presents but in His presence.