Cub Scout Uniform, Bell Choir Practice

Last Friday Nico woke up okay and ate breakfast, but right before school complained of a tummy ache. Friday was his holiday concert, and he didn't want to miss it, but he told me he needed to stay home because he felt so sick. He seemed very tired, too.

A few hours later, he felt fine! But the tummy ache came and went that day. Evelyn came over for dinner that night and they had a lot of fun.

He woke up Saturday morning and I have this joke I play with him, "Would you rather have oatmeal, or pancakes?" (He doesn't like oatmeal). But when I asked him that on Saturday morning he said "Uhhhh... I'm not hungry." You know it's serious when he turns down pancakes! He didn't eat much that day, and had some diarrhea, and the next day he was halfway better. He skipped school on Monday because he wasn't 100%.

While Nico was home on Monday, Allicia lent us a bunch of movies and activities for Nico to do since she knew he was staying home. He watched movies in his bed all day long. My old computer wasn't working so I moved the touch-screen into his bed. He loved it. He wasn't this close to the screen all day, don't worry! He mostly leaned back on his huge spider man pillow and dangled his legs over the side of his bed. He got some serious resting in. He didn't get dressed until 3pm.

On Tuesday he woke up and said, "Hey! My tummy doesn't hurt when I stand up anymore!" Sweet! Off to school he went.

We've been keeping the tradition of doing advent candles every night before bed. 

On Tuesday I went to the Boy Scout store and bought Nico his uniform. Cub Scouts was Tuesday night.

Check this boy out!

Even though Guy wasn't feeling well, he valiantly took Nico to Cub Scouts on Tuesday evening. They handed out Pinewood Derby cars, they are doing a race in January!

Guy got sick, too, but it was different. He was exhausted with a fever for a few days, but nothing else, it was very strange. He is feeling better now though! 

Nico is in the bell choir at church, and they are doing their performance this Sunday. This Sunday is also the day of the Christmas play. We went to the church tonight for practice. 

Guy has been going to play practice almost every night this week because he is the sound man. He brought home a keyboard for me, so I could practice the song I'm playing in the Christmas Eve Service.

We've been wrapping presents over here, and putting some under the tree. Nico wrapped a handful too, I showed him how to put ribbon on a package. 

He accidentally saw one of the gifts I bought for him. Ooooops. 

I suppose that's it for tonight. Tomorrow Nico has a half-day and we are welcoming Grandpa and Grandma Russell into town! 

Until next time!

The Watershed, and Parent Teacher Conferences!

Nico didn't have any school on Friday, so him and I and my mom ventured out to a market in Caldwell that we'd never been to before - Cliff's Country Market. They had so much gluten free stuff! We will go back there before Thanksgiving to buy a gluten free apple pie, and rolls, and stuffing cubes. While we were there we bought some gluten free bread and snacks, and a few new flavors of Zevia (the most common soda brand in our house these days!)

Friday night we made hamburgers again (Crabby Patties). Nico has decided that he wants to open a burger joint when he gets older. He's working on the menu right now, coming up with all kinds of different names for burgers. It will be called the Diamond ... uh... forgot the last word. Oh yes! Diamond Dominion. There will be the Diamond Patty, and Hot Diamond, and a bunch of other types of burgers. There will even be one with 4 patties on it. And one with a patty on top of the top bun.

On Saturday, Guy took Nico to the Watershed. They learned about what happens to toilet water once it gets flushed. Ew! He also got to hold a snake? This is a python!

Then Saturday evening was the Halloween Chess Tournament. Evelyn joined him. Evelyn was a dinosaur in an egg! Everyone was really impressed with her costume :)

Coach Vellotti handing out trophies. Nico got 1st place in his division. He played 4 games and won 2 of them. Evelyn was in a different division.

All the chess kids from Adams Elementary!

On Tuesday we had our friend Brianna come over for dinner. Wednesday was Nico's Parent Teacher Conference. We took him with us and he played on the playground while Guy and I went in to talk to his teacher. She said that Nico is great, of course! He is excelling in Science and Math. She says he can see problems and understands them quickly. He is struggling with paying attention and getting distracted easily. We've noticed this being more of a problem recently, as well. His teacher was also concerned about him during his recent stretch of tummy aches. She said we could bring in an essential oil roller bottle and can bring in any kind of gluten free snacks that he can eat when the other kids might be having a snack he can't eat. She intuitively didn't let him have any of the gluten free cookies I provided her, ever since that week that he was struggling with his tummy. She said without prompting that she knows that the wrong foods can play a big role in tummy aches. She emphasized that Nico is a very kind and smart boy but is having trouble being all that he could be because of his trouble with being distracted. I sure love his teacher! She is so kind and seemed genuinely interested in working with us to do everything we can to help him! Guy and I will sit down this weekend to talk over some things. It will likely include: less sweets (oh no Halloween!), less iPad, more activity, and more of a commitment to essential oils and supplements (we've been lax...) And, more prayer. His next doctor appointment is in 2 weeks so I'll bring this up to her then.

This morning I took him over to my parents' house for Grandma Camp! He has no school today and tomorrow. Guy picked him up from their house tonight to take Nico to the Corn Maze at the Farmstead farm. Our church was meeting there to do the corn maze tonight. Unfortunately they have been there since 6:30 and have not seen anyone from the church! Sure hope we got the day right! Hehe.

Guy sent me these pictures just now:

I think Nico is playing "9 Square" in this photo.

That's it for this past week!

Birthday and a Boo Bash!

Friday after school Nico and I went on an hour long bike ride on the greenbelt. Nico brought home an activity calendar from school and you can color in a star every time you spend 30 minutes exercising. If you fill in all the stars you get a free pass to Wahooz.

For dinner that night we made "Crabby Patties", Spongebob style. Nico even put onion and tomato on his burger because that's how you actually make one on the Spongebob show! Eating Crabby Patties while watching Spongebob, we thought it was appropriate :)

While we were over at Grandma and Papa's house last Tuesday, while Nico was home from school sick, he discovered a drawing book in their living room that Rory must have left there. He practiced drawing from it, and when we got home that afternoon he gave me cash so that I could purchase him a similar drawing book from Amazon. It arrived on Friday! Here he is drawing.

Saturday was Guy's birthday! We went to Touch-A-Truck in the morning. Nico got to sit in a lot of different kinds of trucks.

After that we went for a little walk on the greenbelt, we hit the post office and the library.

Nico wanted to catch a leaf that was falling from a tree. We found some trees that were dropping lots of leaves, and he caught one!

That evening we made pizza and watched Matilda downstairs in the basement because Jeff and Allicia and the kiddos were out of town. Then we cut Guy's birthday cake and ate a few pieces of that! If you remember, we were trying to get to the bottom of Nico's tummy aches. We went a few days without one, we pulled all sugar out of his diet. On Saturday night we let him have a piece of Guy's cake, and the tummy ache came back! So we know sugar is involved somehow!

On Tuesday we went to visit GG and Aunt Pat. Melody was there and Nico brought out the US map that he had brought with him and they looked at that together for a while.

After leaving GG's house, we stopped at the Farmstead. We met Guy there, and Jeff and Allicia and the kiddos. First stop was the huge inflatable monster maze. 

Then tonight was the Boo Bash at Nico's school. He is going to be a ninja again this year for Halloween. Yes this is the THIRD year Nico is wearing his ninja costume! That was quite a good investment! Not that it cost much.. he he.  Here he is walking with Ivy.

Nico won the cake walk on his first time. Apparently Evelyn won the cake walk on her first time, too. It was a strange coincidence. Nico picked out these purple spider web gluten free cupcakes. Evelyn picked out a spider cake! Evelyn was standing on #1, Nico was standing on #2. Not at the same time, they had to be in different rooms because the 3rd - 6th graders were separate.

It's tradition... eat some of the cake you won at the cake walk this very night!

That's it for this week!