Christmas morning - part I - epic fight

Santa left us an arsenal of nerf guns for Christmas. We were so lucky to have my sister Nancie and Ryan's brother Aaron here to join in the epic fight.

Patriots and cupcakes

Guess who is Patriot of the Month? That's right Jack!!! Jack is in first grade this year at Plantation and because he is the awesome student that he is he was awarded Patriot of the Month and they give out this cool shirt that the child gets to wear all month (of course only on Fridays because of the uniform dress code)

By the way my other awesome child Payton was Patriot of the Month last month but there was a shirt mix up and he never got to wear the shirt hence the no picture of my #1 son Payton in his Patriot shirt. Friday morning is the traditional Nelson Pancake breakfast day so of course Jack wanted a "P" for Patriot of the month pancake. So the wonderful mother that I am I made a "P" which Jack promptly told me needed the hole cut out because otherwise it just looked like a hockey stick and was not really a "P". So here is Jack with this hole cut out "P"

I made cupcakes today too. I know --- you are probably wondering how does she do it all? So I made cupcakes today to give to our amazing ENT doctor Dr. Eldredge. We were lame and missed an appointment last week for the boys so I thought delicious cupcakes would be nice as a peace offering. I made Triple chocolate and my new creation Snickerdoodle which she called later to thank me and tell me how delightful they were. I so wish I had the money to open a Sugar Mama Sweets branch here in Louisiana. My sister's are doing pretty fabulous at their shop in AZ and I am so excited for them. But until I win the lottery in which I do not play I will settle for making tasty treats out of my home.

As I was making the cupcakes Ben kept asking for "sugar" because he knows I can't ignore how completely adorable he is. And of course I had to take pictures of him making a mess with the batter.

Back in Black

Sleeping beauty

Ben's new thing when you tell him to go to sleep. I'm not sure if he thinks he's fooling us or not but he does think its pretty funny.

How would you describe yourself

Conversations around our dinner table are always interesting. Ryan often asks the boys what they did at recess or who they sat by at lunch. As the kids describe who they played with or who they sat with it sounds a little like this.


Jack: I sat next to "so and so" and " so and so"
Ryan: What's "so and so like"?
Jack: That's the boy with the skinny head

Or try this one on for size

Payton: I played kick ball with "whozit" and "whatzit"
Me: Oh is "whozit" one of your good friends?
Payton: No he's the kid that acts like a cat and can do the wave with his unibrow

This brings the question to mind, What kind of kids are my children going to school with and maybe a more important question is how are my children being described by their classmates?

Conversations with Jack

Conversation between Jack and I
Preface: We had been working out in the yard that afternoon, I just got out of the shower and had to go to the grocery store


Jack: Mom, do you have makeup on?
Me: Yes Jack I do
Jack: Well I can't see it
Me: I just didn't put that much on
Jack: I like when you have as much as when you go to work
Me: Ok thanks
Jack: Mom you need to put more makeup on
Me: I'm not going to put more on Jack
Jack: It would make me feel better if you put more on mom
Me: It would make you feel better?
Jack: I could put your makeup on for you......... I could make you look like a clown

My sweet Jack is always concerned with what I'm wearing and how my makeup looks. I'm not real sure about the clown comment.

Dance Dance Evolution

For some reason Ben loves the music from the Jim Rome show. You may remember a previous post with him dancing to the same music a couple months ago. Just wanted to show how his dancing has evolved. I may mention he is a little eclectic in his taste for music. The other day Ryan put on the Lawrence Welk show and he loved that too. Hmmmmm.......

Who was watching that child

I'm honestly surprised this hasn't happened sooner. I was reading books to Ben this morning and sent him into the library to get another book. A few seconds later I walked in and saw him applying his make up for the day. As you can see he is very pleased with himself and was extremely upset when I cleaned it off. Thank you to the creator of washable markers!!!!!

Mardi Gras 2010

This year for Mardi Gras Ryan's parents and brother Aaron came to visit. Good times!!! The kids loved having their grandparents and uncle here and loved going to the parades. Even better - they had the whole week off of school - the people here in Louisiana sure take partying seriously. It was crazy cold but we still had a blast! I keep the invitation open -- we are always happy to have visitors. Mark your calendar now next year Mardi Gras is March 8!!!!!



Disclaimer: I did make a slideshow but for some reason it wasn't working so I just downloaded all the pictures seperately. Enjoy!

Mom stuff

Just thinking of how much I love being a mother to these three beautiful boys

Wink wink

The other day the boys were teaching Ben how to wink. I think he almost has it figured out

Don't be a hater

In case you are reading this in between trips to the bathroom where you can't decide which end needs the porcelain god more ........ I am sorry. Who knows how many people from Louisiana to Arizona are enjoying this wonderful stomach bug at the hands of the Nelsons. All I can say is I'm glad I got to visit all my family and hopefully when you are done cursing my name you will be glad I visited too. I leave with an open invitiation to come visit me anytime ..... I won't even care if I get sick.

Play that funky music white boy

Is there anything cuter than this? I submit that there is not!

A little preoccupied

So I've had a few people mention I again have been missing from the blog world and "why haven't I posted anything lately". I know I still need to post about Benjamin's birthday and Halloween and the cute things Ben has been doing lately ........ the list goes on an on. But I thought I would post a little something about why I have been so busy lately.

We moved into the new house. And I really LOVE this house. I know I have my work cut out for me. It needs a little work - just cosmetic - but I'm real excited about doing all of that. At first we had issues with the kids completely adjusting but I think they really like their new house too and their new school. So needless to say I still have a bazillion boxes everywhere to sort through so I will only post outside photos for now.

Front view


Side view of driveway - carport curves to the right and the small building is a workshop (500-600 sq ft) which we hope to someday convert to a little apartment

Back view of the house with an awesome huge covered porch


Back yard has an adorable playhouse for the kids which by the way has electricity and air conditioning.

Do you want to come over and play?

They say its your birthday

Tuesday was Jacks 6th Birthday. In celebration of his birthday -- school was cancelled. Actually it was parent teacher conference day but he still got the day off.

Birthday waffles - wish I could say that they were lovingly homemade. I did however think loving thoughts as I warmed them in the toaster


One of the gifts Grandma Mikey sent. Can you tell Jack enjoys having his picture taken

Jacks Birthday wish was to eat and play with a rat so on to Chuck E Cheese

This of course was not at the top of my list of favorite places but hey you only turn 6 once and the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves

Back home for cake and icecream - Good Times



Our family certainly would not be the same without this little boy. He has brought much joy and entertainment . And who could resist those beautiful blue eyes!

My Jack -- I love you!

Homecoming - GEAUX CAJUNS!

Yesterday was ULL Homecoming. We decided to go to the parade on campus and had a REALLY good time. Apparently not too many people realized that this was going on - you can see we had no problem finding a place along the street all to ourselves. Of course here in Louisiana people throw beads even when its not Mardi Gras. Jack has never really experienced Mardi Gras since he was just a few months old when we left. He kept talking about how great it was and asked if Mardi Gras was like this parade. We assured him that it was going to be even better.

They also threw candy and I'm pretty sure we have enough that we won't need to buy any for Halloween

Featuring the ULL Band but even more entertaining were the floats with the Sorority's and Fraternity's. They had music blasting and the floats were bouncing and apparently the music we listened to in Jr High and High School is making a comeback. Maybe its just because they are classics.
Here we are loaded down with beads and Jack holding the flag that the cheerleaders threw to him

Can you tell what Payton's favorite catch was

The kids with the loot

OK yes I am a dental hygienist and yes that is my almost one year old with a sucker in his mouth -- it made him really happy (and quiet)

THE END

All in all a really good time. The weather was fabulous and the parade lasted almost an hour - perfect for kids.

Can't wait til Mardi Gras and bigger and better parades. We welcome visitors!

We've got a climber

I know its a little dark at first but I think you can see the problem we have here. The ladder no longer stays in the upright position --- the kid has no fear. Of course it doesn't help that the older brothers are cheering him on.

I'm beating you at mother of the year

Jack: Mom can I have a drink of your soda?

Me: No

Payton: Can I have a drink of your soda

Me: No

Payton: Why?

Me: Because I'm being selfish

Payton: I thought you were allergic to shellfish

Me: I'm being selfish not shellfish - it means I don't want to share

A few minutes later I was presented with a picture that Jack drew with "No (a picture of a fish)" and a frowny face which Jack informed me was him

Double Digits

It's hard to believe that my #1 is 10. I wish I could say I remember it like it was yesterday but I can't --- my memory isn't all that great. I have swiss cheese for brains. Unfortunately I can't remember every detail of his 10 years. All I know is that it seems like I blink and he get's older and seems to change everyday.

I do know that I'm glad that I have been given the opportunity to be this boy's mother. I have learned a lot from him and he amazes me every day. He has been such a blessing to Ryan and I. For the first few years of his life we worried so much about him and his health. He overcame those early ailments and has grown into such a magnificent little man. He is a wonderful older brother and always so helpful.

Payton I am so glad you are mine!!

Happy Decade!