Colin's Birthday

Colin turned ten on the 21st of April.  I realized that in just two short years he will be twelve.  Are you joking me?!!!!! Twelve?!!!  Though I realize I have been married for almost twelve years, I have more lines around my eyes, more wrinkles on my hands(this is only because I wash so many darn dishes)and other things I won't mention, I still can't believe my baby is quite nearly a teenager. 

This is what Colin got for his birthday this year.  The new generation rip stik.  Even though he loves it and it seems it is glued to his feet, I'm sure he wishes it was a motorcycle. Sorry Colin.

This is the icecream cake I made,( yes I Made)for Colin's birthday.  For some reason my pictures look filmy dirty like.  I think the lens must be dirty. Sorry.  As you can see we forgot to take the cake out of the freezer so it could thaw slightly before cutting. Whoops!  The cake was a hit.  Just what Colin asked for.  Infact, he helped me to make it.

He also lit his own candles.

I don't know if you remember being 3, Colin, but I remember.  We thought you were absolutely the cutest kid ever.  We thought you were the cutest baby ever.  I remember constantly saying," oh, he is sooo cute.  he is just so cute."  We wanted another one just like you.  I kept telling you not to grow up, but you wouldn't listen.  You were never very good at listening.  I love you Colin.

I guess you can't stay little forever.

Things I know about Colin:  he has gorgeous blue eyes. He is sensitive.  Probably doesn't want to admitt that.  He thinks a lot.  I mean he really just thinks about things.  Why are things the way that they are?  He just wants to know.  He sings well.  He wants to be an astronaut.  When he was little he wanted to be a builder.  He still loves to build things.  Anything.  He can put any lego set together in about 2 seconds.  He has great motor skills.  He can assemble any peice of furniture that I bring home in a box.  He collects all sorts of odds and ends in order to invent whatever he can think of.  He loves to cook and he is really good at it.  He can cook and bake almost anything.  I mean that.  He knows his way around in a kitchen unlike any other 10 year old.  He likes to be clean.  Can't stand dirty hands or clothes or anything of the sort.  He is a good friend.  Hope the next 10 years are equally great.

NANNY

I have a live in nanny. She is highly qualified and she loves her job. Infact, she will fight you to the death if you try to take it from her. Here she demonstrates how to properly place the baby in the car seat.

WHAT!!!!???????????

And just when you think your day is actually going to go pretty smoothly.....

some fun

Since I couldn't seem to get the pictures from our trip to Zion on my last post, I'm trying it again.

A Day In The Park

Yesterday was the first day that Josh had off of work in about two months. Maybe more. Well, he did take a few days for spring break, but other than that we get to talk for about two seconds after we get the kids to bed. We are so tired we can't ever get to a conclusion on anything we are talking about. So when he woke up Saturday morning and said he didn't think he would have to go into the office.... I was so excited. I thought it would be great to take a spontaneous trip to Zion National Park for a picnic by the river. Josh went for a bike ride in the morning with a couple of friends. While he was off galavanting around, Celine and I dipped some strawberries in chocolate for the picnic. I also made some fantastic banana bread for the trip due to the fact that I had very ripe bananas. Josh got home, I went for a run, I got home, we loaded the car, mostly with children, then off we went. It was the best day I have had in a long time. The weather was more than perfect. The kids didn't fight the entire day. We ate lunch at a park on the river just outside of Zion's gates. We stayed there for a couple of hours while the kids explored whatever they could. We all took naps on the blanket. Or something like a nap. Even Roxie completely enjoyed herself. The older children just can't get enough of Roxie. It is so much fun to see. Celine is like having a live in nanny. She does so much to help with Roxie from changing diapers to feeding to putting her down for a nap. Oh, and the best is that she puts her in her car seat when it is time to go. I love it! This ofcourse does not mean I want 10 more. It just means Celine is great.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

1. Yesterday I carried Luke(3) in from the car to the house due to the fact that he had no shoes on. When I am in a hurry I just send him to the car without shoes. Bad parenting. Anyway, while carring him tho the house I gave him a kiss on the check and told him I loved him. He took his soft little hands and placed them on my checks... gave me the sweetest little kiss and said,"I love you too."

2. So we were finishing up homework.. I make that sound like an easy task. Trust me, homework time is no piece of cake. Mac(5, kindergarten) throws this out," So and So was having lunch by me today and she had koolaid and fruit snacks. I told her that the only thing in that was sugar and food coloring. Smart boy.

3. Celine(8) asked me to spot her in doing a gymnastic trick. She does gymnastics by the way. My mind quickly went back to when I was Celine's age. My friend Lisa and I would turn on the music in the living room and dance and dance and do all sorts of totally awsome gymnastic tricks. We rocked. Now I am helping Celine do really amazing things. What happened to the time? I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but I would probably pull 10 to 15 muscles if I even attempted a cartwheel.

4. A clean organized house. Just about impossible.

Cup Cake Mania

I just completed making 90 cupcakes without taking one single little lick off a spoon, beater, bowl, measuring cup, or anything else that had batter on it. I am on the "Master Cleanse" a.k.a. the "Lemon Juice Diet." Day two and proud of it. I had to make the cupcakes for a school thing a ma jig. I don't even know what it is for... I have to put in 40 hours of volunteer work per school year so that my children can attend The George Washington Academy Charter School.

Something hit me the other day. I got a call from the school asking if I was Mrs Watson. Ya ya ya , of course. The women on the other end tells me that my son just passed out at school. What!!!? She continues to tell me about it and that she wants to take him straight to the emergency room at the hospital. The entire time my heart is racing and all I can think is, "which son?" Not that one would be better than the other(well, that depends on the day.) She tells me it's Colin. I drop everything and I mean everything to meet her at the hospital. Turns out he is perfectly fine... atleast so far. While nothing really serious came out of this, I realized that it could have. No one is exempt from sorrow and pain. To think about something bad happening to one of my children is more than I can take, but life is far from over and who knows what the years will bring. So while I am yelling at children to stay out of my way so I can finally finish this last task of the day, making cupcakes, I am thankful. I am so so thankful for all of it.