The Birthday Party

Finally, it was Colin’s turn to shine.  Last Sunday, we threw Colin an honest-to-goodness birthday party, with all his friends invited and everything.  It was the first time we had done such a thing for Colin.  Usually, for his birthday, we have a quiet celebration at home, possibly along with a Happy Meal at McDonald’s.  Since Colin was turning five, however, we felt it was time he had a real birthday party, especially since he had been to so many parties for his friends.  In general, Colin does not like

The Battle Begins Again

In two days, the battle begins again.  When Colin turned three, I gave a valiant effort, only to be thwarted by Colin’s stubbornness.  When Colin turned four, I barely gave up a fight.  In two days, however, when Colin turns five, I intend to win by any means necessary!  Those band-aids I wrapped around Colin’s thumb when he turned three were nothing compared to what I’m going to do to him now.  This thumb-sucking must end once and for all!  I’m going with the shock and awe approach.  No more band-aids, I’m going with

Birthday Parties

This Sunday was spent taking Colin to yet another birthday party.  Last year, Colin’s class only had ten kids, so party opportunities were few.  This year Colin is in the big class with 20 kids, so who knows how many more parties are on the horizon.  Colin usually enjoys these parties quite a bit, so I guess I don’t mind taking him that much.  What’s more work, however, is having to

A Week of Fun

It’s so nice when every morning, the only thing I had to think about was the best way to have fun.  I didn’t have to worry about getting the kids to school or rushing to a work meeting.  Having fun was the only goal last week.  That was my first out-of-town vacation in over two-and-a-half years, so it was long overdue.  Though it was really more of Colin’s vacation, who dictated where we were going and what we were doing most of the time, I still enjoyed the vacation immensely.  In summary, it was three days of Legoland and two days of SeaWorld.  Colin probably had more fun than me, but I think every parent would agree,

Off to San Diego

Anywhere in the world, I asked him.  Colin has the week off from school next week and I asked him where he wanted to visit.  The answer, not surprisingly, was San Diego.  Legoland remains his favorite destination.  When we were living in Los Angeles, I was all for it.  Now Legoland is quite a drive away.  I tried to convince Colin to visit Disneyland instead, which would shave two hours off the drive.  Plus, I really like Disneyland.  Everything there is so clean and organized.  And, not that a high bar is set, but I think they have the tastiest food for a theme park.  But no, Colin insisted on Legoland, and