Zig-A-Zig, Ahh!

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to see the Spice Girls at Staples Center. I have to say that it was AWESOME!! No one went to that show to hear the powerful vocal talents of these 5 British beauties (they all looked amazing!)...oh no, we went to be a part of the spectacle that is Spice World! I will bet you that not one person walked out of that venue disappointed. From Posh Spice's Madonna/RuPaul walk down the stage's catwalk to Scary Spice pulling some dude from the audience and gyrating all over him...magnificent. You all know my taste in music, so of course I knew every word of every song and I belted them out along with the other 20 year olds in the crowd...that's right, you read me, 20 year olds (I averaged my age with my companions last night). Oh, did I mention that I was with two 17 year olds and a 15 year old? Not important. What IS important is that I let all of you people know how fun this concert was. Even those of you who mock me would have had fun...you wouldn't have admitted it, but you would have been highly entertained. I was a little envious of the fact that these women were being paid ridiculous amounts of money to "sing" and prance around in gorgeous Roberto Cavalli clothing, but my envy could not overpower the teenager-like glee that was bubbling inside me. I loved how the concert opened, I loved how it ended and I loved everything in between. If I had the money, I would go again tomorrow. Girl Power!!

Kids Love Churros!

Churro kids
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

So we went to the wonderful Montrose Christmas Parade on Saturday night and it was freezing! This isn't just California wussy style freezing, either -- it was like 45 degrees! I bought Kate a churro and soon found out that Jack wanted some, too. Who am I to deprive my 9 1/2 month old baby of the sugary sweet goodness that is a churro? Of course he loved it and didn't want it to leave his mouth! Nothing like getting your kids all hopped up on sugar at 6:00 pm to keep them from complaining about the cold! Hooray for churros!

The First Step - 5K

Proud of Mommy
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

So I guess I'm really doing this marathon thing. Thanksgiving was a training day for me, so I decided to run the annual Run for the Hungry 5K in La Canada. I had no idea how different it would be to run on the street, not the treadmill. The biggest difference - slight hills. My butt started burning right away! The most important thing is that I finished. I was pretty proud of myself and I had the best cheerleading squad around! Next up, another 5K in December.

Finally 4!

Check out my new scooter!
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Wow - this picture makes me a little teary. What happened to my baby? This picture was taken on Kate's 4th birthday (she got the rockin' scooter from Aunt Jana). That morning, I pulled out the pictures and showed her the day she was born -- it seems like just yesterday. I never would have believed that I could have such a beautiful little girl, but here she is. I'm a lucky Mommy. Happy Birthday, Kate!

The Princess and Her Court

The Princess and Her Court
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Happy 4th Birthday Kate! This was the scene on Saturday night as Kate celebrated her 4th birthday (which is actually today). All the girls were decked out in their best princess gear to help the birthday princess check off another year. It was absolutely adorable to see all these little girls dancing in their gowns -- and Miss Amanda taught them a cute princess dance that they later performed for all the parents. It was a wonderful night.

The Dude

Look at my little Dude. Jack is the cutest little guy in the whole entire world. I was at work yesterday and I got an email titled "Hi Mommy". When I opened it up, this was what I saw. It made my day. Work totally sucks but this is what I get to go home to! If that wasn't enough, I also get super hugs from Kate and love & support from the world's best husband. Life isn't so bad after all.

My Surreal Parenting Moment

So I'm totally having a surreal moment right now. It's Saturday morning, I'm playing castle with Kate and we're watching Disney's Aladdin. While we're playing, I'm quoting almost every line of the movie in my head and it's taking me back to high school -- yeah, you heard me, high school. For some strange reason, we all loved the movie Aladdin in 12th grade and we would watch it all the time -- and we weren't dorks doing this. Needless to say, we watched it so much that the dialog and songs are forever burned into my memory -- this movie brings back strong memories of high school for me. So how do you think it feels to have my 4-year old daughter sitting on my lap watching the movie or dancing to the songs while I sing along? Super strange! We even played parts and sang 'Whole New World' to each other (she was stroking my face during the song). That was super weird because that song kind of reminds me of a high school crush! I guess the moral of this story is that it's really odd getting old. I'm sure I'll experience these moments more and more as my kids get older and start going through the things that I did -- I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, though.