1. Nick was born on Sept 30, 1997. It was a Tuesday.

2. Nick weighed 7 pounds and 7ounces when he was born and was 20 1/2 inches long.

3. We named him Nicholas Shaun. Shaun is Adam's middle name and we both really liked the name Nicholas.

4. When he was 13 months old we moved from FL to NJ where we lived for the next 4 years. On the drive to NJ, we stopped to watch John Glenn return to space!

5. Nick was in private kindergarten when we left NJ but was not old enough for kindergarten when we got to FL so he stayed home with me and his brother for one more year.

6. Nicholas has wanted to be a scientist when he grows up since he was about 4 years old. Over the years that has not changed. The only thing that has changed over the years was the things he wants to invent. It has gone from dinners in a gumball to a machine that will allow him not to die.

7. Nick is what you would refer to as an "old soul". He is older than his years in so many ways. I was like that as a child so I guess it is only natural that one of the boys would be that way.

8. Nicholas is one of the most sensitive kids around. He takes things to heart and very seriously. The concepts of life and death are always on his mind. He will ask me constantly about my grandparents who died when he was little and cry when he listens to stories about them.

9. He is forever the thinker! Inquisitive to the point of pestering annoyance sometimes!!! He needs to know everything. "Hey Mom, how do you think this rock was formed? And how might it have gotten here? Do you know mom???" And he must know things most kids might not ask someone.....like in the middle of our family vacation while swimming in the pool with my Dad he decided it would be a great time to bombard Grandpa with some questions, "So, you and Grandma Kathy got divorced. Why??? Do you love her still? How does Granny Morgan (my step-mom) feel about you being divorced?" My poor father was shocked!

10. Nick is tall like his Dad. He is almost as tall as me. By the end of next year I will be looking up at him yelling at him to clean his room. We wear the same sock and shoe size rght now. His father has a size 13 shoe so I know there will be much larger sizes to come from Nick!

11. He is a geek at heart. Not much athletic ability in him other than his endurance. He loves to be inside the house watching TV, movies, doing art projects, but mostly playing games on his Gameboy, the Wii, his Playstation or online on the computer. He is pretty awesome at them I must admit, but I would love to see him get out more.

12. He really likes bowling! We are trying to get him signed up for a league or something. He also likes checkers and wants to learn to play chess.

13. At 2 1/2 months old.....

And at 9 years old.....

Happy 10th Birthday Nicholas!!!!!!

1. My FIRST born will be 10 years old next week on the 30th! OMG time flies!

2. My FIRST grade in school lower than a B was in 7th grade Home Ec when I received a D mainly for goofing around with friends instead of working and not doing homework. My father saw that D and said "I sure hope that is an oddly shaped 'O' for outstanding and not a 'D'!" Think it made a difference to him that technically it was a D+?

3. Jacob and Matthew's FIRST words were "Mama." Nick and Alex's FIRST words were "Dada."

4. My FIRST kiss was in sixth grade at a party.

5. My FIRST time hearing "I Love You" from Adam is still etched in my memory like it was yesterday.

6. My FIRST trip to Disney World happened in 1986. My mother, father, myself and my sister drove down from NJ along with my uncle, his wife at the time and my cousin. We stayed at Fort Wilderness Cabins. I got a Disney splatter hat and a Figment doll as souvenoirs.

7. I was 17 when I attended my FIRST year of college which had its drawbacks since I was not yet an adult.

8. I got my FIRST (an only right now anyway) tattoo when I turned 18. Its a dolphin on my very low abdomen area below my hip. My Midwife delivering my oldest son joked that "Flipper turned into Shamu" while I was pregnant.

9. I got highlights on my hair for the FIRST time in 2004. It was the first time (and only so far) I ever put any kind of coloring in my hair and I was terrified.

10. My FIRST car was a burgundy 1984 Chrysler Laser Turbo. It was such a piece of junk but I thought I was so cool in my wheels! LOL

11. The FIRST poem I ever had published was in 1991 in a Poetry Annual Contest for teens and I wrote it about the Gulf War. It was called "A Lonely Soldier's Cry".

12. My FIRST time away from my kids longer than 2 nights was a 7 night cruise Adam and I taken in August 2004 for our anniversary. It turned into a 10 night cruise though due to the hurricanes around that time!

13. My FIRST time lying to my parents as a child is something I won't ever forget. I was about 10 and I had told my mother that I had done something she wanted me to do which it was obvious I hadn't done and she was arguing this with me. My father stepped in and said to me that if I say I did it, then there would be no question to it since he and my mother would always believe what I told them 100% without fail because they loved me enough to know that I would be truthful with them. So he would only ask me once and that would be the end of it. Did I complete Mom's assigned task? I started to shake my head yes but couldn't fight back the tears. Then I confessed while bawling my eyes out. To this day I still feel bad thinking of it. And I know I will use it one day on my kids too!

1. I have an interview tomorrow for a full time job at the hospital and I am stressing about what to wear to it. I have a gift card to JCPenney's I am wondering if I should use, but then I think it may come in handy if I get the job for actual new work clothes instead.

2. I am also already crunching numbers on what I will be paid there verses what I will pay out to daycare! Oy Vay! That and all the other new added expenses - gas, tolls, lunches, etc

3. I need to buy a child cover for the tower on my desktop so Matthew stops playing with the power button which he is doing right now driving me mad!

4. My wireless keyboard is having some problems with the letter "E" I am noticing as I type this and have to constantly go back and correct it. So excuse any typos please!

5. School fundraisers are out and about and between my children and only two of my neices so far I have spent $100 on this stuff already! I will have two new magazine subscriptions, a Christmas present for Dad, a cookbook, and a container of Cookie dough!

6. Adam reorganized our desk area to set up his new computer for a side home business he is starting. It is a mess that he apparently thought some nice lady would come in and clean up for him!

7. I need to take some pictures of some gently used items to place on Craigslist to sell. I am hoping I can make some money to take advantage of a FL resident rate night at Disney for our family in the next few weeks as a surprise for everyone. :)

8. Adam took down the "Fall Decorations" box for me and now I just need to drag it in from the garage and decorate the house. Maybe I will have it done today

9. The kids are off from school today and tomorrow so I need to find things to do with them to keep them occupied and ME sane. Maybe a craft project and the park.

10. PARP program started at school - the kids love this each year. It is called Parents As Reading Partners and they get to track how many books we read together in a week. A play is put on where the outcome is determined by how many books the kids read and if TV, Video games, etc will win over reading time with Mom and Dad.

11. I bought the kids the book "Flat Stanley" and we are going to make our own Flat Stanley and send him along with a throw away camera to some relatives around the country so the kids can see how the project works. I am very excited to do this with them and I know they will get a kick out of it!

12. Halloween is coming and my boys are already trying to think about costumes. Alex has asked to be a ballerina, a princess, or a pokemon. Yes, I know he is a boy but he seems to have a flare for girl stuff. I am working on locating a Pokemon costume obviously. I voted for a family themed year (like being the Wizard of Oz characters or something) but I was shot down. Maybe next year

13. I have tons of cleaning to do today since Mom will be coming tomorrow to watch the boys while I go to my interview and Lord knows I can not have my mother in my house when it is not spotless enough to eat off the floors.