Mommy to the Max

Donut Day

2011-10-20T13:25:00.001-07:00

Zachary is doing a rotating preschool with some other kids from our church. This means that every 5th week I get to teach his preschool class in my house. We did this last year, but this year its a little bigger of a group and its twice a week and more structured. For my first week I was suppose to focus on the letter D, so of course the first the Z thought of was DONUTS!! I decided to try my hand at making donuts from scratch with 5 preschoolers. It was messy but a lot of fun. Next time though, I may not try to be so ambitious...but then again...who knows!!

I love how serious the boys look and how "ready to take a picture" the girls are!!

The things we do

2011-10-20T12:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we are almost through with October. Time is flying and I'm doing a terrible job keeping up with the blog. Oh well. I'll keep trying! Here is just a glimpse of what is keeping us so busy right now.

I am the room mother for Max's kindergarten class this year. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm figuring it all out as I go. Here is my school spirit stamp to go on the back of my mini van. I guess I am now officially all I ever hoped to be!!

Max is keeping very busy with kindergarten these days. He is doing very well and really enjoying himself. He says writing is his favorite part of school, followed by PE, lunch, and riding the bus. I can't believe how much he is growing up. What is happening to my little boy?

Zach is having a blast being almost 3. He and Daddy got to spend some time together the other night and Zach decided it was a playdough night. This is what the two of them came up with. I was quite impressed. It even says Winnie the Pooh in playdough across the front! Zach told me that he told Daddy what to do and then made sure he did it right. Very nice!

Don't these two look so much alike?? Except for the eyes! Joe has been busy trying to find out how to get around. He's very good at scooting backwards now and usually ends up under the couch. We'll work on it some more!

Jeff has decided to focus on food storage lately so he finally cleaned out and organized the pantry to make space for all the boxes of food he has ordered. He took a picture to prove that he did in fact know how to clean and organize. I may use this picture as evidence later!!

So there you have it. Proof in pictures that we are here, we are well, and things are going great!

He's gettin SOOOO big!

2011-09-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

We love Joe--or Joseph, Joey, Jo Jo, Lovebug, Baby Boy--whatever you choose to call him. Jeff and I haven't settled on a nickname for him yet and he gets called all sorts of things. Zach and Max have taken to calling him Joey and that just might stick. In the beginning that was probably my least favorite shortening of Joseph, but if that's what his big brothers want then it will most likely stick. We shall see.

Joe loves his brothers, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. Joe's a good sport with the big boys and finds them quite amusing most of the time. But sometimes close is a little too close.

Joe is always laughing and has smiles for everyone--except the camera. These pictures are rare because as soon he sees the camera he gets a blank stare on his face.

I guess our love of trains has carried on with boy #3 (#4 if you count Jeff). He loves to be right in the middle of the action and see what's going on.

Joey continues to be a great baby. He hardly ever fusses. He tolerates the overabundance of love and attention from the big boys. He is perfectly content to sit and watch the antics of our lives. He loves to eat and is now trying out cereal, although I think he much prefers the ice cream his dad sneaks him when I'm not watching. He's not a huge baby, at 4 months he is not quite 14lbs and about 25 inches, kind of in between M and Z when they were this age. He is the calmest, most easy going baby I've had. He's very quiet unless he's really laughing or crying bc he's hungry. It's strange to have someone who's quiet around here. I'm sure that won't last!! But I'll take it where I can get it!

The 1st Week

2011-08-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the TOP 5 things I want to remember about Max's 1st week of kindergarten:

1. On Wednesday Max's bus driver didn't drop him off at the stop. I was standing at the corner and watched her drive past without stopping. Jeff chased her down at the next corner and she came back around to drop him off. Her response, "He's so little and so quiet, I just didn't think about it." OK well, this means that I will be watching her like a hawk the rest of the year to make sure my baby doesn't end up sleeping in the bus garage. I also told Max to pay attention and when he sees his house to stand up and start yelling, "THAT'S MY HOUSE! THAT'S MY HOUSE!" Maybe that will help her remember :)

2. Max loves PE. I can see why that is his favorite class so far. They can't have recess because of the heat wave so PE is their only chance to running around a bit. I asked him what he did in PE that was so fun and he said, "Mom, we learned to stand like cheerleaders!" Not sure what that meant but he was excited. However, Jeff was not!

3. He came home Friday with a stack of papers from this week's work. I looked through them and was QUITE impressed--TOO impressed, really. I asked him how he made his numbers look so neat on his math paper (as his mother, I know he doesn't write that well). He said, "Oh I couldn't make those numbers too good, so somebody else did them for me." I asked who and he said it was some girl but he couldn't remember her name. I asked who helped him draw the picture and spell the words that I could tell were not his work. He said it was his friend next to him. We had a talk about the importance of doing our own work so we get the practice that we need to learn to do better. I don't think it's going to stick.

4. Max left his lunch box on the bus on Thursday. When he realized this at home, he began crying and screaming because "I'm going to starve at school with no lunch ALL YEAR LONG!!" Originally I was laughing too hard at him to console him, but after about 10 minutes of sobbing I told him it wasn't a big deal. He would either find it the next day or we would get him another one and in the meantime he could bring his lunch to school in a paper sack. This didn't help and he cried himself to sleep. He's been very tired.

5. The kids watch Letter Factory and The Magic School Bus while they are waiting for their busses in the afternoon. Max comes home and tells me verbatim what the TV show was about. Every detail, every scene, quotes from it, the whole thing. I ask about the rest of his day and he says, "Oh, we did a bunch of stuff. I can't remember it though." Hopefully he will learn more in kindergarten than TV shows and how to get other kids to do his work, but those are useful skills too!

So there you have it. We survived the first week of school. Zach is still a little lost with out Max to tell him what to do and Max is so tired that he cries about something each afternoon around 4:30, but hopefully we will fall into a routine of sorts soon and this will become our new normal. I still can't believe my baby is in kindergarten. And I can't believe how quiet my house is without him here.

KINDERGARTEN!!!

2011-08-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Today was Max's 1st day of kindergarten. He had a great time and is completely exhausted now!! This post might be a little long and rambling, but there is so much I want to remember and it's all so fresh right now.

I have been nervous about Max starting kindergarten. He's not one to take to new things very easily. He's very cautious and uneasy about a lot of things. But he has been very excited about kindergarten so I've tried to be optimistic for him. Today went so well for him. He had a few rough moments--which he will freely admit to, but he was smart and brave and managed things quite well.

He met his teacher a few days ago and informed her that he was "going to be the smartest kindergartener she'd ever taught." He He!! He makes me laugh. After his assessment test when he didn't know a few of the things she asked him, his reply was, "Well I guess you stumped me after all!" Mrs. Rodgers was just getting a taste of what it's going to be like to have Max in her class.

She told him that since there were 2 Maxs' in her class, she was going to call him Maxwell. He said that was fine because he didn't want her to "freak out or something if she kept getting confused." Again--he makes me laugh (and sigh). He's already friends with the other Max in his class and another little girl from his church class, so this is making the transition a little easier. It's always nice to see a friendly, familiar face on the 1st day of school.

I let Max choose what he wanted to wear the 1st day. He chose some new shorts and a faded, stained bright green t-shirt. I would have picked a different shirt, but I let him choose. I wanted him to be comfortable. He also wore some awful looking Toy Story light up shoes that his dad let him pick out at the store. Zach got a matching pair. They light up on the bottom, sides, and the top. I thought they were awful but I may not be up on the latest 5 year old trends. He was also excited about his Batman backpack and Toy Story lunch box.

I couldn't get a straight answer from him about whether he wanted to bring his lunch or buy it. Finally he decided he wanted to buy his lunch and bring the leftovers home in his lunchbox! Smart thinking but I don't think it works that way, so I just packed him a lunch.
I have gotten pieces and fragments of what happened while they were at school. He was kind of all over the place with his descriptions. I figure it has to do with so much new stuff all at once and he may need some time to process it all. I'm just gonna give him some time. Knowing Max it won't take long for all the details to start spewing out!

Max wanted to ride the bus to school without me and ride it home. This surprised me, but I was trying to let him make his choices so he could decide what he could handle. We walked to the bus stop together and he got on the bus with the other kids and they drove off. He had his brave/scared face so I was very proud of him for trying hard things. My neighbor said she saw him get off the bus at school and he came up to her and said "My name is Maxwell Orwin. Will you help me find Mrs. Rodgers' class?" How darling!! I'm still not sure whether I should have gone with him, but I guess he figured out how to get where he needed to go!

When I got him off the bus in the afternoon, he was sound asleep! I guess it was a long day for the little guy. Evidently there had been some sort of mix up or delay that had upset him a little (not sure of the details) but he got home safe and sound.

All in all, I think today was very successful. I hope and pray that it will continue that way. I worry about him more than I thought I would. But he's smart and charming and learning to be brave so I think it will all work out just fine.

Happy First Day of School Everyone!

EEK!!

2011-08-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here's my story of the uninvited guest: One Monday morning I went into our downstairs bathroom to--well, anyway. I walked past the sink and I saw a small snake on the floor. I didn't react immediately bc the boys have fake snakes that I find all over the house. Well, then this one moved! I slowly backed out of the bathroom and closed the door. I went into Jeff's office and whispered that I didn't care what he was doing, he needed to get off the phone now. Apparently, I was white as a ghost so I had his attention.
I told him that there was a snake in the bathroom. He said, "Really??" I said, "Go see for yourself." He put his caller on hold and went into the bathroom and replied, "Well I guess there really is one!" He then cover the snake (only about 12 inches long) with the toliet plunger and went back to the office. He told his coworkers on the phone that he would have to reschedule the meeting bc he had a snake to take care of.
He caught the snake in a clear box (pictured above) and set it outside. I told him he had to release it somewhere away from the house so he left it on the porch till he was finished working. Unfortunately, the little fella died in the box before Jeff was able to free him. We both felt a little bad for that. I am proud of myself though because this whole incident was taken care of while the boys were watching TV and they never knew anything had happened.
However if it would have been a mouse, I would have died right there on the spot and then we would have had to move. So that's my story of the uninvited guest.

Below are a few pictures I took of Joe sleeping. As you can imagine, with my two older boys, he had a hard time finding a quiet place to relax. Max and Zach sit and watch him sleeping and as soon as he begins to wake up, they start pestering him. At only a few weeks old, I could tell he'd learned to fake sleeping in order to be left alone for a little while! I came in one day to find him with this gun on his lap. Zach said it was to keep the bad guys away :). I often found him laying like he is in the 2nd picture with his face covered trying to sleep! Sorry little guy--they just love ya so much!

This summer we were also visited by some very much invited guests. Here is a picture of when our friends from El Paso came to see us. Ms. Anita and her daughter Brittany were passing through and stopped to say hello. We loved Ms. Anita in El Paso. She sat with the boys every week in church so Jeff and I could listen. She invited us to dinner when Jeff was out of town. And most of all, she loved me and my boys like no one else in EP ever could have. We miss her a ton, but were so happy that she could visit!

Joe's Blessing Day

2011-08-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

While we were visiting my family in LA over 4th of July weekend, we took the opportunity to have Joseph blessed. We did in my parents' ward and my dad and both of my brothers were able to join in. We also invited my "Paw Paw" (Brother Armond-no blood relation but family nonetheless) was also able to participate. Jeff blessed Joe and I'm sure it was beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't hear much of it bc of Zachary!! But I'm sure it was lovely. After church my siblings and their families all got together at my parents' house for a big dinner and more playing with cousins.
We are so blessed to have such a sweet little baby in our family. Joe has been so easy going, laid back and happy. He's been a dream baby--so far (knock on wood)! We sure do love this little guy!

My boys!!

Our family--I don't think we'll ever have one of those nicely posed, sophistacated looking pictures that everyone else seems to get, but that's not the real "us" anyway!

The grandparents

This picture was really fuzzy bc by this point none was willing to sit still and we were going to be late for church!

I was really glad to be able to share this day with my family. We haven't been able to do that with the other boys because we've been so far away. It's nice to be closer for sure.

Summer Catch Up-Moody Gardens

2011-08-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Joe got to spend most of our summer vacation fun time watching from his carseat. He's still just a little small to join in on most of the fun. Fortunately though, one of his most favorite pastimes is watching his big brothers. Soon enough he'll be joining them and then we'll really have our hands full!

We went to Moody Gardens to check out all the renovations they've done. The rainforest pyramid is neat, but VERY hot and HUMID. Yuck! It was fun to search through and try to find the different animals. A lot of them are free roaming so that was a different experience too!

Zach tried to catch this iguana and bring it home with us. We had to stop him and try to convince him that the lizard probably did not want to live at our house.

Here we are about to enter the bat cave. Fun idea but a very smelly one. The boys didn't seem to notice though.

We found another fun place nearby. The Rainforest Cafe. Jeff and I had been there before but it was a lot of fun to watch the boys experience it. Max kept repeating to himself, "they aren't real. they're just pretend" and Zach was afraid that the "rainstorm" was going to get his food wet.

We had a wonderful time and brought our cousins back a few weeks later to do it all again with them!

Summer Catch Up - Beach

2011-08-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

Jeff got a little bit of a vacation in July so we headed to Galveston for my boys' favorite pastime--THE BEACH. Even Max, who is not a big fan of deep water or swimming, loves to go to the beach. We even ran into some friends from our church just a few umbrellas down from us. Small world!!

Zach spent a lot of time looking for sharks. Fortunately he didn't find any, but we did see a dolphin leaping around out in the gulf.

Every time Jeff starts building a sand castle with the boys, we seem to collect extra kids. I have no idea who this extra little boy is, but he decided to join in the fun. The more the merrier!!

The big boys stopping to pose for a picture

Daddy taking Z "surfing"

This is what Joe did 99% of the time. He watched for a little while, but mostly he napped. Jeff did take him in the water for a minute but mostly he napped.

Well, much fun was had by all. So much so that we will probably be back there one more time before school starts!

Summer Catch Up-Circus

2011-08-11T14:53:00.001-07:00

Note to reader: I know I'm behind on posting but every time I go to do something on here I get interrrupted. I know--My fault for having 3 kids. But even today, I got as far as downloading pics off my camera and the baby woke up (an hour earlier than he should have) and then the computer starts acting up and I can only type inbetween my pics instead of above or below them. So forgive me as I try to catch up on posting the summer pics so that I will be able to post current pics when school starts again. Wish me luck!

These are some pictures of our day at the circus. Jeff's boss was extra generous and decided to get the boys tickets to the greatest show on earth. They had a BLAST!! Max loved the motorcycle guys who rode around in the big ball and Zach loved the elephants doing tricks. Zach rediscovered his love for cotton candy and they both got light up swords as souveniers to bring home. They have been putting on circus shows for us quite often ever since. A great time was had by all. We will have to go again some time. Thanks Ms. Tricia!!

Joseph Daniel Orwin

2011-06-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally getting around to writing out Joe's birth story. He's six weeks old today so I know I'm a little behind, but hey, I've been a little busy! Anyway, better late than never I suppose.

I'll start with the day BEFORE he was born because that is really when it all started. Monday, April 25th was my official due date. I had been having sporadic, unproductive contractions for a few weeks. I was dialated to a 2 but had not progressed past that at all. So I went to my 40 week check up that afternoon and asked the doctor if I was going to be induced (I had been with both other boys). He said he would induce me on Friday--fine, but then he check my blood pressure again and said he could move me up to Tuesday(the next morning). That was great news because I was miserable and pretty certain that Joe had decided he was never going to come out on his own. Before leaving the doctor's office, I AGAIN expressed my concern that the baby was turned the wrong way. I was sure that I was feeling a head up in my ribs. The doc AGAIN assured me he was head down and he was just really high still. Alrighty, if you say so!

So the next morning Jeff and I check in to labor and delivery around 7AM. We get settled in quickly and things begin moving right along. The doc comes in to see how I'm doing and breaks my water. The pitocin is working like it should. Then the anestiologist comes to do the epidural. Well I hate epidurals and wish I was brave enough to labor without one. I've never had a not horrible experience with one and this was no different. Actually it wasn't too bad getting it this time, but it didn't really work. Well it worked on one side but not the other. The nurse kept telling me to push the pain pump and lay on my right side and it would start working better, but this did not help. So I pretty much labored through it all numb on my left side and feeling EVERYTHING on my right. It's actually kind of a strange sensation only feeling half a contraction. As things progressed we figured I'd be ready to start pushing around 1PM or so. About that time the nurse came in because she couldn't get Joe's heartbeat to consistently show up on the monitor. So she started moving the monitors around and after a few minutes she still couldn't get a good read. He had a heartbeat but she couldn't get a steady reading. So she tried the internal monitor and that's when she noticed a BIG problem. The internal monitor is suppose to attach to the baby's head and it wouldn't work because it wasn't his head. It was his butt. That's when she called the doctor.

Well the doctor came in and examined me and said the baby was breech and he must have turned while I was laboring. I was really mad b/c I thought he was breech all along and NOBODY LISTENS TO ME! And that's just what I said. I slammed my hand down on the bed and firmly (not quit yelling) told the doctor "I told you that yesterday. Just yesterday I sat in your office and told you this baby was turned the wrong way. I told you that yesterday!" Well the doc just kind of stuttered about how he's sure the baby was not breech eariler and that this must have just happened. Yeah right. At that point it didn't matter b/c it was time for an emergency c-section!

So they prep me for the c-section and wheel me into the operating room. I don't remember much after that b/c they had to knock me out. Jeff said it was b/c I kept yelling that I could feel them cutting me (even though they hadn't started yet). All I remember was going in there worried that my epidural wasn't working and I'd need something else for the surgery. Jeff said I kept yelling at the doctors for more pain meds and then the anestiologist gave me something that put me to sleep. He said I was snoring while Joe was being born. Yes I slept through the birth of my child. What a great mom! So while I was sleeping this happened....
When I woke up I was being moved from the operating table to my bed. It was the most excuritating pain I've ever felt. I didn't feel the least bit bad yelling and crying. It felt like I'd been sawed in half. They gave me more meds (obviously they didn't work very well) and took me back to my room. For the next few hours I was in A LOT of pain and shaking really bad (side effect of the epidural) so I couldn't really even hold Joe. Jeff was awesome though. He handled everything perfectly. He spent the next week taking care of me and the baby. My mom and dad were great too. They took care of my other boys and me too. It was a rough day and a rough recovery. Six weeks later I'm still not 100% but I'm getting there. In the end all that matters is this...

Joseph Daniel Orwin was born on April 26, 2011 at 1:54PM. He was 8lbs 4oz and 21 inches long. He has red hair and blue eyes and is healthy, happy, and perfect and we love him very much!

Welcome to the world Joe!!

Fall Into Spring

2011-03-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

We have a 15000 sq ft lot with, I think, 14 trees. This means in the fall we have a lot of leaves on the ground. This is very different from when we lived in El Paso and had one 4 foot tree on our little lot. Jeff spent a lot of time over the fall and winter seasons trying to figure out what to do with all our leaves. He didn't want to pay someone to deal with it, but they wouldn't magically go away either. So he had to think of something. He tried mowing them but that just made them smaller. He tried blowing them but ended up just spreading them around. He prayed for strong winds to blow them somewhere else, but again, no luck. Ultimately he decided he was just going to have to rake them the old fashioned way. It took him till February to make this decision and then he opted to only do the front yard and leave the side yard and back in its leaf covered state.
I am in no way saying Jeff is lazy. He actually loves yardwork and is out there doing something every chance he gets. I guess he just doesn't like raking leaves. I can't imagine it's really that bad, but I've never done it!! So after he raked up some of the leaves he let the boys jump in one of the piles and have some fun. And they did!

If any of you have ideas on how not to have to rake leaves in the fall, I'm sure Jeff would appreciate them!

Handsome Boys

2011-03-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to get some nice church clothes for Easter (planning ahead!!) and found some great deals so we took advantage. If you know Jeff, you know that he would have these boys dressed in suits and ties for every occasion!
Our church just finished building a new building for us to meet in and it's right across the street from our house. It is finally done and Sunday was the first meeting there. We decided it was the perfect time for the boys to try out some of their new "handsome" clothes. We had to hurry and get the pictures taken before they got dirty--that walk across the street is way too far to guarantee they'll stay clean!!
The boys were so excited to be able to see the inside of the church building. While it just looks like a regular church, they have be able to watch it being built from our backyard for the past 9 months. They have talked about it almost daily and were thrilled when it was finally done. We were even on time this week!!

Houston Rodeo Week

2011-03-09T13:37:00.001-08:00

Max's school had a Western celebration last week. I had no idea what this was for other than the fact that it was Houston Rodeo Week. He spent the whole week learning all about Texas, the Alamo, cowboys, Texas flags, armadillos, and blue bonnetts. I thought it was kind of dumb that they spent all that time talking about Texas just because the rodeo was in town. I mentioned this to Jeff and he said, "Well isn't it Texas Independance day or something?" I said, "Oh, maybe it is. How should I know?" Then he reminded me that Max goes to school in Texas and will probably spend some time learning about Texas history. I felt a little dumb, like I should have realized that. I said, "Well I guess now that we live in Texas, I should keep up with things like this." He laughed and said, "Lori....we've lived in Texas for 6 years now!" OH! OOPS!

Anyway, so here is a picture of my cute little cowboy who now knows WAY more about the state of Texas than I do. I guess I have some reading to do!

The Great Name Debate

2011-01-24T13:39:00.001-08:00

Thank you for joining us for the great name debate. Our little guy will be arriving in less than 3 months now and it has been quite a struggle for the 4 of us to decide on a name that would be just right for him. So we put it to a vote. Jeff voted for Charles Anthony with an option to call him Charlie, I voted for Nathaniel Joseph with "Nate" as a nickname, but the boys teamed up against us and pulled out the majority for a win. Therefore I am happy* to announce that Baby Boy Orwin #3 w ill now be known as...

TARZAN JEFFREY ORWIN

(although Max has stated that if the baby is born with horns and green skin he's changing his vote to Shrek)

So what do you folks think?? Do you like it?? If not...you try to come up with something better because I'm clueless. We have discussed every name in the book from simple standards like Michael or David to off the wall choices like Promethyus and Archemedes and we've got NOTHING! My big thing is I want to make sure the kid has options--like Maxwell can be Max and Zachary can be Zach--and I want it to kind of go with the other boys names (Maxwell Alexander and Zachary Xavier). I've even given up on trying to use all the letters in the alphabet, even though we only have S,B, and Q left.

Jeff keeps whining about finding "the RIGHT name". I don't know what that's all about. He thinks that divine intervention is going to lead us to the right name, which is fine but I'm a planner person and am starting to grow impatient waiting to figure out "the RIGHT thing"! (Doesn't sound at all like me huh???)

So here is a list of our top 10 names that we sort of agree on (my picks are at the top and Jeff's are at the bottom-as they should be).

Nathaniel
Joseph
Daniel
Michael
Christian
Bradley
Jason (i still like Jasper better)
Charles
Anthony
Caleb

We are also open to using Jeffrey as a middle name this time if it works, but not committed to it. PLEASE feel free to comment, vote, or add something that you think we might like and just have neglected to fully consider.

So until we come up with something better, welcome to the family baby Tarzan!! (And my mom thought Xavier was a bad name!!) :)

Fun Times in Tremonton

2011-01-12T14:25:00.001-08:00

We go to Tremonton about once a year (where Jeff grew up) to visit friends, family, and evidently the cows. Jeff has a lot of dairy farmers in his family and most of the Orwins have at some point in their lives worked on a dairy farm. This means that once a year Jeff feels the need to go back in time and see some cows. So we made our annual trip to the dairy farm to see the cows. This is never my favorite part of our vacation. I've done it 7 times and twice I've been pregnant. All I really have to say about cows is that they stink and I'd rather not think of where Walmart gets its milk.

On this trip we also got to meet Baby Connor-Jeff's sister's newest little one. All we heard before we met him was that he was a grumpy fussy baby. Does this look like a fussy little guy?? I thought he was a delight. Maybe he just likes me best!!

The boys really wanted to go camping while we were out there, but due to time restraints, weather, and the fact that I hate camping, we decided this wasn't the best time for it. Nana was nice enough to set up the teepee in the backyard though and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Maybe next year we can do the real thing--or maybe not!!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Dead Fish

2011-01-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

Max and Jeff decided they wanted to try out fishing while we were in Utah. While my husband is an avid fisherman (I've never seen him touch a fishing rod in the 8 yrs I've known him) we decided to bring along Bill (Jeff's brother, who actually does quite a bit of fishing) to make sure we had a successful day. I wasn't sure that Max would be able to sit still long enough or be quiet enough to catch anything but he actually surprised be quite a bit. A fun day was had by all and no one had to gut a fish in the end!! Check out Max sitting still and quiet!! Amazing :)

Of course, Zach had to join in on the action too!

I accidently caught a fish while watching Jeff's line when he went to go get lunch for us. Ewwww!! We threw him back.

Jeff wouldn't let us leave the pond until his boy had caught a live one. Fortunately we didn't have to wait TOO long for that! We threw this one back too. I'll stick to getting my fish at the grocery store.

After sitting and fishing all day (more like 2 hours) the boys needed to run, so off they went!

Tough way to learn about gravity

2011-01-12T13:58:00.001-08:00

Zach had a tough time staying on his feet during out trip to Logan Canyon this fall. He loved to stand by the creek and throw sticks and rocks into the water. Unfortunately he didn't realize how top heavy he is and ended up falling head over heels into the ice cold stream. Fortuantely his Uncle Sam was close enough to quickly scoop him up so no real harm was done. But boy was that baby cold!!

Later the same day he tried climbing up the hill like the bigger boys and found himself rolling down it instead. Poor thing. I guess he's not quite as steady on his feet as we had thought!!

October in Logan Canyon

2011-01-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

In mid October we took a trip to Northern Utah to visit Jeff's family. While we were there we were able to spend lots of time outdoors. I think the outdoors are great as long as I can look at it hrough the window, but being the mom of boys I guess I will have to learn a little about nature! The weather was nice while we were there but I voted that it was WAY too cold to go camping, and since my vote is the only one that really counts-I won :) We did go spend the day in Logan Canyon for Trey's 5th birthday and brought all the family we could find with us. It was a really nice time, but when the sun goes down in the canyon it gets colder than I like to be. I stayed bundled up and kept fussing at the boys to throw another log on the fire. I'm such a good sport!!

Aren't we adorable?!?!
Cousins are the best!

This could be the cover of Sportsman Paradise, huh? :)

Roasting Wienies with Dad--could life get any better?

All tuckered out!

Muffin Girl Reveals Her Secrets

2010-09-24T17:39:00.001-07:00

I love pumpkins, i love crunchy leaves, i love cool weather, i love scarecrows, i love anything to do with autumn!! I needed to make a treat for a church event on the 1st day of fall and because fall hasn't quite made it to east Texas, I decided to make a fall treat as a request to the goddess of autumn to head our way.

I made Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and they were awesome. In fact, so many people have asked for the recipe, I have decided to post it here. I could be making millions off this, but instead I am sharing it with the people. I am generous!!

Here you have it:

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

1tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2 c canned pumpkin

1/2 c applesauce

1 c fat free yogurt

4 egg whites

1 egg

3/4 c water

I know...a lot of ingredients, but the rest is pretty easy. Mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients together (except the water). Then add the dry to the wet and slowly add water. Bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes (use toothpick test). Makes about 3 dozen muffins.

The icing needs to be tweeked a little I think, but I just combined 8 oz of cream cheese, 3/4 c shortening (I will try butter next time), 3 c powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Adding a few tablespoons of water helps adjust the texture if needed. After I frosted the muffins I dusted them with cinnamon which I think made all the difference.

So there you have it. My top secret muffin recipe that I used as an attempt at making friends in our new neigborhood....and it seems to have at least gotten me noticed!!

Losing Faith

2010-09-05T13:09:00.001-07:00

Warning: Lots of ranting and raving to follow and no pictures. Proceed with caution!

Seven yrs ago when Jeff and I got married, I had to change dentists. The new dentist claimed to find 12 cavities where my old dentist had never found one in more than 20 yrs of being my dentist. I did not let him do all the work he wanted to. I didn't know it then, but this was the beginnings of my frustration with the medical profession.

Fast forward 3 years to the Spring of 2006. I was pregnant with Max. I slipped on the back porch and broke off part of my toenail. Long story short, I went to after hours care and for $300 they removed the rest of the nail and bandaged the toe. Lesson learned: Next time I'll just do it myself. Not a big deal.

Jump ahead to my pregnancy with Zach. OBGYN Dr. M turned out to not be my favorite person. He paid little attention to me as an actual person, didn't seem bothered that I was so sick for 9 months that I lost 40 lbs during my pregnancy, and scheduled me to be induced at his leisure b/c I guess "nature taking its course" is SO unpredictable and inconvenient. The icing on the cake with him was when I was ready to deliver he was complaining to the nurse that he was hungry and wanted to get lunch before the baby came and asked if she could hold me off a little longer--all where I could very easily hear him. He did miss lunch that day, but I could tell that it annoyed him. My apologies. Lesson learned: I should have been more assertive and demanded better care or found someone else.

November 13, 2008: Zach was born and all was well, or so I thought. A nurse checked his temp and it was a little low. They suspected an infection. Long story short: 7 days and $10,000 later I was finally able to take my baby home. The kicker: No infection was ever found. Lesson learned: Ask and demand real answers constantly and demand to see all lab report, dr report, etc if ever found in that situation again.

Let's jump ahead to Fall of 2009: Max developed a cough. Doc gave him some meds. Didn't help. Got more meds. Didn't change. Long story short: In 8 months my 30 lb 3 yr old was given 6 medications costing $500/month with no real answer. We were never referred to a specialist or given a clear explanation as to what was going on. Only diagnosis was chronic asthma. Strange, but 4 months ago, we moved and I took him off all meds and he's been totally symptom free. I think he was allergic to something at school and kept reacting to it. Again: I must be more proactive and realize I am my child's only true advocate.

Summer 2010: New city, new pediatrician. Max's 4 yrs old check up. In my opinion he is healthier than he's ever been. However, Dr finds a heart mumur that he may or may not have had all his life. As a precaution he gets a full cardiac work up. $700 to tell me my child is perfectly healthy. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH

Also Summer 2010: I cut my finger on a can of chili. It's deep and my mom is there and would have worried herself to death if I didn't get it checked out. Go to Urgent Care Clinic. In 20 minutes, it is cleaned, dermabonded, and got a tetus shot. They billed my insurance copy $1400! I'm buying dermabond on ebay for next time.

So why am I ranting and raving about this today?? I am going to a new doctor this week and I have been debating my approach with him. Maybe I should just give up, buy anitbiotics from Mexico, birth the rest of my babies in the bathtub at home and embrace the true hollistic movement. Maybe I should lay it all for this poor new guy and let him know that I am on to him and all of his collegues and I will become one of those pain in the a$$ patients who demands proof, explanation, and documentation for ever single thing I am treated for, billed for, and diagnosised with. Or maybe I've actually stumbled across a professional who does his job, cares for his patients, and doesn't intend to screw me over from the start.
I'll let you know.

PS: I know that some of my relatives are/will be doctors and I'm sure they are/will be great. Just try to remember not to screw over the little guy! :)

Playschool--Here we come!!

2010-08-31T20:10:00.001-07:00

A few new friends in the area decided to start up a rotating Playschool group for their 2 yr olds and asked Zakky and I if we'd like to join up. We thought it was a great idea and joined in on the fun. It will be 2 hours once a week and each week a different mom is in charge. This frees up the rest of us to do as we please with our well deserved break. Since Max doesn't have school on these days I don't get alone time but I do get some one-on-one time with Max so it works out well.

Today was our first day and Zach thought it was great. The group is nothing but cute, blonde, curly headed girls and Zach!! Jeff thinks it's great that he has all the women now. Zach didn't cry when I dropped him off and when I picked him up he said, "Had fun momma! Had fun!' Then he told me he "paint a elmo (rainbow) and played wif girlfriends!" Tooo cute!

Max starts preschool next week and I am hoping for just as positive an experience. Wish us luck!!

After school he was so tired he fell asleep on the floor in Jeff's office. School is great!!

Momma "Nose"

2010-08-31T20:05:00.001-07:00

This is why Mom says "Don't play 1-2-3-CRASH. Someone's gonna get hurt!"

(Notice the smashed in pig nose that lasted a week)

Sorry Momma! We won't do it again (for at least 5 more minutes)!

Another trip to Home Depot

2010-08-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I love our house. Really I do. However, I am not enjoying the time and money I am spending at the Home Depot in order to make our house a home. This past week I moved the couch to sweep under it and found all the hardwood floors were warped from some sort of water damage. Futher investigation showed that the wax seal on our toliet failed and was sending water under the floor and under the wall into our den. Fun time!

So here are some pictures of when a $3 thing breaks and causes $300 in damages!

Our toliet drain---EEEWWW!

Our toliet --in the hallway now

The flooring we have to pull up and replace once we find the matching wood.

Just another day in paradise!

A Beach WITH WATER!!

2010-08-31T19:43:00.001-07:00

For the last 4 years we have lived in the desert. That means plenty of sand, but no water. And if you know my husband, that makes for a sad little fellow! Now that we live closer to the ocean (the gulf actually) we have been trying to take full advantage. All my boys would be beach bums given the opportunity. Enjoy!!

I love this pic b/c Zakky looks like he's up to something!! (He usually has that look!)

My beach boys

Waiting to catch a wave!

Max has become obsessed with surfing. He's actually getting to be a pretty good little boogie boarder considering he's terrified of water deeper than his waist!

What's a vacation without some spa treatments?? My boys are pros at the mud baths if anyone is interested!

Moody Gardens Staycation

2010-08-31T19:29:00.001-07:00

Jeff had a week of vacation this summer--I know! Amazing isn't it!!--but since we were still settling in from the move and all we decided to have a Staycation and just explore our new area. We spent a few days working on the house b/c there is always work to be done, but then went and had some fun.

We took the boys to Galveston for a few days. It's only about an hour from our house and had a lot of fun stuff we wanted to check out. It was nice to get away for a bit (even though we had to go back home for a bit in the middle of it b/c our house alarm was set off by a storm). Long story.

Anyway, here are some pics of our trip to Moody Gardens.

My boys don't look alike but somehow they often seem to look alike. I love it!

The one token picture to prove that they have a mother and she goes on vacation with them!

This was suppose to look like Jeff is feeding them to the shark but the shark was hanging to high and Jeff wasn't being tall enough and well it didn't really work out!

But we did get pictures of them in jail!!

Max has really grown up a lot this summer. He was even brave enough to try out the kiddie zipline and really enjoyed it! I was shocked!!

We loved Moody Gardens. It's affordable and very age appropriate for my boys. I am sure we will make it back there for another visit. (We'd better--I bought season passes!!)

Before and After--My new work station

2010-08-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

As soon as we moved into the house I decided this little nook in the kitchen would be perfect for a workstation. Jeff and I decided this would be the weekend to make it happen. We were suppose to be working in the yard, but 100+ degree temps, brought us back in rather quickly. We divided up the tasks to complete everything, and I have to say I LOVE the results. I did my part by having the idea, making the plans, shopping (everything for the project was either on sale or bought with a coupon or both!), and staining the cabinets. My wonderful, fabulous, oh so talented husband did the rest. I sat back and watched my vision come to life, while trying to keep the kids out of the way!! I am so excited about how great it looks--and that it's FINISHED! We have a lot of projects in this house and we are finally starting to see some of them come together. So we know I love it, what do you think?? BEFORE

AFTER

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-08-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

We've been busy working and playing around here quite a bit. While our good friend Onnie was here for a few days, she helped me figure out my sewing machine and I was able to put together this cute little apron. I think it turned out pretty darn fabulous considering I'd never touched the machine before. Onnie was a great teacher and said I was a better student than I give myself credit for. I think she's just incredibly patient. Jeff asked if I was going to wear it while making dinner that night and I just laughed. This baby is going in a museum!!! (Besides, I don't cook dinner, we go out!) Whatever the case...I think its cute!!
While we were working on our sewing projects, Max and Liah were playing dress up. Max came out as a "secret private detective"...a very inconspicuous one!!! And Liah was going for the western cowgirl look. Having girls around makes for a whole different kind of play!!

Just thought I'd throw this in as a handsome picture of my boys. My little heartbreakers!!

Max is 4 !!!!

2010-07-18T20:19:00.001-07:00

Monkey Boy Max is 4 years old!!! His birthday was the 12th of July but his celebrating started July 3rd and I think ended yesterday. Way to stretch it out. He partied at Grandma Mouse and Paw Paw's when they took him and all the cousins to Chuck E Cheese and had a Buzz Lightyear Cake. He got spoiled with lots of presents and fun. Thank you to everyone that came. I wish I had pics but maybe I can get some from my mom.
He also thinks that Aunt Jan's 4th of July swim party was for his birthday too. Well there was cake and lots of friends and fun, so maybe it was a little for him.
Then this week Grandma Nana came for a visit and took him shopping for his birthday and got more cool presents and then we made a green race car cake and had another mini party. So I'm all partied out now and don't want to do it again until October when it's MY TURN!!

I was going to spend some time and make a cool race car cake, but he wanted to help and it was for him anyway, so this is what we came up with.
He wanted to eat it all but was gracious enough to share a little. Red velvet cake, green cream cheese frosting, and rocky road ice cream--what a combination!!

We didn't have candles so we thought sparklers would work just as well--and they did!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!! We love you!

More House Pictures

2010-07-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from my house. Enjoy!!

This is our sunroom. It's 300 sq feet and airconditioned so it's a great place for the boys to play "outside" when it's rainy or way too hot (both happen quite regularly here). We love this room!

This is our den. Not a great pic of it though. We have since added a 55 gallon fish tank in the right corner and are looking for the right piece of art to hang over the mantle.

This is the gameroom upstairs. I keep most of the boys toys up here, but they do a great job of spreading them around the house b/c it would be too simple to just clean up one room!

This is Max's room. In the corner is his new train table and dresser and the far wall has two closets for him as well. The walls are painted Buzz Blaster Blue in honor of his hero Buzz Lightyear.

Zach's room is the same size as Max;s and just across the hall. We painted it a nice soothing Sand color which I want to use in a lot of the other rooms, but we will see in time what gets done.

I don't have pics of the master, the outside, or the apartment, but I will try to get some and put them up soon. Hope you enjoyed!!

New House

2010-07-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

I am finally posting some pictures of our new house in Houston!!! Here are a few pics of the downstairs. If I get a chance tonight I will put some pics of the upstairs too. I need to get pics of the outside and the guest apartment so those won't be added till later.

Let me just say the I LOVE our house. It truly feels like our home and I hope and pray we can stay here for a LONG, LONG time. Sorry I haven't blogged so much lately. Things have been incredibly and ridiculously insane the last few months. Maybe I will blog about it one day or maybe I will just start from here and try not to look back. We shall see!This is our entry way and foyer. To the right is Jeff's office (too messy to take a pic) and to the left is the formal living room.

This is our formal living room and dining room. I bought some chairs for the living room and Jeff and I are debating over paint colors. So if we ever do anything with it, I'll let you know!!

One of my favorite rooms in the house--my walk in pantry. There is so much room in here I can't believe it. Plenty of room for storage so we never have to worry about running out of the necessities--like Diet Coke!!

This is the kitchen (well half of it). All new appliances! To the right is a space where we are putting in a little office nook for me so I don't have to share Jeff's office. There is also a laundry room to the right so I don't have to wash clothes in the garage anymore!!

This is the breakfast nook with a huge window behind it. The door opens to the deck in the backyard. There are a million windows in this house but this one is one of the biggest!

Well that's the start of the tour of our home. After I get the kiddos to bed I might get a chance to put up a few more pics. Stay tuned!!

1st Real Haircut

2010-05-19T08:47:00.001-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Last Night with the Diablos

2010-05-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

We went to our last Diablos baseball game last week. We will be moving soon and there are no more home games before we are gone. We have quite enjoyed going to the games over the last 4 years. It's a minor league team in a smaller stadium so it's very afforable and kid friendly. It's one of the highlights of our summers here. We went to this game with some friends who go to church with us and live down the street. There kids are the same age as our kids and play great together. We have enjoyed getting to know them and wish they had moved here longer ago so we could have done more things together. That's ok b/c we will meet again when Max marries their sweet little Lily. I just know it will happen!! Zach is just chillin out and waiting for mom to break out the cracker jacks and churros. He only comes to the games to eat!
Max had to wear a baseball hat to the game so everyone would tell him how handsome he was!!

Max and Lily posing with the mascot chicken. I still don't know why the Diablos mascot is a chicken, but whatever works!!

Florida 2010

2010-05-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

We took a trip to the Florida coast at the beginning of May. The real reason behind the trip no longer matters, so we'll just call it a mini family vacation. We stayed at a beachfront hotel (which is the only way to do it with kids!) and my kids LOVE the beach. Me, not so much, but I guess I'm odd girl out. I love the sounds and smells, but hate sand and not crazy about saltwater. But anyway...

Since Jeff wasn't around much the first day we were there (long, unimportant story) I was a good, brave Mommy and took the boys to the beach myself. Kids require a whole lot of crap to go to the beach...buckets, shovels, towels, sunscreen...just to name a few things. So I got them ready and hauled all there junk out the the beach. It was worth it though b/c they had a blast.

Max was brave enough to run out into the water a little ways to get his feet wet. The water was still too cold to really swim though.
Zach tangled with the waves a little too boldly and decided he'd better stick to the sand. One of his smarter decisions I think.

Max became a sandcastle building expert by the end of the trip. He must get that from his dad.

We went to the pool a little later (again more changing of clothes and hauling of crap) but Zach decided he'd trying sunbathing over swimming.

Max stayed in the pool until I had to drag him out. He was freezing and turning blue, but kept insisting that the water was nice and warm and fine to play in. He brought his giant squirt guns and spent the afternoon trying "not" to squirt the other people around the pool. It was great b/c they were having a wedding just over the wall in the beachside pavillion and I was sure that Max was going to aim jsut right and hit the bride. That would have been perfect!

We will have to make it back to the beach this summer b/c my boys love it so much. I don't know that it will be in Florida, but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

NASA

2010-05-18T21:08:00.001-07:00

On our mini vacation to Florida, we decided to go to the Kennedy Space Center and see the space rockets. Max LOVES spaceships, space rockets, rocket ships, whatever you want to call them and was SO excited to go. Unfortunately the trip turned out to be one of the most disappointing days of his life. He literally ran across the Rocket Garden toward the space rockets and shouted "So which one do I get to fly today?" Poor kid, I guess we forgot to mention that they were all for show. After he realized that he #1 could not fly them, #2 could not ride in them, and #3 could not even watch them blast off and "blow fire" he sighed heavily and then asked if this place had a playground or something else he could do. Even a $10 ice cream cone didn't make him feel any better about the day.

Gas for the Rental Car $3 a gallon

Price of Admission $80

IMAX Movie tickets Included

Ice Cream Cones $10

Crushing a Little Boy's Lifelong Dream Priceless

Way to go NASA!!

All these rockets and none of them fly???

I'm just here to be cute and follow my big brother around!

This is as close as the boys got to flying to the moon. Not a bad pic of their daddy though!

Yeah I was there. This was at the beginning when Max was gearing up to be an astronaunt.

The closest thing we have had to a family photo in quite some time. Help Aunt Erika!!

Rainbow School Circus

2010-05-18T20:54:00.001-07:00

Max's preschool puts on a cute little program about once a month. For March they had a circus! The kids made decorations to hang all over the auditoruim and the kids dressed as different circus icons and sang songs and danced for friends and family. It was very cute!! This little school has been so fun for Max and we are going to miss it terribly. I don't think there is another preschool in the world that would have been so patient with our little guy's struggles with adjusting. But here we are at the end of the year and he is doing so well. His shyness has been replaced with boldness and he is quite the little entertainer!! Max is the smallest kid in his class so they alway put him in the center of the stage and I'm suppose to hide in the back so he doesn't see me and cry (I have that affect on him I guess). So I didn't get very good pictures of him. In this first shot he is standing directly in front of the lady in front of the man, so no one can really see him.

Here are some of the cute decorations the kids made. Popcorn around the popcorn stand; they also had cotton candy, peanuts, lemonade, and a bunch of animals.

This is how Zach entertained himself while we watched the program. I guess he's ready to be the star of the show too!!

Here is the best pic I got of Max. He is the boy on the right between these two grown ups' shoulders. He looked very cute, I promise.

This was his first program that he didn't get scared and cry. He was SOOO proud of himself afterwards. We were too!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA MOUSE!!!!

2010-04-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Grandma Mouse,
We wanted to do something special for your birthday and since we couldn't be with you today we thought we'd make some treats and eat them in your honor. If you can't tell, the cookies spell out WE "HEART" GRANDMA MOUSE. We do heart you grandma and we hope you have a very special day!!

Love,
Max and Zach

PS We would mail you some but they are very yummy so we will just eat them for you!

Visit with Grandma Mouse and Paw Paw

2010-03-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Grandma Mouse and Paw Paw (my parents) came to visit for a few weeks this month. We always come up with fun stuff to do when they are around. Here are just a few things we did.

We spent an afternoon at Cattleman's Ranch and Steakhouse. The kids love the Ranch and the rest of us love the steak!

Max and Zach took them to their favorite park and ran into some friends there. Max and Lily conquered the climbing rock all by themselves and then Zach wouldn't rest until he could get up there too (with a little help from Paw Paw)!

Also during their visit, Grandma Nana (Jeff's mom) celebrated her 60th birthday. Since we couldn't be with her, we had a party in her honor. Max helped me make her a train cake b/c "she will LOVE it" and made sure it was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. We sang Happy Birthday over the phone and blew out her candles. I'm sure she appreciated the thought. The cake looked awful but it's a long story and SO NOT MY FAULT!! Right MOM!?!?
Basically the middle didn't get cooked and I had to cut it apart and reshape it with the cooked pieces I could salvage. Not bad, considering...

Things We Learned from Grandma and Paw Paw

2010-03-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Max and Zach learned A LOT from Grandma Mouse and Paw Paw during this last visit. And I'm not talking about dirty words and obscene jesters--they are already too familiar!--I'm talking about even more useful life skills. For example, here is Zach at the arcade racking up tickets from the Whack-A-Mole game. Now if you know Grandma Mouse, there is no doubt who taught him these skills!

This is Max demonstrating how to devour a donut in nothing flat. A trait he MIGHT have inherited from his Paw Paw! In fact when I told Max that Paw Paw was coming, his first comment was "Oh wow, he can take me to the donut store and get me some donuts!" Poor kid, the only time he gets donuts is when Paw Paw comes. Maybe that's how he stays so thin.

And Zach is following in the his brother's footsteps. I do believe this may have been Zach's 1st donut ever. He quite enjoyed it I assure you.

Grandma Mouse and Paw Paw also help Zach to overcome his fear of riding the the train at the mall. I guess an audience to show off for helped him to be brave.

And they got Max to ride his "new" bike!!! He has barely touched the things since Christmas, but they got him out and riding it for a little while. He still prefers his smaller trike but at least he did it long enough for pictures!!

Albuquerque Trip

2010-03-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

While my parents were in town they thought it would be fun to take the boys on a roadtrip to Albuquerque (about 5 hours away). I thought it sounded like a great idea until they said I had to go too! It actually turned out to be a really good trip except that I was sick the whole time. The boys did great in the car and slept pretty well at the hotel so all in all much fun was had by all. The Albuquerque Zoo was a lot of fun for the boys. It was a beautiful day and all the animals were out. This zoo has tons of animals to see AND a train to ride. What could be better than that?? ( BTW I love pictures of the boys looking at stuff together.)

Max had a great time at the zoo. He said his favorite animal was the polar bear, but he does a pretty good impression of a flamingo too. Next time you see him, ask him to show you!!

Albuquerque also has a big botanical garden to wander through. Another beautiful day for that. I think Zach could have run through the park for hours (maybe he did) but he did stop for a few seconds to pose for a picture!

Max reminded everyone how important it is to stop and smell the flowers too!

We also went to the aquarium while we were there. It was a little smaller than what I'm use to but the boys love fish and Max has decided that sharks are about the greatest things ever!!

While we had a wonderful trip to Albuquerque the best part was when we got home. Max went back to school and told his teacher that he went to Guatemala and rode a giant ship in the sea and had amazing adventures. He also told her that he bought brightly colored blankets for everyone and he's "bring them tomorrow"! It is hard to compete with his imagination!

4 A.M.

2010-03-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

So I found myself up at 4:00 this morning. I decided it would be a good time to get a few things done. I did a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and scrubbed the kitchen floor. Why did I decide to do this you ask. Is it because I couldn't sleep? No. Is it because I wanted to clean my house in peace and quiet? No. Is it because I'm compulsive about the cleanliness of my home and couldn't rest knowing there was work to be done? Yeah right! I was up at 4 this morning doing all of these productive things for one reason and one reason alone. VOMIT!!

Yes that is right. Max woke up in a terrible coughing fit (which he has) and threw up in his bed. After I cleaned him up and changed the bed, he immediately did it again. He also got my kitchen and bathroom in the process. So I was up cleaning house at 4 A.M. today. I guess the bright side is I don't have to do it now!

Another Question for the Week

2010-03-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Why, oh, why does cute little Zakky ALWAYS wait until I sit down to eat to decide it is time to poop??? And he's not subtle about it either. Oh no, he comes right over to me turns bright red and starts grunting. What about me eating brings on his urge to have a bowel moment? Really? It happens at any time of the day, no matter what I'm eating or what/when he ate. No common denominator except that Mommy sat down with food.

So day after day, meal after meal, I am constantly facing the same dilemma. Do I get up and change him right away, risking the possibility that I will lose my appetite in the process, not to mention letting my food get cold while I do it? OR do I let him wait until I am done? And yes, he stands right next to me reeking of his completed "business" and whining because, well, something smells pretty awful.

So this is one of those tough decisions I face daily as a SAHM. Sometimes I choose to address the issue immediately while other times I just let it linger. But I always wonder WHY.

Question of the Week

2010-02-23T20:19:00.001-08:00

Actually this is a question that came up last week, but it is something that bugs me every time it happens. We were out with a group of people over the weekend and someone mentioned how chatty Max is. Well, duh. It takes about 30 seconds with him to figure out that he never runs out of things to say. Anyway, that's not my point. So this person, who doesn't really know us very well, said that Max seemed like a very intelligent kid and must get that from his dad.
Are you seeing why I am annoyed?? Now I am not criticizing this person, because as I said, we don't know each other well. But I do find it irritating that people assume that Max is smart b/c Jeff is smart. And this happens QUITE frequently. Yes, I know that I married a very intelligent man. I was smart enough to do that and I still maintain that the smartest decision Jeff ever made was to marry me. I appreciate that Jeff is a bit of an intellectual, but I'm no dummy either. He may have out scored me on a few tests (I'm sure he tried harder than I did) but I have more college degrees than he does...so HA!!
I'm not trying to bash my husband's thirst for knowledge or make me sound like the smartest girl ever. I just wonder why most people jump to the conclusion that my children are brilliant because of their father's contributions to their genetic makeup and discount the stimulating environment in which I nurture them on a daily basis. I just wonder.

White Sands, NM

2010-02-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

We live about 2 hours outside of White Sands, NM which is basically a beautiful white sand beach with NO WATER. One of God's little jokes I guess. Anyway, we took Max when he was a baby and didn't think there was much to it so we never took the time to go back.

Well a lot of people I know love White Sands and talk about how much fun their kids have when they go. So last weekend Jeff and I decided to take the boys and try it again. I am glad we did b/c we all had such a good time. The weather was beautiful; sunny and 60 degrees with a light breeze. I was hoping to get some good pictures of the kids while we were there too, but they were less than cooperative. They kept taking turns looking at the camera so I don't have any pics of both boys looking at me. Oh well, thank goodness for photoshop!!

My boys!! (Jeff is using this pic and another to make one where they are both smiling at the camera!)

ALL my boys!! Again not everyone can look at the camera at the same time!!

Now no one is looking but they are still cute!

Max and Zach took turns flying the kite. They got it all the way up as far as it would go! When it was Zach's turn I thought he'd let go, but he took it and would not give it back. He wandered around pulling the kite string for about 15 minutes!

I was so proud of Max for trying out the sled on the hills. It's like a slower version of sledding in snow. He was VERY nervous to do it, but was brave enough to try it once and that is all it took. Then we couldn't get him to stop. Even when he'd fall off, he get back up and do it again (very unMax like). So I know he had a blast!

Great day for us all. Fun family day...that ended with Max puking M&Ms all over the car on the way home...but that's what memories are made of!

ANYBODY?? ANYBODY??

2010-02-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

Plans for 2010 are OFFICIALLY underway. This lovely home is up for the taking. Anyone interested in making West Texas their new home, just come on over and take a look. We don't care who you are, we just want your money!!!
Yes, our house is now officially up for sale. Something I've wanted to do for quite some time. Don't get me wrong; it's a great house. But we have decided to move to East Texas now and the commute would just get annoying! So I have spent the last month, with the help of my MIL and two ALWAYS sick little boys, getting the house in perfect condition to impress the new owners. (Jeff did a few things too!!)
So now we wait and pray and wait and pray. I told Jeff that we should both be pretty skinny by the time we move with all the fasting we are gonna be doing! While we will certainly miss some great friends here in the desert, I'm excited to move on to the next chapter of our lives.
And so we wait!

St Jude Trike-A-Thon

2010-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

Max's preschool participated in the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon two weeks ago. The kids were asked to find sponsors to donate to St. Jude's Caner Center and then bring their bikes, trikes, blades, scooters, etc to school to ride them. They also had a little workshop on bicycle safety. Max was really excited to go and participate. He wouldn't bring his new bike from Santa, but that was ok. He was also very cute asking family and friends to donate money to his fundraiser. We tried explaining to him what it was for and I think he understood most of it (sort of). He knows that he collected money to buy sick kids some medicine so they could ride bikes like him. Close enough for a 3 yr old! This is Max gearing up for the big day. He insisted on bringing his helmet too but would not take a picture with it.

This is the medal that he got for participating and, as he puts it, for being the "most fastest rider in the whole world"! No self esteem issues here!!

Thanks to everyone who sponsored Max and the other kids for such a worthy cause. The school was able to raise $2000 for the hospital!! Not too shabby for a bunch of three year olds!!

Crafty Crafty Me!

2010-01-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to recovering my kitchen chairs last week. It's amazingly disgusting what two little boys can do with cream colored seat cushions. This BEFORE picture is the cleanest of my dirty chairs. Much too embarrassing to post pics of the dirtest one! BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think? I like them!

Fun Times at Home

2010-01-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

The weather is starting to warm up so I can hardly keep the boys indoors anymore. We take advantage of every warm afternoon (when the wind is calm) to head outside and be loud and noisy. If we aren't at the park, we are being rowdy in the neighborhood. I would much prefer to hang out indoors but as the mother of two boys I lose that battle quit a bit. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Zach is sure that he is as big as Max so here is a picture of when Jeff tied him to the trike and had Max pushing him up and down the street, scooter-style. My poor baby! He loved it.

Zach is turning out to be just as artistic as Max. He prefers skin to paper though. I hope this doesn't mean he'll come home with a tatoo or something one day!!

Max takes his artwork very seriously. Today he drew a snowman that really looked like a snowman! I should probably scan it and post it but I probably won't. It's on the fridge right now and might get sent to Grandma Mouse one day. Who knows!

As I've said before, Zach has no fear of anything and is actually pretty coordinated. He has conquered the slide in our backyard in record time.

Max is still the swinging champion. He has just about worn out the brackets to our glider swing. He could swing for hours I bet. He's such a fun little guy! Hopefully we'll keep having sunny weather until the windy season really hits b/c outside play really does make the day go by faster.

Travels with Nana

2010-01-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

While Nana was here, we took her to some of our favorite spots in town. Keep in mind that we don't live in the most exciting of places and with a 3 yr old and 1 yr old we are limited in what we can do. We need cheap places that they can be loud! Here are some pictures of our play. This is Max hanging out at the play place in the mall. They love to run around and play and then get a treat from the cookie store convieniently placed within sight of the playground.

Our mall also has a little train the kids can ride. For $2 a kid (or less is you buy packs like I do) Max gets to ride the train for about 4 minutes while ringing the bell and get a stamp and a sticker when he leaves. Zach has ridden it a few times but recently has decided he is terrified of it. Fine by me, I save the $$ and he'll eventually get over it.

Another spot we frequent is the McDonald's playland that is about a mile from our house. The only downfall is that you have to buy something from McD or your kids can't play. And it's SOOOO hard to get my kids to eat chicken nuggets!! (Sense the Sarcasm)

Zach has mastered the ins and outs of the playground much faster than Max did. The child has absolutely no fear and it seems that no one has told him that he is only 1. He climbs and slides like a pro! Not a baby anymore :( He's still a cutie though!

Incredible Pizza

2010-01-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Jeff was home for a couple of days a few weeks back and promised to take Max to play golf. We decided to go to Incredible Pizza to play mini golf, arcade games, and eat pizza. Zach wasn't feeling too well but still managed to have a little fun. Max had a blast playing golf-his favorite pastime-and winning tickets to get "great prizes". Zach liked to push whatever buttons he could reach. He didn't win too many tickets but he sure tried.

Max would have made his Grandma Mouse proud with how well he did at skeeball. That's where we got the bulk of our winnings.

Zach finally found something he could do without help, very important to him right now. Ride'em Cowboy!!

Max and Zach couldn't decide who should be in the driver's seat on this one so they kept switching. I think that will be an issue for the next 20 yrs!

Zoo with Nana

2010-01-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Nana was in town for a few weeks and we were able to do a lot of fun stuff. Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful day and the kids wore themselves out showing Nana around. It's even better now that Zach is more into it. He finally figured out that there were animals at the zoo! he ran around all day growling and pointing at everything. Max tried as hard as he could to get into the pachyderm inclosure. Most of us call these big gray animals elephants, but not my Max. Nothing average abou this kid!

He didn't get in the real elephant cage but did manage to ride the elephant statue. Close enough I suppose.

My two boys couldn't be more different! Zach wanted to sit on way and look at the bears and Max was busy watching the monkeys in the other directions.

Zach was so fun to watch while he tried to figure out what was going on behind all the ropes and fences. He's growing up way too fast thanks to his idol/big brother.

My latest attempt at creativity

2009-12-31T21:41:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine was kind enough to let me do a birthday cake for her daughter's party this week. I don't get a lot of chances to practice, particularly on girl stuff, so I had a good time trying some things out. I know it's not perfect but I think it turned out cute (and very girly!). The party is tomorrow and I really hope they like it.
Well that's what I did for my New Year's Eve Day and then tonight we ate fancy food, drank sparkling grape juice and played with fireworks. Now the kids are in bed and I'm headed that way too. Happy New Year to all. Looking forward to a very exciting 2010. If everything goes as planned it will be a year to remember, but I can't say anything more b/c it might just jinx it all. So here's to 2010 and whatever it may bring!

Snow Again?!?!

2009-12-31T21:31:00.001-08:00

Yes it snowed again in the desert southwest. I don't mind the snow except that it makes traffic a mess, the kids always get runny noses, and there are wet clothes scattered all over the house. So maybe I do mind the snow. It's ok once in a while, but it has snowed 4 times this month and that is plain ridiculous. The boys actually had appropriate snow attire this time (thanks to Target clearence bins) so they were much happier to stay outside and play.
This is my attempt at getting a picture of the two of them together. Oh well.

Max hears his Nana talk about shoveling snow all the time so he thought he'd give it a try.

He built his very own snowman too! I think that's a pretty great snowman for a three year old Louisiana boy living in the desert!

Zach absolutely loves the snow! He kept picking up handfuls of it and rubbing it all over his face and then eating it. I guess that meant he liked it.

Zach just looks like such a big boy these days. Sometimes I wonder where my baby went.

We must have been very good!

2009-12-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it was the being good, or the yummy cookies, or maybe Mommy kissing the big guy under the mistletoe, but Santa certainly was good to us this year (and so were grandparents!!). Most of our Christmas morning pics are on another camera, so this is all you're gonna get tonight! Enjoy
Zach got a ride on, rocking airplane this year. It is QUITE similar to the ride on rocking airplane Max got two years ago for Christmas. Oh well, he doesn't seem to mind the hand me down gifts. I have better pics of him riding that I may post one day.

Max got a bike from Santa. He loves his bike. He washes it, cleans it, polishes it, and walks it up and down the sidewalk. He does not actually ride the bike. I don't know if it's too big for him or too hard for him or if it's just Max taking his time getting use to something new. Only time will tell.

As luck would have it, Max likes Zach's airplane and Zach is obsessed with Max's bike. It's good that they can share!

Cookies for Santa

2009-12-31T21:10:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we had a whole list of things to do toget ready for the big day.We ate fired chicken for dinner (b/c that just seemed to be the right thing to do), then we headed to the local light show. An insurance salesman with a big ole house set up a light show during Christmas to share with the community (bet his neighbors love him!). It's set to music and Santa comes out and everyone get a treat. Max and Zach absolutely loved it.
After that we headed home to make cookies for Santa. Max was being extra careful to make pretty cookies so Santa would leave him some Power Rangers. When the cookies were finished we read the story of Christ's birth (from a picture book, not the Bible, but hey the kids appreciated it). Then we headed off to bed to make sure we were sleeping so Santa could come.
Here are some cookie decorating pictures to enjoy.
Max was very serious about his cookie decorating. I don't know where he gets that from!!

Zach was very serious about eating as many sprinkles as he could find. Again I don't know where he gets that from!!

Hope Santa doesn't mind the double dipping!

The finished product. Santa got the best four cookies from the bunch and we snacked on the rest before heading to bed.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2009-12-22T14:34:00.001-08:00

He's Here! He's Here!! Isn't he the cutest Santa you've ever seen?!? We dressed him up and took him to help deliver gifts to our friends and neighbors. Max also wore a Santa hat but won't take a picture.

Here are a few more pictures to enjoy.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Christmas Festivities

2009-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have been packed with fun holiday festivities (along with some not so fun ones). I got all the shopping done with time to spare, we got all of our gifts mailed off in time, I spent a bit of time on some homemade gifts (shhhh! it's a secret), we adopted some kids from the Angel tree (only for presents--not to bring home!!), had a few parties--one that came with the gift of stomach flu for all who attended, a few doctors appts which gifted us with asthma, an ear infection, and the promise of a root canal for the new year!! Here are some pictures to share fo the joyous season!! Max and Zach loved decorating the tree. They have been really good about not totally destroying it since too. All of the ornaments are shatter proof and it's a good thing b/c they both LOVE to throw balls!

These are some reindeer cupcakes I made. They were suppose to be for Max's school party but I signed up too late (due to stomach virus) and was assigned party bags instead. So I made these anyway and passed them out to friends and family from church. I also made party bags for all of Max's classmates, but have no pics.

Max has been quite crafty this year too. He made several things at school, some ornaments for the tree and this happy holiday puzzle--that we have made about 100 times since he got it. He has also memorized Twas the Night Before Christmas thanks to Grandma and Paw Paw sending him the book.

Here is the Gingerbread Train Max and Jeff made together. I was all crafted out so I skipped on this one. They had a good time though.

Wow! I'm glad all of this is out of the way so now I can enjoy the holiday!!

Christmas Decorations

2009-12-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

We have some obnoxiously large built in shelves in our living room and the only good use I have found for them is Christmas decorations. So each year we fill one shelf with my snowman collection, one with Jeff's Christmas train and village, and the third with our Nativity. You can tell how big these shelves are with Max comfortable sitting up there helping Jeff set things up. This is my snowman collection. I LOVE snowmen!! Each year I try to only add one or two so we don't get completely overrun with them. I also have other snowmen scattered around the house and snowman pillows, blanket, cups, trays, plates, etc. It's so much fun and snowmen are always happy.

Here is Jeff's train and village. Actually you can see the train in this picture b/c it's in the back. The boys love to turn it on and watch it go around and around and around and around. Must be a guy thing!!

Here is our sad little nativity. It is sad this year for many reasons. First we couldn't find it in all of our holiday decorations. Then when we found and and opened it, it was broken. Two wise men lost their head, Joseph lost his hand, and baby Jesus was in 5 pieces. We managed to glue almost everything back together (expect we couldn't find Joseph's hand) but it just doesn't look as pretty as it did. And finally we got everything done and the background came crashing down! We can't make the background stay up for anything.

So this is what it looks like and will look like until we take it down next week. Hey, we tried!!

Tis the season to be crafty

2009-12-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

Admit it--this time of year brings out the crafty side of all of us. Whether it's decorating, baking, sewing, or something else, Christmastime brings out the urge to make something homemade in all of us. I, too, get caught up in the fever of Christmas crafting. I am not very good at most of these types of things but I feel it is something that must be done.
I sat down with the boys on Friday and helped them make some Christmas ornaments. I would have posted pictures but they are for Paw Paw, Grandma Mouse, and Nana and I'd hate to ruin the surprise! We also made a Santa Countdown and painted a nativity.
I also made my contribution to the homemade gift category. Here are some pics of princess bags I made for my little nieces and then I stuffed them with all sorts of princess paraphernalia. I have to admit it was fun doing girly pink and purple sparkly stuff for a change. Max wants a princess bag too but Jeff said no!

And stay tuned for more Christmas craftiness! There are plans for Reindeer cupcakes, more ornaments and decorations, Christmas candies and yummy yummies! Note I said PLANS FOR, so we shall see. However, I think my biggest challenge this year will definitely be keeping Zach from climbing to the top of the tree!!

The Cowboy Snowman Guy

2009-12-01T21:43:00.001-08:00

Max desperately wanted Jeff to help him build a giant snowman and he waited and waited for Jeff to finish his work so they could do it. It was very cute to watch my snowman expert of a husband teach my silly monkey boy the finer points of snowman building.

This is Jeff demonstrating the proper rolling technique to build base and torso or as Max calls them the butt and the tummy parts.

This is Max trying to roll the head. He did well for a little bit but then it fell apart. Not bad for a boy with 1/2 south Louisiana DNA!

Zakky of course had to get in on the action. Just checking things over to make sure it was done right!

A finished product!! No Desert Snowman is complete without a cowboy hat, right?!?!

About 3 hours after they were finished it started warming up. First his head melted and fell off and then his midsection met the same fate. I think his butt is thick enough to last till morning though. Max checked on him throughout the day to see how he was doing and kept singing "Once There was a Snowman" song. Yes it's the circle of life. He was a good friend and a good memory!

Winter Wonderland -- In the Desert!!

2009-12-01T21:21:00.001-08:00

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!! It snows here in the desert about once a year. It's usually sometime around Thanksgiving and it usually signifies the last bit of precipitation until April. I love the snow for a weekend, but I'd never want to live where it snowed 6 months a year. Max thought the snow was great and kept saying, "As soon as it warms up, I'm gonna play in the snow!" Too bad it doesn't work that way!!
So here are some pics from the last two days. I would have posted eariler, but in the words of an old country song, "I was too busy being in love!"

Here is our backyard. I think we probably got about 3-4 inches in the grass and maybe an inch or so on the rocks. For those of you unfamiliar with desert living, 3/4 of our landscaping is rock and our little patch of grass is about the size of my living room/kitchen.

Here are the boys all dressed up to go in the snow. B/c I'm cheap and it only gets cold 5 days a year, the boys don't have winter coats. We dress in layers and use socks for gloves!!

Zach loved the snow. He didn't mind being cold at all and has spent the last two days either outside or looking out the window with puppy dog eyes, saying "Out! Out!"

Max enjoyed the snow for a little bit. He's actually happy in this pic even he doesn't look it. He gets cold really easily b/c he has literally no body fat to keep him warm. The rest of us sure don't have that problem!! He was very excited to build a snoman with his Daddy too. I will put those pics up soon.

Well it's finally beginning to feel like Christmas (although I'm sure it will warm up again before the 25th). There is something magical about snow. Max said, "Mom where is Santa?" and I reminded him that was still a few weeks away and he said, "But look it's Christmas outside!" They must just know!!

Zakky's Birthday Cakes!!

2009-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here they are!! I think his cakes turned out cute. They aren't what I would call "professional" but they are fun. The top cake is a pull apart cupcake cake from a Wilton set I bought. It was very easy to put together and aside from some icing issues was very simple to do. The second cake is Z's own personal cake which I cut out of a 6" round cake and then built up the muzzle/nose portion with more cake. It was my firsst time trying a scuplted cake and I think I did pretty well.
Most importantly I hope Zach likes it. I can't wait till his party tomorrow to watch him dig in!!

Happy Birthday Bear!!

2009-11-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it is Zakky's 1st birthday! Actually yesterday was his big day but I didn't get a chance to post anything. Oh well, his party isn't until tomorrow so he still hasn't opened his presents or eaten his cake (I haven't even made his cake yet!). But that proves he is part DeGraff. We are known for stretching out our birthdays as long as possible!
So at 1 year, Zach loves to eat anything he can get, play with anything he can steal from his brother, say MaMa, Dada, Juice, No, This, and Ball. Oh and VVroom, vvroom and moooo!! He is starting the walking thing but he is still very wobbly and would much rather crawl or scoot. He loves to jump and he can now tackle his big brother and bring him to the ground! This is going to be fun!!
He grows more everyday and is going to outweigh Max very soon. I don't have his 1 yr stats yet but he's in 18 month clothes moving to a 2T!! Zakky is funny and easy going but very determined when he decides he wants something. He is learning to use his voice to get his point across and he still growls pretty regularly. I kind of hope he always does that.
Well we made it through the 1st year and now it's going to get very interesting. Zach and Max are going to be the best of friends and drive each other crazy, just like brothers should. And Jeff and I will be here to try and keep it under control!
Happy Birthday Bear! We love you!!

WE ARE READY!

2009-11-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

"I have to wear this mask on my face to keep the germs from getting into my mouth." -Max

Hope that works out for you buddy!!

Theatrical Debute

2009-11-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Max gave his first stage performance in front of a live audience today. He was "Broken Arrow" the Navajo Indian in his preschools Native American presentation. His line was "I am Broken Arrow and I grow corn." Or something to that effect! He said his line very well and very loudly and he looked so grown up. Actually he looked really short compared to the other kids but he was big in spirit!!
All went well until he tried to walk off the stage the wrong way and was redirected and then got confused and panicked. And if you know Max, panic = tears. So he made it through is part and two songs before he was escorted to the back in tears. Poor little guy, he really did try and he was such a cute little Broken Arrow. He decorated his costume all by himself and was so excited.
I think a few more Primary programs and he'll be a regular professional! Great job Max!!

BTW--In the group shot, Max is the 2nd kid in the row.

Football Anyone??

2009-11-05T19:48:00.001-08:00

Max has been asking for awhile if we could go to a football game so tonight we decided to take him to a local high school game as a tiny taste of live football. He was so excited all day to go. He took a nap and behaved at dinner all with the promise of a real live football game in a real stadium.

He was SOOOOOO into the game....for the first 5 minutes or so. Then he was more interested in walking up and down the bleachers and trying to get the mascots' attention. Then came the halftime show and he was hooked. Not on the players or the band or the music, not even on the cheerleaders. Nope, it was the flags! He watched those flags without blinking and begged for me to find a way to get one for him. Jeff was so annoyed! Ten bucks and an hour and a half of sitting in bleachers so Max can decide he wants to be a flag twirller. That boy never ceases to make me wonder!!

I Had A Dream...

2009-11-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me well, know that I very regularly have vivid dreams that I remember in the morning. I always have. Many of them are crude and violent in nature and they get worse when I am pregnant. I've dream everything from having my children repossessed by the hospital to giant green dogs swimming in my pool to my dad being a soldier in the Civil War.
Well last night I had a dream. It wasn't intense or vile but I woke up feeling as though I'd been crying all night. And this dream was about my mother-in-law, someone I don't recall ever having dreamed about. Anyway, the dream...
It was basically centered around the fact that my MIL recieved revelation from God that I was not supposed to be married to her son and we needed to divorce immediately. And the kicker was that I was in fact suppose to be married to my brother-in-law (my husband's sister's husband). No one in the dream seemed to think this was a good idea but it was understood that it must be done. Even Jeff, who seemed quite upset with me, agreed that it needed to happen but he refused to go to the wedding with me. I remember begging my MIL to find another way b/c I wanted to be an Orwin and she continually repeated that it wasn't meant to be.
So I wonder what this all means. Do dreams really mean anything or are they just what our minds do when we are sleeping? I think I have a very good relationship with my MIL and I can't imagine her wanting me out of the family. And I'd like to think Jeff wouldn't divorce me just b/c his mom said so. And I in no way have ever thought about trying to hook up with my SIL's husband--he's a great guy, but great for her not me.
Also am I the only one with Lifetime Movie quality dreams or is this a common secret of most?

Halloween-Part 3 Toy Story Style

2009-11-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE ORWIN BOYS!

Halloween-Part 2 Trunk or Treat

2009-11-02T14:19:00.001-08:00

Our church hosted its annual Trunk or Treat this year and I got to be the lucky one to organize it all. I thought it turned out pretty good and we had about 200 people so I'd call it a success. I also hope and pray I never have to do it again. After putting together last year's Christmas Extravaganza (3 weeks after Z was born) and then the Trunk or Treat this year I've learned one very important lesson--I don't like doing stuff like that!! I can't complain too much b/c I really did have a lot of help and everyone seemed to have a great time, but I'm not in a hurry to do it again. I was too busy at the party to take pictures--that was someone else's job--so here are some cute pics of Zakky instead. Enjoy!!

Halloween-Part 1 School Party

2009-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

Max's Halloween Celebration began on Friday with his preschool Halloween parade and party. I left Zach at home with Jeff so Max could be the center of attention (not that he isn't anyway). The school put on a little program with singing and cheering. Then each kid got to introduce themselves and tell what they were pretending to be. Max did NOT have a problem with this at all. He said, "I'm Max and today I'm BUZZLIGHTYEAR!!!!" He did not have a problem projecting his voice either. I was so proud. TO INFINITYAND BEYOND!!

This is Max at his party with his newest bestest friend.

This is the loot he gathered (part of it). We got candy from the party, Trunk or Treat at church and regular Trick or Treating. It has now been hidden (except for the Reese's PB cups--Max's Mom took those)!

Ladies Man

2009-11-01T13:48:00.001-08:00

Max was quite the Ladies Man at Tom and Evan's wedding. He thought he was very handsome in his new suit (and he was) so he was constantly going up to strangers and saying,"Do you like my suit? I look nice!" I tried to get him to tell the girls they looked pretty, but he was a little stuck on himself. He did get them all out on the dance floor at the reception though. Those Orwin boys can be such charmers!!

Sweet Boy!

2009-11-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of Zach at Tom and Evan's wedding last weekend. He is gonna be a heartbreaker!!

I Meant To...

2009-10-29T10:25:00.001-07:00

I meant to start walking again when the weather cooled down, but Max walks too slow to burn any calories.
I meant to start exercising on the treadmill, but it won't fit in the house so it stays in the garage which smells like gasoline, paint, and sawdust AND there is no air conditioning.
I meant to go on a diet last week so I would look better at 30 than I do at 29, but my friend Angela brought me a bag of chocolate truffles for my birthday and my friend Kammie made me a cake. It would be impolite and a bad friend of me if I didn't indulge.
I meant to figure out how to make a cowboy shirt for Zach's Halloween costume, but here it is the day before the Trunk-or-Treat and I know it's not going to happen. He'll be cute anyway.
I meant to cook a real dinner every night this week, but Tuesday I was tired and the kids were grumpy and only wanted PB&J so I gave in.
I meant to go to the storage unit and get out the winter clothes, but an early winter storm came through last night and I didn't get a chance. Now I don't even have a jacket and it's kind of chilly.
I meant to blog about my trip with Jeff to San Diego 3 weeks ago, but since we didn't bring the camera I didn't have any pics to post. And who wants to read a post without pictures??
I meant to blog about all the cute things my kids have said and all the fun things we've seen and done, but time just gets away from me.
HOWEVER....I vow today to do better. If there is anyone out there who still tries to read this blog, stay tuned. I started this site as a journal of my life with my kids, one I can share with others, and I'm going to get back to it. These guys are little only once and I don't want to forget all those priceless moments. So any readers left out there, keep an eye out for me cause I'm back!

Oh crap! Look at the time. I need to go pick up Max from school!!

Cancun 2009 - A Family Affair

2009-09-18T17:16:00.001-07:00

Jeff had some time off he needed to take and what better place to go then Cancun, Mexico. Six days filled with sun, sand, water, and fun. Now I need a vacation from my vacation!!! Enjoy the next 5 or 6 post filled with pictures of our adventure. Enjoy!!

And yes, unfortunately this is the only picture we got of all four of us together--don't we look like we're having fun!!!

Cancun 2009 - A Little Taste of A Lot of Fun

2009-09-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few random pictures of our Cancun adventure to get you started. Max was the coolest kid at our resort, actually b/c we went during the off season he was one of the only kids there!
Here is a picture of our little pigeon buddy. He slept on the light outside of our room and pooped on our balcony quite frequently. The boys thought he was great and still talk about the the little fellow. We go all the way to Cancun for vacation and the boys make friends with a pigeon. Something is very wrong with this!!

And what is a trip to Cancun without topless girls??? Fortunately this is the only one we came across!

Cancun 2009-Finding things to do

2009-09-18T16:33:00.001-07:00

There are lots of things to do in Cancun but not many of them involve children 3 and under. Jeff and I had to be a little creative in finding kid friendly activities for those hours of the day when it's too hot to be in the sun.

One of the hardest parts of vacation with little ones is the waiting. And most of our waiting was done at the airport. Max will tell you that we had to ride four airplanes, two trains, two vans, one taxi, and about a thousand busses on our trip. The busses were the most fun b/c you had to give the driver "circle money" to get on (pesos).

Cookie Monster was our only celebrity encounter on this trip but Max was thrilled to see him!

One of the malls we visited had a really cool kids play area with climbing stuff and riding stuff and sliding stuff and well all kinds of stuff!

Max and Zach both loved watching the jumping water in this fountain. Max kept throwing pesos in the water and Zach kept trying to go for a swim.

Some of the other kid friendly ammenities we found were a playgroup inside a Chili's Restaurant, a lego game room inside a store, and several fast food places to get a chicken nugget in a pinch!

Cancun 2009 - LOTS and LOTS of fish

2009-09-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

There is an aquarium in one of the outdoor malls in Cancun. We took the kids there thinking they would have a really good time. Unfortunately they were more hot and hungry that day than they were interested in fish. Oh well, we can't win every time!!

See!! Jeff came with us too! Some how he is only in three or four of our vaca pics!

The dolphin show was the best part of the aquarium although Max was convinced they were really sharks and were going to come and bite him!!

Z's face is a little swollen b/c he was already sunburned at this point in the trip. I think I missed one little spot on his cheek around his eye and he got toasted pretty good. But the little tough guy never once complained!!

Cancun 2009-Under the Sea

2009-09-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

On our Cancun trip we decided to try doing a tour with the boys on the last days. Both Jeff and I were nervous because both of the little ones are prone to unexplained and poorly timed meltdowns. We were brave and gave it a try and it was GREAT! We went on the "submarine tour" which was a boat ride through a giant coral reef with windows underwater to see all the marine life. We saw turtles, rays, coral, and all kinds of fish.

Both of the boys charmed our tour guide into letting them take a turn driving the boat.

Max was a marine life expert thanks to "Finding Nemo!"

Cancun 2009--Hotel Swimming

2009-09-18T15:55:00.001-07:00

Everyone thought we were crazy to take our kids to Cancun for our vacation this year. Maybe we were a little, but check out this view. If you could go there, wouldn't you???

We spent A LOT of time swimming in the FIVE pools our hotel offered. We learned very quickly that Max doesn't like strong waves and Zach HATES wet sand and saltwater. Jeff took Max down to the ocean a few times but Z and I stuck to the pool.

We took lots of video of the boys splashing and playing in the pool and in the ocean, but I'll probably never get around to uploading them so you'll have to come to my house and see them or take my word for it that they were adorable!!

Is this the day?

2009-09-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Is today the day that Max will make it through school without crying? It just might be!! For the first time in three weeks of preschool, Max walked through the doors and into his class without falling to pieces. I don't know how he did after I left, but I think we may have turned a corner!!
I didn't really think he would have such a hard time adjusting to preschool like he has. But he has always had a flair for the dramatics so anything is possible with him. Th last three weeks I have gone back and forth with whether to leave him in or take him out, put him in full time, try a different place. I just can't seem to decide what is best for him. I think he needs to be in a social environment without me but I don't want to force him if he isn't ready. Then I think, he's just doing this for attention and I should ignore the drama and he'll stop. But what if he's doing it for attention b/c he needs the attention???
Anyway, I've pushed through and promised the staff that I will see how September goes and then decide what to do. So we are just taking one day at a time. I made cookies for his class so he could share. I set up playdates so he could get to know the kids better. I've done everything I can think of. Fortunately it seems to be working. I was so proud of him when I left today!!
Now the next big problem is that we are leaving on vacation and he'll be out a week! Does this mean we'll ahve to start all over again. I hope not!! I just don't know how much more I can take!!!

What I've Been Up To

2009-08-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've been taking cake decorating classes for the past eight weeks and this is my "final exam." I am quite impressed especially considering that until about 3 months ago I had never even turned a cake out of a pan. I was one of those who baked the cake, left it in the pan, and dumped a can of frosting on top (my mom's secret recipe!!). So after 16 hours of classes and ZERO practice time at home, this is how good I am now. Not too bad, huh? I can do 4 different borders including basketweave, 10 types of flowers, and 3 kinds of leaves. I was going to continue the classes but I am not going to have time the next few months, so I'll just stick with practicing what I have already learned. All in all, I had a really good time learning something new and having a bit of a creative outlet, but ultimately I'd still rather have a yummy cake over a pretty cake any day!!

Butt Scoot and Boogie

2009-08-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Rainbow School or Bust!

2009-08-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the 1st day of preschool and at a whopping 28lbs and 35 inches Max is ready to be the BIG MAN on campus--well his mouth is big anyway!! He is in the yellow class at his school and goes 3 mornings a week. He was ready to go bright and early (and we don't do early at our house).
When we got to school, I signed him in and he was ready to go until....
Another little boy in his class had a bit of a meltdown and Max's little chin began to quiver and he said, "Mommy, I think I need to cry too!" So he cried for about 2 minutes and then was fine for the rest of the morning. When I picked him up he was excited to tell me all about it. They sang songs, learned about crayons (I guess the rules or something but that part seemed very important) and he played with lots of toys. I asked if he made new finds and he said yes and I asked who and he said, "Oh a bunch of somebodies." So we made it through Day One and we shall see what Day Two holds in store. Way to go Little Monkey!! You did good.

Zakky -- Never a Dull Moment!

2009-08-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the face of pure innocence?!?!
Zachary is nine months old now and he's long overdue for an update. So here you are. At his last doctor's visit he was 20lbs and 28 inches which puts him in the 50% for height and weight. I think that's the only thing average about this little guy!! He also now has 6 teeth with 4 more coming--including 2 molars! Warning HE BITES!! Just check out my furniture.
Zach has decided that crawling is not for him and is choosing the "butt scoot" as his main mode of transportation. It's the funniest thing I think I've ever seen. I got video and I'll have to figure out how to download it to share with you all. But it's basically what it sounds like. He sits down and then scoots on his bum to get where he wants to go. He also has figured out how to cruise along the furniture if that is an option. I don't know why neither of my kids seem to think it's ok to be "normal" sometimes!
Zachary is a VERY good eater and will eat anything that doesn't eat him first. We gave up on baby food awhile back when he started stealing food off Max's plate. He's also a very demanding eater and will growl and shreik at you if you don't feed him fast enough or offer to share what you have with him. It doesn't matter if he's not hunger and it doesn't matter what you are eating. He WILL take your food, so don't say you weren't warned.
With all of this Zachary is still one of the sweetest, most laidback little guys I know. He's content to follow you around, help with household chores, clap his hands when you sing, and smile till your heart melts. He's into everything and loves to make a mess, but with a smile (and hair) like that you can't help but love him!!

Ohhh Brothers!!

2009-08-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pictures to share. So do you all see what I'm up against?!?!?

Love that chicken (and the little boy too)!!!

2009-08-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

So I brought chicken home for lunch today and after fixing everyone's plates and feeding both kids I was finally able to sit down and enjoy my lunch. Well I sat down with my plate of a chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and biscuit, Max sat down next to me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen. He said, "Wow Mom! You must be REALLLLLY hungry. That's the biggest chicken nugget I've ever seen!"
Love that kid.

the shopping goddess smiled down on me!

2009-08-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

I had a rough week. My kids have been sick, my husband has been gone, my mom has been in the hospital, and we have had a few other unexpected disappointments to deal with as well. Then there are the little things like, breaking a bottle and stepping on glass, forgetting to put a razor away and having my 3 yr old find it--we've gone through a box of bandaid on that one, having the underwire of my bra pop and zing my pretty good, etc, etc, etc.
Anyway, that was not the point of this post. My point was that tonight I'd had enough and needed to get away. I used the excuse of needing to go bra shopping b/c I knew no one would want to join me. So I left Jeff with the boys and went out.
My true intention was to buy a bra, drive around for a bit, and then come home before bath time. Well the goddess of shopping had other plans!!
First off, the bras were buy one get one 1/2 off, so I had to get two. Then I found a sweater on sale--I know buying a sweater in the August desert sounds dumb, but it does cool off in a few months--anyway it was on sale 75% off and in my size and one of my fave colors! AND I found a dress that I love on sale for 55% off and the only one left was in my size. This never happens to me!! And if you know me, I'm a sucker for a sale. This was my night!!
So the short of it is that while I really had no need to go shopping at all, the fates aligned in such a way that it was my destiny. I followed it and was greatly rewarded. Goddess of shopping, wherever you reign, thank you for smiling my way tonight!!

If I Can Do It...

2009-08-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I donated blood. I have always found an excuse not to do it--mostly that it's gross and I hate needles, but it didn't turn out too bad after all. In fact I realized some great benefits of "sharing a piece of me" with someone else. Aside from the obvious, saving a life reason, I found some other compelling reasons to say "Why not."
First off, the blood drive was in the mall so it was convienently located. Secondly, you get cookies and juice while you wait AND after you are done. Third, when I tried to use the excuse that I had my kids with me so it was a bad time, the nice lady at the desk agreed to watch them for me. I could see them the whole time but did not have to "deal" with them for almost 30 minutes. Max helped people sign in and Zach charmed everyone within a 50 yard radius. Another benefit was that they fed my kids cookies and juice too. I saved money not having to buy lunch!! And then at the end I got lots of prizes--a coloring book, box of crayons, t-shirt, water bottle, dinner coupons and movie tickets.
So there you have it. A handful of reasons why giving blood wasn't so bad after all. As Max puts it "My momma don't gave (donate) her blood. I may even do it again sometime. If I can do it...can you?

Dinosaur Birthday 2009

2009-07-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

My SIL says that only a DeGraff can stretch a birthday the way we do. I guess Max inherited that trait b/c his birthday seems to have lasted the entire month of July. It started while we were at Nana's house and ended with his party a week after his real birthday. Well I have officially ended his birthday.YAY!! He said yesterday, "Mom, tell me Happy Birthday." And I said, "NO! You're birthday is OVER!" Well I wasn't that mean of course, but it is time to move on. This is birthday cake #4 and my favorite. (He also had a cake at Nana's, a cake on his real birthday, and a cake I made at my cake class last week.) This is the cake we had at the party on Saturday. I think it turned out pretty good. Max has been asking for a chocolate dinosaur cake with green frosting for about 3 months (b/c that's what Sid the Science Kid had). I think my cake turned out way cuter than Sid's did!

Here is Max getting ready for his big party. It was an outdoor water party and we had 14 kids plus babies and parents over!

We got all the kids their own squirters, set up the pool, the jumpoline, and the bubble machine. They also played on the swing set and in the sandbox. We left Jeff outside with the kids while all the moms hung out inside! It was HOT!!!

Here is Zakky in his new Hawaiian shirt. He had a blast at the party too. How come I never remember to turn his pictures the right way?

Max blew out his candles for one final time and that was the end of Dinosaur Birthday 2009. I can't believe I have a 3 year old!!

Two of my most favorite boys

2009-07-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sundaywas a pretty big day around here. It was Max's 3rd birthday and Jeff and my 6th anniversary! I just thought I'd take a minute to tell them how much I love them. Jeff is by far a better husband than I ever dreamed of having and I still can't believe I get to keep him forever. We couldn't be more different in so many ways but it all seems to work out and bring out the best in both of us. He's an amazing husband, wonderful father, and an all-round good person. I'm so glad he puts up with me and loves me the way I know that he does.
So was that ooegy-gooey, mushy, lovey-dovey enough for everyone? Good, now I'll move on to Max.
Max is coolest, funniest, sweetest little guy I know. I sure you all think I'm biased b/c I'm his Mom but if you've met him you know what I mean. He is charming, personable, and outgoing and he wants to be everyone's friend. He's our little politician! Everyday he makes me laugh and everyday he amazes me with what comes out of his mouth. I am truly grateful that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to be this little guy's Mommy. I look forward to watching him grow and learn, but at the same time I'm sad to see that he's not a baby any more. He may rule the world one day, but he will always be my little man.
So Happy Anniversary/Birthday guys. I love you!!
And don't worry Zakky--you get your very own day that you don't have to share with anyone!!

We're Back!!!

2009-07-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

How many of you actually realized we were gone?!? Anyway, we've been on vacation for the last two weeks and blogger temporarily locked me out of my account so that's my excuse for not blogging lately. Vacation was great. We went up to northern Utah to visit the in-laws. We lost our camera and have no pictures of the trip so you will just have to believe me that that is where we were!
Much fun was had by all. We played with cousins and nephews and uncles and aunts and friends. We picniced and found new parks, rode tractors and four wheelers, lit fireworks and birthday candles, toured a temple open house and an airplane museum, went bowling twice and to the grocery store every day!! Whew...I'm sure there is more and when I get some pictures (maybe from Nana) I'll go into more detail.
For now I have to finish unpacking, cleaning house, and shopping. Sunday is Max's 3rd b-day (and my 6th wedding anniversary) and next Saturday is the big party--for the birthday, not the anniversary. Lots to do after that too. The summer is about to get crazy busy. I will try to keep you all up-to-date!!

Most kids would say...

2009-06-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

Most 2-3 year olds would say, "I got a bug bite."

Max said, "Mommy, why does the big mosquito have to suck out all my blood?"

When asked what they would like to drink, most kids would say, "Juice (or milk, etc)."

Max said, "Umm, I think I will have some Diet Coke with ice in my green sippy cup with the blue top."

When asked if he/she made the mess or broke the toy, most kids would respond, "Yes" or "No".

When I asked Max if it was him who drew on my wall, he responded, "Not necessarily."

When asked where he/she is going, most kids would say, "Outside"or "to my room" etc.

Max said, "I have to go to the airport to fly on a plane to Jamaica."

When they spill something on the floor, most kids would say, "Uh oh" or some variation.

Max just threw his hands in the air and said, "Well that's just delightful."

Most kids would say, "I get to ride on an airplane to Grandma's house!!"

Max said, "Mom are we going to ride a 747 to Grandma Nana's house?"

And my favorite, most kids would say, "Nice tie, Cobey."
Max said, "Hey Cobey, why are you wearing a leash?"

My kid is very verbal but also very strange! He must get that from his father.

An Artist's Rendition

2009-06-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

Max drew this picture with his sidewalk chalk this afternoon. His pictures are finally sort of reseambling what they are suppose to be. I could tell he was trying to draw a person, so I asked who it was. He said, "That's you Mommy." He pointed to the top and said that was my head and to the bottom and said that was my feet. I pointed to the middle and said "And those are my arms." He said "No Mommy those aren't your arms, those are your big circles!!"

Maybe it's best if not everyone knows what he meant. Thank you son!

Week In Review

2009-06-17T08:49:00.001-07:00

Here are a few things we've been doing this week.

Our garden is doing remarkably well (for being in the desert summer heat) and we have tons of veggies to use and share. I made homemade tomato sauce for dinner last night, fresh green beans, spicy squash, and have decided fresh veggies taste great but require way more time to prepare than Ragu.

The boys "helped" Jeff put down more grass seed in the backyard. We took down our pool and deck and we are hoping the new grass will take. We shall see.

I made another cake for the church BBQ. We had a 4th of July party on the 13th of June. I told you people out here are a little off. Anyway, it was fun and I think the cake turned out okay. I am learning a lot about this cake stuff, but mostly I want to know how people do this with kids around. Mine are not very helpful!!

So that was our week. Oh, we also had a falling off the cabinets trying to steal the glue accident, the beginnings of summer colds, and we cleaned out the garage. Productivity is exhausting.

The best and worst of having a brother

2009-06-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Max hasn't figure out what Zach is good for yet. It seems everytime he tries to play with him he gets in some sort of trouble. For example, the other day I found Zach in the den screaming at the top of his lungs. Why you ask? Max was only trying to play with him. And by play with him I mean put a bucket on his head and beat it with a stick. Zach is no fun at all.
On a happier note I also found Max trying to teach Zach his colors. He was pointing to different squares on his quilt saying, "This is a blue square Zakky. Do you see a green square?" So cute.
Hopefully it won't be too long before they can really start interacting. Then the fun really begins!!

Someone's gonna put us on YouTube

2009-06-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

So Max has a new skill and its a fun one. Let me share. So Jeff had taken him to the store last week and put him inside the cart. He started complaining that he wanted to walk instead of ride. So Jeff took him out of the cart and Max said, "Daddy, carry me." Jeff of course said "No you can either ride in the cart or walk." Well Max started throwing a fit, already embarrassing his dad. Then Max throws himself on the ground and screams, "DON'T PUSH ME DOWN DADDY!! DON'T PUSH ME DOWN!" Jeff quickly collected the child and prayed no one was capturing this on their video phones or something.
Well then on Sunday, Maxwell pulled a similar stunt. In sacrament meeting he was acting up and I whispered that if he didn't knock it off he was gonna be in trouble. He again threw himself on the ground and started yelling, "STOP IT! DON'T HIT ME IN THE HEAD!!"
I assure everyone that Jeff nor I go around shoving small children to the ground and whacking them in the head. So if you ever see us on the news, you know the truth. Where does this stuff come from anyway??

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

2009-06-06T20:41:00.001-07:00

I have the best husband ever. As part of my much delayed Christmas present, my dear husband gave me the day off today. He, in fact, gave me the day off at a SPA! Better yet, he sent a friend with me!!
Yes ladies, I spent the day getting a pedicure, a massage, the works with one of my best friends. Then we had lunch at a fancy restaurant (the kind that doesn't even have kids' menus or high chairs). And then as we were about to head home, Jeff sent me a text message telling me not to hurry back b/c the kids were doing just fine. So of course, we went shopping! It was a beautiful, beautiful day and at the end my hubby is exhausted, but my house is still standing and the children are accounted for.
You may all go ahead and be jealous now!
I love you Jeff!!!

Should have done the laundry

2009-06-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Monday is not a play day for me. Every Monday, with VERY few exceptions, I do the grocery shopping and the laundry. All of my friends around here know that and know not to even considering asking me to do anything else. This is the only day I preschedule and I do this b/c I hate laundry and the grocery store with a passion. I take care of them both at the beginning of the week so I don't have to think about it for six more days. If they don't get done on Monday, they don't get done.

Having said that, I'll get to my real post. My dear friend decided to schedule playgroup for Monday this week. Not only did she do that, but she planned it at the water park on the Army base. I don't really like the water park either. It's kind of far away and it's not a place you can relax and let the kids go (not little ones like mine anyway) so it's just a lot of work. Well I told Jeff on Sunday that I wasn't going to go. He thought I was being a stick-in-the-mud and reminded me of how much fun Max would have (this is very true). So I told myself that if the morning went well I'd think about it.

Well I got that guilty mom thing going and decide we should go. I shouldn't let my hang-ups deny my kids of some fun. So I postponed shopping and laundry till further notice and started getting ready. Preparation for two little ones at the water park is a lot of work by the way, but I made the sacrifice and went. My sunglasses broke on the way out the door. I should have picked up on this as an omen, but I did not.

As the day went on I knew I should have stayed home and done laundry. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. My 9 month pregnant friend was denied entry to the Army base b/c she didn't have all of her paperwork (long, unimportant story) so she left in tears.

2. When we made it to the park, it was CLOSED. All 20 children we had with us were very upset.
3. While trying to leave the park, I stupidly lock my keys and my BABY in the car. This required the assistance of a firetruck, two police cars, and a paramedic. Zachary and I both cried. (He's fine BTW.)

4. Two other moms cried over my "incident."

5. Our playgroup mom in charge swore she was never doing playgroup again b/c we were all bad luck. ( I hope she was kidding.)

6. McDonalds did not give Max and I our french fries at the drive thru on the way home. He was mad all over again.

7. My husband thought it was all hilarious and laughed that I had the firemen come get Zach out. IT WAS 90+ DEGREES AND HE IS SIX MONTHS OLD. I DID NOT OVERRACT!!

8. Zach hasn't forgiven me yet and is still trying to make me feel guilty.

So the short and sweet of it is, Monday is for groceries and laundry. Don't mess with what isn't broke. All always keep an extra door key hidden somewhere so this doesn't happen. And try to keep the crying at playgroup to just the children.

Not So Easy-Bake Oven

2009-05-30T17:24:00.001-07:00

So I got volunteered to do a cake for my friend's baby shower this weekend. Well my first and most natural instinct was to go to the store and order one. But then I started playing with the idea of trying to do one myself. My MIL "helped" me do a cake for another baby shower last month (yeah it's babies, babies everywhere right now!). Anyway, she actual did most of the doing and I did a lot of watching.
So anyway, I thought I'd give it a try and do one solo this time with the back up plan of ordering something if it didn't work out. Then I completely lost my mind and decided I wanted to try a fondant cake. I've never even touched fondant before, let alone work with it, so I must have totally lost my mind. But I went with the insanity and found a picture of something I thought I could handle and went to work.
I have to say it turned out a whole lot better than I thought it would. In fact those were my husband's exact words when he saw what I had done. It did have one tiny crack in it but I was able to cover it up pretty well and I was totally stressed that any minute it would just crumble before my eyes. But I got it to the shower just fine and everyone said nice things about it. Maybe I am not completely talentless after all. Now that I have some idea of what to expect I might try something a little more complicated and see where that goes.
I was also able to make my friend a cute little gift basket (kind of my signature shower gift) with jungle animals painted on it and the baby's name and stuff, but I didn't get a picture of it. These are the cake pictures I got. I know the picture quality is bad but my good camera's batteries were dead. Anyway, what do you think? I remember in YW many years ago I was the unspoken noncrafty girl, but maybe an old dog can learn something after all.

(FYI: The letters on the side spell out JULIAN, the baby's name)

Six Months Stats--Well Six and a half now!

2009-05-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our handsome little guy turned six months old on the 13th of May. I can't believe it's already been that long!! Well his doctor's visit was fine. He is 17lbs 14 ozs and 26 1/2 inches tall. He has one little tooth and loves testing it out. Everything he finds goes straight into his mouth. He sits like a pro and is trying to pull up on everything. I think he wants to walk instead of learning to crawl. Who knows. He chatters constantly, just like his big brother, and he is quite the charmer. He still has his little bear growl that he came with and it's still as cute as ever.
Max is still his favorite person in the world, but Mommy is a close second. He's starting to really like his Daddy too! I love watching this little guy grow and learn and discover. I can't wait for what the future holds but I'm enjoying these moments while I have them. They just don't stay little for very long.