Which is worse?

Is it worse to not know where your kid is and what he's doing or to sit back and watch him do something he shouldn't and silently debate with yourself on if it is worth it to do anything about it? Right now Max is only about 2 feet away from me tearing up and coloring all over paper from Jeff's office that are most likely something of some degree of importance. And I am sitting at the computer blogging about it, too tired to react, and just glad he's being quiet about it. On the scale of uninvolved, disinterested parent where do I fall?
Oh and BTW I am way behind on my blogging about our trip to Louisiana. When I finish unpacking (we've been back for a week now) I will locate my camera and post some pictures. Until then, just know that we had a great time and wish we could visit more often!

I've Been Replaced!

I am officially Zachary's SECOND favorite person. He is in love with his big brother!! No one can get him to laugh like that goofy little boy. I can't wait till they can really do stuff together. They are sure to be the best of friends!!

Early Easter with the Orwins!

Since we will be visiting my family for Easter, we did some Easter stuff a little early this year. Here are the cupcakes I made for my Primary Inservice Meeting. I'm not really crafty like some of you, but I thought they turned out cute.

Here is the wreath I made for the front door. I think it needs mor flowers, but Jeff said then it would look overdone. What do you think?

Here is a picture from our playgroup Easter egg hunt. I was planning for 8 and got 20 instead. Wow!! Well the kids had a good time and I was glad I had filled so many (150) eggs.

Here are the kids decorating bunny rabbit and butterfly cookies. I was impressed that they didn't make more of a mess!

So in case I don't see you all before the weekend, Happy Easster everyone! And all you LA moms--I'll be in town from the 8th to the 22nd if you guys want to get together!

Our Family Garden

A few weeks ago, when Jeff's mom was visiting, we put in our new garden. Last year's garden didn't work so well, so we made some adjustments and are hoping for a more successful crop this year. We planted tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, brocolli, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, and squash. Maybe with all of this we will get something worth eating. It's just really tricky to get things to grow in the desert.
Here is Jeff and Max watering the garden. You can never use a hose at my house without Max's help!

This is how Zachary helped!!

More fun with hoses! I told you; this boy has a thing about hoses.

Max and Grandma Nana planting seeds.

So we will see what comes of this grand adventure. So far things look promising. Now the question will be what to do with all of these yummy veggies, since my boys won't touch them!

Maid for Me?

What do you all think about hiring housekeepers? Jeff and I have debated this for the better portion of our marriage. Surprisingly it has been that has been the one holding back. Jeff thinks it would be great to hire someone to come in once in a while to take some of the load off of me. He also figures that then I will stop harrassing him about helping out with the chores.
Some of you may be wondering why I don't absolutely love this idea. I'll tell you. #1 I hate people touching my stuff. I can't explain it, but it really bugs me. #2 I would be the kind of person who would clean my house extra good before the maid came so she wouldn't see our mess. #3 I would feel like a complete louse of a stay-at-home mom if I hired someone to do my job for me. If I was working I might consider it, but it would just make me feel guilty, dirty, and lazy.
However, here are some reasons I have come up with that make it sound like a good idea. #1 Jeff really isn't home much at all to help, so I really do have to do everything. #2 It would free up some of my time so I could do more stuff with my kids. #3 Hired help would probably do a better job than I do anyway. #4 I HATE HOUSEWORK!!!
So what do the rest of you SAHM think about all this? Am I crazy not to get the help? Is it worth it? Is it unfair to spend money on something that I could do myself? Your opinions are welcome. Thanx

The Poop Fairy?!?

Max has been somewhat potty trained for a little more than a month now. I say "somewhat" because he still can't make it through the night and he hates pooping in the potty. He wears a pull-up at night to handle that issue, which I'm fine with for the time being. However, the pooping thing is getting ridiculous. He started out just simply refusing to poop at all. Well nature only lets that go for so long. Then he would wait until he had his pull-up on b/c he didn't want to poop in his underwear. Well eventually he got over all of that and was just pooping in his underwear and taking it off and leaving it for someone else to clean up. How lovely!
Well Grandma Nana (Jeff's mom) was here this past week and found a solution to our problem. She told him that if he pooped in the potty she would give him money to buy a treat. Well, he promptly pooped in the toliet and showed me the $3.00 she gave him. $3.00!!!
Jeff said whatever it costs for him never to clean up poop again was worth it. I told her it was too much and I didn't want to go back to work so I could pay for my kid's poop. So the next day she only gave him $1.00. Still I think this is a bit much. What do we do when the kid starts losing teeth? Besides why should the kid get paid for something everyone else gladly does for free? But then again, it's only $365 a year. Twenty years from now we could use his poop money to help pay for his mission. Hmmmmm

Zach, Hat, Hat on Zack

Zachary is really growing up (and out, and around!!). He's a roller-over now, but only one way so far, he luaghs hysterically at his big brother, and his favorite thing to do still is to eat. He hates lying down and loves to sit in his little seat or on someone's lap and flap his arms and legs. He's determined to fly I think and the way he's going at it, he just might. He's still very content most of the time and a good little sleeper at night (unless Jeff happens to be home and then he wants to play with Dad at 4AM). Max thought he needed a hat. What do you think?
I think he's a doll. My mom thinks he still looks like a Mexican Eskimo-whatever that means!