What will they say next?! :)

Well, we went out of town for part of the weekend to go to the temple with the youth. We headed to Camden on Friday after Rich got off of work, and while on the ride there Braden shared some new found knowledge of his; children are constant entertainment, that must be the reward for the hard moments. Well, my mama a.k.a. Grandmama, and my grandmama a.k.a. Great Grandmama both live in Camden, so it is hard sometimes for the children to communicate to us who they want to see. Well, a few days ago Braden and I were talking about hair color; I don't know how we got on the topic, but I have a lot of conversations with him about off the wall topics. Anyway, we determined or I should say he determined that my mama's hair was black, so while we were happily driving along on 95 on Friday he announced quite clearly to us that he wanted to go see his black grandmama. Rich and I thought it was hysterical; he and I both couldn't stop laughing. I in fact had to at that moment call my mama and share the humorous story with her, luckily she also saw the humor in the situation. Brooke, of course seeing all of the attention Braden was getting, decided to join suit; she also announced that she wanted to see her black grandmama. Oh, I love moments like that; you never do know what they are going to say, so you just always have to brace yourself for shock or laughter, in this case it was a LOT of laughter! On Saturday Rich and I went to the temple while mama watched the cuties for us; it was nice sitting in the temple and just enjoying the spirit. Rich and I were also able to do the work for my great grandparents. Today of course is Sunday, so we went to church, took naps, enjoyed being together as a family, and now Rich is off hometeaching. Braden and I also had a good conversation about his birthday party, which isn't until May, but I guess it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. He loves to tell me that Brooke's party is all done, and his turn is next. Today he told me that he wants to color at his party, have bubbles, eat chips, have horns, throw balls around, and have a Cars cake; yes, I successfully convinced Braden that a Cars cake would be much more fun than a princess cake, and this way Rich can breathe easier. Again, children are a great source of entertainment; in fact right now Braden and Brooke are taking turns with their toy microphone singing and dancing for me. I guess I will replay these nice fun moments in my mind next time Brooke throws her body on the floor and screams and kicks like a banshee or Braden is whining because you did the unthinkable and put his drink in a regular cup and not his sippy! Motherhood sure is a hard job, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Well, maybe a nice pampering every now and then, but other than that I love my cuties; I'm glad I have the opportunity thanks to Rich and Heavenly Father to be at home with them!

Hospital Maseda

Well, life in the Maseda household has been one of sickness. Brooke, being the little princess she is, wanted to go first. Early Monday morning, about 3 a.m. she staggered into our room only to throw up on me as soon as I picked her up. I rushed her to the bathroom, saving the carpet, the bed, and the rest of my pajamas. By Monday night she was fine; we had a great FHE and thought all was well, and then Tuesday afternoon it hit Braden and I. Poor Braden threw up 3 times before it left his system, and Wednesday I was still not myself. At this moment, Rich is on the couch covered in a blanket trying to move as little as possible. Of course Rich is also watching a documentary on Alexander the Great; who says you can't pick up a little knowledge when you feel like death?!

Our Crazy Fun Filled Weekend

Well, I survived the weekend. Friday was Brooke's 2nd birthday, but we spent most of the day in the doctor's office waiting to get another ultrasound of Emma. We discovered that Emma is a very healthy girl; on Friday I was 29 weeks and 1 day, but with all the measurments they took: head, bone length, etc. she measured 30 weeks and 2 days. My mama asked if maybe they just got my due date wrong, but Emma has been right on target for her due date until now; I just think she is going to be a strong healthy girl. Maybe she will come a little early like Braden and Brooke; as long as it isn't more than 2 weeks early, you won't hear me complaining. At the end of the ultrasound, the technician printed out a picture for Braden and Brooke; Brooke kissed it as soon as she got it. Brooke is our little fireball. Saturday we had her birthday party, and she loved it! She loved being the birthday princess and being the center of attention. I was worried about entertaining the children for the party, but they loved it! We had sidewalk chalk, several balls, Braden's basketball hoop, a wagon, the sandbox, a long tunnel, and a pool filled with bubbles and varying wands (including a hula hoop) in the backyard for them to play with, and they were content just to stay in the back and play. It took some convincing to get everyone inside to eat and open presents, because they didn't want to stop playing. Brooke had a ball; most of her guests were boys, but she didn't care. As long as someone wants to play, she doesn't care if it is a boy or girl. In fact, the one girl we did invite, she didn't play with at all. I have to admit I found some humor in the fact that almost all of the guests were boys, and that they ate star sandwiches, chips, a Princess cake, and ice cream on pink plates and wiped their mouths with pink napkins; it didn't seem to bother them at all though. The party was definitely a success, but I am glad it is over! Now Braden wants to talk about planning his party. He has informed me that he also wants a princess cake, but I don't think that will go over well with Rich. I guess I have a lot of work to do before his party, because I can just imagine the look on Rich's face now. Maybe I can convince Braden that bugs are the way to go, and I have a recipe for a very easy bug cake. I need an easy cake after the princess cake, which luckily turned out decent though I had my doubts along the way. At least I got to use my new tip once, before Rich killed it in the garbage disposal; oh well, at least they're not expensive. Little by little I would love to get tips and such and learn how to really decorate cakes. I guess I will add cake decorating to my list of things I want to try and learn. Oh, I also forgot to mention that Brooke helped to make her cake, in between dancing to the Happy Feet soundtrack that we have; the girl does have rhythm!

January 17, 2007

Brooke is going to be 2 on Friday, though she continues to tell Rich and I that she is going to be indeed 3 and not 2. Yesterday she, Braden, and I went to Savannah to get goodies for her party; we got some bubbles, a couple big balls, some streamers, things we need to make her cake with, and some color tablets for the bath tub. I looked and looked trying to figure out what to get the birthday guests for favors, but nothing seemed to be just right; everything seemed to either costs more money than I was willing to spend or it was something that I thought would be thrown to the side as soon as the party was over. I finally decided to get color bath tablets; I just got 2 containers, and I will separate them into little ziplock bags for each child and put a pretty index card topper on each along with directions. Brooke's cake is going to be one of those doll cakes, where you use a bowl to make the dress; I tried to gear her towards others, but she wanted no part of it. The dress is going to be pink with glitter; I also felt brave and bought a couple tips to use to decorate the dress. If the cake turns out decent, I'll post a picture later, and if not, we will eat the cake so fast so no one has time to get a good look at it. Rich and I thought an hour and a half was plenty time for a party: get them in, play, eat, open presents, and say thanks for coming. If weather permits, we are going to set up a pool full of bubbles with large bubble wands in the back along with balls to throw, a tunnel to climb through, and they will have the sandbox. I may plan a couple games as well, but my goal is to keep the chaos outside. Brooke brings up her party almost every day, so I think she is excited. She also got a birthday card from her Grandad Crolley today, which she announced with attitude was indeed hers and we were not to touch; it was a Cinderella card, whom she refers to as pretty girl. All of the princesses: Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella, etc. are all called pretty girls. Braden, and his party loving self, is also excited; he is already asking when his party is going to be. When we went to Party City he was pointing out things he wanted for his party; that kid loves to have a good time. In fact, today we went visiting teaching, and he was having such a fun time socializing he kept saying no go home, no go home, when it was finally time to leave. If Braden and Brooke had their way, we would leave the house in the morning, go visit everyone we know along with everyone we don't know, come home late, go to bed, and get up in the morning and do it again. I sure love those children of mine, but boy do they have a lot of energy!

The Latest Picture of the Maseda Clan

January 8, 2007

The cuties, Rich, and I went to South Carolina this weekend, so we could walk through my Granny's old house one more time (Mama is going to be selling it pretty soon). Braden and Brooke seemed to enjoy themselves. On Saturday, Rich took them outside, so I could actually get ready in peace. It was so nice looking outside and watching Rich with them. He of course brought his golf clubs with him, so he and the cuties were in Grandmama's yard hitting golf balls and having a grand time. Watching both of them with Rich, it hit me that I have two children. It made me think back about when Rich and I first got married and how time changes so much; the two of them challenge me, exhaust me, and push me to the edge some days, but I sure love them. Now we have another one on the way, little Emma, due to make her appearance late March or early April; our little clan keeps growing, and so does the joy and craziness in the Maseda household.

January 1, 2007

To celebrate New Year's Eve we went over to the Padgett's, some friends from church. Brooke made it to about 10:30 before crashing (takes after her Daddy), but Braden, a true night owl, was still begging to stay up and party at 2a.m.; he enjoyed himself so much he informed me that we needed to have a party at our house. We also brought home some of the party hats, which he has made us all wear several times today; he really enjoyed himself! I loved watching him socialize with the other children; he like always gravitated to the older children, especially a little 5 yr. old named Zoe. He blew his horn as loud as everyone else when we rang in 2007, which Brooke luckily slept through. This morning we continued the celebration and went out to eat breakfast with the Padgetts and Eichorns, where Braden devoured some pancakes; the one thing he didn't like about the party was the food, so he was ravenous the next morning; a lot of good memories were made. :)