Our Day of Adventure

Today was definitely one of adventure; I am not even sure where to start. I guess I will just start from the beginning, Braden's first day of preschool. Braden woke all of us up at 6:30 this morning exclaiming it was "school day". Within an hour, he had eaten breakfast, gotten dressed, brushed his teeth, put on his backpack, and was ready to walk out of the door. Of course, not all of the family was ready, so he then went around the house telling all of us to hurry up (he also told me what he thought I should wear). Rich had arranged to go in late to work, so he could be there to take Braden on his first day; he didn't tell the rest of the family until this morning though, so it was a nice surprise! We of course also had to take pictures on the first day; Braden made sure that Emma was included in the action. We then all loaded up into the van and headed to his school. Braden did a great job this morning; I wondered if he would be clingy or not, but I guess all the preparation work we had done worked. After getting him settled and helping him go through the morning routine: find your spot with your name, put it on the dog, give your folder to the teacher, hang up your backpack, and pick a center, we each hugged and kissed him and left as he played in the center of his choice, home living (they called it housekeeping when I grew up).

It was really strange coming home to a house without Braden; I don't think Brooke really knew what to do without her partner in crime by her side. Once I got Emma happily playing in her exersaucer, Brooke and I cleaned the bathrooms, took some pictures of the princess posing during the cleaning process, and then I had to try to get Emma down for a morning nap. After Emma was down Brooke and I popped in the DVD, Elmo's Potty, and cuddled on the couch; you could tell she enjoyed not having to share me. After about 2 hours without Braden though, she was asking when it was time to go pick him up.

Finally a little before 12 we left to pick up Braden. As I was waiting in the car line, I got to watch Braden on the playground go from slide to swing, to some bouncing toy, back to swing, and then to an area where you can pretend to drive. Finally I had my Braden back, and we headed to McDonald's to pick up some happy meals for our planned celebration. I just wasn't feeling insane enough today to brave the play area, so we took the meals back to the house, where Braden got to pick out a movie for us to watch. After the movie was over was when the real adventures of the day began.

Brooke used the bathroom on the floor in her room (waited too long again to try to go), Braden pooped in his underwear (didn't want to stop playing), and we also made the discovery that Braden had urinated in Brooke's Hello Kitty trash can. What is the deal with my children and relieving themselves wherever they wish?! When we went to the pool earlier this week, Braden went over to the side near the bushes and just let loose. Was there a bathroom a mere hundred yards away from him? Yes, but, hey, where is the fun in that? I personally prefer the privacy of a bathroom, but these are Rich Maseda's children also. These are the children of the man who as a child urinated in a water gun to spray on his siblings, would cross his urine streams with his brother to make an airplane, and pooped on his brother's bike, so he would unlock the door and let him in; yes, I know, some of you are shocked that the seemingly reserved Rich would have dared such. How would you feel if I told you that is just the tip of the iceberg of stories of Rich, his siblings (namely his brother Tom), and bodily functions?! I guess Braden gets it honestly; in fact Rich retold the story with great pride in his voice of Braden's first time using the bathroom in a bottle while we were stuck in traffic. Well, I wish Rich could have been home today to deal with Braden and the trash can; I did call Rich at work to inform him of the situation, which he found quite humorous (not a big surprise).

I also need to point out though that Braden later pooped in the potty, Braden and Brooke both cleaned their rooms today, helped clean their plates off the table after supper, played beautifully together this afternoon, well, until Brooke bit Emma.

Yes, you read correctly, another adventure; I left the room for 2 minutes to put something in my room, when I heard Emma scream in pain. I ran back into the room and immediately noticed that she had bite marks on her face. Knowing what she had done, I asked Brooke what had happened. Instead of answering she demonstrated in the air what she had done, to which I asked, "You bit your sister?!" Without skipping a beat she looked at me and said, "No, I bite her." To which I said, "Yeah, that would be the same thing!" Needless to say, I popped her on the butt and informed her that she was to sit on her bed for 2 minutes, after which we discussed her actions. When I told Rich about it tonight, he said that he thought he had noticed bite marks on Emma on Sunday as well; I wish he would have told me then. Brooke is now not allowed alone with Emma even for a second, let alone 2 minutes for me to put something else away, unless the ever vigilant bodyguard Braden is right beside her, and then only in emergencies; he would take Brooke out in a second if he thought she was going to bite his precious Emma.

Oh, what a day it has been. I guess I should also add that it ended on a higher note with a fun and spiritual Family Home Evening. Braden and Brooke have had a little problem telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth lately, so Rich and I are focusing on honesty all month for FHE. Last week we played a simple True Not True Game with the children and talked about how telling the truth makes Heavenly Father and Jesus happy, and this week we talked about the importance of honesty. I read The Boy Who Cried Wolf to them, and we discussed the book as we read: that the boy had lied, how it was always important to be honest, and why no one would listen to him when a wolf finally did come. After reading the book we acted out the book taking turns playing the boy, the wolf, the sheep, and the townspeople; the kids absolutely loved it! We were all laughing by the end! After the role play Rich taught the children the first two lines of the song I Believe in Being Honest, I bore my testimony of the blessings that come from being honest, and Rich said our family prayer; we are going to learn the rest next week.

It's amazing that my day has had so many ups and downs and ups and downs and ups today; I feel like I have been on a roller coaster! Life with children is like a roller coaster, and at the end of the day you are exhausted, ready to get off the ride, and rest until the next day when you once again strap yourself in, brace yourself, and shout, "Full speed ahead!"