Hair Gel is a Wonderful Thing

Yes, this morning I am singing the praises of hair gel. As you may have read, I cut Braden's hair last night, and it wasn't my best work. I did fix some of it this morning; I just couldn't help myself. I just kept staring and staring at all of the mistakes, so I convinced him to let me get out the clippers and do a little resculpting (I'm way tooooooooo much of a perfectionist when it comes to things I do). I however could not fix everything. So, I asked myself, what can I use to cover up some of the imperfections? I didn't want Braden going to school feeling like his hair had been butchered, and I of course didn't want to be the reason he might be subjected to ridicule; then the answer came to me, HAIR GEL! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!(Can you hear the singing choirs of angels?) I personally think hair gel made all the difference, but you be the judge. Here are some pictures of our stud in training (in case you are wondering, we call Rich 'the stud' and Braden is our 'stud in training).

Braden LOVES to party

Today Braden decided that he wanted to have yet another party. Braden LOVES parties; in fact all you have to do is add the word party after anything, and Braden is ready to take part. Case in point: yesterday we had a clean our rooms party. Well, today he decided that we needed to have another party. He had me bring the CD player into his room, pop in a CD, and watch he and Brooke dance. I would say watching them dance and have fun was one of the highlights of my day.

Emma's pearly whites

Tonight I noticed that Emma has two top teeth that have finally broken through. The teething and the fussing are not near being finished though, because I also noticed two more just hanging out right below the surface. I think I might need to add Teething Tablets, Orajel, and some Tylenol to my shopping list.

Chaos Central

Chaos Central, I think that would be an accurate name or title for our night. At one point tonight I was attempting to cut Braden's hair, amidst his cries I might add (that boy hates to have his hair cut), while Emma was holding to my leg screaming bloody murder; wait, did I mention that Brooke also was not helping matters by trying to brush Emma's hair. I attempted giving a few pieces of chocolate chips to Emma to keep her happy and busy, I was desperate PEOPLE! Alas, Emma gobbled them down in two seconds flat and came back, only to again pull up on my leg and recommence screaming. I put her at the bench in the living room, still screaming, and proceeded to set up a barricade of chairs and a pink castle tent of Brooke's. I should have known, my barricade was nothing for Emma; nothing stops her from getting to where she wants to go. She came, she saw, she conquered the barricade, and returned to scream again. I began to wonder if running from the house screaming like a banshee was a realistic option, but as I thought about it, I knew it was not a viable choice; I however still think it would have felt good to get it out. Instead, I finally unplugged the clippers, grabbed Emma, and relocated our barber shop to the bathroom. I ran some bath water for the girls, and put Braden on the bathroom counter and continued to cut. Was it my best work? Oh no, in fact, I am just glad that I have a little time before my brother's wedding; it NEEDS some growing out time. I think Braden should just be glad that he still has hair, between his crying, constant head moving, and Emma's leg tugging and screaming, I don't even know how I got his hair to look remotely decent. Brooke's hair (yes, I cut her hair earlier) looks pretty good, even if it is shorter than I would like. She decided that she wanted it really short, so we compromised. Well, after baths, pajamas, and tooth brushing all three children were put to bed; of course I then realized that I had forgotten, in my rush to get their little hineys in the bed, to read scriptures and say prayers. Oh well, I will make up for it tomorrow; hey I am flying solo this week. How do single mothers do this?! I almost forgot, did I mention that Emma then made a present for me; she always seems to do those after I have her nice and calm and ASLEEP! Luckily, I hummed, sang, and repeated, "It's okay, It's okay, shhhhh, shhhhh" while I changed her odorous treat, and she stayed asleep! Yes, relaxation here I come, which for me is blogging. Therapy for free; you can't beat blogging!

I know, I know, not my best work. Just pray that it grows out fast! I would try to fix it, but I fear making it worse! I love the face Braden is making; it matches how I felt after tonight! Heavenly Father has definitely been giving me strength and patience this week, because I kept my cool tonight. I still want Rich to COME HOME though! Yaaaaa, no more nights to go; Friday here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do they come up with this stuff?!

Braden and Brooke both have had a number of imaginary friends in the last year, two of which have died. Yes, you read correctly, morbid I know. Brooke had an imaginary friend named Camden, but sadly he did not last. She informed me that he had died, when I asked how, she told me that he had gotten squished by a car. Brooke also told me that he didn't have a mama or a daddy to take care of him; she indicated that was one reason that he got hit by the car. This conversation then led to another one where we decided that Camden could be part of our family, Rich and I will be his mama and daddy; she seemed very pleased with this plan. Brooke explains it this way, "Camden died; he got squished by a car, because he didn't have a mama or a daddy to take care of him. It is okay though, because he will come back when Jesus comes back, and he will be part of our family." Where do they come up with these things? Wait, it gets better. Brooke then had another imaginary friend, but they too died; this one however died because they couldn't learn their letters. Could you imagine what kind of teacher she would be?! Scary! Braden, not wanting to be outdone, also killed off one of his imaginary friends, Jason. Jason had been a nice kid with pink hair from California, but he too had to go; I'm not really clear on all of the details. I'm happy to report though that Brooke and Braden now have two healthy imaginary friends. Brooke's imaginary friend of choice is Sally; she has been around for months now and seems to be staying put. Braden as of this past week has a new imaginary friend, Coco; well, actually he informed me that his name is spelled as follows, BBBBBBBBBBBBB. He also informed me that Coco has rainbow colored hair, but I'm not quite sure where he is from. I would just like to say, that I love my children's imaginations. I am constantly asking myself,

"Where do they come up with this stuff?!"

Cooking 101

Last night Brooke helped me prepare Lasagna for dinner, which I must say is the best Lasagna I have ever tasted! I guess it helped that we started with a great recipe! Last year I went to a progressive dinner for church and had the exquisite, delicious, delectable, to die for Lasagna, whose recipe has now found a home in our family's cookbook. After tasting the recipe for the first time, I knew I HAD to have the recipe, so began my mission and my quest. I first asked the woman whose home we were at, but she too had gotten the recipe from someone else; she first had to find out if it was okay to share the recipe, some women are very particular about sharing recipes: which recipes are okay to share, which ones must remain a secret to the grave, and which ones are family heirlooms. You know, it's the whole, "No one can make this, insert dish, like me; I'm so glad you like it." "The recipe?" "Oh, I seemed to have forgotten what is in it, hehe (obvious lie)." I however am of the believe that we as women should share and share alike; if I make something you like, you are more than welcome to the recipe. I like knowing that maybe I have helped a family; I like to think that possibly the recipe became a family favorite, one that will be part of memories of gathering around the table, laughing, and talking about life and comings and goings. Perhaps it will even become a recipe that will be passed down to other generations. Due to my believe of share and share alike, I like to collect recipes from friends and family that I fall in love with after the first bite or sip (whatever the case may be); I admit that often acquiring these recipes requires quite a bit of work: hounding, reminding, and occasionally nagging (as a last resort only). Once acquired, I type up the recipe, add a note about where and how the recipe was acquired and any memories attached, and add it to our Maseda Family Cookbook. I am very grateful to those women that have been willing to share their recipes, here is a small sampling: Taco Soup from Heather, Toffee Sauce from Lorinda (okay, I actually lifted this one off of her blog), Slushy Punch from Davana, Pound Cake from Emily, Macaroni and Cheese from Granny, Pumpkin Spice Bars from Allison, Ranch Potatoes from Amy, Chicken Cranberry Sandwiches from Melissa, Chocolate Chip Pound Cake from Mama, and TA DA, Lasagna from Laura (that's right I tracked down the recipe and added it to my collection; I was victorious). These sweet women have helped put delicious food into my family's tummies, been a part of many happy memories, and have helped many other families; remember I believe in share and share alike, my recipes and the ones that have been shared with me. A special thank you needs to go to Laura; I will always remember the sweet moments I spent with Brooke last night, teaching her how to cook, talking, listening to her precious three year old thoughts, watching the pride on her face when she took her first delicious bite, and hearing her say,

"We did a good job Mama!"

Spreading the meat mixture

Sprinkling on the Parmesan Cheese

Putting on the lasagna noodles

The Proud Cook

And now, in true share and share alike fashion, is the Lasagna recipe. Try it, you won't be sorry; even our resident selective eater we like to call Braden loves this!

Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion-diced
2 cloves garlic-minced
1 10 oz. pkg. chopped spinach, thawed OR cooked according to directions
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 can (28oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (8oz.) tomato sauce
2 cans (6oz. each) tomato paste
½ c. water
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
1 t. Italian seasoning
9 lasagna noodles (can use regular uncooked noodles or the no boil noodles)

Cheese Mixture:
1 lg. container cottage cheese OR ricotta cheese (I prefer cottage)
1 egg
1 t. Italian seasoning
2 shakes garlic powder
½ t. salt
1 t. pepper

2 cups grated mozzarella
Parmesan

· Preheat oven to 350.
· Saute beef, onion, and garlic in 4 qt. saucepan until meat is browned. Drain and add tomato sauces, tomato paste, water, oregano, basil and Italian seasoning. Add drained, dry (squeeze dry) spinach and mushrooms. Let simmer while preparing the cheese mixture below.
· In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, spices, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
· Spoon 1 ½ cups sauce into 9x13 baking dish; top with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, ½ of cheese mixture, 1/3 of sauce, 1/3 of mozzarella, sprinkle with parmesan. REPEAT the layer starting with the lasagna noodles . THEN put final 3 lasagna noodles on top, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the mozzarella and final shake of parmesan.
· Cover tightly with foil. Bake in 350 deg. Oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil, bake 15 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Disclaimer to the Share and Share Alike Policy:

The sharing of all recipes has one and only one exception, Spaghetti a la Daddy. It is a recipe created by my dad when he was in college, it's delicious, and will remain with the family. Spaghetti a la Daddy is a recipe that I plan to pass on to my children, and I hope they too will continue to pass it on and share the story of its creation. I guess with every policy, there is usually a disclaimer, and this is mine. Now, that I have said that, let's get back to the sharing. For good measure, and because I feel a little guilty for having a small disclaimer, here is the recipe for Lorinda's divine (and I do mean divine :) ) Toffee Sauce; it is unbelieveable on ice cream! Everything Lorinda touches turns to gold, so you will not be sorry; try it!!!!!!!!

Toffee Sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, water and condensed milk. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

My Precious Girls

I sure love my girls! Brooke is all sass, spitfire, and quick wit. She has an incredible vocabulary, an engaging smile, and the ability to make others laugh (though it is not always intentional). Emma is full of adventure, wonder, and sweetness. She gets into everything, is in awe of all the things that are left for her to discover, has a palpable love of life, an adorable infectious smile, and gives the best slobbery kisses! Even Braden last night said that he loved Emma, because she gives him slobbery kisses on his cheeks. My girls make it so easy to love them, well, most of the time; okay, okay I always love them to pieces, but there are moments they are not my favorite people (like when I caught Brooke last night writing all over Emma's back with a blue marker). I think it is accurate to say that I adore my girls!

Here are some pictures we took yesterday in the backyard. (If you notice Brooke has on her pink and green dress, AGAIN; it is her princess dress of choice these days, which means she has worn it three days straight. Last night it luckily ended up in the hamper.)

Braden's Game

I love my sweet Braden! Today he decided that we all needed to play a game, and here is how you play. First Braden takes post-it notes and hides them all over the house, then everyone gets a bag, fills their bag with any post-it notes they find, and then each person writes a person they love on each post-it note. He also decided that we needed to say something we loved about each person we wrote down. I can't tell you how proud I was of Braden: for his ingenuity, his tender heart, and his improving writing skills. Braden is one of a kind; he is sweet, smart, funny, and loves life, and I love that he is in my life!

Pretty on the Outside, Beautiful on the Inside

My little priss loves to look pretty; she is constantly wanting to wear lip gloss, have her hair fixed, change outfits three or four times a day, and her all time favorite, sporting her 'princess dress.' This morning, while Braden was at school and Emma was taking a morning nap, I straightened and then rolled Brooke's hair for volume. I love spending the one on one time with her, but I worry sometimes that I am helping to create a Priss Monster. Of course, if you talk to my daddy, he will tell you she is definitely her mama's daughter. Yes, I admit it; I loved to get dressed up when I was little, I loved all of it: the play make-up, getting my nails painted, getting my hair done, wearing dress up high heels, prancing around to get attention, and I LOVED getting my picture taken! Okay, not a lot has changed, except now that I am an adult I still enjoy all of these things, but I know there is soooooooo much more to life! I still enjoy feeling pretty, but it is not my whole world! My parents taught me that what was on the inside meant more than what was on the outside, and today I started teaching Brooke the same thing; as I was helping to make her beautiful yes, but it was a perfect time to talk about what it means to be beautiful on the inside as well. I asked what it meant to feel pretty, and I talked to her about how it was even more important to be beautiful inside, in her heart. I explained being beautiful on the inside meant being someone who is caring, considerate, smart, honest, loving, and like Jesus; I also told her that she has a beautiful heart, and I pointed out things she already does every day that make her beautiful! I want Brooke to know that it is okay to want to be pretty on the outside, but it is vital to be beautiful on the inside!

The Moments That Make It All Worth It

These are the images and the moments that make it all worth it: the sleepless nights, the utter mental exhaustion brought on by dealing with yet another tantrum, playing referee during sibling disagreements, the continual counting to maintain one's cool, the innumerable amount of diapers changed, and the potty training stories that would make a grown man run screaming for the hills. I know when I look at my sweet children that when I reminisce about their childhood years from now, I will never think about the tough times. I will remember tucking them in at night, reading stories, sweet and sticky kisses, little hands wrapped around my fingers, little arms wrapped around my neck, and sweet voices saying, "I love you Mama!" Knowing this makes me realize that I don't need to wait until then, I need to find those special moments every day and savor them; every day has good, bad, and sometimes the very ugly (I'm envisioning the soiled crib sheet I found waiting for me when I went to get Emma up from her nap)! There are also days that are filled with special moments that make motherhood worth it, sometimes it just means rummaging through the chaos of the day to find them!

Oh what to do to pass the time?

What do you do to keep yourself busy when your husband is out of town? What do you do to keep your kids busy and make the time fly by? You bake cookies, have a family pizza party, play outside, and have family home evening of course! I really hate it when Rich is out of town, but I am determined to keep myself and the cuties busy. Today after picking Braden up from school, we came back to the house, ate lunch, took naps, baked cookies, played outside, had a pizza party, and had Family Home Evening; now the three cuties are finally sleeping, one day down, four more to go! I can do this; I can survive this week, I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR! (and I will use my trusty camera to document it all, much to my children's chagrin)

Here are some pictures of the cuties making cookies and enjoying the finished product.

Here are some pictures from our pizza party.

Finally-a night out! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Rich and I finally got to go out to celebrate Valentine's Day; last week our celebration consisted of Digornio's Pizza, soda, cards, and a movie at home. Rich and I were hoping for something a little more romantic, you know, no kids, but I was still battling the flu; going out and possibly infecting the rest of Georgia wasn't an option. I enjoyed our little family celebration, especially the cards Brooke and Braden had picked out for me; Braden even wrote Mama on my card and signed his name (he is getting so big), but I really wanted to spend time with just Rich. Saturday night Rich and I went out to eat at Lonestar and went to go see The Spiderwick Chronicles; I can't tell you how much I enjoyed getting to spend time without the children. I think it is so important that you continue to date and court your spouse; once you have children it is so easy to forget that you are still two people in love, especially because children can be so demanding! Rich and I don't always get to actually leave the house for a date, but we try to have several dates every month. It does add up once you pay to go out and pay for a babysitter, so each month we have two in house dates and one going out date. We take turns planning the in house dates: movie night, picnic by the fireplace, dancing in the kitchen, or just talking and playing games; on the Fridays or Saturdays we are having our in house dates, I make sure the children do not get naps (so they will crash early). Sometimes we have the milkshake date, which means that we drive around until the kids crash, go to McDonalds, buy milkshakes, and drive around, talk, and sip our milkshakes (and the best part is we didn't have to buy the kids anything, and they get to sleep). I hope that the children will see Rich and I dating and see how important it is to continue to date after you get married, but I think they are already learning. As I was getting ready for my date Braden and Brooke starting getting dressed and gussied up; they explained they were going to go on a date as well.

Here is the young couple all decked out and nowhere to go. If you notice, the little princess is sporting a backwards pink shirt, floral skirt, and a Barbie bracelet, and doesn't the young gentlemen look dashing in his khaki shorts and button up shirt?!

My Brave Little Guy

Well, on Monday of this week I received a phone call from Braden's school letting me know that his shot record wasn't up to date. I was under the impression that by bringing Braden in right on schedule for all of his well check-ups this wouldn't happen, but it did. I called the pediatrician's office and sure enough, somehow he missed two very vital shots, now to break the news to my sweet unsuspecting four year old. Braden's first reaction to the news, "That's okay, I will just run away and hide." Once I explained why that was not an option, no matter how impressed I was with his quick thinking, we talked about the reality of this issue. Honesty and a lot of preparation is what works best for Braden, so he and I talked about how it was probably going to hurt. At this point he informed me that he was going to cry. I told him that it was okay if he cried, but that if he did a good job (which means no tantrums or thrashing bodies), he would get a chocolate milkshake afterwards for bravery (yes, I believe in and support the art of bribery). As you can see from the pictures, it worked; I am proud to say that I have a very brave four year old!

One of Braden's band-aids

Braden and his chocolate milkshake

More Pictures~Oh how I love this camera!!!!!!!!!

Okay, here are a few more pictures; Emma just looked way too cute not to take pictures, and I wanted to play a little more with my new Valentine's Day gift.

My New Beautiful Camera

Well, I finally got my big beautiful Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and I love it! (It was my Valentine's Day present) I just got it today, so I haven't studied the manual yet; I am so excited to see what features it has! Here is a picture I took of Brooke this afternoon. I think my children can rest assured knowing that every minute of their childhood will be well documented.

A childhood rite of passage~the world renown whoopee cushion

Braden as of Valentine's Day has acquired his first whoopee cushion, and he loves it! (Like father like son) He is constantly asking Rich to blow it up, only to wait a mere second before sitting on it. Brooke of course has also gotten in on the act. She and Braden announce, "Oh, I don't feel so good." They then sit on it, let the noise fly, and exclaim, "Ahhhh I feel better!" I guess it isn't considered a well rounded childhood unless a little body humor is thrown in there for good measure; at least that is what Rich tells me.

Okay, I am soooooooooo dying here!

Okay, I am not really dying, don't get worried, just being a little dramatic (I wonder where Brooke gets it from); I am just missing my camera! For whatever reason I am unable to download my pictures to my computer; how can you blog without pictures?! Until my little camera situation is rectified I guess I will have to have some look back blog postings and use pictures I already have; please be patient.

Curses

We had the BEST Girls' Night Out tonight, and we played a hilarious board game, Curses. If you are willing to make a fool of yourself and have fun, this is definitely the game for you!!!!!! You first pick a card which says something you have to do, dare type things, and then you pick another card with a curse on it and give it to someone else to do. The curse cards you end up with are things you have to do the entire game. I for example had to dance and pretend to swat invisible mosquitoes every time I talked. I know it sounds crazy, but I haven't laughed that hard since Rich and I went to go see Bill Cosby perform. You know, when you laugh so hard and so much your face starts to hurt. My sister in law Heidi and her family are coming to visit in April, and I will definitely be buying that game before then! What better way to bond with friends and family than making fools out of yourselves together?!