Out of the Mouth of Babes

Brooke just informed me that saying, "Whatever", is indeed both nice and okay to say. I was explaining to her what jobs she had left to do on her job chart, when she looked at me and said, "Whatever." (very nonchalantly I might add) I of course immediately got my stern mama face, and said, "What did you say to me?" Brooke, without skipping a beat, explained, "Mama, it is nice and okay to say Whatever, you just can't say 'Whatever Losers'; it is mean to call someone loser, and no one in our family is a loser." That's good to know, but I still don't want my three year old saying 'Whatever' to me; we will be nipping that in the bud, quick!

You may be asking yourself, what pray tell is all over Emma's face? The simple answer is baby powder, which of course leads to the next question, Why does she have baby powder on her face? Let me direct you to the following picture, and I am sure the answer will come quickly.

Yes, Braden and Brooke were involved; I am sure you had already guessed that part of the equation. I walked into Braden's room on Monday night to see if they were ready for Family Home Evening when I discovered two hoodlums shaking powder all over Braden's bedroom. Their explanation, "We wanted to make Braden's room soft." What?! I counted to ten, tried to stay calm, and went and retrieved the vacuum and of course, my camera. I thought, 'I'll take a picture in the event that I do laugh about this later, and I'm sure someone (not me) will find this funny now.'

The Lip Gloss Encounter

Here is Emma looking cute, adorable, and innocent, but she is bored; she must find mischief to get into, what will she do next? Then it happens, she sets her sights on Brooke and the lip gloss Brooke is continually applying to her already blindingly shiny lips.

Emma makes her move; she grabs for the lip gloss, but Brooke however is triumphant in fighting off the attack and retaining her prized possession.

Emma lets out her signature war cry (to no avail).

Then Emma pulls out the drama card, covers her face, and laments, 'Whoa is me!' 'I have no lip gloss of my own, and I have failed in my plan to acquire Brooke's; what will I do now?' (Okay how scary is that; she already has a drama card to pull out?!)

Finally, Emma realizes her tactics are not working, and exclaims in baby talk, "I'm outta here."

She is on to bigger and better things, and as she crawls away, she wonders, 'What can I get into next?'

Aren't they just beautiful!

Sunday at church we had Ward Conference and a potluck afterwards, and luckily I had my camera with me (I guess I should point out that it is usually always with me, but not usually at church). Anyway, I was walking around (waiting for Rich to finish all of his bishop duties) when I saw 4 of the young women congregating and socializing in one of the classrooms, when the thought 'Photo Op' popped into my head. I can't seem to get the photo bug out of my system; I've had a few people tell me lately that I should do it as a side business, but how in the world do you know how much to charge? I've had no formal training (unless you count a photography class in high school and one in college); most of what I've learned I've learned from reading books and trial and error. Also who would be my first customer? Anyway, I snapped a few pictures of them in the classroom and outside; I thought it would give them a chance to see how beautiful they truly are, on the outside and the inside. I think sometimes girls that age are too hard on themselves; I hope that when they look at the pictures they see their true beauty.

Here are some of the pictures I took:

(feel free to gush about how beautiful the girls are, teenage girls love that kind of stuff :) )

Out of the mouth of babes

Today Braden I guess used a little too much toilet paper, because the toilet overflowed (gotta love that). Rich of course made him help clean up the mess, and you would have thought that would have been enough of a lesson learned; Brooke however felt differently, because she also threw in her two cents. Her words of sisterly wisdom went something like this, "Braden, don't waste all the toilet paper! Daddy works hard to bring that home!" Well, there you go folks, lesson learned and sealed with a little Brooke wisdom.


*As a little afterthought or note, for those who don't know Rich is a reliability engineer at Georgia Pacific, and at the particular mill he works at they make paper products, toilet paper being one of them. In fact, when Rich got out of the Navy, he sent an e-mail out to most of our friends and family explaining that we had decided to go civilian and explaining his new job. I think it went something like, 'I won't be in the Navy anymore, but I will still be covering everyone's butts!' (get it, Navy, protecting the country and our butts, keeping us safe, and Georgia Pacific, makes toilet paper, to wipe our butts; well, I thought it was funny)

Georgia Pacific Company Picnic

Here are some pictures from this past weekend. Saturday we went to the Georgia Pacific picnic at Rich's work, which was actually a lot of fun; the food was good, and they had games and rides for all ages this year. The cuties had a blast, and I had fun watching them. They went down a slide called 'The Screamer', played in a bounce house, ran through a caterpillar, rode a ride with Rich, and got their faces painted; Brooke picked a purple butterfly and Braden picked a rainbow. Truth be told, Braden initially wanted an owl. When Rich asked what he wanted in case she couldn't paint an owl, Braden said, "Jesus"; since neither was an option, he settled on a rainbow. Emma entertained herself by watching everyone and chowing down on some cotton candy on the way home. Once home we rested and got ready for our next activity for the day, the ward game day that was scheduled to start at four; it was a busy fun filled weekend!

They're not healthy for you! They have to go!

Earlier this week Rich was sitting at our kitchen table happily eating his DISGUSTING pork rinds, when Brooke exclaimed, "Daddy, those are not good for you! They will not make you healthy and strong!" She then took the bag from him, sashayed over to the trash can, and threw them away! That's telling him girl!

Emma's 1 year well visit

Well, today I finally took Emma in for her one year well visit. Yes, she is now 13 months and not 12; I had made an appointment for a couple days after she turned one, but I totally forgot the appointment. Yeah, I was not going to be winning any mother of the year awards that day (I would like to point out that it was a first for me, that should help me redeem some mommy points). Instead of taking my cutie to the doctor that day, Braden, Brooke, Emma, and I were in Savannah gallivanting with Traci and her daughter; we did a little shopping, a little eating, and a lot of socializing. I was so busy catching up with Traci (she was back from Utah for a short visit), that I totally forgot all about Emma's appointment. The worst part is that I didn't even realize I had missed anything until a day later. I told my dad about my little faux pas, and he told me that he has a calendar on his fridge where he writes those kinds of things. My problem, the appointment never actually made it to my calendar, oops; hey, everyone deserves to be cut a little slack every now and then. My slackness aside, today Emma got measured, weighed, examined, and received 3 shots (my least favorite part as well as hers). The consensus, my little "chub" (as her daddy likes to call her) is in fact not a "chub" (as I tell her daddy); she weighed 19.1 pounds, which places her at the 10th percentile for weight, and she was 28.5 inches long, which places her at the 25th percentile for height. She is healthy, strong, beautiful, and just likes she needs to be. As my mama would always tell me, "not too big, not too small, just right", and Emma is just right, just right for this family! We love her loving nature, her adventurous spirit, her ferocious appetite, her quick smile, her petite kissable toes, and her sweet laugh!

Don't let her fool you; she can't walk yet. She can cruise like nobody's business, but she is scared to let go. Rich and I have gotten her to take two steps, and then she sits down and crawls to what she wants.

Our Household Prima donna

Did you all know that we have a prima donna living with us? I know, I know, you all want to be like the Masedas. I mean, really, everyone needs to have a prima donna living with them; though I hate to say that only the very special and elect get to have a bonified prima donna grace them with their presence, and we have been deemed very special indeed. We not only have the honor of having her as a resident in our home, but we do not have to call her prima donna or Diva, both of which would be appropriate (just ask her, she will agree); we are very privileged to be on a first name basis with our lovely resident Diva, which we are blessed and honored to call Brooke. Our little diva changes her outfit three to four times a day, throwing clothes wherever she pleases, crumples to the floor, whines, and screams when she does not get her way, and she worries about her hair, CONSTANTLY! Seriously, how much should a 3 year old worry about their hair?! NONE! In true prima donna fashion Brooke worries constantly about her hair. Case in Point, several days ago Little Miss Diva exclaimed, "My hair doesn't look good!" I, trying to soothe our prima donna's ego, comfortingly replied, "It's okay." I should have remembered that you can not tell a Diva anything!!!!!!!!! Brooke looked at me and screamed, "IT'S NOT OKAY!!!!!!!!" 'Oh no she didn't!' 'Did that little wannabe Diva just yell at me?!' Yes, those were my first thoughts, followed by, 'What in the world is she going to be like as a teenager?' 'Scary!' Wait, it doesn't stop there. This past Sunday I was in the middle of getting ready, you know, part of my hair pinned up while straightening the bottom part. Brooke, or as you have to call her, prima donna, walks into my bathroom, looks up at me, gives me a puzzled and somewhat disgusted look, and then exclaims, "Mama, your hair doesn't look good." 'Well, thank you very much Miss Priss!' (note the sarcasm) I reassure and explain to our resident prima donna that I am indeed not finished with my hair, that I am not leaving it pinned up, and that it will look good when I am done. Oh, what to do with our little Diva?! I guess all we can do is love her, learn to tune out some of her meltdowns, get thick skin to protect us from her assessments, and be grateful that along with her flair for the dramatic, Brooke was also blessed with a big heart, a love of life, a sharp mind, and a quick wit. I guess living with a prima donna isn't so bad, well if you are living with the Brooke variety of prima donnas; I know our house wouldn't be as entertaining without her! Everyone should get one, but I must inform you that there is only one Brooke, and as crazy as she makes us, we're keeping her!

When Rich comes home, the world STOPS, at least in the Maseda house it does

I must say that my husband is a fantastic father, and his children absolutely adore him! Every afternoon at around 5 the garage door opens, and the world stops, at least in our home it does. The screams reverberate off the walls, "DADDY IS HOME!" Toys are thrown to the side, games forgotten, and books left on the floor, as 3 children run and crawl to get to their precious daddy. Nothing speaks louder than pictures, and here are a few I took yesterday of our daily ritual of racing to get to Daddy. I of course am always the winner (hey, being the Mama has to have some perks); I go in for my two kisses and then relinquish the prize to my cuties, at least for a little while.



Sad I know, poor little Emma wants attention so bad. Don't worry though, Rich has plenty of love to go around; she was quickly swept up in his arms with the other two hoodlums.

Disclaimer: The dirty clothes awaiting their spin in the washing machine are merely a figment of your imagination. Hey, just play along; you know you want to pretend you don't see them.

Because its naughty, that's why

In an effort to ensure Rich spends enough time with the cuties, despite his crazy schedule, he either reads to them before they go to bed or plays a game with them; a few days ago they selected Candyland, but last night's game of choice was Hide and Seek. When it was Rich's turn to hide, he selected the perfect spot and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for Braden and Brooke to find him. After a few minutes passed, he decided to give them a few hints as to where he was hiding, so he started throwing various items into the hallway to get their attention. Much to his dismay, they didn't notice; they in fact were walking around the kitchen discussing the many possibilities of where he could be hiding. So, he, undeterred, gathered some more shoes, toys, and various other items and continued to throw things into the hallway; after I pointed out what was happening, they quickly located their father. What were Brooke's first words when she saw her daddy? You would think they would be, "We found you!" or "Gotcha!", but no, they were, "Daddy were you throwing stuff?" (it needs to be said that this question was posed with as much attitude as she could muster) Rich of course said yes, to which Brooke responded in a teacher tone, "Jesus doesn't like you to throw things." Rich, intrigued, asked, "Why not?" Brooke (complete with the duh expression on her face) replies,

"Because its naughty!"

So there you have it folks, the gospel according to Brooke, don't throw things; Jesus doesn't like it, because its naughty. Oh, that sweet child of mine, what will she come up with next?!

Lesson Learned~Always Keep an Empty Water Bottle in the Car for EMERGENCIES

Well, I have officially learned my lesson, always keep an empty water bottle in the van at all time for EMERGENCIES, POTTY EMERGENCIES, the boy variety of course. This epiphany hit me as I was looking at my son's bare bottom shining in the sunlight as he watered some bushes with an especially acidic treat. I went to go pick Braden up from school; I had just gotten him in the van all buckled and ready to go, and we were pulling away from his school, when he announced, "I have to go potty, BAD!" When Braden says he has to go, and he has to go BAD, the clock starts ticking; you only have mere minutes before the flood gates open. So, we were off to the races, racing down back roads trying to find the perfect place for Braden to go with at least some privacy. 'Can we stop there? No, a house. Okay, how about there? No, crud, there is a house, too close! Okay, let's turn down here. Oh look, there is a methodist retreat in the woods; the entrance is locked, but I can just pull in to the front.' It was the perfect spot, just a little off the road; truth be told, you could still have seen him if you rode by, but I was hoping that no one would ride by. I also thought, 'No one will know what he is doing; he'll be turned towards the bush, and the van blocks him some. I'll pull over here.' I whip the van into park, get my soon to explode son out of the van, rush him over to the bushes, and walk back to the van to check on the girls and to give Braden a little privacy. After I check on the girls, I look back to see if Braden is doing okay, when I see THEM, TWO little butt cheeks shining in the sun! Braden had dropped everything and let the acidic rain begin; it was then that I discovered the cardinal rule of all mothers with at least one son or more, 'Keep an empty water bottle (or jar) in your van for EMERGENCIES, POTTY EMERGENCIES!' I guess that is Rule 1 of traveling with a boy, and Rule 2 is 'Make sure to dispose of said water bottle or jar at sighting of first trash can, because acidic rain looks very similar to lemonade!

Making the most of the moments we have

I think too often we rush through life and miss the many opportunities to make memories with our children. I recently found out that one of my old friends from St. Marys lost her oldest daughter, and it really put life into perspective. It reminded me that I need to worry less and savor the moments I have with my children, because you never know when they can be taken. Tonight the cuties and I went to church for another meeting, and as we were heading home I noticed a turtle in the middle of the road as we turned into our neighborhood. I quickly stopped the car, jumped out, picked up the turtle, ran it to safety, hopped back into the car and started heading home, when Braden started saying he hadn't seen the turtle. At first I thought, 'I just want to go home; it's already 8:30', but then I thought, 'I would have loved to see and touch a turtle as a child (my brother's little pet turtle doesn't count), when will they have this opportunity again?!' So, I did a u-turn and returned to see the turtle (did I mention we were blocking the exit to our neighborhood; we didn't care though, we were living in the moment). The cuties and I piled out of the van and went to investigate; we talked about how the turtle was scared and was hiding in his shell, and Brooke was brave enough to touch its shell (don't worry, it didn't appear to be a snapping turtle; how sad, I know more about turtles than snakes). I was so grateful that I had made the decision to go back for them to have the opportunity to see the turtle and make a memory. In fact, I was still thinking that as we pulled into the driveway, and I turned the van off; Braden quickly exclaimed, "Turn it back on, I liked that song." I immediately turned the van back on, and decided that we didn't just need to listen to the song, we needed to dance to the song. So, in our garage, we had a little mini party; I turned the music up, got the cuties out of the van, and we proceeded to dance, twirl, and strut our stuff all around the garage. I am so glad that today I decided to make the most of the moments I had; it sure made for a lot of memories and a whole lot of fun (especially the dancing)!

Windows to the Soul

I have heard many say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. What do you see when you look into these beautiful baby blues? I see a sassy yet sweet spirit, one that can give you attitude in one breath and tell you about Jesus and unconditional love in the next. I see the eyes of a little girl who is loved by many and makes everyone laugh, not always intentionally. I see the eyes of a little girl who has a sharp mind and a quick wit. I see the eyes of a beautiful little girl, on the outside and the inside! I see the eyes of my adorable Brooke, who I love more than words can say!

Strawberry Picking~Take 2

Yesterday afternoon the cuties and I met Kim Muraco and her 4 cuties for some strawberry picking. I got tons of strawberries on Saturday, but Rich and I froze all of them sweet, packed with sugar; I wanted some more that I could freeze unsweetened, and I thought that Braden and Brooke would enjoy getting to pick when it wasn't raining (Emma however was not pleased about being there, AT ALL). We had a great time, and I took tons of pictures (not a big surprise I am sure).

My Newfound Love

I have yet another thing in my life to love, BYU television. I know many of you are thinking, 'Big whoopee, there is nothing new about BYU television!' Au contraire, did you know that you can go to http://www.byu.tv/ and watch the shows from that current day and past days? (how cool is that, it's like BYU Tivo) Okay, some of you may have already made this amazing discovery, but it is new to me. What makes it even more of an amazing discovery for my family and I is the fact that we do not have satellite or cable for that matter, so I have been BYU deprived for quite some time now. Give me a minute to wipe away the tears. Okay, I'm back. I haven't missed having cable or any of the other wide array of channels, but I have desperately missed my beloved BYU television (of course it helps that we can get abc, nbc, cbs, fox, and pbs with our rabbit ears; what would I do if I couldn't watch my Super Nanny every Wednesday night?! Oh the horror of it!). Well, after I watched conference on Sunday, I began to notice the list of shows to the right, and I thought, 'Hey, I wonder if I can watch some of these shows too.' As I began to click and play, I realized that not only could I watch all the shows from that day, but several days prior to that day as well. To say I was in BYU heaven would be a vast understatement. The cuties and I watched Liken the Scriptures, The Other Side of Heaven (yes, the whole movie, life is sweet), and Money or Mission, and last night I watched a show entitled "You Can Do This" (it was a FANTASTIC show about parenting). I have also used the program schedule to link me to several different talks, one I read that I thought was really good was called "Building Self-Esteem in Our Children and Ourselves" by Brad Wilcox; it talks mainly about teenagers, but I thought it had some info anyone with children can use. The link to the talk is: http://ce.byu.edu/cw/fuf/archives/2002/BradWilcox2002.pdf .

Actually if you check out the site families under fire, you will find tons of archives of past talks, all worth checking out! ( http://ce.byu.edu/cw/fuf/archives/ ) How fantastic is that?!! I want to shout it from the rooftops, "I love BYU television!" So, if you are a newbie to the fantastic computer world of BYU television, I hope you take full advantage of my new discovery. For those shaking their heads thinking that I am behind in the times, that is okay, shake away; I'm thrilled about my new discovery, life is a little brighter and sweeter with BYU television back in my life! If I can make even one person's life a little brighter and sweeter with my discovery, then my work here is done.

Rich~My HERO~the one with the twisted sense of humor

Rich is my HERO, my HERO with a very twisted sense of humor. Yesterday afternoon I had Rich read my post about the lovely little SNAKE incident; when he finished he looked at me and said, "I could have been your big grilling man too, if you would have let me grill that baby up. We just would have had to get rid of the eggs first. Or we could just have had SNAKE and eggs." Yuck, yuck, and double yuck! No thanks!

Rich~my husband, my love, my best friend, and my HERO!

While on the phone with my daddy this afternoon, I looked out my window and saw this.

Look closely, do you see the SNAKE?! At first I just thought, 'The nest looks weird, what is that?' Upon closer examination (from the safety of my kitchen), I realized it was a SNAKE, so I quickly told the children that under no circumstance were they to set foot into our backyard. My daddy overheard me and asked if I was just playing a joke on them, but I quickly let him know that no, I was not playing a joke (oh, how I wish I would have been), and that I was calling Rich at work as soon as we got off of the phone. Daddy quickly let me off of the phone, so I could deal with the SNAKE situation (notice how I continue to type SNAKE in all caps; it is because I LOATHE SNAKES, almost as much as I LOATHE palmetto bugs-roaches on steroids). My first line of defense, call Rich, my husband, my love, my best friend, and my HERO!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I was to hear his wonderful voice on the other line, even if he did have me on speaker phone for all to hear; I didn't care, there was a SNAKE in our backyard, it ate the poor little bird eggs, I was scared, I wanted it DEAD, and I didn't care who knew it! Rich assessed the situation, conferred with the boys at work, and decided that there was a real possibility that it could be a Copperhead, so he was dispatched to leave the meeting at once and rush home to his woman and save the day! Here he comes to save the day, Super Rich, Super Rich! (you should be hearing the Mighty Mouse theme song in your head about now) Back to the story, Rich arrives home, suits up (ready to battle my enemy for me), we form a circle, and say a family prayer (my idea, Braden and Brooke were so worried that the SNAKE was going to bite Rich, and I too wanted to know that he would be protected in battle). Armed with a box (to have the SNAKE drop into), a shovel, and a chair (to reach it better) he goes into battle. Within a matter of minutes, he has the evil SNAKE trapped, pinned with the shovel against the side of our porch overhang, begging for mercy (okay not really, but it helps the story); Rich calls for me, requesting that I bring him the longest knife I can find. Is he serious? Oh, my knife will never be the same, but if it means the SNAKE will die, it is worth it! Rich finally knocks the SNAKE off of the porch, into the box, and does him in! Sweet Victory! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa what a HERO! Not only is Rich my big grilling man, he is also by big SNAKE killing man! What would I do without him?! I don't ever want to find out!

And here as proof, is a picture of the nasty SNAKE, DEAD, just like I like them!

(gross I know, but it isn't as bad as the other pictures)

OKAY, OKAY I removed the SNAKE picture; I just couldn't handle looking at it anymore. I hope no one is overly disappointed; it just was too disturbing to have to look at a dead snake every time I wanted to scroll down to look at past posts.

The jury is still out on whether it was a Copperhead; all I care about is that it is DEAD, the ol' nasty, baby egg eating, evil SNAKE! Braden and Brooke went outside with Rich to dispose of its' remains, both of them letting it know that it deserved to die; they let it know in no uncertain terms that it was a bad SNAKE, and it needed to die (ditto to that)!

Drumroll please~The above mentioned snake was a...

Corn SNAKE! Yes, Rich returned to work armed with pictures, he and the boys examined the photos, and determined that it was a common variety, non poisonous Corn SNAKE. Even so, now it is a dead Corn SNAKE, which is the most important part of the equation in my book!

Bishop Maseda~Bishop Braden Maseda

Today we went to church to watch the first session of conference (with children watching it from the comfort of your home is much easier). Well, after the first session the plan was to have a picnic, so we went to Rich's office, a.k.a. the bishop's office; Rich of course got pulled away, so Braden hopped in his chair and announced,

"I'm the bishop!"

Brooke after hearing the good news, pulls a chair up and puts the new bishop to work, exclaiming, "I have a problem!"

Bishop Maseda then asks the all important question, "What is your problem?"

Brooke explains, "I like to color, and I like to have fun." "I like the colors pink, purple, and white." (hmmmm, sounds like a tough problem to me :) ; I wish my problems were that easy)
Bishop Maseda contemplates the problem for a few seconds, hands Brooke a Book of Mormon off of the shelf from behind him, and tells her, "If you have a problem, read the scriptures." (sounds like good advice to me)

Date Night with Daddy

Once the children turn 2, they get to go on special outings with Rich. Last week Rich and Braden went to play golf, so this Friday it was Brooke's turn. Brooke of course took the opportunity to get all decked out; she wanted to fix her hair, pick out just the right princess dress for the occassion, and complete the look with a little jewelry, and we of course had to take some pictures of Miss Priss before her big night. She and Rich ended up going to get a bite to eat, attempting a round of putt-putt, and playing some arcade games. Brooke was in heaven! I'm glad that she had so much fun, and I am glad that just Braden and I got to spend time together (well plus Emma, she did sleep for some of the time). We ate supper, watched a movie, played 3 rounds of Candyland, and 2 rounds of Zingo. I think in the long run making time to spend one on one time with our cuties will be worth it; it makes them feel so special, and that alone makes it worth it!

She always has to throw in just a little attitude!

My Hard Working Goal Oriented Son

Braden has been eyeing these shoes for weeks now; he wanted to look at them every time we went to Wal-mart and begged to have a pair of his own. I got tired of explaining that his father and I had just bought shoes for him, and I finally thought, 'Hey, why can't he just earn the money himself.' So, I told Braden that if he really worked hard and could earn half of the money, Rich and I would supply the rest. Braden was so cute asking for job after job trying to earn money for his dream shoes; he weeded, he swept, he cleaned, and he weeded some more. Every night he would place his money neatly on his dresser and have Rich count it for him, in hopes that he finally reached his goal; it took a week, but he finally earned just enough. Today before heading to Ottawa Farms, we detoured to Wal-mart, so Braden could buy his long sought after shoes, which actually in the beginning were going to be Lightning McQueen shoes, then he thought maybe Sponge Bob shoes would be cool, but finally he decided that Spiderman shoes were the coolest!

Strawberry Picking

Today we went to Ottawa Farms to go strawberry picking. I have wanted to go for the last couple of weeks, but something always came up; we were determined that nothing would get in our way, but then it rained. At first, I thought all was lost, and that it was going to be another day of disappointment (the kids had been asking about strawberry picking all week); Rich however was determined that his woman and his cuties were going to get to go strawberry picking. Rich wasn't going to let a little rain foil our plans, and I am glad; when we got to the farm, there was already another crazy person picking strawberries, so we knew it was open. We unloaded everyone from the van and commenced picking; I also took turns taking pictures and video, safely under my little umbrella (I'm sure everyone thought I was nuts, but I figured, hey, we are already picking strawberries in the rain, how more nuts can you get). At first it was barely drizzling, but after picking two buckets full the rain was a little too much for the cuties, so we called it a day. Now I have a countless number of beautiful red strawberries drying on my paper towel lined counter and table, just waiting to be frozen; I can just taste the strawberry milkshakes now, ooooo or maybe strawberry muffins, the possibilities are endless, mmmmmm!

Isn't that sweet?!

Brooke was proud of all the strawberries she picked.

Notice the cool Backyardigans tattoo Braden is sporting on his arm (temporary of course).

Looking for that perfect strawberry.

Braden was freezing, skinny little cute thing.

Rich and the cuties

Another strawberry for Brooke

Brooke had a little falling incident in her rush to get to shelter.

Emma and I, wet, crazy hair, but pleased with the delicious strawberries we picked.

My Angry Baby

Most of the time Emma is a sweet, happy baby, but when she gets mad, she gets MAD!!!!!!!! Here are some pics from a couple of her meltdowns. I just have to laugh when I look at these pictures, but at the time I wanted to cry.

A Day in the Life of a Mama~the Carrie Mama

7:15 a.m. Rich wakes me up for couple prayer (Crud, is it really 7:15; I really need to set an alarm).

7:20 a.m. Rush to the kitchen, take out the cakes that were baked last night, and begin taking two round cakes and transforming them into a Lightning McQueen racetrack cake. (Why oh why didn't Braden just want cupcakes? Am I crazy to be doing this? Yes, I am crazy, but I love that boy like crazy, so the show and the cake creating must go on.)

7:45 a.m. Brooke wakes up. Take a short break from cake creating, give Brooke some cake to sample. (Okay not the healthiest breakfast in the world; one day isn't going to hurt, and I make sure she washes it down with some nutritious orange juice, I should get some mommy points for that, don't you think?!) Cake creating recommences.

8:00 a.m. Cake is completed, and now it is time to wake Braden up. Finally get Braden to open his eyes, return to kitchen to see how Brooke is fairing on her oh so healthy cake.

about 8:10 a.m. Get Emma out of her crib, put her in the highchair, and give her breakfast. ( a buffet of bananas, Cheerios, o.j. mixed with a little water, and of course just a tad of cake-can you guess what she sampled first?)

8:15 a.m. Go check on Braden's progress. (Yaaaa, he is almost dressed)

8:20 a.m. Take a few pictures of the cake and place in box for easy transportation to Braden's school.

8:25 a.m. Take Emma out of high chair and get her dressed. Tell Braden to put on his shoes. Lay out some clothes for Brooke.

8:30 a.m. Give Emma some toys to keep her busy. Tell Brooke to put on some shoes. Get Braden a sampling of cake and o.j. (I need to make sure he approves of course).

8:35 a.m. Clean up the icing, knives, green sugar, and other decorating paraphernalia.

8:40 a.m. Think as you look at the cake, he better appreciate this. (If I didn't love that little boy, I sure wouldn't go to all this trouble; he sure is worth it though)

8:42 a.m. Take a couple more pictures of the cake for good measure. (It will be a thing of the past in just a matter of hours.)

8:45 a.m. Look at the clock and realize that a shower will not be happening before taking Braden to school. (I better hurry and get him there on time then; if I am on time, I can just drive up to the school, and they will get him out. I sure don't want anyone seeing me like this.)

8:47 a.m. Rush like mad around the house grabbing the diaper bag, cell phone, car keys, and cute baby. Tell Miss Priss to put on her shoes unless she wants to be left. (That's right I pulled out the big guns right away, I don't have time to play; I DON'T want anyone seeing me like this, time is of the essence)

8:57 a.m. Finally have 3 cuties and all of my belongings in the car, back out of the driveway, and glance at the clock. (Good, I should make it just in time)

9:01 a.m. Pull up to Braden's school. (Yes, four minutes to spare, not bad for a non showered Mama) Rain begins (Even happier that I made it in time to not have to walk him to the door. What is worse than a not showered Mama? A wet not showered Mama. )

9:02 a.m. Head home taking the long way, need some calm Mama time before the day gets crazier. (And yes, it does get crazier)

9:12 a.m. Pull back into the driveway and unload the girls from the van.

9:13 a.m. Turn on Super Why for Brooke to watch and get Emma some toys and a few cheerios.

9:14 a.m. Blog just a little. (Hey, when you are thinking about something, you have to get it down before you forget it).

9:30 a.m. Finish blogging, look at the clock, see that it is almost 10, and high tail it to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready.

9:56 a.m. Finally showered, dressed, and a little makeup applied, time to load the car with the birthday goodies: plates, cake, Capri Suns, number 5 cake topper, and lighter.

10:00 a.m. Load up Cutie #1 in the car and tell Cutie #2 to get some shoes on, AGAIN! (Why did she take them off? To make me crazy, I just know it; okay maybe not, but at the moment that felt like her motivation.)

10:12 a.m. Arrive at Johnson's on 4th for my visiting teaching message for the month (meeting LaNae, Lorinda, Kim, and Julia to discuss April's message).

10:13 a.m. (still raining) Drag myself, Emma, Brooke, and my diaper bag in while attempting to cover us with the only umbrella I could find, Braden's golf umbrella that is only meant to cover his golf bag. (Laugh, it is okay; I'm sure we were quite the sight)

10:55 a.m. Announce that I have to go, because I need to get to Braden's school for his birthday party. (No, he is not turning 5 yet, but he will not be in school when he is; his teacher said we could do an early celebration.) Brooke then announces that she has to go potty. (the timing that kids have, do they take lessons?!)

10:56 a.m. Ask Lorinda to hold Emma for me as I rush like a mad woman to the bathroom; I'm sure it was the fastest pit stop Brooke has ever had. (I'm sure Nascar would be proud.)

10:57 a.m. Gather my belongings, including the girls, and begin to head outside. (still raining by the way) LaNae comes to my rescue and offers to help. (Bless you my child)

10:59 a.m. Kids are loaded up. LaNae offers to help again, and I take her up on the offer. (Here she comes to save the day!!!!!!! SUPER LANAE, SUPER LANAE!!!!!!!!!) LaNae hops in the van, and we head to Braden's school.

11:01 a.m. We pull up to Braden's school (still raining). I open the van door, run the cake in, the sweet amazing women at First Baptist rush to my aid (a decent umbrella and an extra set of hands), I run back to the car (now protected by a beautiful and glorious full size golf umbrella), grab the Capri Suns and other party paraphernalia, run back inside, drop goodies on the floor, rush back to the van, grab Brooke and run her inside, run back to van as LaNae is getting Emma out and taking her in, close the umbrella, get behind the wheel, park the van (trying to find the area with the least amount of puddles, not easy), again open the fantastic (and did I mention glorious) umbrella, get out of the van, lock the doors, head inside, close the umbrella, and sigh a sigh of relief (yes, at least part of the ordeal is over, now upstairs for the party).

about 11:10 Finally upstairs with everything, including one cute baby and one sassy princess. Walk into the classroom to see Braden's little face light up (yeah, it was all worth it).

11:15 Party commences: pass out Capri Suns, pass out plates, pass out forks, sing Happy Birthday, cut cake, and stand back and watch the fun. Braden was in heaven, and so was I. I heard, "Happy Birthday Braden!" "This cake is so good!" (I especially liked that one) "How did you make this cake?" "I like it." "Braden can I ...." "Braden...." "Braden...." Braden was the center of the world during that party, and I am glad that I got to be part of making that happen (even if I couldn't get that blasted green sugar to stick to the sides like I wanted to; I guess it is grass mixed with a little frosting, hey, I would eat it).

Here are some pictures from the party:

So are you tired yet?! I know I sure was!

a little after 12:00 p.m. Drop LaNae off at her car at Johnson's on 4th, drive home the long way again (in hopes Emma will fall asleep).

12:10 p.m. (rain finally stops) Pull into driveway. (YES, Emma fell asleep; I think I see a nap in my near future!)

12:20 p.m. Van is unloaded. Put Emma in her crib, change her diaper (while she is sleeping I may add, a sign of a true Mama Champion, I am the Champion! -can you hear the music playing?), and start warming up some leftover rigatoni.

12:35 p.m. Brooke, Braden, and I sit down to eat lunch. (Maybe I should say I ate; they were so full of cake, they only picked at their food)

1:10 p.m. Read books, sing songs, and put Braden and Brooke down for naps. Check something on the computer, okay a couple somethings.

1:35 p.m. Look at the clock and realize how late it is getting; run like crazy to the room, nap here I come!

about 2:00 p.m. Finally drift off to sleep; I have way too much on my mind. (Dream about a lion, a crocodile, and a hippo, all trying to hurt me in some way; what is that about?!)

3:45 p.m. Wake up from nap. (In case you are wondering, the fact that I even got a nap is a miracle, and the fact that it was able to last that long is also a miracle)

3:46 p.m. Get Emma out of her crib, only to discover that she has a odorous present waiting for me (gotta love generous giving children).

3:47 p.m. Exchange Emma's odorous present for a baby fresh one and get her a snack. Make sure Braden and Brooke are up; Brooke is still out like a light (I guess a few more minutes couldn't hurt anything).

3:50 p.m. Download the pictures from today onto the computer and begin editing.

4:20 p.m. Decide I need to get my butt off of the computer and decide what we are going to have for dinner (Rich will be home soon, and he has to be back at church at 6; I have to hustle).

4:25 p.m. I realize that I have forgotten to thaw out the chicken, so I go with plan B, breakfast for supper. (Pancakes, oj, and bacon sound good to me)

about 4:35 p.m. Rich arrives home; I begin cooking the pancakes (It appears my griddle pan didn't quite recover from a little Rich cooking incident a couple weeks ago, so my pancakes end up looking like lumberjack pancakes, too hard to explain).

4:50 p.m. Rich begins cooking the bacon.

5:00 p.m. Braden and Brooke begin setting the table. I realize that we don't have enough orange juice for everyone (I guess we drank most of it washing down that nutritious breakfast), so I asked Braden and Brooke if they wanted oj or a Capri Sun; I of course knew what their decision would be (SCORE! Rich and I loved sipping our oj while Braden and Brooke guzzled their Capri Suns)

about 5:45 p.m. Rich gathers his belongings and heads to church for interviews and basketball.

6:00 p.m. I pop in the movie Enchanted for the kids, edit some more pictures, and then clean the kitchen.

a little after 7:30 p.m. The girls take a bath followed shortly by Braden.

Okay, is anyone else tired? Let's sum this baby up. I took them out of the bath, they put on their pjs, brushed teeth, Rich came home, we read books, read scriptures, sang The Iron Rod (okay, Rich sang, and we attempted to follow along; I couldn't remember the words), said our family prayer, and said, "SURE LOVE YA!" (I'll have to explain later; it is something we do every night. All I will say is imagine a team putting all of their hands in together, chanting something, and raising their hands up at the same time, now imagine the Maseda family team doing the same thing and imagine us chanting SURE LOVE YA, you get the picture. We got the idea from Melissa and Tom; the kids love it!) After our bedtime routines and traditions, Braden and Brooke went to bed, and Rich got Emma to sleep, and now you guessed it, I am blogging about my crazy day; I think I earned it! I also think I earned another piece of that cake I slaved over; I'll worry about the calories another day!

Couple's Night at the Maseda Pad

This weekend Christina and Casey came to stay with us, and to commemorate this grand event and to celebrate that Traci was in town, we had a couple's night at our house. We had good food, good conversation, and had fun playing Moods. For those who have never played Moods before, let me give you a brief synopsis. The gist of it is that each player rolls a die to determine which emotion they will have to portray and then selects the phrase they must say while performing said emotion, hence the true humor and fun of the game. You laugh at yourself, you laugh at your teammate, you laugh at the other players, and you then attempt to guess what emotion they are portraying, which may sound easy to those Mood Novices, but au contraire, you must play the game to truly judge the difficulty. The game hinges on the performance of the players; I however made it easy for my fellow teammates as I dug deep within and acted:

Sleazy as I said, "I have an itch I can't reach!"



and later in the game acted:



Perky as I said, "My underwear is too tight!"

Here is a picture of my perky performance.

Are you thinking that I look a little more crazed than perky? Alas no, I was attempting perky; I guess I will never make it as a Hollywood actress. My husband and fellow teammate though may be able to make a little pocket change in Hollywood; when it was his turn, he rolled the die, and selected an emotion, and what was it you may ask. I guess you will just have to look for yourselves.


How scary is that?! When Braden saw the picture, he asked me if Rich was wearing a mask. "No, son, that is just your father acting CRAZED!" Due to our acting ability (I say that with great humility) and Rich's great guessing, we are now officially the reigning champs; I'm sure there is a rematch somewhere in our future, but we will see. We came, we saw, we acted like idiots, and we left the reigning Mood champs! It was a fun night and a fun weekend!

Public School, take it or LEAVE it?!

Right now I feel like leaving it! No, no, I am not planning to homeschool, at least not right now, but boy am I tempted! Monday I took Braden for his kindergarten registration, and to say I didn't leave with a feel good feeling would be an understatement. It started well enough, Braden and I excitedly walked up to the building ready to begin a new chapter in his life as a lifelong learner and soon to be kindergartner. I began to fill out the paperwork while we waited for Braden's turn to be tested (doesn't something seem wrong about testing a 4 year old). Anyway, it was finally Braden's turn, so off he went while I continued to fill out the papers. After about 10 minutes, they came to get me, and that is when it all began, my serious contemplation on the grand possibility of homeschooling. As soon as I walk in the room, they ask me if Braden is shy (did I mention Braden is in the room with us while they are labeling my child); my first thought was, 'Are you serious?! These are educators! Don't they know you are NOT supposed to label children?!!!!!!! Don't they also know that a child should NOT be within earshot when discussing them?!!!!!!!!' Though I was doubting their ability to educate my child, I answered their question. I informed them that yes, my child was shy (boy, do I HATE, HATE, HATE that word); I explained that he needs to feel comfortable in a situation before he opens up. They then began to discuss with me his test scores, which I guess were not up to par. Evidently he needed to score at least an 80, but he scored seventy something (I was having trouble trying not to tune them out, so I don't remember the exact number); they then explained that he would be placed in a smaller class in order to help get the one on one help he would need. They then go on to tell me that they couldn't get him to perform for them, due to his shyness (did I mention that I HATE that word). At this point, I think this was when I really started to get aggravated. I'm thinking, 'So you are telling me that my child is shy, and you are telling me that he wouldn't do anything for you?! Did you ever think he is uncomfortable answering questions for complete strangers? Did you ever think that having 3 adults in the room asking him questions would be a little scary for a four year old (that's right, 3, and I was not one of the 3, can you say INTIMIDATING)?! Did you ever think that maybe you don't have a true idea of what he is capable of, but you so quickly want to label him and stick him in a group?! Is my child going to be a child to this school or a number and a label? Are they going to treasure and cherish my child or stick labels on him that may possibly tear down his confidence? Are they going to try to box my child in with their opinions of what he is capable of, or is he going to get a teacher that will give him wings to fly?' Luckily, as the frustration and aggravation continued to boil up inside me, I maintained my temper and some decorum. I did however tell them that I did not want my child labeled. I informed them that I too had taught school, and I had witnessed children that were labeled and were never able to shake that label. I let them know that I DO NOT want that happening to my child! Before leaving the school, they decided to give me some more sage advice (in case you missed it, sage is dripping with sarcasm). "Try to make sure you don't answer for him. When someone asks him a question, make him answer. Earlier, when I said goodbye to him, he didn't say anything." (I am soooooo tempted to teach Braden to say in the future, when someone asks him if he is shy, "No, I just don't like you very much, so I don't want to talk to you."-of course I wouldn't do that, I am just VERY tempted) Finally, feeling a little let down and worried, Braden and I left the school. I had so wanted it to be a great experience, but instead I left feeling like it was me against the school system fighting for my son (Braden luckily only cared that he had gotten an awesome sticker). I kept thinking that I didn't want Braden being taught by people that couldn't recognize how wonderful he is; I also kept thinking how they didn't know anything, and I didn't appreciate them talking to me like I didn't know anything! Believe me, I do know about the educational system; I went to college, I have a degree in education, I have taught school, and I will fight everyday if I have to in order to insure that my son gets the best education possible, even if that does mean homeschooling in the future to make sure that happens. Braden is a wonderful, bright, imaginative, loving four year old, and if they need me to point that out to them, I will!