Don't you just hate it when...

...your husband is right!!!!!!!!!

I know I do, but I have to admit it; Rich was right! There, I said it; he will be so happy! Today, amidst my protests, we went to the temple (the temple that is a little over two hours away). I kept thinking: How in the world are we going to do this? How can we make this happen? Are we going to have to go in separately? I don't want to sit out with the kids. Part of the experience for me is being in the temple with Rich. Can Colton even make it that long without nursing? Rich, knowing that I would thank him afterwards pushed a little, and I relented; he called it being persuasive, but it was sooooooo not persuasion, more like insistence (just saying). So this morning, we all got up, got ready, and headed out at about 6:30 this morning. We loaded the car down with snacks, drinks, and every quiet toy imaginable. What was our plan? Mama agreed to meet us and watch the cuties for us; nothing quite goes as planned though. We were supposed to meet Mama at 9:30, but due to a traffic stopping accident, we didn't arrive until 10:20. Rich though always has a back-up plan, so he called the temple and voilà, things were back on course; we had to be at the temple by a little before 12 and not 10, which gave us time to meet Mama, get a bite to eat, and get the cuties settled. Details aside, let me just say that it was an AMAZING experience! I explained it to Rich this way, "It was like someone in the desert receiving water." With four cuties, prayers, scripture study, well basically, almost everything gets interrupted, so my spirit was crying out for something like today. As I walked into the temple, I felt as if Jesus was wrapping his arms around me in a warm and loving embrace; I am at a loss of words to describe the intensity of my feelings, or the incredible love I felt from both Heavenly Father and Jesus in those moments. The love of those I had come to do work for was almost palpable, as I envisioned my Great Grandmother's eyes, so like my own, waiting in anxious anticipation for her work to be done. I cried at the thought of her wrapping her arms around me and thanking me for helping her do something she was unable to do for herself. I not only did work for others, but I did a great work for myself today; as I walked within the walls of the temple, and as I listened to the words spoken, my spiritual hunger was fed, and my thirst was quenched. There is nothing quite like being within the sacred walls of the temple.

Often I get asked what the temple is, and what we do inside; I know a lot of my dear family, many of whom are not members of the church, are especially curious. I hope this video helps.

Are we sure she is only four?

It has been a little over four years since she made her grand appearance into this world, four years, four months, and 8 days to be exact. She is definitely, without a doubt, four years old, but when Brooke opens her mouth, you wonder,

'Are we sure she is only four?'

Does the typical four year old use words like divine, devour, or scrumptious? I don't know if it is typical for a four year old, but it is typical for our four year old. I am often astounded at Brooke's vocabulary; not only does her vocabulary continue to grow by leaps and bounds, but she uses all of the words in the correct context.

In the last couple weeks Brooke has told me that she was going to devour a piece of candy, following which she exclaimed that said candy was divine. She explained that it was my job to distract Braden at Wal-mart, so she could pick out a present for him. She, after taking her first bite of supper one night, announced that it was scrumptious, and she told me of her plan to go to the store to get the ingredients to make a treat for Braden!

What will that girl say next?!!!

Being a Parent is Just Plain...

HARD!!!!!

Parenthood is not for the faint of heart! To be a parent, a good parent, an effective parent, you have to put in the time, the sweat, the tears, and sacrifice a little of your sanity to help mold your children into respectable adults. For example, if you want children with a good work ethic, then it means you will spend countless hours finding work for them to do and then try to discover ways to get them to do the aforementioned work: chore charts, incentives, and on occasion, bribery! Yes, it is easier to give up and do the work yourself, but no one (unless they were horribly misinformed) gets into parenthood thinking it will be easy! It means sticking to your guns amidst whines and protests; it means missing that trip to the pool or watching that movie, because they have not completed the task at hand. Yes, it means often punishing yourself for the greater good. Today as I tried to cajole my children to clean their bedrooms, I realized early on that it was going to be a day long process; I had so hoped that they would see my reasoning, clean their rooms quickly, and move onto the fun. Sadly no, Braden and Brooke sat, talked, and protested in their oh so endearing (note the sarcasm) passive aggressive way. It first began with a simple request, "Brooke and Braden, I need the two of you to make Brooke's bed, because you both slept in it last night." And so began the fight; it seems Braden was not making the bed to Brooke's standard, and in order to get him to bend to her will, she began to whine (I'm sure you can guess how well that went over with Braden). Well, after listening to this for quite some time, making a couple attempts at playing referee, and trying fruitlessly to tune it out, I had enough of the assault on my ears, from both the whining and the tattling; I finally went into Brooke's bedroom and instructed Braden to leave the room. I explained to Brooke that if Braden was not making her bed how she wanted, then she could do it by herself. This of course brought about more protests, whining, and collapsing to the floor like a rag doll (can I tell you how much I HATE when she does that?!!!!). I'm here to tell you, it is also very hard to stay calm when you have to continually listen to WHINING!!!! I, with all of the patience I could muster, reiterated to Brooke that she would be making the bed by herself. The begging came next. "Mama, will you please help me? It is too hard for me. Please?" "No Brooke, I will not help you. You had a helper, but you didn't think he was doing it the right way. You can see if he will help you, but I am not; maybe if you go to him without whining, it may work." To my absolute joy, a few minutes later I heard Braden and Brooke working as a team, not only making her bed, but then painstakingly arranging her pillows just so and adorning her bed with a teddy bear and my old Snoopy stuffed animal. Regrettably, this was only my first battle for the day, next up, Mama versus the knuckleheads in the Clean Room Wars. Again, they came out swinging, but in the end I prevailed; Braden and Brooke decided to work as a team and help each other clean their rooms. Brooke excitedly ran to me with her grand plan; I told her I thought that was a fantastic idea, while I was really thinking, 'I don't care what you do, I just want those rooms clean sometime in this life!' End of story, right? Wrong, oh, so wrong! I then had to face one of my toughest opponents,

Emma!

As I was letting down my guard, putting away my weapons of war, the chore wars; this

little gem decided to take the rocks out of the fireplace and scatter them all over the carpet. So, I had to put my battle garb back on, get my game face on, and sit beside her as she painstakingly picked up the rocks and placed them back in the fireplace; right then and there I decided a fireplace screen would my next investment.

I also thought about the investment I am making in my children every day. Being a parent is hard, but all of that hard work is an investment for the future,

their future.

My Birthday Boy

Today my baby turned 6; where has the time gone?!!!

Here are pictures from the festivities; I will have to post more details tomorrow, but for now I must sleep!

This little drooler...

...slept from 10 last night until about 6:40 this morning; will the trend continue? Time will only tell, but I sure hope so!

The First Annual Maseda Family Awards Ceremony/Night

Well, we had our first annual Maseda Family Awards Ceremony/Night tonight, and it was quite the success! Each child made a certificate for everyone in the family, excluding themselves of course, ... ...and Rich and I also made certificates for the children and each other. In addition to the certificates, I also had purchased a couple Special Helper ribbons, six medals, and some rings and pencil topper erasers. To begin our evening we grilled hamburgers; after supper we adjourned to the living room to begin the festivities. Just like an awards ceremony, our award distribution was also intermingled with entertainment: Brooke and Emma sang, Rich played the guitar and sang, and Rich and I did a little swing dancing. The children loved giving and receiving awards tonight; it was fun trying to get the children to guess who was getting which award. I think my favorite awards were the medals; Rich had 3 gold ones to give to Braden, Brooke, and Emma, and I had 3 silver ones to do the same. As we gave them to each child, that was our time to express to that particular child things we loved about them, what makes them special, and why we feel blessed to call them ours and have them be a integral part of our family (of course this also was when I got emotional).

Once the administration of all the certificates, ribbons and other rewards had been given out, we then went to stage two of the night, which included a movie and popcorn.

All in all, I think the night was well worth the effort, and I am glad we have decided to make it one of our new traditions! This feeling was only confirmed when after tonight's festivities, Brooke looked at me and said, "This is my favorite place to be, because my family is here!" I can not explain or quite put my finger on a particular thing we did tonight to create this feeling, unless it was the entire night, but I felt like we were even more of a team after tonight. I felt the love we had for each other, and I felt the intense loyalty we have for each other and for our family!

The Awards for Tonight Were As Follows (left the children's awards verbatim):

Braden Maseda: Superstar Son, Awesome Artist, & Best Ball Player

Brooke Maseda: Dynamite Dancer, Ferocious Vocabulary, and Best Sister to Have a Slumber Party With

Emma Maseda: Cutie Patootie, Life of the Party, Crazy Sister, and Craziest Sister (notice a trend?)

Colton Maseda: King Cooer, Best Baby that Cries

Rich Maseda: Man of my Dreams, Strongest Man, and Best Dad Have Good Ideas What We Can Do Award (verbatim)

Me: One Hot Mama, Best Mom that Love Me, Mom Does a Good Job Cleaning

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

I am here to announce that in two weeks time (June 6, mark your calendars),

this little girl

will perform in her very first dance recital. So, friends and family, if you would like to be privy to this grand event, please let me know. Tickets are $8 in advance, and we would love to see you there!

(If you are wondering why Brooke is all decked out, it is because they took pictures at the dance studio today; Brooke practiced her smile in the mirror all day long, to insure that her smile would not look too fake. That's my girl, full of sugar and spice, and a whole lot of sass!)

A Serious Case of Guiltitis

Before I begin, I must give a huge shout out to my friend Kim! This morning I was really sick; I couldn't function, and I couldn't think. I was filled with despair and self doubt; I began to doubt my quality as a mother!

I had come down with a severe case of

GUILTITIS!!!!

What brought about my case of Guiltitis?

What filled me with these pangs of guilt and doubt?

The answer, an Honors Day.

More specifically, an awards ceremony for the kindergartners and first graders, an awards ceremony I would not be attending.

My reasons were valid, my points were substantial ones, and my guilt was palpable!

I pleaded with my son, "You know that I love you dearly right? I just can't handle taking the girls and Colton to the school! Which would you have chosen, me going to Honors Day or bringing cupcakes to your school yesterday?"

Braden's response, "What is Honor's Day?"

After explaining, he quickly responded, "Cupcakes!"

Case closed, right?!!?

I should be reassured by his response, comforted by his words.

Wrong, oh, so wrong!

As I drove up to Braden's school to drop him off, I saw what in my mind seemed like endless concourses of cars and parents all coming to attend Honors Day!

My mind began to race, 'Why didn't I try to make more of an effort?!!! Maybe I could have made it work! Am I a bad mom, because I am not going to be there?! Will Braden wonder where his mother is, when he looks around at the other camera laden mothers? Maybe I could run home and get ready and be back in time? (an obvious grasp for the unrealistic, considering I would have had to be back in 15 minutes)'

As my thoughts ran through my head, the Guiltitis started to take over my body; it was pulling me down to the world of what ifs and woulda, coulda, shoulda, and I felt helpless to fight it! My mind was still racing when I pulled into my neighborhood, passing one of my neighbors on her way out of the neighborhood; as she looked at me as she passed I thought, "I bet she wonders why I am heading back home. I know she is heading to the school, and she wonders why I am not doing the same. She thinks I am a slacker mom! Hey, she has no right to judge me!'

Yes, at this point the Guiltitis had a hold on my mind and my body.

I knew I had to be strong! I had to fight this Guiltitis! I couldn't let it win!

What to do? Who to call?

Rich, I'll call Rich; he'll know what to say. Dialed the number, poured out my recent medical history, explained my dilemma, pleaded for words of comfort and solace, but to no avail. Rich tried, but my Guiltitis had too strong of a hold on me!

I had to keep fighting! I knew I couldn't do this alone! I needed to talk to another mother! They would be able to give me the tools to rid my body of this insidious guilt, this plague!

So I did it, I dialed Kim's number, and anxiously waited for her to answer. Upon hearing her voice, I poured out my story of woe and despair!

Like the song of a beautiful lark, she healed my wounds and helped rid my body of the evil, the foul, the loathsome guilt!

Guiltitis was gone!

She talked of the short time he would actually be on the stage, the slim possibility that he would even see me in the sea of faces, the absurdity of dragging three children into a school only to snap a picture and give a loving hug at the end, shared her own stories of her past battles with guilt, and the pièce de résistance, the crème de la crème, she gave me an ingenious idea; have your own award ceremony for Braden at home!

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!

Can you hear the angels singing?

I am clean! The guilt is gone!

Not only do I no longer feel any guilt, not only has my body and mind been cleansed of the vile and depraved effects of guilt, but I have created something that will make all my children feel loved for not only today but years to come!

For today was born, a tradition,

Maseda Family Awards Night!

Upon hearing Kim's suggestion, I thought, 'I don't have to stop there! I can have an awards night for everyone! We can make it a huge night! We can make certificates, get medals, the kids can make awards too! We can even start doing it every year, a new Maseda Family tradition is born! Oh yeah, I am liking this idea!'

So, from this day forth, on the last day of school, we, the Masedas, will have an awards night, where food will be eaten (on special trays as is also tradition for all things noteworthy), fun will be had, and awards will be given!

It will be grand! It will be superb! It will be unforgettable!

Claps and cheers will explode, cameras will snap, flashes will light up the room, and hearts will swell with love, pride, and confidence!

All is right again in the world!

I have fought Guiltitis, and I have won!!!!!

Now, if you will excuse me; I have certificates and awards to create!

Braden is already ahead of me, so I have to get busy! While I brainstorm, please enjoy this picture of the award Braden plans to present his sister on Friday and a picture of Braden and Brooke beginning to work on their certificates; before I go though, I have one thing to say!

Thanks Kim! I couldn't have kicked Guilt's big butt without you!

Labor of Love

Yesterday I performed a labor of love for this boy,

my sweet, dimpled face son.

In approximately three days, Braden will be turning six; continuing with our theme for this year, he will also be having a family party, so I didn't see anything wrong with his request to bring in cupcakes for his class. So yesterday I dropped Braden off at school, and Colton, the girls, and I headed to Wal-mart. I was trying to find rings to put in the cupcakes, to no avail. Braden wanted pink cupcakes with girl rings in them for the girls, and red cupcakes with boy rings in them for the boys; I am here to tell you though, that the party favor section in our Wal-mart is seriously lacking in stock and variety. Striking out in the ring department, I decided white icing and sprinkles would be a nice alternative; after putting an end to the cupcake dilemma, I headed to the candy section and the toys to attempt to put together some favors. I finally settled on bubbles and a blow pop for each child. I don't know about any of you other mothers out there, but I know I personally don't want any more needless junk or trinkets in my house to add to the already ever expanding pile of clutter; I thought it would be the perfect solution, eat the blow pop, throw away the trash, blow all the bubbles, recycle or throw away the bottle, problem solved, time to pay for all of our paraphernalia and head home. Once home, I went to work making these for the children in Braden's class (making sure to construct one for the birthday boy).

Next, I made the cupcakes, using my lovely assistant, who we all know and love,

Mrs. Betty Crocker. Once the cupcakes were beautifully baking in the oven,

we took a brief intermission to deal with this; why yes, that is another nose bleed,... ...and yes, that is a baby who was not very happy about being put down quickly. Nothing a little cake batter licking can't cure; well that, and A LOT of napkins and paper towels. Once the cupcakes were cooled, and decorated,... ...I loaded up the cupcakes, the chips, the plates, the Capri Suns, the napkins, and the party favors,

dropped the girls off at LaNae's, and headed to Braden's school (with Colton in tow). Once at Braden's school, I then had the task of getting everything inside, quite the balancing act. Sighing a deep sigh of relief, I finally made it to Braden's classroom with goodies in hand. The kids ate, sang to him, and went outside to blow the bubbles. I think Braden had a good time, and I think he felt loved; that is what a labor of love is all about isn't it?!!!

Colton's Favorite Toy

Here are a couple pictures of Colton and his favorite toy.

When you pull the string, it plays "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam." Unless Colton is overtired, this toy works like a charm; it calms him down long enough for me to get something done. A few weeks ago, I thought all was lost, when this little imp...

...threw it into the bath tub. I did the only thing I could do, squeeze out all of the water I could, hang it up to dry, and hope and pray for the best.

Luckily, it worked, and Colton and his favorite toy were reunited!

I think it would be an understatement to...

...say that my children

LOVE TO DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you think?

I wonder if Colton will eventually join this motley crew of groove shakers.

(Yes, I know I should have been washing the dishes you see in the background, but I can always do dishes; I can't always film my sweet children, and the dishes sure weren't going anywhere! Believe me, they waited patiently for me to rinse them and load them into my dishwasher; they didn't mind hanging out for a few more minutes.)

You would have to...

...have a heart of stone to not think these pictures are absolutely precious!

The Things Mothers Do for Love

As a mother, I often go to great heights to let my children know how much I love them. Those are also often the times I stop, and think to myself, 'I must really love this child to be doing this!' As I hurried to take Braden to school, so I could then drop off the girls at LaNae's house only to turn around and hustle back to Braden's school (all in the rain I must add), I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I arrived at the school, discovering there was hardly any parking, I parked in the wet grass, thinking, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I placed a very irate three month old into his carrier and strapped him on, amid his many protests, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I trudged across that wet grass, getting my beautiful, brand new, turquoise flip flops drenched, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I tried to maneuver through the crowd with my camera laden diaper bag, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I played the stand up, sit down, stand up, dance a little, sit down, stand up game to keep Colton happy while we waited for the performance to begin, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I worked feverishly to get the video camera and my digital camera armed and ready, while continuing to dance a three month around, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!' As I continued to dance, frantically looking at the clock, trying to get my three month old to do this,

before the show began, I thought, 'I must really love this boy to be doing this!'

As I watched this little boy walk in and sit down,

I thought, 'I sure love that boy!'

As I looked at his sweet, smiling face and his irresistible dimples,

I thought, 'I sure love that boy!'

It was all worth it to be there for Braden, to see him dance with all the other kindergartners: the rain, the rushing, the wet shoes, the chaos, all of it, just to see that smile on Braden's face when he saw me!

I sure love that boy!

Oh, the things mothers do for love!

3 Months Old and Cute as Ever

This adorable, precious, little piece of heaven is now 3 months old. Can you believe it?! Where does the time go?!!! We absolutely adore him, and we think he gets cuter everyday. Here is a video of our 13 lb. 10.5 oz., 25 1/2 inch long bundle of cuteness.

Colton is so alert compared to how he was a month ago. He smiles, he coos, and he steals everybody's heart!

The Referee

It seems that this little girl is taking on many roles these days.

Not only is she my bodyguard, it turns out, she is also a referee. Braden and Brooke were having a dispute in the back seat this morning, following which Emma yelled, "Be nice! Braden! Brooke!" Well, she took care of that one, fighting ceased, enough said!

Crazy Fun Filled Day

Yesterday was one of those crazy, fun filled days; you know the ones, you go and you go and you go, having fun and snapping pictures all along the way (okay maybe the picture thing doesn't apply to everyone). I can't help but take pictures, since I got my trusty new camera (Mother's Day gift).

I know many of you are thinking, why in the world would I need a new camera when I already have this baby (and it is my baby)?!!!!

To answer that question, I present a scenario: Imagine, you have gone to the park, the library, or various other locations, and your children do something hilarious, absolutely adorable, a moment you have to capture on film or video, but alas, your camera and your video camera are no where to be found; they are safely stored away at home! What can you do? This moment can not go undocumented! Listen carefully, do you hear the music? (the Mighty Mouse theme song)

Here it comes to save the day, Super Camera, Super Camera!!!!!!!

When your child is dancing wildly in the middle of the store, it will be there. When your child is singing the alphabet song as you drive down the road, it will be there. When you want to capture that picture of your ice cream covered two year old, it will be there. When you want to capture that tender moment of sibling love, it will be there. It is a can't fail, tiny, diaper bag camera; it's small compact size make it easy to take everywhere, and it takes video too!

No moment will go undocumented!

(Did you hear my kids just groan? I didn't either; I think they have gotten used to me snapping pictures like wild.)

Now back to my day, it started out by of course getting up, feeding the cuties, and taking Braden to school; the three youngest and I then returned home, so I could get ready. First outing for the day, the MOPS meeting (http://www.mops.org/index.php?srctype=menu); I have had several people invite me to go, but I either was always too busy or simply forgot. This time however I wrote it on the calendar, and I am soooooooo glad I did! We ate delicious goodies, talked, listened, and prayed; I love that we as mothers were able to get together to support each other and feel the spirit at the same time, and Brooke and Emma loved getting to play with the other children.

Next outing, the library for story time; Elmo was supposed to be there, but I think there was a change of plans. Either way, they enjoyed themselves, as you can tell by the video and pictures.

At this point, it was lunch time, so we ventured over to a pizza place, along with Traci, April, Ava, and Hayden. We sat, we ate, we talked, and the girls showered Colton with their love.

Once our tummies were full, we decided to venture over to the park for a little play time before picking Braden up from school.

After getting a lot of energy out, and Colton's cat nap (When is that boy going to learn to take a real nap?!!!), we loaded back in the van and went to pick Braden up from school, at which point Emma posed for this picture,

then this one,

and then finally lost the battle, and did this:

After arriving home with Braden, we ate snacks, talked about his day, and just relaxed until Rich got home. No, our day was not quite over yet! Once Rich arrived home, we ate supper, and got the cuties ready. Rich was taking the oldest three with him to Braden's baseball game, and Colton and I were headed to Braden's school for a PTA meeting; the meeting was about ways to help get your child ready for first grade, so I didn't want to miss it! Luckily, the meeting was short, so Colton and I rushed to Braden's game just in time to see this:

but not in time to see this:

(luckily Rich had the video camera with him)

Did I forget to mention the entertainment Braden provides for his teammates and the Cardinal fans? Yes that's right, if the game is getting a little dull, just look to the outfield; Braden will shake his groove thing for you!

Well, once the game was over, our crazy day of outings and fun were through; we went back home, the cuties took baths, and went to bed, while I stayed up to battle with this cutie (who finally crashed about midnight).

Man, I'm tired just thinking about all we did, but it sure was fun!