Paul and Amanda's Wedding

Well, it is official; Paul and Amanda got married for time and all eternity this past Saturday, March 15, 2008. Today at lunch, I thought I would ask Braden and Brooke what their favorite parts of the wedding festivities and weekend were; these are their responses:

Braden: "I liked the chocolate fountain." (at the reception)

Brooke: "Dancing and grooving." (Yes, she said grooving; I don't know where she comes up with these things!)

My favorite parts of the weekend were as follows (in no particular order):

• getting to see and spend time with my family
• watching my little brother get married for time and all eternity
• enjoying the sweet spirit in the temple
• having a whole weekend to socialize
• getting to spend time with my sister
• not having to share Rich for two whole days
• talking with and seeing people that have had an integral part of molding me into who I am (Primary teachers, YW leaders, and close family friends)
• being surrounded by those that I hold near and dear to my heart; it may be months or years in between getting to see them, but when we do see each other again, it is like no time has passed
• the shrimp at the reception
• listening to people go on and on about how cute Braden, Brooke, and Emma are and what a good job Rich and I are doing; the career of motherhood doesn't always include a lot of pats on the back, so you love any that you receive
• the fact that it is all over; I am glad that Paul and Amanda are now happily married and on their honeymoon, which means the wedding stress is officially over for everybody! :)

Sweet VICTORY~ well, almost

In the Maseda household, as I am sure is the case in many households, Sunday means naps for one and all. Of course now that Rich is the bishop, I didn't know if I would be able to work a mighty miracle and secure a nap for myself; my mission was to get home, feed the cuties, and put everyone to sleep, and so began the race. I got home, fed Emma, got Brooke and Braden's lunch ready, heated up something for myself, Emma fell asleep in her high chair (YES!!), we prayed, and commenced eating and talking about what we learned at church; Brooke however said she wasn't hungry and wanted to go lie down in my bed (should have been a HUGE clue that something was up, but I just kept thinking, 'NAP, HERE I COME, two down, and one more to go). While Brooke drifted off to dreamland, I put Emma in her crib, and then returned to the table to finish eating my lunch and talk to Braden. I then put Braden in his bed, covered him up, sang him a song, got him a few books (for those who don't know, Braden LOVES to look at books before he goes to sleep), and told him to have sweet dreams. SWEET VICTORY!!!!!! I rushed to my room to take out my contacts and to slip into some Betty Boop pajama bottoms and a deliciously comfy t-shirt; I then set my alarm, wriggled my way under my covers, and got ready for sleep to come, but then I heard, the door, Rich was home. So up I got; I thought, 'I should probably go help Rich find the leftover pork chops in the fridge and talk to him for a few minutes before he has to leave again'. I decided that he was worth leaving my sleep sanctuary, at least for a few minutes. He and I sat for a while, talked, reconnected, and laughed at some of the funny things the cuties had said today. As we were getting ready to say our farewells, I hear a cough, or what I thought was a cough; 'Oh no! Is one of the kids awake?! Please say it isn't true! I guess I will have to go check.' So, I walk despairingly back to the bedrooms to discover that yes, one of the children is up, and to my horror I quickly realize that not only has Brooke woken up, but she has thrown up all over herself, my sheets, the pillow, and my beautiful bedspread. Oh, my sweet victory is gone, the realization rushes over me like a tidal wave,

'There will be no nap for Mama today!'

So begins the clean up: Brooke, her clothes, the linens, and the mattress. Oh, the sickness that continues to plague our family, first the flu: me, Rich, Braden, and then the girls, and now the stomach bug: Emma, me, and now Brooke, who will be next?! Will the germs never end? Will we never be well again? Oh to have a healthy family again!

Tomorrow morning,

OPERATION DISINFECT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!

From toilets, to sinks, to floors,

WATCH OUT GERMS,

MAMA MASEDA IS COMING TO GET YOU!!!!!!

You can run, but you

CAN'T HIDE!!!!!!!!!

Never a Dull Moment

This is what Rich and I were greeted with last night as we crawled into bed. Instead of Goldilocks stealing our bed, it was Braden's African American Ken doll; I guess Braden decided he needed rest more than we did. You have to admit children are constant entertainment!

I'm So Proud of Myself

Braden is becoming sooooooo independent, and he loves trying to do everything by himself. A few minutes ago he poured himself a glass of apple juice, then he came to me and said, "Mama, I am so proud of myself." I am too buddy, moments like that make me want to put my arms around Braden and kiss his sweet little dimples.

I sure LOVE that boy of mine!

My Little Teether

Isn't my little teether just adorable?! Check out those pearly whites of hers; she has two teeth coming through, and two hanging out just below the surface. Watch out siblings, here comes

Mini Jaws!

One of these things is not like the other

WAIT A SECOND!

They are alike, just alike. Yes, Braden is sporting two right shoes. We bought these at Wal-mart a few days ago for $3; there was no tag or any other shoes like these, so they said we could have them for $3. I didn't really pay attention to the shoes, obviously; we only tried one shoe on Braden and called it good. When I got home however I noticed the mistake. For those who don't know, Braden LOVES penny loafers, and so he was very distraught when he outgrew his last pair. In fact, Braden actually continued to try to wear his other ones, though they were waaaaaay too small; when he finally starting getting blisters, he stopped. Just to make sure he wouldn't inflict more pain on his poor feet, trying to get a few more wears out of his precious penny loafers, Rich and I hid them in the attic. We had tried to hide them before, but somehow the little bloodhound always found them; the attic was our last resort. Back to the story, Braden and I were in Wal-mart a couple days ago looking for black dress shoes for him to wear to his Uncle Paul's wedding when he spotted them. I attempted to show other shoes to Braden, but he only had eyes for those black, beautiful penny loafers. So we put them in our cart and headed to the front of the store (after a short visit at the toys, of course). It was the last pair they had, so they decided $3 would be a fair price. I of course am thinking, 'SCORE', little did I know how wrong I was. Anyway we head home, Braden holding his new prized possessions in his lap the whole way, and unload all of the groceries. Braden, understandably, has no time to help; he must get inside and try on his new shoes. After putting on his shoes, Braden always has me do the check, "Are these on the right feet?" So I look, first at the right foot, "Yes, that is right.", and then the left. Right, left, right, left, "Wait a second, something doesn't look right here!" Then it dawns on me; we came home with two right shoes. Boy do I feel foolish; well, they are just going to HAVE to go back, or are they?! I'm thinking, '$3, I can buy some groceries with $3; I'm not keeping shoes he can't even wear!' The sad thing is, he has worn them, every day since we brought them home. I tried to make him see reason, explained that they are two right shoes, and posed the question, "Doesn't that hurt your feet?" I've told him, "We simply can't keep those, you need a right shoe and left shoe." Braden however looks at me unfazed, "I like these shoes Mama; I want to keep them." I of course am also unfazed, "That is nice son, but they are going back to Wal-mart." Then Rich pipes in, "They were ONLY $3." Okay, I guess he can keep them, but don't expect me to let him outside of our house with those things on; I support my children's free expression (believe me, you should see some of the outfits I let them go out in public with: mismatched, inside out and backwards shirts, cowboy boots with shorts, and occasionally backwards pants), but letting your child go out with two right shoes would not bode well for my reputation as a mother. It is one thing to let your child dress themselves and deal with the consequence, it is quite another for others to question your I.Q. when they see that your child has on two right shoes. So, YES, Braden can keep the shoes, but DO NOT expect to see him wearing them out and about, cowboy boots with shorts, YES, but two right shoes,

NO!

My First Grilling Experience

Yes, it is true, I grilled for the first time last night. I know some of you are scratching your heads in wonder, but it is true; in all of my 32 years I had never grilled before. In the south, women typically do not grill; we pound, we season, we marinate, and then we say, "Sugah, the meat is ready for ya; do ya wanna throw it on the grill for me?" The man then replies, "Sure honey", and then watches as the sweet southern girl sashays away, making sure to put a little extra swish in her walk just for her big grilling man. And so had been the case in the Maseda house, that is, until last night. I decided that with Rich's new calling, I needed to acquire new skills and talents, and the first thing I wanted to conquer was the grill. For those that don't know, I am not very fond of gas or fire. In high school, if I could help it, I would have my lab partner get our Bunsen burner started; I was scared I would set the entire classroom on fire. I still remember a time in 9th grade where I had to make up a lab in which we had to put glass in fire, heat it, and make it bend. I was terrified! I thought, 'That teacher must be mad!' 'Does he know what he is asking?!' Luckily he did ask a boy in the class to assist me, so I did what any other Southern Belle would have done, I turned on the charm and let him deal with the fire. Well NO MORE, I knew I had to conquer my fear, so with Rich standing close by, I turned on the gas and fired that sucker up. What did I cook you ask? I cooked Bistro Chicken Pizza; that's right, I pulled out all the stops! You know what they say, cook BIG or go home; okay, only I say that. Well, after finishing making the pizza, I whipped up a salad and some Berry Delicious Lemonade to round out the meal, and to celebrate the joyous occasion, we ate outside. I came, I conquered, and I had Rich show me how to turn the gas off; I don't think I am quite ready to grill without Rich being within a hundred yard radius, but I am getting there.

Before grilling and adding the ingredients it looked like this.

After all of the hard work, it looked like this.

My family ready to eat, and ready for me to put the camera AWAY!

And for those that may want to recreate this delicious pizza at home, here is the recipe.

Bistro Grilled Chicken Pizza

1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 cup pizza sauce
4 plum tomatoes, sliced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (4-ounce) package tomato-and-basil feta cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Unroll dough, and place on a lightly greased 18- x 12-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Starting at center, press out dough with hands to form a 13- x 9-inch rectangle. Brush dough evenly with olive oil.
Invert dough onto grill cooking grate; peel off foil. Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium heat (300° to 350°) 2 to 3 minutes or until bottom of dough is golden brown. Turn dough over, and grill, covered with grill lid, 1 to 2 minutes or until bottom is set. Carefully remove crust from grill to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Microwave pizza sauce in a small glass bowl at HIGH 30 seconds or until warm, stirring once. Spread sauce evenly over crust; top with tomatoes and chicken. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses and basil. Return pizza to cooking grate (pizza should slide easily). Grill, covered with grill lid, 3 to 5 more minutes or until crust is done and cheese is melted.

*I used a grill pan (I guess that is what you call it?) to put the crust on the grill; it just didn't make sense to me to put it directly on the grill, but remember, I am a grill newbie. I still have a LOT to learn about the fine art of grilling.

I guess I should also point out that there may be some southern women that do in fact love to grill, but generally Southern Belles leave the grilling to the men; I of course have decided to break with tradition, but I guess it won't be the first time. I also am a Southern girl who doesn't eat grits, well, unless those grits are mixed with cheese and shrimp, mmmmmmmmm, delicious!!!!!!!!!

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Well, Rich received a new calling on Sunday; Rich is now the new bishop of our ward. Yes, you read correctly, bishop. I know, Congratulations and Condolences; I got a lot of that on Sunday. I guess it would be more accurate to say we have a new calling; when we met with the Stake President Friday night, he talked to us about how this is a family calling. He talked of how this calling would require a lot of sacrifice, for Rich, the children, and me, but he also talked about how Heavenly Father needed and wanted Rich to serve. He talked of how we would grow as individuals and as a family; he told us that we would grow in ways we can't imagine now. As President Lowther read the letter from the First Presidency stating that they felt that Rich was to serve in this capacity, it hit me that life as I knew it was about to change. It is accurate to say that I have been filled with a number of emotions over the last few days, immense love for my husband, apprehension of the new roles I am going have to play (mainly feeling like a single parent on many occasions), wonder and awe at how Heavenly Father truly does know each of us and loves us tenderly, heaven sent strength (seriously, I have been patient when usually I would have wanted to run for the hills), and a renewed dedication to my husband, my children, and my role as a mother. With these feelings have also come questions: How can I support my husband? How do I comfort him when he is overwhelmed with the ward's problems? What is the best way to make sure we squeeze in family time amongst his many obligations? How do I make sure my children understand that their daddy is still their daddy? How do I fight for our family time without getting in the way of what is most important, serving Heavenly Father? How do I deal with those that may criticize my husband and us? How do I make the most of this opportunity/trial (I think both words are appropriate)? I know over time I will find the answers to these questions. What I do know now is that I stand behind my husband 100%. I know that he is the one who is supposed to be the bishop right now, and I know it is my job to love and support him. I know that prayer and scripture study are going to be my lifelines to strength, sanity, love, and patience. I know that there are going to be countless nights Rich will come home stressed, and all I will be able to do is wrap my arms around him, and let him know I will always be there for him. I know that I need to be Rich's cheerleader now. I know that it is going to be difficult feeling in the dark about many things in his life; Rich and I have always shared everything, but now there are going to be sooooo many things that he can not share and that I do not need to know. I know that Heavenly Father is already giving me strength and patience beyond my usual capacity, and I know we as a family are being blessed and protected. I also know that my children need me even more now. I can not explain the renewed spirit I have felt towards motherhood in the last few days. I feel that my most important jobs right now are to love my husband and love my children. With all the questions, concerns, and the unknown, I do know that it is my job, my duty, and my honor right now to

'Keep the Home Fires Burning!'

These are the flowers Rich brought home to me Saturday night. I had asked him to go to Wal-mart to pick up a few things we needed, and he also came home with these. He explained it this way, "I have to make sure your love tank is nice and full, before all of this craziness begins." I don't think we have any idea how crazy and demanding life is going to get, but I do know that it is vital that I am ever vigilant, looking for the smallest opportunities to spend time together as a couple and a family.