My Bodyguard

Did you know that I need protecting?

I didn't know either, but apparently, this little boy can be quite vicious (if being absolutely adorable makes you vicious).

When he was moving his arms around a few days ago and accidentally hit me, I just assumed it was due to his lack of arm control (considering his baby status).

This little lady

saw the error of my ways, and quickly stepped in and came to my rescue, exclaiming, "No Colton! Don't hit Mama! No Colton!" (followed by a little pop on Colton's arm)

It's a good thing I have Emma around to keep me safe! Before Emma, I never knew my life was in such peril; now I have my very own bodyguard, but I wonder,

'Who is going to protect me from her?'

(and all of her two year old mischievous ways)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.

Yes, we have been bit!

By what?

The baseball bug; it came to visit, and we asked it to stay!
Braden loves baseball, and I have also developed a fondness for the game. I love it: the ball park, the concession stand, the atmosphere, how adorable my little boy looks in his baseball uniform, cheering like a crazy woman, the feeling of pride I get when Braden hits the ball, watching my little boy run the bases, spending all that time together as a family, practicing in the backyard, and snapping pictures like it is going out of style!
I can't get enough, and luckily, neither can Braden!

I think we finally found his sport!

Here are pictures of our cute Cardinal:

Here is a video of Braden waiting on third and then running home to get a run for the team.

Sweet Feet

Don't you just want to squeeze her sweet little toes?!!!!

Wife Material?

As I was enjoying my delicious Mother's Day dinner tonight, my cute five, soon to be six, year old looked at me and posed the question, "How will I know the right girl to marry?" I of course suggested we make a list of all the qualities he wants in a wife; it was so much fun with Brooke, I just couldn't resist seeing what Braden's list would contain.

Here is his list:

I want her...

*to have straight hair.

*to be nice.

*to be pretty.

*to be nice to other people.

*to be nice to other people.

*to make me food, good food.

*to use good manners.

*to be pretty. (He said it twice, so I wrote it down twice.)

*to be smart.

*skin to be peach.

*to give me the stuff I want for Father's Day.

*to have pretty eyes.

*to have a strong testimony.

*be sweet to me.

*to love me.

*to make me laugh.

*to put good things in her body.

*to like me.

*to dress up pretty.

*to have shiny eyes.

*to be able to take me to the temple.

*to be able to see.

*to dance, have good dancing.

*to have the prettiest clothes in the whole wide world.

*to have pretty lips.

*to have pretty necklaces.

*to have good cheeks, a good nose, and a good forehead, and a good chin.

*to have pretty fingers.

*to have pretty straight brown hair.

*to be a good mom to my kids.

*to have pretty eyelashes and ooh la la make-up.

*to have pretty shoes.

*to love Jesus.

He also said, "I want to make her laugh." & "If she sees the kids being mean, I want her to grab them and put them in time out."

Did anybody else catch the fact that Braden wants to marry someone who is pretty?! I'm glad he does have some more substantial things on his list as well, but I think we need to talk about how a pretty face isn't everything, or pretty fingers, or eyes, etc.; maybe I will let Rich handle that one. I did tell Braden that it was important to pray about who he wants to marry and listen to the spirit. I just want him to marry someone who loves him like crazy, who he loves like crazy, can go with him to the temple, has a strong testimony, and loves Heavenly Father and Jesus. Nothing less than the best for my boy!

I couldn't have done it without...

THEM!!!!

As soon as I got up this morning, my mind started racing; I had so much to get done: get everyone breakfast, do last minute lesson preparations for the Primary class I teach, get four cuties plus myself ready, get the diaper bag ready and well stocked with fruit snacks, diapers, books, and toys, get my church bag ready, nurse Colton, get a Crock Pot Lasagna ready to take to the pot luck at church, make sure Braden and Brooke go to the bathroom before we leave, load everyone into the van, and get to church on time. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention, I had to do this without the other member of the tag team! Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed with my tasks ahead, so I explained to Braden and Brooke the many obstacles in my path and pointed out my solo status for the morning (yes, I pulled out the sympathy card); we decided that if we worked as a team, we could do it all and make it to church on time!



Team Maseda went into full effect, and that is the only reason we accomplished all that we did and made it to church on time!

This amazing little boy, who we fondly refer to as Braden,

after getting himself ready, first took on the task of helping me pick out my clothes, not as easy as it may sound. In fact, the first skirt Braden selected for me, I sadly had to explain still did not quite fit me; he apologized, and I quickly reassured him that I would indeed wear it again. He then smiled, explained I could wear it was I was little again, and then asked me to show him which skirts I could wear. I pointed them out to Braden, and he quickly removed the hangers from four of them and laid them on the bed for me and said, "There Mama, you have four choices." While I selected which of the skirts I was going to wear for the day, Braden went into the chaos we call the closet to retrieve some matching shoes for me. He then, knowing that I always wear jewelry, asked which bracelet I wanted to wear, and retrieved a couple from my jewelry box for my choosing. Once I was all decked out, Braden then exclaimed, "Mama, you look beautiful!" In addition to this, he also got Emma's sippy ready, hunted down some yarn for me (needed it for my object lesson for my class), and placed both items in their appropriate bags.

What about the little princess you may ask? What did our sassy sweet Brooke do?

Well, this precious little thing

calmed her little brother down by showing him books, singing to him, and making music with a rattle; once he finally fell asleep, she even sat by his bouncer holding his hand to insure he would not get scared. These acts alone allowed me to have time to cook the sausage for the lasagna, assemble the lasagna, get ready, and gather everything and load it into the van. This however was not all that she did; Brooke also got a basket ready full of books and toys for she and her siblings to take to church, and she put diapers for Emma and Colton into the diaper bag.

As the cuties and I pulled out of the driveway, I said a quick prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for these two, because

I couldn't have done it without them!

Husband Material?

Brooke has been very concerned lately about growing up and all that is involved with that process, including finding the right person to marry. She often asks, "Mama, how will I know who to marry?" Today her worries again arose, so I thought it would be fun to make a list of all the things she wants in a husband. I told her that one way to find someone to marry is know what you want; I know I sure had a mental list of what I wanted in my husband and my eternal companion, and I'm so glad I didn't settle for anything less than the best!

After much thought on Brooke's part, here is her list of desired qualities in a husband:

(tried to leave them in the way they were worded to me)

I want a husband who:

*is good, not bad.

*go to church.

*can take me to the temple.

*makes me laugh.

*will help me with my kids.

*will help teach the things I don't know that he knows.

*don't stop going to church.

*will help me do what is right.

*will help me feel better.

*has the priesthood.

*is smart.

*is grateful he is a dad.

*will help me untie my dress when it is in a knot after church, because I can't reach it because it is in the back of the dress.

*is cute.

*loves me.

*is a very good person.

*is nice to me.

*will help me get the kids in bed, when they say, "I don't want to, I don't want to Mommy!"

*will help me cook food.

*likes to dance.

*will be so sweet to me.

*won't drink coffee or smoke. He will never drink coffee, alcohol, smoke, or diabetes.

*will be so, so, sooooooo sweet to other people and their kids.

*will never tell lies.

*will be very quiet when our baby is sleeping.

*won't hurt anybody or our family.

Sounds pretty good to me! I think I would add, has their education to the list; other than that, I think she will be just fine! Whoever does capture this little girl's heart will be one lucky boy!

Isn't he adorable?!!!!!!!!!!

(make sure to turn the music off at the bottom before viewing the video of the adorable one)

My Little Hip Hop Princess

As you know from a few days ago, I now am doing Hip Hop Abs in order to get back in shape. Well, I am not the only one enjoying the fun. I present to you now our very own

Hip Hop Princess

Every day she is right beside me hip hopping her little heart out. On this particular day, I had already finished my workout, so she asked if she could borrow my DVD; I of course said yes, and she did the work out by herself. At first, I was concerned she would get too preoccupied with looks and body image by watching me try to get back in shape. I have been trying to stress the health benefits rather than the wonderful benefit of kicking fat's butt! I want Brooke to grow up with a healthy self image; we have had many discussions over the last week and a half about how it is important to eat right and exercise, and we have talked about how it gives us more energy, makes us stronger, and makes our heart stronger. Though we had many conversations on the topic, I was still concerned. My concerns however were put to rest as I watched her exercise. The instructor (Shaun T.) said and made a reference about looking good after doing the exercises, to which Brooke replied, "I'm already beautiful!"

That's right girl! You are beautiful, and don't let anyone ever tell you different!

Here is a little more Hip Hop Action:

Disclaimer: I would like to point out that Brooke's outfit was her decision and not mine, not that you hopefully hadn't already gathered that.