What has gotten into her....

Madeline that is. She has turned into a "BIG" girl. By that I mean, she has been sleeping in her own bed with no fits for almost 2 weeks. I know you are saying, "Yes, and she should be." But this is a REALLY BIG step for her. I think she really wants her room redone. I told her to keep it up and we will definitely do her room. She also gets up in the mornings, CLEANS her room and MAKES her bed without me even having to tell her. I'm so proud of her. I just hope she keeps it up.
Today the girls got to dress up in western wear,(aka. a cowboy hat with boots on) for school. Madeline was very excited to show everyone her new white cowboy hat that we found at Party City. Macy wasn't too sure about wearing the hat, but she definitely wanted to carry it around with her. Both girls go to the dentist this afternoon and then off to gymnastics. I will try to get some pictures while at the dentist today to post later. I hope you all have had a good week and enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend. Who's going to win?

Starts well and Ends well...

We've ended another busy weekend at the Mueller house. Friday was spent pretty much sleeping the day away. Friday evening we went to our neighbors for pizza and the two men went to watch Kaleigh (their oldest daughter) play soccer. The girls and I hung outover there and the girls played. Macy ran all over the place and TALKED the entire night. My neighbor was commenting on how much Macy has already changed in just the past day since her surgery. I think she talks just because she can hear herself now. Now we will have TWO chatterboxes. Yesterday, Madeline and I went to the Galleria with Rachel and Kristie (our neighbors). We do a lot with them so you will hear about them a lot. We had been promising the girls we'd take them to the American Girl Doll store. They were in doll heaven. They went all over that store drooling over all the stuff. Madeline got a new doll named Julie.

This isn't the outfit she came in of course, Madeline had to change her clothes.
She is normally in a 70's hippy outfit. Very cute. I love her LONG blonde hair.

She has done nothing but change her clothes and fix her hair. She also exchanged a few outfits that she had gotten as a double for Christmas for new clothes for her twins. She was so excited. She is VERY into the American Girl stuff. Which isn't cheap. But I enjoy them too..HA! Then yesterday evening we decided to go to Cabela's with, yet again, the neighbors. They had never been so we went and had a great time. Macy loves to watch the fish in the big tank and feed the trout in the trout stream. Here she is with Brad feeding the fish.

And once again here she is picking her nose and a double pick at that. She thinks it is funny.

This "robot man" at Cabela's tells a story about hunting for buck/deer. Macy kept pointing at him and calling him daddy. I don't see the resemblence, do you?

This was the first time in all the times that we have been to Cabela's that Madeline wasn't afraid of this man. She actually sat there and watched him talk several times.
Both the girls got new sunglasses too. Macy is modeling hers. You can see Madeline's in the picture with her American Girl doll.

Today we went to church and then came home and I started laundry and Brad finished mowing the front yard, 13 bags of grass later. So that's our weekend. Hope yours was great too.

All is well....

Macy has tubes. We left the house this morning at 6:00am and they actually started her surgery a little early. We were home by 9:00 am. Macy did very well. They gave her some nose drops to make her "not care about a thing" before the surgery. She was so funny. I just wished I had my video camera to record her. There was another little boy (17 months) in the curtain next to us who had gotten the drops at the same time as Macy. He was very mellow and just lying in his mom's lap watching Macy make the rest of us laugh. She was so silly. She kept laughing at herself, trying to talk and slurring, and hollering Madeline's name over and over. Oh she had us laughing. They took her back for surgery and then about 5 minutes later they came and got us and took us back to talk to the doctor. She said both ears were full of LOTS of thick mucus. So we are hoping to see a different child now. The hardest part was watching Macy come out of the anesthesia. She was crying, angry, and fighting us holding her. It was an awful feeling knowing there was nothing that you could do to help her understand or feel comforted. Plus the fact that she woke up at 2:30 am and didn't go back to sleep. She and I were both exhausted. We both came home and slept till 3:00. She is doing great now. Here she is. In this picture she just said "Cheese, with tubes in my ears" )the best that she could.

Short and Quick....

This is going to be a short post. I just wanted to let you all know that I just recieved the call from the Pediatric Surgery Center and Macy's surgery is scheduled for 7:45 am. We have to be there at 6:45am...WHOA!! I will post and let you know how she does after we get home and get her settled in. Remember to say your prayers for us and I will be posting again tomorrow. We are off to gymnastics. Till tomorrow.

Half way through the week...

We've made it halfway through another week and we've been busy, busy. Monday was spent doing laundry and cleaning up the house. Yesterday we went to one of Madeline's favorite places, Let's Jump. It's an indoor place that has three rather large rooms filled with huge inflatable bounce houses, obstacle courses, and slides. We went with my neighbor Kristie and her daughter and then I also had my friend's two girls Raegan who is 10 and Paige who is 5. We had the best time and after 3 hours playing everyone was worn out. Macy even participated and LOVED going down the big slide ALL BY HERSELF. Here's a picture of the slide she went down a MILLION (no exaggeration, ok, maybe a little) times.

Yes that is a TWENTY foot slide. She definitely is not her sister in the way of fear factor. She's a little dare devil. I just wish I had a picture of her on it.
Today, we went to the dermatologist for Macy's eczema. She has been having some flare ups and we needed more cream for them. I really loved the new Pediatric Dermatologist we went to today. Now tomorrow is the dentist appointments that we had to reschedule from a few weeks ago and then Friday is the big surgery for Macy.
The girls have been out of school this week for some break (not exactly sure what it was for) but they go back tomorrow....THANK GOD!!
Madeline got to have a friend, Rachel, (our neighbor) spend the night Monday night. They both did so good and stayed in the bed ALL NIGHT. If you didn't know, ever since I was about 7.5 months pregnant with Macy, Madeline has not been sleeping in her bed. So for her to stay in there all night was a big deal. She was so proud of herself for doing so. Last night she stayed in there again all by herself. She has been wanting me to redo her room and paint it pink and get her new pink bedding but I told her this wasn't happening until she started sleeping in her own room. Maybe we're finally on our way back there. I'll keep you posted. I'll be back on after Macy's surgery Friday morning. Please remember to keep her and ME in your prayers.
*EDIT* The dentist appt. is Jan 31st. not tomorrow.

I'm stuffed...

As you know my parents came to stay with us this weekend. They arrived on Thursday morning just in time to go with me to pick the girls up at school. We showed up at the school and I let them peek in and get Madeline. She was so shocked to see them that she became so shy and ran straight to me (smiling the whole time). She quickly got off me and went straight to them. We went to Macy's class next and Nana said her name and she turned and saw my mom and dad and began saying, "Nana, Papa". She was pretty much a Papa's girl all weekend. She loved curling up next to him in the recliner and just rocking. At one moment during the weekend he was carrying her and she just gave him a big fat kiss for no reason. Of course that melted his heart.
We had a wonderful weekend. We spent most of the weekend EATING. I think that was the high light of the weekend, "Where are we going to eat next." We spent Friday afternoon shopping and TWO HOURS in Cabela's. It is so neat in there and the girls LOVED it. It's like an inside zoo. They fed the trout is the trout stream. Macy loved doing this. As we were walking into Cabela's Madeline looked at me and said, "Is this place like Toys R Us for Papa?" Smart little girl. It's one of Papa's favorite places. We had lunch on Sat. with my dad's sister, my cousin, her husband, and daughter. We then made the trip to the mall for the much anticipated trip by Madeline to the Build a Bear Workshop. She has been begging me for weeks to go so since Nana and Papa were here to see her do it we went. She picked out this pink leopard for herself and named it Pinky.

She picked out the following for Macy and named it Tasha.

Macy was not to into the whole Build a Bear thing. However, she does like Tasha. She was playing with some of the shoes that Madeline had picked out for Pinky (some pink feathery slippers) and Macy pulled them out of the box and said, "OHHHH, boo-t-ful." It was so cute. She is starting to talk more and more and I hope after Friday (the tubes) she starts talking even more.
Brad and I even took advantage of having a FREE babysitter in town that we went to an adult movie with our neighbors. We went to see The Bucket List. It was a great movie. I think I'm getting kinda used to going to the movies now. That's two weekends in a row for me. Sadly though, Nana and Papa left this morning to head back to Oklahoma. We had a great time with them and look forward to the next time they come back. After they left, Macy and I went to church and then afterwards I went for a mommy day and got a manicure and pedicure. It's been a GREAT weekend. I'll update before Macy's surgery and definitely afterwards. Please keep us all in your prayers this week as we prepare for her surgery. I know it's nothing major but it's still scary knowing my child is going to be put to sleep...Until then....

Taking a break to reflect...

Today has been a day of cleaning the house, doing laundry, and reflecting. First cleaning house because my parents are due to be here in the morning and I'm so excited they are coming. The girls don't know about them coming so they will both be so surprised when they see Papa and Nana with mommy at school tomorrow to pick them up. Madeline keeps asking me if Nana and Papa are ever going to come like they said they would at Christmas time. She'll be thrilled when she realizes they will get to watch her at gymnastics too. The house is almost done, need to change the sheets and finish mopping the floors. Madeline asked me this morning when I started cleaning why I don't have someone just come clean the house for me. Oh I wish I could! She said, "Then just do it and I'll tell daddy." If it were only that easy.
Second the laundry...IS NEVER ENDING!! How can I do laundry all weekend and even a few loads on Monday and STILL have laundry to do? UGH!! I'm almost done with it too.
Now for reflecting. This week has been a week of reflection for me. First,Sunday, January 13, marked 3 years since I lost what was to be our 2nd child. I suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks along. I still think about that day and that child, and thank God for the ones I have. It's something that will never be forgotten. Then it was one year ago today that my mom called me to tell me that my grandma had passed away. She was the only grandmother I really knew. My "nana" passed away when I was 4 so I don't remember much about her other than the things I am told. My grandma was an AMAZING women. She lived 95 wonderful years. She was a fighter and was one TOUGH OLD LADY. She beat colon cancer, got through a total knee replacement at 90, and multiple other injuries/illnesses. She was a true example of a strong Christian women and someone that I'd like to model. I have found myself on numerous occasions this year addressing birthday invitation, Christmas cards, etc. to her. It doesn't seem like she should be really gone. I miss her as much today as I did the day we said goodbye. I wish that my children could have gotten to spend more time with her and see just how amazing she really was. So to you grandma, I know you are in heaven having the time of your life with grandpa, your brother, sisters, and friends. I'll see you someday. I love you!!

This is one of the last pictures of her with the girls...I'll cherish it always!
I'm sorry this blog is so depressing but it's what's been on my mind. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm sure we will be extremely busy with my parents here. I'll post again soon...it will be a happy post. Till then....

What a weekend...

We didn't make it to the dentist on Friday. Madeline woke up really coughing and just didn't feel great so I cancelled their appointment till end of the month. So no pictures from the dentist...YET!! We started the weekend off welcoming one of my dear friends, Griffin, from Oklahome City. Her husband and Brad worked together at Arthur Andersen and then Ernst & Young. She also has two girls that are almost the same ages as Madeline and Macy. Her oldest, London is a year and 2 days younger than Madeline and her youngest, Campbell is 3.5 months younger than Macy. She got into town Friday evening and we ordered pizza and then after I got the girls to sleep we went to the movies, something I haven't done in forever. Actually, I did go to the movies two weekends ago and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks but other than that it's been close to a year that I have been to the movies. We saw P.S. I love you. OH MY!!! If you haven't seen that, girls grab your girlfriends, a BOX of tissues, good candy, and popcorn. It was a GREAT movie. We laughed so hard and cried so hard. Go see it though!!
We then got up Sat. morning and got Brad and the girls all settled before heading off for a day of shopping, eating, and being just plain girlie. We hit THREE different malls in Dallas, several boutique type stores, IKEA (a zoo in itself), went to dinner with her dad, and ended the night at Barnes and Noble looking at books. We stayed at her dad's house in Dallas. It was a great time and I'm SO GLAD we got to do it. Thanks Griffin, I need more days away like that.
Brad and the girls even made it just fine without me. Madeline went to the park with our neighbor and then to McDonalds for dinner. However, I did call to check in with the girls (mainly Brad) to make sure they were surviving and Madeline told me all about her BIG INJURY that she received while climbing the pecan tree at the park. Apparently she was climbing up the tree, slipped, and fell down the tree catching a stick above her lip on the way down. It didn't look very good when I got home this morning. She did tell me, "I don't think I can go to the dentist like this because it hurts to bad to open my mouth real wide." and "I can't go to school or gymnastics looking this way." but after she soaked in the shower for a bit it looked much better. So she felt much better about the way she looked when she saw how much better it looked. Here's the after picture:

After I got home this morning the girls, Griffin, and I went to lunch and to do a little bit more shopping. Griffin left this afternoon and it was back to reality. My parents are coming this Thursday to surprise the girls and staying through the weekend. They will get to go with me to pick them up at school and then watch Madeline at gymnastics. She will be so excited to show off for them. I need to get some pictures of my little gymnast too.
Just a few more pictures to laugh at.

Macy picked out her own bow and put it in herself.

Macy hugging Buford. Can't you tell he is thrilled. Poor Dog!

Buford happy he is still in one piece.
For those of you who don't know him, Buford is our adopted son who is almost 14 years old. He's the patient ones with the girls. Ok this post has been very random, so I'll leave you until next time...

And the verdict is....

We are getting tubes put in on January 25th. We went to the ENT specialist this morning and she checked Macy's ears which were both still filled with fluid. The antibiotics that she just finished Monday got rid of the infection but her ears were still holding the fluid. The doctor (which I really liked) said with as many ear infections as she has had since May (six of them) she thought it'd be a good idea to go ahead and put the tubes in. I agreed! Although it's a little scary to think of them having to put her to sleep, no IV's just gas and the surgery will only take 3-5 minutes and that Macy would come out feeling like a whole new child. I hope she is right. I think it will help Macy's speech to be clearer which the doctor also agreed and she'll be happier because she'll be able to REALLY hear us. So that is the news as of now. I don't know what time the surgery will be yet. They will call me the day before to tell me the time. They schedule them youngest to oldest and of course any emergencies before anyone. In the meantime, be praying for no more ear infections till then and for her Dr. during the surgery. We will then follow up with her 2 weeks after to make sure the tubes are doing alright. I have no pictures to leave you with today. However, tomorrow BOTH girls go to the dentist so I will take pictures. One of my dearest friends from Oklahoma City, Griffin is coming to spend the weekend with me. We are having a girls weekend AWAY from all children. Shopping, eating, and just hanging out. I can't wait. Until next time.

Hair cut...

Well, I broke down and did it today, I got Madeline's hair cut off. She's been saying off and on that she wanted it cut short like Kit (one of the American Girl Dolls) so my neighbor and I decided to take the girls and get their hair cut off.
Getting ready for the first cut....Not too sure she still wants to do it..Can you tell?

Good Bye long hair...

Hello Short...

About half way through the hair cut Madeline looked at me (with a sad look) and said, "I don't want my hair cut." Too late now. After it was over and done with she was so excited and kept swinging her hair from side to side. She loves it now. Her best friend (our neighbor) Rachel got about 7 inches cut off her hair. Here is a picture of the two of them together afterwards.

Sweet Macy sat and watched while everyone else got their hair cut. She wanted hers cut but as you can see there isn't much to cut. Here she is taking a picture anyway. She is yelling "CHEESE!!" at me.

So all in all it turned out to be a great day and a beautiful haircut. I have to leave you with what I found at Hobby Lobby while doing a little shopping today....

Yes, that is Macy laying in the back of the cart with her shoes and socks off and her feet kicked up. She definitly made herself comfortable in there. Off to bed I go it's been a busy day. Good night!

Ok..here all you impatient souls...

When I said in my first post to check back daily, well maybe not daily. Our family isn't that interesting that I have something to write about everyday. I figure you don't want to hear EVERY detail of our lives. We survived the weekend...barely. Not really, I did however spend about 1.5 hours at the Carenow (after hours clinic) with Madeline. She was running high fever and not feeling well. As it turns out, she too has an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. I can't tell you the last time Madeline was sick. She is still feeling a little under the weather but always up for playing with anyone that will play with her. Macy seems to be feeling better FINALLY. Although her new favorite thing is blowing her nose, Madeline's nose and anyone elses nose that will let her. She even went to the picture of my nephew, Austen, and blew his nose. I'm sure he needed it. She goes to the ENT specialist on Thurs. and I will definitely post the results of her visit that day. The girls are back in school and had a great day last week. Macy even adjusted ok to her new class. She's such a big girl. There really isn't much else to report so once again I leave you with my beautiful girls......


Always cheering for the orange and black....

It's another day...

We started the day off at the gym, where I DESPERATLY needed to be. I'm sure I've gained about 5 pounds AT LEAST from all the holiday cooking and munching. It felt good to get back in there. Now I just need to stick with it on a regular basis. Some of you may not know, but in March of 2007 I had my gall bladder taken out and since then I have lost 20 pounds. It feels good to lose the weight but it does take some work. We then took a trip to Walmart to get advil and of course walked out spending A LOT more. They had all their Christmas stuff on sale (75% off). I couldn't pass up a sale of getting a bunch of junk I really didn't need. Now I have brought another bin full home of Christmas stuff. I really need to be taking down the stuff that is up right now. Oh well it will happen one day. The girls start back to school on tomorrow and I am excited. Madeline is ready and Macy well she's in for a big surprise. They are moving her up to the next age group so she will have some adjusting to do. She has gotten A LOT better about us leaving her places so I'm hoping she will fit right in and have fun. She is however suffering yet another double ear infection right now. She has an appt. on the 10th with a ENT specialist to discuss tubes. Poor child has lived on antibiotics the past 3 months. I'll keep you posted on the outcome of that. I'll leave you with this...

Aren't they sweet? Until next time........

New in 2008

WELCOME TO THE MUELLER FAMILY BLOG......

I decided to start a blog for 2008. It seems to be the new "fad" and even though I'm really not into "fads" I thought this would be a great way for all our family and friends to keep in better tune with our family. So check back often for new updates. We started off the New Year with our neighbors. In case I haven't told you all, God truly blessed us with WONDERFUL neighbors. Madeline actually made it to the New Year, wide awake I might add, but shortly after everyone left I found her like this...

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. She fell asleep while laying across the coffee table. Poor thing. She had been at gymnastics camp all day and then entertained her friends that evening. She was worn out. As for little Macy, well she made it to her normal bed time of 8:00. She was ready for bed. I gave her a kiss goodnight at midnight. We are looking forward to what 2008 has in store. I hope you and your family have a blessed New Year with lots of happiness, good health, and wonderful friendship. God Bless you all. I leave with my little party girl.