I'm out...

I'm leaving town tomorrow morning at 10:15 heading for Oklahoma City. I am flying to Oklahoma first to see baby Tyler. I can't wait! Then Thursday morning starts the Girl's Weekend. My mom, my aunt(mom's sister), and I are heading to Kansas City for a few days and then to Topeka to watch my cousin star in High School Musical with the civic theatre of Topeka. He is a very talented young man. He just graduated from high school and has starred in lots of plays and I have never gone to see him so we decided to make a mini-girl weekend out of it. NO KIDS!! NO HUBBIES!!
I will miss the girls and Brad but I need some time away for myself, we all do. RIGHT? So say a prayer OR TEN for Brad as he will have the girls ALL TO HIMSELF. My WONDERFUL neighbor is keeping the girls during the day for me so that will help Brad some.

There may be some exciting news in the Mueller family in the next week. I'll be sure to keep you posted. Say prayers for us. Love you all....

I'll update more when I return. Have a great weekend....


Me and the girls...I thought this was a cute picture...

3 years ago ....

(Warning this is going to be a long one)

I can remember just like it was yesterday when I found out I was pregnant for a 2nd time. It came as a complete surprise. Madeline was only 19 months. I had gone to the doctor because of some pain I was having and not having a period. I had taken a home pregnancy test, negative. The doctor had me take another and the results were still negative. She wanted to give me a little longer to have a period before "stepping in". Meaning she was going to give me something to make me have a period. I went back and once again she had me take a pregnancy test. Much to both of our surprise I was pregnant. Holy Cow!! She scheduled me to have an ultrasound in a month to determine how far along I was.
We had the ultrasound the week before Christmas and got to see our 2nd child for the first time. The heart beat was strong and everything "looks great" said the tech. I was 8 weeks 6 days along and the baby was due on July 28, 2005. She printed us some pictures and we were on our merry way. How would we tell everyone. We decided to get grandparent picture frames for each and put the ultrasound pictures in there, wrap them up, and give them as a Christmas present. When they opened them on Christmas they were so excited, of course both grandmothers cried. I remember assuring Brad's brother and future sister in law that we would be there for their wedding. They would he getting married the week after I was due and both Brad and Madeline were in the wedding.
Everything continued as normal. Brad and I were both working lots of hours at work and just keeping busy. I was in the process of preparing for one of the biggest days of my career in child care, my centers NATIONAL ACCREDITATION. My visit was on Jan. 14, 2005.
The strange thing about this pregnancy was I never had one day of morning sickness and we know I was VERY sick with Madeline. I thought, I am loving this. Also at the time there were two girls who worked for me that were also pregnant and we were all due around the same time. They would talk about needing maternity clothes already, feeling tired all the time. You know all the normal first trimester complaints. I was feeling great other then being tired but I attributed that to the stress and the hours I was working to get ready for the Accreditation. Not to mention that my assistant had quit and I was doing all the preparation on my own.
Finally, the eve to the big day was here. Brad was out of town in Houston for work, so his parents came and got Madeline from me because I was going to be working late trying to get all the last minute things done. Madeline was going to spend the night with them so I could concentrate just on the accreditation and not have to worry about her. I got home that night at about 10:30. I was dying to use the bathroom and when I did I saw what became the scariest thing in my life. BLOOD!! I immediately began to cry and panic. I remember saying to myself over and over, "Oh GOD, NO! "Please GOD, NO! I was pleading with him at that moment. I wanted him to take away what was probably happening. I was having a miscarriage. But how? I'm 12 weeks along. I'm supposed to be in the "Safe zone" I was beginning my 2nd trimester. I called Brad hysterical telling him what I believed was happening. I know he felt so helpless. He tried his best to calm me down. I was all alone in the house and didn't know what to do. I needed someone, anyone. I called my parents, told them what was happening and they were on their way over. I was still panicking, pleading, and in complete hysterics. I called my in-laws and told them what was happening and that I needed Madeline. If God was taking one away, I wanted the one he gave me to hold forever. Next I called the dr. on call (which wasn't my dr.) and he gave me some instruction to do for the night and to call my dr. first thing in the morning. What about my visit tomorrow? I can't be there if I'm having a miscarriage. It's 11:00 at night, what am I supposed to do? They are going to be there at 8:00 in the morning. I called my area manager at her hotel and told her what was happening. I then called Misty, one of the other directors and asked if she could cover my center tomorrow. Thankfully she did. My parents and in laws got to me house and I can remember sitting there holding Madeline tight and just crying. What did I do to deserve this? What did I do wrong? Why was this happening to me? Madeline's pregnancy was fine. I laid there that night asking myself these questions over and over. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. I wanted it to be morning so I could call my dr., go see her, and have her tell me, "Everything is fine."
Morning came and I called my dr. first thing. They told me to get there as soon as possible. My dad drove me to the appt. while my mom stayed with Madeline. I know mom sent dad, as she knew I would need someone strong with me. I got to the dr., went into the room, which felt so small. The nurse came in asked some questions, took the fetal heartbeat doppler and placed it on my belly. She moved it all around and said, "Sometimes even at 12 weeks it's hard to hear a heartbeat. I knew this wasn't the case. We had heard Madeline's heartbeat for the first time loud and clear at 10 weeks. Of course, I wanted to believe what she said was true. My dr. then came in to do an exam to see if she could find anything. By this time, the bleeding had almost stopped. Good sign? She did a pelvic exam and said I was measuring a little smaller than 12 weeks but that can happen. She ordered an ultrasound to be sure. My appt. was at 1:30. Dad accompanied me to that too. They called my name and I remember feeling so scared and so nervous. The tech began looking for the heartbeat. She moved the "wand" around on my belly, clicked buttons, scanned some more and then turned the screen towards me and pointed to the middle of the screen and said (I will NEVER forget these words.) "There's your baby and there is no heartbeat, I'm so sorry." NO!! This can't be happening. Say this isn't happening. I couldn't breathe. She told me she needed to get some more measurements and then she'd be done. She asked if I wanted my dad. YES!! She left and I grabbed my cell phone and called Brad, who was still trying to get home. All I could say was, "The baby is gone." "I lost the baby." He consoled me the best he could and said he'd be home as soon as he could. My dad came in and held me while I wept. The tech got her measurements and said that our baby was measuring at 9 weeks. This means it had died only days after our ultrasound. I left the hospital that day feeling so confused, upset, and empty.
We went home and I ran into Madeline's room. I found her and my mom. I told my mom about the baby and wept more in her arms. I then sat and held Madeline tight. She was such a sweet baby herself. She just let me sit there and hold her and cry. Brad finally made it home and we spent the next few days at home. We had several visitors that came by and sat with us. I was scheduled for a D&C on Monday. I remember laying on that operating room table just as I was about to go under crying hysterically, thinking to myself, this is it. There will no longer be a baby inside me, dead or alive. My dr. held my hand and stroked my head until I went under.
We waited weeks to hear the pathology report. Everything came back normal. It was a normal pregnancy. At that point I had so many questions for God. It took me some time to realize that the child I was carrying was HIS, not mine. He trusted me with that child and for his own reasons needed them back.
We will never know what that child was like. Was it a boy or a girl? Who did they look like? Would they have blonde hair like Madeline? What would there personality be like? However, I do know this. God was with us every step of that journey and he continues to be with us still. Thank you for being a FATHER that never leaves us or forsakes us.

To my child,
Today was the day you were due. You would be three this year. I still think of you daily. I wonder what you would have been like. You would have had so much fun with your big sister Madeline. She's a lot of fun. Your little sister, Macy, is a lot of fun too. She is a handful. You all would have been the best of buds. We love you and I want you know that you will never be forgotten. You are with us always. You live in my heart always. One day I will see you. Until then. I LOVE YOU!!

Mommy


In case you were wondering if my center got our National Accreditation....WE DID!! I was so proud of my staff. They pulled together and made me proud. That made the day a little better. We were the first center of my company in Oklahoma (of 8 centers) to get our accreditation.

Of course, God blessed us with another child, Macy. We found out we were pregnant with her a month after our 2nd child was due. Brad's sister was getting married that same year in Oct. She had plans of Madeline pushing the 2nd baby down the aisle in a rod iron stroller. We were so excited about having a baby in the wedding. Obviously there was no baby in the stroller for Madeline to push, instead I carried the baby down the aisle with me, IN MY BELLY. I was a little over 9 weeks along with Macy at the time of her wedding. GOD IS SO GOOD!!

Here we are at Michelle's wedding. I was already showing some.



Thank you for allowing me to "talk" about this event in my life. There is nothing like loosing a child, at any stage, that makes it any easier. I'm just glad I have the ALMIGHTY SAVIOR on my side.

A day at the pool...

We had a lazy Sunday spent at the neighbors pool. They have been out of town so someone had to "make sure the pool was ok". It was a nice HOT day to spend as a family playing in the water. Macy before swimming. All ready to go.





Don't you love the swim suit. It's from the Gap. It came out this spring and I LOVED it but could never find it in Macy's size so I gave up. Well, the weekend I was in Oklahoma a few weeks back I ran to the mall and just happened into Baby Gap. Guess what I found? The giraffe suit in a 3T (too big for Macy now) but she can use it next summer I thought. Well she saw it in her closet yesterday as I was cleaning it out and wanted to put it on and well, IT FITS. So she will get to wear it THIS summer. It's just too darn cute.


Madeline ready to go. The shine on her is the sunscreen, not oil.





Madeline had just gotten into trouble and got a spanking and was pouting and Macy is comforting her by saying, "It ok, sissy. I still lobe you." Great. What are little sisters for. It made for a sweet picture.




Lastly, here is Macy's new favorite thing to do.....





She absolutely LOVES to jump off the side. NO FEAR!! It's no wonder this child has problems with her ears. I can't keep her head above water and she won't wear ear plugs. Oh well...I try. She's quite the little fish. Notice the vest she is wearing, I love it!! It is the best thing ever. It doesn't ride up on her and she can swim with ease in it. I got it from Once Step Ahead. It can adjust when they become better swimmers by taking the foam pieces out. Check it out. I strongly recommend it. Here is a picture of it....



Hope you have all had a great weekend. I'm gearing up for my Girl's weekend away this next weekend. More details to come. Till then...

Another Prayer Request...

**UPDATE**
I spoke with Kristie this afternoon and Tyler did much better last night. She even got sleep. Her mom got up with him and brought him to Kristie when it was time to eat. The home health nurse came and took his PKU and it went from 15 to 11.9. They said he get off the light but wanted to confirm it with the pediatrician from the hospital and her pediatrician which they saw this afternoon. She was waiting to hear the final verdict. Thanks for the prayers.

I just got off the phone with my dear friend Kristie. She is now home from the hospital. They arrived home around 1:30 this afternoon and I know they are happy to be home. They are both very exhausted. Tyler had a rough night last night so neither Mike nor Kristie got much sleep. Thankfully Kristie's parents are staying with them tonight to help out. Also because sweet Tyler had to come with the jaudice light. The tough part is that he has to be under the light 16 out of 24 hours. So you can imagine how they feel not getting to hold and snuggle on their precious boy, especially Mike. Kristie gets to snuggle as she is nursing. Please keep them all in your prayers that they get some much needed rest and that Tyler's jaudice improves quickly. Thanks again prayer warriors.

The Poor Old Man...

At least that's what the girls call him and no I'm not talking about Brad. HA! I'm talking about our basset/beagle mix, Buford, that we rescued from Pets and People a little over 8 years ago when he was 6 years old. Do the math!! Yes, that is 14 years old. See why he is the poor old man. He has been able to hang with the girls and even his best bud Riley until about the last 9 months or so. He can't jump on the bed or couch anymore, which is just fine with me. He sleeps about 20 hrs. a day (a small exaggeration), can barely walk, and it takes him a good 10 minutes to eat a half a cup of food. Not to mention all the other health issues he's had the past 6 months. I won't go into too much detail here but I will say I have had the carpet cleaned and I have to use my personal steam cleaner AT LEAST 3 times a week, usually more. We took him back in May to the vet for the problem and they tested his feces (sorry if that's TMI) and everything came back normal. They suspected it to be an ulcer so he was placed on a very bland diet, given a medicine like our pepcid, and an antibiotic. It may have helped a little but the problem is back. I took him again this morning with another feces sample to be tested and this time they were going to do an x-ray of both the stomach region and his leg that he limps on.
When I went to pick him up today the vet said she wanted to talk to me about some things...OH GREAT!! She did some blood work and saw nothing, she did a rectal exam and felt nothing, THEN the x-ray of his stomach. There she saw some thickening of the lining and from the symptoms he's have, the blood in the stools, etc. she is very certain that there is a polyp. Ok, go on...The only way to be sure if it is cancerous or not is to have a colonoscopy done and that will run you anywhere from $750.00 to $1200.00....HOLY JESUS!! Umm...I love my dog BUT he is 14 years old and well....I told her I didn't want him to be in any pain and she said he is such a happy go lucky guy that she thinks for now he is alright. She gave me some meds. and told us several things to do to help with digesting his food to relieve the pressure or pain that he might have with the polyp. Now for the leg problem, it's arthritis. He needs to take 1500mg of glycosimine and something else (she wrote it down). It stinks to get old. So for now we will do all we can to just keep him happy and pain free and deal with things as they come. Poor Old Man!!
Buford has been a great dog over the past 8 years. He has always been the girls protector and tolerated all their pulling, dragging, laying on, and pretend baby doll. I can remember when we first brought Madeline home he used to lay in her room in front of her crib if she was in there sleeping. Also when anyone came over to see her and hold her he would go lay underneath them as in "Just in case you drop her I will catch her." Anytime I had either girl laying on a blanket on the floor he would go and lay right beside them. He was so sweet!! I don't know what they will do when he goes to doggie heaven but I'm afraid his years are coming to an end. Here are some pictures of our beloved Buford....




The Old Man...



Madeline and Buford...See she has him covered with a blanket.


Our first "Family" picture with the dogs (before the girlies came along)


Protecting Macy.



Macy's turn to terrorize Buford.

Baby Tyler, Answered Prayers, and a Haircut

Finally after 24 hours with no name baby Nickell has a name, Tyler Jeffrey Nickell. He is so perfect. Mike and Kristie are very proud of him, as they should be. I can't wait to meet him in person and get my hands on him next week when I go to Oklahoma.
Take a look, what do you think?






He's pretty darn cute huh? Congrats again to the entire Nickell/Gilson family.


I want to thank all you prayer warriors for praying for my sister in law, Michelle. She got the results back on her thyroid ultrasound. It did she some nodules but nothing serious. They are going to put her on some medicine and recheck her after a while of being on the medicine. This thyroid problem has a "name" and is very common for people who have celiac (allergy to wheat) which she does. So continue to keep her in your prayers.

I have been trying for weeks now to "trim" Macy's hair and each time I got the scissors out she ran. Today I finally got her to sit still by letting her play in my makeup. I started cutting away and she kept moving. Her hair got shorter and shorter but in the end I loved it. It makes her hair look thicker. As some of you know she has Trichotillomania (hair pulling) where she pulls her hair out is places. It is something that comes and go's so the shorter her hair the better it looks. You can tell in some places that it is more sparse than others. Tell me what you think of the new do.....

The back of her hair....



The front (with Madeline)



Madeline finally let me take her picture.


Madeline went to the dentist today for her 6 month cleaning. The dentist said she is doing great with brushing and had no cavities...YEAH MADELINE.

I am on a blogging role....

Dancing Debut...

Macy loves to watch You Tube videos. The Hippo and the dog are her favorite right now. We watch it over and over again. I got this cute video of her dancing with the hippo and the dog. Watch the dog and watch Macy imitate him. It's too cute. If you listen close enough you can even hear her singing.


Isn't that just the cutest thing?

Ok, Prayer Warriors out there....

I'm asking for prayer again. This time it is for my sister in law, Michelle. She has been having several health issues and went to the doctor. She found out that her thyroid is "Huge" as the doctor said. She had some blood work done and had an ultrasound done this afternoon. Her blood test came back with VERY high levels for her thyroid. Normal is .4 hers was 11. We are not sure what this means and are awaiting the results from her ultrasound. In the meantime she is on some medication to help the thyroid and a new special diet. I'm sure it's nothing and she just has a hyper thyroid. She is very stressed about the whole situation so please keep her in your prayers. If any of you know anything about thyroid issues please let me know any information to pass along. You can email me dc1075@hotmail.com. Thanks for the prayers in advance.

He's Here...

I just got off the phone with Kristie and Baby Nickell is here. She ended up having a C-section. She is doing good, very tired but excited to finally meet her son. They haven't named him yet because Kristie hadn't gotten a chance to really look at him yet to decide what he looked like. She said he has some reddish blonde hair. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches. He had perfect APGAR scores and was healthy. She had just gotten back to the room and they had just brought him in to her. CONGRATULATIONS MIKE AND KRISTIE. I can't wait to see him next week. I will update with a name and pictures as soon as I get some.

One big HAPPY family again....

*Update*
Kristie called this evening at 5:30 to tell me still no baby. She hasn't progressed much. She is dialated to a 4 and is contracting good just can't get past the 4. You moms know how stressful and tiring this process is. She sounded EXAUSTED on the phone and she still has to go through the hardest part, labor and then caring for the little one. Please pray for her rest, strength, energy, and that her body will progress. I will update as soon as I hear that Baby Boy Nickell has arrived. Until then we wait.....

Madeline is BACK!!

It's back to the sibling rivalry, fighting, whining, and fighting to go to bed at night. Wow, I really missed that for a week...NOT!! However, Brad's parents said she was PERFECT the entire week. So why does she act out when she gets back home...UGH!! At least she knows how to act when she is away from us. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited she is home. We all really missed her. Seeing her get off the train and walk towards me I was overcome with emotion but I think I hid it well behind the sunglasses because I didn't want her to be upset.

The train pulling into the station.


Macy holding her "Welcome Home Sissy" sign. She was so excited to see Madeline.


The train was getting a little too close here. Can you tell she is a little scared?


Granddad, Gramme, and Madeline getting off the train.


Madeline with all her "baggage" Notice the BIG SILVER HOOP earrings?


Did you notice that the girls were wearing the same pattern of clothes? I found this strange as neither of us knew what the other was wearing. Strange intuition.

Now the story behind the earrings. Brad's sister is DYING to take Madeline to get her ears pierced. So Madeline practiced all week telling us that she got her ears pierced (hence the "clip on" earrings). She used Gramme's clip ons to wear. As soon as she gets off the train she tells me that she got her ears pierced. Of course, you and I both know they don't pierce with BIG HOOP earrings so I act all surprised and in disbelief (for Madeline's benefit). She quickly tells me, "They're not really pierced mom. Tricked you." Next up walks Brad, she tells him the same story. He leans into me and says, "Are they really?" No sweetheart they don't pierce ears (much less a 5yr. olds ears) with HUGE HOOP earrings. God Bless his manly ignorance. He was relieved. He's the one that won't let her get them pierced.
She quickly told him the truth and laughed.

Here are some pictures of Madeline while she was away....

Just got on the train. Notice she has her travel companions with her.


Madeline with the train conductor.


Madeline at the Kit Kittridge movie. (with her KIT doll) Isn't Madeline so cute?


She had a wonderful time and still talks about all she got to do and the fun she had. However, I did have some BAD NEWS for her when she got home. We woke up Sat. morning and as I was washing my hands at the kitchen sink I saw this........






Yes that is Dory II. No he is not asleep on the bottom of the tank, he's DEAD!! Poor thing. We had a quick burial (flush) before Madeline got home. I told her what happened when she got home and she said it was ok because she still had Riley and Buford...WHEW...that went better than I expected. The best part is she didn't even ask for another one. RIP Dory II.

Today is the day for Kristie and Mike to meet their little bundle of joy. I spoke to Kristie this morning at about 9:30. They got to the hospital at 5:30 to start her induction. However, the hospital had 4 deliveries this morning so they were running a little late getting her IV's started and the pitocin. Kristie said her blood pressure was very high this morning (mainly caused by stress and nerves). She said she didn't sleep much last night and then was up super early this morning. They finally started her pitocin around 7:30. She was feeling some mild contractions but nothing too bad yet.I told her to ask for that epidural before they got too strong. Why feel pain when you don't have to. Keep them in your prayers through out today. I will be waiting by my phone for that call. I will post pictures as soon as I get some. Love you Mike and Kristie and Baby Nickell. I can't wait till he's born so the poor child can have a name....HA!

Till next time

Day with Doctors...

First I have to say, ONE MORE DAY!! What happens in one more day you ask? My sweet, beautiful Madeline comes home. Remember she has been in Oklahoma with Brad's parents for the week. I have enjoyed having just one child for a week but I have also missed Madeline terribly. I think Macy and Madeline miss each other more than anything. They have talked to each other every day. Madeline is so sweet when she talks to her. She makes her voice REAL high and talks "baby talk" to Macy. Every morning Macy wakes up and asks, "Where's sissy?" I have to say "Where is she, you tell me?" Then she says, "She at Gamme and Granddad house." Madeline has had a great time it sounds like and I'm sure Gramme and Granddad are worn out. I know they have gone swimming just about every day, gone to the library for story time, gotten hair cuts, gone to the bookstore, went to see the Kit Kittridge movie (American Girl Doll), played with cousin Austen, and much more. I'm sure we'll hear ALL ABOUT it when she gets home tomorrow.
My mom and dad got back from their San Diego vacation and said they had a wonderful time. She said my girls cost them an extra $50.00 on the way back. Why? Because they bought them so much STUFF that their suitcase weighed too much...HA!! Shouldn't spoil the grand kids so. The girls also got a present in the mail from Nana and Papa this week. Check these out............



Yes, those are pink M&M's with the girls names and PICTURES on them. SO COOL!! I have seen them done with the names on them but not the picture. Madeline is going to think these are so cool. Brad saw them and thought, Isn't it kinda strange to eat your children's faces...HA!! It's chocolate I'm sure we'll get pass the fact that we are eating are children. We have SEVEN bags of these things. If you happen to want some M&M's with our beautiful children on them, let me know...HA!!

Poor Macy has had a rough day. It started out rough. She woke up in a not so great mood. We then had to go to the dentist to have the chipped tooth (remember that one) rechecked. They had planned on filing it down but once we got there the dentist said it came back down a lot on it's own and she didn't want to do anything else to it. There is no damage to the tooth it will just look crooked. It was time for the girls to have their teeth cleaned again so we went ahead and did Macy's while we were there. If you remember from my Jan. post about the dentist Macy did great....Not so much this time. She fought the ENTIRE time they looked at her teeth and cleaned them. They also took an x-ray of the chipped tooth so she was done with them by the time it was all over. The dentist said she still needs to cut her 2 year molars which she hasn't even started yet. That is something to look forward to in the next few months. Yippee!! This afternoon she had to go back to the pediatrician to have her ears rechecked from last week. Last Friday before we left for Oklahoma I took her to the doctor because she kept telling me her ear hurt. The morning of her appointment she woke up with "yuck" draining out of her right ear. The doctor looked and looked and looked and tried to clean out some of the "yuck' but Macy was screaming, obviously in A LOT of pain. Her ear was so swollen and draining that the doctor couldn't see much and didn't want to put her through any more pain so she gave us drops to put in for a week and NO SWIMMING for a week and come back in a week for the recheck. So we went this afternoon. After literally the doctor and I both laying on top of her to hold her down (she's VERY strong) she was able to look in both ears, clean out all the dried "yuck" that was deep inside and spot both tubes still in place she got a clean bill of health and a release to start swimming again, tomorrow. Macy will be so excited. Whew...am I glad that's over for awhile.

Here is my little ham bone. She is always going to get the camera for me to take her pictures and it seems she is always naked when she does this. I hope this isn't telling me something about her future...(God please choose a path for Macy to follow that glorifies you, Thank you Father.) She is too darn cute though...Just excuse her nakedness. She looks a little ornery, don't you think?






Lastly, I want to ask for prayers for my BESTEST FRIEND in the whole wide world, Kristie and her husband Mike. They are going to be having their precious baby boy on Monday. Kristie's blood pressure has been a little high so they decided to induce her a week early. Please pray for a safe delivery and that mommy and baby stay healthy. I can't wait to meet Baby Nickell. Also please keep Mike's family in your prayers. His grandmother passed away this past Sunday and the funeral will be tomorrow. His family is having to say good bye to someone they love and then will be blessed with a precious gift from God. Thank you for your prayers. I will expect a call first thing after he's born on Monday, you got it MIKE?! Love you both and GOOD LUCK!!

Have a great weekend to you all...

No use crying over spilled milk....

Literally....

I was getting ready to load the car for a trip to Oklahoma this past weekend when this happened.....





I was making the girls some milk to take with us and Macy thought the lid was on it and went to grab it off the counter when...SPLASH.....the entire cup of milk landed on her and the kitchen floor. She did not like the feeling of wet, cold milk on her. I stripped her clothes off and began cleaning up the river of milk that was forming on the floor. The entire time I'm doing so she is saying, "I so so sorry momma" over and over. It was so sweet. After I got the floor cleaned I moved to Macy. I threw her in the tub and all was well again with the world. We left a short time later for Oklahoma.

Why did we go to Oklahoma you ask?

For this:



My adorably handsome nephew, Austen.

He turned one today but we celebrated with a party yesterday. I still can't believe it's been a year already. It seems like it was just yesterday that he looked like....





and now here he is a big boy enjoying his First Birthday cake.




I love being an aunt. I just wish I got to see him more so I could spoil him more and it wouldn't take him so long to warm up to us. We miss him after we leave. We love you sweet Austen. Happy First Birthday!!

Now that we are back, Brad and I are a one child family for the week. Yes, we left the oldest one with Brad's parents for the week. They are bringing her to us by TRAIN on Saturday. She was super excited about that. Can't wait to hear how she liked it. What will I do all week with only ONE child? I plan on cleaning out the play room and getting rid of a bunch of JUNK. Shhh....don't tell Madeline. She'll never miss half of it. Give Macy some of the one on one time that she so wants most days. I will miss Madeline, I already do but I'm looking forward to having one kid for a week.

While we were in OKC we spent a short time with my parents. They left for vacation to San Diego this morning. We went to dinner and even got to go on a horse drawn carriage ride. It was a lot of fun. There is this small steakhouse in Blanchard or Newcastle called Brushcreek and on Friday and Saturday nights they have horse rides for free (my dad tipped him of course). I did learn something new while riding this HUGE horse. I don't know much about horses but this one was BIG. It wasn't a Clydesdale because it didn't have the furry feet but he was BIG. Did I happen to mention that this horse was BIG? I was worried about him being able to pull all of us plus the wagon so I asked the driver, "How much weight can this horse pull?" He said that this horse (Rascal, was his name) weighed TWO THOUSAND POUNDS and he can pull FOUR TIMES his weight....WHOA!! That is a powerful animal. Just thought I'd share that with you.


Oh...I almost forgot to show you what I found when I was moving a pile of bricks last week? Do you see what I see?



Yes, that is a black widow. UGH!!! So be careful when you are moving stuff that hasn't been moved in a while. I'm just glad I saw it before I put my hand down there.

Have a great week!!!

Why do they feel they need to grow up so fast?

So Madeline has been BEGGING me the past few days for her own IPOD. Are you kidding me? You are only FIVE YEARS OLD. She would want a cell phone too if I'd let her. Who could she possibly call? She only knows THREE phone numbers by herself, ours, the neighbors, and 911. Wow, I didn't think all of this started until age (AT LEAST) 13. I need the next 8 years to prepare myself for what she and her sister will be like as teenage girls. All I have to say is watch out world.
Look what I mean,



Miss Sassy at the age of TWO. Imagine what 12 will be like...UGH!!



She can also be sweet. Even when she's yelling CHEESE at you.

Oh what fun it will be to have TWO teenage girls. Their daddy is going to follow them every time they leave the house. They have no chance.
(Sorry no pictures of our 16 year old in a five year body. She hasn't wanted me to take pictures of her lately.)

Continue to keep our friends Chad and Kelly in your prayers. They are still amazing me with their strength and complete trust in GOD. He is GOOD!!

Binky and the Bachelorette....

First I'll start with the binky talk...I am so proud of my baby girl. Macy has been one week without the binky and has not even mentioned it since last Wed. night. It's like she has forgotten all about it. YEAH!! It wasn't as hard as I thought. So I guess now in the next week or so I will start with potty training...Wish me luck!!
Now for the bachelorette talk...If you care NOTHING about The Bachelorette you will want to quit reading now....

It was between:

Jason (top) and Jesse (bottom)













Did you watch the finale today? Were you as shocked as I was? I liked them both. I have to admit, Jesse (the winner) grew on me as the show progressed but I still thought Jason would win by a long shot. Wow, I never saw that one coming. She seems to be totally into Jesse, maybe more than he is in to her or at least that's how it seemed tonight to me on the After the Final Rose show. Did anyone else feel that Jesse was a little distant with Deanna or at least not as into her as she is with him. Maybe he was just ubber nervous. I was shocked that they already have a wedding date set (which is my Macy's 3rd birthday). When she announced that, he really didn't say much and for that matter he didn't say much the whole show. Ok, so if I was't married and I just happened to live in say, SEATTLE, I'd look Jason up. What a cutie! I feel bad that all that time he was taken away from his son just to get his heart broken in the end. I hope he finds a good women. Heck, maybe he could come on the show and find someone.

So that's my talk on the Bachelorette. I can't wait to see who the next Bachelor will be. I've heard a rumor that it's Paula Abduls ex. We shall see. Let me know, what were your thoughts on the show tonight.

I know some of you are making fun of me about now but I don't care. I'm a sucker for reality TV. Can't wait to hear from you.....

You know it's bad when...

Ok, so yesterday my neighbor, her two daughters, Madeline and myself went to get a sno-cone and then to rent some movies. We decided that the older girls (myself, Kristie, and Kaleigh) were going to have a girls night in and watch 3 movies. We crawled up in Kristie's king size bed and watched movies and ate popcorn. It's so much fun to have one of my best friends next door to do fun things with and all I have to do when the fun is over is walk back next door. Thanks for a fun night girls.

However, when I got home last night (at 11:15) Madeline woke up to ask me this question, (remember it is 11:15 PM) "Mom, remember those times when there is that one day that we clean house all day and stuff?" "Yes," I say. "Well when is it going to be that day?" OK now lets think about this. There are several reasons a FIVE YEAR OLD would ask me this. 1. She enjoys cleaning the house. No, that's not it. 2. It's been so long since I've cleaned the house she's forgotten what it is like to have a clean house. Getting closer, I think. 3. She is tired of living in the filth of our house and wants it cleaned NOW. BINGO, that has to be it. So tomorrow will be THAT day of cleaning the house ALL DAY. So thank you to my five year old for pointing out to me that I need to quit playing so much and do some CLEANING.

This part is going to be totally random but I thought I'd share with you the comparison of my flower beds from My May 7th post (I need to learn how to add a link here, can anyone help?) to the ones I took this weekend.


The right side flower bed.


The left side.

If you know me very well at all, you know that I AM NOT much of a Gardener so this is big time for me. I can't believe that they are all still alive and getting so HUGE!!
Ok, enough about me...Until next time.

Happy 4th of July....

From.....



Miss Independence (Madeline) and Little Sparkler (Macy)



Miss Independence (Madeline)



Little Sparkler (Macy) Who needs a haircut desperately.

We had a fun day spending it with our WONDERFUL neighbors. We played in the pool for several hours and laughed at the husbands try to do back and belly busters. Why, because they are men. HA! We grilled out this evening and played some Mexican train and Wii. That thing (Wii) is seriously addicting. Madeline had a sleep over (along with Rachel) at our neighbors behind us, Rileigh. She's the one in the VBS picture with Madeline. Her mom, Daniele, is a brave women. We were able to see lots of fireworks all around us. Macy liked them at first but once there were BOOMS coming from every direction she decided she didn't like it so much and wanted to go inside.
We had a very nice and relaxing day. I hope everyone else had a great 4th too.

Many have asked how the binky situation is going....GREAT!!! She has not asked for it in TWO days. We are on day 4. She is awesome. I think it is harder on me. I feel like now that she doesn't have a binky she is no longer my baby but rather my toddler. I mean she is 2 after all. I am a little sad but I know it's going to be GREAT for her. Continue praying that it continues to go so well. Next we get to tackle potty training. Madeline was already potty trained at this age and that is the difference in Madeline and Macy. Macy does things on HER TIME and no one elses. She has gone several times on the potty but isn't consistent yet. We'll get there eventually.

Love you all....

Bye, Bye Binky

So we are now on day #3 with no binky.
Yes, that's right, Macy has gone two full days AND NIGHTS with no binky. This is hard stuff. She's really done very well with the hole thing. I clipped the end of the nipple (just like I did with Madeline) and we discussed that it was broken. We told her she sucked them too hard and now they are broken. I know, what a lie but it's working. I keep telling her she is a big girl now and she doesn't need the binky anymore. Of course nap time and bedtime are the hardest times. The first day she went down for her nap and of course asked for her "bink, bink", I explained it was broken, she was a big girl, etc. She cried for awhile and finally fell asleep. Next came bedtime, OH MY!! She screamed and screamed and screamed. Brad couldn't take it so he went in there to get her, brings her into me and says, "Give it to her, she's in there hyperventilating. She was very upset and doing that cry were even when they are no longer crying they are gasping for air, you know the one. I'm just about to give in when my neighbor calls to ask me something and I tell her about Macy. She gives me the lecture about how if I give in to her she will know (because she is VERY SMART and KNOWS how to work us) that all she has to do is cry real hard and she will get her binky back...She was right. Thanks Kristie. So I take Macy and rock her (which I NEVER do, only because she has never been a rocker. She likes to just be laid in her bed and fall asleep on her own) for a little bit and she then looks at me and says, "Night night Mommy." so i put her in her bed and hear nothing the rest of the night.
Yesterday, we spent ALL DAY at Hurricane Harbor (Six Flags water park) and when we got home last night at 7:30 she was EXHAUSTED. All she wanted was her BINKY. Uh oh, we are in for a LONG night. She cried and cried, even though I was holding her and rocking with her. She was not a happy camper in any way, shape, or form. I rocked her and consoled her for over an hour (with intermittent asks for her binky). I finally got her to sleep in her bed but she woke up at 10:30 crying for her binky AGAIN...UGH!! What's a mom to do? Why is it so much harder this time around? Is it because she is MY BABY, my last baby, so I want her to stay that way forever. I rocked her again and got her back to sleep. She stayed asleep until 8:30 this morning. Today has been a good day, no asking for binky....yet. It's almost nap time. Wish me luck...
How did you get rid of your kids binkies?