Fabulous Fifth!

Five years ago, on May 29, 2003 at 12:14am (the morning of our 4th anniversary) I was jolted from bed with my first "real" contraction. Fourteen hours of hard labor and 2-1/2 hours of pushing we had the best anniversary gift ever, a 6lb 14oz precious baby girl! It is still hard to believe that our "baby" is now 5 years old. We made sure Madelyn felt extra special on her big day.

The evening prior I took her to t-ball practice and Ryan put together her new pool. When she got home she was not allowed in the back yard because we wanted the pool to be a surprise. We woke her up Thursday morning before I went to work so I could be there when she saw the pool. We lured her outside and when she finally discovered the pool she said yahoo one time and said something like this "are there more presents?" Seriously?!?! Ryan and I were a bit disappointed with her reaction but I guess we set ourselves up for that. She then came into the house and opened the other couple of gifts that just happened to be clothes and some pool toys. I left for work and she spent the day with Ryan. She played in her pool even though it was freezing cold, then they went out to lunch and to the spillway to play. We took her to Red Robin for dinner where she had a free dinner and dessert and the waiters sang Happy Birthday to her. Then it was off to Lux Nail Salon for some mother/daughter pampering. Madelyn had her first pedi/mani and I had a pedi too. We had a really fun time. I see more mother/daughter pampering in the future.


The new pool

She told me she was acting embarrassed when the waiters were singing to her.

Red Robin Fun

She was a little too short to sit in the massage chair and let her feet soak so for a while she just stood in the foot bath.


She was so relaxed!



Oh, and for our anniversary I think we said Happy Anniversary and talked about how Madelyn was the best anniversary gift ever! We will celebrate nine years of marriage by going on a shopping spree at the Branson Outlet malls next week. We are getting up bright and early tomorrow morning and heading to Tablerock Lake for an entire week with my family. We are all staying under the same roof so please pray that we all come back alive. I'll type all about the trip when we return. Have a great week!

A Hillbilly Time

Madelyn's birthday party with all the family was Sunday evening. It was held in a pasture that Ryan and his buddy caretake. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and had all the fixings. There were mini bikes and a 4 wheeler to ride, fishing if you chose and a huge bonefire that scared away half the county animals. Soon after dinner the kids decided it was time to take a swim in the pond. The highlight of the swim was when Papa Muhlig was attempting to get his fearful dog into the water. Just as he was shoving her in and was about two steps into the water, someone shouted watch out there is a drop off. Too late because papa had already discovered the drop off and was drenched from head to toe. After removing his soaked cell phone, cigs, and glasses he took a couple more dives in and enjoyed splashing around with the kids. We finally forced the kids out of the pond for cake and opening presents.
The evening started out beautifully without a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze in the shade. There were seven tents set up for camping that night. As we were enjoying some smores by the fire that night we we keeping updated on the weather by my BILs cell phone (thank goodness for technology). We knew the storms were headed our way but were hopeful that we could wait them out. Around 11:30pm the storm hit with a vengeance. We made a mad dash to the SUV. We soon heard over the radio that there was a tornado warning in our area, so we made sure everyone got in their vehicles and headed to our house. In route to our house we had to stop to remove a huge limb in the road and go around 2 large trees that had blown over. It was definitely an adrenaline rush for everyone involved. When we arrived home the worst of the storm was over but we decided to crash at our house rather than go back to the campsite. I believe a good time was had by all and the storm just added excitement to our evening.
Madelyn driving the four wheeler.

The girls after 4 wheeling - Madelyn's shirt started out white.

Papa Muhlig on the mini bike.


Papa and the kids swimming in the pond.

That mini bike was sure fun

Aunt Bun-Bun on the mini bike. Don't you love that hat?

Aunt Shelly didn't have much luck with fishing once the kids got in the pond.

The Birthday Girl

It's summer time!

Which means that Madelyn and Ryan get to hang out all summer long. Ryan had his last day of school on Monday and that was also Madelyn's last day of daycare. So, on Tuesday when I was up at 5:00am for my morning run and then got ready to go to work Ryan and Madelyn were still all snuggly in bed. It takes me awhile each summer to not be bitter about this arrangement. Ryan always tells me I could have chosen to be a teacher. So true, but, the only time I want to be a teacher is during the summer breaks. I must say though I am very blessed that Ryan is able and willing to stay home with Madelyn each and every school break. There aren't a lot of men that would choose to do that. Not only does he take care of Madelyn in the summer but he also does a majority of the house work (inside and out) and often times will have supper started by the time I get home. When I arrived home on Tuesday afternoon the house was spotless and the tons of laundry had been washed, dried and folded and supper was almost ready. Often times I take for granted how lucky I am to have married such a great guy who is also an awesome daddy.

Girls, Girls, Girls

Yesterday Madelyn had her friend birthday party. We rented a moon walk and had the slip and slide going and had a little craft for the girls to create and take home. Madelyn chose Hello Kitty for the theme this year. She had a Hello Kitty cupcake cake (bought with love from Wal-Mart). Seven little girls (and one boy) arrived and giggled and screamed for two hours. I think two hours was a little long for 4-5 year olds. After bouncing and sliding for an hour they were looking for other things to do. So, we set up the sprinkler for a while, then got out the side walk chalk. We made sure they were entertained outside because we sure didn't want them terrorizing the inside of our house. It was quite obvious when Madelyn was ready for them all to leave because she started going off by herself to play. That must be an only child thing, she enjoys her time by herself that is for sure.
The three of us were exhausted when they left but we had a college graduation party to attend so had no time to rest. However, we arrived home by 7:30pm from the party and I was crashed out shortly after 8:00pm. Madelyn and Ryan soon followed.

Look closely you can see the cowgirl next to her castle.

I couldn't get them all in the picture because they weren't willing to move.

Preschool Fun Day

For my birthday (May 9th for those that don't know), I spent the morning with Madelyn at Fun Day. Another mom and I were paired with 8 preschool kiddos for the morning. Let me just say I made a good choice by not becoming a teacher. Holy cow those little ones are too energetic and quite annoying. Of course, Madelyn wasn't, but all other kids were. Our job was to keep the kids with our group and guide them through each station of fun. My favorite part was the snack station because they all had to sit and be quiet while I read a couple books.
Here are a few pictures Madelyn enjoying festivities.




- this is not a cage, just a moonwalk.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

To all those fabulous mamas, Happy Mother's Day. I hope you are being pampered and treated like the queen that you are. My Mother's day has been fabulous thus far. Madelyn gave me a sweet handmade card, on the inside it says this: (all the bold areas are what Madelyn said about me)

My Mom

My mom is 7 years old
My mom is the prettiest when she wears a dress. (I've worn a dress probably 5 times in Madelyn's life. She often asks me why I don't wear a dress more often.)
My mom likes to make cake.
My mom always says, "I love you."
My mom is funny when she smiles.

Then she gave me a sweet flower magnet with her picture on it. Handmade gifts are the best. She also picked out a hanging basket and potted flower and a sweet card from her and Ryan.
The three of us went to church and then to Cheddar's for lunch. After Church Ryan offered to go grocery shopping with me but I chose to go all by myself while he and Madelyn went and worked at the pond. It is amazing how fast grocery shopping goes without a kid in tow.
Now I sit in this very quiet house and Thank God that I am blessed with an amazing little girl to fill this silence with laughter. I am thankful everyday that I am a mom. Being a mom brings me the most joy and makes me the most proud. Madelyn brings so much fullfillment to my life. I did not know how much I could love someone until she came along.

I'm thankful for my mom for being the amazing person that she is. She has loved me no matter what, and I sure did give her plenty of reasons not to. She has been a huge support in my life and is always there to cheer me on or pick me up when I'm feeling down. My mom is also a wonderful nana to my daughter. I believe she relishes in the fact that Madelyn is just like me. :) I love you, mom!
I'm thankful for my mother-in-law because she raised an amazing son. She is also a wonderful grandma to Madelyn. I'm so thankful I married a man with an amazing mom. I love you, Judy.

Birthday bash

Yesterday I turned 33!! Although I don't much appreciate getting older I sure did enjoy my day. I spent the morning with Madelyn at her school Fun Day. In the afternoon I got my hair(s) cut and highlighted. Friday night we arranged for Madelyn to stay all night at a friend's house so we didn't have a curfew. Ryan and I and another couple had dinner at Kobe's Steakhouse. The food was awesome and the entertainment was fun. We then headed to a little dive Karoake bar. It was an interesting environment to say the least and had all kinds of cultural diversity. Around midnight we headed to Club Rodeo for a few dances before it closed. We got home after 2:00am and crashed. Ryan was kind enough to pick up Madelyn by 8:30am and take her to her soccer game. I remained in bed until they returned home around 11:00am. Now Ryan is crashed on the couch and Madelyn and I are headed to one of her friend's birthday parties.
Here are a few pictures of last night's festivites.


The hot men of the evening.


Check out this gun show.



Did you know a "chilldo" is for keeping your pitcher of beer cold? Some how one of these things ended up in my purse by the end of the night.

The Birthday girl among friends.

This fellow was a huge source of entertainment. He loved to work the crowd and show off his gummy smile.


The birthday girl kept all her clothes on and the tassels (thanks Jen) put away for the night. I guess I've become a prude in my old age. :)

I Scream, You Scream....

Madelyn screams for ICE CREAM!!
One of the many highlights of spring/summer in Augusta is the presence of the ice cream truck. Madelyn can hear it coming from miles away. She will sit and wait anxiously until its arrival, even if it is miles away. On Sunday evening the Ice Cream Truck made its appearance once again. (The previous time Madelyn had waited over an hour but then decided to go in the street with neigbhors and got in big trouble. So she sat in her room and watched out her window as the ice cream truck went by. It was a pitiful site.)

Of all the ice cream products to choose from Madelyn chose a sno cone. The 1/2 eaten sno cone still sits in our freezer.





Disclaimer: I do not pick out her evening attire. For some reason she only wants to wear her dad's t-shirts when at home.

A Hunting We Will Go

On our drive home from Church I talked to Madelyn about Mushroom hunting. By the time we got home Madelyn was very excited about the three of us going shroom hunting. We changed out of our church clothes and waited for Ryan to finish cleaning his truck so we could go. She looked at me and said "mama, when are we going mushroom humping?" I couldn't keep a straight face for that one. The three of us hopped in Ryan's truck headed to LJS for lunch and then went to a public hunting area near the ElDorado lake. We walked around the woods for over an hour and didn't find one mushroom, but we sure did enjoy just spending the afternoon outside. We ended our shroom hunt by going to the lake so Madelyn could wade in the water.

Making sure the mushrooms wouldn't see them; Ryan and Madelyn had on their camo shirts.

Oops where is the rest of Madelyn

Let's try this again.

I kept telling her crack kills but she wasn't getting it.

Hunt over...heading to the truck.

Baking Buddies

As a general rule I absolutely detest cooking meals and would eat out every meal if finances allowed. However I do enjoy baking cookies, breads and such. At least once a month I get the itch to make homemade chocolate chip cookies (with m&ms), mainly because Madelyn and I love to eat the cookie dough. Our routine consists of mixing up the batter, grabbing 2 spoons and then sitting on the couch and eating spoonful after spoonful of cookie dough until we are almost sick. Then we bake what is left and Ryan usually eats all of them because we much prefer our cookies raw.

Here are a few pictures of mommy's helper.

BLAST

This year Madelyn was old enough to attend BLAST, which is Wednesday night Kids club, at our Church. They meet every Wednesday through the school year from 6:30pm-8:00pm. This Wednesday was the last group until next school year and they performed a music program.

I was a bit concerned that she may try to sing a tune in Opera because that seems to be her new thing right now. I was pleasantly surprised when she sang in her regular sweet little voice. She sang every word and was so darn cute. I was so proud of her.