Finally Done!

After two and a half months......two swingsets....140 bags of rubber mulch....some sweat....some tears....we finally have a swingset!

As many of you know, we purchased a swingset...that arrived in 5 large boxes, and 10,001 pieces to put together. Dustin was on day 4+ of working on it, when a storm came through and carried our partially put together swingset over our fence and into the neighbors yard! So, we were back at square one. After working with the insurance company, toys r us, and my extended warantee we re-couped our initial money and actually picked out a better swingset. After we started to put together our original one, we realized it was not the best quality for the price we paid. So, since we had to start over we went with one that we could see and test out prior to buying. It was on sale, and they had $99 installation deal going on. Totally worth it. The set was delivered and installed in about a half a day.

We then decided to put down rubber mulch to ease Dustin's mowing process, and also as a softer covering to land on if someone was to fall!

So, tonight we finished putting out the final 40 bags of rubber mulch. We were told we won't have to replace rubber mulch year after year like regular mulch! Let's hope that is true!

So, finally we have a swingset! Maddie loves it...and has already spent many hours swinging and sliding like a monkey!

We also discovered Maddie loved jumping on a trampoline....not a big suprise since she is always removing the couch cushions to bounce on the springs of the couch. So, we also added a trampoline to our backyard of fun! We now love spending our evenings out back watching & playing with Maddie! Hopefully we have many years of fun to come!

Hair Cut

Maddie has long hair, I have un-officially trimmed it here & there, but she had never had a real hair cut by a professional. About a month ago, we were dropping Snyder offer at the pet groomers and Maddie threw a fit and started crying because she didn't want us to leave her "bubba". I quickly explained we were just dropping him off to get a hair cut. Ever since, she has wanted to go to Primp my Pup to get her hair cut. Well, I decided that probably wasn't a good idea, and took her to a kids salon instead. So, a few pics of Maddie's first official hair cut....at the age of 3 :-)

Bathing Beauty

We love to go to the pool....We have been multiple times to our neighborhood pool and also to the Schlitterbaughn water park. Maddie is quite fearless jumping in, going down all of the slides etc. I usually have to hunt her down and drag her out of the water. It has been rather cloudy and rainy lately, so she has been swimming in our master bath tub! We are hoping for more sun soon!

Ears Pierced!

So, last week Maddie and I were out on a morning shopping excursion. We happened to be in Claires and she starts to tell me she wants her ears pierced. Now, she has been commenting on my earrings and Mimi's earrings for awhile now, and she always says "someday when I get bigger, I'm gonna get my earrings pierced. So, everytime it comes up I tell her about how it will hurt for a bit, and usually she changes her tune very quickly about wanting it done. Well, not on this day. After asking her a few times if she really wanted to get her ears pierced I asked the girl if she could do it. She told me that if we came back after lunch a 2nd girl would be there and Maddie could get both ears done at the same time, which I had heard was the best way to go!

So, after promising Maddie we would come back after lunch, we left to do a bit more shopping. I figured the idea would wear off and she would back off of wanting to do it. Not so much. Every ten minutes Maddie was asking if it was time to go get her ears pierced. Finally it was time. She climbed up in the stool, by herself I might add! Picked out some pink rhinestone flower earrings and sat motionless while the girl cleaned her ears, marked them and got all set up. She asked Maddie if she wanted to hold my hand, she did. So the two ladies got in position, myself in the middle holding Maddie's hand, and snap. It was done. Maddie flinched, squeezed my hand and sat still for a second-almost stunned. Then, she was fine, bounced down and wanted to see her ears! So, on to six weeks of cleaning and leaving them in. We are on week two and so far so good. She is learning to clean them herself and loves them! I see her flicking her hair back every once in awhile to show them off. Here are a few pics...

I N D E P E N D E N T

I N D E P E N D E N T...do ya know what that means mayne? These are the lyrics to a song that is currently Maddie's theme song at this stage in life! She wants to do everything by HERSELF. So, for the most part it is great, until I am in a hurry and need to get her snapped into her carseat, only to have her tell me she wants to "start over" and do it "herself" after I have hurriedly lifted her into her seat and snapped her in. Or, I lift her out of the Tahoe and shut the door, and again have to "start over" and let her do it by HERSELF.

I am reminding myself to be patient and let her do things on her own even when I am in a rush as I do want her to grow up to be an independent woman! I have slowly been giving her more responsibility in things, such as dressing her self in the morning. I organized her play clothes, underwear, socks etc in low drawers so that she can pick them out herself and get herself dressed. I have also been teaching her to set the table, which is now one of her nightly "chores". Here are a few pics of Maddie setting the table, unassisted I might add ;-)!

Ready to GO to Summer!

Today, I picked Madeline up from her last day of "school". Apparently, they must have had conversations today about summer break, because when she climbed in the car she excitedly told me about how she was ready to "go" to summer, like it was an actual place! Me too! This was Maddie's first year of attending school, and she passed with flying colors! What a difference 9 months makes, I can attribute many of her social skills & growth in doing things independently to her time at school.

She had two very loving teachers whom I often heard Maddie speak lovingly about. I am thankful we selected a program that has enriched Maddie intellectually and fostered a great start for learning!

May Day

May Day has been one of my favorite little holidays (if you can call it that) for as long as I can remember. It seems to be a forgotten holiday by most, but it is one of my favorite, and quickly becoming a favorite of Maddie's.

A little background.....
The tradition of the ancient Roman and Druid holiday of May Day has endured for centuries. It has been a celebration of spring turning into the pleasures of summer. Traditionally, a "Maypole" was the focus of the festivals. Even today the Maypole is used in the replications of old-time festivals. The Maypole is a tall pole in which ribbons are woven around by groups of dancers to make unique designs and patterns. Gathering flowers and branches became a tradition and "bringing in the May" became a popular activity on May 1. The giving of baskets became part of the festivities later in the evolution of May Day. Today baskets are often made by little children, filled with candy or flowers and then placed on people's doorsteps or tied to the door handle, as they ring the doorbell and dash away before they are caught.

My mama started the tradition with me, and every year we would gather our supplies to make our baskets. My mom, the teacher always had cute and creative ways to make the baskets! We would fill them with special treats and deliver them. As I got older, I stocked them for my friends with nail polish and things older girls would like, and then as I became too old, I make them for the kids I babysat for!

Now, I am making them with Maddie! We made a special trip to Michael's where Maddie carefully selected all of her papers and stickers to make her baskets. We picked out some prizes and candies too! She asked me a couple of times if the stuff was for her, in which I would quickly remind her of the spirit of giving, and that the fun was in giving not keeping for herself. Sometimes that is a hard thing for a 3 year old to understand. Much to my suprise there was no fit thrown, and she quickly began personally selecting the perfect prizes for her special recipients!

We spent one evening making the may baskets. My mistake was doing that 3 days before we were supposed to deliver them as then she wanted to "ring & run" right then. Finally, May day arrived. Someone (Mimi) had beat us to the punch, as Maddie had a May Day basket waiting for her on our doorstep the moment she woke up.

So, she excitedly got dressed, informed me she was putting on her tennis shoes so she could run away real fast, and off we went! We had so much fun sneaking up on our friends and neighbors and watching from afar their delight in receiving a May Basket. The May Day spirit must of spread, as by the middle of the afternoon, Maddie has recieved some May baskets in return!