Perspective

I received an email from Jim (my Stepdad) with a message that really puts things in perspective so I felt compelled to share:

There comes a point in your life when you realize: 

Who matters,

Who never did,

Who won't anymore...

And who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past,

there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

"When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, 

but merely opening your hands to receive something better." 

To those of you that "made it to my future", I want you to know that I appreciate you and thank you for your friendship. Have a happy day!

I Miss Britney

Remember that HOT performance of her at the VMA's, with the yellow boa constrictor draped over her shoulders?  I wanted to be her.  I wanted to steal her body.  Her hair.  Her beautiful spray tan.  And that sexy beige bra/ pant ensemble???  So. envious.


Then the poor lil' southern belle hit rock-friggin-bottom.  How sad was that?  Everyone turned their back on her and all she had to surround her were money hungry "friends".  Truthfully, I'm surprised she is still alive.  Crazy paparazzi-shenanigans, shaving her head, showing her "girly parts" while cruising Vegas with Paris... they were all signs of a girl STARVING for attention.... when all she needed was some LUUUUV .  Well, Brit... I still love ya and yes, I root for you.  I don't know what your future holds (besides multiple trips to Starbucks), but I wish you the best.


In honor of my girl, and hoping she makes a comeback:

Really??? A KU flag??? You MUST be joking.

We got our house! We close October 15th (pending a successful inspection). We could NOT be happier. I am so excited that I want to start packing NOW! Here are a few pics of the beloved house that will soon contain all of our craziness.

Needless to say, we are PUMPED!!! I look at the dogs and I feel like Santa.... little do they know what is in store for them! They are going to lose 5 lbs, within the first day of moving in!!! The yard is so amazing for them... not to mention, we can put in a jungle gym (is that what they're called these days?!) for Little Miss Sassy Pants.  I can put all of my children (yes, I have multiple children... two of them just have LOTS of hair) in the backyard to play while I get a little "Mommy time".

So as I took Ava on our walk today, I opened the door to more construction across the street from our condo.  They've been working on a new bar/ grill DIRECTLY across the street.  I have been super excited about this, considering I'm so sick of our usual spots... and with it being across the street... I could literally crawl home.  I have been excited for its opening... That is... until today.  

I walked out of my door.... and THIS is what I saw. 

ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?  It is FATE that we got this house.  I will NOT live across from a KU bar... although, the idea of pelting eggs over my balcony at the drunken Jayhawks does sound appealing.  This seals the deal; It's the last sign that says we picked the right house... Where I will wave my Tiger flag, proudly. :)

We made an offer!!!!!!

I returned home yesterday, from an overnight stay at the hospital (still dealing with difficulties from my kidney biopsy). Mom came up in the morning to help Ken with Ava... thank God she's got a 2nd home in Quincy. Otherwise, those would be some expensive flights from FL! :)

Anywaaaaaaaaay.... Ken and I made our 3rd trip to the 'burbs last weekend to do more house-hunting. We saw a few new ones and also visited 3 of our favorites (that we had seen in the weeks prior). We just KNEW it was the one when we walked in (for the 3rd time!). It has EVERYTHING we need. It's 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, built in 2005, sits on 1/2+ acres and is in the Hinsdale School District. It's PERFECT. The yard is unusally large... which would allow for us to put in a gorgeous pool (down the road of course), a nice sized swingset, and still enough room to house a few horses (we are NOT getting horses, just giving you an idea of the yard size). Hmmmm, ya know... the horse idea DOES give me some fun ideas for the kids' birthday parties though... pony rides will be do-able in this place! Eeeeeek! It even has a "Mother in Law" suite... So when Ya Ya Norma comes to stay (or any other welcome guests), she's got privacy.

With all of that said, we made an offer last night! We received our documents from our realtor (19 pages)... that we were to sign/ initial and send back. Well, our printer only allows you to scan one page at a time. So, 2 hours later, he received all of our paperwork, earnest money & pre-approval from our broker. He said we should hear back from the seller by the end of the day, today.

I do feel that we'll be going back and forth with the seller, regarding price, but I can't believe that we took the leap and are (one way or another) going to be suburbanites in 45 days or less! So exciting!

It's a bittersweet feeling, saying goodbye to the MOST beautiful city in the country. I've lived downtown for 10 years now. It's not like we'll be far (30 minutes or so), but it just won't be the same. There are pros and cons to that though! See ya later parking tickets! Adios ridiculous tax rates! Siyanara walking up to the third floor, holding a baby and groceries! Hasta la vista calling the cops at 2 am because the renters next door are waking up my sweet baby with their parties! And hello to my new Costco membership (bc we FINALLY have storage!), to putting up a Christmas tree (because we'll finally have room), to having a garage (no more scraping off all that snow), having a yard to let the dogs run and get the exercise they deserve! There are too many "pros" to count without me getting extremely giddy. Cons: our long morning walks to get coffee and take Ava to one of the many parks that are just blocks from our condo, walking to and from bars/ restaurants, deciding last minute to walk up to Wrigley and buy tickets for a Cubs game and spending the day drinking beer, cheering on our boys.

Until we hear back, I've got my toes, fingers, legs, arms & eyes crossed that all of this will work out in our favor.

Oh yeah, I have all of the pics of the house... but I'm too superstitious to put them up, for fear that I'll jinx us. Till the next post... :)

That was a BIG ASS NEEDLE!!!

Well, it's over. I can't say that the biopsy was anything I had expected... it went a lot differently from what I had anticipated. It's 10:00 now on Wednesday morning and I should be released to go home within a few hours. I miss Ava so much that I can hardly stand it. This is the longest we've ever been apart.

What started this whole mess you ask? My Dad had kidney failure, which lead to a laundry list of other medical problems. My parents discovered (when we were kids) that my siblings and I inherited some form of kidney disease from our Dad... we just weren't sure of what kind and how severe. Over the years, my sister, brother and I have always monitored it , yet we've never known what was actually wrong with our kidneys. That's where I come in. I saw a few specialists in Chicago and decided that if I'm going to be around for the long haul, that maybe it would be best to get this kidney mystery figured out... for me, and my family.

My (sweet sweet) Mom came up on the train on Monday so she could keep Ava while I was in the hospital. Ken and I came in yesterday morning at 7 and they did the biopsy at 9:00. They had me lay on my stomach, completely awake & without sedation. It was so scary, not knowing what was going on behind me.... and then, all of a sudden hearing the voices of 8 people, when there were only 2 when I laid down. I felt like a patient on the set of Grey's Anatomy.

They numbed my lower back with local anesthesia. Those needles weren't particularly fun but they did a great job of numbing me up. They then had an ultrasound technician scanning the kidney, helping to determine the best site for the biopsy. He then coached & guided my Dr with his HUMONGOUS needle to the appropriate spot for them to extract the kidney tissue. I literally watched on screen as this giant syringe was put through my back, and into my kidney. 3 times. Definitely one of the most wild things I've ever seen. All was fine and normal until about an hour after the procedure... I started experiencing major pain. Turns out, it was internal bleeding.... but I went into a full blown panic attack, body went numb, seeing spots, sweating like a maniac and crying. I seriously thought I was dying and that nobody was going to help me.

They rechecked the site with the ultrasound and determined the internal bleeding was causing all the pain... which up until now, I was only receiving Tylenol. Time for Morphine! After they gave me the heavy duty pain killers, I was pretty comfortable.

When all was said and done, I ended up losing 4 pints of blood. The 4 pints formed a hematoma outside of my kidney, which ended up being larger than my actual kidney.... hence the severe pain.

I spent the night alone in an uncomfortable bed, hearing some guy next door, moan nonstop. I've also refused to eat this "food" so I'm STARVING... and badly in need of my Starbucks.

I am waiting now to be discharged and for Ken to arrive. I will find out the results in a few weeks but am confident that the results will be in our favor and that we'll make the best of whatever the situation. In the meantime, I cannot wait to see Ava.... and eat a meal without mystery meat.

Happy Baby!

Here are some recent favorites of our HAPPY GIRL!! I wish I could still call her a baby, but she's grown into her own little person now. It's crazy to look at her newborn photos and realize that it is the same, walking, babbling and giggling little girl. It's simply amazing how she's morphed into such a beautiful little sweetie.

Swinging at the park

So happy to share her cereal with the doggies

Strollin' to Starbucks

At the splashpad!

"OMG. That is OOC."

Smiley Cyrus

"Hey Mom... ya mind turning me away from the sun??? It's a little bright out here."

At "The Bean"

She was less than impressed.

At the Hancock Building on the 96th floor.

"I just scored the BEST deal at Barney's!"

"Hey Mom... come and snuggle with me!"

Little sweetie. Sitting in the hallway, reading her book.