The end is the best!

I LOVE the little girls' faces at the end!!

Pervert map

After checking the map, in relation to the new house, I realize that we will be in a pretty safe area (notice I used the words "pretty safe".. yes, because these perverts most likely have vehicles and can walk... which means they can, in fact, come to our area). As for our current home... I won't even discuss it because I'm so disgusted. I want to lock my sweet angel up from all of these creeps.


I've said it once and I'll say it again. They (sex offenders) need to be sent to an island. The island will also be cohabited with mass murderers and rapists. They can all have fun with each other and leave the rest of us (normal folks.. and yes, I use the term lightly) ALONE.


Here's the site if you want to check out the creeps that live near you: http://www2.isp.state.il.us/sormap/

Ralphie ain't lookin' forward to Halloween!

I found this at Target today and HAD to get it. I could only imagine what Ava would look like... dressed up like Ralphie from The Christmas Story.

We gave it a test run when we got home... 

I may need to think of a different option. I know it sounds cruel, but I couldn't help but laugh.  Poor little girl...The things she puts up with.  She's going to pay me back BIG TIME when she's older, I'm sure. 

Reasons to be excited!

Fire pit... Perfect for the upcoming Fall... Who's coming over for drinkies?

Enough room to put in a pool... jungle gym... ferris wheel... petting zoo ;-)

Pretty landscaping

Evening cocktails, anyone?

I never (EVER!) thought I would be excited to do laundry.  Until now!

SOOOOOOO in love!

This needs to be one of the first purchases!  See ya boys!  

Oh, the things I will cook!

Anxiously waiting to bake cookies with my sweet girl!

All we need is a closing date!!! C'mon!!!  I can barely sleep at night!  Thank God for wine...

Awesome!

A little Saturday inspiration...

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. 

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. 

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. 

For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. 

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. 

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. 

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. 

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands - one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

-Audrey Hepburn

Start packin' Ava!

That's right! Get movin' sister! Don't worry... we're coming, too.

Pending final approval from our bank, we have ourselves a house ladies and gents. We are expecting the bank to turnaround the approval by early next week... which will (with the seller's approval) allow us to move into OUR HOME. I can't believe it. We might very well be in by the end of the month... which just happens to be our anniversary.  I can see it now... us eating pizza on the living room floor, toasting to our 4th year of marriage and to our new home (think.. Sixteen Candles... when Jake is about to kiss Sam over the flaming birthday candles).  Makes me ooze with cheesiness.  I frigging love it!

There is so much to do and I have SO many questions. With the closing date up in the air, how in the heck do we get cable/ internet hooked up? Lord knows I can't go an hour without staring at this damn computer screen. And, what about gas & electric? And how on earth do we find out when trash pick up is... besides just waiting to see when the neighbors put their trash out? Aye aye aye!  I don't even have a clue as to where the nearest gas station is, in relation to the house.  So much to learn.  

Moving to a new town feels like such a fun adventure. This will be the first home that Ken and I picked out together.  The condo was his... we literally started dating on the day he closed.  So... as much as this has been our home, I look forward to our "second home"... We will get to start the next encounter as a family now.  It's scary because we don't know anyone but I hope that will change soon, as I have been offered to be introduced to friends-of-friends who live in the area.  And if we're not so lucky in the friend-finding arena, then a few of you will just have to come out and party with us/ crash in the spare bedrooms.  

I began packing last night.  I filled two large boxes and feel like I haven't even made a dent.  I suppose this is normal.  I guess I never realized how much stuff one could pack into a 1200 sqft condo... and we are about to find out.  A lot more boxes are going to be needed to pack up this collection of things that we've acquired over the last 6 years.  Not to mention, all the stuff in storage (xmas tree, furniture, mattresses).  We have ourselves a big job ahead of us.  And with me home during the days, you can probably guess who will carry the brunt of it.  At least I won't be responsible for getting all the boxes/ furniture downstairs and onto the moving truck.  That's why the movers get paid the big bucks.  I hope they're exercising their quads right now because these stairs are going to give them a run for their money.  

Good stuff goin' on!

Things are CRAZY around here!! We are literally upside down, sideways and spinning with activities. With the upcoming move next month we're... wait, let's be realistic... I am in the process of taking care of the "details". Getting quotes from movers, finding boxes, planning the new space/ getting the basic furniture (or as we call it... the Tier 1 Stuff). The tier 2 & tier 3 things will come later... as they are all the "other details"... accessories, spare bedroom furniture, etc... he likes to use the word "details".... can ya tell???

We are getting things straightened up around here... repairing, removing, etc... so by the time we move out, we can get the pros in here to paint/ stage as necessary to get this place off the balance sheet. It has served as a lovely home to us for 6 years now. But it's time. We are BUSTING at the seams. And now, with all of the gifts from Ava's 1st birthday, we're even more crowded. I'm starting to store things in the back stairwell (don't tell the fire dept). I think the dogs know something is up, too. They're more hyper than ever... and will NOT stop barking... ever. So, they may find themselves on the corner of our block by the weekend with signs around their necks saying "Please take me home... there wasn't enough room on the moving truck".

To add to the crazy move, we've got some fun stuff coming up. We're going to see Dave Matthews this Saturday at Wrigley. We have VIP tickets (whatever that means) and are going with some fun people so I'm really looking forward to it, especially since I haven't seen him since college. Then on the 30th, we'll celebrate our 4th anniversary. Not sure what is in store for that yet... But I wish we could celebrate it in our new home. Who knows....? Maybe it will all come together by then.

Gotta go... things need to be done... and this empty wine glass is priority numero uno.

Simply Blabulous

She was quite chatty on this particular day.  Thought it was cute... 

We survived the 1st year!!!!

What a blast! We had so much fun celebrating Ava's first birthday over the weekend. So many of our wonderful friends and family came.... and played along with the Cowgirl theme, by dressing up in the props I purchased (sheriff badges, cowboy hats, mustaches, etc). It was so cute. Think Hee-Haw... on crack.
Ava did great... walked around in her cowboy boots, charming everyone with the enormous bow that YaYa made to match her cowgirl dress, and that HUGE smile. So cute. She got some super-fun gifts and some adorable outfits. The new toys have been keeping her busy... which is nice because to her, the old toys are old news.

It was an amazing first year. I wasn't sure there at the beginning if I had what it takes to raise a child. Even I surprised myself. She makes it easy though. She smiles through 99% of the day makes so many people gush with love for her. I read somewhere that the meaning of the word Ava is "to spread joy". Sounds just right.

Here are some pics... most were taken by our great friend Pauly (shot our engagement pics too). He got some great ones of the cowpokes! 

On the morning of her birthday, they showed her picture on NBC5. They showed her last of all the kids. Isn't there a saying... "save the best for last"...? Just sayin... :)

Guilty & blessed in 15 minutes

After a long morning of errands in the burbs, Ava finally nodded off for her 1:00 nap... Problem is, we were like 15 min from home when she finally fell asleep... and no, she does not continue sleeping if you take her out of her seat; instead, she wakes up and acts as if she had a 2 hour nap. So what do I do??? I pull into the Sports Authority/ TJ Maxx/ McDonald's lot (on Fullerton) and decide that I will... cover your ears... recline the seat and get some shuteye myself.

It was about 5 minutes after I put the car in park, that a douche with his blasting bass decided to park RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I mean, c'mon... Eazy E at this hour?!! There are at least 100 other spots for you to park.... that are actually close to the stores! 

So... I put the car in drive and mosey on over to what appears to be a quiet spot. Recline ensues.

Then i hear it. Reeeeeowwww!! Reeeeeooooowww!! Sirens galore. I look up to see what the commotion is about. Apparently, at the intersection of the parking lot (that I'm trying to nap), a guy on a bike got hit by a car.... and was laying on the road, bleeding... all over. Cops are everywhere... ambulances... firetrucks. Put it this way, nobody (and I mean NOBODY was going anywhere fast). They had the entire intersection at a hault. People who couldn't see were honking, screaming, etc. It was mass chaos.

About 15 minutes after all the noise stopped, I put the seat back in the recline position, excited to FINALLY get a little rest... I looked over at Ava.... who was now staring me straight in the face with a huge (and very awake) smile.

And so it goes.... No rest for the weary. But... I do feel very blessed to have a happy baby... and that WE weren't the ones involved in that accident.

PLEASE!! Let me give you my money!

I feel like I have to beg some people to accept our business and it is starting to get on my nerves. Just last week I was looking on Craigslist for someone to power-wash our back deck. I find a guy that has "Reliable, GREAT work, you WON'T be disappointed" in his ad. So I call him. Halfway through our call, we get cut off. So I wait a few minutes and call him back. It goes straight to voicemail (and continues to do so for the next 10 minutes). So, I leave him a voicemail... assuming his phone lost power. 8 hours later, I have yet to hear back from him. Keep in mind, we are trying to get this job done ASAP. I call him AGAIN. He answers. I explain who I am (again) and he acts as though he has NO idea who I am. Now I'm starting to get annoyed. Needless to say, I described our needs and he agreed to come the next night at 5:30 to check out the deck and give us an estimate. He then proceeds to let me go. "Don't you need our address?" I ask... "Uh, sure" he replies. Then I hear him scrambling. "Sorry, I can't find a pen in my van. Gimme a minute." he says. I'm thinking to myself, WOW this guy is definitely organized. Then he has the nerve to ask me to call him back and leave my address on his voicemail. What a piece of "work" (I have another word I would prefer to use, but I like my posts to be PG).

The next day arrives and I am anxiously awaiting his arrival so we can get this done. 5:32. 5:40. 5:45. Nothing. So I call him (he might as well be on my speed dial by now). No answer. So I leave a message to the tune of "are you coming???????". 6:00. 6:15. 6:30. NOTHING. What a ______. Finally... at 7:45 he calls. Says he lost the paper (in his immaculately clean van) that had our address on it. Um, couldn't he have gone through his call history and actually called me to let me know that a) he lost the address and b) he was going to be 2 hours late...?  Let's just say, we didn't give him the business.

I mean, what is wrong with people? When I was in sales, I NEVER got incoming calls! What I would give for someone to call me and say they needed my product like YESTERDAY and I needed to get there right away. Do you think I would just not show up? Or just forget to return their call?

And it's not just this guy. It happens all the time. While shopping, I am always the one that says thank you after I purchase something from THEIR store. What the hell is up with that? I'm buying from YOU. You need to thank ME. I just think people need to be more appreciative. A few more please & thank you's certainly wouldn't hurt either.

Vent. Over.

It's going to be a rootin-tootin-good-time!

Ava's 1st Bday Invite

I am making my shopping list for Ava's Birthday Party... The theme is Cowgirl so I'm thinking the best way to go is to grill out (burgers, potato salad, baked beans, appetizers/ snacks & all the yummy drinks you can imagine). I suppose I'll have to put out some non-alcoholic options (Gah!) for the kiddos. :)

I have been gathering all of the decorations as well as making things to put around the condo for the big day. I even have props for people to wear that aren't already dressed like Cowboys/ Gals.

We have family coming from all over. I'm so excited to see all of them. We're expecting around 30 people so our condo will be tightly packed. I can't wait.

This will be our last shindig at this home which is bittersweet. In fact, now that I think about it... maybe I should save all of these decorations. I can use them at the new house when we throw another western birthday party... only at this party-- we can get ponies! Yeee-frickin-haw y'all! So this means Ava will have a repeat theme or Baby #2 (No... I'm not pregnant) will be a future Cowgirl/ Boy.

I look forward to all the fun we'll have. I have a sneaky feeling that I'll get a little emotional though. This year has BLOWN by. I know I was warned... but it's still VERY hard to believe.