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.

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.

Ava & Stripper Poles

I've intended to join one of these "Mommy Groups" in the city, to get Ava & I out of the house so we can meet other Moms & babies. I get the emails everyday, announcing new activities. I've never gone. Until today. The "Lincoln Park Moms" group was hosting a free class at Flirty Girl Fitness called "Yummy Mommy". For those of you that don't know, it's a super cool place where you go to work out... and dance like a stripper. I simply HAD to check it out.

Let me start by saying, the facility was incredible. Super clean. They have a spa, snack bar.. and drum roll please.. a FULL BAR! This place is heaven! I don't want to leave! Ava and I make our way into the class and there they are... the shiny poles. I'm thinking - what the heck is going to happen....?? I envision myself sliding around on it, all sexy and sultry (think Demi Moore).

Sorry to disappoint.. there was no pole dancing. At all. Well except for Ava.... she thought it was fun to hold onto it and go around in circles. I warned her that this would be her one and only time on or near a stripper pole. Instead, the class was how to exercise with your baby. I got a good workout... Ava got to run around and play with the other kids (yes, amongst many stripper poles)... and best of all, it was FREE! Can't beat it.

I'm thinking I'll go back someday... maybe if I drink enough at their bar, I'll get the guts to take a pole dancing class. Boy wouldn't Ken just LOVE that?! :) Now that I think about it, that's probably the reason for the bar. Genius!

Here is the video from their site just so you can see how neat the place is.

4 days of practice, and I think we're ready!

Clearly, we are a wee bit excited about her progress. She took her first independent steps on Sunday... 4 days later and she's full-blown-walking! We're so proud of our girl. Must be the steroids...? ;)

Recent pics

Our new cleaning lady.

Stealing the remote from Dad to turn on Telemundo.

"Hiiiiiiiii!"

"Nope. Not gonna tell. Lips are sealed."

"I've got something up my sleeve..."

"Travelin thru" & Milk

On our (what seems to be) daily trip to Target, I was greeted with something familiar, yet again. Every time I turn into the parking lot. I see them. They are the same, ragged couple and their poor dog... sitting with their bags and cardboard sign, claiming to be "travelin thru + hungry". So what's the problem? They're there, EVERYDAY.... and have been for a month! Um, I'd like to see the map with all of the push pins for the places they've "traveled". I'll bet you won't get much further than 2 pins. Seriously people... the jig is up! A part of me wants to throw a can of dog food out the window on my next way out. In their defense, they do look sorta nice...? Maybe tomorrow I'll buy them some water....?

On a positive note, our Target has now expanded to a SuperTarget and is in its final stages before completion. While scrolling through the new grocery aisles, I pondered on whether to buy more milk for Ava. When I looked into the cooler, I was surprised to see "Prairie Farms" brand milk. I couldn't believe my eyes!! I haven't been able to buy Prairie Farms Milk in 13 years!! Do the math people... I grew up on their milk in Quincy! Now they're making their way all the way up here to Chicago... at MY Target! Talk about Mooooooovin' on up! Ha. Okay. That was cheesey. I will say though, I think it's pretty cool that my little girl can have the same milk I grew up on. :)

Houston! We have a walker!

Ava said so!

One of my favorite vids EVER!

Little patriot!