Too much to handle

***Just so you know this post is pretty long and is mostly me complaining so if you want to stop reading now I understand.***

Do you ever feel like you have way to much stress and problems and it is too much to handle? I know we all do but it seems like everything always hits at once. The past few weeks have about pushed me over the edge. I guess I don't do this kind of stress well because I am loosing my mind.
It all started (well maybe not started but got to the extreme level) about 2 weeks ago when Damian was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He was having chest pain, a hard time breathing, almost passed out at work and his blood pressure was some thing like 190/120. After a quick trip to the ER they put in an IV and diagnosed him with having an anxiety attack. After a short time they put him in the hall so they could use his room and then released him with a RX for anxiety meds. (No real tests were performed) He was standing outside the hospital by the time I got there. Damian's chest was still hurting and he was feeling like crap so we went home and rested the rest of the day. The next morning he felt the same, so he stayed home from work and because all this took place on a weekend we were not able to get him into see a doctor until Monday. He found out that he has a heart arrhythmia with hypertension. Why this is going on we are still not sure but while the tests are being processed they have him on beta blockers. He is feeling much better and has gone back to work and has a follow up appointment with the doctor next week to see what they found out.

Next level of stress is that we have still not closed on this house. We have been approved for the loan and it has been processed. We are now waiting for the appraisal to come back before they can set a closing date. We have been waiting for several weeks for them to get this report in and we only have 6 more days until our cut off date. (The contract says that we must close by the 12th) If we go over that cut of date then they will charge us $150 per day we go over. You know those shows on TV where people buy their first home and every thing goes so fast and smoothly, well that defiantly is not the case with us, it has taken us over a year to find and buy this home.

And finally the tipping of the scale........
Sunday morning Ida took our dog Mekie for a walk, all the sudden I hear screaming and dogs fighting. I run to the window to see the neighbors dog (not on a leash) running back into their house after getting it's butt kicked by my Mekie. I guess what happened was that our neighbor, who is the manager of our complex, opened the door right as Ida and Mekie were walking by. Her little dog ran out and tried to attack Mekie but she was not having that and defended herself, picking up the little monster and shaking it a bit. Ida did her best to keep the little dog away and had Mekie by the collar holding her back. The neighbor tried to go after their dog but she just had surgery and could not get there in time. Ida and Mekie finished their walk and came home.
* I just want to add in a few side notes here.
Rules
1. In our complex the rule is that your dog must be on a leash at all times when outside.
2. You can not leave your dog tied up outside unattended at any time.
3. You must clean up (right away) after your dog.
Facts
1. The neighbor's dog has left nasty little gifts for us on our patio.
2. She leaves her dogs tied up outside unattended all the time.
3. Her dog was not on a leash when all of this took place.
4. She is the manager over the complex and she does not abide by any of them.
*Keeping those things in mind I continue my story.

Later the that day the girls and I are outside enjoying the sun and the neighbor makes a comment that her dog was attacked this morning. I already knowing this because it was my dog that was involved said "I know it was my dog that yours attacked". I guess she was pretty mad about this fact and went off on me saying that her dog was hurt pretty bad and that it was luck that it did not hit a vain or her dog would have been dead. I told her it was not my fault that her dog was not on a leash and it came after my dog. She told me that she knows that it's not our fault but that we need to keep better control of our dog and that who ever was walking her did not have enough control of her. At this point I was getting pretty mad so I told the girls it was time to go inside. On my way in I said again that it was not our fault that their dog was not on a leash and was not the one to blame, the husband then said "if I thought it was your fault I would have called to police already". They then asked me if she had her rabies shots and I informed them that she was current on all of them. A little while later Damian got a call at work asking him if we had proof of our dogs vaccinations and told him that he needed to bring them into the office. He informed me of this and I told him the whole story. We looked up our rental agreement and there is no where that states we have to show proof of this to them so I didn't think it was fair of them to ask for it. I decided not to take it in and to file a police report to cover ourselves. We made the report showed the police officer the vaccination records and thought that would be the end of it, Wrong!

Today we got a call from the corporate office saying that me must remove our dog for the premises and that after I showed proof of liability for my pet on or renters insurance I could bring her back but that she must be muzzled at all time. (What the heck? Her dog attacks mine and we get in trouble for it.) I lost it! (I went off on the lady and got so mad that she almost hung up on me, that is when Damian took over) I guess they compromised on letting Mekie stay but we still have to show them the proof of our insurance and I guess we are asked to keep a muzzle on her when she is outside. From what we understand the lady for the corporate office was told, by our neighbor (the Manager) that our dog attacked hers and that Mekie is dangerous. I am sick and tired of her breaking all the rules and us getting in trouble even though we haven't done anything wrong.

Sorry about how long this post is and to be such a whinny baby. I guess it would help if I got a little more sleep at night, that way I might not be so grumpy.

Fire Station & Indoor Swimming Pool

Areya had 2 Field trips this month, one to the Fire Station and the other to the Arlington Heights indoor swim pool.

Here are a few pictures.

The indoor swimming pool was really cool they had an area for kids that starts at 1inch and goes to 2.5 ft. The kids all had a blast and were able to play with out life vests.

I didn't plan to get in the water so I didn't take Aniela's swim suit (we all know how hard it is to keep a baby out of water) so she was soaking wet by the time we left. At least they had a great time.

Easter 2009

Happy Easter Everyone!

We had a really nice Easter this year, after getting up to see what the Easter bunny left and finding all the egg we got ready for church. We happened to have stake conference this week and so our meeting was a little later in the day and only 2 hours. After church the Smith family invited us over for dinner, which was really fun. The kids had so much fun together that is was hard to get them out the door when it was time to leave. Thank you Brent and Amy for having us over.

I was able to get of few cute pictures of the girls in their matching dresses that Uncle Matt sent. Thank you Uncle Matt for the dresses, Grandma and Grandma Great for the goodies.

After Damian got home we all sat down and had another Easter dinner with him and Ida. Thank you Ida for helping with dinner.

Tj & Shaylee's visit

My brother Tj and his wife Shaylee came for a visit this past week. It was so nice to see them, it has almost been a year since we saw them last. (which for me is a very very long time) This was their first time to Chicago (Tj and my dad drove our stuff here from Utah so he did spend a few days here during the summer but we never made it to the city) so we decided to buy city passes and do the sights. It includes the Shedd Aquarium, The Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science & Industry and either the John Hancock Observatory or Sears Tower.

We have been to the Shedd several time but have not made it to any of the others so this was a new experience for all of us. One the first day we went to the Field Museum and the Planetarium. It turned out to be the "Far out Friday" at the planetarium and had fun stuff going on after it got dark. We watched a few shows and looked around. On our way back to the car after a long day of walking we stopped and got a few pictures of Lake Michigan and played on the toys just outside of Soldiers Field.

The next day we went downtown again, this time to the Sears Tower and Navy Pier. The top floor was under construction so we only got to go to the 99th floor.

After the tower we spent s few hours walking the pier and getting some lunch. On our way home we stopped at the beach/park area so they could see the Lake up close. Even though is was freezing we still had a fun time playing at the park.

Sunday was General Conference and we decided to go to the church for the in between sessions pot luck. After we got home Areya, Shaylee and Aniela played make-up (Areya had been begging us to play every night so we finally gave in) and even got Tj in on the fun. Thanks Uncle Tj for being a good sport and letting Areya paint your toe nails.

Monday was Damian's day off but he had to go sign some papers on the house and did not get to go with us to the Museum of Science & Industry. It was really neat and had lot of stuff to do and see.

Tuesday was their last day and Aniela's birthday. Damian also had this day off and was able to go with us to the Aquarium. Part of the Aquarium is under construction right now so we missed out on the dolphins and whales. Which is the best part but we were able to catch a 4D show which was fun for everyone except Aniela, who cried through most of it.

We really had a great time and loved having Tj and Shaylee visit. Thank you for coming to see us we miss you guys so much.

Aniela turned 2!

I can't believe my baby is 2! Where did the past 2 years go? She is getting so big, is learning so much and wants to be just like her big sister. It makes me sad to think that she is not my little baby any more. ( I guess this is when most people try for another one)

Anyway Aniela is so much fun she has such a great personality. She loves her daddy and sister so much and can't wait for them to get home from work / school. She likes riding her bike, playing with bubbles and taking baths. Her favorite color is purple and her favorite food is cereal.

Here are the pictures of Aniela from birth to now.

11 days old

1st birthday

2nd birthday


Happy Birthday Aniela! We love you so much and are blessed to have you in our family.

Happy Happy Birthday to us!

We celebrated Damian's 30th birthday on March 3rd and my ___ th birthday on April 1st. Man are we getting old!! It is amazing how fast time flies, it is hard to believe that I have 2 kids and have been married 7 1/2 years. Any way for Damian's big 3 0 I wanted to throw a party for him and invite his friends over but he just want to go out to dinner with his girls. It was nice just spending time together as a family. Happy Birthday sweet heart, I love you and am so grateful for all that you do for our family.

For my birthday we did not get to do any thing because Damian had to work but it all worked out fine because the next day Tj & Shaylee arrived for a visit, which made it feel like my birthday all week long.