Halloween play date / School field trip

A few of the stay at home moms in my ward meet on Tuesdays for a play date and this week we had a Halloween party. The kids got to paint pumpkins, eat lots of fun Halloween themed snacks, and just play.

They had tons of fun and also got to show off their Halloween costumes. We had a great time thanks Carli for hosting it.

Areya had her first field trip this week. It was to the Suzanna Farms, which has a pumpkin patch and hay maze. The kids learned about what they grow on the farm (soy beans, corn & pumpkins) and got to see the animals that they have there. (chickens, lambs, horses and Scottish cows)

After we learned all about what they do on the farm we took a hay ride around the farm to see the crops. (well, what was left of them) Then they got to go through a corn maze and pick out a pumpkin.

It was so muddy from all the rain that we have been getting that the kids were covered by the time they were done. Areya fell down twice and had mud from head to toe.

I did learn some interesting information on this field trip. One of the little boys in Areya's class has a crush on her and kept trying to sit by her and gave her to goo goo eyes look. She told me that he takes her jacket and backpack on the bus and also takes and eats her snacks. I told her that this is how boys act when they like you. She got red and told me not to talk about it any more. I sure trained her well not to like boys, well see if that sticks in a few years.

Pregnancy Craving

Along with pregnancy comes cravings and man have I had a lot so far. Potatoes any way I can get them. ( I get this one with every pregnancy) Next was Peanut butter bars, then came rice crispy treats which I have never made myself so that fun to learn.

Apple pie sounded really really good so I tried my first attempt at home made apple pie. It turned out pretty good.

Doughnuts were next, then tuna fish with pickles. Let's see I have also been craving avocados, apples, fruit smoothies, and anything salty.

I wonder what crazy craving I will have next and what fun thing I will get to learn to made because of it.

Another little one

Just in case you haven't heard we are having another baby. According to my calculations we are due around May 17th. I still have not been to a doctor yet (it's hard finding a new doctor) but after I do I will let you know our official due date. We are hoping for a boy this time around. Either way this will be our last. I will do my best to keep you posted.

Areya keeps telling me she wants twin girls and Aniela changes her answer every time you ask. She is so funny because she keeps telling me that she has a baby in her tummy too. Kids are so fun at that age.

Oh just a side note, we are having a hard time coming up with uncommon names we like. For girl names we want to stick with A ____ A names. (Starts and ends with an A) For the boy names we are open. So if any of you have an good names you wouldn't mind sharing I would love to hear them. Just leave me a comment. Thanks

Damian health update

I guess I should catch you up on the test results. He called the doctor that had him got to the hospital for all the testing to see if they had found anything. The tests came back with a big fat NOTHING! Not helpful! I don't know I guess I should be happy that they didn't find anything big like cancer or a bad heart but at the same time it is a little frustrating that we still don't know what is wrong.

Anyway he went to a new doctor while we were gone and she told him that she believes he has a Serotonin imbalance. The doctor put him on a medicine that is suppose to help balance the levels and hopefully get him feeling back to normal. Let's hope this one works! He has another appointment with her next week.

She can't be 6 already!

Happy 6th Birthday Areya!!!

September 23rd

While we were in Tennessee visiting, Areya had her 6th birthday. We drove to Gatlinburg and went to the Ripley's Aquarium and also stopped in Pigeon Forge to ride go carts. Areya had such a great time she even got to touch a sting ray!

After we got back from the Aquarium and go carts we had really yummy ice cream cake and Areya got to open her presents. (That's the only candle we had)

She was very spoiled this year and got tons of presents from everyone. Mommy, Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa got her a new bike. Uncle Matt & Aunt Amy got her a fishing pole and cute dress. Cousin Chase & Jen got her a barbie movie. Grandma Great got her an outfit and movie. Tj & Shaylee sent a cute outfit and bead set. Aunt Kim & Uncle Mike got her little pet shops.

She loved all of the gifts and I just want to say thank you to everyone for making her day so special. She really did have a great birthday!

Areya,

You're such a sweet girl with a good heart and a beautiful smile. You have brought so much joy to our family and I am so happy to have you as my daughter. Thank you for being a great big sister and a big help to mommy and daddy. We love you very much!

Niagara Falls

The day after the wedding we all took a trip up to Niagara Falls. It was amazing how much water goes over them every second. They do have the boat ride where they take you right down next to the falls but I decided that with the girls it would be better not to go. Maybe when they get older we will have the opportunity to go.

Next time we'll have to take our passports and see the Canadian side.

We also got to swim in Lake Erie while we we there. For then next part of our trip we drove down to Tennessee to spend some time at my aunt and uncle's. (Not to bad only a 720 mile trip)

Dj & Melissa's Wedding

Dale and Melissa Wickline

September 19, 2009

My cousin got married in Buffalo, NY a few weeks ago and we were able to attend. It was a beautiful wedding . Thank you for inviting us to share your special day.

My Aunt Kim is my mom's sister and these are her kids, in-laws and grand-babies.

I have be luck enough to attend all of my cousin's weddings.

Here is a picture in the church of the wedding party.

I just want to tell them Congratulations and wish them both the best in the years to come! I hope you have a long and happy life together.

A few pictures from our Utah trip

My cousin Heston, Brandi and their kids, Amanda (my best friend) and her 3 girls, Sam, Dawn, the kids and Tj & Shaylee all came over to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire. Yummy, Smores!!

BBQing in my mom's back yard.

Brandi, Shaylee and myself at the park.

(Baby Addy is there too)

Mom, Dad with the kids

We took a few family pictures at the park. We we able to get everyone except for Damian who had to stay in IL for work.

Family picture summer 2009

Congrats to Matt & Amy!!! Matt surprised us all and proposed to Amy one of the nights after a family BBQ. We are so happy that Amy will officially be part of the family. They still have not set a date but we are guessing it will be late spring or early summer.

Matt proposing to Amy

We had lots of fun activities planned for the whole 2 weeks. We were able to see lots of friends and family. We went to the dinosaur park, mini golfing, the hot air balloon festival, Lagoon, Seven Peaks, a Raptors game, the fair and demolition derby, canoeing, play dates with friends, fishing at the trout farm, and to a splash park. We had movie night at the Hawks cousins and so so much fun! Thank you everyone for spending so much time with us, it was great seeing all of you.

Hot air balloon festival

Papa & the girls fishing

Tj & Shaylee at the derby

Us at a Raptors game

Sam & Tj at their Birthday BBQ

Happy Birthday boys!!!!

Dawn & the kids

Areya's first day of Kindergarten

Areya started her first day of Kindergarten on Aug 25th. (I know, I'm a little late posting) She has morning Kindergarten and goes from 8:30 - 11:00. We are far enough away from school that she has to ride a bus. (which she loves) The only part I don't enjoy is being at the bus stop an hour before school even starts. Wow, that's so early for me!

Areya loves school and really likes her teacher. She comes home with tons of stories of what they learned and all the exciting things she saw on the bus ride. (like a dead deer)

Aniela on the other hand is not sure she likes her big sister gone for so long. She still looks around the house for her and you can hear her talking to Areya's empty bed in the morning. (Areya has a loft bed and so Aniela never knows if sister is up there or not)

It is hard to think that my baby is old enough to start elementary school. I know, I got an extra year because of her late birthday but still it happens way to fast.

Another trip to the hospital for Damian

On Wednesday Damian went to the doctor because he is still not feeling well. He is still having dizziness, some pain in his side, heart palpations, weight loss, and tightness in his chest. He as also been having non stop adrenaline go through his system so the doctor decided to admit him and run a series of tests. So as soon as he got back from his appointment (which is in downtown Chicago) we had to find someone to watch the kids for that night and the next day. Luck for us we have some really great friends in Arlington Heights who were willing to help us out. Thank you to both the Smith and Peterson families!!!!! You were a huge live saver. After dropping them off we drove back downtown to St. Mary's Hospital to be admitted. After about 30 min they were able to find him a room and got things underway. They took blood, did an EKG, CAT scan, urine test (2) 24 hour tests), took more blood, and was hooked to a heart monitor the whole time. By the time every thing was said and done we were there just over 27 hours.

And what did we find out?

1. His heart is healthy
2. He dose not have diabetes
3. His thyroid is fine
4. They found a mass in his stomach and we have to follow up with another doctor to see what it is.

That's just about it. We are still waiting for the results from some of the blood and urine tests which should be back in about 2 weeks.

We are thinking at this point that he may have an over active adrenal gland or that the mass in his stomach may be pressing on the adrenal gland. The doctor did mention that there may be a tumor some where which is causing the problems but was not able to see one on the CT so we are really praying that there isn't one.

This has been going on since April and we both really want some answers. He has missed a lot of work and never feels good anymore so if you could please keep us in your prayers we would appreciate it. Thank you to all of you for the support and help and prayers we have received, it really means a lot.

Some fun pictures

I have not gotten the girls pictures taken in a while so I found a few and but this together. I down loaded the program called Picasa and it has a lot of fun options to edit pictures and create all the collages you see on my blog.

This one is of Areya and her cousins while on our trip to Tennessee.

House warming BBQ

On Saturday July 25th we had a house warming / pioneer day BBQ. We invited a few friends from our old ward in Arlington Heights up. I am so happy that you were all able to come. We had a great time. Thanks for making the drive. If anyone has some pictures would you please e-mail me they. I didn't really get to many. Thanks again!

Tennessee Trip 2009

We made it to Tennessee and had a great time. (For those of you that don't know, my mom's sister and mother live in TN) My parents flew into O'Hare again and they drove down with us so that I had a little help. It was nice having the extra hands, Thanks Mom and Dad for all the help!

This time Lacy, Cody, the twins Alisa & Angie, and Julius drove over from Colorado.

We also had Josie and her baby.

My Grandma made all the girls cute matching outfits. They turned out so cute thank you Grandma Great!

We had a nice 4th of July BBQ and then did a few fireworks in the drive way. There were so many other people doing the big fireworks that we all we had to do was look up to get a great show. I think the girls went through about 400 sparklers and amazingly we only had one small burn.

We spent a few days camping at the lake and took a few rides on Uncle Mike's boat. We built sandcastles, went swimming and cooked hobo dinners, hot dogs and smores over the fire. Yummy! In the lower left hand corner of the picture are my two swimsuit supermodels posing for you. The girls also got to go fishing and even caught one. And now for my favorite of the group: Aniela asleep in the chair with her arm still in the Cheetos bag.

We also took a tubing trip down the river. We were able to go down twice and had had a quick lunch in between. Aniela was so tired from her first trip down that she fell asleep in my lap for most of the second trip. It was amazing how well she slept while floating down a river and even over a little white water.

On our way home from tubing we stopped to look out over the Smokey Mountains.

And of course most of our free time was spent in Kim and Mike's pool. I think we were all part fish by the end of the trip.Thanks again Mike and Kim for having us, we really had a great time. Can't wait for you to come and stay with us next summer.

Damian's heart

Damian has been off work for the past 2 1/2 weeks because he is still have problems with his heart. He went back to the doctor and she adjusted his meds and put him on a few new ones. He also had a stress test which came back good. We still aren't sure why and what is going on. He stayed home alone (with the dog) the whole time the girls and I were in Tennessee which was no fun, I'm sure. The doctor gave him a week of bed rest and he was scheduled to go back to work this Friday. Happy to announce that he did make it into work on Friday and so far has been doing pretty good. Let's hope he continues to feel well.

He has also asked us to pray for him, which is a big deal for Damian, so if you could all keep him in your prayers that would be great. Thank you!

Where we are now.....

Well it has been forever since I last posted but I do have good reason for that. We are finally Illinois home owners. We closed in the middle of March and have been working on getting it livable ever since. We are living in the basement which for the most part is livable. (I say most part because we had a huge storm the other day which flooded the basement and garage which houses everything we own.) I have been paint my hands off and still have a bathroom and half of the laundry room to do. We pulled the nasty (cat pee) carpet and have installed tile in the living room. We are now waiting for the carpet to be installed in the bedrooms and family room. We sure have had a lot of ups and downs with this house and I am starting to think that we got in way over our heads with this one. Let's hope the rest goes smoothly and quickly. I will try to get some before and after pictures up here soon.

FATHER'S DAY

I am very thankful for my in-law's who have done so much while here for a visit. I am also thankful for my dad who taught me how to mud and tape a wall, use a hammer, paint, tend a garden and to work hard. I never really thought I would need those things but look at me now. I am also very thankful for my husband who is doing his best to make everything work out just right. It has been a hard and very stressful last couple of months and he has been wonderful. We got Damian plants for the garden and this Ice cream cake for father's day. Thanks again for everything honey, I love you!

UPDATE from last post

As for my last post, thank you for every ones support. Damian found out that he had an infection in his heart and that was the reason for the problems. The infection has cleared but the doctor is keeping him on the heart medicine for the next 6 months just to be sure. As for the crazy lady with the dog. She apologized to us and we were able to get out of our lease. So that all worked out well in the end.

WHAT'S NEXT

My parents are flying in and we are driving down to Tennessee for a visit with my aunt & uncle, grandma, and cousin and her family. We will be there 10 days , I am so looking forward to this trip, I need a break from all the craziness. Damian took his time off while his parents were here so he can't go with us. Than in Aug we are flying to Utah for two weeks to spend some much needed time with friends and family. It has been over a year since I have seen most of them and I am really, really looking forward to this trip. We have one more trip planned in Sept but I'll tell you more about it when it get closer.