Almost done!

Friday and Saturday this weekend was busy with meeting up with friends and family. We got to see our friend Nicole Takesono who drove down from San Francisco for the weekend (crazy!). Friday also marked our goddaughter Kaelyn's 2nd birthday. It's hard to believe that she's only been here for 2 years. It feels like she's been part of the family for much longer. Her birthday was a lot of fun with a crazy bubble machine and seeing her run around the house with her bike(trike) helmet. Too cute.

Luckily Sunday was free and clear of any plans so Brendt and I attended to some household organizing and cleaning that we had neglected until the last day of Brendt's spring break. We pretty much have the baby's room together now. Brendt put together our new glider (thanks Nanita Gideon!) with minimal cursing. It is soooo very comfy. Good thing, as I imagine we'll be spending a lot of time in it soon. Here are a few photos of the baby's room. We still have some things to put up on the wall, but it will all come together soon enough.

Easter Weekend Trifecta!

This weekend brought the Mom & Pop Gideon to San Diego and then we all trekked up to L.A. to join in a larger Gideon clan in a good ole fashioned Catholic Trifecta. Brendt's cousin Kerry got baptized, 1st communion and confirmed in a 3 hour long Easter Vigil mass. All of the ceremonies were very nice and the priest had a good sense of humor that kept us focused and in good spirits.

Most of the Gideons were there (Joyce, Jim, Carol, Clayton, Devrah, Ryan, Monica, Maya, Brendt and I) and we were hosted by Kerry's in-laws the Morales'. Elaine's family are tremendous hosts and amazing cooks! They had us over on Saturday night following the trifecta for a Filipino feast. On Sunday they had a more formal party for extended family and friends that Elaine's brother arranged for a spread of Italian food that was awe inspiring. The entire family worked together to turn out Tuscan spare ribs, shrimp diablo, rigatoni with braised oxtail, rosemary lemon cod, almond cream pear tart, tiramisu, and a whole host of dishes I don't remember the name to or didn't get a chance to taste. Needless to say, I could probally live for a week off of all the goodies we had last night! It was a beautiful weekend to get together with family and catch up. The weather was wonderful and it was nice to have a little time away with family we don't get to see very often.

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! We're headed home now. Looking forward to getting back into a groove, with no travel, before baby arrives.

Don't let Spring Break end!

My Spring Breaks are now totally unofficial, but I love them none the less. Brendt gets 2 weeks off and it really feels like a week to get away and a week to catch up at home. This year we headed up to Paso Robles in the central California coast with Katie and Josh. We rented a restored farmhouse on a working vineyard. Here are a few scenes of the property. The photo on the left is of the house that was origionally built in 1912. The photo on the right is of the sun setting behind one of the majestic oak (a.k.a. robles) trees that dot the vineyard.

The house and the grounds were beautiful. As much as we loved roaming around the local vineyards, Paso Robles town square, and driving the coast near Cambria and Hearst Castle, we really wanted to hold up at the house and wander around the stunning acres surrounding it. We spotted deer and wild turkey and were awakened in the morning to the cows that pastured in the fields across the valley. I think it is fair to say that we all want this to become an annual event.

Arizona Shower

Last Friday, Brendt and I headed out to Arizona. It was a quick trip for my family baby shower that went by so fast it was a blur! The shower was expertly orchestrated by my sister Katie (with much help from cousins, aunts and friends) and hosted by my cousin Jill. Here are the three of us together on the day of the shower.

It was great to be able to have a little time with all the friends, aunts, grandmas and cousins. We had a great showing with a gang of people coming up from Tucson and Aunt Angie coming out from L.A. It was so heartwarming to see everyone. My photos are very limited, but hopefully the photos from everyone else will start rolling in. Here are a few.

Thanks to everyone who trekked out to see us. I wish we had more time, but we're looking forward to spending a bit more time with Fifi/Filbert in AZ this summer (for the company, not the weather:-)). The thoughtful shower gifts were a lot of fun and honestly a little overwhelming. There is no doubt that this child is already showered with love.

Good News from Brian

Brian Hoot, Kelly's husband, called today and said that Kelly is steadily improving and they have moved her out of the ICU into a rehabilitation facility. Baby steps to recovery!

A prescription for massage!

This week I had my 32 week check-up with my doctor. For the next month I see the doctor every 2 weeks and then every week until the baby's grand entrance. Everything went well, I'm measuring right on track, heart beat is strong, and the baby has turned head down. When I mentioned the back pain I was having the doctor gave me a prescription for massage!! What a beautiful thing that is. Too bad it isn't covered under my health care, but luckily I can use my Medical Flexible Spending Account for it.

Tomorrow we head out to AZ for my family shower. I'm so excited to see everyone! On Sunday we'll be driving to Paso Robles to spend a few days of R&R at a restored farm house on a working vineyard. Sigh! Looking forward to our last little mini-vacation before FiFi/Filbert arrives. Tick tock! That time is coming soon. Can't wait to meet this little one!

What a week!

Last weekend we went up to Big Bear, a ski resort about 3 hours away from San Diego. We went with a group of friends including Toby & Krissy, thier kids Kaelyn & Eliana, and our friends Todd & Becky and their daughter Claire. The drive wasn't too bad considering the typical Friday afternoon traffic. My back pain made it a bear to sit for 3 hours, but we were rewarded with beautiful views and weather when we arrived. On Saturday our friends gave us a lesson in creative parenting. The one couple would ski/snowboard while the other couple watched the kids. Brendt took a snowboarding lesson and had a great day in the 50 degree weather. I ran people to and from the house to the slopes and got to play with the kiddos.

Kaelyn had her baby Sebastian (in sled on left) with her while she got her hands into the snow. All of the kids (under 2) seemed a little overwhelmed by the idea of sledding, but enjoyed stomping on the snow. For those of you living in cold country, I'm sure you find this amusing. :-)

Here is a photo of Eliana who was sporting her new ear muffs. :-) This happy baby was content as to be hanging out on the floor surrounded by her toys while the rest of the gang buzzed around her.

Last Tuesday my cousin Dan came to visit from New York. He has been soaking up the sun (it's been a beautiful week here) in between meals. His goal was go eat a lot of Mexican food, relax and be warm, and I think he has met that goal. Today is his last day here and I think we might hit the beach and get some fish tacos before we take him to the airport for his red eye tonight. Here is a photo of us after having lunch on the front stoop with Darwin and Petey basking in the sun.

This week's update

It's been a busy week at the Gideon household. On Tuesday night my cousin Dan came to visit from New York. He's here to enjoy the sunshine and take a break from his high pressure job at the World Wrestling Entertainment (Yes, WrestleMania central). I got put onto a proposal midweek that had me working crazy hours, thankfully that went in early this morning, so things are a little quiet. Brendt has taken on leading up an anti-drinking and driving event called Every 15 Minutes that sets up a mock event where there is a drinking involved accident and students go to the hospital, jail and even die in some cases. Needless to say, it has him working long hours trying to pull the event together with parents, students, and law enforcement.

To update you on my last post about my friend Kelly, her mother Linda said that the doctors were really encouraged by some recent tests that show that there isn't any constriction on her arteries in her brain. Kelly is coherent and talking again though she gets tired very easily. She seems to be having a hard time putting her memories in order. Sometimes she remembers that she has a son and other times she doesn't. I'm sure it will take a while for her mind to figure out how to repave memories. Linda said that it is all starting to sink in with her husband Brian that this is going to be a long road, and that healing Kelly is going to take a while. She said that she was really impressed by the way that Brian was handling it all. I'm not too surprised. Even in the short time we met him at his wedding it was evident that he is a great guy. Linda sounded optimistic. She said that if Kelly stays stable for the next week, then they will transfer her to an extended care facility. Please keep Kelly in your thoughts and prayers!

Live every day!

Katie just called me with some terrible news. I've kept in touch with a childhood friend who now lives in Texas. Her mother saw my shower invitation on my friend's fridge and thankfully called my sister to try and get a hold of me.

About ten days ago, my childhood friend Kelly, had her 3rd child. I got text message and a photo message from her with the happy news. Three days later, while at home, she suffered from an aneurysm. She is in the ICU, responsive, but not at all verbal. Her mother says that if she doesn't recover language in the next 72 hours that they don't expect her to. Right now she has a 50/50 chance of survival. The hardest thing was that while I was talking to her mother, I could hear her 1 week old son, Jaxson crying.

The good news is that Kelly has always been a very resilliant person. She has faced adversity in her life before and she would flash her big grin and not only find a way to make it through, but kick-butt doing it. I'm sure this will be no differant for her. Kelly and I were best friends from 6th grade until she moved to Texas after our 8th grade year. She is really like family and even she even lived with us for a short while right before she moved.

You know I love this girl, because I'm putting these photos up on the internet of myself looking REDICULOUS! Here is one circa 1988. Like funky shirt, pegged jeans and keds? I like Kelly's socks! This is when we lived about 6 houses down from each other. Kelly would say, after a hearty laugh, "Giiiirl, why do you let these photos see the light of day?!,". Well, Kelly, you give me a call and I will remove them from the internet.

Ok, so I have to admit that some of the reason I'm putting his photo up here is because Katie is in it. :-) Love you sista. So the three big girls were headed to a St. Tim's Teen Christmas dance. OH MY! Love the shoulder pads.

In any case, Kelly's situation really makes me stop to think about the state of my affairs. You have to remember that you have to live every day, because you just don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Please keep Kelly in your thoughts & prayers. Love to you all!