Baby Shower

A few weeks ago, my fabulous family surprised me with a baby shower! It was honestly a complete surprise, as Teag had been exceptionally good at keeping the secret. He had told me I needed to be home that afternoon, as he was planning to fly up to Idaho for some guy. Then the night before, when I questioned him about it, he admitted that he wasn't flying with anyone, and that I just needed to be ready to go at noon. Even then, I wasn't sure for what; I thought maybe he was taking me to lunch or something. Then at noon, all the women in my immediate family and my friend Dena show up at my door! Sadly, two of my other friends had to miss it due to a funeral and RSV, but they were with us in spirit :).

After a super tasty lunch at Zupa's (love that place), we headed back to my mom's house for cupcakes and presents. Thanks to Dena for being the photographer!

 I got spoiled with so many cute outfits, including these tiny shoes!

And this studly church outfit!

And several boy blankets, which is definitely good, because most of mine are pink :).

I have to say, this boy thing is a whole new world. So much blue and green, and dinosaurs and trucks. I'm used to everything pink or purple with frilly collars and bows. Clothes alone are a bit of a trip, I can't imagine what it will be like when I'm holding the actual boy. Even still, our family is incredibly excited to meet him. And thanks to all my sweet friends and family, he should be dressed to the nines! Thanks so much everyone, it truly meant the world to me!

Baby Moon

So I'm now at 30 weeks and counting, and as my due date (and my belly) looms large, I start to freak out a little bit as the nesting instinct kicks in high. I've done this will all my babies, but this one seems to be particularly bad because we have no place to put this little guy! We've been discussing a remodel for months now, but we seem to be constantly encountering snags, and it seems like a much more arduous process than I would have imagined trying to get everything lined up to the point where we can give it the go ahead. It makes me crazy to think that our baby has no "place" to come home to, no place for his clothes or blankets or anything, and the anxiety is pressing down on me quite a bit.

As such, when Teag was scheduled to go down to Southern California for a few days, I found myself really wanting to join him. I needed a break and change of scenery. Once he flew down he had nothing to occupy his time, and his hotel/rental car/food would already be paid for. I knew I could get a plane ticket fairly cheaply; we just needed a place to leave our kids. And this is the part where many thanks and praise are directed at my sis and bro in law, Tris and Kris, for taking our three kids for the weekend. They agreed without hesitation and made my little getaway possible.

So Friday morning, I hopped on a plane and was in California by noon. Teag and I had purposely not planned anything specific we wanted to do, but had researched different things available so that we could do what we wanted at our leisure. So after lunch, we headed to a movie theater and watched the Hunger Games on opening day, without having to rush home to relieve a babysitter. It was marvelous. After that we spent the evening relaxing in our hotel, had a late dinner, and slept in the next morning.

On Saturday we headed out to explore Laguna Beach, and because we're lame, these are the only pictures we took the whole trip.

It was too cold for swimming, but we walked along the sand and watched a bunch of lifeguards in training. It was far from crowded, but a lot of people were out enjoying the beautiful weather.

I love the beach. I'm not much of a swimmer, but I love being near the ocean; the sounds, the power and majesty of it all. It's got it's own kind of magic.

After that we wandered around a bunch of cool little beach shops, collecting gifts for our girls, and stopping for lunch. We had planned to check out the old mission in San Juan Capistrano, but when we got close, we saw the whole street blocked off and hordes of people everywhere. Neither of us felt much like battling the crowd, so we headed back to our hotel, where I took a lovely, uninterrupted nap.

By dinner time all the restaurants were hopping, so we got our food to go and ate in our hotel room. It might seem weird or unadventurous to other people, but I actually like eating in my hotel room. It's cozy.

We both had early flights the next morning, so no time to play that day. We both remarked on how nice and laid back the weekend was, and how sad it was that we had to fly home alone. All in all though, it was a fantastic weekend, so restful and really such a gift to have that much one-on-one time together. Our kids had a blast with their cousins, so everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. A really great trip all around!

Guadalajara

Flew the boss down to sunny Guadalajara, Mexico a couple of days ago. Hopped on a double decker open-top bus for a tour of the city for 95 Pesos (abt $8 USD). I saw downtown Guadalajara, and Tlaquepaque.  I wanted to see nearby Zapopan as well, but the bus would've brought me home after dark, and I didn't want to be out by myself at night. I enjoyed the beautiful architecture and 85 degree weather. Unfortunately, since my pasty skin hadn't seen the real sun for 4 months, I got a bit burned. Still totally worth it!

One of many cathedrals

At the Teatro Degollado

Teatro Degollado

Simply "Catedral" in Downtown Guadalajara. The picture doesn't do it justice!

Catedral

In the plaza of the Teatro, I saw a guy selling rubberband-powered butterfly gliders. They flapped their wings and were great little fliers! I got 3 for the girls back home. Pretty fun little toys, but hard to film in action. Check out the video you're curious: