Summer Lovin', Happened So Fast

Well I must say, this summer is going by faster than you can say "call me maybe"! There has been so much going on lately, I feel like the entire month of July was jam-packed, and the coming months don't offer much relief. While there have been lots of downs lately, there have also been plenty of ups. Here are just some of the awesome things that have been going down:

A's game with Mended Little Hearts

More A's games

The San Francisco "Breast Fest" beer festival

So many beer sample, so little time

Swim lessons for Joaquin

Little monkey man

 Celebrating Holly and Jon's impending arrival



Spending time with besties

Taking tons of pics of this little guy (of course)

Heart Walk 2012

On Saturday June 9th, Jose, Joaquin and I participated in the Congenital Heart Walk. The walk, put on by the Adult Congenital Heart Association, took place in Oakland and was a 5K that took us all the way around Lake Merritt. Not only was this a fun event, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and the weather could not have been more perfect!
Our team from Mended Little Hearts of Silicon Valley was definitely the largest there, and I am so proud to say we raised over $16,000 for congenital heart research! There were plenty of other teams there as well, overall it was so wonderful to see so many people come out to walk and support CHD research and awareness.

Our team!

Co-coordinators: Myself, and "Heart Mom" Heather <3

My little man, modeling our lovely shirts

Speaking on behalf of our team before the race starts. Cue the nerves!!

So happy to always have my little family by my side :)

Deep In The Heart of Texas

Last week I ventured down to the one and only Dallas, TX for the Mended Little Hearts national convention. Travelling sans baby and husband was much easier, but it also made for a looooonnngggg flight. I'm pretty sure it took about 19 hours to get to Fort Worth International from SFO (ok so it was only 4). Anyways, I was quite nervous to leave my guys for four days, but once I got to Dallas and realized how busy we were going to be over the next few days (and nights), I was able to relax and focus on all the awesome new people I was going to meet and of course lots of leadership training for MLH.

The training was great. I learned so much about the organization, and about Congenital Heart Defects. Did you know that more children die each year from a CHD, than from all forms of childhood cancers combined? And about 1 in 110 babies are born with a CHD? Pretty scary stuff. As sad as these facts are, it is so great to be a part of a group that is working so hard to spread awareness, advocacy and support for this extremely worthy cause. 

It was kind of surreal for me to be among so many "heart moms". Being a CHD survivor myself, I loved hearing everyone's stories, and being able to tell mine. Some stories were happy, some were heartbreaking, but all were powerful and inspiring. 

It wasn't all business though. Remember, most of the participants of the convention are busy moms and wives, and being away from home/husbands/kids meant it was time to blow off some steam and let a little loose! After the meetings were done each day it was time to hit the town, Dallas style! We enjoyed delicious BBQ at Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse, went (mechanical) bull riding at Trophy Room, experienced some real cowboy line dancing at Cowboys Red River, and somewhere along the way we were able to get our own limo driver for the weekend! xxoo

Our Mended Hearts logo in the lobby of the Hyatt, Dallas                                                                                                                                                                                              

Me and our Silicon Valley lead coordinator, Andrea

That's a nice pair of hooters! - Outside of Hooters in Dallas      

Just a few of the awesome ladies I met. I'm already excited to see them all again  next year!

With our limo driver, Coley and the stretch Hummer limo!

Little Hearts Hold Big Hopes

Recently I have discovered and become a part of a wonderful organization called Mended Little Hearts. It's a group that helps to support babies who are born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), and their families. Most people who know me personally know that I myself was born with Tricuspid Atresia, which means I was born without a tricuspid valve in my heart. As a baby, I had surgeries and was in and out of the hospital. I had my last surgery (a fontan operation) when I was five and since then have been relatively healthy. I have always wanted to somehow give back and try to bring hope to parents whose babies have CHD, so when I heard that this group was starting a chapter in the Bay Area, I jumped at the chance to get involved.

I'm proud to say that I am now the Treasurer of our chapter, Mended Little Hearts of Silicon Valley. I am also going to the national convention in Dallas next month to get leadership training and learn more about CHD and the organization. Check out the website if you want to learn more! :) xxoo

http://siliconvalley.mendedlittlehearts.net/
www.mendedlittlehearts.org

At our very first group meeting. It was so great to meet and talk to everyone!