Manis & Pedis

After brunch, we headed over to a salon for manis & pedis before Brandi's lingerie shower.  A nice hour of pampering!

Brandi enjoying the massage chair while starting her mani and pedi.

Natalie, Andrea, Sarah, and Brandi

Sarah getting her manicure

Brandi getting her manicure

Natalie waiting for her nails to dry

After the salon, we headed over to the Melting Pot for Brandi's lingerie shower.  There were 16 ladies there, and we all enjoyed 4 different chocolate fondues before watching Brandi open all of her gifts.  I only took one picture while there before stowing my camera away, but here it is!

Taken before most of the ladies arrived, but at least you can see the table setup!

New Phone!

So my new phone arrived last night (could you tell from last night's post?), and I'm a bit overwhelmed.  Excited, yes, but definitely overwhelmed.  It can do so much!  I don't even know where to start, really, and it took me about 5 minutes this morning to find, read, and delete a text message that came in.  It's my first smartphone.  I feel like I'm entering the grown-up world.  :)

*If you have any app recommendations (my new phone is an HTC Sensation - Android), pass them along!  I'd love tips!

Test post from my new phone

Testing

Brandi's Wedding - Brunch the Day Before

 The day before the wedding, Brandi, Sarah, Andrea, Natalie, and I met for brunch at a great little restaurant called You Say Tomato in Kansas City.  We loved it so much that we proceeded to eat there the following two mornings.  :)  The food and atmosphere were wonderful! Quiche, baked french toast, pie, cinnamon rolls.. (happy sigh)...

View from the entrance - Note the "tomato" caps hanging on the right.

All kinds of goodies sold inside...

Pies and cakes and pastries, oh my!

Andrea and Brandi both got the Rhubarb Raspberry Pie for breakfast.

Sarah, Brandi, me, and Andrea, just before Natalie arrived.

Tongue Twisters

In Working Order!

We have our laptop back!  We picked it up today, and look - bnbnbnbnbnbnbnbnbn - we have working "B" and "N" keys!  I was able to move the photos from Brandi's wedding from my camera to the computer this evening, so I'll post some of those soon.  I took surprisingly few; the bulk of them seem to be from the nail and hair appointments, so they may not be that interesting to most of you.  :)

In other news, Gisèle rode her bike this morning and did a fantastic job!  Next time, I'll take my point and shoot outside with me to take a video of her to share.

Miles is turning into quite the little comic!  He's doing everything he can to make us laugh - making funny faces and noises, saying things he knows will get a reaction...

Life continues happily here, and with the laptop back in my hands, I'll get back to documenting it again!

Puzzle Time

In pajamas, naturally.

(Still waiting for the laptop to be fixed - should be soon!)

Sisters

Our computer is in the shop, finally getting a new keyboard so that we'll be able to use the "B" and "N" keys.  Until we have it home again, I'm unable to upload or access pictures.  So I'll just leave you with this photo of me with a couple of my favorite people.  (Thanks to the awesome photographer, Sue!)

Shopping together the morning of Brandi's wedding.  (From left to right: Brandi, me, and Andrea.)

Gisèle - 4 Year Check-up

She rocked it, of course.  She weighs 33 lbs, and is 39 1/8 in. tall, so she's avg. height and weight.  She did great on her vision and hearing tests, and didn't cry a bit during all of her shots.  The doctor and nurses all complimented her and us on how well she did, and the doctor told Jamie to get ready, since G is going to be such a heartbreaker.  :)

We have a busy evening of packing ahead of us, and then we leave tomorrow morning for Kansas City! 

Backpacks

(from my cell phone) taken while walking back to the car after church

Oh, What Joy!

One...

Two...

Three...

Yay!

I did it!!

{pride! joy! glee!}

{Don't you wish you could get this excited about organizing?}

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The other night, we got to go to an Astros game!  It was the first one for Miles, and the first one for the 4 of us together as a family.  A sweet friend gave us tickets to the game (Crawford Box tickets!) along with a parking pass, so it was an affordable evening out.


Gisèle was really excited when we told her that we'd be going to a baseball game.  She looked across the dinner table and told Miles all about baseball, and how they hold the ball under their arm, and then they run... And then we had to gently remind her that that game was football.  Baseball was the one where the guy threw the little white ball to another guy who tried to hit it with the bat...


The whole drive to the game, Gisèle told us how hungry she was, so the first thing we did upon arriving was pick up some hot dogs and french fries to take to our seats.

Making silly faces in the car

Settled in to our seats with hot dogs

We got settled in just before the first inning started, and Gisèle was in awe at the size of the stadium and the number of people.  Miles enjoyed flirting with the people in front of us and playing with his seat ("up... down...") and sippy cup.

View from our seats (no zoom used)

This is Jamie's glove - he's had it since he was 12.

Wearing Daddy's hat

We stayed until about the 6th inning, which was longer than we thought the kids would make it since we were about and hour and a half past their bedtime.  Ice cream (in the traditional plastic helmet) helped.

We stopped by the fan shop on the way out and picked out a couple of souvenirs.  Miles got a soft Astros baseball that he's loved playing with ever since, and Gisèle got a little Astros stuffed bear that she promptly named "Sushi."  Sushi has gone to bed with her and been her carseat buddy since the game, and is now a well-loved member of the household.

Look - I was there, too!

All in all, a winning time, despite the Astros' loss!

Miles at his very first Astros game

When I Grow Up...

Gisèle:  "When I grow up, I want to be a princess baseball player!  Because you know why?  Princess baseball players can still be pretty."

Two days later...

Gisèle:  "When I grow up, I want to be a princess basketball player.  That feeds horses."

28 Day Update

My "shake" this morning.  Note the beautiful color.

I only have a week and a half left on the seemingly-never-ending 28 Day Detox.  I can't wait for it to be over!  At this point, I'm back down to 1 "shake" a day, which I can handle.  They still taste disgusting, but I'm used to them and can keep them down without a problem.  I'm just really bored with the diet.  I'm ready to reintroduce dairy, wheat, red meat, seafood, corn, strawberries, nuts, sugar, salt, caffeine and everything else I've been missing back into my meals!  I know there are changes I'll need to make overall in my diet to have a healthier lifestyle as someone who is insulin-resistant, but being able to eat semi-normally is all I can think about lately.

The timing of this 28 Day Detox couldn't have come at a better time to test my willpower and self-control:

• Starbucks ran their "Treat Receipt" program during the 28 days.  (Buy a drink in the morning and get any cold drink for only $2 in the afternoon.)  August was the hottest month Houston's history, and I wasn't able to have caffeine, including $2 frappuccinos in the afternoon.  The treat receipt deal will be over before the 28 days ends.  (sigh)
• Gisèle's 4th birthday was last weekend.  I baked and iced 48 cupcakes and was not able to take a single taste.
• Our church held the World's Largest Potluck.  Literally - we broke the Guinness Book of World Records record for the World's Largest Potluck.  Out of the 805 dishes, I was only able to eat grapes and blueberries.

September 11 is the last day of this 28 Day Detox.  I see the nutritionist on September 9th, and I believe that's when I'll be able to start slowly reintroducing things.  For everyone who is insulin-resistant, there are certain kinds of foods (or specific foods) that trigger insulin production more than others; for some people, it's gluten, for others, it's dairy, etc.  Doing a slow reintroduction will help me identify which kinds of foods are the triggers for me, which will help tailor the changes I need to make in my diet.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing the nutritionist on the 9th.  The main reason?  I want to weigh myself.  I haven't given in to the temptation at home, because the scale has been so depressing for me in the past.  I'm hopeful, though.  I know that simply being on my insulin medication has made a huge difference.  When I saw my doctor before I started treatment, I weighed 145.  When I saw him 1 month later (after having been on my insulin medication for a month) I weighed 134 on the same scale.  That day - the day I weighed 134 - was the day I started the 28 Day Detox.  I'm curious to go back and be weighed on that same scale now.  When I see the nutritionist, it will be with only 2 days left in the Detox, so it'll be interesting to see what the difference is.  :)

A New Name For a Toy

Gisèle named her little brown stuffed dog Petal Nettle, and has now given her little white stuffed cat a name, too - Cheese-Easy.