Spring football game

Friday night my sister-in-law Mary and I took our kiddos to Ben's spring football scrimmage. I took a few pictures of my sweet girl before we left (see below). The girls were WORN out after two hours in the sun and they were both asleep by 8:15. Ella still isn't awake and it's almost 12 hours later.

Now it's time to enjoy the rest of our three day weekend!

Update on the girls

My sweet babies are developing so much! Ella can sit unassisted for short periods of time, and I think in another couple of weeks she'll be sitting on her own all the time. She is thisclose to crawling. She is already throwing her feet around trying to inch from one place to the next. AND last night we practiced walking. She held my fingers and walked about 15 yards to watch big sister take a bath.

BETSY loves to see Ella doing new things. She cheers for her "YAY!! Ella sitting! Ella cwaling! Ella walking!" I can't imaging how much fun those two will have in about a year.

Betsy is no longer a baby but a full fledged kid. She runs, jumps, climbs, talks, eats, plays and reasons like a child, not a baby.

I love those girls, and I think they love me back :)

Gina's Disney Bachelorette Party

Here are a few pictures from my cousin Gina's bachelorette night we threw on Friday! Gina is eloping to Disney with her wonderful groom Kevin and I am so excited for those two.

Guest invitations.

Picture frames from Hobby Lobby, and I made the banner by hand.

Aunt Mary, Bride and future mother-in-law.



Sister-in-law, bride, and mother-in-law.

Little Lauren with Lisha. (my sis and mom)

Party guests!

Gina's reaction to seeing everything decorated in the condo.

Gina with her cookie bouquet

My Mom made these by hands and they are SO cute and time consuming!

Disney bridal bouquet

Guests watching Gina unwrap.

This was a huge hit...

My cousin Gina sleeps with nose strips and Aunt Mary decided to 'bling 'em out' for her wedding night. Awesome? Yes.

Gina with her beach wrap, showing her new married name!

This shower was fun, relaxed and perfect for my sweet cousin who will be married in a little over a WEEK! I'm so happy she's marrying such a wonderful man, and I hope they enjoy married life as much as I suspect they will! Love you G.C.C.

Adios Carbohydrates

My brother-in-law JD recently (Since January) made some changes in his diet and as a result has lost over 75 pounds. He looks awesome, seriously this is the best I've ever seen him look! My mom also is following a low carb diet per the recommendation of her doctor. She likes it. Welp, I'm on the bandwagon. I'm on day 4 of low carb eating and I really, really like it!

I'm not following the Atkins plan or anything like that, but I am trying to limit my net carbs to 20 or less a day. I was tired of doing the weight watchers thing. Sure, it's nice to do things in moderation. When I had the discipline to do so it worked for me. But I've found with sweets and breads that once I start munching on them it's hard to stop. And then I felt gross.

I'm surprised that I haven't been hungry. I'm eating lots of meat, cheese, salads, steamed veggies and nuts. And I feel satisfied all day. In fact, I think this morning was the first time I've really felt hungry at all, so I grabbed a few almonds while I cooked breakfast for myself and I felt great.

I can literally tell a difference in my blood sugar not crashing. I feel much steadier during the day and don't feel the need for a 'pick me up'. Not to mention, when you eat carbs you get that bloated, stuffed feeling after a meal. My clothes are just a bit looser already, and I've lost 4 pounds. AND I think I can STAY committed to this. I'm not going to completely deprive myself. One meal a week can be carb heavy. This weekend it'll be dinner out on Friday night, it might include a margarita!!

Please share your low-carb eating tips if you have any!

More on Mom's Visit

We had a great time with GiGi! We mostly did party planning, played with the girls (including HOURS of sitting on the back porch, rocking in the swing and blowing bubbles with Betsy) watched Disney movies, ran around town, went to church, my mom cooked us TONS of food that I've been eating for lunches and dinner's every day. She cleaned the house Friday morning while I was at work and caught up my laundry.

Raise your hand if you think she should visit EVERY weekend.

*raise hand*

Quick pic

My Mom visited for the weekend, and both the girls enjoyed her visit so much! I dropped her off this morning (at 5:20 am!) and when Bets woke up she asked "Where's that Gigi at?"

Teething Ella

Sweet Ella is teething. No doubt about it, she drools like a faucet and the only way to get her fingers out of her mouth is to offer a bottle or a Snickers (kidding!). She's been really good despite the teething. She needs a little more attention, and I've let her sleep with me a couple of times but last night she stayed in her bed all night. I just heard one little whimper.





On an unrelated note, how sweet is this baby? She's all big eyes, big cheeks, and sweet lips. I can't keep my hands off of her.