I Heart NYC

With one month to go before baby #4 comes, I squeezed in a girls' trip to the Big Apple with my two sisters-in-law Lisa and Shauri. It's the second time we've done this, and I have to say it's a great tradition.

This weekend included:

Pizza at Grimaldi's--Yum!

Followed by a walk across the Brookly Bridge.

Brunch the next morning at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park

Pedicures for our tired feet--all with "I'm Not Really a Waitress" red polish.

We squeezed in a trip around the Statue of Liberty

And a 20-minute tour of Ellis Island. I could have spent hours there, and fully intend to on one of my future trips.
We tried out the Russian Tea Room for dinner, with a dessert that included gold caviar. I hadn't ever tried caviar before, and I wouldn't have expected my first time to be for dessert. I probably won't be making it at home, but it was fun to try.

And since no trip to New York would be complete without a little Broadway, I went to see Wicked while Lisa and Shauri saw South Pacific (they had already seen Wicked). It worked out great for me since our hotel was a block from the theatre.

A huge thank-you to Shauri and Lisa for a great weekend, and to Ryan for holding down the homefront while I went to have some fun. The only thing that would have made the weekend better would have been having Kristin and Delsa with us too. And not being 35 weeks pregnant.

Hydrophilia

We are the unfortunate parents of a child who is obsessed with water and bathrooms for all the wrong reasons.

Does he love water? Yes. Does he love the beach or swimming? Sheer terror.

Does he love the bathroom? Yes. Does he have even the remotest interest in potty training? Not a chance, my friend.

Usually he contains his love of bathrooms and water to watching single sheets of toilet paper get flushed, or filling up the sink in an attempt to create bubbles to play in. But stripping down to nothing and getting in the sink was a new one for him.

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

I finally have some photos to post of my mom. After 18 months of being very disciplined with her diet and exercising, she is now half the person she used to be--literally. Since I don't see her very often, each time we've been together over the past year and a half has been a dramatic change. She's finally within a few pounds of her goal weight, and never plans on going back.

She did it all through Overeaters Annonymous, which included a very structured eating plan, a sponsor that she would talk to every day at first (now it's every week I think), and attending an addiction recovery support group through church.

So here are some of the "before" pictures:

And here are some recent photos (although she looks even smaller in person):

She has had to do a lot of clothes shopping through the whole process, and I've enjoyed going through her closet with her whenever I'm visiting and telling her what she's not allowed to wear anymore. She's already run a 5K and is looking forward to doing more of that once she has an operation on her foot because of some arthritis problems (she had the other done earlier this year).

Her discipline with eating is amazing. Even more amazing is that she thinks that the whole thing has been pretty easy once she got the hang of it. She eats more fruits and vegetables than anyone I know, and weighs everything she eats on a little scale. After various diets involving pills, shakes, and protein bars, I love that the plan she follows is all about eating real food.

So congratulations Mom! You're amazing.