The Dove

We went to this incredible restaurant Friday night for my birthday. My sister, Kellyn, spent the night and babysat for Grace and AJ.

We decided to go for the chef's 5-course special, and went for the extra fee that covered a glass of wine with every course. Words don't describe how much we enjoyed ourselves, but I will attempt it. The restaurant owner served each course and gave us our wine.

Course 1: Pasta fagioli soup. Very good, as always.
Course 2: Shrimp Oreganata. Awesome. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, with oregano, garlic and bread crumbs.
Course 3: Lobster tail with pasta in garlic and oil. Wonderful.
Course 4: Lamb chop with a balsamic reduction, served with potatoes and onions finely shredded. I've never been a baby sheep eater, but I was that night. And I loved every last bite.
Course 5: Veal marsala with steamed broccoli. Again, not a philosophical fan of veal, but it was gooooood. Tender, flavorful, delicious.
Course 6: Beef au poivre, tender and flavorful. Served with a side of rice. Still excellent the next day.
Course 7: Godiva chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. And coffee.

Dad

My dad had hip replacement surgery a week ago. He expected to go home last Friday or Saturday, but here it is, 7 days later, and he's still in the hospital. He is susceptible to blood clots, and he has some in both lungs currently. The hospital has been WONDERFUL. He's getting excellent care, the staff has been great, and they've acted very proactively to treat the clots. Dad is bored. He wants to go home. But they don't even want him out of bed until the clots dissipate--there is a chance they can travel and do terrible damage if he gets up and walks around.

Party Central

I should probably mention that I've been away this weekend celebrating with friends more than I usually do in a few months! I went to a friend's baby shower Fri. night, and then the same friend's surprise shower Saturday morning. I didn't want her to feel badly that no one from our group could make it Friday night and I'd heard not many people from her church group were able to make it. I met Terry and the kids at a parade Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening we went to my friend Tracy's to celebrate her Kate's 4th birthday. Pizza, wings, and Polar Express. :) Sunday we skipped church due to a stupid motorcycle thing that happens every year and blocks the MAJOR road off which our neighborhood is located. Then, well, I already told you about Sunday night.

We always go to the park on Mondays to spend time with our friends, typically staying about 2 hours. I always come home with a sore throat. It's fun to spend two hours talking with my friends.

Oh, What a night!

I went out with my friends to the Melting Pot last night for the December Birthday Club (3 of us have Dec birthdays). I tried a drink called the "Love Martini" and man, it was good!!! It didn't even taste alcoholic!! YUM!!!! Plus it had strawberries floating in it. How cool is that??? And of course, the fondue was excellent. Cheese appetizer, salad, chocolate dessert. MMMM!!!

THEN, said friends and I dropped by a salon's Holiday party. It was packed with people, fancy finger food and champagne. We all entered the door prize raffle. My friend Cindy put in our friend's name, Janice, because she was expected at any minute. She didn't make it in time for the raffle, and guess who won the grand prize? Janice!!! So I pretended to be Janice. It was so weird, everyone saying, "Yay, Janice!" and "Congratulations, Janice!" They took my picture with Santa and I suppose my picture will be up at the salon now as "Janice."

Cindy and I split the prize. We won: 3 hour 10 person limo ride (perfect for our families--we have to find somewhere fun to go for the kids!); 1 night stay at the executive suite at the Radisson Hotel, and a $75 gift card to "The Dove", a fancy Italian restaurant on Satellite Beach.

I think I'm going to let Cindy take the hotel, and I'll take the restaurant card. We can always stay at the condo on New Smyrna Beach.

Then, Janice finally arrived and we took our party to Carrabba's bar. We feasted on their Chocolate Martinis (the best drink ever--made with homemade hot fudge around the rim, and creme de cacao and baileys' and other fabulous stuff) and shared a plate of Pasta Carrabba. We swapped stories, and it turns out that I'm not the only one whose dogs locked themselves in the van by stepping on my purse and pressing "lock" on the key remote!!!! What are the odds that someone else would have that happen to them??

So fun.

Home Group and Cranky Daughter

Grace knows the rules. It is very clear that she must rest/nap/read quietly in bed in order to go to home group. I especially felt this was important when going to a brand new place. She didn't follow the rules. She stayed up and whined and cried and yowled for 2 hours instead of resting.

Imagine her surprise when I left her home with Daddy!!

AJ tooks a GREAT nap, but I didn't think he'd go nicely by himself without his sister. So he played with his Daddy and didn't realize that he'd even been invited.

Next time, I bet Grace takes a nap.

Let It BE

After 5 years of mothering, I've finally figured something out.

When your three year old is lying in bed, crying and screaming because he doesn't want a nap, but is over tired, DO NOT GO IN!!! He does not need to be disturbed, he does not need to be comforted. If he gets out of bed and comes out of his room, that is a different story. But if he is staying in bed, LET IT BE!!!!!

He cried himself to sleep. And we will ALL be better off for it.

Now I will let the sleeping child lie.

church

Grace and I checked out a new church yesterday. We haven't been to church since we moved back to FL, and I had a dream where my pastor from Utah said, "It's time." Heeding that, I told Grace on the way that this is a new church and I want to hear her opinion when it's over, whether she liked it, how she felt, etc. I had been on the church's website and looked at home groups, looking for those with child care and those that were close. I found two that looked promising.

We arrived at the church and Grace went to her class. I sat in the sanctuary and as it filled up, a man sat next to me. We exchanged pleasantries and then the service began. When it ended, he introduced himself and invited me to his home group. It was one of the two home groups that had child care and was close to our house. What are the odds that of the thousands of people who attend this church regularly, the home group leader would end up sitting next to me and invite me to his group?? I think it's a God thing.

Then, when I walked to Grace's classroom, she met me with a smile and said, "This is the one I want."

I didn't know what she meant at first, and then I realized, "Oh, you mean you liked going to church here?"

She nodded with a big grin, her hands full of a harp made of cardboard and rubberbands, and a bag with all of her coloring sheets and a little toy.

We're bringing the boys next week.