Thursday night

It's Thursday night! What a week! I am definitely happy that tomorrow is Friday. I don't exactly know why this week was such a flurry of activity but it was. Between baseball games, church, and snake hunting, I have hardly sat down. Last night, I realized that most of the meals I had eaten (all but about one) were eaten while I was standing up running around. For the first time in my life, I picked up a pizza at the pizza place and ate it with the box on my lap on the way to 2 baseball games! This morning, I met one of my friends for a muffin and coffee at Starbucks. It was divine-pure heaven-to sit, savor a meal, and talk with Cindy. Boy, did I need it!

On to the snake. I have hunted high and low for the interloper and I haven't seen him. I have gone out 5-6 times a day, shovel in hand, looking for him. I have raked under every bush in my backyard. I am hoping that he has made a new home for himself in the easement. We are going to get something called SnakeAway that is supposed to emit a scent that snakes don't like. I was skiddish about going out with the kids on Tuesday, but by yesterday, I was able to start working in the garden and letting the kids play under my close supervision.

Tonight, we started celebrating Bryon's birthday. My birthday boy will be 35 on Saturday. Tomorrow night, we have a camp out at our future subdivision, and we are going to Conroe on Saturday to see his parents. Tonight, we gave Bryon his gift-a hammock- and ate grilled out pork tenderloin and his favorite cookies-Mary Beth cookies. Every year my mother makes him banana ice cream cake which he craves every year!

Saturday, we have both of the boys pictures and games between 8 and 10 a.m. Then we are headed for a less than 24 hour trip to Bryon's parents house. We haven't been since Christmas and Bryon hasn't been with his parent's on his birthday for at least the past 10 years. Sunday, Bryon is taking me to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham. I have become an antique rose fanatic over the past few years and have been itching to go to the A.R.E. for quite some time. I'll write more about that later.

Yesterday, ME got into my purse and found my lipstick. I think she had heard the theory that putting lipstick on the outside edges makes your lips look fuller. It's a great look, don't you think? The two pictures depict her surprise at getting caught and her delight in how "funny" she is! My parents think ME is "Elizabeth, Jr." I was always into stuff at her age---potting soil, flour, bananas, birthday cake, pots and pans. What a chip off the old block!

I think that is all for now! I hope everyone has a happy and blessed weekend!

A few stories from the week thus far...

I forgot to mention this one from Sunday. I always pick up ME after bible class and take her to church for a few minutes until she starts getting too active (this usually is a 5 minute turn around). There is no use getting her all cute for church only to have her go to the nursery right after class!

Sunday morning, our family was sitting in the middle of church. The elders were doing most of the service and my dad was doing the call to worship. ME looked up hearing her granddaddy's voice and yelled, "Deedah!" ME has inheirited Matthew's booming voice so the entire church heard her! Dad stopped what he was saying and said, "Hello, Mary Elizabeth!"

ME thought it was a game at this point so she said his name again, "Deeeeeedah!"
Up I shot, bag in hand and hurried to the back so as not to completely throw Dad off! Once again, a 5 minute turn around!

I think my gardening days are over for a while.....

I was talking on the phone yesterday morning and picking weeds in the back yard. At the back of my yard, I saw my raised bed which was starting to sport a few weeds so I headed in that direction. On design flaw in the bed is that it is too close to the fence. In order for me to pull the weeds in the back, I have to jump up on the bed, balance the beams to the back and hold on to the fence for support.

While I was back there, I looked over the fence at the job Bryon and a few other guys did getting most of the underbrush off of the easement. Then my eyes drifted to the 4-5 inch space between the back of the bed and the fence. There my eyes landed on the biggest snake I have ever seen outside of the zoo! I had a moment before I jumped away to look at it. It had a triangular head which I knew meant it was poisonous. It was a copperhead between 2-3 feet long inches below my sandal clad feet! I think I scared Lauren, who was on the phone with me, to death!

I backed away looking for my shovel which I remembered was still in the garage. I yelled to Thomas to open the garage door while I kept my eyes on the snake which at this point had slithered out from behind the bed in my full view. When Thomas opened the garage, I bolted for it looking for my shovel. When I got back, the snake was gone!!!

I went back in the back several times looking for it. I don't have rubber boots, so I was walking around looking like a street walker in shorts and 3 inch high heel boots shovel in hand!

Still no sign of him, but I just don't feel comfortable having my kids play back there yet. In a bizarre way, I am hoping to find him and kill him today. I am just filled with rage that this evil, dangerous creature has chosen my garden to slither around where my children play. Thank God that they didn't find him while I wasn't there.

Another weekend come and gone.

It's amazing how quickly the weekends go. This one was no exception!

Michael was here all week and Friday night Jilinda came in to town to pick him up. They stayed for the weekend to see the baby, run errands, watch the boys play baseball, and celebrate the three family birthdays occurring this week.

Friday night we went to dinner at a great Mexican seafood place in town that I love. It took a while to bring our food so we were there for two hours which is never pleasant with all the kids, but we still had a good time. Then we headed to Barnes and Noble which is one of our favorite hang outs for coffee and books.
Saturday was baseball day! Thomas's game was at 9a.m. The whole team (which most of them I have known since they were born) looked adorable. Thomas hit the ball on the first swing both times at bat and someone remarked that he was one of the only kids who knew to run the bases when the next batter hit the ball. I guess hours of backyard baseball prepared him for that! Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I took lots of pictures of him, but there is always tonight!

In between games, I ran home to recharge the camera battery, oversee Bryon clearing the overgrowth in the easement behind our fence, run to one of my parents' friend's house to talk gardens, and run to a local nursery to pick up a few plants.

Off to Matthew's game at 1 p.m.! This was lots of fun to watch. Definitely more structured than the T-Ball game. Matthew played well and got several good hits. He also caught the ball and tagged a opponent for a forced out.

We went home from the games drenched with sweat. It just shouldn't be in the 90s in April! This makes me nervous about August!

Saturday night, we celebrated with a birthday meal for Lauren, Bryon, and Mom, whose birthdays fall within the next 8 days!

Yesterday, we cleaned, played, and got ready for the week. Last night was book club. This was one of the first times that Matthew didn't put up a fuss about me leaving him. He walked out to the car of my friend (the one he made me sign a contract that I wouldn't hang out with her until 2008) and said to have a good time! M.K. said that was sweet but not nearly as fun as when he fussed at her!

Tonight we have piano at 4 and two games at 6:30. What an afternoon!

Also, happy birthday, Lauren! Today is Lauren's 26th birthday and her first day to be alone with James!

All the planets are aligned

This past day and a half have been particularly great. I can always find happiness in each day, but it is rare and very special to have a day when all goes well.

Yesterday, ME slept until 10, so Thomas and I got lots of one on one time. We colored together and did preschool workbooks.

Late morning, I got to hang out with my mom, sister, nephew, and kids at my sister's house. My two enjoyed playing outside while I got to hold James. I think Lauren enjoyed playing with and laughing at my kids as much as I enjoyed holding her newborn! James reminds me a lot of how Matthew looked as a newborn. It is fun reliving some of that magic with James!

Yesterday afternoon while ME was sleeping, Thomas did puzzles outside while I read and got some sun on my legs. I felt like I was in college again!

Last night, my brother, who is in town on business, took the boys to a Baylor tennis game. They had a blast! Michael said Thomas's eyes were like saucers on the way there. He is enjoying getting bigger and getting to participate in "big boy activities"!

This morning after I dropped the younger two at MDO, I accompanied Matthew's kindergarten class to the zoo. I was so happy that the trip fell on a MDO day! I got to hang out with (and supervise) Matthew and his two favorite friends in his class. A morning thunderstorm threatened to cancel the trip which would have devastated Matthew who woke up at 4 in the morning to inform me that it was "Zoo day"! Fortunately, it cleared up just in time and we enjoyed beautiful weather.

I finished my book last night and completely enjoyed it. Now I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It is very long, but I enjoyed the movie so much, I watched it three times in the theatre and a good friend said the book was even better. I can't wait to dig in!

Matthew will be home any minute so I need to get ready. Have a great day!

This and That

I feel very scattered brained right now--almost like I had a baby without the pain! I am sure this post will be filled with lots of random thoughts:

*Totally enjoyed AI last night. Probably the first episode I really enjoyed all season. It was the first night I actually got why people like Chris, although I am sticking with my early prediction that Katharine should win.
*Thomas absolutely loves his little cousin. He talks about him all the time and says he is his favorite person in the whole world. This is the opposite of Matthew who is very concerned about his Aunt Lauren, and wants to make sure she is feeling better.

This makes the conversation I had with Thomas on Monday a little out of place. I went up to the hospital twice to take pictures and I told L and J to call me when they were on their way home so I could take picture of them entering the house. I got the call...

"Thomas, let's hurry over to Aunt Lauren's to take pictures of Baby James!"

"Three times in one day?!" Pause "Mommy, have you ever heard the song, 'One is enough'?"

*ME is in the language explosion phase right now. Every day she comes up with new things to say. She is a speech therapists dream and I love doing language "therapy" with her! We walked by a statue of Jesus in the hospital on Monday and she pointed and said, "Geez!" I think God will forgive the whole Lord's name in vain thing since she is 20 months old!

*We are totally loving being outside right now. We hardly spend a waking moment in the house until the kids go to bed. I had to change to boys' outfits three times each yesterday because of water fights. ME's new favorite thing to do is to climb up the slide and hang out in the non-toddler proofed fort. This is fine if I am there, but I have found her up there a few times unsupervised if I have turned my back for a few minutes!

*I am really loving the book I am reading right now. If you love historical fiction, I would highly recommend it.

*I was thrilled to hear that Tom and Katie had their baby girl yesterday. I wonder if Tom grilled or sauteed the placenta? It makes me glad that my junior high dreams of marrying Tom Cruise did not come true. ;)

I think that is about it for now. Have a great day!

Oh yeah, Easter.

I'm afraid the blessed events that occurred early Easter morning overshadowed the whole Easter morning experience for us! I finally went to sleep around 5:30 in the morning and the kids were raring to go at 7. I was glad that I got to come home and help Bryon get the kids ready for church. I always felt like the Easter candy thing was hard on Sunday morning. Of course they did manage a few pieces.

"Here is your candy. You can look at it now, but you can't eat it because you will get your nice clothes dirty!"

Bryon got the kids off to church and managed to get them to class, teach the kindergarten class, be in charge of the communion guys and do the closing announcements all without me there. To Bryon, I give a huge "Saluuuuute!"
It is a rare occasion when I get a good picture of the three kids together. It just wasn't going to happen yesterday morning and I wasn't going to push it after only having 1 1/2 hours of sleep. I had to settle for a good one of the boys and ME by herself.
I cooked a lot of the day on Saturday and there was no point in letting it go to waste, so Mom, Dad, Michael, and Jilinda came over for dinner last night. We were all feeling zombie like but we had a great time! The kids always loving having M and J over and Matthew enjoyed the never ending game of backyard baseball Saturday and Sunday night with his granddad, dad, and uncles (Josh of course begged out of last nights game.)

I think that is about it. I am waiting to hear from L and J as to what time they will be home. I am going to go over and take a few pictures of them coming home to close out the album. Then I will leave the new family to enjoy some home time.

I always thought that I would know whether I wanted a fourth baby when Lauren had her first. Is he adorable in every way, shape, and fashion? Yes! Do I love him like crazy? Absolutely! Does his arrival make me want a fourth? Not a chance! Pretty sure we are passing the baby torch off to Lauren and Josh!

Day 2

I just left the hospital and will spend a few minutes blogging while the next 70 pictures download!

Lauren seems to be recovering beautifully from the whole ordeal. She and Josh seem so peaceful and happy.

James is absolutely gorgeous! He is such a combination of L and J. Straight on, he looks like Lauren's newborn pics. His profile is all Satty.

The kids got to meet James this afternoon after church. ME couldn't stop kissing the top of his head and sqealing with delight. She kept pointing to Lauren and saying "Nanes!" Nanes isn't in Aunt Lauren anymore, ME!

Thomas, who says all the time that James is his best friend, couldn't wait to hold him. He kept saying how much he loved his cousin.
Matthew's first question to Lauren was did she have to squeeze as hard as Shawn Alexander has to squeeze a football!

Everyone is taking a nap but me. Think I'll join the fam. Will blog more later!



My parents' 4 grandkids!

Lauren Update

11:06 p.m.- Lauren is at the hospital. She is having good strong contractions but is only dilated to a 1. It is going to be a long night!



Ladies and Gentlemen....We have labor! Baby James will be an Easter baby!

Heading into the holiday

We are still in a holding pattern with Lauren. She amazes me. At this point, I would have done ANYTHING to go into labor. She is much more patient about the whole thing. She has now officially carried a baby longer than I ever did.

James was very kind to listen to me and wait to come while I was in Las Vegas. Is it too much to ask him to either come before Easter so I can still make Easter dinner or hold off until after dinner? Hmmmmm...

Today was fun. Matthew had the day off from school b/c they never had an inclement weather day. Thomas and ME still had school, so Matthew and I had a fun 5 hours together. We ran lots of errands and got in a few chapters of James and the Giant Peach.

I have been meaning to say for a while that if you are looking for a great show to watch, tune in Wednesday nights to Criminal Minds. It is an hour jam packed with psychological drama. It is one of our favorite shows.

A sweet story from this week: Our nightly routine has added another element. ME loves to snuggle with the boys for several minutes before bedtime. The boys ask us to leave and when we peak around the corner, they are usually playing dinosaurs or scratching backs, etc. After we put ME down on Tuesday night, she cried for a long time (thankyou DST). She kept yelling, "Mama, Mama!" Finally, Bryon and I decided to get her out of bed for a while as it was apparent she wasn't settling down. I picked her up, touched that she was calling my name, but then she went boneless and dove to the ground. She started running into the boys' room yelling, "MaaMaa! MaaMaa!" which is what she calls Matthew and I guess what she was yelling the whole time! I am glad that she loves them so much!

I am so glad that this week is over! We had activities every night of the week and it is starting to drain me. I am looking forward to a wonderful 3 day weekend to reenergize.

Happy Easter everyone, and I will keep ya'll posted on Lauren and James.

Spring Lakes Broccoli Salad

It occurred to me that it has been a while since I posted a recipe.

Here it goes:

This recipe came to me via my dad who attended a conference at Spring Lakes. They had a recipe for a broccoli salad that everyone went gaga over. I think it is incredible and I fix it a lot in the summer usually with a simple grilled meat. The dressing takes a few minutes but it is worth it! Also, my kids love it and it is a good way for them to get fruits and vegetables!

Dressing:
1 lg egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 t. cornstarch
1/4 c tarragon wine vinegar
1/4 c water
1/2 c mayo (always use Hellmans)
3 T butter, softened

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Gradually add next 2. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick. Stir in last two and chill.

In a salad bowl combine:
4 C broccoli florettes (raw)
2 C mushrooms
1 sm red onion
1 can mandarin oranges
6 clices of cooked bacon crumbled
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C slivered almonds, toasted

Pour dressing over salad immediately before serving.

Use your imagination with the salad. Add or take away desired ingredients if you choose! I think I will make it this week!

Tuesday

ME had her big urology doctor's visit today. Everything went well. The plan is to keep her on antibiotics this year, and if she isn't back to normal by this time next year, she will have surgery. He said that while it is unusual for little girls to grow out of grade 3 reflux, she was so young when we caught it that it is possible.

On the way home, I got a call from the school nurse that Matthew lost the filler on his tooth again. At least we made it past 8 days this time! Back to the dentist...

On the way to piano lessons yesterday, Matthew informed me that he would probably be the worst in class today. I was curious what he meant by that and that my super competetive child would admit to it.

"I have been spending too much time working out to practice this week." says Matthew matter of factly.

He has two parents who don't work out so I am not sure where this came from!

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and called into the next room, "Who wants to go outside?"

ME ran into the kitchen yelling with her hand raised, "Meeeeee!" I think this is the first time she answered one of my questions with words! Usually she nods or shakes her head.

I am spending this afternoon chilling with my super pregnant sister. I am making her walk and climb stairs much to her chagrin!

I think that is all for now. Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend in review

I have to say that this was a great weekend! It was blissfully uneventful. I cooked a big meal each night and we sat on the patio all three times! I love the time between bitterly cold and hellaciously hot where it is comfortable to eat outdoors. We take advantage of it as much as possible.

Bryon took the kids out several times during the weekend which gave me the opportunity to clean, cook, and read. I finished Secret Life of Bees and I really enjoyed it. The next book I am reading is a woman's diary from the end of the 1800s. It is about her life in the Arizona/New Mexico territory and by all accounts will make me thank the Lord that I was born in the time that I was born in! We are reading the follow up for book club in May so I need to read this one first.

Yesterday, I took the boys to a birthday party. I think this is a new trend. I have been to 4 parties in the past few months on Sunday afternoon! It was at a martial arts place and the boys enjoyed breaking boards, etc. Then Bryon and I worked in the front yard for the remainder of the day.

Has anyone else's nighttime schedule relaxed this week? I am such stickler for 8 p.m. bedtime, but it is nearly impossible during DST. It seems like we don't get around to eating until 7, we start getting ready for bed at 8, and Matthew is still reading in bed at 9 or later! It is even hard convincing ME that it is time for bed when the sun is still out!

I mentioned that we have been eating late. This is something that was NEVER DONE when I was growing up. Dad came home at 5:15 and we ate at 5:30. We still eat early when we eat with my parents. I remember growing up and hearing my cousin say that they ate dinner at 7. I remember my eyes got really big and I couldn't believe ANYONE ate that late! Now we are guilty as charged. No one seems to be hungry before that especially when the kids have a snack after school. Oh well, I hope I am not corrupting them too badly!

I feel refreshed and ready for a great week! We have activities every night this week, Matthew has a three day school week, and hopefully my nephew will make his appearance!

Livin' for the weekend

I have decided that I don't enjoy coming home from a trip midweek! It has thrown off the entire week and I feel like I am playing catch up. I am looking forward to the weekend to try my hardest to get caught up and ready for next week!

This will be our last weekend before school gets out that we don't have two baseball games on a Saturday so we are going to try and get lots done. I am going to try and convince Bryon to build me another bed for the backyard to house the rest of my veggies. (He doesn't know this yet!)

Last night I went to a ladies night at church followed by coffee with some of my favorite people. I have sort of abused the whole "Mommy going out at night" thing these past few weeks. I have gone out three times since last Sunday night not including our trip! Matthew gets pretty upset with me when I go out and last night was no exception.

"Don't go, Mommy! I am desperate for you!" Talk about making me feel guilty!

He has a running joke with one of my friends who I go out with on a regular basis. I wrote about this last year, but one day, after I told Matthew I was going out with this certain friend, he got a hold of my cell phone, found her number, and left a message on her machine unbeknownst to me that I didn't want to be friends with her anymore therefore I wasn't going out with her! This morning, I woke up and Matthew had made a contract out for me:

Mommy is never going out with M.K. ever again.
Sined ______________________________________

He made me sign it and said I could go out with her in 2008 so he has two years with Mommy. Gotta love a man who knows what he wants. What a mess!

Changes

Several things changed in the three days I was gone.

My crepe myrtle and oak tree now have leaves. My spirea which was full of white blooms when I left is fading. And, my daughter went from being a baby to a little girl.

Kids, as we all know, change so gradually. You just look up one day and realize how much they have changed!

All of the sudden ME is talking up a storm. She will walk down the driveway at night yelling, "Daddy HOME!" She starts stripping in the bathroom and saying, "Ona Bat!"

She has more personality than she knows what to do with. I think it is her personal mission to make people, even strangers, around her smile. Whether that is by hugging or kissing them (which she freely gives) or by sticking out her lips, closing her eyes, and dancing up a storm, she never fails to elicit a smile or a laugh! Most of the time, the people she is most drawn to are men. She loves men and they love her back. She is already learning at a young age how to get what she wants!

She would live outside if we let her! She stands by the door yelling, "OuuuHiiiii!" She loves driving the boys car and playing ball, but most of all, she loves to swing. Not the baby swing, but the big girl swing. She hangs on for dear life with a thousand watt smile and lets the boys or me swing her as long as we can.

She loves shoes. One of the only ways I can get her to stop her from climbing on everything is to put shoes all around her. She is entertained for quite a while trying on my shoes and will hand them to me when she is done. "Shoe!" "Boot!"

I mentioned that she likes to climb. She just likes to move! I would never describe her as hyperactive, just always busy. From the moment she gets out of bed (which is still a while after she wakes up b/c she sings to herself for at least an hour) she is on the go!

I call her Scarlett O'Hara. She is a bit of a drama queen. Funny, that was my nickname too.....

Life is never better than when she has a cookie in her hand. Poor thing has inherited my love for the chocolate chip cookie. The boys will take them or leave them (especially my health conscious Matthew) but ME will stand in the kitchen and squeal, "Cookie!" until I give in or have to take her out of the kitchen to get her mind off the craving!

She is rarely upset. Almost always is smiling. The one thing she has started doing since I got home that is funny is when she is upset with me, she comes over, looks me in the eyes, and growls like a bear! This is her way of telling me that something is upsetting her! The boys have taught her all kinds of boys noises and she loves talking deep in her throat like the boys do from time to time.

There isn't a prissy bone in her body. She is a rough and tumble little girl who loves to wrestle and play with her brothers. They adore her (Thomas calls her "My baby") and she adore them back. Yesterday I watched while Thomas hugged her and she kept rubbing his hair. So sweet!

I can't imagine how much bigger she will look to me when James is born! She will no longer be the baby of the family.

I could go on, but this is probably boring to everyone. Just wanted to write down a few things about my little girl who is no longer a baby.

Las Vegas

I got home yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running! Life is back to normal with kid pick ups and T-ball practices. I collapsed on the couch last night after a very long day!

Like I said yesterday, this was definitely my favorite trip to Vegas. It seems to be becoming a hipper place and many swanky restaurants and shops are now there. I didn't notice quite as much seediness as in trips past. That isn't saying much--the town seems obsessed with the female anatomy, but I didn't feel like I was walking the streets of Sodom and Gomorrah like I have in years past!

Bryon picked me up at the airport on Saturday. He actually went on Thursday because his favorite group, Train, was playing in concert. When we got back to our room, Bryon had scheduled a manicure for me. This was much needed after my hours of gardening earlier in the week!

After this, we went to dinner at Bouchon. I have the cookbook for this restaurant and was eager to try the food. It was great and I even tried marinated olives! For someone who loves cooking and eating as much as I do, I am an extremely picky eater. One of my resolutions this year was that I was going to try and enjoy different foods. I had never tasted an olive in my life. These were great! Oddly enough, they tasted like olive oil which I could drink by the glass. Ha!

Off to see Barry. Wrote about that yesterday. Fabulous. In the gift shop, they had a black shirt with simple white letters asking the question, "Ever wonder why your parents named you Mandy?" How many people our age could wear that shirt!!

The line to catch a cab back to the hotel wrapped around the corner so we decided to walk back to our hotel. In "French Women Don't Get Fat style", I thought, "Why wait in line for an hour to catch a cab when we can walk back to our hotel in an hour while wearing 3 inch heels?" OK, so I didn't think that last part through, but I am still glad we did. Bryon and I had fun making fun of all the freaky people walking the Las Vegas strip on Saturday night. I am sure they were all making fun of Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver as well! ;)

Sunday was shopping day. I was completely content to sit in our hotel room gazing at the snowcapped Sierra Nevadas while drinking coffee. Bryon was itching to take me shopping. I am pretty sure we have switched bodies!

Every year, B has lots of luck at the sports book and I helped him pick lots of winners this trip. He was going to place a bet on UCLA. I told him to put it on Florida. Ca Ching!! Usually he brings his winnings home and buys me a gift for watching the kids by myself all week. This trip, he wanted to get me new clothes and eat at great restaraunts while we were out there. We had lots of fun shopping and just walking around being a couple. We even saw Pete Rose signing autographs. Great memories!

Saturday night, we ate at Drai's. Kristen recommended it. Bryon had eaten there twice with friends but I had never gone. It was one of my all time favorite meals. I just kept laughing at each bite because it was so good! Thanks, Kristen!

After dinner, I was exhausted from lots of walking and a great meal. I decided to read in bed and Bryon wanted to go downstairs to see the opening of the new poker room at the Venetian. If only I hadn't been so tired! Apparently, stars were everywhere. Alex from Grey's Anatomy, Drew Barrymore, and Heather Locklear. Of course, I asked Bryon why he didn't wake me up!!!! He said I looked so tired that he didn't want to bother me. ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

Monday, Bryon started his conference. I kissed him goodbye and hurriedly walked back to my room. I had just started the book, The Lovely Bones, and I was anxious to start reading. Other than going out for lunch with B, I spent most of the day reading the book. I highly recommend it. It has a devastating premise, but it is a page turner. I read almost the entire book on Monday and finished it on the plane.

Dinner that night was at Michael Mina, another Kristen recommendation. Since I picked Florida to win, we decided to go all out and order the tasters menu which was a 5 course meal of the things they are known for. Another menu full of things I had never tried before. Bring it on! Over the course of the meal, I tried tuna tartare (raw tuna), sushi, cavier, truffles, and foie gras. I enjoyed all but the foie gras-all the rage in fine restaurants. Seriously, how can someone enjoy devouring fatty duck and geese liver? By the end of the meal, I started feeling like a contestant on Fear Factor when they are trying so hard to keep stange food in their stomach. My only thought was that I can't throw up the most expensive meal I have ever eaten! Fortunately, I did not, but was so full that I couldn't enjoy the dessert that Bryon assured me was fabulous.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and watched the water show at the Bellagio. This was featured in the movie Ocean's 11. It was beautiful. We stayed to watch two of them.

And then it was time to get ready to come home. Three days seems like a great amount of time away. I was ready to see the kids, but not desperate to see them like I was when we were gone for a week. Bryon and I had a wonderful time reconnecting without the every day busyness putting demands on our time. All in all, a successful trip!

Today will be a day to play with the kids and unpack. Looking forward to the slowpaced day.

If Lee Corso can be a Fanilow, you can too!

Well, I got in a few minutes ago and need to go get the kids before too long, so I will write more later. We had a great time. Definitely my favorite Vegas trip! Here is one funny story before I go....

Since I have been telling people that I was going to see Barry Manilow on our trip, I got two reactions:

Men-"My wife loves Barry. I tolerate him because of her."
Our cab driver on route to the concert.."My ex wife made me go to his concert and miss the Superbowl. That is one reason she is my ex wife."

Men, very sarcastically singing, "Ohhhhhh, Mandy!"

Women-"I just love Barry Manilow! I tried to drag my husband out and he wouldn't go so I had to take a friend instead."

"I love Barry! I know every word of every one of his songs!"

Women singing passionately, "Ohhhhhh, Mandy!"

After we sat down in our seats, Rick Patino walked by. I am not a huge basketball fan, but apparently he is a great coach and Bryon was fairly impressed.

Me: "See! Rick Patino is a macho guy and he is watching Barry!"
Bryon: "His wife probably drug him."

A few minutes before the show, in walks Lee Corso with his wife and sits directly in front of me separated by a row!

The show was fabulous and worth every penny. By the time Barry started belting out Copacabana, L.C. was singing it at the top of his lungs and waving his glow stick in the air with as much passion as I was, which, according to Bryon, was almost embarrassingly quite a bit!

So, all you macho men out there, if the face of College Game Day can be a Fanilow, you can too!