Girls' Night Out And Our New Furry Family Member

Two Friday evenings ago, Bri and I had dinner out at one of B's favorite places - Steak N Shake. Doug was coming home from a business trip late that evening, so it was just us girls.

It's funny how Friday date nights change once you have kids. :)

She was quite happy with her mac n cheese and Reese's Pieces shake...

Briana always like to look at the claw machine before we head out of the restaurant. I usually don't have extra change on me for her to play, but I decided to bring some quarters with me on this particular night.

 We tried twice. She wanted me to try first - I failed. On the second try, her first try, she won this red raccoon. She was so excited...

It was a rainy, icky night, so Bri and I decided to just head home after dinner. Thank goodness we did because Doug said he came across 5 different accident scenes as he drove home from the airport.

Over dinner, I asked Bri if she was interested in looking at cats the next day. I had been putting off getting a new cat because it took a very long time for me to get over Asia's passing. Then I started getting quite comfortable with not having a pet around and kept putting it off again.

My kid is an only child and I think she needs a pet to love on. Asia never truly bonded with Briana and I prayed I could find the right kitty that could do just that. I just needed to get over my anxiety about starting all over with a brand new cat. I know that sounds super silly, but that is how I operate. I do not embrace change. It takes me a while to get used to things. (I plan to write a post about that actually.)

Briana was very excited and definitely wanted to look for a new cat. I told her we may not walk away with a cat on that Saturday, but we could look. She was on board.

Well Saturday morning, we came home with this sweet girl...

 Meet "Mei Mei" (younger sister in Chinese). There is a story behind her name and I'll talk about that and our past week with Mei Mei in my next post. 

I was hesitant at first about her (in more ways than one), but she has won over my heart in one short week. Wonders never cease.

Our journey to/with Mei Mei in my next post...

Other January Happenings

We've had a lot of celebrations already in January, so what are some of the every day things we've been up to?

Other than being super cute - heh...

A truck overturned right next to the entrance of my neighborhood the day after Doug's birthday. Luckily, no one was hurt. And thank goodness the truck didn't block the entrance to my section of the neighborhood. There is only one way in and out of my section - we would have been stuck in there and I wouldn't have been able to get Bri from school. The road was closed from 1PM to midnight and luckily I could turn right out of the neighborhood to get to Bri's school and get back home. It was super inconvenient for everyone trying to get home from work though - traffic was a nightmare from what I've heard. I found out the next day that the truck had dumped liquid fertilizer all over the road - which is why cleanup took so long...

Last week, I had breakfast/coffee at Panera with my friends Kathy and Lisa S. We hadn't gotten together in forever. It was so great catching up and I had a delicious Mediterranean egg white sandwich - I highly recommend...

Briana also had a play date after school with her friend T (T's mom picked the girls up from school) and they played lots of Minecraft. Briana got Minecraft on her iPad a couple of months ago and she is now one of the obsessed big fans on the Minecraft bandwagon...

Bri had a fun play date with her friend ML over the weekend...

Briana was protesting that Doug not take a picture of her in this one...

 Briana had Monday off of school for MLK Day day. She decided to make some necklaces...

And last Tuesday was another soccer camp evening...

She was unfortunately more interested in socializing that day and wasn't paying attention like she should. She needs to do much better next week.

Thursday afternoon, we met Bri's classroom BFF Izzy and her brothers at our neighborhood playground. I love how the girls twist the swings and spin around. I loved doing that as a kid...

I am caught up now! I am officially caught up! I can't believe it! I'll try to keep up a bit better now that life is calming down.

My Parents' Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, Jan 17, my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. I was really happy it landed on a Saturday this year so we (Doug, B and I and my sis and BIL) could do something special on their actual anniversary.

We took them to a special restaurant (their choice) near their house. Briana gussied up for the occasion...

There is no doubt that my baby girl is gone. Just a sweet young lady is left (sigh)...

My parents - married 45 years...

Bri getting in on the action...

The food was delicious and we had a lot of laughs. (I am quite animated in this photo - LOL!)...

Smiling for my mom...

We went to my parents' house afterward to open gifts...

My sister picked up these amazing cupcakes for dessert...

Making a wish and blowing out the candles...

My sister's gift...

My gift...

Showing my parents the blanket I had made for them with their wedding photos...

The last big surprise - letting them know that my sister and I are taking them to see Barry Manilow in June...

They were so moved by everything.

Then it was cupcake time...

It was such a special evening and I'm so glad we were able to do this for my parents.

I wish them many, many more years of happiness!

Doug's Birthday Celebrations

Birthdays never last for just one day in our household. We drag them out for days. ;)

Doug's birthday landed on a Tuesday this year. Not only did it land on a Tuesday, it landed during a crazy busy work week for Doug. So, we decided to have his birthday celebrations the weekend before - without the stress of trying to do something on his real birthday.

Saturday evening, Doug went out with his friend to dinner and a movie and that allowed me and Miss B to get our birthday cupcakes baked for him...

We decorated a little bit for him...

Sunday morning, we gave him our gifts and let him blow out some candles...

Bri made him a card...

My parents sent him a gift - beautiful cufflinks...

Bri and I got him some wireless earphones that he wanted...

That evening, we invited Khalid, Ansu and Kira to join us for a birthday dinner for Doug - we decided on Japanese food! We were all supposed to get together before Christmas, but unfortunately Miss K got sick - so this was a perfect makeup get together...

Bri and Kira waiting for the food to come out...

Bri inhaling eating her fried dumplings...

When we got back to the house, the girls inhaled ate cupcakes...

Monday - Doug had to fly to Ft. Lauderdale for the day on business. So, I guess he got a trip to FL for his birthday. Heh.

Doug and I did have a nice lunch together at a place called "Henry's" on his real birthday.

The night of Doug's birthday, Bri had her soccer camp. Doug had a meeting downtown that afternoon, so he had to meet us at the facility at 5. The traffic was horrible - it had been raining all day. B and I got there about 10 minutes late and Doug got there about 45 minutes late.

The good news was her friends/teammates Z and S were at camp too that day. Bri was so happy to have her friends there...

There are a lot of girls participating in the camp...

Doug, Bri and I were hungry after Bri got done, so I asked Doug what he wanted to grab for dinner. He wanted Mexican.

Doug and his sweet girl...

Doug's gift to himself after a long day...

Bri really wanted the staff to sing to Doug, so she let our waitress know it was his birthday. Our waitress was awesome that day and she asked Bri what color sombrero to give Doug. Bri giggled and picked pink - snort...

 Bri was super adorable that evening I guess, so she was given a sombrero to wear too... 

We ended up having a fun birthday dinner for Doug on his real birthday after all!