A Day To Ourselves & Together

Yesterday was a much needed day Greg and I had to ourselves and then together later on. The kids went to YaYa's and we each took some time to do our own thing. First we watched the first half of the football game and then we both headed out at halftime. Greg went for a bike ride with Rich. (What else is he going to do besides ride of course!) I went off to do some shopping. It was an afternoon of pure bliss shopping by myself at Kohl's. I spent two and a half hours there and enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't have kids asking for a snack, or tearing toys off the shelves, or a husband asking me if I was ready to go. I took my time and actually got to look at things instead of grabbing what I needed and going. It was so nice to shop by myself for awhile. Just me and I could look at whatever I wanted and didn't have to be rushed. I can't remember the last time I did that! I had to get some birthday presents for a party we have coming up this next weekend, and I did a little Christmas shopping for the kids while I was at it. I figured since I had a 30% off coupon, I might as well. I got some really good deals. I love when I get a good deal and save money! I think other people had the same idea to do some Christmas shopping because the store was busy! Carts were few and far between and the shelves and racks were a mess! I love shopping at Kohl's. I think they have pretty nice stuff for the price.

Greg and I actually got home at the same time if you can believe it. I pulled in the driveway and by the time I got out of the car he and Rich were pulling in. I hadn't heard the MSU score so I wanted to watch the rest of the game before we did anything. We were planning to go out to dinner, but couldn't figure out where to go. It was one of those nights that nothing really sounded good. So while we were trying to decide, I fast forwarded through a lot of the game so I could see the score. I was a little anxious to find out how my Spartans did. I did get to see all the awesome big plays MSU had and got to the end to see another Spartan victory! It was a great game, and kudos to the Spartans for pulling off a much needed win to get bowl eligible!

After finally making our decision of where to eat we headed out for an evening of just the two of us. It was long overdue! I love my kids dearly, but we really needed some time just to ourselves. We decided to go to this restaurant called Bravo because I remembered we had a gift certificate left from last Christmas. We don't go there often because they're a little pricey. It was already 7 o'clock so we figured there would probably be a wait. There was so we just walked around the mall for a little bit. For those of you not familiar with our area, Bravo is an Italian restaurant at Eastwood Towne Center which is an outdoor mall here in Lansing. It's like a 3 minute drive from our house. They have great food. The Pasta Bravo and Romano Crusted Chicken Salad are my favorites! Yum! I had my mind set on the Pasta Bravo on my way there since I had a salad for lunch. However, after looking at the menu, I changed my mind. There was a new item on the menu that sounded absolutely delicious so I had to try it. The menu said it was a seasonal item so I knew if I didn't try it for dinner that I'd probably miss out by the next time we returned there. I had Chianti Braised Beef Ravioli. Here's the description on the menu and then you can decide how delicious it sounds- Sangiovese braised beef filled ravioli with roasted sweet potatoes, brown butter, and sage. Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it. Greg had the Pasta Bravo so we ended up sharing our meals, and I got to have some of each! It was a very pleasant dinner where we got to actually enjoy hot food since we didn't have to cut up the kid's food first or take Evan to the bathroom. Thanks for a nice evening honey. We really need to do this more often (however we need more gift certificates first, haha!)

We picked the kids up this afternoon and headed back to Kohl's for some more shopping. Em pretty much slept the whole way through Kohl's. Greg wanted to see if he could find a new fleece coat since his is really worn. He did find one, but after we got home, decided he didn't like it. It was only $15 so I think that's why he doesn't like it. I talked him out of the $30 Columbia one. I also talked him out of the $50 coat that wasn't fleece, but did look really good on him. It was a $100 coat, half off, and I had my coupon so it was really like $35, but I told him he was looking for a fleece. Haha! This afternoon we got some yard work done. We ran out of lawn bags so we had to stop. Hopefully we can finish up this next weekend. It's actually been so warm for November that some of our plants are being fooled and have buds on them. Crazy!

Thanks to Greg's mom for watching the kids for the night and for taking us to lunch Saturday and Sunday! They had fun and love their new toys they got yesterday. We appreciate it and were very glad to have some free time. Now it's back to the real world tomorrow, as Greg is back to work and his vacation is over. Evan's got another week of school, and I'm sure Emmaline will continue on with her terrible two's!

I'd like to wish my friend Missy's daughter Sarah a Happy 5th Birthday! I can't believe her little girl is five and my little guy will soon be there!