Prayers....

Like many premies, little Ryker (my little nephew) is experiencing some difficulty with lung development and breathing. He's in our prayers and thoughts and hope that the wonderful staff up at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY take special care of the little guy. All prayers and good thoughts will help.
xoxo
L

I'm an AUNT (again)!

Congrats to my brother, Mitch and his wife Karin! They brought "little wiggler" into the world today! He's a little premie, but at 5 lbs. 7 oz. he's strong and should grow quickly!

Welcome little Ryker Mitchell Christensen! (Can't wait to make baby food for him in about 6 months!)

xoxo
Lisa

Dream restaurant for kids and parents!

Dane and I frequent the Manducatis Rustica restaurant on Vernon Blvd. for their delicious hand made gelato and gourmet Italian groceries, but today, we decided to stay for lunch. What a treat!

While we sat in the rustic, yet sublimely comfortable first (more casual) cafe area (they have a more formal dining room on the side), we were happy to see some children's books stacked on a nearby back vintage singer sewing machine table, but as our waitress graced our table with homemade Italian bread and olive oil for dipping, she mentioned the toy chest with a treasure trove of trinkets for Dane to play with while we waited for the main dish! Oh boy! There is a small couch area nestled by the corner fireplace (not lit), and inside one of the benches Dane pulled out toy after toy with not a bat of an employee's eye. What a dream.

I sat reading one of the magazines while we waited for our Penne Puttanesca to arrive. And arrive it did! It was so fresh and tasty - every flavor was so vivid, yet all worked together with ease. The pasta was cooked to perfection and both Dane and I savored every bite! He ate about 1/2 the generous plate, which was amazing b/c it consisted of tomatoes, OLIVES, and big pieces of garlic. Not ordinarily kid-friendly food.
(I forgot to take a picture the second our food got to the table - I was so hungry, I dove right in and only remembered to shoot it when we were half-way through it)

For those who may not want pasta, they have a whole gourmet pizza menu (delicious, I would imagine), anti pasta menu, and main course menu. I can't wait to try it all.

It was such a pleasure eating there - see - here's a suggestion for all you restaurants that serve lunch in family intensive areas - a little bit of toys goes a long way in making everyone happy!

xoxo
lisa