Lunching with the girls at Grapevine

On Friday I had the rare opportunity to have lunch with my dear friends Brenda and Rachael at Grapevine restaurant in La Verne - and to meet Rachael's adorable 3-month-old baby boy, Kieran. We had a lovely time chowing down on delicious Middle Eastern cuisine, kissing Kieran's irresistably chubby cheeks, trying to prevent Emmy from drowning herself in the ornamental pool near our table on the patio, and generally catching up on what's been happening in each other's lives.

I really enjoyed spending some quality time with these amazing friends - and it was a lovely respite from the seemingly neverending flood of activity that goes along with being a (somewhat) responsible parent, spouse, employee, homemaker and member of society.

It was especially wonderful to see how happy Rachael is as a new mommy, and what a terrific job she's doing with Kieran. Holding her darling little butterball made my ovaries hurt (to borrow a phrase from my cousin Janel )!