Walks

I took Storm to the vet a couple weeks ago for his rabies shot and wellness exam. The old man gained 8 pounds this winter! The vet said she hasn't seen many dogs coming in that haven't gained weight over the brutal winter, but his makes him close to 90 pounds. That's well over the heaviest he's ever been. Since the weather is turning nice out, he and I have been going on long walks almost every day. He loves them. But afterwards, this is what he does the rest of the day. Lazy guy.

We had a great weekend. Brian went pheasant hunting with my dad who was in town a few days, my brother-in-law, and his friend Eric. The boys both had futsal games. C had baseball practice. And we even fit in some relaxation, which is always nice. Soaking it all in.

Old Man Willickers

"They say Old Man Willickers was a nice guy." Old Man Willickers is a tall-tale C wrote in school. Basically, Old Man Willickers was a very helpful man-- doing things for friends, like carrying their 15 grocery bags on his beard and catching mice. Old Man Willickers lived in Texas, which was actually a giant cactus. He would lay his beard across the street so his friends could walk across the street on his beard instead of on the cactus.

#tbt

Batman & Robin at the West Suburban Montessori School Halloween party, circa 2007. This was the one year they were in the same classroom together at school. It was pretty great. And so is this photo. I love it. (H was 5 and C 3 years old).

Inspiration Files :: Mission District

Cool house in San Francisco, with a great live / work space. Home to Andrew Dunbar of Interstice Architects and his family.

photos courtesy of Interstice Architects || via Desire to Inspire

Cake Walk

What an exciting day! C's school hosted a book fair, which we went to after school. As we were leaving taekwondo, the boys remembered a cake walk was going on at the school, so back we went. Of course, we had to stop at home first so H could change his clothes. C, however, just went ahead and wore his taekwondo gear. Goof. But, he did end up winning a cake (angel food with chocolate whipped cream)! I swear, I've never seen a kid so excited. It was pretty awesome.

Anchovies

Sardines. Smoked trout. Even anchovies. C loves absolutely loves it. He only stopped eating them when he ran out of crackers.

He wrote a note to his teachers this week arguing that they shouldn't give him homework. It was some sort of assignment since it was graded and he got a "berry smart" sticker on it, but pretty funny. He said the weather was getting nicer and math homework is the same as the work done in class. He said he is just too busy with sports, and now that soccer practice is outside, getting fresh air is more important.

After Dark

Self-Portrait of me and my friends through Untitled by Donald Judd

Valentine by Michelle Erickson

Crazy Quilt by Margaret A. Beattie

Work Clothes Quilt by Rachel Carey George

Last night, three of my friends -- who I met through taekwondo and soccer -- and I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum for Museum After Dark. It only took a year of trying to get something on the calendar before it actually happened. The current featured exhibit is called Uncommon Folk, which was rather whimsical. I liked it. My favorite pieces were the wood carved birds and quilts. It was a super fun night.

#tbt

Back when the boys were younger, we would visit my parents each year in Florida over New Year's Eve. After a few visits when the weather was downright cold during that time, we decided that right after the holidays was probably not the best time to go for us. Instead, we've visited in March or April, which pretty much guarantees nice weather. This year we aren't even making it down there! Bummer. On one of our visits, we visited an institution -- the Everglades Wonder Gardens, where H even got to pet a baby alligator. We actually visited this place again last year, and right after our visit, it closed down. It seems to have reopened, but doesn't look quite the same. (January 2005 -- H was 2.5 years old, and C was 4 months old).

Happy Birthday Brian

Today is Brian's 43rd birthday! He and his dad shared a birthday, and this year would have been his 75th. We had a low-key celebration ... just the four of us. Until last week, I thought we weren't even going to get to celebrate until later in the evening due to other obligations. Fortunately, the boys schedules shifted around and we didn't have anything going on tonight! H came home and decorated our room. Brian met up with a friend for a drink after leaving work a little early. And once he got home, we got to relax and enjoy some corned beef and cabbage. Happy birthday, Brian!

Dinner with Frank

Yesterday, we dropped the boys off at my sister's, and Brian and I headed to the Wisconsin Dells. We hit downtown, and had lunch at Macs before checking into our room at the Sunset Bay Resort. I've got to be honest -- the Wisconsin Dells is probably the last place we'd pick to get away without our children. But we had important plans that evening. Our friends Maria & Robbie had reserved the Seth Peterson Cottage and they invited us over for dinner! The Seth Peterson Cottage is a small vacation residence on Mirror Lake, built by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's such a special and unique opportunity to be able to rent it, and we were so excited to get the invitation to visit them for the evening. Maria made a delicious dinner, and even had a dessert with a birthday candle for Brian, who's birthday is Monday. It was an amazing night.

Our Future

Last night H was at a sleepover birthday party. C's friend asked him to come over to play for awhile -- which worked out perfect because, one - he was feeling a little sorry for himself, and two - we ended up going out for dinner with S and his family when we picked him up. We went to BelAir, which I had never been to before. (I know I've said this before, but I really need to get out more.) We scored a seat at the bar, and had some amazing tacos and margaritas, while the boys had mango Jarritos. It's always so fun watching those two together. A couple weeks ago, they ended up hanging out for 11 hours, and even then, wanted to have a sleepover (which did not happen). They crack me up.

March 15th ... ish

March 17, 2013 -- Celebrated Brian's birthday at the Brat Stop with some of our Illinois friends


March 16, 2012 -- We did some mountain biking at Ray's


March 14, 2011 -- I was admiring this converted barn


March 15, 2010 -- C bought a Blast Pad Missile Launcher with his own money


March 15, 2009 -- We went to the Brookfield Zoo


March 13, 2008 -- Sick boy

#tbt

Marquette University -- Freshman Year -- Spring 1989

The year between high school and college, I lived abroad. I had gotten accepted into Marquette University and deferred my acceptance for the following year. During that time, I remember getting a packet in the mail getting to choose my dorm. I selected three co-ed ones. Somehow, I still ended up in the all-girl dorm called Cobeen Hall, aka "The Virgin Vault." (Thanks Mom & Dad!) While it may not have been my first choice -- in fact, as an 18-year old, I'm pretty sure it was my last choice -- it ended up being really awesome and a great place to live freshman year. Good times!

Inspiration Files :: Beach House

I have been totally dreaming of warmer weather and summer days. Yes, me! The winter weather lover. This was not the year to choose not to escape somewhere warmer. That's for sure. Anyhow, I stumbled across this beach house in New Zealand, and couldn't help but think, this! would be the perfect place to be right now.

architects Crosson Clarke Carnachan || photography by Simon Devitt || via Desire to Inspire

Nature

What a nice weekend! H&C both had incredible futsal games on Saturday. C's team won 8-2 and he scored 5 of the goals. But H is the one who blew me away. His team lost 18-4 (yikes), and he had 3 of the goals. Unfortunately, I had to take C to a birthday party so missed that game, but Brian said he was pretty amazing. Today, C had another birthday party to go to, and Brian was invited too. They have been gone all day. H and I had to get out of the house, so ventured to the nature center. It was a slippery walk -- H decided to go down the hill on his belly -- but totally worth it. The lake was amazing -- I've never seen anything like it. Based on the photo Brian just sent me, it looks like C had a pretty amazing day too.