Tired Princess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went over to the Smith's for a cookout on Saturday evening. It was great to catch up with everyone. The kids had a blast together. The Hannes's, Smith's and ourselves all have girls about the same age. Throw in Leo and Winn and you have your starting Bucks line-up. The Smith home is now called the home of costumes! Leo, Maddy and Clare were trying on costumes for half the night! It was so funny to see them running around in Spider Man, bees, lady bugs, and of course princesses! The kids played so nice together. We played outside for a while, Dave brought a kite, which the kids absolutely loved. I hate to say, but I am jealous (not in a really bad way) of the gorgeous yard that we could run around in, and all the great space to play inside! Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I live, but I would REALLY love more yard and more room!! Mark reminds me that there is lots of land out by their home, and I remind him that I can't live that far away, not to mention that our money tree needs A LOT more water!!
It was so nice to see everyone (and not just for poker) for a night of delicious food (Mark makes the best chicken), good wine, and of course good friends! We always say we need to get together more, but I am hoping that we can keep it up.

Bowling Night~

This past monday, our Monday ladies bowling team went out to dinner. We have always gone out to dinner, usually in the summer, courtesy of our money that we win during the season. Somehow (and I mean somehow), we won the first half, and then lost the second half so we ended up with a decent amount of money for each of us. We decided on Mr. B's, which is one of the Bartolotta restaurants, in Brookfield. We had some drinks and some delicious steaks, again courtesy of West Allis's own, AMF bowling center. Despite the 40 degree temperature inside, it was very nice to catch up with everyone. Looking forward to the new season. I guess I'd better get that new ball picked out...do you think that will help my measly 137 average???

Get up, get outta here, gone

A day at Miller Park with Maddy

1. Get to the parking lot
2. Potty
3. Get grill going and dogs ready to eat
4. Potty
5. Open beer
6. Potty (oh that was me)
7. Finally get up to our seats. 4th last row, terrace level...you guessed it.
8. Potty

And it continues on. That is the breaks when we started the potty training. Potty every hour, but what can you do? 2 weeks in and going pretty darn good.

We had a work outing at the brewer game on Sunday afternoon. It was a perfect day, blue skies, open roof (for a little while at least), dogs on the grill, a few beers, and a Brewer victory! What could be better on a Sunday afternoon? We took Maddy to the game, she was sooo excited to go to the Brewers stadium. I wasn't sure how she would do, considering we were skipping the nap, and got there at 10:30am. She did great! With the exception of a few tears (very tired little peanut), and numerous trips to the bathroom, it was a great game. We saw lots of Home runs, followed by Bernie Brewer and the slide and fireworks. That was Maddy's favorite part of the day...and eating licorice. Have to tempt them with something, right? We took a small trip to the play area, and Maddy somehow roped up into buying her a Hart t-shirt. But otherwise, we made the entire game without a hitch. After the 4th inning or so, "they" decided to close the roof. Jeff and I were completely annoyed, until we saw the downpour outside. We had a mad dash back to the car, and I mean we were really booking it. It was pouring all the way back to the car, but we made it back and no sooner than we got out of the lot, Maddy was snoring in the back seat. All in all, it was a great day. We can't wait to take Maddy back, don't they have any 9:00am games, or 4:00pm games, that would really work great for nap time!!!! ha ha

Happy Fathers Day

I am a few days late with this post, we had such a busy weekend. First, I want to wish a happy father's day to my 3 favorite fathers, Jeff, my dad, and Jeff's dad. What would we do without you? Jeff is such a great father to Maddy and Winn. Maddy was so excited for fathers day, she told Jeff the second he walked in the door what we got him. Unfortunately, we went shopping on friday, so she was a few days too early!
Friday Jeff was off of work, so we took advantage of the day. We ran some errands and played outside, and then met up with the Sigourney's at the festival. Maddy had such a fun time with her cousins. She pretty much went on every ride that she was "allowed" to go on. Jeff and I went on a few with her, while Liesl and Joe the rest. Most of the rides were 36 inches or accompanied by an adult. I am not exactly sure how tall she actually is, maybe pretty close. But then again, we were at south side st romans festival and the carnies could really care less if she is 36 inches tall. She wanted to ride this little Dragon roller coaster, which was labeled 48 inches, or accompanied by an adult. Now I know she can't be 48 inches so I thought she might have a hard time getting on that one. Joe and Maddy decided to go on together, so I guess Joe passed himself off as an adult. Just shy by 9 or so years...
Saturday, again the festival (the kids couldn't get enough) and then off to CCPL poker for the night. Maddy and Winn spent the night by Grampy and Grammie.
Jeff and I didn't fare well in poker. We both were knocked out before the money. Jason won again, 3rd time this season. Jeff, my dad, and I all will qualify for the play-in event for the tournament of champions. So, there is still hope. I did, however, make $42 for the bad beat jackpot. Losing my A's with King kicker to nothing other than a straight flush, are you kidding me? Ah, such is life, at least I made some sort of money that night.
Sunday, we spent some time with my mom and dad and the kids. They were great overnight, usually are, but sometimes you never know. Then we headed home for naps, which did not happen, boooooo. Then off to SRF for the final day. More rides, some music and a few beers later we were ready to call it a weekend. Back to home to rest and start the week all over again. I am exhausted.

St Romans Weekend

Ah, St Roman's Festival Weekend...the kick-off of summer, a favorite meeting place, and of course the place where Jeff and I first met. Yeah, yeah, Shmoopie Shmoopie...But, truly, this weekend is always a pretty fun time. Most everyone knows the story when Jeff and I first met. We actually met at the SRF beer paddle booth. Myself, Terri, Ben, and Joanne (maybe Tracy) were working at the beer paddle booth. What, you ask is the beer paddle booth?? No, its not where you purchase a nice cold refreshing beverage, it is where you buy paddles and cases of beer are raffled off for $1 per paddle. When Jeff and I met, him and his buddies were playing the beer paddle game for approx 4+ hours. My dear sweet Jeff, must have donated a large sum of money to the "kids" at St. R's that night, AND accumulated lots of beer. Joanne and I helped Jeff and best-friend-Joe carry about 20 cases of beer back to Joe's parents house that night after the festival had ended. Jo and I left the house, and I began to ponder about that cute guy in the Packer hat. Lo and behold, Mrs Serbiak (also working in the booth) knew Jeff well, and I proceeded to get his phone number from her. Unbeknownst to me, Jeff was also getting MY number from Mrs Serbiak. I gave him a call a few days later and the rest is history. HOWEVER, little know fact, I actually met Jeff and "the guys" 2 years prior to that night. Jeff and best-friend-Joe invited me to his parents annual 4th of July party. I went with Terri and her family, and nobody remembers me being there. I must have made a wonderful impression that nobody (with the exception of Terri) remembers me! I find it funny, and very ironic, that we met again, same time, same place, but just 2 years later.
For the first few years (pre kids) we would work at the booth every year. It is always a great time, lots of fun, free beer, good music, and the use of indoor bathrooms!! We will not be working this year, but attending as always. Leave it to Mrs G to come through with some free pitchers :) We'll make a little run through tonight with the kids. Liesl and Joe are coming into town for the weekend and Maddy can't wait to ride some of the rides at the festival! Sat night is poker CCPL final event, a must win situation. We'll see, updates to follow!

I wonder what Bart Adrian is really like?

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG - Some time ago, I promised Jenny I would make "occasional" appearances as a guest host. In baseball circles, playing back-up players instead of starters is known as "the Sunday lineup." Ned Yost is known for this, as he often gives Joe Dillon, Craig Council, Mike Rivera, and Gabe Kapler a chance to play. I'm not sure I agree with Ned's need to play them ALL at once...but I guess that's why he is a big-league manager (with a losing record). Seems fitting I am blogging on this Sunday night.

This weekend, things started normally, as we did some shopping - a new bike (and helmet) for Maddy. Then, all heck broke loose when weathermen took over my Saturday afternoon TV. I guess, when you lead the glamorous life they lead, a weekend of weather like this is your Superbowl and the opponent is Mother Nature. "Big Momma N" really "brought it" this time - completely dominating the area with flash-floods, tornadoes, hail, and whatever else she could think of. In times like this, I normally turn to the cool, calm, collected, and soothing reassurances of one Bart Adrian, Fox News 6. If you, like I, need to "get to know Bart" just a little more...here is the link. I for one was surprised to learn Bart and Vince Condella go way back. Man, I wish I could have partied with those guys when I was in college. For a closer look, Bart Adrian.

The weather brought a somewhat expected and all-too familiar result...flooding of the Ehrhardt (Tom and Pat - not Jeff and Jen) basement! For those that have never ventured down below at 2234 Leroy, let me paint a little pre-flood picture for you. What was once my bedroom is now a Goodwill. Need to replace that missing 7 iron? The basement has an assortment to choose from. Dot matrix printer (and/or paper)? Got you covered. Cash register from the old drug store? Still works (we think)! Need info fast? Forget the internet. Reference the complete 1974 Brittanica encyclopedia. Hankerin' for a cold beverage? Enjoy some Mountain Dew (see photo) labeled 1995!



Add 5 inches of water to this equation...and THAT makes for a perfect Sunday. All we needed to do was cancel the tee-time, drop the kids off with Grampy and Grammy K, put on the waders and hazard gear, and head to my folks house to begin project clean-up (aka "throw stuff out). 25 bags of fun later...well...you get the picture...and it case you don't...take a look.



All in all, we made a good dent in cleaning-up the mess. We might need to spend a little more time getting the house back in shape, but things are under control, for now. If only Bart would stop talking about the additional heavy rain we are expecting the rest of the week. That's enough for now - see you next time Ned puts in the "Sunday line-up."


Jeff cools off with a Bartles & James (left over from the last Packer Superbowl party)? Plus a few other "found" treasures.


Jen contemplates starting that personal trainer business with newfound equipment.

Flowers

Ok (as promised to my friend Jenny) here are some of the flowers around the home this time of year! My peonies are in full bloom. My wish is that I could freeze them just as they are about to open fully. That is when I love peonies. They are so short lived, however, but still my favorites...



I cannot wait until our next home when I can start a vegetable garden. Where we live now, there is barely enough room to put a table and chairs, let alone a garden. When I grew up we had a huge vegetable garden...beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, kohlrabi, broccoli, cucumbers, and probably more but I cannot remember. We used to sneak in and pick off all the tomatoes and pea pods and eat all the raspberries. How could my parents really be upset if we were sneaking around eating vegetables??????
Next blog, we can look forward to a guest blog appearance by Jeff. He will be reviewing this past weekends storms.

Another beautiful day

Once again, we hit another gorgeous June day. I am ignoring the remainder of the weather for the rest of the week. I will not allow for rain and thunderstorms all week...as if I could actually make that happen. I will settle for the nice weekends. We got a lot of outdoor work done on Sunday. We started the day off with John's for breakfast, which in my opinion is the best around. It amazes me that Maddy knows where we are for breakfast, and what she can have. For example, John's is blueberry pancakes, Hienemann's is clowncakes, etc. She now has a taste for eggs, and anything else she can get her hands on. Winn is eating as good as his sister. It took a while to get him used to the whole food thing, but he sure has figured it out. We started to give him CHeerios and he just loves it! He must feel like he is a big boy sitting at the table eating his O's!! Winn has figured out the crawling...watch out big sister! He is everywhere now, I have to be very careful of Maddy's little toys now that he can get to anything he wants.
We spent the afternoon outside fixing up the yard, adding more mulch, weeding, and all that other fun stuff. It looks one hundred times better already and we still have a few more things to touch up. Next step is fixing up the garage. It has some small holes in the bottom, and looks horrible. We may be having my Dad come and do the siding for the garage. We've been here for 5 yrs now and are in sore need of the garage repairs.
Anyways, the weekend was great! See you all soon...