show time

When I was a kid, we were poor. Entertainment options typically had two required criteria: A) Is it free? and B) Can four kids who's ages span 10 years all enjoy it?

There wasn't much that fit those criteria other than "Playing in the backyard."

Going to the movies or to a stage show was something very special -- typically reserved for birthday gifts from Grandma. (I remember crying once, hysterically, when we weren't in our seats for the opening strains of the theme song when going to see Sesame Street Live. Traumatic, yo.)

Which is why, when I take my kids to see a show, there is always a moment when I look over at their little faces, staring wide-eyed at the stage in the dark, and feel unbelievably lucky to have them and the opportunity to work something like that into our (somewhat) regular routine. It never fails to give me that sappy "I'm a good Mom" feeling.

Which is why I'm excited to get to surprise them with tickets to see Dreamworks How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee next week.

No, I mean literally excited -- check out that dragon! There will be 23 of them, some with wingspans of up to 46 feet, Viking warriors and world-class acrobats, all performing against a state-of-the-art, wall-to-floor immersive projection measuring more than 20,000 square feet. Little boy (and geek Mama) heaven.

The show is playing at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee from October 25-28th, and I'm happy to be able to offer my readers 25% off any weeknight performance in any city (Friday nights included). Just enter the code MOM in the promo/special offer box. Perfect timing for those days off school next week!

I'll be sure to post some photos of our night out on the town after the show!

I was asked to write about the Dreamworks How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular in exchange for receiving tickets, but have you clicked over to see the video yet? SO COOL.

My favorite people

There is a unique Kite Festival in Milwaukee this weekend and I took my boys this afternoon. It was a free event and pretty cool!

The colorful kites obviously made for some great photos, but I also got some awesome shots of my boys!

I'm going to have to get a few of those framed!

We survived.

Those of you from more fair-weather states should know that the real trick to surviving a big snowstorm is to NOT GO OUT INTO IT. That way, the only thing that can kill you is the sheer number of times your children ask you for a snack in a five minute period with a significant amount of whine in their voice. That method of torture should be used at Gitmo.

I won't admit to the public how many hours my children have spent playing video games and watching movies over the past few days, but just know it was necessary. We did make snow day brownies (MUCH yummier than regular brownies) so, you know, I get my Martha Steward points for the week.

We had to take the required "look how deep the snow is!" pictures. Look how deep the snow is!

Yes, we taped their mittens to their sleeves to keep the snow out.

And being on the north side of the city we only got half as much snow as the folks on the south side!

All I can say is I'm excited to be going back to the office tomorrow. Seriously.

But look! Pretty sunsets! And after 5 p.m.!

The Snowpocalypse Cometh

I live in a place where we have multiple "Snowmageddons" every season. Its really nothing to get worked up about. But it sure does make for some pretty pictures, if you're looking for a bright side of things.

Playing tourist in my home town

a.k.a. Weekly Winners - September 19 - 25, 2010

I had a few opportunities to shoot more than a few photos of things I see regularly in Milwaukee over the past few days. First, on Friday, I met Melisa and Michelle for lunch at the cafe inside the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Overcast over Lake Michigan


Chihuly's blown glass sculpture


Crab cake topped with prosciutto


Inside the Calatrava

 
You are not forgotten.

Then Hubster's Mom gave us tickets for the local boat tour that we took on Saturday. I can't say for certain exactly where it all goes (there are three rivers - the Milwaukee, the Menomonee and the Kinnickinnick that all converge and then empty out into Lake Michigan and I'm sure we spent time on each) but despite the chilly temps (53 and windy) it made for some awesome pictures.

Silly Willy


Milwaukee Ale House


Hoffco Shoe Polish building


regatta crew dressed as school girls 
(They must have been FREEZING.)


friendly Milwaukee folks


cranes & freight boxes


tug boats


piles of coal dust


scrap yard


The red light house


regatta parking


Another red tug

You can view the rest of the photos in this set here.

Check out more Weekly Winners over on Lotus's blog, and more Sundays in my City on Unknown Mami. This post has also been linked up to Sunday Snapshots.

The post where I guess I talk about food a whole lot. And Milwaukee. And beer.

I sometimes get caught up in writing "the perfect post". I get hung up on including pictures (I feel like I must take one, or dig through my disc archive for the just the right one I know I took that one time six months ago) or in telling a story "just so".

And I sometimes make myself crazy.

I know I shouldn't. I know I should let go and just write, but that's easier said than done. I know that sometimes I leave out a story that would be interesting or funny or just...a story...because I let it sit half done for weeks on end because its just not totally right.

So in an attempt to let go, I'm going to tell you about my weekend.

Because finally finally my husband's schedule rotation has allowed him to have weekends off.

If your significant other is regularly home on the weekends, let me just tell you - this is like being kissed by an angel and eating cookies for breakfast all at the same time. The cookies you buy for just YOU and that you hide from your kids. With a coffee from Starbucks that's JUST the right temperature. That you didn't have to go and pick up.

True to form -- when the Hubster is home we try and cram as much stuff as possible into our lives -- and you know that we did exactly the same thing on our nights out together.

The first Friday night he had off we went to AJ Bombers downtown. If you're not from the Milwaukee area, AJ Bombers is known for its burgers. Recently, the Travel Channel's Food Wars was in town, pitting burgers from Bombers and another local place (Sobelman's) - the episode is due to air in season 2 (and don't ask me when that starts, dude - their site doesn't even say). I had the Bomber Burger (a cheeseburger topped with a baked portabello mushroom that is stuffed with cheddar and muenster cheese). I may have needed an AED afterward, but it was yummeh. And their fries alone? BEYOND AWESOME.

From there, we headed to Buck Bradley's on Old World Third Street. If I had to tell a visitor to go to a sterotypical old-school Milwaukee bar, I'd tell them to go to Buck Bradley's. The building is made of the brick that gives us the Cream City nickname, and its old enough to make you realize why its on a street called "Old World". I think they should require their bartenders to have handle-bar mustaches. (They do wear those old fashioned long white aprons.) Its right down the street from Usingers and Mader's Restaurant and you almost want to oohm-pa-pa your way out the door.

The next Friday night we went to The Painted Parrot, which is in what we locals call "Dirty Stallis". (They actually sell shirts that say "I ♥ Stallis" on them, and don't go gettin' all pissy that I called it Dirty Stallis. I grew up there. I'm allowed.) They're known for their fish, and that's what we actually went to get. But somehow between the beers our group consumed while waiting for our table and looking at the calypso-themed paintings on the walls, I decided that a jerk chicken sandwich sounded even better. That and the nachos that are served (literally) on a garbage can lid. We did get to try the fish though -- double yummeh.

This past weekend was his third in a row not working, and I can tell you - I'm beginning to get spoiled. We had a sitter for the kids (again) on Friday night (egads!), and when he picked me up downtown again after work, I suggested that we stop by Ryan Braun's Waterfront Grill for a drink and an appetizer.

Now, first, I must admit a great fondness for Ryan Braun. Not only is he a great player, but my sons both idolize him. And they're both of the age where they'll completely believe me if I tell them that Ryan Braun always eats his dinner! or Ryan Braun never hits his brother! So anyway, its on the river, very near Lake Michigan, and its modern and manly (cement bar!) and was a great place to stop after work and have a drink and an appetizer. And watch the couples in the condos across the river retire to their balconies after work to watch the boats cruise down the river.

After Ryan Braun's, I suggested we head to Nanakusa for sushi. I ♥ sushi. I could probably eat it at least once a week. We tried a few different sakes together and we left with full bellies and the crazy thought that

"Hey! Know where else we should try sometime? The bar at Iron Horse!"

except we decided that the proper "sometime" was exactly that moment.

Now, in case you're like so out of it and you, like, don't know what Iron Horse is, its a motorcycle-themed hotel down the street from the Harley-Davidson Museum. I saw you just curl your lip up all "unh" like. Don't do that. You'll get wrinkles.

Its got a really awesome "vibe" to it. We had an after dinner drink at Branded, and it was just...COOL. I mean, go check out the pictures (cuz I tried to take some with the Hubster's cell phone camera, and nuh-uh - they didn't work out so well). What other hotel has "Motorcycle Shipping" under amenities? Just cool.

So...basically what I'm saying is that I've had a great couple of weekends with The Hubster. And not exactly many plans for this weekend, either. (Hmmm...wonder if we can drag the kids somewhere?)

That, and, um, I guess I'm available for Milwaukee travel writing.

Or something.

White knuckle trip

My ride home from work last night was easily the scariest ride of my life.

The forecast for the afternoon had called for thunderstorms, after a morning of scattered rain and being saturated by heavy storms last week.

The Hubster called me around 4:45 pm to say, "Good. You're still there. Stick around the office for awhile, ok? There are tornado warnings up by us and if you stick around till 5:15 or 5:30, you should miss them."

Great advice...and I was still working anyway.

Knowing there was a second wave of storms due to come through, I left the office right at 5:30. One of the first things I heard on the radio was that I-43 northbound, my usual route home, was at a stand-still. The Hubster called again.

"Hey - the news says I-43 is going nowhere. You should catch Fond du Lac Ave and head over toward I-45." For those of you not from the Milwaukee area, this was rather scary news. I-43 runs north/south on the eastern side of the city, I-45 runs north/south on the western side. Most of the area between the two is, well, bad scary neighborhoods. Not the kind of area you'd want to drive through if you don't have to. But Fond du Lac does run on an angle to the northwest, and was really the best way to get to a freeway that would get me home quicker.

So off I went. I didn't get very far before the deluge of rain made Fond du Lac Avenue impassible. Around 30th Street, it dips down to go below a train trestle, and cars were already getting stuck in the huge puddle of water underneath. I wisely turned onto a side street and headed due north.

Within blocks, I was gripping the steering wheel going "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN DON'T LET ME GET STUCK!!!" I was driving down the dead center of the road because the water along the curbs was, well, over the curbs, and here I was, this stupid woman driving a Honda Civic in a flash flood.

I got to Burleigh and turned east, thinking that 27th Street, a larger thoroughfare, would be a better option. Only there was construction along the curb line on Burleigh and there was an arm chair floating away with the construction debris. 27th Street wasn't much better. I only got a few blocks north before cars were turning around to avoid the lake that had become the road.


I saw myself as that stupid chick on the news, wet and disheveled, saying, "I don't know what happened. The water just came up from nowhere!" I didn't want to be that chick. I kept driving, backtracking and heading in a direction I didn't need to go in because it was the only way that was open. I drove down the center of the road when I could, hearing the water giving my Honda a car enema, praying I could just keep going.

Essentially what happened was I had driven myself into the very center of the worst part of the flash flooding.

To make a long story short, just about every main road was closed or impassible at some point. Both freeways were shut down, as well as the airport, and the Milwaukee Police Administration building was without power. I drove through areas where I looked up to see water stretching from me to the front doors of peoples' houses. I literally kept my car moving for fear that if I stopped, my car would either stall or be sucked into the flow of water and into a sinkhole or down a newly formed road river. (Go check those stories out - the pictures are just amazing.)

I haven't prayed that much in a long, long time.

I actually took off my wedding ring because I was hurting my hand, gripping the steering wheel so hard.

I kept looking for places to pull over and wait out the storm. Only gas station parking lots were under feet of water, and the establishments that had higher, dry lots were ringed by moats of fast-flowing water that were far too deep to attempt in my car. So I just kept moving.

Two and a half hours and a long long phone call later (during which my hubby directed and re-directed me) I finally made it home.

I'm thankful to say that we're far enough away from the city that we escaped its flooding problems.

But oh Lordie, would you look at that? Its raining again.

The one and only picture I had time to take from my phone. Its small and low-res, and taken after the water started to recede, but that side street was completely under water, covering yards and parking lots. That orange car was hopelessly stuck.

You can check out more pictures here:
Milwaukee JournalSentinel staff photos
Milwaukee JournalSentinel reader submitted photos 
TMJ4 - photos & raw video
TMJ4 main page - lots of news updates and video
(TMJ4 has also just reported that a house has just been sucked into a sinkhole)

Don't whack our wieners.

While I was out of town last week, the Hubster was home with the boys. He had all sorts of boy activities planned - trips to the dump, fishing at the lake and taking the boys to get autographs from a bunch of 8' tall foam wieners.

No, really. That last one was the highlight of their weekend.

For those of you who don't know, Milwaukee is not only Brew City and home of Harley, we're Sausage Town, too. Both Usinger's and Klement's call my fair city home, and many years ago, Klement's became an official sponsor of the Milwaukee Brewers. Its their meat you'll get if you get a braaaht and a beer at a game. (Go ahead, make fun of my Midwest accent. Its cool. Whatever.)

Sometime during the mid-nineties, the Racing Sausages appeared at what was then County Stadium, and are now as famous as the pre-game tail gate. The Polish, the Italian, the Brat, the Hot Dog and the Chorizo race in the middle of the 6th inning. (You know, that way there's still time for a good polka in the 7th.) Fans pick a winner and cheer on their favorite as poor interns and FNGs* race in 8' tall foam wiener suits.

Its so ridiculous its hysterical. Even if you're sober.

I assumed everyone knew of the Racing Sausages after that 2003 incident involving the Pittsburgh Pirates. I mentioned my boys' outing to someone while at a cocktail party on Saturday night and found myself telling this entire tale. While at an adult party. Yes, I rock, but I had a friend rolling.

Cuz you see, apparently not everyone knows proper Racing Sausage etiquette. These mascots run from 3rd base, past the visiting team's dugout, around home plate and finish the race at first base. Back in '03 this guy from the Pirates thought it would be funny (or something) to stand up and hit the poor Italian with a bat while it ran past.

The girl inside the costume ended up being just fine - after all, dude only hit foam, but he didn't know that when he was swinging the bat. She took out the Hot Dog on her way down, but they both got up and finished the race.

After the incident (and the investigation, required apology, fine and suspension) t-shirts flew off the shelves with a cartoon of the 'assault' that said, "Milwaukee, WI. Don't whack our wiener!"

*FNG: f-ing new guy
**I said "wiener" five times in this post. WIENER-WIENER-WIENER.

A step closer to insanity

Why yes, I'm over-worked. What's a girl to do? Why, launch a new Web site, of course!

Introducing Milwaukee Mama Reviews!

Welcome to my kitchen table. Pull up a chair, have a cup of coffee and let's chat while the kids are playing. I'll tell you about all the good local stuff I've found...

I hope you'll stop by and check it out, even if you're not a Milwaukeean. You just might find something that applies to your neck of the woods...or even make you want to visit. ;-)

Knocking you out with these American thighs

I sorta need to get back on track. I haven't been posting as regularly as I usually do, and I feel like my brain is beginning to whither from lack of creativity. I feel that if I just start writing something -- anything, the ideas will flow more freely...or some such junk.

It's hard to know. I haven't had many thoughts about anything lately. My creativity juices have been sucked clean from my head. Kinda like a crawfish. (Or is it 'cray-fish'? We northerners never get it quite right.)

Wow...that's some great imagery there. Sorry for that.

Or maybe not. If I can still invoke any feelings (even the 'eeeeew' variety) then I've still got something, right?

Ooh! Here's a fun fact for ya - back in February I read several posts by southerners detailing their Mardi Gras celebrations. (Most were written in slurrrrr.) What a few of them pointed out was that drinking is seen as a big no-no in most of the Bible belt, and Mardi Gras was the one time a year people really let their hair down and made a big to-do.

For like four days or something. Don't quote me on that.

Here in the north? Its too damn cold in February to do anything but hunker down, bust out the Snuggie and pray for spring (which I'm still not convinced we are experiencing yet).

So even though we have to sit idly by, teeth chattering and fingers numb while we watch you down mojitos and earn strands of beads via twitpic MONTHS before the frozen tundra begins to thaw, we get our revenge.

For you see...we have Catholic churches here. Lots and lots of Catholic churches. And they all have festivals. Every weekend, from May through September you're bound to find at least one.

And Catholic church festivals are known for one thing: THE BEER TENT.

(Oh, and meat raffles.)

(And pokerino. But mostly the beer tent.)

We Catholics don't frown upon public drunkenness. That means that on any Friday or Saturday night you can find yourself with a frosty beer in one hand, a hot ear of corn in the other, standing in front of a local cover band, dancing and jumping (and sloshing) and singing at the top of your lungs. I mean the best version of "You shook me all night long" is always the one accompanied by a couple of hundred drunks.

On top of that, Milwaukee prides itself for being the City of Festivals. Just check out that list - every ethnicity gets its own weekend festival. (We have a TRAIN FEST? Who the hell KNEW?!?) If the city could prove we had a substantial population of Lativans, well, we'd have to squeeze them in sometime in October.

You know...before the snow flies.

On top of THOSE even, there is the State Fair (a full 11 days of fried-everything-you-can-think-of-on-a-stick and more beer) and the county fairs. By the time September rolls around we're all on diets trying to stave off heart attacks. (Seriously - they plan to offer chocolate covered BACON this year. Uh, can I get a side of AED with that? Thanks.)

Then there's the Mack Daddy of them all -- SUMMERFEST. The world's largest music festival. Eleven stages of music free with your admission and a twelfth headliner stage you pay extra to go see. I tell ya -- nothin' beats sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan with a cool breeze at your back, eating a pulled pork sandwich, drinkin' a Leine's and listening to the likes of The Offspring or the Dropkick Murphys. Or both at the same time, which I just might try and do.

So I'll take Lundi Gras, Marcredi Gras and Vendredi Gras over your little ol' parade any day.

I guess living in the cold Midwest actually works for me. Well, if the temps ever make it above 70 this year I should say.

Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated!

(a.k.a. Weekly Winners, Milwaukee style)

It was 80 degrees and sunny in Brew City on Friday, and I decided to get out of the office and play tourist in my own home town.

The Milwaukee River


Stop in for a pint


Grace Lutheran


One of the old Blatz buildings


Old St. Mary's


100th anniversary plaque - Old St. Mary's


Lonely table in Red Arrow Park
(This is on the surface of what is the ice skating rink during the winter.)


City Hall

For more Weekly Winners, visit Sarcastic Mom!