Boys & Books

My mom gave me such a great article from the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Nothing wrong with Grossology & Diary of a Whimpy Kid series, but shouldn't boys be challenged with more?! Boys can be just as literate and hungry for education as girls. But the gender gap that the WSJ article talks about was very evident in my 5th grade classroom as well as most of the students I tutor. They happen to be boys. 

This article happens to come with great timing. One of the students that I tutor is a sophomore at Foothill and struggles with reading and getting homework done. The mom doesn't work so I'm not sure how the boy gets away with playing WOW and not doing his homework. Or how the iPhone and Macbook are still in his possession even after his grades are low enough to kick him off the football team. Both the boys are super sweet and kind but have no work ethic or motivation. It is just so sad. I guess I'm fortunate enough to get a realistic view of what not to do and the direct consequences of not making your kids and school first priority. 

I'm not sure why it happens to be somewhat of a disaster in their house. It's always clean when I come. They have plenty of money and lots of gadgets. They are all very well put together with expensive clothes. Drive really nice and shiny cars and just remodeled their home. The mom's parents live next door. But I have to be quite persistent about scheduling our tutor time. If not, then I get a panic call about a huge project due in a few days or how the teacher has been kind enough to let K make up all this work he didn't complete. Then K and I work like 8 hours the next few days trying to bust it out. It's harder now with a little one and trying to be there for them last minute. Last year, I had dreams about the Odyssey after finishing a long weekend session. 

Sometimes it's really hard for me to separate myself and let it go. I want to help him feel empowered and successful. But I can't check in on him daily to make sure the work is getting done. I can't be his mom. My heart breaks for this family as now they are struggling with drugs and rehab for their oldest son. And the mom is just ridden with guilt over this and K's drinking episode last year. It's hard because these things could happen even in families that are tightly bonded. I wish I could do something for them beyond praying for them. Of course, these current high school events don't necessarily solidify what their future will be like. These are struggles I don't have experience with and I'm not sure of their outcome. I can't help but be nervous for them. 

As far as reading goes, I've started at square one with K. During our time together, I read aloud to him. All I ask is that he take down a few notes while I read. Just yesterday, we picked up a book that he needs to finish for a project. His teacher sets aside reading time during Fridays, but he's become so frustrated with the book. He told me he's read the first page multiple times and is so confused by it. He wanted to give up on the book. I struck a deal. I'll read the first half of the first chapter  and then he could decide. We read. He understood it when we stopped and discussed. And it turns out to be a very interesting book. He decided to stick with it.

As I was getting ready to go, I told him to read aloud to himself. It might help block out any other distractions. I was happy to see him still reading while I left. It's never to late, right?

Last Day of Adventure

Sometimes the adventure is in the journey and not the destination...

Saturday was our last day in Milwaukee & boy, was it an adventure! We decided to head to the Mitchell Park Conservatory Domes after finding breakfast at a Farmer's Market about a block from our hotel. The Domes were about 3 miles from our hotel so we picked up a bus downtown that dropped us off about a mile and a half away...{we were still learning the ropes of the numbers and routes}. With the iPhone map in hand, we headed in that direction...only to find ourselves in a very industrial area. We could see the domes from far away, but getting to them was more difficult than expected.

 Google maps insisted that we head into a dump yard to make it to our destination. We were pretty confused, a bit sweaty for all the walking, and almost ready for a bathroom break. A very nice man at the dump told us to re-walk up the hill {that we already walked up & down} and we'd run right into the park.

So we followed the man's advance, and not Mr. Google's. The neighborhood wasn't very cute to look at, but we did see a window boarded up with linoleum flooring and this...

And after deducing that yes, someone could in fact still live here, we saw this...

We made it to The Domes!! They were quite a sight. Definitely constructed in the mid-1960s. Two of the three domes held a tropical and desert climate display.

And the third housed a beautiful variety of orchid flowers, which I think was for some kind of competition.

 We're still uncertain why this place is considered a gem. We were by far the youngest people there. Heck, if my parents went alone, they'd be the youngest people there. Maybe next time I read online reviews, I'll pay more attention to who the reviewers actually are. Like age range, and geographical location. Perhaps we really are spoiled Californians with our varied climate, plant and wildlife. Even so, we still had fun & really like the tropical dome. I got to see a cocoa tree for the first time! But we definitely enjoyed our crazy journey just getting there far more.

Afterward, we jumped onto a #21 bus and then the #10. Did you know the #21 dropped you right IN FRONT of the Domes?! Sheesh. We were overjoyed to find out #10 would take us right to our next planned stop...

Brady Street, a historical strip of restaurants, clubs and funky shops. It reminded me of a street in downtown Austin...definitely keeping things weird, fresh, and hippy.
Exhibit A:

We were quite starving at this point and so happy to find this delicious oasis.

Loved everything about this little eatery! Like the tree branches & hanging Vespa for decor.

And their burgers were to die for!

I think I know the real reason W loves Milwaukee soooo much...

Pretty much every place had this on tap. Our waiter was super great for two reasons. #1: He has a niece who loooves pickles and brought us some for E, without even knowing his obsession. What a great uncle he must be! So both my boys were in heaven with their juice of choice. #2: He gave us the secret password for dinner {more on that later}.

E also got some t.v. time in, as you can see. Such a poor deprived baby at home! Dad, you'll be happy to know there was some sort of football game on.

We walked around the street and checked out some of the shops. Nothing too impressive to purchase so we headed back home for some naps! On our way home, W schooled Michelle in the ways of impatiens. They are a very popular flower for downtown Milwaukee. Perhaps they can survive temperature extremes? But the really cool thing about them is that they have explosive seed pods. You touch them and they explode. Entertainment for little and big boys alike. :) W was kind enough to pick seed pods for us so we could get in on the fun. Here's a video if you want to be prepared for your next impatiens encounter.

Dinner was our trip's finale. Melanie had told us about this fabulous and famous spy-theme restaurant called the Safe House. We had asked our lunch waiter about it and learned that you needed to know the password to get in without hassle. Apparently, if you didn't know it, the 'hostess' makes you do ridiculous things like hula-hoop or dance like a chicken while dining guests could watch you from television screens inside the restaurant. So yes, our waiter saved us from some embarrassing pre-dining antics.

We followed Mr. Google's map again. This time it lead us into a dark alley.

This is literally the front of the place. No joke. There's a small black sign that says they do imports and exports. And the hours. That small plaque to the left says "The Safe House." That's it. We opened the door to a small room with two people. The guy asked us to each whisper the password into his ear and then walked into a bookcase that opened into a small hallway.

 It was SO COOL! The place was huge on the inside and packed. We wished we'd known to make reservations but so glad we could get in to the lounge area. It was just drinks and apps for us, we were still stuffed from the burgers.

To exit, you have to put coins in a phone booth for the door to open! And there were all kinds of spy paraphernalia and we watched a few people do silly things on the t.v.. Definitely a huge hit and a great way to end the trip. The next morning, we flew back to California. E had a harder time this flight which we chalk up to the shorten naps during the trip. Also, we were extremely exhausted!

But, we are so glad we did this!! E did fabulous even with his current inability to sit still. Besides the flight home, he was his normal overly cheerful self pretty much the entire time & seemed to love all the new sights too.  The city was wonderful and we packed so much in for having a little one along for the ride. If you ever make it to Milwaukee's Safe House, make sure to ask us for the password!! We'll happily supply it to save you from much awkwardness.

Feelin' Like Fall

So although it's been getting hotter here weather-wise, I couldn't help but get into the fall mode already. It's my favorite of favorite times of year. Having more time at home instead of in a classroom, I've been able to harness my skills for decorations, cooking, etc. I bought some twig pumpkins from the Target $1 section and already put them up on our mantle. And I may or may not already have halloween pumpkin  cuteness at our front door.

A few days ago, we had some awesome company over & I decided to try out a new recipe. I'm sure there's an etiquette rule somewhere about not experimenting on guests, but guests give me more motivation to not only clean up the house, but try out new things! Here's a simple recipe to get into the fall spirit! 

Pumpkin Soup

What you need:

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 t of salt

1/2 t of pepper

1/2 t of cheyenne pepper

2 cans (29 oz each) 100% pumpkin puree

4 c of chicken broth

3/4 c of apple cider

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

sour cream (optional garnish)

pumpkin seeds for garnish {i used mixed nuts because i couldn't find any}

6-8 slices of bacon {optional, i put it in the soup but it can also serve as just a garnish with only 3 slices}

What you do:

Cook bacon with oil in pan over medium heat then set aside

Cook onion in same pan until translucent

Then add both peppers and salt

Put onions in crock-pot

Add puree, broth, and cider

Stir until smooth

Cook on low for 5 hours

Turn crock-pot off

Whisk in heavy whipping cream

Serve in bowls, topped with sour cream, nuts {& crumbled bacon}

It was a hit! The pumpkin flavor wasn't overly powerful. I served it with sliced olive bread. E really liked it too...although his was served before adding the cream & with the bacon removed. In fact, he'll probably have it again for lunch. :)

Wish List

So many yummy things in the new Serena & Lily catalog!

Here are a few I'd love to see in our house...

{but with an "S"}

a new bed 

and a pair of new chairs for our sitting area!

Milwaukee Masterpieces

Since I took so many different pictures of the surrounding buildings, I decided to make them a separate post to share them all at once. They didn't necessarily fit anywhere, but they're too pretty to pass up. One of my favorite forms of art: architecture!

Pretty, huh?

Oh, and I did forget to share one really sweet thing about our hotel.

This is the one picture I did take at the hotel. An artist works in the lobby doing artwork and displaying it. It was very cool!! Have I mentioned we really liked Milwaukee?! ;)

Brandon + Sam Cruz 9.17.10

Our friend, Melanie, did a huge favor for us so we could go to this wedding. She was planning on watching E in our hotel room while we were away.

 As we were scrambling to get ready {overslept during naptime}, Melanie had her own difficulties getting to us on time since her friend & his fiance got into a heated argument {which, sadly, didn't have a happy outcome}. So, Michelle and I went to the wedding while W met up with us at the cocktail hour. Michelle and I were seated only minutes before the wedding started. I like to think we were pretty smooth. 

The ceremony was super short and Brandon's uncle, Gary, officiated...which he got 'ordained' via the internet. He's a t.v. personality like my cousin so perhaps that explains it. ;) 

The kiss!! Sam looked absolutely gorgeous and I loved her gown. We enjoyed some live music and cocktails while pictures were taken.

The wedding and reception took place at the Lakefront Bistro which must be a real hot location because this place was on the local Milwaukee tourist map. The grounds were beautiful and so were the details. We took a few pictures before cocktail hour ended.

Their idea of a guest book was pretty sweet. Then again, as we know, I have a thing for trees.

We signed our names on leaf stickers and stuck them on the tree. It's already framed and ready to be hung. Here's our favors which also served as our table assignment.

My auntie Janice {mother of the groom} and her granddaughter, Brooklyn...aka Flower Girl

 Cousin Kendi with her husband, Phil, and son, Adam..aka Ring Bearer.

Our new favorite people, Al and Brenda...definitely young at heart, these two.

First Dance...

Speeches & Toasts...

Cutting the cake...

They moved through things pretty quickly, which worked well for us. We left after the cake cutting and eating a slice ourselves. A bottle of wine and dinner for Melanie were in our possession when we hopped into the cab which was also a huge bonus. Ezra did great while we were gone. Mel shared that he was only starting to get fussy for bed about the time we were riding back to the hotel. After nursing, he was out like a light and our bottle was opened. Mel stayed with us that night to take a break from the drama so her, Michelle, W & I had a blast staying up late. It's a good thing W has three sisters...he sure can handle high doses of estrogen with much finesse. And for that, I'm glad!

A Change of Plans

We started the day of the wedding a bit hectically. We were trying to squeeze in a farm visit to milk a cow before 4:00. I called the farm before we had left California but didn't make a reservation because I wasn't sure which day would work best. So here I was calling them Friday morning and leaving messages while W went to go get a rental car. Long story short, the farm wasn't open that day due to last minute family business and W found this out just in time to not rent the car. Not going to lie, I was definitely bummed!! Not only did I really really want to milk that cow, I was also excited to see more of Wisconsin, outside the city limits. Oh well. It's still on my list, waiting to be crossed off.

Instead, Michelle, W, Ezra and I had a great day wondering around Lake Michigan's shore and taking in more of the city.

For lunch, we stopped at Milwaukee Public Market, which is a less-busy, indoor, smaller scale version of Seattle's Pike Place.

We took our lunches and walked out to the water. We passed by the Milwaukee Art Museum.

We ate along the shoreline.

And played while getting some sun at Veteran's Park.

Lots of mischief for the boy.

Getting into the contents behind his stroller.

Afterward, we went back to the hotel for a nice, refreshing nap before getting ready for the wedding!