Oh what a week!

Thanksgiving week was a big one this year!  Starting with going back to work on Monday through Wednesday... which went quite smoothly.  Abera went to his first day of daycare which thankfully was tear-free for both of us.

After work on Wednesday (fortunately a half day) Michael and I cleaned, prepped, cooked for over 4 hours... since we had the honor of hosting this year's Friends Thanksgiving.  We do very much enjoy hosting and are grateful that the only thing we really need to cook is the turkey.  Our friends bring almost everything else.

Cynthia gets the credit for this turkey bread creation.

The kids enjoyed their feast upstairs - of chicken nuggets, fruit snacks, french fries and juice boxes.

We had a good crew of children and I was very impressed that sat down and ate together as a little community.

A babysitter was stationed upstairs to care for our Bear and control any potential chaos.  The movie we popped in helped with keeping everyone/thing in one piece too!

Love it!

Downstairs was more adult themed in food and conversation.  We had a terrific spread with a good helping of leftovers that we lucked out with too.  Michael created a thematic crossword puzzle contest and Kerbie presented a self-crafted poem.  Still makes me giggle when I think of it.

Our living room transformed into a dining room and flowers from the Burtons kept it festive!

The next morning our family of four headed to the train station to catch an Amtrack to Chicago.

Abera enjoyed the train ride and his first time at Grandma and Grandpa's... until a fever hit!  He lost his smiles the next day and slept the rest of the trip away.

Glad that Thanksgiving day was healthy for all... with another lovely table that had all the trimmings.  The brown bag in the middle of the table is not homemade "glog" but a schoolmade turkey centerpiece crafted by Handi.  It is featured at his kid table photo from the night before too.  He was quite proud of it!

The turkey was delicious and my family gave me a good portion of my favorite stuffing!

A busy but bountiful week!!!

'Tis the Season -

'Tis the season-

For children's concerts.

Mehandis had his daycare Christmas concert last week.  His class sang "Up on the House Top".  We had fun practicing it throughout the month!

For visits with Santa.

Our friends and I enjoyed our annual Cranky Al's Coffee Shop time with Santa.  He whisks in for an hour has about a minute with each kid and then we get to sit, chat and eat donuts!  Love that the smiles from our friends are bigger than the kids here.  Maybe they are just very glad they don't have to wait in the super long mall line ;)

Just noticed how Mehandis is holding Abera's hand here... what a sweet big brother.  Maybe he noticed how "concerned" Abera appeared by this large, puffy, hairy stranger?

For lots of sweets and treats.

Cheers to my girlfriends who once again took time out of their hectic holiday schedules to spend time baking sweet treats together.  We all made out well!

Glad to take a breath and enjoy all of the wonders of this season.

Questions Under Oath

The boys and I enjoyed a half day of work and/or school last Wednesday since it was Abera's court date for Milwaukee County Re-Adoption.  Each county has a little different regulations regarding "re-adoption" of children that have already been legally adopted internationally.  Our county requires a fee, bond, paperwork and court appearance. 

I thought that it would be nice for Mehandis to join us for the formal event, but "four" and formal don't always go hand-in-hand.  While I was asked, under oath, to state and spell my full name - Mehandis had an objection.  He said, "No, it's Mama."  Following that he decided he really had some important paperwork that needed to be delivered behind the judge's bench.  I began working up a sweat trying to coerce, threaten and bribe him into staying on my lap... all in between answering questions.  Mehandis then busied himself with writing more paperwork versus delivering. 

Fortunately the judge was quite good natured about it all.  At the end of our "testimonies" he asked both Michael and myself to take the chance for asking any question we wanted of each other... since it isn't often a spouse gets the chance to question the other under oath. 



The judge then extended and invite for us all to join him behind the bench.  Mehandis was then given the gavel to make the proceedings official.  He then offered our social worker to take a photo... nice offer but not so nice of a pic!  The look on my face shows relief or fatigue?



And then we were off once again...

Welcome to Abera as a official Milwaukee County Wolaver!

Abera - Away in a Manger

We are proud parents of a our littlest actor, Abera.  He played the role of Baby Jesus at our church's Christmas Pageant this morning.  So cute... had to share some freshly taken photos.

He had Mary and Joseph giggling onstage with his smiles.  Excellent job Bear!

Early Thanksgiving Gratitude

As I ready to return back to full time work I am noting a lot of  lasts - the "last" week I am home, "last" day that Mehandis is home on a Monday and "last" Thursday that I drop Abera off at Michael's while I travel to see my private speech students.  This isn't the best perspective to take I am know... causes a bit of blurred vision as I type through teary eyes actually. 

So... here's to the "firsts" and giving thanks for all that is yet to come!

Abera is now sitting up on his own, for a few moments at least, and consistently turning over from back to tummy.  He seems very proud to be moving a bit more on his own... he tells us all about it when he is moving (in his baby language - "Da da bbbb mam bob")

We have a had a fun run of introducing Abera to several new friends and family. 

He seems to love meeting people for the first time... and the second and third times aren't too bad either I suppose ;)

Here Abera met Bridget, who is one month younger than Abera.  Bridget's big brother Sean opted not to pose for the pic.  Thanks so much for coming up this way Colleen! 

My Uncle Gregg also made a road trip to visit his two great-nephews.  Everyone got in on the fun!

Mehandis got a helping hand on the monkey bar rings and fire poles, while Abera got a chance to take his first turn on the slide!

Not sure if the big boy or little boy enjoyed this "first" more?

All of us headed to Train Fest the next day... thanks for treating us Uncle Gregg!

This was my favorite scene - a model train town that has a fire burning and all the rescue cars are there to help.  I could have used a rescuer myself when we kept having to hunt down Mehandis as he rushed from one exhibit to another.

All of were a bit spoiled by the treats, presents and hot fudge sundaes that my Uncle shared with us.  Had fun watching Toy Story while having a pizza party too.  It was fun to see everyone enjoy the time (and naps) they had together.  Also great to have an extra helping hand with feeding Abera his bottles (a first for my Uncle as he said he never gave a baby a bottle before). 

After we said good bye to Uncle Gregg our new friend Dominic came over for a play date.  Here the boys are modeling Mehandis's "fancy" belts.  It was hard catching them standing still to snap any pics.  Should have had video of them dancing to Abba together though.  Hysterical.

Thanks to Rachel for her generous ways in sharing her costumes with Handi during a recent get together too!  This is actually an older photo which doesn't catch her latest "Lady Gaga" outfit.  Her mom, Natalie, and I got a giggle watching Lady Gaga chase and scare Darth Vader.  As Natalie said "Who knew Lady Gaga is scarier than Darth Vader?".

While my free time is now going to be lessened with my return back to work next week, I am so thankful for all the fun we fit into the 3 months home with Abera.  So many friends and family visited or we traveled to visit them.  We have made new friends and gotten to know others better.

Hundreds of smiles and snuggles will continue to be freely shared.
And they will be fully appreciated.

Helping hands will be even more appreciated as life gets a bit busier.

We will just "kick" up our energy a notch to make sure to fit all that fun in!

Marquette Memories



A recent article titled "100 Things to do Before Graduating from Marquette", from the Fall 2010 edition of the "Marquette Magazine", brought back much nostalgia.  Places that I have all but forgotten about, events that I thought only my group was creative enough to do, and memories of people that were good friends but now fond thoughts from my past were brought back to the front of my mind.  I have to admit I am a bit proud of all that I did "do before graduating as well". 

So here is the list that of things that the magazine recommends and a tally of how I fared. 

Key "X"= DID, "O"=MISSED

O 1.  Catch a show at The Rave
X 2.  Visit an exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art
X 3.  Take in a show at Milwaukee's Pabst Theatre
X 4.  Head to the Helfaer Theatre for a student performance (still remember Valentine's Day with the girls)
X 5.  Watch the Calatrava wings open and close (don't think they had this before I graduated, but have seen since)
O 6.  Study in Caffrey's
O 7.  Get a haircut at Bob's
X 8.  See the AMU's 5th Floor
X 9.  Get into the Safehouse
O 10. Climb to the top of Marquette Hall bell tower
X 11. Visit St. Josephat's Basilica
X 12. Open the Harp and Shamrock (then known as Murphy's I think?)
O 13. Go to the Orientation Square Dance
O 14. Bike from Milwuaukee to Madison
X 15. Walk to Lake Michigan
X 16. Take a brewery tour
X 17. Take the Amtrak to Chicago
X 18. Play volleyball at Bradford Beach
O 19. Participate in the PT Massage-a-thon
X 20. Visit the Milwaukee County Zoo
O 21. Eat crab at the Public Market
O 22. Eat at a Friday night fish fry (can't believe I still haven't done this too!)
O 23. Get a Solly's butter burger
X 24. Eat a greasy breakfast at Michael's (but always under protest)
O 25. Brunch at the Comet Cafe (another place I think new since 1996)
X 26. Go to Real Chili and have the works at 3 AM
27. Dine at the Jesuit Residence
X 28. Eat at Miss Katie's (real cheese fries and a chocolate malt)
X 29. Go to La Fuente
X 30. Find a ride to Kopp's for the flavor of the month
O 31. Eat the Double Sobelman
O 32. Load up at the Dog Haus (never heard of it)
O33. Order a Grande anything at Starbucks (do they have that on/near campus now?)
X 34. Eat chicken nuggets at the res hall dining rooms
X 35. Play tennis at the Rec Center (thanks for playing Maira)
O 36. Go to the Night of Chocolate a student tradition (does going to "Like Water for Chocolate" count... this wasn't a tradition in my day)
X 37. See a Braodway show at student rates (did go to NY after my senior year)
X 38. Tailgate at Miller Park on opening day (an absolute blast)
X 39. Play Bingo at Potawatomi (gotta be 18 though!)
O 40. Join an intramural sports team
O 41. Invite a Jesuit to dinner
X 42. Go to Tuesday night mass at St. Joan of Arc Chapel


Joan of Arc





X 43. Be at the Mass and Picnic for the Welcome Back Festivities
O 44. Hug Father Naus (he was the clown right?)
X 45. Touch the legendary cold stone at St. Joan of Arc Chapel
O 46. Sing carols at the Miracle on Central Mall
X 47. Rock Summerfest
X 48. Play with butterflies at the Milwaukee Public Museum
X 49. Go to the lakefront at midnight
O 50. Tour Marquette's supposedly haunted buildings
X 51. Have a snowball fight on the square
X 52. Make snow angels
X 53. Enjoy Winter Flurry (that was when Liquid Chicken played in our apartment I think!)


Fancy party before Snowball (aka Winter Flurry)





O 54. Roll monster snow boulders
O 55. Perform at Open Mic Night
O 56. Rehearse for Late Nite Marquette
O 57. Help a freshman their first week on campus
O 58. Take a professor coffee
O 59. Run for office for a sorority/fraternity
X 60. Lead a student organization
O 61. Do Habitat for Humanity
X 62. Connect with a MU alum who is already successful in you career track (Thanks Judy!!!)
X 63. Visit Marquette's career counselors
O 63. Join a Greek organization
X 64. Pull an all-nighter
X 65. Set up to study in the Brew Bayou
X 66. Take a road trip (Padre should give me triple points)
O 67. Write for the Marquette Tribune
X 68. Get a campus job (DR'ing is the best... skip catering)
X 69. Spend a summer in Milwaukee
X 70. Get involved with student organizations
O 71. Get an internship with the Aspin Center and live on The Hill (lucky Michael did that!)
O 72. Work for MU TV or Radio
X 73. Sign up for Campus Kitchens and feed the hungry (think it was Midnight Hunger then)
O 74. Take a course just for the reason that it interests you
O 75. Learn to play the carillon
O 76. Take a service learning class
X 77. Attend non-required lectures
X 78. Join a Marquette retreat
X 79. Stay for summer school
O 80. Study abroad
X 81. Read the Marquette Tribune
X 82. Get up early for Hunger Clean-up
X 83. Live in McCormick Hall

McCormick!

Becca & I before the McCormick Formal



X 84. Eat wings and bowl at the Annex
X 85. Shout till you are hoarse at the games
X 86. Be seen on ESPN
O 87. Paint your face blue and gold
X 88. Buy student basketball tickets
O 89. Camp out at the Bradley Center the night before a big game (does camping out at the Union to get an apartment count?)
X 90. Go to basketball games
X 91. Run for "Al's Run"
O 92. Suit up for mascot tryouts (good job Kerbie... think Peter too)
X 93. Meet "the" Coach
X 94. Get down to Valley Fields for soccer and track (soccer only though)
O 95. Shout "Hi!" to Father Wild
X 96. Go to a basketball game in another city
X 97. Go to women's basketball
O 98. Stay on campus your first month of school
O 99. See the Tamagami Room (what?)
X 100.Meet Mr. Right... okay they didn't number these and can't really find 100 so I am adding my own!

Role Playing and Playfully Rolling

My friend Sarah had the best idea for a 3 year old birthday party... starting the day with a tour of her local fire house followed by pizza at kid friendly restaurant next door.  How could 3 year olds not love a restaurant that has a giant chicken statue on the top of its delivery trucks?

 Isn't it every kids dream to sit in the driver's seat of a real fire truck?  I was very impressed with all that the firefighters let the kids do.  They were very patient, helpful and excited to have us there.

 Mehandis and the birthday boy, Daniel, sitting next to the real driver of the fire truck.  When asked if there were any questions, Mehandis raised his hand to say "Our smoke detector needs new batteries".  Which he knew because it started beeping the day before... can't keep any secrets these days I suppose.

 The truck that was housed at this location was a "water" truck, versus the ladder truck that Mehandis had pictured on his shirt, so everyone got a turn hosing down the street. 

The following week the boys got the opportunity to try out some different roles for a Halloween party.

 Shiver me timbers, quite a fierce pirate Mehandis was. 

Thank goodness he was excited to be something other than a couple of earlier suggested side characters from Thomas the Tank or Cars movies!

Abera went through two cow costumes that day... good thing we have multiple bovine apparel at our house.

 While Abera was able to join in on the festivities at the costume party... he never did make it to the real deal on Halloween.  He ended up falling asleep in the above exer-saucer while the rest of the house were getting their costumes together.  The baby calf then slept in his crib from 5:30 until 1 in the morning when he realized he needed his "feed".

Michael and I have not carved pumpkins in years.  Mehandis enjoyed his handy-work with sticker decorating while Michael and I took suggestions as to what needed to be carved.  Mine is the biggest jack-o-lantern... attempted a spider.  Think I could use more practice!

 Halloween night was a very fun time.  We stayed warm by the fire pit, which Michael moved to the front yard.  Mehandis enjoyed collecting candy with a couple of his different friends - a dinosaur, cow, Tigger and a fairy.

I re-purposed a bridesmaid dress from my friend Kerbie's wedding.  Mehandis had fun calling me "Queen of Hearts" and sometimes "Queen of Parts" throughout the night.  Hmm... what to be next year. 

Everyone enjoyed a lazy morning the next day, while getting a chance to visit and share a apples and banana pancake breakfast with Erin and baby Elisa.  Well, most everyone was choosing the lazy route... Mehandis was quite wound up (perhaps we can point blame at the candy consumption that began before 9AM?).

After saying goodbye to our guests we traveled to Lapham Peak for another family hike.

 As usual Abera was a good "rider" for the walk.

And we figured out the trick for making the hike more fun for Mehandis... rolling down (and up) the trails.

Sometimes I complain that 2 of my 3 boys are a bit too busy (movement or event-wise)... but I love all of the activities that I get to enjoy because of it!