Blog entries for moxy99

The Dangers of Being an Erin at Irish Fest

moxy99 — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:22:01 GMT

Irish Fest is Milwaukee's best festival. Of course I am biased as I've always had an unnatural affinity for the 25% of me that hails from the Green Isle and a regret at never becoming one of those cute Irish dancing girls.

Unfortunately I've only made it to Irish Fest twice in the eight years I have lived in Milwaukee primarily because of the poor timing (in my opinion) of weddings hosted by friends and family over six of those years.

The gods smiled on me last night and I finally made it to the Grand Hooley, the opening night of the festival that features an intimate, pared-down version of the fest that gets fully underway today.

There are a few things I love about Irish Fest. For one the weather really doesn't matter. As my colleague Caroline said, "Rain or shine, people come here no matter what." And this weekend's cooler breeze off the lake provides a refreshing feel for the festival grounds and makes you a bit more inclined to purchase one of those yummy cable-knit sweaters for sale.

Irish Fest is also like going to one giant family reunion. They've hit the mark on crafting a familial feel that doesn't feel forced. Last night we met a gentleman from Boston who has been coming to Irish Fest with his family for the past three years and my Uncle Tim has braved high gas prices for four years to drive his F-150 from Detroit to attend a weekend of Irish-ness.

And finally -- it's great being an Erin at Irish Fest. There's a weird pride in seeing your name plastered on signs and T-shirts everywhere, but there is an inherent danger in this as well. No less than seven times in a 15-minute walk across the grounds did I hear my name shouted as though my mom was calling me, causing me to whip my head around, sloshing precious beer out of my cup and almost walking into people in front of me. Dangerous, not really -- just a peril you have to hazard if you're an Erin at Irish Fest.

Irish Fest continues today through Sunday.

Daycare Database Now Available

moxy99 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:03:00 GMT

The State of Wisconsin has just (finally) made a much-needed tool available to parents and guardians to assist in the daycare decision making.

The newly formed Department of Children and Families launched this site (see link below) to help parents stay informed about violations at their daycare.

The site also provides general information on all licensed daycares and incorporates a nice Google map to show all the licensed daycares in a particular area. If only this had existed 14 months ago it would have saved me a lot of headache.

Also, for those searching for a daycare, the 4-Cs is also a helpful resource: http://www.4c-milwaukee.org/

The Jesus Wagon Rolls Again

moxy99 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:05:39 GMT

It must be spring in Milwaukee, I just saw the Jesus Wagon rolling down Prospect. Actually, I was stuck behind the Jesus wagon as he tooled downtown to the East Side at 5 mph.

Perhaps Jesus Wagon isn't the correct term, but I'm referring to the station wagon plastered with a variety of sayings and warnings, none of which I have ever understood, that all seem to describe our impending doom.

The vehicle I saw was stripped down, with only the back window fully covered and sported old-school brown/fake wood paneling. I'm guessing this is a replacement vehicle as I thought the wagon was black and it had been COVERED from grill to trunk, which included a large Christmas candle used to decorate a lawn.

Does anyone know what this guy's deal is?

Regardless, as I hadn't seen him all winter, I'm taking this as a much-needed sign of Spring.

One Vote Can Help These Kids

moxy99 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:17:05 GMT

It's not often that we receive a forwarded email that has true merit.

This afternoon, my girlfriend passed along an email that at first glance seemed to be the typical forward. Thankfully this one did not have to be researched on Snopes.com, rather it included a link that could help bring two Fun Centers to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

The Starlight Starbright Foundation's mission is to help seriously ill children and their families cope with their situation through entertainment, education and family activities. They have partnered with Colgate-Palmolive to provide Starlight Fun Centers in 30 hospitals across the U.S. The Fun Centers are mobile units that include a flat screen TV, DVD play and Nintendo Wii.

In addition to the 30 hospitals that will receive Fun Centers, the 10 hospitals that receive the most online votes will receive two Starlight Fun Centers.

Sure I recognize that this is a public relations ploy to let us know about the goodwill Colgate-Palmolive is spreading in the community. But it's a pretty benign ploy and it will help out children who haven't been given a choice to be well or ill.

The competing hospitals are sectioned by region, so Children's is up against American Family (UW Children's Hospital) in Madison and St. Vincent's Hospital in Green Bay. All wonderful hospitals -- and it takes about 20 seconds to give one your vote. Voting ends March 31!

More Difficult? Home Mom or Working Mom?

moxy99 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:05 GMT

Yesterday one of my girlfriends who is currently staying home with her young son asked me if it was more difficult to be a stay-at-home mom or a working mother. Without missing a beat I said stay-at-home mom.

When my husband and I first learned we were pregnant one of the first books I purchased was not the "What to Expect When Expecting" prenatal staple, rather I picked up a copy of "Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families" by Leslie Morgan Steiner.

A different choice of reading material, but as excited as I was to be having a mini-me, I was thrown by what I wanted to do post-baby. I didn't know if I would want to stay at home full time with our baby and I wasn't quite sure how I would manage working full-time and being a parent. In the end, a helpful husband and a flexible workplace has allowed me to stay home one day a week and work in the office the other four. For us, this six-month trial period has turned into a full-time solution and I have to thank my co-workers for allowing us to have this flexibility.

But my girlfriend's question made me realize that among my girlfriends we have avoided any of the blame game that seems to exist between the home moms and the work moms. In the past two years about 20 of my girlfriends have had children. Each of us has chosen a different path, with a larger portion of the women staying home with their babies for the first year if not longer. Some of them chose to stay home, for others it was difficult to justify going to work when such a large portion of their salaries went to daycare and for some of us we realized that staying home with our kids was not the option for us.

I have been very open with friends that I am a much happier mom when I am able to work. My career is a large part of who I am and I was very much adrift during my maternity leave. Let it be said though that among 90% of my girlfriends we are happy skipping being home the first three months of the baby's life because for us it was a grueling experience (no sleep, constant feedings, unhappy babies and no idea how to soothe them). And that children start becoming more much enjoyable when they begin to interact with you, which unfortnately is right about the time you're returning to work.

Our son is much happier at daycare as well. When my husband picked him up from his first day of daycare the teachers raved how good he had been to which my husband replied, "Are you sure you're talking about my son?" Prior to daycare, our son could be described as hell baby at times, post daycare, the happiest baby on the block. In the end, daycare is more exciting and stimulating for him than being home with me and that works better for him.

My one day taste of being a Stay-at-Home mom is enough to make me realize how challenging of a job it is. Regardless of if you have a helpful spouse or not, you become the primary caregiver for the child and you are the go to for everything. It requires an awesome amount of stamina to care for your child or children every day and I give so much credit to the women who are in this role.

What is amazing about all of my friends entering parenthood at the same time is that I have never gotten a whif of the media-hyped "mommy wars" among our friends. We try to support each other as we can and I believe we each appreciate the choices and sacrifices we have made, which in the end makes for happy kids and much happier mommies.

Northern Room Shows National Potential

moxy99 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:49:44 GMT

My music savvy co-workers would tell you I am not one to unearth an as-yet-to-be-discovered music act. I am a pretty standard music consumer, but do include 88.9FM and 89.7FM on my radio dial in addition to 102.1FM and 106.1FM (a girl needs some country).

When I look at my coworkers iPod music libraries, they are primarily filled with bands I have never heard of and won't until they get some airtime on WorldCafe or RadioMilwaukee. I appreciate their taste and their knack for knowing music so well, whereas if they ever want standard Top 40 or chick rock they know they can find it on my playlists.

Being not very passionate about music, it strikes me when a local band's lyrics get stuck in my head. For me, this hasn't happened since I heard the Little Blue Crunchy Things in Madison while in college. Early last week, a coworker was listening to Northern Room's new CD, "Last Embrace" and it was so catchy I had to borrow it.

I have not been able to get their song "We're on Fire" out of my head and had to plug my laptop into our kitchen stereo yesterday while cooking to listen to the full CD again. The entire CD is put together well in that you can listen to it from start to finish, enjoying it in its entirety.

Their sound is unique, but is very approachable (hence why I was pulled in). Northern Room is playing in residence at the Hi-Hat Garage each Wednesday night in March, and even though catching a band at a bar isn't a part of my weekly life anymore, I just might have to get a babysitter for this Wednesday.

More Drive-Thrus Please

moxy99 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:23:52 GMT

There really should be more drive-thrus.

Prior to joining the ranks of parenthood, I partook in the convenience of the drive-thru, but did not mark it as one of life's necessities -- up there with running water and electricity -- until now.

Having experienced 10 months of parenting, I have a great appreciation for the beauty of purchasing items without ever leaving my vehicle. This has become even more of a luxury since we retired the infant/bucket car seat at five months and my 25-pound child had to be wrestled in and out of the car seat for each stop.

What would have been a five minute grocery store stop pre-kid now throws me into an internal debate: "Do I really need those scallions for the recipe? He's sleeping. Is it worth hauling him out? Oh screw it, we don't need the onions."

And yes, I will admit, as this debate goes on I do wonder if I could just leave him in the car. It's only five minutes, the scallions are 30 feet from the front entrance which is 20 feet from my car, I'll be quick, etc., etc.

Of course I don't do that (there are so many reasons why this would be a bad, bad choice -- kidnapping, suffocation, police, jail, the label of horrible, neglectful mother forever), and this is what has led me to see that the world would benefit from more drive-thrus.

Wouldn't it be great if your grocery store had a drive through for small items - milk, bread, eggs? Or if Target had a drive up to get your photos or a package of diapers? In Sun Prairie, Wis., there was a drive-thru liquor store -- I used to think that was just a way for alcoholics to mainline their Milwaukee's Best faster, but now it seems genius to me.

Sure Walgreen's has a drive-thru for your prescriptions, but what if you could bribe the pharmacist to grab you a bottle of Pedialyte, a can of formula and the diapers that your sick kid is busting through? It would be the bright spot in your vomit-filled day.

Fighting Back Against The Flu

moxy99 — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:01:38 GMT

The past two weeks have treated my husband and I to the joys of single parenthood as we each were hit with a hard-core case of influenza. Thankfully we weren't hit with the stomach version, but more the fever/sleep inducing kind where you can barely remember to call in sick to work, let alone contemplate getting out of bed.

We are not unique in this venture as it seems the flu is just one of many illness making what is hopefully their last round this winter season.

My husband got the worst case and I was able to fend off my downfall a full six days before the bug caught up with me. In that spirit, I wanted to share a few of the drugstore remedies I found great appreciation for over the past few days as I tried to make my symptoms more bearable. If you're looking for some help, you might want to give these a whirl:

SudaCare Shower Soothers

These tablets look like urinal cakes but really do help with a stuffy nose/achy limbs you get when you're sick. They're worth the $5 for three of them. Available at any drugstore near the cold care products.

California Baby Cold & Flu Bubble Bath

Along the lines of the shower tablets, this earth-friendly bottle of goodness helps ease the congestion in little ones and soothe sore muscles. Plus it comes with a bubble wand to make anyone giggle. Available at Whole Foods, Outpost and other fancier locales.

Mucinex D

We're prone to sinus infections in our house and this has helped tremendously! It keeps the nose goo flowing so you can breath and your sinuses don't get infected as easily. Plus it lasts for 12 hours, which is simply lovely. The DM version is for coughs. Available at the drugstore.

Oil of Oregano

My chiropractor recommended this. I hadn't heard of it before but according to her its antiviral, antibacterial, etc. and will help you kick anything you feel coming on. If you're interested in this please do your own research and consult your physician before using. It's darn expensive and I'm not sure if it gave me a leg up on battling this illness.

Yogi Tea - Cold Season Sampler

This box includes three each of Yogi Tea's cold care teas: Throat Comfort, Breathe Deep, Echinacea Immune Support, and Cold Season Defense. They made us feel better and provided variety, which is needed when all you're doing is drinking tea.

Mom's Chicken Soup (working mom style)

My parents refer to Chicken Soup as Jewish Penicillin and really, nothing goes down easy as this. I didn't have the time to make this soup from true scratch, but came up with a good approximation that made enough soup to get our family through the past 10 days.

48 oz Low Sodium Chicken Broth (the big can)
1 Rotisserie Chicken from the deli hot box
3 carrots (chopped), about 1.5 cups
2 ribs celery (chopped)
2 tablespoons dill see
1/2 bag egg noodles

Heat the broth to simmer, toss in the carrots, celery and noodles. Cook the noodles until done according to the bag (6-8 min usually). In the meantime, shred the chicken, about 2 cups worth. Toss the chicken in during the last minutes of the noodles cooking. Put half the soup in the fridge to eat, freeze the rest in ziploc bags for your next bout of illness.

Stay well!

Good Reusable Shopping Bags

moxy99 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:52:05 GMT

When I find a solution to an annoying problem I tend to share it.

As mentioned in earlier blogs, I HATE the amount of plastic bags that accumulate in our pantry. This leads to cursing in the checkout line when I don't have a bag on hand and only have a few items but still need to grab a plastic bag for them. If I could actually plan ahead, I would always have a plastic bags from the cupboard in my purse or pocket, but in reality that just doesn't happen (and plastic bags don't fold up as nicely as I'd like to fit into my purse).

So to save the world a bit (and to make some more space in my cupboard) I did a bit of snowy day online shopping this Sunday for a small collapsable bag that I can keep in my purse. In my search I came across this site, www.reusablebags.com, which has a really good selection of reusable bags that seems to fit any need.

For my purse, I found this bag (which my husband keeps making fun of me about because I made him watch the bag video). It looks like it will be perfect as it easily goes right into its attached pouch (no folding origami needed), it's super small and can hold up to 25 lbs (or my child's weight) in food: Acme Bags - Workhorse Model

Also, now that Wal-Mart and Target have jumped on the reusable shopping bag bandwagon, they are doing so with bags that won't hold up to any significant weight of groceries (Trust me, I had one of these and it busted right away). And Whole Foods sells good reusable bags, but they are the larger variety and don't fit my purse specifications as outlined above.

Also, when I go to the grocery store, the baggers seem to insist on sending me home with eight shopping bags when all I would really need is 2 or 3 to get my haul from the car to the garage. And I really don't like the plastic produce bags as they just get thrown away at home anyway (usually full of rotting lettuce), so I'm thinking of getting this set, which looks like it will make my weekly Pick n Save haul much easier: ACME Earth Tote - Shopping Bag Set

They also have great solutions from Reisenthel, a German company who makes the market basket I picked up at Alterra Coffee on Prospect on Earth Day three years ago and has been a Jazz in the Park staple ever since: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=Reisenthel

Happy shopping!

Who Really Shops at Walgreens?

moxy99 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:08:53 GMT

I used to wonder who really shopped at Walgreens. And by shopped I mean walk in the door, grab a cart and hit all the aisles kind of shopping.

In my past life as a single woman, Walgreens was the place I rushed to on Sunday morning to pick up my Pill script or grab a bottle of nail polish to complete the perfect date night outfit. It boggled my mind that people would actually need a shopping cart there, let alone that they would purchase groceries beyond a quick gallon of milk.

And then I had a kid.

According to my bank, my most frequented merchant in January was Walgreens. No surprise as this has become my "Do It All" destination once cold, flu and ear infection season started with all the prescriptions our family has needed.

I am not ashamed to note that my niece's first birthday present came from Walgreens, as does half the granola bars, juices, formula, baby food, toiletry items, etc. that stock my shelves at home. Yes, the individual items cost a few cents more than a larger box store, but its faster and cheaper in the end as I don't leave with $100 of stuff I really didn't need like my Target trips tend to end. Walgreens has saved us from many emergencies and I'm a full convert (well, I still don't read the store circular for coupons, I'm not THAT old).

I do have to chuckle though when I see a younger woman zip into Walgreens for a makeup item or two. And yes, now I do grab a cart when I walk through those sliding glass doors.

The Best Cookbook for a Busy Mom

moxy99 — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:22:54 GMT

Growing up in my family, the weeknight dinner time was sacred. At 6:15 p.m. every night the four of us (and our West Highland Terrier) sat down to a home cooked meal tag-teamed by my parents.

The fact that Monday through Thursday (Friday was pizza night) to a dinner complete with meat, starch, veggie, bread and salad boggles my mind as a wife and mother. Both my parents worked full-time and this daily feat was made possible by Mom's ability to plan ahead and keep the deep freezer well stocked and the fact that Dad worked in town and could pick up any fixings we were missing for supper quickly and easily on his way home. My mom is also one of those great cooks who can open her pantry and just whip up a four-course meal in 30 minutes.

Unfortunately this ability to "plan ahead" was not inherited (neither was the ability to make tasty meal from the pantry that wasn't jarred sauce and noodles). It has taken me almost three years of marriage and returning to work after a maternity leave to figure out how to avoid eating takeout four of five nights a week.

This all changed two weeks ago as I was trolling through the Target aisles when I spotted the book Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller.At first I didn't pick it up thinking, "Yeah, like I need another cookbook claiming to help me get meals on the table fast." I already own two Rachel Ray books which haven't helped solve this problem. The recipes are OK, but the meals require some plan-ahead time as my kitchen is never stocked with all the necessary ingredients to any of her recipes.

When on maternity leave I caught Miller's show on the Food Network and liked her concept of cooking double batches (eat one now, freeze one for later) and "morphing" what you cooked on Sunday into a completely different meal on Wednesday. That seemed like something I could do. Also, her ingredients were similar to what I already had in the house so it wasn't a stretch for me to make her recipes. In addition to focusing on the two methods mentioned above, the cookbook also includes an entire section of recipes you can make with items found in your fridge and pantry. Miller also makes a point to say if you don't have an item in the recipe just omit it or substitute something else for it (just like my mom would instruct).

I eventually did pick up Quick Fix Meals and it has already paid for the $12 I spent on it in two delicious (and healthy) meals we ate this week along with a freezer stocked with three meals for the future. I spent a good part of Saturday reading through the cookbook (of course I was multi-tasking while watching Ocean's 13) and flagging recipes to try this week. I did take a good 15 minutes to write out a complete shopping list including some items from her "pantry must-haves" list and then hit the grocery store for some serious shopping (sans child thankfully).

Sunday we enjoyed the Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Garlic-Scented Pita Chips (I now have 2 large containers of it in the deep freeze). On Monday we sampled the Apricot-Jalepeno Chicken with Sesame Noodles and an Asian Carrot Salad on the side (again, I now have another full meal of this in the freezer). Tonight we're having the Wild Mushroom Tart with either a Carrot Rosemary Salad or a Spinach Blue Cheese Salad with Maple Dressing (oh, that's a Rachel Ray recipe).

There are enough recipes for us to keep going through the book for a while and I do enjoy that Miller's recipes also focus on nutrition using whole grains, limited oils and fats and low-sodium products. I am also quite pleased to have had "two hits" in a row after a few major slow cooker disasters I had tried before the holidays (I had NEVER seen chicken that black before).

In addition to picking up the book I suggest you also get yourself a deep freezer (Craigslist is a good place to find one) -- you'll need all the room for stocking up!

Take The Cart

moxy99 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:58:08 GMT

Messages of being kind to your neighbor and lending a helping hand are plentiful this time of year.

Along those lines, I would like to offer one simple suggestion that will surely promote peace and kindness at a very basic level -- and everyone can participate.

While walking through the parking lot into a store, offer to return a fellow shopper's cart. Simple, and yet very kind.

Parents who have just loaded a week's worth of groceries and their screaming 6-month-old into the car will definitely appreciate this -- especially when it's cold and snowy out. Older patrons who move a bit slower will take to this kindness as well.

It is small acts such as this that help us keep the community spirit alive and well throughout the year.

Christmas Music Already??!!

moxy99 — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:28:06 GMT

Ah, the day after Halloween, the words "Trick or Treat?!" still echoing throughout the neighborhood. It's only natural that when I punched 99 WMYX on my radio that I would hear Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time."

Not only is that song on my "please never play this again" Christmas music list, but it is THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN!

Just yesterday I had read a column pointing out the odd shopping experience of "Orange & Black, Red & Green -- Don't Forget What's In Between" http://family.go.com/newsletters/dreamteamdaily/OrangeBlackRedGreen/

That column reminded me that I am not crazy for wishing Christmas items didn't appear on the shelves until after Thanksgiving. It was decidedly odd shopping for trick or treat candy at both Target and Walgreen's on Oct. 30 and having to search for it among the stockings and Christmas lights.

As I'm in advertising, I understand the push for ratings and ad dollars, but this is going too far. I am boycotting 99 WMYX and its affiliates. I have my iPod plugged in and loaded with Christmas tunes -- which will not be played until Nov. 23 -- at the earliest!

Recycle Your Plastic Bags at Wal-Mart

moxy99 — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:06:10 GMT

I'm not a perfect "green" citizen, rather I'm the average consumer who intends to shop with canvas bags, but forgets to ever bring them along. This results in an inordinate amount of plastic bags tumbling out of my kitchen pantry by the end of the month.

Now, I am able to reuse some of the bags around the house as trash can liners (keep a few in the bottom of your bathroom garbage cans and you'll always have a spare after you pull the full one out on trash day). But I can never use the number I manage to collect in a week even with forgoing a bag at the store when I only have a few items or saying, "No, I don't need a bag for my gallon of milk."

Plastic bags aren't listed as a recyclable through my local garbage collection, so I was at a loss with what to do about my growing bag collection, until a recent stop at Wal-Mart. The retail giant is now a drop off site for recycling plastic bags. The boxes are in the entryway, usually within the first set of doors. If you aren't a Wal-Mart shopper, you can also recycle your bags at area Roundy's stores

For more locations and information: http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/01.0/

Good Waukesha Eats

moxy99 — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:52:19 GMT

Having lived out in the 'sha for the past three years I am often frustrated by what seems to be a lack of good dining and/or take out options. Thankfully we have found a few:

-- Le Gong Gourmet, 2140 W Saint Paul Ave, Waukesha, WI, (262) 896-6688

I'm very picky about my Chinese food and Le Gong meets my criteria. Prior to discovering Le Gong in the Fox Run Shopping Center our favorite place was Emperor's Kitchen, which is good, but the restaurant interior is a tad grimey. (Maybe it's because the menus severely need to be replaced or that the staff shouldn't wear white shirts because they always show stains from carrying the dish buckets).

Le Gong Gourmet is clean with terrific food that hasn't disappointed. The chicken dishes are made with all white meat chicken that is clearly breast meat (I haven't found a "mystery morsel" yet), they are flavorful and spiced accordingly. The Crab Rangoon and Egg Rolls are also delicious and when you order take out they automatically provide you with small cups of the sweet & sour sauced used in the restaurant, not the flavorless packets of Duck Sauce you get elsewhere.

-- Great Northern BBQ Co., 2177 Silvernail Rd, Waukesha, WI, (262) 446-3657 http://www.greatnorthernbbqco.com/

Likewise, I'm picky about my BBQ and hadn't really found a good rib place locally. Famous Dave's is OK, but it's a chain -- and it always makes my husband ill that evening. The Great Northern BBQ people know what they're doing -- we recommend the Beef Brisket, the Ribs and the Fried Chicken. All four of the sauces that accompany the meats are delicious including: Texas Pit, Northen, Root Beer and Fire. For the sides, the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy is delicious and even the Cole Slaw has a bit of kick to it. My husband says the Pecan and Key Lime pies are good ends to the meals.

-- La Estacion, 319 Williams St, Waukesha, WI (262) 521-1986

La Estacion has been a staple in our weekly diet since it was the old Jalisco's in Waukesha on White Rock Road. Their Tacos de Lomo a la Parilla is what originally hooked me (steak tacos with the right amount of sweet onion, cilantro and guacamole). Make sure to ask for corn tortillas and limes on the side to dress the tacos. We've never had a bad meal there and the staff has worked there for many years. We refer to our favorite waitress, Dolores, as our son's abuelita as she will most likely see him grow up from birth to adulthood because we visit there so much. My parents, who used to drive us to the Mexican enclave of Detroit late on weekend nights to enjoy authentic food, stop at La Estacion on their way back to Madison even when we're not in town. In addition to the Tacos de Lomo, I recommend the Three G's margarita , made with Tres Generaciones tequila -- it's not on the menu, but it is mighty tasty.

If you have any favorite Waukesha restaurants please share!

Great New BBQ in Waukesha

moxy99 — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:05:46 GMT

Having lived in Waukesha for the past three years, I often lament the lack of interesting dining choices in the land o' chains. We dine out a lot in Milwaukee, but sometimes you just want something close to home. Unfortunately, the options tend to run along the lines of steak houses and all-American grub locations that lack character and atmosphere.

I am happy to report there is now a GREAT barbecue place in Waukesha located near County T and Silvernail: The Great Northern BBQ company. The Beef Brisket sandwich was tender and juicy, thankfully absent of any mouthfuls of fatty grisle and my husband's Pulled Pork sandwich was equally as tasty.

Their sauces were all good compliments to the meat, but I didn't feel the need to drown the sandwich in sauce as I do at most other places because the meat itself was so tender and tasty (not to mention large -- you receive a 1/2 lb of meat on every sandwich). And the root beer sauce was much better than Q Real's sauce (which I had originally been really excited about upon hearing of it, but was then disappointed when I tried it).

The sides held up to the sandwiches (we sampled smashed potatoes & gravy, cornbread and beans) and we left with full bellies.

The atmosphere is similar to Q Real's (maybe they purchased the leftover fixtures from the Bay View location that closed) and was comfortable. I would suggest that they play more Blues music and go for the full BBQ joint feel, which would make it a bit more inviting.

But do stop in -- you won't leave disappointed, or hungry.

Please Help: Where Are All The Good Daycares?

moxy99 — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:53:58 GMT

In my past OMC musing I wrote about the struggle of how to figure out the daycare situation. Well, I'm still clueless.

How the heck do you find affordable daycare?

Over the holidays I was finally able to start focusing on preparing for the arrival of a third member of our household and naturally turned to the Internet to do some research on daycares.

Unfortunately the sources I found were not very helpful. Through one of the State of Wisconsin agencies I found a huge listing of daycares in the Waukesha and Milwaukee area - -unfortunately the idiot who built the spreadsheet didn't build it so you could sort or search easily and it's GIANT! (It would take days to go through it).

I then did a search on two of the larger daycare groups in our area: Kindercare and Grandma's House. These would be our higher-end choice, and at $262/wk, I'm not sure if that option will fit our family budget. (I had also found some research from UWM online that said the maximum for weekly daycare was $231 in the state or Milwaukee -- well this quote blew that theory out of the water).

Then I went to the site milwaukeemoms.com -- which had a "find a daycare" option. "Yay!" I thought. Not so -- daycares have to pay to be listed so the pickings were slim to non-existent.

I have decided that daycare is like finding a good doctor -- word of mouth is still the best tool we have.

So -- OMC readers -- if you know of any reputable daycare (in-home, professional centers, churches, etc.) along the I-94 corridor from Waukesha to the Mayfair area please let me know through the Talkback feature!!!!!!

Flex Time & Childcare -- The Danger of Choice

moxy99 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:41:58 GMT

My husband and I are five months away from officially being called parents. As the one in my group of girlfriends voted least organized (I prefer the term "least anal retentive"), I have been pushing off a lot of "baby planning."

We don't have a "theme" picked out for the baby's room -- it's currently blue and may still be that way in May when the kid is carried over the threshold. We're not finding out the gender of the baby. I'm ambivalent about how the baby should/will be fed (boobie or bottle - it will be whichever one works out best). And no, I'm not sure where the baby will go when both of us return to work.

It seems as though those of my friends who already have children did an awful lot of reading while preggers and already had their "plans" nailed down by the midpoint of their pregnancy. As a serial procrastinator, I'm afraid I may be left in mid-summer returning to work with baby in tow if we don't get our act together.

I work for a wonderful company where flexibility of schedule is allowed and they have asked me to give them my plan for returning to work following my maternity leave. It's a great gift, and opportunity, to create the fabled work/life balance, and yet I'm almost paralyzed by the amount of choice.

There are of a lot of unknowns, mainly what type of child will ours be: one with "crazy collic" where the thought of working at home would be pointless or a fabulous "dine and sleep" angel who allows mom time to plow through two hours of work at a time?

As I will be in the office at least three days a week, we have to arrange for childcare. I've started asking friends for recommendations but they are spread out through the metro area and don't have the same commutes as we do. So where do you put the kid? At a location near your home, midway between the two workplaces or nearest to one parent's workplace?

Once general geography is determined, there is choice between daycare centers like Grandma's House & KinderCare, church daycares, smaller in-home daycares, etc. How do you know which is a good one?

And then, there are the limiting factors: if the child won't be attending five days a week you may not be priority on the daycare's list, regulations limit the number of infants a daycare can accept so you may find a place you like in the perfect location but realize they have no room for you at the time, and then there is cost.

Regardless, as we are still pushing off starting our research until after the holidays, any advice from the greater OnMilwaukee audience is greatly appreciated...

Drinks & Gift Wrapping: A Fabulous Duo!

moxy99 — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:21:31 GMT

Yesterday I was picking up a to-go order from Cafe Lulu when I came across their list of December events that included an ingenious idea!

On Dec. 20 & 21, if you dine/drink at Lulu, they invite you to bring your gifts along and they'll wrap them for you. Fabulous! As Cafe/Bar Lulu is in the hipster location of Bay View and the majority of their staff seem to have knack for the creative & artsy, I have a strong hunch that the gift wrapping will flow along those lines, providing you with the coolest wrapped gifts you've produced under the tree in years. If nothing else, having an adult beverage at Lulu while having your gifts wrapped sure beats standing in line at the mall for their basic wrap job, or fighting for the last roll of gift wrap at Target.

Oh and Lulu peeps, if you're looking to expand, we could use a Lulu 2 in Waukesha. Heck -- any of the downtown/east side/bay view restauranteurs -- you'd do well in the 'sha -- there isn't much choice out that way...

Where are all the Dunkin' Donuts?

moxy99 — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:07:09 GMT

Growing up in the greater Detroit area in the 1980s, there seemed to be a Dunkin' Donuts every two miles.

The slim white box with the pink and orange sides is a part of many of my childhood memories: tagging along as my parents helped my Aunt Deb move (something like 14 times in 10 years), driving there in the early morning hours to use the bathroom after my 3-year-old brother clogged ours with a box of tissues and sitting at the counter with my dad on one of those special "daddy/daughter" mornings washing a chocolate frosted down with a hot chocolate (kiddie cocaine).

My family moved to Wisconsin in 1989 and I was surprised by the lack of DDs in the greater Madison area. I suppose it was for the better, as the move to the Dairy State added new high-fat items to our diets like fish frys and cheese curds, so eliminating donuts only helped to keep our cholesterol a bit in line.

By the time I moved to Milwaukee I realized there were barely any in the area (at least on my commute). My husband claims there used to be a lot more, but all closed at about the same time a few years back. Now the only semi-convenient ones I know of are both downtown on Wisconsin Ave., which don't have drive-thrus. So it's always a gamble park illegally for 5 minutes between 7-9 a.m. to grab a coffee and Munchkins for the office.

Now I enjoy a Krispy Kreme donut also, but there are only two in metro Milwaukee. And I often enjoy the coffee at my local roasters, Stone Creek and Alterra, but sometimes I just need to go back to my roots for a medium coffee with cream and a chocolate frosted.

So DD, if you read this blog, I would like at least one more convenient drive-thru location added to my I-94 eastbound commute.