Spent the last day of our four day weekend in Milwaukee. Milwaukee County Zoo, fingerprint appointment, Lakefront (got to see the Cicus train cars, too) and finally, our first taste of Ethiopian food.
It must have been our lucky day (notice the lucky ladybugs we found)....our fingerprint appointment was at 3:00, we got there about 15 minutes early and ended up walking out the doors at 3:03! Quick and painless!
Visted Alem Ethiopian Village for dinner. We ate in traditional Ethiopian style, sitting around a woven table "thingy" (not sure what it's called). Aparantly, these large tables are woven with very tall grasses, by the Ethiopian people. Traditionally, the food is all cooked and served right on the table. We tried one of the Ethiopian samplers. It was a combination of vegetables along with beef, lamb and chicken. The food is served "family style" on a large piece of flat bread called "Injeera". The different foods are placed on top of the injeera and then there are rolled up pieces of ingeera around the platter that you unroll and use to scoop up the food with. Silverware is not used at all.
I really liked the Doro Wat (chicken stew)as it had a really good, spicy flavor. The food is all in a really heavy, thick, spicy sauce...it reminds me of gravy sort of. The injeera will have to become an aquired taste for me...if I ever really enjoy it at all. It reminded me of a cold crepe. It's like a flat, cold, rubbery pancake. The texture and temperature of it is what got to me the most. I prefer really hot and "non-rubbery" foods!
I am sure that authentic Ethiopian food, in Ethiopa, will taste different than the American version, anyway. Chinese food in China, was definatly different than it is here in the states....spicier and tastier!
Enjoy the photos!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day in Milwaukee
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fun at Bay Beach
Spent a whoppin' $15 for four hours of fun on the rides at Bay Beach. It was a perfect day for it...not too hot and not too busy. We even found a "Grandpa Look Alike"...can you guess which Grandpa he looks like??
Friday, June 19, 2009
The UW-W Gang
We had my UW-Whitewater roomates and their families up for a cook out and get toghether last weekend. I can't believe how fast 17 years flew by. Seems like just yesterday that we were locked out of our apartment and the guys next door came and showed us how they could get into our apartment by using their credit card. (SCAREY)
We had a fun time together and it's always fun to see everyone's kids, too. Notice that three of the six kids are Fiddlebug kids. All of the other girls have only one child. Are we crazy or what? I wouldn't have it any other way! :)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Mighty Max
Steve really wanted to get a little lap dog and had been bugging us the last month about it....so, I finally gave in and we made a visit to the kennel. Yeah...RIGHT!! The kids and I have been bugging Steve about getting another dog. Ellie can use the socialization of having another dog and this summer seemed like the summer to do it. I just LOVE to potty train, aparantly. Emma is just about trained, except for the occasional accident. Now, we'll work on the dog....and next summer the new little one! The fun never ends at the Fiddlebug house!
So, here he is...or new baby boy...Mighty Max. He is 15 weeks old. He's a Lhasa Chon (like Chakkah Kahn?), a cross between a Lhasa Apso and a Bichon. He is 8 pounds right now and will get to be about double in size when he's full grown. He's a little sweetheart!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thank You Eliana!
Thank you to the Nichols Family and especially to little Eliana, who sent such an awesome Birthday gift for Emma. We did a birthday exchange between some of the kids in our China travel group. What fun it was for Emma to get a package in the mail and open up the gift to discover all sorts of fun things to create with. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Happy Gotcha' Day, Emma!
Today we celebrated Emma's "Gotcha' Day". We ordered out for Chinese food. Emma LOVES eggdrop soup. She ate four bowls of it! We also gave her a special gift that we bought when we went to China to get her. What a little Asian Princess she is!
Two years ago, today, I celebrated Mother's Day, thousands of miles away in another country. I flew thirteen hours from home, to receive the most awesome gift a mother could receive. The gift of a child. My body did not carry this child, but my heart sure did. For two years, I dreamed of this big day. The day this little Chinese girl would be placed in my arms and I would be her mommy...forever. A day that God, Himself, ordained, before he even created the world. As I reflect on the past two years, I am in awe, that God chose, me, to be Emma's mom. I am humbled beyond words and I am grateful, not only to the God of the Universe, but also to a woman, somewhere in China, who honored the life of a child, by choosing life for her. I pray that she is safe and healthy and has a peace that only God could provide, and I thank her for giving me the most precious Mother's Day gift ever!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Emma's New Wheels and Sandbox
We bought Emma a sand table for her birthday and decided to give it to her a little bit early, so she could play with it. She loves digging around in the sand and "cooking up" food for us to eat. I love the fact that she doesn't have to "sit" in the sand to play! Why didn't they have sand tables when Noah was a toddler? The turtle sandbox was cute, but very messy!
The babysitter also found Emma a "toesy toupe tar" (Cozy Coupe Car) at a rummage sale. One day, while I was at school, Emma and Brenda had a carwash outside and cleaned up the car together. Then, Brenda put Emma's name on the license plate for her. She loves to drive around the patio and take her car to "Walmart" to buy stuff. She also likes to put things in the trunk...notice Caleb's skateboard!
Such fun for an almost three year old!
