Milwaukee

Celebrating Ray and Jack: Reflecting on the Twins’ First Year

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

I don’t know how I managed to fall asleep the night before the babies came, but somehow I did. At least for a little while.

At 5 a.m., we got in our car for the drive to Kenosha. The normalcy of the drive was surreal—our favorite songs playing on the stereo, me in the driver’s seat, a big cup of hot coffee in my hand, and Michelle riding shotgun. However, the situation was decidedly not normal—the next time we were in the car together, God willing, our twin boys would be in the backseat.

In our hospital room, a calm, efficient nurse went about her business asking questions, getting signatures on forms and attaching all kinds of tubes and medical equipment to Michelle as she lay in the hospital bed. I paced the room – drinking coffee at a rapid pace – occasionally sitting, with my emotions swirling—a frenetic mashup of excitement, fear and uncertainty.

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Twin B: The Start of the Adventure of Our Lives

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

August 22, 2017, the day our lives would change forever, was a Tuesday.

We knew Michelle was pregnant and we were anxious and eager for our first appointment—the official start of this journey.

I arrived at the hospital and met Michelle. As we sat in the waiting room, I fidgeted and bit my nails, nerves washing over me, wave after wave. Our first appointment that day was supposed to be with our doctor, but as these things go, she was in a delivery and was unable to meet with us.

Still, we met with the nurse to complete a lot of those first appointment items that were all new to me. One of those items was the attempt to hear heart tones on the fetal Doppler. Our nurse had trouble finding anything … as she moved the implement, we just heard static. She left, and my nervousness grew.

Shortly, she returned with another nurse who she said was better at finding heart tones at this stage. That nurse located a heart tone rather quickly and the second I heard it, my eyes welled up and I looked at Michelle and saw tears in her eyes. Read More

Playboys at the Playhouse: A Winter Evening Downtown

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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It was with the belief that a well-rounded man attends both sporting events and theater that initially prompted me to join my friend Matt in ordering season tickets to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, also known as The Rep.

I’ve certainly attended my fair share of sporting events, and in the last six seasons, I’ve come to really enjoy being a season ticket holder at The Rep. Now, five times a year, me and my group of friends–Matt dubbed us Playboys at the Playhouse–are drawn Downtown to be transported somewhere else entirely – sometimes 1960s America amid racial upheaval, sometimes its pre-Industrial Revolution England. Sometimes it’s to Green Bay to see the story of the Packers’ most legendary coach, other times it’s ancient Greece to hear a gladiator wax poetic about the Trojan War.

No matter where we’re going, I always look forward to it. Read More

ABCs of Milwaukee Dining: A Conclusion

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

Late 2011 at Firefly Urban Grill + Bar, Wauwatosa

Late 2011 at Firefly Urban Grill + Bar, Wauwatosa

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“For a moment … we’re all immortal. Time stretches out forever. There’s a moment like that in every meal. If you pay attention it’s there … where oblivion is replaced with infinity … and then, the check comes.” -Aaron Wolfe from “Ruthy’s Dinner” at The Moth.

It has been eight months since our ABCs of Milwaukee Dining quest ended. Eight months where I’ve tried to figure how to sum up a two-year quest with my best friends. This is the best I could do.

Looking back, it is astounding to see all the things that have changed in the two years of our ABCs of Milwaukee Dining quest. Adam, Cindi, Shannon, TJ, Michelle and I have experienced two marriages and two babies. New houses. A new dog. New jobs. New friends. Vacations. And other things too. Read More

My Year in Concerts: 2013 & 2014

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

Craig Finn, lead singer of The Hold Steady and rock 'n roll prophet, soaks in the love on July 3, 2014, at Summerfest.

Craig Finn, lead singer of The Hold Steady and rock ‘n roll prophet, soaks in the Summerfest love in 2014.

We saw some great concerts in 2011 and 2012! So only seeing five shows in 2013 was a let down.

Nevertheless, when I put the last two years together, we saw some great concerts and although I don’t get to shows as often as I used to, I can’t think of many places I’d rather be than amidst other music lovers, beer in my hand and the music of a band I love making a moment into magic. Read More

We Kayaked the Milwaukee River: An Afternoon with Milwaukee Kayak Co.

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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Shortly after Michelle and I met, while talking on the phone, we discovered we had the same birthday. At the time, this little fact seemed charmed–a reason to keep talking despite the distance between us and the longshot prospects for a relationship.

Ten years on, that charming fact–August 3 being our shared birthday, I’m three years older–seems like more like a burden to bear. We always struggle to determine where to go and what to do.

As this past birthday approached, I decided to be proactive. I wanted to do something fun and memorable. I’d seen images on social media of people kayaking the Milwaukee River and I thought, if we were able to stay upright, it would be the perfect way to spend our day and take in a unique view of our city. Read More

Reflections on Ralphie’s First Year

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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“Animals should fit into your schedule,” I matter-of-factly told Michelle in the first week after we brought home Ralphie.

We were discussing whether she should walk him in the morning–if that would increase his comfort and tire him out for the 10 hours we’d be gone.

“When you love something, you make sacrifices,” Michelle retorted.

I’m not Michelle, so I had a lot to learn. Read More

Y is for Yen Ching

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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Whenever we select a restaurant I’ve never been to, I am eager to go online and see the reviews.

Thanks to Michelle’s winning entry of Yen Ching (Adam also picked it), I found mixed results of a curious, unsurprising variety. I saw claims that Yen Ching is the best Chinese in Milwaukee. I saw that Yen Ching was featured on Dirty Dining.

I was eager to form my own opinion, so on a sunny Friday evening in early June, we made the half-hour trek from Bay View to Brown Deer and pulled up in front of a restaurant festooned with life-size golden lions, red siding, green shingles and large Chinese characters.

The interior carried the theme further. The large dining space was decorated with items meant to evoke ancient China, and they looked like they had been in place for about as long. Adam said:

I loved the gold Buddha statue and paper-style lantern light fixtures.

The mostly windowless dining area was maybe a third full on a Friday night–no reservations necessary. Although, Cindi notes: “I noticed a lot of people picking up their take-out.” Read More

Touring Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery: A Pictorial

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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The unmistakable, lime green label of Lakefront’s IPA is ubiquitous in Milwaukee’s finer bars and restaurants, but as a neophyte beer drinker, I still remember it as the first microbrew that really made an impression on me. IPA remains one of my favorite beers.

So, it is a huge hole in my hophead resume that I have never been to Lakefront Brewery for a tour. I’d only first gone there the year before for a fish fry charity event.

When I saw a case of Lakefront beer and a private tour were a silent auction item, I had to win, and, eventually, after several other bidders stepped in, I made the winning bid – Michelle was okay with it because Lakefront also makes one of her favorite beers, Riverwest Stein, which is their most popular offering.

A year later, prior to our ABCs of Milwaukee Dining brunch at Wolf Peach, Adam, Cindi, Michelle, Shannon, TJ and I made the trek to the brewery, which is, decidedly, not on the lake. Instead, it is tucked in the Milwaukee River basin, in the Riverwest district. Read More

Painting & Drinking: An Evening at Milwaukee’s Splash Studios

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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The last time I put a brush to canvas was college. In my art class, I could never get anything to look how I wanted it. It was always frustrating.

Thanks to Splash Studio, in Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward, I now know that one element could have turneded those futile attempts at art into carefree fun … alcohol. Read More