May with Henry

It all started last Sunday when Henry had two of his friends over and they wanted Pizza Hut for dinner.  After finding out that they don't deliver, we opted for Infusino's pizza instead.  Well Henry has been craving Pizza Hut since then so off to the Hut we went tonight.

Henry wanted to the $10 Dinner Box so that's what we got.  Definitely way too much food for two so we had some good take home for Mom (or for us later).

Henry had a unique school day and he told me ALL about it.  They had a field trip to Discovery World including a 3 hour cruise on a tall ship, a 3 hour cruise.  They had the kids rotate between several stations where they learned interesting scientific facts about Lake Michigan, its water and its animal life.  He told me so many details, it obviously made a big impression on him.

Only rough part of the night was the acting up of Henry's sometimes touchy tummy.  He knew he was on the edge of losing it but was still ok.  He left out two belches which would make any sailor proud and was able to hold it together.  We got strange looks from the people at the tables near us but I knew it was what Henry needed to do to be ok so even though it may have appeared rude, I was just thankful that Henry was ok.  By the time we got home, Henry was ready for some of the leftovers we took home so all was ok.

Dinner = $24.47 (beverages and tip more than dinner lol)  Time with Henry = Priceless!

May with Brittany

Brittany and I met on the usual Thursday evening timeslot.  However we both had a lot going on that day and so our time was limited and dinner went way too fast.

We went to Red Robin in Kenosha.  This was a very good choice.  I think I had only been to a Red Robin once before but I definitely think I will go there more often.  Brittany had the California Chicken sandwich and I had Guacamole Bacon Burger.  Both very good choices and plenty to eat.

First we talked about both of us being in transitional states.  I am actually in the middle of a week off between jobs.  More importantly Brittany is at the end of year 4 of her 5 year program at MU and just turned in an INCREDIBLE 4.0!!!  This of course is already opening some great doors of opportunity for her and I am sure will continue to do so.  Wedding plans continue and we discussed that a bit too.

With time running out Brit and I got to our favorite subject (our Faith) too late.  It is funny how quite often the theme of what Brit and I have been experiencing or reading or listening to lately often have some strong similarities and it seems that once we start on this subject, we could go on forever.  But alas, we both had time deadlines we had to keep and off we wen on our separate ways.

Dinner = $31.45  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

Also, we were so hurried that I forgot to get a picture :(

May with Sara

I have fallen a bit behind on my Dinners with Dad because I have not been able to match schedules with Joe yet for May so that update will be later.  The dinner with Sara went on as scheduled the second Thursday of the month.  Sara let me know that her Dinner with Dad has always been on schedule so far and she is also making it a mission to do a new location each month.

This month Sara chose Salute in downtown Racine.  As I think I have mentioned before, Racine has some great Italian cuisine and Salute is another one that fits that description.  Sara went with the Gnocchi and I went with the Sauteed Penne Bolognese.  Both of us loved our dinners and were only to finish about half of it - makes for some good leftovers.

One thing I am noticing as the Dinners with Dad continue is that our conversations seem to be more animated, cover more topics and go by too fast.  We had a long wait for dinner becasue Salute was very busy for a Thursday night - I am guessing they might have been a bit understaffed.  This gave us time to cover everything from work, to relationships, to politics, to religion and probably a few other things.  Our waitress realized that our service was very slow so she offered to make it up to us by giving us one free round of drinks and ending the dinner with a shot of Sambuca.  I have always been a fan of the Sambuca but Sara did not seem to like it as much and said it made her mouth feel funny lol.

Meanwhile back at home, Glamma Lisa took Rose to Henry's baseball practice.  Rose had a good time and was fawned over by all the other moms at the practice.  By the time Sara and I got back home, Rose was sound asleep in Glamma's arms.  She woke up enough to wave buh-bye and all was good.

Dinner = $31.74  Time with Sara = Priceless!

April with Henry

Due to another busy week including some business travel for me, Dinner with Dad once again got pushed off to Sunday.  Being the last week of the month, it was Henry's turn again.

Henry had been saying he wanted to go to Red Lobster but as we were driving there, he started to waver and was considering other possible options but he stuck with Red Lobster.  Well when we got there, we found out the wait was 45 minutes.  Well that was enough to push Henry to option #2 which was Denny's.

Off to Denny's we went.  Denny's is usually our favorite place for breakfast for dinner, however being that it was Sunday, we already had our big breakfast today which is our custom after Church.  So Henry and I discussed other menu options at Denny's outside of breakfast foods.

Well it ended up being a chicken night for both of us.  First we had onion ring appitizers and then it was Chicken Nuggets for Henry and the Hickory Grilled Chicken Sandwich for me.  We were both good with our menu choices and felt like it was just the right amount of food - usually when leaving Denny's we are over stuffed.

Conversation with Henry tonight focused on travel, then school and churh and then sports.  On the travel side, both Henry and I would like to go to Washington DC.  Neither of us have ever been there.  As far as school and church Henry shared with me his process for getting through different challanges as he grows up.  I can't quite repeat the whole process but basically he looks at each challenge as a step that he needs to climb and there are many parts of taking a step - picking up your foot, raising it, extending it out, etc.  I thought this was very profound for a 9 year-old.  Regarding sports, we went over the finer points of his basketball game. 

After dinner we stopped at Kohl's to pick up some new Sodastream bottles and then headed home.  For some reason we decided to speak like British people joking about Wisconsinisms as we drove home.  It was a strange conversation but sometimes it's fun to use your imagination and it had both of us laughing.  Then home for a bit of Wii and call it a night.

Dinner = $22.49.  Time with Henry = Priceless!

A special post - April with College Friends

Ok this is not exactly a Dinner with Dad post, but perhaps an offshoot of Dinner with Dad - Dinner with Friends.

A few days ago I got a call from one of my UW-O college friends Deb who was getting some of us together for a dinner.  I was happy to get the invite since I only seem to get together with these good friends a few times a year.  Last night the dinner happened with me and six of my college friends.  Sidenote - Lisa was going to join us but could not tear herself away from the Scrapbooking event that she was at - this is one of her favorite things to do so I was good with batch'in it.

We got together at Roma Lodge - which was good for me since this is very close to home.  Before dinner conversations centered around getting updated on each other's lives and the lives of our kids (and grandkids in my case).  A few of my friends commented on enjoying reading the Dinner with Dad blog and asked if this dinner could make the blog.  I said sure why not - it is not exactly a Dinner with Dad but it was Dinner with me and this could develop into a whole other tangent - Dinner with Friends.  We all agree every time that we get together that it is too long in between times that we see each other - maybe we need to start a Dinner with Friends blog?????

After a few cocktails, it was on to dinner.  I once again went with eggplant, several had the Filet Mignon, Russ had the ravioli.  Of course each dinner included a salad bar and an Italian side dish - mostaccioli, meatballs, angelhair, etc.  I could tell by the conversation, by the satisfied looks and by the inability to rise from the table after dinner that everyone loved their dinners and had plenty to eat.

After dinner we had some after dinner drinks and more conversation.  Most of the gang had Brandy Alexanders but Chuck and I stuck with the Spotted Cow.  Conversations morphed from updates on current life to several stories that started with "Remember that one time when we..."  All I can say is that it is a good thing that our offspring are obviously smarter than their parents because we did some crazy things and thankfully lived through it and got our acts together at some point (kind of).

Thanks Deb and Russ for getting us together teaching us the secret handshake to get into the Roma back room.  It was fantastic!

Pictured from left to right - me, Russ, Chuck, Cathie, Deb, Kathy and Da Mose.

Dinner = $120 + Drinks - gotta love Roma - great food for 7 for $120.

Time with great friends = Priceless!

April with Brittany

We are on a compact schedule this month it seems.  This is Dinner with Dad #3 in 8 days and due to scheduling conflicts Henry has decided to move his up to Monday next week so that will make it all 4 in 12 days - I love it!

Like Joe, Brittany decided to repeat her choice of March.  We once again went to Chipolte.  And just like I commented with Joe, I am good with this repeat because I definitely do like Chipolte and am happy to come back.  I had a chicken burrito and Brittany had some veggies in a bowl thing.  Also a little hint - their Margaritas are fantastic.

Well since I last had Dinner with Brittany, she has gotten some big news.  Brittany has gotten engaged to her high school sweetheart Vince and I am very happy for the two of them.  So with work, school and now wedding planning going on Brittany is very very busy.  We found out that we have a similarity in that we both appreciate down time and when a week is booked before the week starts it becomes tough.  Both Brit and were in the middle of one of those weeks.

One other thing I noticed about our conversation was that even though she has all this going on in her life, the first thing she asked me about was my life and how my week was going.  As I was driving to our dinner date I was thinking about all things I wanted to ask Brit about regarding her life and then she turns it on me and gets me talking about my life - very nice.

Dinner = $19.92.  Time with Brittany = Priceless!

April with Joe

Well after a slow two weeks, things have picked up in the Dinner with Dads.  Sunday night was Joe's rescheduled night.

Joe came down late afternoon and we had the first repeat restaurant so far and that was fine with me.  For the second month in a row we went to Infusino's.  I would love to try other things on the menu but I can't seem to stray away from my favorite Eggplant Parmigiana - maybe I will try something next month ;).  Joe definitely tried something else and went with the Seafood Platter.  I loved my dinner as usual and took half home for Lisa (she loves it too).  Joe put down the Seafood Platter, some soup, fries and a baked potato - hungry man I guess.

Going out on Sunday evening always seems to be quite a slower pace which is nice.  Conversation was relaxed and we hit our our usuals of work and politics.  Joe is working a lot of hours and has not had a chance to do much else.  He is keeping a good attitude about it and is planning to possibly take some time off in the summer after earning some savings and some vacation days.  Perhaps we could do a Dinner with Dad at Summerfest???

Came back home and Joe joined Henry and I in a game of Monopoly.  Joe and I made an early game trade I got States Avenue and he got Park Place.  We had Henry just about out and then I hit Boardwalk wiping me out first followed shortly thereafter by Henry.  Nice win Joe.

Dinner = $28.28  Time with Joe = Priceless!