Cousin Rebecca!

Here are the pictures from Chicago, when Rebecca was in town to perform with Bartoli! It was so great to see her and catch up on everything that is going on in her life! As you can see, we enjoyed wine and great conversation.
















Joan and Mike stopped chatting for a moment so I could take this picture of Joan's "fancy" sweater! I love it! I'm hoping to take some pictures of it and try to recreate it.
















Even though the conversation may have been boring at times, Mitch and Nick were troopers and showed such patience while we talked. They learned one thing from Rebecca......she didn't like to practice her instrument either!
















What does family do after dinner? They play Sheephead! Here they are playing a friendly game in the hotel lobby! Rebecca was so happy to play Sheephead, because it apparently has been awhile. As I remember....she and Willie did very well!

Blogger's down!

I would love to post some pics of our weekend in Chicago with Rebecca, but because of some "blogger bugs" it won't allow me! Please be patient.........

The Love Story Continues......

Remember on Friday, Nick's girlfriend was supposed to get the flower he sent? Remember how nervous he was? Remember how excited I was? Well, according to Nick, her flower was sitting on a table for her to pick up, when some other girl snatched it off the table. Nick was crushed! But he's not going to let this get him down....no siree! He walked up to Alexis and told her that he did get her a flower, but someone took it. She looked at him and said that he was sweet! How cute is that?

In other news this week.......

We are going to Chicago this weekend to see Mike's cousin Rebecca. We plan on driving down on Friday, hang out with Joan/John/Mary/Willie and then have dinner on Saturday at Tucci Benuch! Mike's looking forward to some R&R, while the boys just want to swim at the hotel. Me? I'll probably kick Joan's butt in some cards and then do a little knitting. I'm working on a few Xmas gifts that I need to get done!

Did you see the Packer game? What a blowout! Now......if they can only keep the momentum. They have so many injuries that it will be very difficult for them to win any games. I have a $10 bet with Mitch that the Packers will beat the Falcons. I suppose I should give him his $10 now!

Mitchell is finally feeling better after having a double ear infection. He never got an ear infection as an infant, but gets a double when he's 13. He was in so much pain......but he now knows how important it is to take care of himself.

Well, I must get back to my wifely duties......no not that.....laundry! It amazes me the amount of laundry these men generate in my house. My biggest problem is Mike! I'll finish all the laundry and within 2 hours of finishing, the laundry basket will be full of Mike's dirty clothes he finally decided to pick up off the floor! Grrrrrrrrr! Now I make him wait a week before I'll do laundry again! Have a good week everybody!

Nick has a crush!

That's right folks! You read it here first.....Nick has a crush on a girl and is not afraid for her to know it! Nick came home from school and was talking about that at school this week you can purchase a flower and have it sent to someone in their homeroom. I asked him if there was someone "special" he wanted to send a flower to and with his cheeks blushing like two big red apples, he replied....YES! Apparently, Nick has liked this girl for about two years and wanted to send her a flower with a note that says "I really like you!" Now everyone together...Awwwwwww! When I asked him how she was going to find out who the flower is from, he said that he was going to ask her at the dance "Did you like the flower I sent you?" that way she'll know it's from him. Ready? Awwwwww! Then I notice today that he dressed up for school and I asked him..."Do you have Alexis in one of your classes?" and he admitted that he has her in one class! Awwwwwww!

I realized a couple of things about Nick.

First.....him and Mitchell are so different! Mitchell would never let a girl know that he likes her, or even have the courage to send her a flower! After Nick went to camp, Mike and I noticed how confident he became! Well, sending a girl a flower certainly shows that! Nick is so sure of who he is that he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.

Secondly......he has that "Brachmann" mojo and knows how to treat the ladies! (Mitch already has that charm!) He knows darn well that girls LOVE to get flowers. (especially when other girls don't get flowers!)

The following is for all the women!

Can you remember when you got your first flower, jewelry etc; and how special it made you feel? This girl is going to have that same feeling and it's because of my son! I told Nick that he will have made this girl's day, because all day she is going to try and figure out who sent her the flower. Every boy she looks at she is going to wonder if it's "him". She's going to hang onto that flower all day in school as if it's an Oscar, proudly showing it off to her friends, with her head held high declaring that a boy likes her! Then she'll get to the dance, looking over the mass of people, and then she'll see Nick approaching her. Their eyes will meet and Nick so meekly with his eyes downcast to the floor will ask her if she liked her flower that he sent her. So sweetly she'll reply yes.....giggle and then run to tell her friends that Nick likes her! Awwwwww!

It's funny......how fast your children grow up, how different they are compared to one another, how they look at life. I told Nick this morning at the bus......"Nicky this girl is one of the lucky ones, because she is so fortunate to have a Brachmann boy like her and make her feel special" He replied "Just like you Mom?" I said "That's right honey, just like me." He said, "Thanks, Mom, I love you" and I said "I love you, too!" Awwwwww!

So of course my big shout out this week goes to.........(drumroll, please!)

Nick! For having the courage to buy a girl a flower and for reminding all of us out there those first "flutters" of puppy love we all once had! Our world can be a scary place sometimes, but to an 11 year old boy, the scariest thing is telling a girl that you like her!