The Toddler 200

Greetings! Eating some guacamole and chips before I head off to bed. Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. I worked the majority of it, but enjoyed whatever time I wasn't stuck at work, outside. Saturday, we went with my parents to check out some dogs from a rescue/foster group in Waukesha. They ended up with a very friendly Aussie/Shepard/Mix named Chief. It's interesting watching my Dad interact with him since he has no interest in dogs, or has ever liked pets in general, but having a dog will be good for the old man. Gives him someone to talk to, and he can take him outside throughout his morning routine. Sunday, we spent the morning with Jill's parents and did some yard work. Got all of the grass cut before I went off to work.

Monday, I went in for a hair cut. The place I've been going to for a short while is a small company down the road from our house. The owner snuck me in quick before an appointment. She was telling me about all of her different marketing moves to help her business grow and get customers, and mentioned she needed a new logo. I said I've got a background in graphic design and she seemed interested in me designing a new logo. Sounds good. Today, I got a little start on what I'm going to do. Also over the weekend, Mia befriended our neighbor's little boy James. He wandered over a few times over the last few days and they played nicely. He's 4, but Mia has no problem telling him "HEY DON'T POKE THAT TOAD WITH A STICK!" In the photo below, you can see them racing in our drive way.

Mia and I had planned on hanging with my best bud Jay and his kiddo today, but the weather looked threatening and he ended up having some work to do so we took a rain check. My little brother had his second kid, Camden the other day so Mia and I went over to visit. His other son Easton was asleep as well as Cam so we didn't stay very long. I forgot how incredibly tiny new borns are. Mia's very shy and nervous around babies. Mostly because she has dolls the same size that don't move, cry or anything like that. She was calling him "my little brother" today which is kind of funny considering she has no interest in a sibling.

The World Cup is getting closer and closer. Getting exited as the days go on. It made national news that former superstar Landon Donovan wasn't chosen for the USMNT to play in Brazil. Everyone was upset (minus my older brother and myself) He may be good with the Galaxy, but is he honestly quality for the US team at this point in his career? I'm thinking, not likely. Wondolowski is at the top of his career with a good stack of goals scored with the Earthquakes. The US team may get out of their seed alive with him as striker, but facing Germany and Portugal could be a challenge, not to mention Ghana who knocked them out in 2010.

Last but not least in the soccer world, last week Chelsea said goodbye to our beloved David Luiz. Always a fan favourite with his charisma and his ability to covert free kicks to goals and overall silly personality. He will be playing for France giants PSG next season for a cool 50m. He's Mia's favorite player and when I broke the news to her that he left Chelsea, she responded with "awww that's really sad Daddy". She still loves "Super Frank" and "Nando' Torres" so that's good. Hoping Mo can turn these big sales to some big players for the Blues next season. This Saturday is our 6-year anniversary so we're hoping to go out for dinner somewhere. Right now we're torn between vegetarian or sushi. Possibly some footgolf Saturday morning in Madison with my bro. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

FIRE!

Greetings. Hope everyone's been enjoying the amazingly beautiful weather. Over the weekend, We hung out at my brother Andy's rummage sale. Mia had fun playing with Easton, which is always enjoyable. The best was yet to come, Sunday. I was looking forward to the Chicago Fire vs Sporting KC game for quite a while. Despite not being a big fan of either team, I wanted to make it to an MLS game this year. Most importantly, I wanted to do something fun for myself and my father. We don't always connect, but with soccer, we somehow make it work. Anyways, the drive was simple. The two hours down wasn't too bad and before we knew it, we found the stadium. The seats were awesome, and the game was anything but boring. Chicago won 2-1. The first half, we had not one, but TWO penalty kicks. Ironically, the last game I saw, which was Chelsea vs Inter, there was a penalty kick as well :)

Anyways, it was a great time, my Dad had fun and we look forward to going to a game again in the future. Swansea will be playing Chivas at Miller Park (which seems to be getting just about everyone I know that loves soccer to go to the game) but I think I'm going to pass. Both teams I don't have interest in, and ticket prices are a bit more. Plus, I don't know how they'll lay out the soccer pitch, which could reflect where I would want to sit. I'm glad they are doing this game, because people who ARE big fans of the Chivas and/or the sport of soccer, a chance to see it on a more professional level. I won a $10 gift card from Stefans the other day. I had guessed correctly where the Fuelco fella (World Cup mascot) was in a photo in Milwaukee.

Took Mia to the final Tot Time till September at the trampoline park on Tuesday. Captain crabby pants was tired and whiney at times, but we still had some fun. Hoping to do some beach days in the near future since the weather has been so amazing.

Memorial Day weekend is coming up. Jill's familia is coming up Sunday, but I'll be at work. Hoping the weather stays as nice. Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading :)

Calling All Soccer Hooligans

Good Morning everyone :) Well, I missed the final Chelsea game of the season Sunday morning, but they did pull off a win so at least we ended the long season on a somewhat good note. Counting down the days to the World Cup now. With the Penguins out of the playoffs, I'm left to root for the Montreal Canadians. So glad Boston's out. Mother's Day weekend was great. Jill loved the photo with paper flowers Mia and I put together for her. The weather wasn't too bad either, but currently, it's rainy (again) and cold. Brrr..Took Mia to Kids in Motion this week to play with her friends and the other we went to the park with them. A tad cold and dreary, but she had fun. She also mastered a new thing at the play ground too. Inside this "tree house" there's a ladder where the steps are made of leaves. It's not like a ladder that is straight up and down, it sort of staggers a little in a spiral-like motion. Anyways, she saw her friends scaling it so of course SHE wanted to try it. A little scared at first, but when she got to the top (with my help) she was so proud. When Jill came home later that night, she of course had to tell her about her new concur with a "Mommy, are you proud of me?" Adorable.

This weekend we're shooting pictures of our friends Cori and Dan with their little boy Hunter. Hopefully the weather is better. Sunday my Dad and I will be driving to Bridgeview Illinois to watch the Chicago Fire take on Sporting KC. Should be a great time.  Once again, hoping for really nice weather since we'll be outside. I was notified there will be a SoccerFest coming in June, with a massive amount of people to be expected. Different age groups have teams, all competing for the "World Cup". From my understanding, it's one of the biggest soccer events in the country. My brother BJ and I are intrigued so I made a post in search of 4 more players. If we can get a team, it'll only end up being about 14 dollars a person. Sounds like a blast, but I'm not holding my breath. Who knows if I'll be able to get this team filled. 

That's it for now. Thanks for reading! :) 

Balance

Good Morning. Over the weekend, Jill had to work a Saturday, which is rare, but we made the best of it. Mia and I spent time at the park and she learned how to do the balance beam (with help of course) She also kicked her pink soccer ball all over the pitch. Later, Jill stopped over after work, but before we left, I somehow bicycle kicked my soccer ball into the basketball hoop. Totally stoked, but probably couldn't do that again if I tried. Sunday, I was supposed to work a 7am-3pm shift but a co worker had surgery which forced me into a 2-10 shift for the evening. It worked out okay because that allowed me to watch the Chelsea vs Norwich game. I suppose I was better off working because we drew at 0-0. For some reason Chelsea struggled. The chances were there, but we couldn't get through Norwich's defense. I honestly think we had some of the wrong guys starting. Torres should have started ahead of Ba, and Hazard too. When they brought him and David Luiz in the start of the 2nd half, their presence was known, because Chelsea starting getting a little more aggressive and were making some crosses.

With the season just about over for the Blues, it'll be interesting to see who stays and who we pick up come Summer time. Most fans want to see us pick up a new striker. Eto'o, Ba and Torres are all on the chopping block. I could see Mourinho keeping Torres, but not the other fellas. I'm hoping they sign new 1 year deals with legends Terry and Lampard. The rumors will fly for a while, but I'm going to try to avoid them. The best news of the week was when Liverpool blew a 3 goal lead and tied 3-3 to Crystal Palace Watching them drag Suarez off the pitch in tears proved that even when you get 3 goals, there is still hope they can catch up. I didn't catch the game, but I'm glad Liverpool probably won't win the title.

This weekend: Jill's hosting a party on Saturday, followed by a cookout for our parents. Sunday, I'm 7am-3pm, but would REALLY love to play some indoor turf soccer later :P Today, I'm hoping to finish any last minute Mother's Day stuff and take Mia to the trampoline park for Tot Time.

Last but not least, my brothers and myself are in the process of setting up a Footgolf (soccer golf!) outing hopefully soon. I'm intrigued about this new fast growing sport so it should be a fun time.
That's all for now, thanks for reading :)