2014-A Year End Review

Good morning everyone. It's been a busy week. Holidays are just about coming to an end with New Years a few days away. Christmas Eve, Jill and I hosted dinner at our house. We decided to skip the traditional meal of turkey and sides and decided "to hell with it, let's get creative" and made a cornucopia of different items and everything was delicious. Jill really outdid herself. Next year if we do it again, we'll cut back on the excessive amount of food. Thank you Pintrest for sparking the creative juices in my culitary creative wifey. All the kids enjoyed the presents. Everything Mia opened, she really loved. All the excitement got her pretty worn out and we got her into bed at a mostly reasonable time. For the first time since she's been born, Jill and I put the presents under the tree together, and set up the food for Santa. She wanted to leave a cupcake with a ton of iced sugar she put on it earlier in the day and organic chocolate milk. Blah. Hahaha. She had a great Christmas morning opening everything, and give Jill and I our "gifts" she picked out for us. Later, we packed up and headed down to Illinois.

It was a pretty good drive down to Jill's family's house. For a short while, she'd pull the "ughhhhh this is taking SO long" but mostly, she did well. She opened all of the gifts Jill's family got and played with everything. For a few days, she practiced and practiced shooting her Merida bow and arrow (from Brave) It's hard, the coordination it takes to do it, but she's getting better. The next time I see her, she actually may be way better at it. Other then that, we just simply enjoyed the off-work time. I got up early on Boxing Day to watch Chelsea FC play. Great game. Great goals. Glad we could get the victory after the holiday.

Saturday, I drove back to Wisconsin. It was pretty hard leaving because Mia kept telling me while holding me tight "Don't let go of my hand Daddy. Please don't". As heartbreaking as that was, I had to split because I had work on Sunday. When I got home, I turned on the Pens/Caps game. I shouldn't have. 3-0 loss was terrible. Sunday, I got up early and watched the Chelsea vs Southhampton game. Not the best game, but the draw will have to do. The refs seemed to be making all the wrong calls at times. Next game is on New Years Day (that I'll actually get to watch in NBC in real time) Usually when I watch the game online, it's about 5 minutes off and starts and stops often. I was quite sad to miss two very awesome indoor soccer opportunities yesterday and today. Yesterday, they had a small tournament from 4-7 and today, they have an early afternoon game. Ughh.

Okay, time for the annual Year End Review. A lot of things happened this year, so let's look at the positives first. Mia, has truly developed into this smart little person. She FINALLY became potty trained. It took a lot of work and different techniques, but she eventually decided for herself to become potty trained. She can count to 20, knows the majority of the letters when written in front of her, and can write her own name out. She started school this year, which was awesome. Smarty Pants Learning Center 3k has developed her into being more social with kids and making new friends. She loves her teacher and always looks forward to telling me about her day after school. (most of the time). She sings ALL the time now. When she's playing with her dolls, sitting on the potty, or just playing in the bathtub, she's singing SOMETHING and it's adorable. Jill started an Etsy store Colorful Noise (the name seems familiar) where she was making jewery pieces from Mia's art and selling them. They looked awesome and we'll see if next year she'll do more. We took a trip to both Florida and Indiana this year. Both were enjoyable. Mia loved the ocean in Florida and hanging out with her friend Caleb in Indy. I got to go to a concert this year. My sister and I saw Tegan and Sara at Summerfest. I was torn between seeing The Lawrence Arms in Madison or T&S in Milwaukee. Ended up seeing Tegan and Sara. The wait was insane, but worth it. Still wish I would have seen TLA. In the Fall, I got to play a game of pick up at Brookfield Indoor. It was a lot of fun. No goals, but a few assists made me happy.

Now for some negatives (unfortunately). She's developed the attitude most kids get at this age. (hence why we call her a threenager) and is feisty about eating and what she doesn't want to eat. I swear, its like a hostage negotiation, but we're working on it, and haven't given up. Jill unfortunately lost her Grandma this year. She was a fun-spirited woman who always treated me like one of her own grand kids. Mia really liked her too.  Remi got to visit the vet emergency room twice this year. One injury while hiking (when he broke his toenail) and then recently, he got into a box of raisins.

Okay, let's look at the goals from last year and see how I did.
Another series of great photographs-Not quite. I need to brainstorm still and think of something truly awesome to do.
if the weather cooperates, make a snow-Minion- The weather didn't. Didn't have the best "snow-Minion" making weather sadly. And this winter has been peculiar since we haven't had snow since November.
Draw a portrait of a Chelsea player-DONE! My Didier Drogba picture turned out alright. I'm planning on doing another picture very soon.
Work on my endurance/get in better shape- It's a work in progress. I've been running more with Remi, and a few times, I've been able to get to the park to work on free kicks and overall, just running across the field.

2015 Goals
Create more art.
Continue working on getting in better shape.

That's it. I want these goals to be my focus all year. In 2015, we've got a trip in the spring to Florida, but this time, we'll be going to Disney for a day. Mia will be starting 4k in the Fall as well. Thanks for keeping up with the happenings in my life. See you next year!

Kris Kringle Crunch Time

Good Morning. I'm a bit late on the blogging. Totally forgot to write yesterday morning. Over the weekend, we spent Saturday in Illinois exchanging gifts with some of Jill's friends who were in town
for a short time. Mia played with her old pal Caleb like they've known each other forever (which they have) After playing at lunch and at Jill's parent's house, I came to the conclusion that Mia is full of crap. The whole "boys are yucky and gross, I don't like them" is a total bunch of BS, she had so much fun with Caleb. She did specify that she doesn't want to kiss them (which is fine) when Caleb went in for a smooch, but they had a great time. He was showing her all of his karate moves, and she'd try to imitate them. Maybe that's why she likes him. He could protect her :P

Sunday, we drove up, and I worked 2-10. This week, we've still got a lot to do. This morning we're going to make the effort to wrap Mia's presents (and hopefully not wake her). We were going to yesterday, but Jill had a pinched nerve in her shoulders and couldn't get her self moving. An acupuncture appointment helped with that.

Forgot to mention this: Thursday, I took Mia to her school's Christmas program. She got all dolled up, dress, tights, her red heels etc. She was invited to sing, but of course said "no thank you" but we went anyway to watch her classmates including longtime friend Hannah. She had a great time. She proudly walked to the gym showing me the different rooms and where she plays etc etc. She clapped for every song. She actually knew the lyrics to the 3k songs, but just was too shy to sing. After the concert, she got to hang a bit with her friends. Her teacher was so happy Mia came. Friday when I picked her up from school, she gave Jill and I the most beautiful ornament she made.It was a thumbprint with antlers like a reindeer. "THIS IS FOR YOU GUYS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH"

I finished my Didier Drogba portrait. At the time, I was quite stoked, but the more I look at it, the more I realize it could use some work. Overall, it's not bad. I'm probably going to move on to another player this weekend.

So the other week while listening to the Chelsea FanCast, I wrote in to the show about how Mia and I are big fans, blah blah blah, and last week, they read it on their show and showed a photo of Mia. (with her David Luiz tongue sticking out) Totally awesome. Mia loved it. "MOMMY THESE GUYS IN ENGLAND SAW MY CHELSEA PICTURE!" I sadly missed the Stoke game yesterday, but on my break, I saw we won 0-2. I'll watch the highlights after I post this blog. Doesn't feel like Christmas with the 40 degree temps and rain. Last day of work today. WOO! Thanks for reading :)

Chef Mia

Good Morning. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. Wednesday, Mia and I went to my parent's house to watch the Chelsea vs Sporting game. A very easy match that got us through the next round with easy. I had my work's annual Year-End Meeting, so I had to drop off Mia at Jill's studio, and then jet over to work to pick up a few people THEN head over to the meeting. Mia had a solid day at school Friday. They painted wreaths and she told me they played in the gym. Her teacher told me Mia didn't like how loud it gets in there with a lot of kids running around screaming, but later Mia mentioned she played basketball and made a few shots. :) She was invited to a Christmas program (to either perform or sing) on this Thursday. I'd LOVE to see her sing, but Mia told me she's too shy to sing and that she'd rather just attend it. We haven't decided if that's happening yet or not.

Saturday, I got up sorta late, but made it back from my walk in time to watch the Chelsea vs Hull City game. I missed Eden Hazard's header and first goal. Bugger. It was not the best game, chocked full of cards and dives, but we got the 2-0 win. We later went over to my parent's house to bake cookies with them. I kept my Dad entertained while Jill and Chef Mia baked with my Mom. They had a lot of fun, and Jill's Maple-Flavored Sandwich Cookies are incredibly tasty.

Sunday, I worked early. Very busy, but it was game-day for all of the Packers fans, so I wasn't surprised. After work, I met up with Jill in the area, and Jill shopped for a few things for Christmas. Later, we had a scary situation. Mia had left a small box of raisins on her little table in the living room, and Remi got into them. If you're a dog owner, this is really scary, because you would remember that grapes and raisins can be toxic for dogs. We didn't see how many he ate, just that the box was torn to pieces. He has NEVER even touched a grape or wanted raisins if they fall to the floor, but for some reason last night, they looked good. Jill quickly called the emergency vet, and she rushed Remi in to induce vomiting and get it out of his system swiftly. I stayed with Mia for a few reasons. A-It was late, and who knows how long we would have been sitting there. Jill didn't get home till 11:30pm. B-Because it was late, I didn't know what other cases of emergency situations were sitting in that waiting room, and I didn't want Mia seeing them. Good thing we didn't go, because Jill said there was a cat that was run over by a car, and another cat that was about to be euthanized. :( So I stayed home with Mia, and got her ready for bed. Nervously, I calmed her down and got her to relax and try to sleep. Jill came home as soon as Mia started to fall asleep, so she heard Jill walk in the door and woke up.

Remi's fine, and we caught it in good time. Because of his size, he didn't eat enough that would have done anything horrible, however we just have to keep monitoring him for a few days. Took him out for his daily walk, and he acted quite normal. I explained to Mia how important it is to never leave out any raisins on the table. We don't want this happening again.

Lots to do this week. Hopefully everything can get accomplished.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Bright Lights

Good Morning everyone. It's been a busy week, and the holiday is creeping in every day. Wednesday, Mia and I went to the trampoline park with my brother and one of his kids. It was perfect. There were so little kids there, which gave Mia and her cousin Easton plenty of room to run laps around the place. A boy came up to her at one point and said "Hi!" and she responded with "Hi little boy, I do NOT wanna marry you, sorry boy" and the Mom goes he's a nice boy, but you don't have to worry about getting married yet little girl". I told Mia "he wasn't proposing to you sweetheart". Anyways, Mia had a lot of fun. Later, we watched the Chelsea vs Spurs game at my parents house with my Dad. The 3-0 win was fantastic. Great goals despite the lack of Costa. Drogba had no problem getting one in the net proving he's still awesome.

Friday, she had school. She was off last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday break, so it was nice to get her back in for the morning. She had a lot of fun, and when I picked her up, the whole school smelled like fresh-baked gingerbread cookies. Saturday, I got up super early to watch the Chelsea vs Newcastle game. I had high hopes for a win, but in the end, we lost 2-1. We needed Matic (who was out on suspension) in the defensive mid. He's been great this season, but Saturday, we suffered our first loss in 23 games. For some reason, Chelsea always struggles when we play Newcastle away. After the disappointing loss, my in-laws arrived for the weekend to celebrate my father in law's birthday. Jill had to go photograph Santa photos at her studio, so we later brought Mia in. It was a tad rough, but we got a nice photo of Mia the Diva.

Later, we went to the holiday lights thing in Pewaukee where you drive a car through a short path that had huge displays of Christmas lights. Mia enjoyed it. Sunday, they left early for Illinois, and we spent the day getting gifts ready to send out to our family and friends out of state. Last night when I came home, Mia was asleep, so Jill and I made our best effort to catch up on Orange is the New Black. Almost finished with season 2. It's been pretty interesting to say the least!

This week will be another busy one. Mia's got a dentist appointment Tuesday (which I'm not looking forward to). It's not that she's even slightly cranky at the dentist, it's what they have to do. hopefully she's a brave little girl and does well. I've been trying to work on her Tegan and Sara custom shirt, and my Drogba portrait is really coming along.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Feast De Le Resistance

Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Wednesday, our new furnace was installed!! YEAHHHH! Mia and I spent most of the day hanging out at the house while the two fellas worked on installing it and updating our pipes and heat line. The new furnace is very quiet and smaller, which is great. When the guy fired it up, it had that new smell, and Mia yells out "IT SMELLS AWFUL, THIS GUY IS CONTRIBUTING TO AIR POLLUTION!" I just about died laughing. Thanksgiving morning, I worked 6am-2pm. We got pretty busy after 9am, but when 2pm came, I was so stoked to go home and not come back till Monday afternoon. We had a great Thanksgiving by my parents. Mia played very nicely with everyone without the whole sassy attitude that she gets from time to time.

 Friday morning, we were on the road and off to Illinois for the weekend to visit Jill's family. Mia was mostly good in the car, and we had another great 2nd Thanksgiving with them. This will most likely be the last one we have in Illinois since they'll be moving up here come Spring 2015. It was a little different sitting at the table. One person was missing. A person I grew accustom to seeing every Thanksgiving. Jill's beloved grandma who passed away this year. No one mentioned it, but it was strange for me. Saturday, Jill's friend Whitney came over. We chatted during the Chelsea vs Sunderland game (ughhhhhhh) Mia helped decorate Jill's family's tree, and we enjoyed the strange, but nice weather outside. It was in the upper 40's. Later, Mia helped bake some Christmas cut-out cookies.

Sunday, we had a birthday party to get to, so we packed up in the morning and left. We went to Jill's co worker's daughter's 1st birthday party. It was Frozen themed, and everything was quite adorable. Mia made a couple of ornaments and played pin-the-nose-on-the-Olaf. Arabella (the baby) looked adorable, and made out like a bandit. Her Dad will have lots to put together :P  Sunday night, we did the traditional activity of setting up the Christmas tree and did some decorating. The living room looks very nice, and Mia's Christmas tree looks great. Hard to believe the holidays are here already. Lots to do, but every time I get stressed, I look at that gleefully happy smile on Mia who can't wait for Christmas. Thanks for reading!