The Year 2015: A Reflection

Good evening. It was quite a busy week for the holidays. Mia and I spent some off-time with her old BFFs Hannah and Gracie at The Big Back Yard. It was a lot of fun watching the kids chase each other  around as I caught up with their Mom. Thursday, I was also off and we went over to my brother's house for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and Mia played very nicely with the boys running all over the kitchen. The food was tasty and the gifts were great. Mia fell fast asleep on our way out. Long day for the kiddo.

Friday morning was Christmas. She opened up all of the gifts including the custom bag Jill got from a HS friend, just for Mia. I got some tattoo money towards my half-sleeve as well as some cool little hockey shirts/hoody for Mia to wear. Yeah, strange but they're cute and Mia is excited to wear them. It was very sweet before Mia started to open gifts, she immediately gave the necklace we picked out for Jill first. Mia really is giving and it shows. My in-laws plus family came over for a brunch and it was very tasty. It's always nice when the two sides can hang (missing my brothers and their family) Friday night at work was an awful evening, but I survived and came home to two very sleepy ladies. Long day for them I guess :P

Saturday morning, my brother and I got up nice and early and drove down to Bayview to the Highbury Pub to catch the Chelsea vs Watford game. It was really fun and super crowded. They had every Boxing Day game on, and there were a LOT of games. 4 TV's at the bar level and our game was in the back. Thankfully, the CFC game was near the free food, so that was nice. Getting a beer was difficult though. The game ended in a draw at 2-2 but we had the best time. The atmosphere was intense, and I look forward to going again sometime. Chelsea plays Man U Monday morning. I'm looking forward to that one, but will watch at home.

So here's a quick end of 2015 review. It was a very busy year for the family and a lot of positives and some negatives. I'm going to bounce around a bit on the year so bare with me. Here are some of the highlights for Mia the Diva. She completed 3-K and moved on to 4-K that she's currently in. It was a big step from one day a week school to 3 days a week 4-K. She's doing really well, and enjoys seeing her former teacher in the halls from time to time. It's a new challenge, and at times it's difficult for her, but I think she's doing really well. For some reason, she's really exciting for kindergarten. Anyways, Mia took a few extra curricular classes over the summer including soccer and a swim course. Soccer was tough (since they made the kids play indoors for some reason) but she liked it most of the time. Swim, she also enjoyed. I wasn't allowed to watch except the last day. She seemed to know what she was doing.

We took an amazing family trip to Florida to Disneyworld for a day, as well as visiting Mia's only living Great Grandparent. She had the most fun of her life at Disney despite the on-again-off-again rain. She met every princess and really took a shine to her Great Grandpa. It looks like we may be going next year now in 2016. She's getting way more into asking questions about things (which is great) and can write her name, letters and numbers pretty well. She's great with scissors and glue too. She's got more friends then ever and has been invited to several birthday parties over the year. Her stories about her friends are always entertaining.

Now onto myself. It's been a busy year for me. I somehow, picked up a 2nd job working as the Graphic Designer for Milwaukee's new professional soccer team, The Milwaukee Torrent. It went from a quick little design in Photoshop to see if the fans liked it, to a surreal moment that they (owner) liked the kit and are using and selling them right now. I can't wait to get my custom one in when the team orders their gear. I've been doing their graphic as well as photographed their tryouts as well. The job, (despite the no pay) has been a fantastic distraction from my usual mind-numbing and exhausting shifts at the gas station. I'm constantly thinking of new ideas to share with the owner, as well as The Flood, their supporters group. I've been active with those guys as well, designing the decals, scarf and even will be the mascot in 2016 at the games. Once again, both jobs keep my mind off the other one.

Did some art this year. Jill and I went to Paint-Bar in Delafield and completed some nice pieces (along with my bro and his wifey) Other than that, I've been doing some little traditional art here and there for Mia to pack in her school lunch. Maybe a Monster High character here or a Shopkins there. Whatever surprises her and makes the kid happy. With Mia gone 3 days a week, I've fortunately been able to concentrate on some drumming and some soccer skills at the park. At least once a week (weather permitting) I'd hit up the park and work on bending the ball. Same thing with drumming. Once or twice a week, I'd get to pound on the drums and try to keep whatever skills I have, sharp.

In other exciting news, in 2015 we adopted a kitten. Marie. She's a big ball of sass, but we love her. She was sort of a surprise pick up for us  after Mia's successful couple days raising money for the HAWS shelter. This did so well. Lemonade, cookies and dog treats. The kid raised over 200 dollars and with the power of social media and a very proud Grandma, she got into the local paper. We couldn't have been more proud of the Mia's Sweets & Treats founder. So we've got a kitten and Mia loves her to death. She sort of gets along with Remi. They tend to compete for treats/attention from time to time. Remi likes to remind Marie that he's number one!

I got to watch Chelsea take the EPL title. What an exciting season it was for the Blues. Stayed in 1st place the entire season. Can't say the same about them now, as we fight to get out of 15th place. JM got sacked and we've got a new manager. So much needs to be done so we can climb back up again.

I got to attend a concert this year. Maritime's record release show. Amazing night and it was fantastic getting to talk Davey and Dan like I always would do when I'd see them live. The new record is great as well.

For some reason, we went to a boat load of movies this year. Inside Out, Cinderella, Good Dinosaur, Minions just to name a few. Mia loves going to the movies and it's a special time when Jill and I can take her.

Goals for 2016
Get in better shape (my endurance has improved)
More drumming
Complete more traditional art pieces
Can't wait for the ladies to get back from Ohio. Missing them both like crazy. The house is far too quiet. That's all for now. Thank you for reading this year :)

Sing Out! Sing Out! Sing Out!

Good morning everyone on a very rainy disgusting Monday. It was a very busy week with all kinds of things to discuss. Here we go. Monday, Miss Mia went on a field trip with her class (and Grandma) to Apple Holler. It's about 45 minutes away for a play called Mrs. Claus. They got to meet Santa and his better half. From the pictures, it looked like they had fun. Tuesday was the big day. It was her Christmas Concert. 8 people came from mine and Jill's family. Our parents, her brother and my sister plus us, of course. We took up an entire row. Anyways, as the class came out into the gym, I got nervous. "Is Mia actually going to go through with this and sing? Or, is she going to stand there and not want anything to do with it" Turns out, the diva did amazing and sang her little heart out.

I stood there in the back, with Olivia's Dad videoing our little blond divas. His kid singing as loud as possible (which was funny). I couldn't get over the fact that my little peanut was actually singing in front of a group of probably 50 people. It was great. She sang every single song. When the whole thing was over, I said "I am SO proud of you for singing!" She responded with "I TOLD YOU I could do IT!" Smart ass. Anyways, afterwards she gave Jill and myself a beautiful ornament she made in the class. Three snowmen painted on the ornament. Thanks kid :) After a few pictures with some of her friends, we headed home. Wednesday, she didn't have school because she was going on Thursday for the holiday party. Well, actually it was a Pajama Day. She picked out her Chelsea PJ's (honestly, I had nothing to do with it) They watched Elf and exchanged books. All in all, great time.

Saturday, we were Chicago-bound to visit Jill's pal Whitney on the West Side. Jill and I both loved her apartment. Mia especially enjoyed spending time with Whitney. After an amazing brunch complete with mimosas, we took the L train into downtown and wandered around the German Christmas thing.  It was FREEZING cold, but it was fun. We made our way to Millennium Park and Mia played on the playground till it got dark. I always enjoy going downtown Chicago. Especially with Mia since she hasn't explored much of the city. The few times she goes to the city, it's to the Shedd. Later we went back to the apartment for hot cocoa (Mia and Jill) and said our goodbyes and went home. It was a busy little Saturday off, but we had a great time.

Sunday we cleaned ALL morning. Exciting right? Now on to soccer-related news. Thursday, Chelsea "parted" ways with fan-fav manager Jose Mourinho. Easily the best manager we had, but for some reason this season, we can't get many wins. It's been a really rough season full of lack of confidence, some injuries and one very frustrated manager. The board was sick of the losses, and had "no choice" but to let him go. He was really never to blame, but the players. The same players that one the league last season couldn't get the magic back. The players that were banging out goal after goal last season were barely getting anything in the net. The players knew it was there fault Saturday when Chelsea faced Sunderland. I missed the game, but I saw the highlights and that they won 3-1. First EPL win in 9 games. That's horrid and downright pathetic. The fans gave them a piece of their mind, and now the players who blew the season for Chelsea have something else to fight for: The fight to win back the fans. This Saturday, I'm going to watch Chelsea take on Watford with my little brother at a soccer bar in Milwaukee. It's something that has been on my list of things I want to do for a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

This week is going to be quite busy. Work today and tomorrow. Off Wed-Thurs. Back to work on Christmas. Jill and Mia leave Saturday for Ohio. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Thank you very much for reading! :)

The Pokemon Party

Good morning. Every week keeps getting busier and busier. School ending real soon, but first: the week/weekend. Wednesday, Mia and I watched the Champions League game after school by Grandpa Grumpy. It was fantastic because Chelsea successfully beat Porto and we move on to the next group. Later, we went to Jill's parent's house for a birthday dinner for her Dad. Uncle Tommy was helping Mia learn some piano. I think as she gets older if she choses to, he'll be able to teach her.  Friday, Mia got to hang out at Helium Trampoline Park with her BFF Olivia before her birthday. It was technically the LAST day that she'd be eligible to take advantage of "TOT TIME" because the age group goes from walking-5 years old. So, we just about had the whole place to ourselves. Maybe 6 kids total there (including the divas). They had an absolute blast running around and playing. Meeting new kids. It was fun.

 Saturday was Olivia's birthday party. Mia was very exciting and was super curious to see which classmates were gonna be there. Majority of them were invited. Mia went down all of the slides, and ate pizza. It was a Pokemon-themed party so we got her friend a Pikachu stuffed animal, and Friday after she got back from Helium, she had her a friendship bracelet. Today at school, Mia was wearing the Pokemon black-rubber bracelet she got in a gift bag. Jill and I both attended this party and this was Jill's first time at Monkey Joe's. She got to see for the first time Mia getting to interact and play with her friends from school. It really is enjoyable. They're beyond silly and everyone got along. Mia's highlight of the day was her classmate Isabella playing with her on one of the obstacle things. In this particular one, the kids are sort of closed off so you can only see them coming out or going in. Mia was in for a while playing with friends Alexa, Nate and Isabella. For the longest time, Mia was convinced Izzy didn't like her. No idea why. I kept trying to explain "well, maybe she's just shy". Before we left, Mia came out down the inflated ramp "GUESS WHAT?? ISABELLE LIKES ME NOW! AND I'M SO GLAD!!"

Later, we make Christmas cookies. Lots of them. Mia had a blast decorating and taste-testing her culinary skills. Sunday, I worked and Jill and Mia hung out with her other grandparents. I came home and both were fast asleep.

Today, she's on a field trip to Apple Holler for a play. Tomorrow is the big Christmas concert. Wednesday holiday crafts and she gets to go to school on THURSDAY because it's a Christmas party and book exchange where the kids get to give books to each other. Sounds like fun. Chelsea plays Leicester today. God, I hope they pull this one off.  

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Skating Diva

Good evening. A weekend has come and gone in a blink of an eye. But first, the first week of December. It used to mark the first big dumping of snow, but as I gaze out the window, all I see is super thick fog. Not a lot of snow has fallen yet, which is fine. No rushing the inevitable, really. Mia had a busy week of school. I went to pick her up on a day, and one of her friends yells out "MIA'S DAD IS HERE!" and as Mia got up to walk out the door to me, 6 friends attached themselves to her with a huge group hug. It was cute, but Mia got a bit freaked out. Monday, I did a little editing in Garage Band. That weekend I had recorded Mia and Jill singing "Rudolph" and later, I added a soft drum track to it. Sounded kinda cool but Mia hated it. Such a critic.

Friday, Mia and I went shopping for my sister for Christmas. It was actually kinda nice, just the two of us. Because Mia was so nice at the store we went to, I let her look around the ornament store at the mall. She loved it. Looking at all the different villages and decorations. "This is better than the free popcorn sample I got!" Saturday, she did her Santa pictures at Jill's studio before we watched the rather disappointing Chelsea game. I can not believe they lost to Bournemouth. They made it into the EPL this year and have a lousy record. How did we blow it? The defenders looked pretty lost and I think they mistakenly started Hazard as a striker again. It's getting to the point of "can we at least TRY to win a game?" I don't know what it's going to take for them to win a damn game. It's getting scary that we're barely above the relegation line.

Later at night, Mia and I went skating at the Petit. She got to break in her new skates Jill got for her earlier in the year ( I believe). She had so much fun. She's getting better but needs to work on her gliding. She would try to sprint across the ice at times. I would skate backwards and have her skate solo to me. It worked most of the time. A few times she fell and landed on her butt. She'd get upset, cry a little and then want to skate some more. I think she skated about 2 hours which is pretty impressive. She spent most of the night coughing and it was difficult to get her to sleep for a while. Hopefully she's feeling better come Monday morning. I worked on some Milwaukee Torrent art which turned out pretty good. I got an email this week from a woman looking for a business logo for her nail salon. I'm going to work on it after I drop Mia off on Monday.

This week: Wednesday, Chelsea plays Porto, so we'll watch that. She' got Olivia's birthday coming up Saturday so we gotta find something for her blonde BFF. That's all for now. Thanks for reading! :)

Turkey Fest

Good morning. Hope everyone got to enjoy their long weekend. I had Saturday off, but we'll get back to that later. Mia had a fun week at school. She learned all about the first Thanksgiving and had a feast at school on Wednesday. They watched one of those Peanuts movies with Snoopy and the gang as well. When I went to pick her up. she had on a headband that she made complete with feathers. She had a blast. Later, Mia and I hung out with my Dad for his 69th Birthday. He enjoyed his Chief (their dog) shirt and the brownies I picked up. Mia was extra sweet to him for his day. Later, Jill and I surprised Mia with tickets to see the premier of The Good Dinosaur. It was beautifully done but maybe a little long for a kid who was up since 7:45am. She needed a nap and at times, was distracted by that. She liked it though. Pixar really pushed the envelop with the art on this one. Everything looked like a live action movie. The trees, willows and water looked so real. It was incredible. It was a nice little family outing before the girls got the long weekend.

Thursday, I had the early shift like I do every year. 6am-2pm. We were pretty steadily busy throughout the day. I just wanted the day to end so I could enjoy family time. Later, we went to my parent's and joined my sister and brother's family for Thanksgiving. It was fun. Friday, nothing too exciting. Worked at 2pm. Jill and Mia went to a cookie sale event at the hotel in Pewaukee, and later a craft fair. She got her face painted like Rudolph. It was cute.

Saturday I had the day off. Finally. We went to visit with Jill's family for their very first Thanksgiving in Wisconsin as new residents. It was great. Good food and delicious pie. Sunday morning, I got out of bed at 5:30am for the Chelsea vs Spurs match. I tried to remain quiet not to wake anyone. To my surprise, 15 minutes into the first half I heard a little voice next to me. "Daddy?" "Mia, what are you doing up so early?" "Well, I said the other day I wanted to watch the game with you" So we did. We watched the rest of the score-less first half together, as the sun was rising. It was a special morning for us. She never gets up that early and it was just her and I. by ourselves. The only thing that would have made that moment better, was if Chelsea would have scored and won. Instead, it was a draw. Mia and I went out at half time to walk Remi. I carried her shivering body in my arms as we quietly walked the dog before the start of the 2nd half. We brought him back in and she promptly decided it was time to wake up Jill. She was less than enthused to be up that early on a Sunday. Oh well.

For some reason, Chelsea started Hazard as a striker over Costa. Apparently, his attitude has been rough and JM figured Hazard could get the job done. He's an attacking midfielder that hangs on the left so it was odd they'd put him front and center. He's played the number 10 spot before but it wasn't a major improvement. Yesterday, he did alright but just couldn't find the net. Begovic was superb in the net. Fabregas, I'm ready to see leave. He didn't do squat again, and just seemed lost at times. I don't know what the January transfer window is looking like at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if he left then or at the end of the season.

This week, try to start some new art, and watch the game Saturday. Last week, I started and completed a cool graphic for The Flood that turned out real nice. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Two Little Monkeys

Good evening.
Hope everyone is keeping warm and got to enjoy the weekend. It was an overall enjoyable week over here. Wednesday after school, Mia and her BFF Olivia met up and went to Monkey Joe's together. When I went to pick her up at the end of her day, Mia and Olivia came out of class bouncing with excitement. It was adorable. Anyways, Olivia's Dad and I brought the kids to the jump joint and they had a total blast. They would hold hands going down the big slides, race and shot some hoops at the arcade-style basketball game. It was cute. Mia's definitely a lefty and made quite a bit of baskets. They play so cute and act like sisters when they interact. I love it. Despite the fact that they will be in different kindergartens next year, I hope they can continue being best friends.

The Christmas tree is already set up. Jill and Mia tackled that traditional set up that I usually get to help with. I was a bit bummed. Oh well. Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Norwich game. It was a long international break. Everyone did well individually for their country so I was quite amped for this game. Chelsea needed this win and they got it. It most certainly wasn't a blowout, but the win was so well-deserved. They all played so well, and it was a great result. I was quite occupied with helping Jill with her Wild Tree sale preparations and getting Mia breakfast but what I saw was great. Pedro, Hazard and Willian performed fantastically. Although I will not get to watch the 2nd leg of the Champions League game, I feel like they can get the win. Every one's feeling good, JM is feeling good, the team looks solid and that's all what matters.

Jill's sale went alright. A few items sold. After break down, we stopped at my parent's for my Mom's birthday. She was totally surprised and quite happy :) Today Jill had her pal Heather (and kid Bella) as well as her Mom over to help bake a ton of cookies to raise money for a local cat shelter. Mia and Bella did an amazing job with the cookies and had a ton of fun. It was great seeing the two getting along. Heather is a sweet and genuine person so it came no surprise her little 10 year old was just the same. I have to stop over Wednesday for my Dad's birthday this week. He's going to love his gift :) Mia also has a Thanksgiving Feast at her school on Wednesday. I'm not quite sure what that means as far as "does she bring some traditional food?" or what. Guess we'll find out.

Thursday, I'm working 6am-2pm which is quite typical for me on Turkey Day (as I requested) and then it'll be off to my parents. Saturday, it'll be Jill's parent's house. Their first of many Thanksgivings in Wisconsin.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Rock

Good evening everyone. Lots to discuss tonight as I eat some tasty motz sticks after a busy Sunday evening shift. Wednesday after I picked up Mia from school, my father in law watched her for me as I went rock climbing with my pal Andy at Adventure Rock in Pewaukee. I have never rock climbed, nor had the opportunity to do so, so when he invited me, I was very stoked to try it. I was a tad nervous because I have never done anything like it and wasn't sure how to go up, but once they get the harness on you and give you the rundown on how to clip onto the device that keeps you from hitting the ground when you repel down. Pretty straight forward. So first one I did, climbed with no problem. It took me a few times to get the repelling down but after a while, I found it quite fun.

It most certainly takes a lot of upper body strength to pull yourself up the sides, plus some super strong fingers. The grips on the side were graded for Mt Everest I believe, and some were really difficult. The colorful mustaches were super tricky. Absolutely no grip whatsoever. I named that side "Mustache Mountain" The whole experience was an absolute blast and I'd totally do it again. Jill even wants to go too :)

Mia had a pretty good week at school as well. She still needs to work on talking more as far as Show and Tell, and when she's called on. She's improving but I know she can do better. Saturday, I had a Flood meeting (Torrent Supporters). We had a good turnout, and unveiled the official Milwaukee Torrent mascot. Me. Wearing an authentic luchador mask, Torrent jersey and scarf. It's ridiculous but we hope the mascot will get the fans amped as I chant and pound the drums. It'll be a blast. The new Torrent intern made an appearance as well and shared some ideas. It'll most certainly be exciting. Another meeting will be most likely held in January. We just need to get more pre-order sales for the pack.

Saturday night, we went to the Paint-Bar in Delafield. I had received a gift certificate for my birthday for the place so Jill, myself, my brother and sister-in-law met there and painted. It was a lot of fun. Basically, you can either sign up for a class, or do a freestyle paint session. A lot of people take previously painted pieces off the wall, and try to replicate it. That's what Jill, Ash and Andy did. I had a print out of a Hawaiian sunset I wanted to do. Everyone had a great time. Jill's winter piece turned out amazing. Andy's space kitty was adorable and Ashley did a great job with her African sunset. As far as my Hawaii one? I'm pleasantly surprised that it turned out well. The table of people next to us really liked our pieces which was nice to hear. I sincerely wish they would have given us real white acrylic paint at the beginning instead of a jell medium. Oh well. We had an amazing time. It was a rare night for us all to hang out, and not have the kids. Mia went to the movies with Jill's parents. She saw the Peanuts movie. Loved it.

Today, I cleaned the gutters before work. This week, not totally sure what we're doing yet. Saturday, Jill's got an event going on with Wild Tree. I believe she is baking cookies for a local animal shelter real soon as well.

That's all for now. Time to hit the bed. Thanks for reading!!

Friends In Fun Places

Good morning all. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Last week was pretty busy. Mia's been learning a lot in school and especially has been playing with a boy from 3K, Nate. Last year, she wanted nothing to do with him. He would give her a kiss while her friends would give her hugs good bye and she was totally grossed out. This year, they've become close friends. She would ask him to open her Lunchable during lunch time because "Daddy, boys are stronger and can open things I can't". They play at recess too. Just about every day. He was out last week with a fever and she was pretty bummed out. She learned that she had to open her Lunchable by herself and at recess, was just hanging with Irianna. The 3K boys at recess were playing "guns" and were annoying Mia and her girl posse. So she would simply just hang out on the bench and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Wednesday after school, Mia and I watched the UCL match between Chelsea and Dynamo. Luckily, CFC got a great win with a fantastic free kick from Willian. I'll get back to this weekend's disaster a little later. Mia and I had all kinds of fun watching them win. Her favorite thing to do when Chelsea scores, is me tossing her into the air. It's amazing.  I was supposed to go rock climbing with my pal Andy, but when I arrived there was absolutely nowhere to park, which can't be a good sign. When he got in, we walked in and saw first hand, that they were hella busy. We rescheduled for the next week during the day. Hopefully we'll be able to do it and have some fun.

Friday evening when I came home from work, Mia was working on math! That's right. She's actually pretty good at it, which is awesome because I always hated it. With that, I'm trying to encourage her to keep working on it since it's actually something she enjoys. Saturday, Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Stoke game (most of it) before taking her to her pal Alexa's 5th birthday party. Kids in Motion was absolute madness. At least 7 birthday parties going on at once with at least  100 kids running around the indoor play place. Mia's entire 4K class attended and she had so much fun. She played quite a bit with her friend Audrey in the market, the kitchen, submarine and the jungle gym. Alexa loved her present and Mia's hoping she will make her a friendship bracelet in the near future. I love watching her play with her friends. They're so fun to watch running around and being imaginative.

During the party, I found out that Chelsea once again, blew the game losing 0-1. They are in dire crisis. JM was absent for the game with a stadium ban, and they just couldn't win. Defense was a mess, with Azp making a rare mistake leaving the attacker open for an acrobatic shot at Begovic. They're in an international break for the week, and I hope they can pull a win next week against Norwich. JM doesn't deserve the sacking that is surely coming. Patience is key, and the Blues need to strengthen every bit of their squad to stay out of the relegation zone.

Saturday evening, we watched Inside Out. Such a solid and intriguing movie. One of Pixar's best in my opinion. Sunday, I worked 2-10 so nothing too exciting to discuss. This week, I'm going to try to rock climb again and I have a Flood meeting for the Torrent Saturday afternoon. Should be fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Keepin' it Surreal

Good evening everyone. Hope the readers had a great week. Wednesday, we went over to the studio and had some photos taken of Mia in her beautiful Fawn costume. It took some clever trickery to make her smile, but we got some good shots. Mia had her Halloween party on Thursday. Wednesday, she's normally in school but because she's off on Thursdays, they did sort of a switch for the kids who don't go to school Thursdays. Anyways, she had an absolute blast. They played games and had teams of kids wrapping up two friends as mummies. Mia was one of them. They did ring toss around the witches hat and tried all kinds of food. We made Frankenstein treats for the kids. Cups with green grapes, two marshmallows for eyes and I drew Frankie faces on all of them. She was in her Fawn costume and I guess her teacher thought she looked like a "pumpkin fairy". I don't even know what that is. She's been really enjoying getting homework from school lately, which is great. I honestly think it's the challenges that she likes.

Friday, Mia had a conference. Overall, she's doing great. Knows a lot of numbers and letters and how they're written. She's shy as far as when she's called on to answer a question, but is totally fine in one-on-one situations. She's a total perfectionist which makes sense. I am and Jill can be. Her teacher told me that she tends to erase and re-write her name so it looks totally perfect when it doesn't necessarily have to. She gets along with all of the kids and has definitely improved on doing things outside. Earlier in the year, she would just sit out there by herself, and as of lately, been playing with her friend Nate.  I'm proud of the kid. She's got a lot to learn before Kindergarten apparently, and things seem to be moving well.

Saturday, I had to work the early shift. I stuck a bandanna on my noggin and myself and one of my coworkers were dressed as pirates, or at least we made our best attempt. It was good for morale and kept the costumers happy. I missed the disastrous Chelsea vs Liverpool match. 3-1. WHY???? I can't think about it anymore. They better win their UCL game Wednesday. After my grueling work shift, I got changed at home (into my Dali costume) and we went Trick or Treating with my brother and his boys/wife, as well as my in laws. This was their first Halloween with Mia. The weather was absolutely crappy and cold, but they had fun. My sister, still as a statue, scared trick or treaters at our house. She had fun and Mia shared with her some candy for helping. My parents came over later for dinner and we had a good time. I tried to replicate a Dali picture with his cat. It mostly turned out alright.

Sunday, work work work. Nothing too exciting. Lots going on this week. Off tomorrow (STOKED). Mia and I need to find a birthday gift for her pal Alexa. She's going to her birthday party Saturday. Wednesday, I'm rock climbing at this indoor place with my pal Andy. Should be fun since I've never done it before. Jill's got some stuff going on this weekend as well. I'm just too tired to remember.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Torrential Tryouts

Good morning everyone. October is nearly over, but we've been incredibly busy (seems like almost every day/weekend) Last Wednesday, Mia had yet again, another field trip with her class. THIS time, to the First Milwaukee Theater to see a play about a square-shaped pumpkin. Jill finally got to go on a field trip with her. She loves plays and this was the perfect one to chaperone. When we dropped off Mia for school, we had an hour before Jill had to go meet for the bus to pick up the kids and drive to MKE. So, we took Remi to the park and went for a nice walk. The weather was gorgeous and absolutely perfect. Just like the good ol' days when we'd take him for walks, just the two of us. Nothing wrong with taking him with Mia or anything, but it brought back some fond memories.

After the walk, Jill soon went to Mia's school for the field trip. I had a little piece and quiet. Worked on some art and did some much-needed drumming. Mia and Jill had a great time. The play was fun, and the kids behaved nicely for Jill. Lucky. After the field trip, Mia and I had planned to go to the park with BFF Olivia. As we were leaving, Remi checked her down the stairs. She cried and cried and didn't want to go anymore to the park. When Olivia brought up that they were going to go to Chuckie Cheese, Mia jumped at the opportunity to go. So we went, and the ladies had a blast. They were the only kids there, and played all kinds of games. Mia wasn't too excited when Chuckie came out but when he went back into hiding, she was fine. It was great to see them having so much fun. We still have a boatload of tokens left for our next visit. Friday, I took the day off to photograph the Milwaukee Torrent's tryouts. Before that, Mia and I spent the day together. She was dressed up in her full tracksuit ready for gymnastics. Turns out, they don't have open gym and we had to decide whether to do a last-minute run to the trampoline park, or Monkey Joe's. We went with Monkey Joe's.

Once again, we had a blast. She went down EVERY slide including the largest slide: the halfpipe. It was a great time. She even played with a boy she met. I believe his name was Parker. Anyway, he followed us around for a while. Cute kid. Later, I packed up my bag and went over to Uihlein Field in the pouring rain. It would stop and start on my drive to the stadium, and I kept thinking "please please stop raining". It really didn't. I walked down to the field. Already getting soaked and met with head coach and owner Andi Davi. Amazingly nice guy with such a passion for this team and everything involved. He was absolutely frustrated with the heavy rain. He brought his flags and banners to be photographed, and clearly it wasn't going to happen. I was doing my best to photograph under the small inclosure and got about 20 photographs before the entire stadium's power went out.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? And was way more angry than anyone. He only was allowed about an hour and a half of time on the fields for tryouts. 34 players (which I believed included 4 keepers) showed up for this and after waiting and waiting and waiting, the tryouts were rescheduled for Tuesday. Quite a few people drove a good distance for the tryout including Minnesota and Hawaii (obviously didn't drive). They were all good sports about it, and the majority are coming back for the rescheduled date. I helped tear down everything and load up his car. It was great meeting him, his assistant coach and some of the players. I have to say, it was really surreal being introduced to his staff as "this is our graphic artist, he's the guy who designed and came up with the jerseys".  After we all said the goodbyes, I drove back home in the rain.

Saturday, I watched Chelsea crumble to West Ham. Another disappointing game. JM even got ejected from the game. I can't figure out what's going wrong. Defense wasn't there. Again. The near-goal was just SO close. They have a Capital One Cup game on Tuesday. Hoping for a win. I'm going to miss the Liverpool game Saturday due to having to work the 7am-3pm shift.

Later after the game, we got in our costumes and went to a Halloween party at a friends house. Mia had a great time playing with all of the kids, AND she even tried Alligator meat. She said it was pretty good. Jill loved it. Afterwards, we jetted over to the Delafield business Trick or Treating. We got to every business and had a lot of fun. When we got back home, we carved a couple of pumpkins. This was the first year we let Mia carve a pumpkin. With Jill's help, she did a great job carving a kitty. No stencils. Just a drawn on cat. I on the other hand, did my very best to carve a 3D pumpkin. Let me tell you, it was SUPER difficult. I really didn't take a lot of ceramic classes in HS and college. It didn't turn out that great, but I did my best. I may try painting a pumpkin next year. Do something a little different.

This week, Mia has a Halloween party and conferences. Saturday, Trick or Treating with family. Should be a lot of fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!!

The Venue Vortex

Good afternoon everyone. Well, it's afternoon currently. I may or may not finish this before work, but we'll see what happens. It was yet, another jam-packed week with all kinds of wonderful things to discuss. Mia had a great week at school. I think she's really starting to get the hang of writing under-case letters (especially in her name) She used to struggle more with the "a". I'm proud. Wednesday, I took on the challenge of chaperoning a 4-K class to the New Berlin Fire Department. Mia's class has 9 kids total. Not super big, but some can be a challenge. Olivia was her bus-riding buddy and they were quite good sitting for the 8 min ride. During the tour of the building, the kids were great. Learning about where the fire fighters sleep and eat. Checking out the trucks (both fire and ambulance) and even getting to put out a "fire" in a building. That was easily, Mia's favorite part. After, the kids went on a nature walk. Irianna, the little "runner" from 3-K was closely walking with me, hand in hand so she wouldn't bolt into the woods. The kids (plus about 3 other classes) were handing things they discovered on the walk to their teachers to put in a bag for the upcoming week) I was referring Irianna as my boomerang because she would go and give something to Ms Susan, and come running back to me.

After the walk, the kids were allowed to run around in the open area. Mia and Olivia preferred to sit by my feet and relax. I think both ladies were quite hungry. To get them moving, I offered to play a game. They would be the fairies, and I would have to catch them. Other kids joined in And than, EVERY kid wanted to play. So, I had about 25 kids trying to jump at me. We had to put an end to that so the kids quickly dispersed and that was about it. They walked slowly back to the bus. I had about 5 attached to me at once. I had Irianna, Mia, Olivia, Alexa and Audrey. It was a long chain trying to maneuver down the sidewalk. One of the teachers joked "Hey Mike, bet you never thought you'd have 5 girls walking with you at once" I responded with "I never thought they would be this short". They laughed.

On the bus ride home, Mia and I had Irianna and Olivia in our set. The girls were making their best effort to smush me. I noticed Mia's friend Kailee was sitting solo. Mia said "aww I'll go sit with her". The two girls sat and talked holding hands. I think that was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. My heart melted as her two BFF's were trying to bounce on top of me. Mia can be such a sweetie with her friends.

After we got home, we went to a couple of Halloween stores in search of some parts to my costume. I got the stach' I just need to trim it to replicate the person I'm going as. Friday night, Leanne, Jill's buddy came in to town. So it was fun having her around. Saturday, Jill and her pal went to tour a winery place while Mia and I watched Chelsea beat Aston Villa. Great game. Good to see some time on the pitch for Baba and Loftus-Cheek, even if it wasn't top notch. Loftus-Cheek looked like he was ready to help turn around the team in desperate need to help. Hazard spent most of the game on the bench, surprisingly, but I think Mourinho wanted to make an example of him that he hasn't been the bright shining star that he was last season, and he needs some improvement big time. I believe there is a mid-week Champions League game this week and I hope to catch it. It was a really enjoyable Saturday with Mia, doing some art and hanging out. Later, my sister Cheryl came over and we went to see Maritime.

I've been a big fan of their since they released their EP. They hosted a record release show at the Cactus Club, and old tiny venue in Bay View (that smelled like baked cookies near the stage). It was a great night. They came on about 11-something and plowed through a pretty lengthy set that including a lot of material off the last record. When they played "No One Will Remember" I was surprised how most of the crowd was unfamiliar with that song. The guy next to me who danced most of the night said "is that new?" Other tracks they blasted through were "It's Casual", "Guns of Naverone", "Science Fiction""Paraphernalia" "Satellite Love" and plenty of others. The crowd seemed to absolutely love their single "Milwaukee" which was released separate from the new album. Such a solid performance. I was lucky to catch up with some of the band members before and after the show. Davey said afterwards "Phew, that was exhausting. Getting out of shape, I need to do rockstar calisthenics" He apologized to me as well for accidentally booting an empty PBR can into my collar bone while dancing. No big deal, Davey :) They always always always have a blast live. Great banter and overall, fantastic night.

Got home about 1:20am. Ears still ringing and absolutely beat. Today, Jill and Mia went over to the Elegant Farmer to pick apples as I worked on laundry and went to work.

This week is going to be yet, another busy one. Getting ready for the party this Saturday, Mia's got her field trip and I'm photographing the Milwaukee Torrent's tryouts Friday evening.

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

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere

Good morning. The sickness is officially out of everyone's system. Mia still gets coughing fits from time to time, but no more stuffy noses, so that's wonderful. We had a pretty good week as well. She's learning new letters to write and all kinds of facts about bats. I always enjoy hearing her tell me what she learned at school, and I always ask her what was her favorite part. It always varies. From "hanging with Kailee at recess" to "Show and Tell", every day it's always something different. She's She's got a field trip this week at the New Berlin Fire Department that I will be going with her to. She's pretty stoked. I am too. Should be a lot of fun. Wednesday, I spent about an hour working on free kicks and PKs while she was at school. The weather was perfect so the session was quite enjoyable. Wasn't bending the ball as well as I was hoping, but a few bent nicely.

Friday, Mia went to the movies with Jill and her family to see Hotel Transylvania 2. From what I was told, she loved it. When I got home from work, she was passed out. Always a good sign. Saturday, we went to a pumpkin patch place down the road. Jump houses, games and of course pumpkins. She had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect as well. She did a ring toss, find the key in the hay, and bounced in a bounce house. Later, we went over to a bon fire/house warming party at a friend from Carroll College (or University if you wanna be technical). It was a lot of fun catching up and swapping stories. Mia was a good girl with her Grandparents and when we came back, they had green face paint on. Mia gave them monster make overs. This kid loves Halloween. Sunday, I cut grass and worked as Jill and Mia went over to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum. From what they said, it was a lot of fun. Not real big, but they had a great time. Mia loved the "fix the car" place where she replaced a muffler, changed an air filter and filled the windshield wash. She also enjoyed the bakery along with all kinds of other fun activities.

Lots going on this week. Field trip on Wednesday, Chelsea is back in action on Saturday and I'm going to see local hometown heroes Maritime at the Cactus Club for their record release show. I'm pretty stoked about it because I haven't seen them in a lot time, and they're just amazing live. I was supposed to have a Flood meeting (Torrent supporters group) at noon, but it looks like we're not going to have a good turnout. No big deal. Still need to pick up a few items for my Halloween costume and purchase some pumpkins for our annual carving.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

House of 1,000 Coughs

Good morning everyone. As you might have guessed from this week's blog title, everyone in the house is sick, or at least, hopefully getting over the sickness. Mid week, we all started to feel pretty lousy. I'm not sure if it was one of my coworkers who came to work for a short while sick that I caught and brought home, or something else, but all I know is, we've all been pretty miserable. Kids are the absolute worst when they're sick. They struggle breathing out of their noses, and can't sleep at night. Luckily, she likes honey, which helps a lot. Over the weekend, Mia and I made a deal that we'd watch the Chelsea vs Southampton game together. Good lord, what a disappointment. I don't know if morale was low from their defeat to Porto for the UCL game on Tuesday, but the game was just a struggle. They fired quickly at 10' and got a goal off a free kick. WOO! The rest of the game, was a disaster. The back line was playing too far up, despite Terry finally starting, it was a rough one. The strikers were pressing hard, and we couldn't stop them. Falcao wasn't getting shots in and Hazard wasn't working the magic. Begovic was solid but needs a better back. Despite the efforts, it wasn't enough. Immediately after the defeat, Mourinho addressed the media as if he was fighting for his job. Honestly, he shouldn't have to. Yes, he's cocky with an ego, but he knows the fault is with his team, and has to figure out how to fix it. Luckily, there's an international break, so hopefully we can straighten things out. I refuse to right off the rest of the season, and hope Chelsea can come back next week better than ever. Costa will be back from his suspension so hopefully he can help motivate this very worn out team.

Later, Jill's former roommate Willa and her her hubby stopped over for a little bit. It was nice catching up and Mia had fun interacting with them. Sunday, Jill and Mia went over to hang with her family and watch the Bears game. Yes, football. Mia wanted to watch her Grandpa's fav team with him. Later, I found out she didn't watch very much, but enjoyed spending time with him. She even sewed some patchwork together. I was pretty impressed considering her age. Today, back to school. We were sort of conflicted on if we should send her or not. She hasn't been sleeping much due to constant coughing through the night. We ended up waking her up and I took her this morning. She didn't sound plugged up anymore, and said she didn't wanna miss school. I was sort of worried that if she missed today and doesn't go on Thursdays (last week) they'd give her a ton of homework to do. Not that she can't do it easily, but I didn't want her to get overwhelmed.

Hopefully this week, we're all 100% better. Being sick sucks. That's all for now. Thanks for reading

Eye Contact

Good morning. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Last Monday, Mia went on a field trip to the Elegant Farmer with her Grandpa Chicago and her 4K class. They had a great time, and got to taste-test some apples. Mia really liked the Gala ones (provided that Grandpa bit off all the skin) They brought home a couple of small pumpkins, but since the weather has been in the 70's, they're already getting soft and squishy. Tuesday, she had her very first "show and tell" at school. The letter was A, and the kids had to bring in something that started with that letter. She brought in her Anna doll from Frozen. She really liked it and has been looking forward to the next one.

Wednesday after I picked her up, we jetted over by my Dad and attempted to watch the Chelsea vs Walsall game for the Capital One Cup first round. They didn't broadcast it in the states, but I got a little feed on their computer. We won 4-1. It was also the first day of Fall. Mia's been looking forward to all things Halloween lately, and playing in piles of leaves. Speaking of which, last week I decided that this year, I was going to make an attempt at 3D pumpkin carving. The end-result of these pumpkins looks absolutely amazing and I've always wanted to try it. Hopefully I can pull it off.

Saturday, I watched most of the Chelsea vs Newcastle game in between helping Jill clean and organize every single toy Mia's owned since arriving at our house. That's 4 1/2 years of toys and junk. We tossed everything on the lawn and organized. Chelsea was down 0-2 at one point, but somehow came back and tied it. Great goals from Ramires and Willian. For some reason, we always struggle at St James Park. We'll beat them at home the next time they play. We play Porto Tuesday (I'll probably miss it) and Southhampton on Saturday. I may try to get my little bro and dad to go to 3 Lions Pub to watch that.

So after spending 5-6 hours cleaning and organizing Mia's stuff, tossing old stuff out and putting together "give away" boxes, Jill and I went out on a very rare, but super enjoyable date. Mitchell's Fish Market. We had the gift card for almost two years. Delicious dinner! Having a conversation over amazing food was wonderful. Just like old days. I love spending time with Mia, but the occasional date night with my beautiful wife is always a nice little treat. It was quite adorable when we were leaving the house, Mia says from the other room "eat something good". Almost like "go ahead guys, have a good time". Sometimes, she can be unselfish :P

Sunday, I finished cutting grass. Both of us absolutely exhausted from all the work we did Saturday. It was a good feeling to finally get the crap organized. During my crazy busy night at work, I was getting glimpses here and there of the rare super blood moon. When I got home, I was going to photograph the eclipse, but the battery died. Oh well.

This week, nothing major planned. May try to start some new art. I've been obsessed as of lately with listening to the newest Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room record. Super solid album. Thanks for reading!!

ADA Walk

Good morning everyone. It was once again, a very eventful week over here with lots to discuss. Early in the week, my Dad went in for eye surgery. His retina was detached so they had to place a gas bubble in, and four hours later, he was out of surgery and on his road to recovery. It means no PS3, and watching TV with his face down looking at a mirror. All kind of fun for my poor Mom who has to help put in multiple drops a day in that eye. When I picked up Mia from school on Wednesday, she was excited to go over by him and bring him a surprise milkshake to help him feel better. We watched the Champions League game between Chelsea and Tel Aviv. Great game. 4-0. Great to see Chelsea back in a winning form. They were the only English club to have one the first game in the UCL. Mia especially loves it when they score because I toss her up in the air. Just like I did when they WON the UCL when she was a much smaller diva.


Thursday, she was off from school, so I had promised that we'd check out M&M Gymnastics in New Berlin. Her friend Olivia goes there and had strongly recommended it. Thursdays for one hour, it's $4 and you have total freedom to the massive place. The first floor had a wide variety of gymnastic equipment including pummel horses, rings and foam pits. Mia mostly enjoyed the semi-trampoline that she jump across to the crash pad. We ventured upstairs to the balance beams and kid-sized rings. Overall, she really liked the place and could probably handle gymnastics. She gets very defeated when she can't do something first try. *Ahem* soccer, ballet...The other day, she was talking about how much she misses swim class. So I don't know yet if we'll sign up for gymnastics. Possibly.

Friday, we packed the car and made the 4 hour, 45 min trip to Indiana for the ADA walk in the city. Mia did pretty decent on the way down. Slept part of the way, drew some pictures. The next day, it rained and rained and rained. Great day for rain in Indianapolis. :( Luckily, most of the 5K the rain had stopped or was just a cool mist. I had carried Mia 85% of the time, the other percent, she was chasing Caleb or walking on her own. It was a great turn out and a lot of fun. I've always wanted to do some sort of walk before and since this was going to a cause close and personal to Jill's friends, I was more than happy to do it :) It was a really nice weekend, and most of the drive home, Mia slept. Well, at least 2 hours. She'd wake up every once in a while and ask if we were still in Indy. No, we're still 3 hours from home...Okay back to sleep. Saturday, Chelsea played Arsenal and won! 2-0! I watched the highlights last night and it looked like they were back to their same old winning ways. Costa was a target for his antics and Arsenal fans were throwing a fit. Back to normal as usual :)


Today, she's on a field trip with her Grandpa Chicago at the Elegant Farmer for school. I'm hoping she has a lot of fun. She's always loved field trips and has a very special bond with her Grandpa. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Say "Cheese!"

Good Evening. I'm eating a big bowl of mac and cheese with extra mozzarella as I type this blog posting tonight. SO....hungry. It was a pretty good week. Mia's doing great with school and even had homework. Well, tracing letters and coloring in what the word that it spells. What is supposed to be fun homework but it sort of frustrates her. She had picture day on Tuesday and swears she smiled. She's been meeting new people and even was invited to a little girl's birthday party. I don't know if that was a real invite, but at least she's meeting new kids to play with at recess. When we came home, Mia rocked on my drums. I swear the kid loves my kit. It's been a while since she's played, but she did a great job.

Saturday, I got up nice and early to watch the Chelsea vs Everton game. Last season, the won 6-3. It was the highest scoring game of the season, and easily one of my favorites to watch. This game was pure garbage. We lost 3-1. WHY? Why is Chelsea performing so poorly. I think some of the mistakes were starting Mikel and the holes that the forwards were getting through on defense. Ivanovic was so bad. Begovic, the backup keeper who will be starting every game since Courtois got sidelined with a knee injury did his best. It's his uninspired defense that left him stranded at times. I sincerely home we can win this first Champions League game Wednesday. We're sitting in 15th or 16th place of the Premier League table, 11 points behind Man City which is just unheard of. Hazard needs to find his magic, and Costa needs to show that he wants the win.

So it was a very frustrating rest of the Saturday for me. Just thinking "what is going on with the team? How do we win the whole thing last year, and this season we can barely win"? We went to the Farmer's Market as well. Didn't get too much this around. I got a very lackluster caramel cashew muffin. Later, we took Mia to the Imagination Station in Oconomowoc. I've heard from countless people that this place is purely amazing. It was. It's a massive park with a ton of different things kinds of all ages can play on. Ran into some old friends too. Tons of kids everywhere. Mia didn't want to leave. She also wanted to join a birthday party that was going on near the park as well.

Later, we made a nice dinner. We had plans to go out for dinner, Jill and I and have my parents watch Mia. We haven't gone out on a date since the Winter, so I was looking forward to this. Her head felt a little cloudy and I wasn't feeling that great, so we stayed home. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to do it  some day. This week Friday, we'll be Indiana-bound for the Step Out for Diabetes event. Jill's excited to see her best pals again. Mia will get to play with long distance friend Caleb as well.

I finally completed the dog portrait. It turned out pretty good. She was happy with it and I was too. Now, onto other projects. Mia wants me to paint a sea turtle in her room on a blue wall. We'll see if I can do it. I also want to do some water colour work too.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

School Days

Good evening! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. It's been quite busy around here. Mia started her very first day of 4K (or K-4 however you wanna go) last Tuesday. It was the longest she's gone, so I was hoping it went well. It did. Mostly. She told me everything she did, she loves word association exercises and "bought" her own hot lunch. Buying lunch at school won't be an every day occurrence for her (let's face it, school isn't cheap) but if it's something I know she'll wanna eat, then she can. Her friends from last year apparently didn't want to play with her during recess, and since it was so very hot out, she told me she just hung out in the shade on the playground. Wednesday, she had a much better report. She had music class, played with friends and even met a boy during recess. She didn't catch his name, but told what hers was. They played with chalk and drew bubbles on the playground. It made me so happy that she was able to play with a boy and not make a big deal that he's a boy and she prefers to play with girls. She's broadening her friend circle and that's awesome. She needs to work on writing her name out with some lower-case letters for the "i" and "a". She's been writing upper case for a while, and I know she can nail the lower case "i" but is struggling a bit with the "a". She gets quite hard on herself at times, and it's frustrating for her, but we keep reminding her that you will improve with practice.

While she was at school, I cut grass all morning in the 90 degree heat. It was great to get it done so I didn't have to waste a Saturday cutting all morning. After I picked her up, we spent the rest of the day together. Friday, Mia and I were off. My parents are in Tahoe for the weekend, so I had to take care of the cat for the day. We spent the morning with her friend Olivia at the Zoo. I swear, those two act like their sisters. They argue, play and complain like total siblings. Mostly, we had a good time and it was nice that she got to spend the day with her buddy. We went over to feed my former-cat from back home and had a bit of an issue. When I was locking the doors, Mia wandered upstairs to say a quick "bye" and what I heard, was the loudest scream. I assume, she startled Misty and when she came down the hall way, blood and tears were running down her face. Misty attacked her. After tending to my traumatized kid, I noticed 3 punctures to her face, one by her ear and later I saw she got her on the forearm. I assume the cat grabbed her by the side of the face with one paw and scratched her with the other. I felt absolutely horrible for Mia. She just couldn't stop crying. She wanted out of the house so badly. I bandaged her up and we got out of there. In the middle of her total breakdown, she remembered she had class picture day coming up and was worried she wouldn't heal before then. My poor Mia...She wanted nothing to do with Marie when we got home.

Saturday, we went to the farmer's market with my in laws. Mia was feeling better and took off some of the bandages. They still hurt but she wanted them to heal faster. We ate at this little art cafe in Downtown Waukesha. We've seen the bright colored house for many years and never went there. The food was pretty good. Later we went with them to Colders and tagged along as they looked for a couch. Mia wanted to test every one of them.

Sunday I worked. Mia went to the pool with Jill. Today, we did some cleaning and I worked again. They went to a BBQ with my in laws. I came home tonight and every one's asleep. Good. The kid needs to get some rest before school tomorrow. Going to try to finish this dog portrait in the next few days. Hoping Jill and I can go out for dinner Saturday. Chelsea was off for the weekend for International duties so I'm quite looking forward to this weekend's game :)

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Sharks, Lobsters and Squids OH MY!

Good evening. A little late today, but Mia and I had quite the busy morning, so I didn't have time to write. I'll explain in a bit. Last week, we tried to squeeze as much "friend time" with Mia and her friends as possible in before all of the kids go back to school. Wednesday, (despite the sort of chilly weather) we hung out with Olivia and her brother at the park. The kids were cute as always. Mia and her shared snacks and a juice box together under the stairs of the playground. I'm so glad she'll be in Mia's class this year. Friday, we went to the park with her OTHER friends Hannah, Gracie and Weston. All friends from playgroup that she's known (what seems like) forever. They had a lot of fun and we even brought Remi. It sort of wasn't the best idea because throughout the few hours we were there, they were randomly in his face. Remi's great with kids, but the parent's were nervous about him snapping. I totally understand. Saturday, we spent the day helping Jill's parent's move. Her Dad and I moved all of the heavy stuff while Jill, her Mom and Mia worked on the other boxes. Mia took great joy in being the official lever operator getting Me and her Grandpa up and down the big truck safely.

It's a bit weird seeing that they have this new house, but it's exciting because now they're 2 1/2 hours closer, and only 20 minutes away. The place is real nice. Plenty of yard like hours and tons of storage in the finished basement. Mia had a lot of fun playing with Uncle Tommy's old Legos he had saved for her. Even the Star Wars and Harry Potter ones.

Sunday, Jill myself and Mia got a little extra sleep. She went with Jill later to a party my sister-in-law was throwing. Saturday, Chelsea FC was playing Crystal Palace. At first, I was bummed I was going to miss it, but dammit, I'm glad I did. They lost somehow 2-1. Falcao FINALLY got a goal but it wasn't enough. I didn't get to see any highlights but read about it. We have got to get our act together. Defending champs don't lose to CP like that. They've got a two week break before the next game so I hope they can shake this off and win.

Today, Mia and I joined her super friends at Hoyt Pool in Tosa' for Tot-Time swimming. Basically, any kids under 6 is 4 bucks each. The place wasn't hard to find, and it was really nice. Even if it was only 65 degrees out, the water was decently warm and the kids had a total blast. Mia had fun chasing Hannah and Gracie as sharks, and hiding from Weston (the lobster) and his brother Simon (the other shark) and I was a squid. She wasn't stoked about the slides because she would get water in her mouth, so next time we're bringing goggles.

Tomorrow is her FIRST day of 4K. This will be her very last year at Smarty Pants Learning Center. She'll be in class 3 days a week from 9am-1pm. I'm sorta overwhelmed that I'll have that kind of time, but have a lot to do. Last week, the Milwaukee Torrent launched their other  online store through Admiral gear where you can purchase your very own home and away kits (as well as the keeper kits) that I took a part in designing. It's pretty cool seeing my design up for sale and I'm still waiting for my custom one to be complete. I ended up changing the number since one of their players took the number #26.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Summer Wind

Morning all. Last week of Summer before Mia starts her new adventures in 4K at Smarty Pants Learning Center. This will also be her last year at SP before starting KINDERGARTEN at the school across from our house. Earlier in the week, Mia hung out with some friends at Kids in Motion doing art, playing dress up and serving me play-food in the diner. She loves that place. Wednesday, I bad a biometric test for our health insurance, so Mia tagged along. She didn't like it when they poked my finger for blood, but I was rather stoked my results were very positive. After, we went back-to-school shopping with my Mom and Dad. Mia had fun picking out outfits that she wants to wear. She hung out for a short while with her BFF Olivia on a very cold Thursday morning for a while. It's funny, she wore capris and was super cold, but then didn't wanna leave when it was tome to go. I sincerely hope we can get her pals together this week before everyone starts school and they can have one last Summer hang out. Her friends Gracie and Hannah will rarely see her because they're at a different school that's every day. Luckily, she'll see Olivia and be reunited with her other friend Alexa next week when school starts. Mia had her open house Thursday. Jill and my parents went. Mia's still pretty stoked to go.

Throughout the week, I worked on an image/sticker for The Flood's Founder's Pack where you can purchase a scarf, a sheet of stickers as well as a supporter's flag for a mere $40. Hopefully we can get some orders in and get these bad boys manufactured. It's been a labor of love, and I hope we get the supporters we need. The dog portrait is SO close to getting finished too :)

Saturday, we did yard work ALL day. As exhausting as it was, it looks nice, cut and clean and we spent the evening at Zoo Ala Carte. It's a fun event to go to, but in the end expensive. Some of the food runs out (Jill was bummed they ran out of kraut for the Ruben Sliders) and it's quite crowded. Wish they had better quality performers then an old dude covering Neil Diamond songs. All in all, the night was fun. Who knows if we'll go back next year. Sunday I watched the Chelsea vs West Brom game bright and early at 7:30am. FINALLY a win. They were looking rough the last few games, but it was great to see Diego Costa getting a goal and fighting hard. Our new signing Pedro scored too while making Man of the Match which is a great sign of good things to come for the new Spanish international.

This week, Jill's parent's are moving up to Wisconsin. Wednesday, the bigger truck is bringing everything in, and Thursday, they'll drive up the other vehicle full of stuff. It's weird thinking that they won't be in that house. It was beautiful and we've been traveling to there for the last 11 years.
As far as the weekend, I'm unsure what we're going to do, but most likely help them in any way.

Thanks for reading!

The Fair

Morning everyone. Another busy weekend has come and gone. Wednesday, Mia and I hung out with her friends at the park. The girl from the previous week that had a healthy inventory of My Little Ponys was there again, so Mia and her pals played with her till it was time to go. We stayed a bit after and played with a dog that was there. He was really good at fetch so Mia had fun tossing the ball to him. It's hard to believe that school is almost starting. It's a bitter-sweet moment because while I'm glad she'll get back into a routine in the week, it also means she'll see her long-time friends less, and it IS a bit expensive. Mia's really excited to start, so that's great. Saturday, we went to the Wisconsin State Fair. Last weekend, and it was REALLY hot. Didn't walk around the Expo too much due to heavy crowds, but we did have lunch with my brother and his familia. Mia got in the "state fair" spirit and skewered a hot dog. She also tried Dippin' Dots for the very first time and loved them. For some reason, she had very little interest in seeing all the animals. While walking through the cow barn, a cow mooed at her which she of course thought was hilarious. She mostly came for the rides and games. We bought a sheet and blew through the tickets pretty quickly. While trying to figure out what to do with the remaining few tickets, a guy turned around and gave us a sheet that had about 17 left on them :) Talk about a nice gesture! We rode a few more rides and played some games before passing on the last few tickets to some teen girls.

Later, we went to Kopps with my parents which is always tasty. Sunday was awful. Watched the Chelsea vs Manchester City match. Chelsea played horrifically. With Begovic in the net, I was a bit nervous, but as the first half went on, he was a total beast stopping every shot. Eventually, Aguero got one of the three that went passed him. Defense was lousy. Offense was lackluster. Costa needs to work on his game. Every time he gets fouled, he stops and gets mad. If the play is going on, what difference does it make yelling at the refs? Sigh. They need to beat West Brom the next match to get some points in the standings.  Most of the week, I've been diligently working on The Flood's supporter's items including the scarf design and recently the sticker sheet that will be included in the package that will be up for sale next month. I've also been working hard on this dog portrait I started many months ago. I rarely can rush through anything that's fine art. I prefer to take my time (when I actually get the time) and make it look as close to perfect as possible. Since I work with a photorealism style, it's even more difficult to get everything just right. It's very close to completion and I can't wait to give it to my coworker. Mia's got her open house this week for school. Zoo Ala Carte is Saturday. Chelsea game Sunday morning.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Tea for Three

Good morning. It was a busy week, with an even busier (but enjoyable) weekend. Monday was the funeral for my Great Aunt. I am quite fortunate my in laws were able to keep an eye on Mia while we payed our respects. As I and my cousins/brother/cousin's husband walked her to and from the church and burial grounds, I couldn't help but think of all the different family members I was a paul bearer for. So many relatives that I've seen pass. It was really nice seeing my Grandpa and Grandma's graves again. I miss them so much. After the funeral, Jill and I had to jet to work. Tuesday, Mia and I hung out with her friend Oliva and her brother. For the most part, they had  a lot of fun, but I swear I will NEVER let her wear sandals at parks that have wood chips AGAIN. Every 5 seconds she gets one in her feet. She wanted to go bear-foot but it made her feet dirty, so that was the end of that. 

Wednesday morning on a whim, we joined her friends Gracie and Hannah at the Hales Corner library to watch a magic show. On the way there Mia was explaining to me that "magic isn't real and everything that they do isn't real" Give me a break, kid. We met up with her long-time friends and they watched the show. Gracie sat up front making friends with all of the kids, and Mia and Hannah shared a chair together. She was astonished by the the different tricks and really liked it when he would make doves appear and his rabbit. She first said "BIRDS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE LIBRARY!!" It was fun. After, they gave the kids a small ice cream treat for coming. Later, we watched the last pre-season Chelsea game with my Dad. Such a bust. Fiorentina beat us with ease. Pre-season wise, Chelsea wasn't the best. We were able to beat Barca and PSG in PK's but that's about it. 

While playing outside Thursday with her tea set, Mia had an idea to have a tea party with her friends. I shared her idea with Jill and she took it to another level. We got her friends Gracie and Hannah confirmed to meet at the park Friday and tea would be served with little heart-shaped sandwiches made with nutella and red velvet, flower-shaped sandwiches some made with ham and cream cheese, the other cucumber and garden cream cheese and last but not least, they had little strawberry and creme cheese wraps. The tea was strawberry lemonade. The girl's mom brought a mini cake as well for the ladies all dressed fancy. It was very adorable and the girls had a great time. Friday evening, my half-bro and his two boys came to visit. I didn't see them, but Saturday we met up at my parent's house for lunch. I caught parts of the Chelsea vs Swansea game here and there, but from what I saw, the 2-2 draw was awful. Hoping for a better rest of the season. The kids ran around  the park in Hartland after lunch. Later, we had dinner at Mine and Jill's house followed by Chuck E Cheese arcade fun. It was a good time. Todd and his boys stayed the night, and had breakfast with us in the morning. Mia tried to keep the peace in the house, and every time they would run around her play-kitchen she'd grab her phone and say "911, YES THEY ARE MESSING UP MY KITCHEN PLEASE SEND THE POLICE AND FIRE TRUCKS THANK YOU!" The boys had fun playing with the animals, and left later in the morning for Michigan. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! 

Saying Goodbye (again)

Good morning. It was a busy week last week with some sadness to report. Earlier in the week, I got a call from Jill that my Great Aunt passed away. Sunday, I had heard she fell and was in the hospital. I didn't think much of that and that she would get out soon. Next thing I know, I get a text reading that she's dying and won't have much longer to live. I was shocked that it took that drastic turn for the worst. Kidney failure started to take effect and before I knew it, she was gone by 6pm. She was a very loving and caring person. I always remembered when she thought it was real cool that I went to "school dances" in Middle School. She absolutely loved Mia. The very last time Mia saw her, she was teaching her how to do "punk rock hands". It was rather amazing. It's going to be tough today. There's not a lot of family left on either my Mom's and Dad's side (elderly-speaking) These are the people I remember visiting as a small child so it's weird to me that they are disappearing.

Wednesday, Mia and I got to spend some much-needed time with my best friend Jay, his wife Erin and kid Caleb at the "castle park" in Delafield. That place is so much fun. As soon as we arrived, a day care (or some sort of group of campers) stopped by. Two small buses full of them. We didn't let that spoil our fun. Jay and I go way back to Middle School and have been friends since. Mia, who barely remembers the last time she saw him took an immediately liking to my tattooed pal. I remembered when she was a baby and he was holding her with this panic look. At least now he's got his own to hold :P Hopefully, we can hang out again.

She had her last day of swim class Wednesday. I finally got to watch her swim! My parents came along as the kids demonstrated their different techniques they developed over the course of a month. The kids did great and Mia really enjoyed it. Unsure if she'll do gymnastics next. She's got a slight interest in going to an open gym night with her friend Olivia so we'll see how that goes. Saturday, Mia opened her Sweets and Treats stand at our house in the front yard and made $110.00. I tell you, it's hard to turn down a kid at lemonade stand. I watched Chelsea take on Arsenal Sunday for the Community Shield. Crappy game. Chelsea didn't play that well and for the first time in 2 1/2 years, got scored on by ARSEnal. Costa with his hammy injury didn't help. Hopefully we can do better this weekend on the opening day of EPL. Cech wasn't letting up for his former teammates trying desperately to equalize during the game. Earlier in the week, they defeated Barca in PKs so THAT was awesome :)

This week-Play date with her BFF Olivia tomorrow, not sure what we're doing yet Wednesday and I've got my half-bro and his kiddos coming to town at the end of the week. Should be a lot of fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!!

Thirty Two

Good morning. Another birthday has come and gone, but before we get into that, let's look at the week. Wednesday, Mia and I hung out with her BFF from Smarty Pants Olivia. They played soccer, did some chalk drawings and overall, had a lot of fun. Her brother plays real nice with Mia as well. Early in the week, the local paper, the Waukesha Freeman would interview her for contributions from her Sweets & Treats sale. She didn't really want to talk much, so I did most of the interview. Later they called Jill in hopes to get more from Mia. Thursday, she was published on the front cover! We were so proud and the woman who did the article and interview was quite impressed that this little 4-year old wanted to raise money for HAWS humane society. They even contacted HAWS to ask about the day she went in to donate. The HAWS employees raved about how sweet she was, and amazing that she was able to raise that much money selling treats. We sent out a few to some out-of-state family to share her article.

While taking our new kitten Marie, Remi and Mia to the vet solo, I got a call from the Milwaukee Torrent owner, Andi Davi. Any time I hear from him, it's always some good news. He wanted me to come up with a quick ad for a Spring 2016 friendly game Marquette vs Torrent. He also went on to tell me all the fun things that are coming soon for the team. He's a big optimist which is absolutely great. Friday,  Mia FaceTimed with her friend Olivia. They had plans to hang out, but her bro got real sick so they did the best they could talking over FaceTime. It was pretty cute. Friday, Jill's parents were in the area looking at some houses. They found some real nice houses and hopefully they can find one to get an offer in. Saturday, Jill and her Mom went to the Farmer's Market while Mia and I hung out. For some reason, she woke up at 5:30AM! I haven't a clue why, but she played with the kitty before laying on the couch watching Full House. I attended the first meeting with The Flood members. The Flood is the Milwaukee Torrent's supporters group. We discussed merchandise and putting together packs and kits for fans to purchase for a good price. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to the next time we meet. It looks like we'll be quite busy getting things put together. While I was gone, Jill did a photo shoot with Mia and her kitty. The pictures turned out real nice. Later, Jill made a delicious fresh stir fry for my birthday and blonde brownies. SO good :) My parent's came over later with my sister. My sister got me a pirate Minion and my parents gave me a gift card to Stefan's. Jill's parents, her aunt as well as Jill gave me some cash to contribute towards a 1/2 sleeve tattoo. I had hopes of starting it this year, but after going over the cost of what it'll be, I'm going to wait till next year to save up the money for it. I'm nearly at $200, so I've got a good start. I watched the Chelsea vs PSG game on Youtube before my family came in. It was a tough game, but we took them down in PK's. Courtois, our Belgian keeper got the final goal defeating the Paris team. Sunday, we went to the zoo with some friends before I worked 2-10 (actual birthday) Wednesday, we'll get to hang with my best pal Jay and his little guy Caleb. I haven't seen either of them in so long, so I'm truly looking forward to it. Later, Mia will have her last day of swim and the other parents are allowed IN to the pool area to watch. Very excited about it.  Not sure what are the plans for the weekend yet. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Meow

Good morning. It was another super busy week with a new addition to the family.  We'll get to that later. For some reason on my last week, we couldn't get a hold of any of Mia's friends to hang, including Friday morning playgroup. No one came or was there :( Mia was so disappointed. I hope we can hang with them this week. We do have a playdate with her BFF Olivia set up Wednesday at 10am so we're stoked about that. My 32nd birthday is coming up this weekend. I'm off on the Saturday, but will be working on the Sunday of my birthday. Why? I don't need the day off. As long as I have Saturday with whomever wants to spend time with me, that's totally fine. I do have a 12pm leader meeting with The Flood, The Milwaukee Torrent's supporters group. Basically, we need to come up with ideas for merch, discuss steps to getting the store set up and how to handle orders and other important details. It's pretty exciting being a part of this brand new team. It's already and honor having my design be the actual kit they're wear at games. I designed and finished the goalkeeper kit over the weekend. The owner loves it, so I assume the keeper's will be wearing that as well.

Saturday, Mia took all of the 251.22 that she raised at her lemonade sale and donated it to HAWS. She was so very proud of herself. The HAWS staff was pretty surprised that this little girl was able to raise so much money. And then we looked at all the animals. Mia had her eyes on an all-white kitten. I would have preferred the the agreement that we waited the 2 weeks we promised Mia a kitten if she stayed in her own bed at night, but since Jill said that this cat probably won't be here long, we adopted her. She's very playful, feisty and curious. She nips a bit at times with us and Mia (which she of course doesn't like) but hopefully she'll get used to it. I remember when my cat back home was tiny and did the same thing. They grow out of it. It's weird having a cat again. Last night, she started out sleeping in Mia's bed with her, but moved in by us and pouncing on the bed the rest of the night.  Mia has a phone interview today at 10:30am from the local paper about her recent Mia's Sweets & Treats success. Tomorrow, we have vet appts for both animals so I'll have that challenge to look forward to. I think Jill's parents are coming in this weekend to visit for my birthday. Sunday I work. No big deal. Maybe my day at work for my birthday won't be an insane mess. Thanks for reading!