Reunited At Last

Good afternoon everyone. Back to work this week and it's been hell. Boss has been gone so like usual, everything has been lousy. Mia got to hang out with long time friends Gracie and Hannah on Tuesday. It was a warm day at the park but the kids had fun. Always nice catching up with them and their Mom. I think Mia would like to hang with Hannah one-on-one some time. Their Mom can't wait for the girls to start school again, which I can totally relate at times. Wish the girls had more time to hang out together. Summer just goes so fast.

Wednesday was art lesson day with Ella. We drew a jellyfish with pencils on toned paper. We didn't get to finish it, but she totally got the concept and I look forward to seeing how hers turned out. She is such a fantastic artist and wants to tackle another Harry Potter-themed lesson this week. I may be adding another kid to my art lesson schedule so we'll have to see if/when that happens.

I spent a lot of time video-editing our recent trip. I think it turned out pretty good. Wish at moments I would have done more video work. Still have to show both sets of our parents.

Saturday, we didn't do too much. The first Premier League matches for the season started so I watched Chelsea beat Huddersfield 3-0. Great match and awesome to see our new keeper in action.  Jill had to photograph her brother's friend's baby at the studio. We had Noodles later and watched some of a movie before Mia got tired. Today, they went to Illinois to help her friend Jacqui unpack so I had a few hours to myself to clean before I went to work.

This week, I have some graphic design work to accomplish, more photo editing, art lesson and I have the coaches meeting this Wednesday for Mia's team. We'll get the roster, schedule, "jerseys" and equipment for the season. Should be an exciting 2nd season of rec soccer. Mia's super excited to start, but I still need to do some work with her skills.

That's all for now thanks for reading!

Turn Off The Rain, Turn Up The Fun

Good evening everyone! In case you're wondering why I say "evening" its because I typically type Sunday night after work. Mia had two days off this week and for the most part, enjoyed the time off. Getting some extra sleep and spend time with us was enjoyable. Wednesday, it was back to school and she once again, requested myself to join her for lunch, so I did. Lunch was enjoyable, and its always funny that her friend Cecilia always asks me "Can I play striker at our game??" Love her ambition.

I was on the fence about canceling practice due to lousy weather conditions and a wet practice field. When I went out for recess with Mia and her peeps, I pretty much had my mind made up. It was downright crappy out. The field and playground were off limits to the kids at recess because it was so wet. The wind+dampness was pretty unbearable at times so I made the decision to cancel. The girls wouldn't have had much fun and would have complained the whole time. Other teams practiced but I don't think the parents were too disappointed. I'm bummed I didn't get the day to work with them since we had lost the previous match, but once again, we wouldn't have had a good time at practice.

Mia and I worked on homework and played before Jill came home from work. The lousy weather we had this week had my concerned for Saturday's match. Friday, it rained all day and night.  I had hoped that the rain would hold out Saturday and we could get in this game before our very last one next weekend. Last season, they had a lot of rescheduling that lead them into November to finish out the season.

Saturday morning came, and like Friday, it was damp and wet out. Great. Mia was hyped for the match and I kept my eye on emails and website from the NBAA (New Berlin Athletics Association) Nothing. Told my parents via email that everything was still on. I had the audio streaming for the Chelsea vs Crystal Palace match. Garbage day for the Blues losing the last-place team that hasn't scored all season. We need to re-focus and get back on track. Mia got ready and we were on our way to the field by 11am.

One by one, the girls arrived and were practicing shooting till the game starts. We were short one player; Aleeza. I think she's only played two games with us and was a late-addition to our team. They scored first, but Kylee banged one in soon after. We both exchanged blows ending the first half at 2-2. This team was tricky, but we could definitely get the win. I switched out keepers and we kept up the pressure the 2nd half. The soccer coordinator came over to me to tell me that if the weather gets worse (thunder/lightning) that we'd call the game.  The girls worked hard together and Kylee banged in not one, but two more goals as the rain started to fall harder.  I took our goal scorer out the last few minutes to give our 1st half keeper a chance at striker. She held her own and we finished the game 4-2. Great win for my determined and soaking wet girls. Mia took a nice warm bath when she got home before we went to the movies.

We went to the Ridge and saw My Little Pony. Due to a birthday party renting out the majority of the limited-seats theater, we were stuck in the very front :( Not cool. Mia came dressed up in all MLP attire and really enjoyed the movie. I think i nodded off a few times. Later, we made dinner and relaxed before Mia went to bed.

Today, we went to my in laws for lunch before I went to work. Did some much-needed cleaning and took out the air units officially ending Summer in the house. This week, last practice Wed, Chelsea plays Roma as well. Saturday, it's our last game for the season. It'll be an emotional game for the kids as well as myself but it'll be a good time. Weather is supposed to be great and some of my co workers are going to cheer on Mia. I've got some freelance logo design work to do this week as well.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

"Fabregas is magic, he wears a magic hat..."

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! Good grief has it been a busy week with all kinds of things to discuss. So it turns out, I had the date wrong on Mia's parent/teacher conference and it's not for a few weeks. Dammit. Oh well. Early in the week, I completed the 2nd kit (also known as the "away kit") for the Milwaukee Torrent.  This turned out really great.  I'm really proud how it came together. I was surprised a few days ago, I saw the Slinger Soccer Facebook page had saw it, and shared it reading "Sweet Uniform design for our future pro team in Milwaukee" I was stoked the concept was circling around because I really like the clean design I came up and truly hope they chose at least one of the kits I've come up with. It's been really fun getting creative and coming up with different ideas that the community likes. I started the 3rd kit on Friday and have a lot of work to do. My goal is to come up with three completely different kit designs and hope they all turn out well.

Mia got to hang at the park Wednesday with her pal Hannah. The weather was nice and it's always fun when the two get together to play. It was real cute, at one point Mia was at the stop of the slide lending out her hand to pull Hannah up. Later, Hannah left and Mia and I hung out a bit to kick the ball around. When she had her ball, I could hear her talking to herself saying "okay, he's got the magic in his feet and is about..to take a SHOT". Couldn't stop laughing at that one. Later, we watched Chelsea take on Leicester . Great win for the team. 3-1 FT. Awesome to see Drogba get the equalizer and that strike from Ramires was absolutely perfection. Easily, a goal to watch again and again. It was a struggle at first, but the 2nd half secured the win setting the stage for Sunday, but we'll get to that later.

Mia and I went home shortly after. She drove her Mustang around the cul de sac waiting for her "boyfriend" Max to come out and play. She even was doing donuts while driving BACKWARDS! He never came out. Bummer. Later, Jill, myself and Mia went to StoneFire Pizza for dinner. It was weird because we haven't been there in quite a while, and upon arriving, we learned that they have a Wednesday $5/buffet and $5 for a $10 game card! Good deal! Mia had a blast playing games. Needs to work on her racing, but had a lot of fun. She really enjoyed the bounce house. I can't even remember how long she stayed in there, but she had a total blast. Friday. she had school. She learned all about bees and how they help the Nature. As I was dropping her off, she could NOT get rid of me faster. "OKAY DAD, LOVE YOU SEE YOU LATER" When I went to pick her up, her teacher immediately told me how she is absolutely impressed with Mia's art skills. "Mia is so interesting to watch do art. She made a bee today, and carefully lined up the stinger on the bee and made she each stripe fit perfectly on the body" as she showed me the finished bee. It was really great. I'm glad Mia enjoys art as much as I do. Jill and I used to talk about how our kid will love music and art because we do so much. Mia has always enjoyed being creative and has really developed a great style.

Saturday, was Mia's FIRST soccer practice. She's been amped about it all week. When we got to the field, she was complete with cleats/socks and matching Chelsea jersey/shorts. But there were NO kids there. WHAT THE...I ran inside. Every kid was in the gym playing. Are you KIDDING ME?? Why is the practice in a damn gym? It's gorgeous out! So I told a parent that we'll run right home to grab sneakers since running in cleats on a gym floor would most likely lead to her falling straight on her face and I would hate to see that happen.  So, we came back and slipped the shoes on. Mia was a bit nervous at first, but got into it. She learned how to dribble around cones and pass/stop the ball. It was real difficult for the kids to dribble around the cones, because MOST kids play on grass. Hopefully next week's practice is on an actual field. At least she had fun, and throughout the ENTIRE day, she didn't want to take off her jersey/shorts. Later, we went to the park. There was a big group of people playing, flying kites and playing baseball. Mia ended up meeting a little girl named Abby and they played "hide the pixie dust from pirate-Daddy" It went from two kids hiding from me, to three, then  4 and ultimately 6 kids were running around playing the same game. Mia had SO much fun with the kids and talked about the day as soon as Jill got home from work.  When it was tome to get ready for bed for Mia, she STILL was wearing her jersey and shorts. Why "Because they are so comfortable Dad, can I still wear them??"

Sunday was the big game. Chelsea vs Crystal Palace. And WHAT a victory it was! A PK for Hazard (which he got the rebound on and headed it in) secured the only goal scored and the clinched us the title. FIRST title in 5 years, and fourth title to date. What a sweet sweet victory. It was a fantastic season, and fitting for Drogba to rejoin his Chelsea family.  4th title for King Drogba. Even with the injuries and suspensions throughout the season. Even with Costa, the man who got 19 goals was out, we kept going and stayed on top of the table. Couldn't have been more proud of the Blues. Hazard has been a real benefit for the club and is easily the best in the league. Fabregas had a great first season with the club and became absolutely vital throughout the title race.  I look forward to watching them lift the trophy at the end of the season. The cherry on top, was Terry, giving his condolences to Rio Ferdinand's family after the death of his wife. Talk about total class act. It was a rare moment, going into work happy (despite all the work I had to do) but thinking about the positive season, the goals and how amazing we played sure made the evening better.

Mother's Day this weekend. Jill's family is coming up. Plus, Mia's got soccer, so we've got all kinds of stuff going on this weekend. Thanks for reading!

One Step Beyond!

A very soggy good morning to everyone. We've got a nice gray Monday to start out the week with rain for the rest of the day. Oh fun. last week on Wednesday, Mia and I went to the park to hang with her friends. We were hoping the weather would be nicer then it was, but the kids had a good time, overall. Mia was invited to her friend Hannah's birthday party, but sadly couldn't attend because I was working during it, and wouldn't be able to go with her and Jill. Rats. Friday, it had to be at least 80 degrees out. It was absolutely perfect, and the diva got to wear a skirt to class. After I dropped her off, I went straight to the park to perfect bending the ball when attempting free kicks. I don't know (besides from hours of practice) they did it. It is so damn tricky to get that ball to bend, but after a handful of failed attempts, I was able to bend it. One of my better shots bent to the far right post, but in perfectly. I was quite happy about that. After that, I came home and did some work around the house before picking up Mia.

I had sent her off to school with a small package of chalk to draw with during recess. She's told me that during the free-time outside, she just sits on a chair and watches all the kids running around. She doesn't like it when the other classes are having recess and there are kids everywhere running around the small lot. I said, "would you like chalk to draw with to keep you busy?" She of course said yes so I guess when it was time for recess, all of her classmates wanted to draw with her and she yelled out "JUST A MINUTE LET ME OPEN THE PACKAGE FIRST!" When I went to pick her up, I could tell the kids had used them because her classmate Brayden's hands were covered in blue. Glad she had a good day at school and a more positive recess. She has parent-teacher conference coming up and an end-of-the-year program in June. Hard to believe the school year is ending so soon. She's been doing real well, and loves going to school.

Saturday, we did another princess photoshoot of Mia siting next to a tree with all of her costume dresses "drying" on a line. Jill got the idea a while back and wanted to try it. A bit cold at times, but the picture turned out.  Later, I watched the Chelsea vs Man U game. I knew it would be a tough and gripping match since both teams have been really good lately. In the end, we were the better squad and won 1-0 of a nice goal from Hazard. He received a perfect back-heel from Oscar to nutmeg De Gea to get the win. Only a few more games left, but with 10 points ahead of Arsenal, we should take the title. My favorite part of the game, was Mia dancing on my lap to "One Step Beyond" by Madness that they were playing at the end at Stamford Bridge. I read last week, that they are once again, bringing the Guinness International Cup to the states and Chelsea, the Earthquakes and Fiorintina will be participating. Would be absolutely awesome if Chelsea plays somewhat close to Wisconsin.

Sunday, we did laundry before I worked 2-10. They went to the park and zoo and enjoyed the rest of the sunday.  Lots going on this week. Mia's got school, I'm off Friday to go to the Chicago Fire/NYCFC game. Should be fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!