The Pain of Rain

Greetings everyone. Let's dive into the week, eh? Okay. The first three days were utter crap with a pile of rain and a tornado touched down briefly in Wales where I grew up. hearing about the tornado brought back crazy memories of the late 80's with the tornado ripping down our street. My Mom carrying my sister and I in each arm while pregnant with my little brother. What a crazy time that was. Luckily, the tornado didn't head our way and there were no fatalities. Phew. Mia had a fever on one of the days early this week at school. but luckily after a day of rest, was good to go again. Thursday, I joined Mia and her buddies for lunch. I swear, they get way more hyped when I show up than Mia :P They all asked "So, are you staying for recess?" Of course I am. They always love it, no matter what they plan on doing.

Recess turned into a full on game of street soccer with any and every girl that wanted to play with us. A handful of Mia's teammates including Ryan and Cecilia played so it was fun. Mia picked up a couple goals and Ryan had a great time attempting goalie again. I said my goodbyes and had to split. Unfortunately, we had to cancel practice due to the back fields being totally under water. I was having inner struggles that maybe we should have practiced. The temps had warmed up, but the fields were still terrible. I eventually made peace with it and that was that. Friday, it finally didn't rain and I thought that just maybe the game fields would possibly dry out. Sadly Friday night, I got the text from one of my assistant coach they cancelled the Minors, Juniors and Majors matches. Total bummer. Picture Day was still on so we still had to be there for photos at 7:45AM. Talk about a total bummer and tease for the kids. "Hey, get in your full uniform for photos, but no game". On top of that, they didn't allow cleats in the building. Ugh. Mia wasn't a fan of it at all. After photos she kicked the ball around with Alice and Ally while Ally's Mom talked to me about how the season has been going. She explained how proud she is of her daughter and overall how the team has bonded and played throughout the year. As a coach, I never really know how I'm doing but when I hear little random things like that from parents I have barely met, it's really humbling and always nice to hear. I also ran into old players Jana, Charley and Ainslee. Ainslee's Mom told me she'd really like to get an early request to have me coach her when she gets into 3rd grade next year. Talk about sweet eh? She was a sick goalie last year and I'd love to work with her like I have with Olivia. Olivia has been very patient playing mainly goalie, and with Ava out with an injury, I don't know if I can convince anyone else to play in net. I hope she can play in our final game on the 26th against the 2nd place team. If we win this upcoming match and the 2nd place team loses, we take the league title.

The rest of the day, we hung out with my in-laws for a belated birthday celebration with Tommy. Friday night, Mia made an impressive 8-layered cake for her Uncle. 8 layers of 8 different colors. Unreal. Sunday, I watched the Chelsea vs Southampton match. Blues got the big win 4-1 and are moving up the table right before the International Break. We later went to the zoo in pursuit of the baby red panda. Sadly, the red pandas weren't out either so Mia was pretty disappointed. She enjoyed the polar bear being cute laying in the sun as well as the river otters playing in the water.

This week, Mia's off tomorrow and hoping to find friends to hang out with. Hopefully, we can hold a practice Thursday before our 2nd to last league match. The Torrent have their final match of the year so possibly I will attempt to make it. They had a game over the weekend that I really wanted to go to, but I wasn't feeling that great Saturday for a while, and it was pouring out.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Fevers and Wins

Evening everyone. Quite the busy week as usual with some ups and downs. I took Tuesday off so my Dad and I could go see the Torrent take on Forward Madison in Madison. Around noon, I surprised Mia and her friends with a lunch and recess visit. Immediately when her friends spotted me waiting for her class, they'd point and say "HEY SAVE ME A SEAT NEXT TO YOU, KAY?? Mia was shocked I made it and we had a great time.

 Since my Mom and Dad were arriving to Milwaukee from Vegas Tuesday, it was no surprise he would be too tired to make the match. My brother Andy and I ended up going together. Breese Field is something special. The city truly has embraced this team and it's a great place for a USL-One soccer team. Torrent got the early lead, so per the usual, us in the Supporters section went nuts. We were lookin good at half time with the 1-0 lead. 2nd half, they caught up and equalized. Damn. A little later, they got a 2nd goal which finished off the Torrent. The away supporters never gave up on the Torrent. It would have been nice to win their little trophy but it wasn't in the cards. It was nice the players came around and thanked us from both teams for coming. It was a long ride back, but a nice time hanging with Andy at a soccer game.

Early Thursday morning, Mia woke up with a burning hot fever. She unfortunately had to stay home. Jill came home later from a school to hang with the resting diva. I still had to hold a practice sans diva so later after school was over, I met with the team. I set up a couple group exercises for myself and coach Kevin to run, and Coach Jim to run a different one. Coach Kevin and I ran a quick sprint drill with the ball where we'd time to kids so they could beat their own personal times. I wasn't sure how they'd handle being timed, but they really liked trying to beat their own and their fellow teammates times. Coach Jim ran a long pass drill where they would do crosses to each other. I guess it kind of worked? I really need to get these girls to put some more muscle behind their passes. We did a scrimmage, did some shots from far outside the box and worked on some PKs as well. This was probably the most productive practice we'd had and everyone looked ready for their upcoming match. I came home and told Mia about practice and what we worked on as she sipped on some Ginger Ale.

Friday, Mia's health was still not at 100% and she took another day off. She finally was able to eat something. Even if it was just a little bit. At my parents, she was able to get some Golden Grahams down before I went off to work. My mind was occupied the whole shift if Mia was going to be okay enough to play Saturday. When I came home, she was passed out on the couch and I explained to Jill that if Mia would to play what she can play in the match, that it would be fine. I didn't want her to overdo it, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to play against some of her friends.

Saturday she woke up feeling mostly okay and ready for our 11AM match. Most of the girls were already waiting for myself and Mia to arrive. A little quick kickabout before we did our jog and stretches. We did a few quick drills and warmed up Olivia in goal before the 1st half started. I believe Alice or Ava netted the first goal or couple goals but the real highlight was Ally getting her first goal ever. I started her on a wing for the first time since she typically plays defense. She started the half strong and was able to dribble through plenty of people. Before long, she banged a goal in. Totally proud. Bummed she didn't do a cartwheel like she did at practice, but there will be other games. Mia, who looked great at warm up, was struggling to run. She had a few good moments, but sat out most of the rest of the game. At half, we had a pretty good lead 6-2. 2nd half (maybe 7?) We net a few more goals as well as the Pink Panthers. When it was all said it done, we won 8-4. Despite the big win, these girls played tough and we may end up playing against these girls in the tournament. Immediately after the match, Vida and Scarlett came over and gave hugs. I snapped a photo with the OL girls. After Scarlett and Vida gave hugs, Scarlett's sister Sophie invited Mia to hang with Scarlett on Sunday at Stonefire. Of course Mia totally wanted to go so she said yes. The rain moved in later after the games were over so we were happy we got our 3rd win in a row in. Tommy made the trek from Madison along with Mia's grandparents. We relaxed most of the rest of Saturday. I had a meeting for work while Mia and Jill got some Halloween decor for Jill's studio. We later played some games, watched Into the Spiderverse and called it a night.

Sunday, we woke up to rain and I watched the Chelsea vs Liverpool match. Tough match with Liverpool getting the unfortunate win. Azpi's goal should not have been disallowed which is proving VAR is a double-edged sword in the EPL. Went to work later, per the usual.

This week, I'm pretty ahead of Mia's sketches due to her getting sick, so I hope to keep it that way. I really need to get some drumming in this week. I'll put together our upcoming practice before our next early game. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Late Night

Good evening everyone! Quite the busy week but an overall fun one. The week started pretty rough with Mia getting a gnarly fever. Sunday evening it started and kept her from making school on Monday. She spent the majority of the day just sleeping. She didn't want to eat and every once in a while, would wake up, take a few sips of ginger ale, and went back to sleep. When I came home from work Monday night, Jill had told me she was pretty dizzy and weak due to the fever and lack of food. Luckily, Tuesday she was starting to fever but we kept her home because she still had a bit of a temperature. She finally was able to eat something and started to act like her normal self. Phew. Major thanks to my in-laws for helping out with her.

I had 3 schools during the week. Two in Waterford and one in Pewaukee while Mia was recovering. Both schools were pretty fun but the most intense one of the season was Pewaukee Lake Elementary. So many classrooms to capture but the kids and staff were a lot of fun. I've got one more this week and I'm done for the season.

Anyways, Mia returned on Wednesday and had a decent day. Didn't really eat much lunch throughout the week unfortunately because she was worried her tummy would hurt again. I joined her for lunch Thursday as a surprise. The temp was super nice so I figured it was a good idea. Every dropped their coats off at the door and they all had blast at recess. Her friends threw their coats at me to hold onto while they played charades. Super fun.

Friday, I took off so that after we dropped off Mia at her friend Ryan's epic sleepover birthday party, Jill and I could grab some sushi and watch a movie at night. First of all, Mia was absolutely stoked for the party and couldn't wait to go. Upon arriving, she was mugged by her excited friends before saying goodbye to me for the night. We picked up some Meiji sushi. Jill always picks out the very best at every place we go. I never tell her what I like, she just knows what sushi would be a hit for me. We watched some goofy movie with Jason Sudakis and called it a night. Saturday morning we picked up a very sleepy Mia. She said they stayed up late and she ended up waking up pretty early. When we brought her home, she passed out on the couch for hours. After she woke up, we didn't do too much. Just did a bit of art. I've been working on Mia's friend Charlie's custom fairy sketch while Mia did an animal poster for a contest. I picked up some hair dye for Mia as well so she could dye it Sunday with Jill.

Today, Mia did her traditional St Paddy's Day scavenger hunt. We made pancakes as Mia did an Irish jig in the kitchen. Later I watched a very frustrating Chelsea vs Everton match. This season has been such a nightmare for the Blues and I really don't know how they think they'll break top 4 or even 5. I watched them pick apart Dynamo Kiev on Thursday. 1st half of the CFC vs Toffee's match, they looked really good. 2nd half, they just weren't in it. It's been proven the manager just isn't the right person for the job and the players for one reason or another just aren't working with his system. Someone needs to take over and do a factory reset on everything.

This week is a really big one. Photographing my last school Tuesday and we've got the much-anticipated art show on Thursday. So much work has gone into this and I really hope the parents and school staff love the hard work we put into it, as well as their talented kids. I may be bringing Mia and her friend/Dad to a Wave game this weekend. We'll see if we can pick up some tickets. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Down For The Count

Good evening. A few days behind on my blogging, only because I was sidelined with a rough fever that lead to some stomach pain since Wednesday. Wednesday night I got real real sick, through up a ton but still had to make it to work Thursday and Friday. I'm doing a little better but I'd rather not reflect on this. It sucked and I'm still getting over it.

Last Saturday Chelsea marched on to a fantastic 6-3 victory over Everton. I was fortunate to watch it while Jill and her family were out. It was a total nail biter. Diego Costa picked up two great goals proving already that he was a great pick. New comer Luic Remy will be interesting to see in action in the near future. We did have to say goodbye to striker Fernando Torres as he went on loan to AC Milan. Mixed feelings for the fans since he cost quite a bit for the club and wasn't able to aptly perform to to the price tag that brought him there, but there are some solid memories of the player that we'll always have and look fondly on as he moves on to bigger things in Italy.

There's been quite a few things going on with Miss Mia as well. She's been avidly listening to Tegan and Sara every time I drive her anywhere. More specifically songs "Back in Your Head" and "Hop a Plane". She most recently began enjoying their latest single "Closer". She's got almost all of the lyrics to "Hop a Plane" down which is crazy. She's getting really good at driving her Mustang Power Wheels and can now park it in the garage. It's really handy that the battery plugs into a normal outlet because she's been driving it every other day :)

She started preschool Friday. It was a day I was both looking forward to and dread for obvious reasons. She's been talking about it for a while. Just as I was going to get her into the car and Jill was heading off to work, she got upset. She exclaimed how much she'd miss us and Remi and started crying. Great. Not even out of the driveway. We calmed her down and Jill followed us to school. She got in, and was perfectly fine. Kissed Jill goodbye and myself. For the first time in quite a while, I had some peace and quiet. Sadly, because of my health, I couldn't take full advantage of it. Did a little picking up in the living room, took care of some laundry. Would have loved to kicked the ball around the pitch or played my drums, but there will be other days. Picked her up at 11:30am, and she was stoked to see me. Told me all about school, playing with the sand table, painting a picture. She's looking forward to going back next Friday which is great. Today, I spent the majority of the day with her, as Jill did a WildTree workshop at my sister in law's house. Mia and I had a pretty good day. Did some art, played outside, she rode her bike around, she took a bath, watched a movie. Tomorrow, I hope to get some grass cut before work.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!