Hey, Come Back Spring!

Good morning. Wishing the nice weather of LAST week would have stuck around this week, but what can ya do...So over the weekend, nothing too exciting for Saturday, but Sunday, I did the 6am-2pm shift (missed the Chelsea game)  followed by futsal later at 8. My family went to my cousin's daughter's baptism Sunday and it sounded like they had a good time. My brother even posted a photo of Mia eating olives off her fingers like he did for a good portion of his life. Adorable. Anyway, so it had been since January since I played futsal last so I knew I'd be rusty. First hour or so, wasn't getting through the defense or making a lot of shots. Bugger. Shortly, I had a good run with a kid that was on my team and I got the assist on his nicely placed goal. Soon, I had a run going, but got stopped. Crap. Then another moment shortly after, I received a good pass that I was able to turn into a goal :) I was stoked because I had some good chances, my last hour and a half to get some goals, but wasn't able to put the ball in the back of the net. some passes were either not connecting or I was just dropping. A few times a player who just launch the ball to me, but they were going straight over my head. As keeper, I had only let in one goal for the night. I was happy for that. The oldest man on my team (probably late 60s) plays D and is pretty good so I knew when I was keeper, he'd help. Even stopping the Messi-wannabee's he'd shut them down. At 10:30pm, I had had it for the evening and called it a night. Mia's kiss for good luck worked and I was able to add a goal to my small list. In futsal, I should be getting more goals, but since I don't play weekly like these fellas do, I do the best with what I can, and hopefully will continue to improve.

Tuesday, Mia and I went to Kids and Motion with her friends and my buddy Nicole. Because of Spring Break, the place had probably over 100 kids in there. It was intense. She had fun and we'll see her friends Friday at Hannah's birthday party :) She decided that she'd high-five her friend's parents instead of the actual kids. Don't know why. Yesterday was a nice day off. Still too cold and windy, which sucks because it would have been nice to go to the park. Last night Mia insisted on painting my nails.
Mia's been singing word-for-word Frozen's "Let it Go" just about 3-4 times  a day, and it's got to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. For some reason, kids singing always blows me away, and when Mia sings, it melts my heart. I tried to video record her last night, but the camera was too close to my phone which was playing the track for her. Maybe next time. Saturday, Chelsea game. Sunday, work early then Easter at my parent's house. Not sure if the kids are egg hunting. We'll see how the weather goes. Thanks for reading!

Fantastic Florida

How's it going everyone? Good? Back to Wisconsin after a wonderful trip to sunny Florida. Real quick, her birthday party was great. She had a blast painting with her family and friends.
We spent a week in Sebastian, which is about an hour and a half (give or take) from Orlando. We went down a few years ago when Mia turned one, so we wanted to go back and visit Jill's Grandpa again. It was awesome. After a great successful flight, Mia picked up an Ariel doll from the Disney store inside Orlando Airport with some birthday cash and we were on our way to Sebastian. She was wonderful with her Great Grandpa. We went to the beach every single day we were there. Mia loved the ocean. One of my favourite moments was when she was washing her hands off from sand at Wabbaso beach, a small wave came in and surprised her little face. She wasn't mad, but the surprised look was priceless. I'm not going to go into what we did every day, but overall, it was a great trip. She survived the plane ride back. A little crazy at times, but did well. Already missing the ocean.

Missed a really really good and important Chelsea game the other day. We defeated PSG and are moving on to the semi-finals in the Champions League :) Wore my Oscar jersey today in celebration.

Today, Mia and I hung out with my bro Andy and Easton at the park in Hartland. The kids loved the playground and had a blast. Always nice to have some quality time with Andy. We don't hang out that often so it was long overdue. 

Jill's busy tonight, so after a lengthy nap, Mia and I are chilling and relaxing tonight. Finally gonna be able to watch Modern Family :) Going to play futsal Sunday night. It's been several months so I'm excited to play soccer finally. Gonna feel rusty, but hopefully can get a goal or two. 

Something that I've already noticed since Mia's turned 3, is that a phrase that's becoming more common these days. "I can do it by myself". She's been going to the bathroom solo more often (one day in Florida she peed in the toilet without peeing in her diaper). She's been trying to master getting her jacket on including zipping. Makes me proud. Somethings will take a while to master, but she's determined and that's awesome. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

The Early Bird Drinks His Morning Orange Juice

Greetings. It was a busy, but pretty solid weekend last week. Friday, Mia had a GREAT playgroup. ALL of her little friends were there. Gracie, Hannah, Omina, Zack and Weston. She was so stoked to she the girls. They played so well. It was the first time in a while she wasn't partially sitting on my lap to play. After play group ended, some kids hang out and run around the empty room. Mia participated this time. It looked like a toddler mosh pit. When it was time to go, Gracie had gotten her fingers slammed in the door, so she was crying. Hannah, like always was the first to give Mia a hug goodbye, and I SWEAR TO GOD my heart melted when I saw Mia hugging her back with a little smile on her face. As I type this, my heart is already melting. It was so freakin' adorable. Gracie cried in her mother's arms as we walked out. Mia INSISTED on holding on to Omina's hand, so I had little Hannah's. As we were heading to our car, Gracie was just not calming down and eventually sat in a snow bank for absolutely no reason what so ever. So she cried even more. Eventually, she ran up to Mia and gave her a big hug goodbye. One of those hugs that "I'm in pain, and I need my friend now" hugs. Mia was so sweet that day, and invited the girls to her birthday party in March.

 Saturday morning, I was awaken by a text at 6:30am explaining from my older brother "no hockey today, the ice is too slushy" from the freezing rain we had got the night before. Okay. I also knew that Chelsea was playing Hull City at 6:45am, and was hoping to get a little more sleep before match time. Sadly, Mia, who crawled into our bed, started kicking me in the ribs so I gave up on that idea and got up to take the dog. As SOON as I moved my head off the pillow, she rolled her little noodle on it. Oh well. Took the dog out for a nice quiet walk through the icy neighborhood. Came back, made breakfast and watched the game online. I gotta say, it was quite nice having a little morning to myself to enjoy my favorite team beat Hull City 2-0. Both goals were real slick, and I was hoping they'd motivate me to get some goals come futsal time Sunday night.

The girls ended up sleeping most of the morning, which allowed me time to go salt the driveway, work on a little art and clean up the kitchen some. Sunday morning, early shift. Wasn't exciting, but all I could think about was playing futsal. Jill and Mia came to my game (with my sister) and that meant a LOT to me. Originally, they weren't going to come because the last time they did, Mia cried and I had to split early. This time, Mia WANTED to come, and we brought some distractions for her if she got bored. I mean come on, it was a 2 hour game, I wouldn't hold it against her if she had lost interest. So, I started on the colored team (we do colors vs white) and thanks to some Messi-wannabees, I wasn't receiving a whole lot of passes. Our team wasn't doing the best with defense either. When it was my turn in goal, I got scored on, 3 or so times. No one was in back to help defend. Bugger. So when it got to the point of "do you guys wanna do a trade" I was immediately offered. Fine. So I went on the white team. WAY better team to play on. No wonder they were beating us. Better passing overall, and I got a really slick goal, and a couple of assists. My goal was a nice pass of a teammate, a quick move around a defender and shot it far right post on goal. It was my first time playing that my teammates were vocal about the goal. "Those were really nice moves, Mike" Thanks :) When it was my turn in goal, I noticed that they had one fella that stayed back for defense which helped with keeping the goals down. Ended up letting in two. Oh well. It was a lot of fun and I hope to get in to play again in another month or so.

This weekend, my nephew Easton is having a birthday party. Should be fun. That's all for now. Next week, I'm posting my FINISHED Mia portrait :) Thanks for reading!

You're a mean one....Mr. Grinch

Greetings. For quite a while, I've been able to successfully be able to post here once a week. Getting a little harder these days, so forgive me for my tardiness. Mia and Jill are still sound asleep. I woke up because I was really hungry. Took a glance outside and noticed all of the snow we got. Great. So I put eating two delicious belgian waffles on the hold, and took Remi out for his walk...THEN took on the snow blowing. While snow blowing, I was thinking about how last year, I was able to build two awesome snow-penguins with Mia. This year, I told her I'd build her  bigger ones. Like, 5-6 feet tall. THEN I thought, wouldn't it be cool to build SNOW MINIONS?!?! Of course the answer is yes! So while snow blowing, I kept thinking of how I'd do it, would I use colours, etc etc. Well, that got me through this crap. I've got to work later today, so I'm hoping this crap slows down. Luckily, Mia and Jill can chill at home all day.

Friday, I took Mia to play group. Only a few kids showed up with their parents. Roads weren't the best, so I'm not surprised. Mia's friends Gracie and Hannah weren't there (or last week either) but Weston and Omnia were. Both kids we haven't seen in a while. Mia played so well with them, which was great. Omnia's Grandma (who takes here to playgroup) told this other woman that she doesn't celebrate Christmas because she's Muslim, but her parents still give her a little tree to decorate. I thought to myself, kids are the best. Mia's playing with this little Muslim girl, and there's no judgement, no "you look different, I can't be around you", nothing. This is a great age. Kids are kids. Simple as that. She's such a sweet little girl too. usually compliments Mia on her outfits and hair accessories. They're close in age (apposed to Weston who is 18 months, but pretty tall for his age). I dunno, I was just real

SO Mia tried sledding this year. Last year was a bust, but this year, she LOVED it! I toed her around the yard Monday going fast, and she couldn't get enough of it. I suggested lets go sled down the ditch (hey, baby steps people) and she absolutely loved it. If I was off today, I'd love to take her sledding down a slightly bigger hill. Christmas is just about here. A few work days to go, before the big day. Stoked for Mia to open gifts this year. On Christmas, we're outta here to Illinois. I'll be back on Saturday though. May even get to play some futsal sunday :) Hopefully. While I'm home solo, I hope to get some art accomplished. Lots to do, with little time, so I hope to use some of the time wisely. I'm not the best with time management at times, but hey, I'm working on it. Wish I was able to catch the Chelsea vs Arsenal derby tomorrow. :(

I was going to discuss a rather controversial topic as of lately, but in the spirit of the holiday season, I'm going to be nice. That's all for now. Happy Holidays everyone. Safe travels, and as always, thanks for reading!

See The Light

Morning everyone. Didn't write last night. Dozed off and woke up and realized it was 1:30am, so I just went back to sleep. Usually like to get all of my thoughts together Wednesday evening to write, but sometimes I end up writing Thursday morning. Anyways, over the weekend, Jill's family came to town. We did a TON of yard work. I immediately got all of the gutters cleaned, while Jill raked, and her dad cut some grass. Her mom kept Mia busy, which usually meant playing in the leaves and sandbox. It was good to get a lot of yard work done. The weather wasn't bad (except the insane wind)

Sunday, I was off too! Yay! I took a vacation day because Jill and I had reserved two spots to go paint at the Arte Wine and Paint studio in Tosa', so her parents watched Mia. It was paint your pet day! We had a lot of fun. Because I typically don't work well with acrylic, I found myself getting very frustrated at times. I usually use oil or water colour. In the end, I was mostly satisfied with my attempt. Jill's looked great and we'll probably do something like this again some day. I strongly recommend anyone who wants to have some fun and walk away with a great painting (and it's only 2 1/2 hours, which goes by REALLY fast) They instruct you how to build up the painting from the darkest darks to the lightest colors, so even the most artistically challenged person can complete a nice picture.

You might remember I posted a week ago that during futsal I had got one of my toes smashed by an opposing player. The toe's improving nicely. I can jog some now. The two other toes on my left foot are still purple and blue but they don't hurt at all. Was FINALLY able to do a little drawing yesterday (during Mia's nap) Haven't been able to do anything on her portrait in FOREVER. Didn't get a lot done, but did something so, that's always good. Probably another 2-3 hours on it and it should be complete. This weekend, Jill's got a glass blowing class with one of her co-workers and I'm working Sunday 6am-2pm. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Great Lakes/Great Escapes

Greetings. Quickly am going to get through this before crashing for the evening. Over the weekend, we went up to Madison. Jill photographed her former roomie from college's engagement photos while Mia and I hung out with my bro and his familia. I swear, Alex is the only boy that Mia can handle hanging with. Probably because they're cousins and play very well together. Later, her roomie took us out to dinner at Monty's (which NEVER disappoints) Her fiance's little 6 year old was chasing Mia around outside, which was pretty damn adorable.

Sunday, I worked 9-5pm, THEN played some futsal later :) The shift was long and boring, and all I could think about was playing futsal again. Hoped this time I'd get a goal or two (since the last time I played, I had to quit at first half because Mia was crying) Anyways, Mia and Jill didn't make it to the game, allowing me to be able to play the whole time with no problems. So I found out they typically play 3-4 games per night. Cool. First game, I didn't do as well. Wasn't getting a lot of passes to myself and didn't get a lot of chances for shots. My shift as keeper (everyone switches off every 5-6 minutes) I had let in two goals. Blah.

Second game, I did WAY better. Got a few shots off. One ALMOST goal. It went perfectly between the keeper's legs and just as it was crossing the line, the defender got it. I almost fell over in frustration. NOOO!!! Well, I ended up getting a goal off a slick volley from a teammate. FINALLY. I got the goal I've been wanting to get. 3 or 4 shots that night before getting this goal. This goal meant a lot to me. I hope that if I sub again some day, I'll get more goals. The rest of this game, I would secure about 3 assists as well. When my shift came for keeper, I let ZERO goals in and made an awesome pass to a teammate from 15 feet away. Even had everyone on the court saying "WOAHH" I don't even think the teammate was expecting it. I was loving this shift. It would get scary when a teammate would get the ball because just about EVERYONE is on the offense leaving me, the lonely keeper one-on-one with the striker. Luckily, I had some good saves.

Last game, a few shots but no goals, and I once again didn't let any goals in as keeper. Keeper because sort of a position I enjoyed towards the end because it gave me a time to chill for a moment...you know before someone starts pounding the ball at me. Before we called it quits, I had to switch colors and go to the other side, and play keeper. Let two goals in. Eh. After game time, hung around a bit for a delicious well-deserved Newcastle Ale with some of the guys. A goal never tasted so good. I was so excited to tell my Dad/Mia/Jill/Mom after the game. I called my Dad on my way home with the exciting news of my goal. He seemed uninterested and unimpressed. My Mom was happy. Jill was half asleep on the couch but thankfully Mia was excited. My number one fan. So for the last few days, I've been slowly recovering from an intense first game. Calves are store, toes are beaten (mostly from a dude stepping on them)

Wednesday, nothing too special happened. Chelsea was playing, but not on any of the channels my Dad gets. Stoked they won 3-0. :) We tried dance class again. Mia had her nap, but when we got to the class, she wouldn't participate, and eventually would cry. We're done. This is very much proof that you can't always predict what your child will do in a social setting. Because she's not in day care and has an adult figure telling her what to do (that's not her parents) she doesn't know how to respond. I'm not sure if it was the adults running it + loud music times 8 girls running around, but it was horrible. Started a brand new logo for Thrill Factory. Haven't been able to do ANY art lately, which has been driving me insane. Just too busy with other things. I swear this one's getting done. :) This weekend, I'm OFF!!!!!! Yard work day Saturday, hopefully a hair cut and we've got a "date afternoon" activity planned. Painting dog portraits at this place in Tosa'. Should be a lot of fun. Thanks for reading!

Love They Say

Hello people. Going to try to knock this one out quickly. Getting quite sleepy, so bare with me. Last Friday, I got an email from a gentleman who runs the different pick up futsal games in Brookfield. Looks like they do games Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Well, they needed TWO subs for last Sunday's game so guess who FINALLY got to play? :) Jill gave me the okay to go check it out, so after work, I contemplated going (weather was crap) but the roads ended up being pretty good. We quickly headed down to the BSA training facility where they have the games. Actually, we later figured out that it wasn't too far from our old apartment and within walking distance of my old advertising/marketing job. I was super stoked to play when I got there. Futsal is totally different then outdoor and indoor turf soccer. I've never played futsal so it was an interesting experience. It's 4 on 4 plus a keeper. No throw ins, you kick it in when it goes out. No offsides either and the ball moves quite quickly. With this group, every 10 minutes they rotated who'd play keeper, so everyone would get to play on the court. I ended up volunteering for the 1st rotation after kick off. Never played keeper before, but it wasn't too bad. Got two goals scored on me. One off a cheap bank shot but it was still pretty fun. Glad to switch it up when I could :) I didn't get any goals, but took some good shots and hit the cross bar (totally thought It was going in) Didn't play the 2nd half sadly. I could hear Mia throwing a huge fit towards the end of the 1st half, and could see Jill struggling to keep her happy. Oh well. I really wanted her to enjoy watching me like the first time I played back in October. She was hungry and pissy so it just wasn't happening. Jill said she said "go Daddy" every once in a while. Totally worth coming out to play. Because it's $10 to play, I won't be playing every weekend. Just two times a month I think. I ended up hurting my foot, when  defender stomped accidentally on it. Still sore.

Saturday,  I played a little hockey with my older bro. We walked down to the rink near his apartment and skated around passing the puck. We avoided the rink with the boards because there was some high school kids playing a pick up game. We didn't wanna be recruited. Hahaha! All in all, it was a fun time skating and discussing Chelsea, the Penguins and everything in between. So last weekend was full of sports for me. For lunch in Madison, we ate at Monty's which is one of the best restaurants in the area. 

Today, Mia and I shoveled the 3-4 inches of snow we got. She even wore her MITTENS! It may not sound like a big deal, but she never ever willingly wears mittens or gloves. Next, maybe she'll wear a hat. My friend Nicole, her kiddo B and myself with Mia hung out at Kids in Motion down the street today. Mia had a lot of fun climbing through the tubes and playing with the giant Lite Brite. I also enjoyed catching up with Nicole. 

That's it for now. Thanks for reading.