So Long 4K, Hello Summer

Morning! Another busy week(end) in the books so I'm going to try and blast through this post so I can finish a logo design that's taken way too long to complete. Tuesday, the diva with my Mom went to her very last field trip with her 4-K class, to the Zoo. I made them both special lunch bags. Mia's was had Shopkins on it, my Mom had Olaf. When I went to pick them both up. Mia was super tired and was exclaiming "I...can't walk anymore". Wednesday was her last regular day at school before graduation. I spent the majority of the morning talking to my tattoo artist who will be doing a Hawaiian half sleeve on me. I saw his color study he was working on and I couldn't be more excited about it. NEXT Saturday is the first session. I ran back to the house to get Remi and went to pick up Mia. 

She and her friends hung out at the park for a few hours. The kids had such a good time enjoying the nice weather. I even caught Mia sitting with her "boyfriend" Trey on the bleachers talking. It was cute. Thursday was her very last day at Smarty Pants. Jill and I took her to school together. Mia, decked out in a beautiful dress ready to graduate. When we brought her in, her friend Audrey yells out "MIA, YOU LOOK LIKE A PRINCESS!!!" Mia couldn't get rid of us fast enough. A little subtle hand-wave to signal "okay GO" and that was it. No hugs. Slightly disappointed, but we went back home and did some cleaning before our families who could attend met up and went into the graduation. 

We took our seats and watched the kids come marching in, singing about the last day of school and how they're ready to graduate. I had to stand in the back so I could get a nice view of my short little kiddo. Everyone had phones out videoing and me, I took a few pictures but didn't want to cover my face with it. I wanted to soak in as much of my kid finishing school as possible. This was a big deal for her, and we couldn't have been more proud. Last year, she wouldn't sing or do anything and it was frustrating. This year, she matured and sang with her friends and classmates beautifully. They had the kids get their diploma and toss their hats in the air. They all got to keep their tassels which is pretty cute. I took as many photos after with her and her friends and family. The morning of graduation, she was sad thinking she won't see her friends much anymore, but I promised her we'll keep in contact. This Thursday she'll get to meet up with them at the park for a picnic. Should be fun but I'm bummed I can't take her. The parents and faculty have been real nice over at Smarty Pants and I can only hope at Orchard Lane they'll be the same. She's honestly excited to make new friends but wants to keep her old ones. 

Friday, we met up with BFF Olivia at the park and the two played, drew with chalk and kicked the soccer ball around before a nature walk. They wanted it to be "just us girls alone walking" but we had to keep them in sight. Friday night, Jill's friend Leanne came in to town for the weekend but when I got home, everyone was asleep. Saturday the rest of the friends plus Leanne's new boyfriend came in (minus Nichole). The weekend was a lot of fun. We went to Jokerz and for the first time EVER had someone "friend sit" Mia (plus Caleb) that wasn't a family member. My friend and coworker Shelby watched the two kids. They both were very good for her, and when we got back from the comedy show, Mia was hanging out with Shelby on the couch watching Netflix and eating a sandwich. She had a great time with her and wants to hang out again. the comedy show was all kinds of fun. Good food, raunchy jokes. What more can you want? 

Sunday we went to breakfast and the kids went swimming after. Leanne, Rick and I wandered over to a nearby car show and DAMN where there a lot of fancy nice cars. Leanne's getting into cars more and more since her new BF drives a very very fancy one, and honestly it was kind of nice to go to something that I've never been to before. For dinner we went over to Stone Fire Pizza. The kids LOVED it and played all kinds of games before picking out prizes. After the brief but gnarly thunderstorm, they said their goodbyes and were back to the hotel for the night before leaving this morning. This week should be mostly relaxing but excitement as well. Friday is the Torrent kick off party. They won over the weekend 4-0 in Chicago and supporters made the drive in to watch the good guys win. Saturday is the home opener. The team sold 500+ season tickets, which means over 500 people will be watching me, the El Capitano mascot pound a drum and getting fans to chant and sing loudly THIS Saturday. I'm both nervous and stoked. I signed up Mia and Jill for a zoo class Saturday afternoon. Polar Pals. They'll take a class on animals in both the North and South poles with costume making and some painting. Both girls are stoked.

That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

ICE to Meet You Again Mickey

Good morning everyone. Busy week, per the usual and I'm dead tired so lets get through this. Every day this week at school, Mia's had homework in some shape or form. Good thing she enjoys it. Our car drives (her and I) used to consist of her and I singing along to her favourite songs. Now, she likes to be quizzed on math problems and "what does -Insert word here- start with?". It's a different atmosphere, but enjoyable nonetheless. She nails just about every one of them as well, which is pretty impressive. This week, the Torrent announced the league they'll be in, which means that the schedule will be out very soon. Looking forward to putting together some great images for the matches.

After school Wednesday we watched the Chelsea FC vs Watford game with my Dad. Sadly, a 0-0 draw again, which sucked since we should have gotten SOMETHING out of that game.  Friday, Mia got to attend her friend Kaylee's birthday party at the Big Back Yard. We've been there countless times, but this should be a bit more fun since the majority of her class was attending. I was working but Jill took her. Mia had a great time and I think it was fun for Jill to get to see Mia in a more relaxed setting with friends. She never gets to talk to the parents since I'm 100% of the time taking and picking her up from school. Saturday, Jill worked at the Woman Up! convention for her studio. She was up hella early to get ready into her pin-up attire. From what she told me, they were pretty busy and people wanted to have their pictures taken with Jill. Aw. Mia and I got to hang out for the day. We went to Chuck E Cheese at one point during the day. BUSY on weekends (which didn't surprise me). We had a boat load of tokens from our last visit (with Mia's pal) so we had some fun. Mia really liked the downhill skiing game and was pretty good at it. SkeeBall isn't her thing. Sort of a difficult  concept to throw the ball low. My favorite arcade games have always been racing ones, so Mia and I raced an Aston Martin as well. Later, we went home and awaited Jill to come home so we could go to Disney On Ice.

We had a really good time. It was weird being in the Bradley Center for something that wasn't an Admirals game. In fact, I have never seen the inside of the arena that didn't have boards up. Our balcony-style seats that Jill got were perfect. We could see everything including the amazing flying that went on during the story of Tangled. They told quick little stories of some Disney classics such as Snow White, Cinderella and Tangled. In the beginning they had some of the characters from Princess and the Frog dancing around. Mia had a lot of fun and picked up a souvenir cup.

Sunday, I watched the Chelsea vs Man U game. I had a feeling we'd get a draw. They should have started Hazard on the side in the first half, but went with Oscar instead. Costa's late-equalizing goal was perfect and I hope that Zouma (who went down real awkwardly) feels better soon.

This week, Mia's got a Valentines Day party. Hopefully she'll fell better soon (she's got a rough little cough) and I'm supposed to go to a photo/video shoot for the Torrent. She's not going to school today since she barely slept last night. She needs a good day to rest. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

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 :)

The Graduate

Good morning everyone. We leave for Florida tomorrow morning, but of course we had a very busy week, so let's get to it. Early in the week, Mia got a handful of letters in the mail from a buddy of mine. Tinker Bell, Merida, Repunzel, and Belle all wrote to Mia. The detail my bud put into the letters were awesome complete with burn mark from Lumiere. She showed them to everyone. Thursday, Mia graduated 3K. My parents, Jill and her family attended Mia's ceremony/concert. It was real sweet, except of course my kid wouldn't sing at ALL. She practices the Bruno Mars song they sing at the end ALL of the time and when the kids came out to go stand in front and sing, she didn't want to sing. Ugh..She didn't shed any tears, but she did make it to the diploma ceremony part and get her certificate of completion. She also made some new friends. I had dropped her off earlier so she could eat lunch with the Thursday class, and she had told me later she made friends with another girl named Olivia and a girly named Lucy. Anyways, we were proud quite proud of her. We hope she loves 4K as much as she loved 3K.

Friday was her end-of-the-year picnic. She went to Valley View park with her class and myself along with all of the parents. She had a total blast playing with everyone. There were a TON of kids. She ate a few hot dogs with her classmates and asked "who's your favorite Disney princess" to everyone sitting near her. It was hard to have to go, but she was able to give everyone a hug goodbye including her teacher. I had to hear "Daddy, I wanted to stay" on the way to wWaukesha, but I'm glad she had fun.

Later at work Friday when it was time for my break, I had got a message from one of The Flood charter officers that the Milwaukee Torrent used MY art for their new 2016 jerseys they just announced via Facebook. WHAT?? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!??? Yes, he was. Sure enough, they had used some elements from my kit design to put together a home/away jersey. It's a bit different than what I had originally designed, but I'll take it and was given full credit. I don't know what's next for the Torrent as far as if I'll get any money or a jersey, but I do know that I have to work on some Flood merch and put together some stuff after I get back from Florida. It was great to see all of the support when they released the kit and it'll be surreal when I see someone wearing it.

Saturday was Mia's last day of soccer. They had a game. Parents vs Kids. Mia was crabby and played a little while in goal and a tiny bit on the field. She was being a pain (probably because she was hungry) but stuck till the end and got her certificate for mini-soccer. She wants to do a swim class with Jill so when we get back from the trip next week, she'll start that right away. Hopefully it goes well. I was able to  get all the grass cut after practice and Sunday, we packed packed packed for the trip.

That's all for now. When I get back, the blog will continue but until then, thanks for reading!!

Field Trip and a Championship

Greetings. A little late then usual on the blog posting. We were out of town from Saturday morning till about 4:45pm today, but we'll get back to that later. It was a very busy week over here. Mia had a dentist appointment Monday, and a parent-teacher conference on Tuesday night. From what Jill said, she had a great conference with Mia's teacher. She thrives in art and writing (go figure, right?) and pays close attention to details. She's made new friends and helps out when she can. All good things to hear about on her last few weeks of 3K. Wednesday, we had a field trip to attend. Mia and I (one of 5 chaperones) went with her class and a few others to Green Meadows Petting Farm in Waterford. Talk about an interesting experience. We had 16 kids in our group. The Poor kids were FREEZING it had got so cold :(

 Basically, the chaperones just had to keep an eye on the kids and make sure everyone was with the group. Mia joined the group single-file line and very calmly got on the bus. I was quite impressed. She sat with her friend Alexa and a girl named Haley. She was about 4 rows away from me and her friend Brooklyn's Mom. Every once in a while she would show me a "thumbs up" that she was enjoying the ride. I think that may have been one of her favorite parts of the whole experience was riding a real school bus. They got to pet goats, turkeys, kitties, ferrets, bunnies, a 2-week old Kid and even milk a real cow. The cow almost looked like she wanted to eat Mia's hair, but luckily didn't. She opted not to ride a pony (which is weird because she's done it countless times before at the zoo). Easily, her fav animal she got to pet was a kitten. They handed her this small gray cat (she named Smokey) and she was in love. She payed close attention and handled the animals very carefully and it was nice to see that she listens to her teacher.

Lunch time, we hung out at the picnic tables and ate. I helped her friend Hannah open her juice box and straw as well as this other little girl named Audrey. Some how, the kid dumped her sippy cup of water all over herself. Sorry kid, I didn't bring extra clothes. After lunch, the kids played some before lining up again to get on the bus. We almost lost a little girl that booked it for the tractor ride. Mia's teacher had to sprint to get her. Mia didn't get to sit with any friends on the way home, but sat with Mia. She did get to talk to her nearby pals in the seats in front of her. All in all, great field trip and she's been talking about it ever since. Friday, she had school. She learned about ponds and made "wirlygigs". They're some sort of bug creature I think. Work was busy (per the usual). Saturday, we left for Illinois for the weekend. This was by far, the very first weekend I've taken off for Memorial Day. Usually, I work on the holiday and collect time and a half, but this time, we took the weekend to relax and enjoy some time with Jill's family. Sunday Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Sunderland game. I missed the 0-3 loss on Monday but was glad I got to watch the finale yesterday. Remy picked up two goals and Costa with the equalizer via PK. It was incredibly awesome to see them hoist the Premier League trophy and their ceremony and collect the medals. Drogba has to be some sort of lucky charm. Last time he was with the club they took the Champions League, and this time, the BPL title. This was, however his last year in the Chelsea shirt. No matter where he goes, he'll always be a blue. Rumors are circling he could go to the MLS. Speaking of the MLS, it was Also the last day Lampard would play in the Premier League as well. He got a proper send of from his current club Man City before going to NYCFC. He's got a lot of work to do with that train wreck of a team right now. I wish him and Drogba all the luck on their next adventures.
Today we came back and I cut grass the rest of the night. Back to work tomorrow. Florida trip coming up fast! Thanks for reading!!

Mother Knows Best

Good Morning everyone. Got a late start on my day, for I am not feeling the best. At work last night, my throat got real sore and my head started to pound. Whatever it is, I need to shake it out of my system. Anyway, it was a pretty busy week, so let's get to it. Earlier in the week, we went to the park with Hannah and her Mom. Looking forward to going to the park more and more during the Summer when the kids are out of school and the weather is slightly nicer. It was pretty nice that day, but as of right now, it's rainy and gloomy. Wednesday, Mia and I had a picnic at the park. Mia just had to bring her two stuffed tigers to the park (for whatever reason) but in the end, she surprised me. She shared them with the kids there. There was a family getting ready to head out, and this little girl came up to me. Her name was Sydney. She was petting Mia's tiger and Mia slowly handed it to her to play with. So a brief few minutes, the kids played real nice. Her Mom told her it was time to go, so Sidney gave Mia a huge hug goodbye and they were gone. Mia turns to me and goes "SEE?! I can share!" A few minutes later, this other girl came up to Mia. She wasn't saying anything to Mia, but real bouncy around her, and also, would pet the tigers. Mia handed her one, and with a big smile on her face, the two ran into the tree. I noticed her Mom get up and saying some things to her, that were not in English. Turns out,  they were from Finland, and the little girl knew very little English. I loved that the two could play real nicely without having to say much at all. The Mom was real nice, explaining to me that they had lived here for a couple years and that her daughter Isabella would be starting preschool in the Fall (same place Mia goes).

Later, we headed home. What a great day at the park. Mia's now at the age, where she can play with just about any kid at the park, and they make up a game. It's really nice, actually. Sure, she loves playing with her best friends, but she also loves meeting new people and making up games. Friday, she had a great day at school. She had a substitute teacher but told me that she made her a picture. She told me that in class, they played in the garden, tried some new foods and played with jump ropes. Her classmate Brayden came up to me and told me he was Mia's partner. Mia told me on the drive that Brooklyn and Brayden cut their hair during art time. "BROOKLYN CUT HER VEINS!" I think you mean "bangs" sweetheart. I love that she's really enjoying school. Saturday, Jill's parents and brother came to town. They went to Mia's soccer practice. Ironically, her classmate Brayden was there. Sure enough, his hair looked like he cut it. Practice
didn't go as well as the previous week did, but in the end, she was fine. While dribbling around cones and passing, she struggled with getting the ball back to he when the coach passed it back to Mia. So, she stopped and cried a bit. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and when I saw they brought out goals, she immediately jumped back in the practice and got three goals in a row. We took my parents and hers out to lunch for Mother's Day and gave gifts. Saturday night, Mia, Jill and I had a movie night watching Despicable Me 2.

Sunday, Chelsea vs Liverpool. Literally, a game that didn't matter for the title (since we already won it) but pride was on the line. Terry had a great header to give us the 1-0 lead early. He officially has the record for most goals scored in the Premier League by a defender. Liverpool later tied it and ultimately, we finished 1-1. Jill loved all the different Mother's Day gifts Mia and I gave her. Most of them put together at school. This week, Jill's going to Lake Geneva with her friends that are coming up for the weekend, so it'll be Mia's first time away from Jill since she was born. Hopefully it goes well. She'll have soccer on Saturday as well. Lastly, I completed my 3rd kit for the Torrent. It appears that most of the people are liking my blue/black vertical striped kit. Just hoping they give me some insight on if some design gets picked for any or all of the kits and if there is any money that could be made. 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!

Little Ears

Good Morning everyone. Another busy weekend came and went here but we sure enjoyed the above-freezing and mostly pleasant weather! Last Wednesday, Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs West Ham game on my day off. Not the best performance, but we got the win, the three points and the weekend off to prepare for the 2nd leg of the Champions League match against PSG. Loved Hazard's goal he scored. A rare header, but awesome nonetheless. Friday Mia had school. She woke up surprisingly in a pretty good mood. When it was time to go, she ran to the car and was singing the whole way there. When we got to the class room, I discovered that her teacher wasn't there and that she had a sub. This made me a tad nervous because she's never had a substitute before. I said my goodbyes and reminded her that I'd be back earlier to read to the class, and when I'm done reading, we'll head home. For the last two weeks, the 3k classes have been reading and researching about authors and illustrators such as Dr Seuss. Parents were invited to come and read, so I came in on their last day on the unit and read to her class. When I came in, Mia was playing "librarian" and checking out books for her pal Alexa. So, I read to her class and they all clapped and enjoy it. On our way home, she told me how much she enjoyed her sub teacher and made a little fish.

Saturday, we went to my friend Nicole's boy Benny's 4th birthday party. It was nice hanging out and playing with the birthday boy. Later, we went to a 30th birthday party for my friend Stacy at a bar. It was like a Carroll College reunion. Lots of fun and a rare evening for us to hang with some friends we never get to see. Sunday, we cleaned and worked on laundry before I worked a very busy 2-10 shift.  Jill and Mia went to the zoo and later my brother Andy's last pre-playoff hockey game. When I came home, they weren't home yet, but later they told me his team lost 1-0.
Soon, I'm gonna build Jill a new website for her wearable art she's got on Easy. All of her listings expired and instead of having to pay the little $ to keep them up, I'm gonna put together a new website that she can sell from so that should be fun.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

Everything is Awesome!!!

Good morning everyone. Hope the weekend was enjoyable. Everyone here is pretty much back to normal and not sick and miserable as we all were in the previous week. Mia went back to school Friday and when we arrived, she had discovered she got a bag of Valentines from her classmates that she would have got if she went last week. She was pretty stoked by all of them. When I went to pick her up, her teacher told me how she had such a great day with her friend Olivia playing in the kid's Post Office for quite a while writing and making letters for each other. That kid is so sweet to Mia. As she gave a hug goodbye to her when we were leaving, a brave little boy ran up and hugged her too. I think his name is Finn. After he ran back to the rug for "Calendar Time" she whispers to me "Daddy, I did NOT want him to hug me". Kid, it's no biggie, he just wanted to say goodbye. Ugh. What was real nice Friday, is that I had the day off. I rarely take off on Fridays but since Jill was in Madison till about 7ish for a conference/seminar for work, I spent the rest of Mia's day after school with her.

We grabbed some lunch after I picked her up and went to Monkey Joe's. Haven't been there in a while, but she had a good time. I can never talk her into going down some of the bigger slides, but we still had a lot of fun. They were pretty busy, and later I found out it was because a lot of the area schools had the day off. Afterwards, we visited a few stores, and on the way home, she was fast asleep. When Jill came home, we made dinner and watched The Lego Movie. Mia wanted nothing to do with this, but as soon as I turned it on, she instantly got into the film. It was pretty cute and very funny. It was really nice to enjoy the evening with Jill and Mia.

Saturday morning, I got up, did the usual routine and made my way to the computer to watch the Chelsea vs Burnley game. This should have been easy. Real easy. It still drives me insane that we couldn't secure 3 points at the Bridge, but something wasn't right. Ivanovic set the tone in the first half with a great goal from a very creative pass from Hazard. We had two different instances in the box and the referee didn't even pull a card or stop the play. One guy, easy hands in the box. Everyone saw it. Nope. Ref didn't stop the play. Costa, got shoved in the box. Once again, no card. He was pretty furious about that one. Then the cherry on top. Matic had the ball, and Barnes from Burnley stuck his boot straight into his leg and clearly missed the ball. NO CALL ON THIS. When I saw Matic get up and sprint to go shove Barnes, my jaw dropped. Now, we're out a key CDM for three games including the Capital One Cup final all because the incompetent ref didn't catch that blatant and dirty tackle. Ashley Barnes was fouling our boys all game. It was crazy. I don't know how Mourinho didn't go crazy in the post-interviews, but the game ended in a draw 1-1.

Tuesday, we played PSG. Sadly, I missed the Champions League match, but we also finished 1-1. Hopefully we can beat them in the 2nd leg.

After that frustrating game Saturday morning, we spent the rest of the day doing laundry and later Jill and I went on a rare date and had grandma babysit the kiddo. We haven't had a date night since I believe May. I thought August at first, but I just figured out that the last movie we saw in theaters was A Million Ways to Die In The West. Yeah, it's a raunchy comedy that we felt dumber after it was over, but it was still funny. I'm not going to go into great detail what we went to see, but It was nice evening. For the first time, we did the Dine-In thing where you order food there, and watch the movie. It's like cutting out the "going out before the movie" and just eating there. The food was pretty good. Mia wasn't too stoked we went out, but she had a great night with Grandma.

Sunday I worked. Nothing too exciting. When I came home, Mia was asleep. Jill said she fell asleep sitting up watching Cinderella at 8:30pm. WOW. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Sick Week

Good morning everyone. Wasn't exactly the best week over in our house. Actually, overall it was lousy. Tuesday night, I come home from work, and the entire house was quiet. Jill and Mia were asleep.. ok. I learned Wednesday morning they had fevers and were sick. Both fevers were gone Wednesday, but they left behind a nasty cold so I spent my Wednesday taking care of Mia. I hate it when kids are sick. I'd rather be sick then them. They're so miserable and hard to deal with. We made the most of the day together and worked on a nice homemade Valentines Day card for Jill (which she absolutely loved) and watched the Chelsea game together. Great win! It was also the home debut of our latest signing Juan Cuadrado. Not the best form for the former Fiorentina player. Hopefully he improves. Eden Hazard also recently signed a new 5 1/2 year deal keeping him in a Blue shirt till 2020. Probably the best news we can get. He's been real solid and hopefully will continue to aid in getting the team some hardware this year. This week, Champions League first league against PSG. Could be a really good match. I'll be able to watch a little bit of it Tuesday before work.

Thursday, Mia was supposed to go to her school's Valentine's Day party. She was still not feeling the best so we had to skip it. I texted her friend Hannah's mom explaining she was still sick. Mia wanted to give her friend a Valentine still, so we made one up anyways. It read "Dear Hannah, I love you so much. What is your favorite food? Mine is grilled cheese. Happy Valentine's Day. Sorry I'm sick. Love Mia".

Poor kid. She didn't make it to school Friday either. She's been doing better, just stuffed a bit but mostly good. Saturday, we spent the day together as a family. Made heart-shaped pizza and watched a movie. No dinner plans or anything for Jill and I Just family time. Her and Mia got me inside-out carrot cake cookies. Super tasty.

Sunday, nothing too exciting. They made dog treats for Remi after I left for work. We watched the Pens/Hawks game for a while before I left. Damn Hawks won and squeaked by with a shootout victory.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Week From Hell

Good Afternoon. I'm pretty behind on my blogging. I'll explain why shortly, but more importantly, last week's week from hell. Monday at work, I got a call from Jill's dad. Weird. He said that Jill wasn't feeling real well, and I should probably come home Luckily, there was coverage at work, and I booked it home. Jill was experiencing chest pains that lead to her back and it was hard to move. We waited to see if it would subside, but after about an hour, we headed to the hospital. We waited and waited. A hand full of tests later, and they had some results. About 1:30am, they said that Jill had gallstones, and gave us a name of a surgeon if we decide to go that route to remove the stones. Jill would prefer to go the more holistic way. She adjusted her diet and will be eating differently. As of lately, she's been doing real well. Not the best way to start the week, but Jill was real glad Mia and I stayed till the early hours with her. We all went to sleep around 3am.

Later in the week, we discovered we had some leaking issues with our kitchen sink, so that's in the process of getting fixed. Wednesday, Mia and I hung out with Birthday Boy and nephew/cousin Easton at the trampoline park. They had a lot of fun. Friday, Mia went to school. Before we left, I stuck some laundry in the wash machine. When I got back from dropping her off, I saw the floor was all soaked. A rag had got in the bin and plugged up the drain which lead to water over flooding everywhere. Lucking, I was able to clean up. And just when things couldn't get more frustrating, our circuit breaker fried when Jill was changing a lightbulb. Part of our house is without power including internet/wifi, the den, our entire kitchen and part of the basement as well as the garage, Cooking and cleaning the kitchen in the dark has been oh so fun. So that explains why I haven't been able to blog. I picked up Mia from school and she was crying. The boys in a 4k class were screaming very loudly in the gym and she got real upset. :( Saturday, we went to Easton's birthday party and she had a blast!

Chelsea's out of the FA cup, but we've got bigger hardware to worry about. Hoping the week improves. Off to work I go. Thanks for reading.

Do The Penguin Slide!

Good morning everyone. Hope you all enjoyed your week, and that if you're a Packers fan, you're feeling better today :) We'll get back to that later. It was a busy week, but we had a lot of fun. Earlier in the week, I took Mia sledding. I made the attempt at this golf course real close to our house. The fresh powder was too deep and we couldn't get good tracks to get her down the hill. So, before we gave up on the day, we tried a different hill. Mia LOVED this park's sledding hill! It was big enough to get some really nice speeds down, and she only fell out once but didn't care. Wednesday (later) I took her to this man-made ice rink in New Berlin to do some skating. It was getting dark, so it was a tad cold for skating, but she did skate a little while and ended up being the only person there. She's getting more confident on skates and is starting to really impress me. Friday she had school and got to finish her snow flake she's been talking about. She told me her favorite part at school was when her friend gave her a hug goodbye when I picked her up. Awww..:)

Saturday, I got up and watched the Chelsea vs Swansea game. Wow. Opening 50 seconds and Oscar got a goal. Perfect way to start. He would finish the game with two goals, Diego Costa secured two as well as Andres Schurrle. We finished 5-0 and took the 3 points easily. What made it even better, was that Sunday morning, Man City fell to Arsenal 2-0 giving us a 5 point lead. After the game Saturday, we went sledding again, and Jill came along. They had a lot of fun. Mia discovered sledding on your belly on the sled was a LOT of fun. The temps were upper 30s so it was real nice. A little TOO warm to skate, but we tried anyway.

We should have left it at that, but we tried skating (Me and Mia did at least) The ice was horrific. If I would have remembered, we could have gotten in for free at Eble Ice Arena near our house. They had free skating Saturday. UGHHHH!!!! Saturday night, we all were working on different projects. The girls were working on custom jewelry and I was hand-painting a Tegan and Sara shirt for Mia. I'm going to have to go over the yellow in "Sara" again. I should have done all of the lettering in White. The hot-pint blank shirt was too heavy of a color to paint on. The colors I used were bright neon ones, but they look quite muted on the shirt. Oh well. Mia loves it still.

Sunday I worked. I am so glad I'm not a Packers fan,  because if I was, and had any chance of watching it post-work, every single customer came in talking about it. From the moment they were winning, to the gut-wrenching loss. The moment I found out they lost, was when this guy came in with tears running down his face, in disbelief. HOW does a team blow a 16-point lead? Did they get cocky? Overly excited for what they thought was a sure-thing? Whatever the case is, everyone is going to be hurting today, except everyone in my house. :) That's one of the many things Jill and I came together on on our "date" the first time we hung out together. She didn't like the Packers or American Football, and I clearly don't either. She even made cupcakes and delivered them to my store before the game was over "to soak up the tears and to celebrate LAST DAY OF PACKERS PLAYING" as she was broadcasting.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Living in an Igloo

Good evening everyone. It's been quite the interesting week, but we sincerely hope things improve. So last Wednesday, Mia myself and my Dad went shopping (for my Dad to pick out gifts) for my Mom for  Christmas. Mia had fun helping Grandpa Grumpy decide on what to get. Thursday, we unfortunately found out that our furnace was acting up. Wonderful. It would kick on, and off making us more and more frustrated. Finally Friday morning, I woke up and it was 43 in the house. Jill and I could literally see our breath as we're sitting on the couch eating breakfast and watching Orange is the New Black. A few calls later, and we had a guy coming out. After I dropped off Mia at school (she was so stoked to go because I told her the school will be significantly warmer than our house) I waited...and waited...and eventually the worker came at 11am! Which gave him approximately 20 minutes to tell me what is wrong with this possessed furnace. He immediately told me that it was fried, and that Carrier (the company that made it) was recently in court and had to settle on a lawsuit, so we will be getting a new furnace...Eventually. In the mean time, Jill and Mia stayed at my parents house (thanks again guys) while after work, I spent the night in our igloo. It was 57 when I got home from work. We have a few space heaters on keeping the place nice and warm. Not stoked for the electric bill.

Saturday morning, I went over to their house and watched the Chelsea vs West Brom game. Great game. 2-0 win for the Blues. Costa's goal was fantastic as well as Hazard's that leaked through the keeper's hands. My brother and I planned on taking the kids to the trampoline park, but because Tot Time was at 9am, Mia wasn't awake to go. With her spending the night at my parents, I wasn't able to wake her up to go. No big deal. So my brother took his little boy, and left behind his 6 month old. So I watched the game with Camden (the 6 month old) The kid has gotten so big. Later, we took my parents out for a birthday lunch. Later, Jill and my sister-in-law went to this 50 Shades of Gray parody called Spank. It was a late night show. Mia and I went with my parents to my brother's hockey game. We had a lot of fun, but Mia really wanted to ice skate. The scariest part of the night was when my brother was spun around from an opposing player and slammed into the boards. It was very sketchy, especially since he didn't get up right away. He got the wind knocked out of him, but was fine. The ended up losing 3-1

After the game, Mia and I spent the night hanging out, watching Doc McStuffins and eating mac n cheese. We crashed on the couch till morning. Today, I worked. Nothing special. I just really hope our furnace comes in before we head to Illinois.

That's all for now. Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone :)

Why So Early Winter?

Good morning. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, and are surviving the cold. Friday, I took Mia to school, and after dropping her off, I grabbed my cleats and went to the park for one last time, before we got snow on Saturday. It was 25 degrees out, but I wanted to get 10-15 minutes of free kicks in. The cold air was hurting the lungs a bit as I was running from end to end with the ball. Mia had a great day at school, and if we get more snow this week, I'll probably have to start packing her snow pants with her for school. She painted me a picture too! Loved it. Usually she's doing pictures of Jill so this was great.

Saturday was okay. No Chelsea games this weekend due to the international break. A few friendly games here and there, but none that I could watch, so I caught up on sleep over the weekend. Jill went to a glass-making class with some old coworkers, so Mia and I got to hang out for the day. I drove to Music-Go-Round to sell an old cymbal. Mia once again, pointed at the mandolin that she wanted. We then hit up Play It Again Sports as she's been talking about how much she wants skates. We found a pair of figure skates (she doesn't want hockey skates) for $25.00. They fit really well, but what kept me from purchasing them was that she's 3, and she would out grow the skates in less then a year. She still had fun putting them on and a hockey helmet/gloves. After checking out the skates, we went home and relaxed the rest of the day.

Later when Jill came home, we went to my brother's hockey game. The snow was flying, but we went anyway. We made it through the end of the 2nd period before Mia was too tired/crabby to watch anymore. When we walked to the stands, Mia noticed they had open skating going on. This one fella, dressed in jeans, black vest with a long pony tail and sporting a goatee was figure skating. He looked like he came off a Harley, but could figure skate really well...till he fell over, but the point is, I guess you can't judge someone by how they appear. This guy was probably pretty good as he backwards skated around people with one leg up parellel to the rink.

Andy's team ended up losing, but we still had fun at the game. Sunday, we shoveled and I worked 2-10. This Saturday, Jill's busy again so Mia and I will find something fun to do. I always enjoy the days off with her. Speaking of Saturdays, a new indoor soccer/football/lacrosse place opened in West Allis not too far from here. They may start  Saturday leagues, which means I could play indoor again :) Keeping my fingers crossed for that. That's all for now. Thanks for reading

The Gourd Gutting Festival

Good Afternoon. It's been quite a week, and this coming week promises to be even busier! Tuesday, Mia and I met up with my friend Nicole and her boy Benny at Kids in Motion. They had a blast running around and playing. Wednesday, my little brother, his boy Easton plus Mia and myself went to the trampoline park. It was my bro's first time there, so they were stoked. Well, they changed a few things. You have to purchase their jumping socks now for a few bucks to participate. I assume someone got hurt and filed a complaint or something. The kids had such a good time. Mia always enjoys Helium Trampoline Park more with a friend to play with. It's always fun hanging with my brother, and we hope to make it a weekly thing that we meet up somewhere and do something with the kids (since he now works 3-11 during the week at a new job)

Wednesday night, I was fortunate to play some pick up indoor soccer at Brookfield Indoor. I had this feeling that after trampolining for an hour and a half, I'd be dead exhausted playing soccer. At the same time, I also knew that I wouldn't be able to play virtually ANY soccer (indoor or futsal) throughout the Fall and Winter season. This was my very last chance. Thanks a lot work!! :( Anyways, it was a lot of fun. The opening 3 minutes, I was able to secure two fantastic assists (like Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas). I megged one fellow through his legs to a teammate who made a simple goal. My 2nd assist was off a great cross to the right side. After these, I felt super confident. Wasn't able to get any goals sadly, but blew a few chances. While playing on the left side I had received a very fast cross and my attempt to one-touch shoot it. Couldn't get my body behind it and it went wide. I passed it to a teammate and he missed too. Sad efforts, but I was able to get a few shots off. One of my prouder moments was being able to spin out of a challenge from a teammate. The craziest part of the night was when one of the opposing guys had accidentally stuck his boot out with the cleats up into one of my teammates ankle. He went down in pain, got up and almost punched the kid right in the face. They had to hold him back. It was quite brutal. I don't know what is is about some of these guys, but they take the game WAY too seriously. A kid earlier was throwing a fit too. All in all, fun time. Sad it's my last.

Friday, Mia went to school. Her teacher told me she can attend their Halloween party Wednesday. We also have parent/teacher conferences! Really? 3k? Well, okay then! Sadly Jill can't attend because of a Wild Tree event, but I'll be going. Hope to hear good things. When I was signing up for the day we can attend, Mia was giving her classmates hugs goodbye. Well apparently a boy had got up and snuck in a kiss to her cheek. I didn't see it, but Mia sure told me about it. "Dad! HE WAS A SNEAKA AND KISSED ME! EWWW GROSS!!" So that story was shared throughout the weekend. Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Crystal Palace game. Quite intense. Oscar got a goal off a free kick near the box. Azpilicueta got a red card for a bad challenge but soon after that, one of their players picked up his 2nd yellow card, which meant he was red carded out. 10 vs 10. Fabregas got our 2nd goal off some beautiful passing. I missed the 2nd half because the NBCSports.com feed completely went down. We ended up winning 2-1. Great game for the Blues and we're still top of the table. Tuesday we've got a Champions League game. The rest of Saturday we did yard work and carved pumpkins with my parents. I free-handed a Minion, Jill and Mia worked on two Sophia The First ones, and my parents did some creative pumpkins.

This Saturday, we're going to a Halloween party. First one in probably 4-5 years. Should be a great time, plus Jill's friend Leanne is coming in. Sunday is trick or treating in our neighborhood. I just found out the weather will be a nice 73 degrees. Perfect for her Anna dress. I'm very bummed out that I'm missing it because I'm stuck working 2-10. First Halloween I won't be going trick or treating with my little love :( Hopefully she has fun.

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

Goodbye, Goodbye.

Good Morning. Lots to go over, plus I've got to leave for work in a short while, so let's get to it. Last Wednesday Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Schalke game with my Dad. That was a rough one. We had the early goal by Fabregas which gave me hope that we'll win. Didn't happen. We ended up finishing off with a draw. Schalke was a stubborn team to try to get goals on. We had lots of chances. Drogba started and just couldn't get one in. My favorite moment of the game was when Fabregas got the goal, Mia jumped up and down and stops...looks down and realized she jumped right out of her flower jeans. "Uhh Daddy?" Couldn't stop laughing. So today, they play Manchester City, which I'll be sadly missing.

Mia had a great day in school Friday. She was hard to get moving in the morning, said "okay Bye Daddy" when I dropped her off. She totally loves school, and when I went to pick her up, she was sad because she didn't want to leave. My time Friday was mostly used on the pitch working on some shooting practice. Had the entire place to myself. I realized after about 10 shots, that I'm better right footed then left. Well, at least that day I was. I kept curling the ball with my left foot the wrong way. All of my life I've always shot lefty because it was the more comfortable one to shoot with. I get more power and accuracy with my right for some reason. Anyways, it was nice to get some quiet time to play. I wanted to get into my new art project, but that's okay.

Earlier in the week, we learned that Jill's grandma fell and broke her pelvis and with that, had a blood clot in her leg. Wonderful...Well yesterday morning when I came home from walking with Remi, she got the call that she passed away. 95 years old is a amazing. She always treated me like one of her own grand kids and Mia absolutely loved her. She's been through a lot and throughout the day, Jill kept quietly saying "it feels weird knowing she's gone" So while Jill worked on photos for the service, Mia and I went to my best friend Jay's birthday party for him and his wife's little boy Caleb. It was a lot of fun, even for the short while we could stay. Mia made friends with another girl her age.

Later, Mia, my Dad and I went to watch Carroll University take on Lawrence University at my old college while Jill and my Mom went to the early Just Between Friends sale. The rain clouds were threatening, but that didn't stop me. Well, in the end we didn't stay long because the rain+ wind blew into our section (under this overhang) so before my Dad started to "melt" we got out of there. Maybe another game in October we can hit up.

Today, 9am-5pm shift. No idea what we're doing later. Maybe laundry. Anyways, 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!