Chef Mia

Good Morning. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. Wednesday, Mia and I went to my parent's house to watch the Chelsea vs Sporting game. A very easy match that got us through the next round with easy. I had my work's annual Year-End Meeting, so I had to drop off Mia at Jill's studio, and then jet over to work to pick up a few people THEN head over to the meeting. Mia had a solid day at school Friday. They painted wreaths and she told me they played in the gym. Her teacher told me Mia didn't like how loud it gets in there with a lot of kids running around screaming, but later Mia mentioned she played basketball and made a few shots. :) She was invited to a Christmas program (to either perform or sing) on this Thursday. I'd LOVE to see her sing, but Mia told me she's too shy to sing and that she'd rather just attend it. We haven't decided if that's happening yet or not.

Saturday, I got up sorta late, but made it back from my walk in time to watch the Chelsea vs Hull City game. I missed Eden Hazard's header and first goal. Bugger. It was not the best game, chocked full of cards and dives, but we got the 2-0 win. We later went over to my parent's house to bake cookies with them. I kept my Dad entertained while Jill and Chef Mia baked with my Mom. They had a lot of fun, and Jill's Maple-Flavored Sandwich Cookies are incredibly tasty.

Sunday, I worked early. Very busy, but it was game-day for all of the Packers fans, so I wasn't surprised. After work, I met up with Jill in the area, and Jill shopped for a few things for Christmas. Later, we had a scary situation. Mia had left a small box of raisins on her little table in the living room, and Remi got into them. If you're a dog owner, this is really scary, because you would remember that grapes and raisins can be toxic for dogs. We didn't see how many he ate, just that the box was torn to pieces. He has NEVER even touched a grape or wanted raisins if they fall to the floor, but for some reason last night, they looked good. Jill quickly called the emergency vet, and she rushed Remi in to induce vomiting and get it out of his system swiftly. I stayed with Mia for a few reasons. A-It was late, and who knows how long we would have been sitting there. Jill didn't get home till 11:30pm. B-Because it was late, I didn't know what other cases of emergency situations were sitting in that waiting room, and I didn't want Mia seeing them. Good thing we didn't go, because Jill said there was a cat that was run over by a car, and another cat that was about to be euthanized. :( So I stayed home with Mia, and got her ready for bed. Nervously, I calmed her down and got her to relax and try to sleep. Jill came home as soon as Mia started to fall asleep, so she heard Jill walk in the door and woke up.

Remi's fine, and we caught it in good time. Because of his size, he didn't eat enough that would have done anything horrible, however we just have to keep monitoring him for a few days. Took him out for his daily walk, and he acted quite normal. I explained to Mia how important it is to never leave out any raisins on the table. We don't want this happening again.

Lots to do this week. Hopefully everything can get accomplished.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Bright Lights

Good Morning everyone. It's been a busy week, and the holiday is creeping in every day. Wednesday, Mia and I went to the trampoline park with my brother and one of his kids. It was perfect. There were so little kids there, which gave Mia and her cousin Easton plenty of room to run laps around the place. A boy came up to her at one point and said "Hi!" and she responded with "Hi little boy, I do NOT wanna marry you, sorry boy" and the Mom goes he's a nice boy, but you don't have to worry about getting married yet little girl". I told Mia "he wasn't proposing to you sweetheart". Anyways, Mia had a lot of fun. Later, we watched the Chelsea vs Spurs game at my parents house with my Dad. The 3-0 win was fantastic. Great goals despite the lack of Costa. Drogba had no problem getting one in the net proving he's still awesome.

Friday, she had school. She was off last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday break, so it was nice to get her back in for the morning. She had a lot of fun, and when I picked her up, the whole school smelled like fresh-baked gingerbread cookies. Saturday, I got up super early to watch the Chelsea vs Newcastle game. I had high hopes for a win, but in the end, we lost 2-1. We needed Matic (who was out on suspension) in the defensive mid. He's been great this season, but Saturday, we suffered our first loss in 23 games. For some reason, Chelsea always struggles when we play Newcastle away. After the disappointing loss, my in-laws arrived for the weekend to celebrate my father in law's birthday. Jill had to go photograph Santa photos at her studio, so we later brought Mia in. It was a tad rough, but we got a nice photo of Mia the Diva.

Later, we went to the holiday lights thing in Pewaukee where you drive a car through a short path that had huge displays of Christmas lights. Mia enjoyed it. Sunday, they left early for Illinois, and we spent the day getting gifts ready to send out to our family and friends out of state. Last night when I came home, Mia was asleep, so Jill and I made our best effort to catch up on Orange is the New Black. Almost finished with season 2. It's been pretty interesting to say the least!

This week will be another busy one. Mia's got a dentist appointment Tuesday (which I'm not looking forward to). It's not that she's even slightly cranky at the dentist, it's what they have to do. hopefully she's a brave little girl and does well. I've been trying to work on her Tegan and Sara custom shirt, and my Drogba portrait is really coming along.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Feast De Le Resistance

Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Wednesday, our new furnace was installed!! YEAHHHH! Mia and I spent most of the day hanging out at the house while the two fellas worked on installing it and updating our pipes and heat line. The new furnace is very quiet and smaller, which is great. When the guy fired it up, it had that new smell, and Mia yells out "IT SMELLS AWFUL, THIS GUY IS CONTRIBUTING TO AIR POLLUTION!" I just about died laughing. Thanksgiving morning, I worked 6am-2pm. We got pretty busy after 9am, but when 2pm came, I was so stoked to go home and not come back till Monday afternoon. We had a great Thanksgiving by my parents. Mia played very nicely with everyone without the whole sassy attitude that she gets from time to time.

 Friday morning, we were on the road and off to Illinois for the weekend to visit Jill's family. Mia was mostly good in the car, and we had another great 2nd Thanksgiving with them. This will most likely be the last one we have in Illinois since they'll be moving up here come Spring 2015. It was a little different sitting at the table. One person was missing. A person I grew accustom to seeing every Thanksgiving. Jill's beloved grandma who passed away this year. No one mentioned it, but it was strange for me. Saturday, Jill's friend Whitney came over. We chatted during the Chelsea vs Sunderland game (ughhhhhhh) Mia helped decorate Jill's family's tree, and we enjoyed the strange, but nice weather outside. It was in the upper 40's. Later, Mia helped bake some Christmas cut-out cookies.

Sunday, we had a birthday party to get to, so we packed up in the morning and left. We went to Jill's co worker's daughter's 1st birthday party. It was Frozen themed, and everything was quite adorable. Mia made a couple of ornaments and played pin-the-nose-on-the-Olaf. Arabella (the baby) looked adorable, and made out like a bandit. Her Dad will have lots to put together :P  Sunday night, we did the traditional activity of setting up the Christmas tree and did some decorating. The living room looks very nice, and Mia's Christmas tree looks great. Hard to believe the holidays are here already. Lots to do, but every time I get stressed, I look at that gleefully happy smile on Mia who can't wait for Christmas. 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

A Little Off The Shoulders

Good Morning. Going to try to make this real quick. It was quite the busy, but entertaining week over here. Wednesday, she had her very first professional hair-cut. Mia's had cradle cap for as long as she's been born, and recently I learned that the place that styled her hair like Anna could also treat her condition. She did REALLY well, but didn't care for the cap they put on her head to help lift the pieces off her scalp. After they were done, they gave her a nice trim. I'm very proud of Mia and she'll be going back for hair cuts again in the future. Her hair looks nice and healthy. Mia had a great day in school on Friday. She's currently learning about bears, and animals that hibernate. She was a bit late getting there (lazy bones) but when we arrived at school, her friend Olivia was super excited to see her. When I went to pick her up, once again, Olivia didn't want to go to "potty time" till she gave Mia a hug goodbye. Cue the "awwwww"s. I wasn't able to catch up on sleep this weekend. Woke up nice and early to watch the Chelsea vs Liverpool game. Took the dog for a run, only to come back and see that the game had started and Liverpool was up 1-0. But we quickly equalized when I got breakfast together. The end result was a 2-1 finish thanks to Diego Costa. He looked great playing, very determined to get the Blues ahead. The game was pretty physical, with someone ripping the back of his jersey during a challenge. Not sure how the ref didn't card the fella, but we won, so that's more important. Jill hosted a book party, that her cousin's wife put together at our house, so we had a few people over. I was doing my best to keep all of the kids happy. It was a great way to for people to pick out some wonderful book for Christmas for their kids.
flaky

Saturday night, while playing with Mia we somehow let her pretend she was the Mom and Jill and I were the kids. Jill and I were imitating that we were fighting and not playing well, which of course would require Mia to be the good parent and discipline. She put Jill and time out, and word for word, would explain to Jill why she was in trouble and how to remedy the situation. It was pretty funny and proves that despite the sassy attitude, she does listen.  Sunday, I worked the early shift 7am-3pm. We had a lot of people for a Sunday, but the day went quickly, and soon I was home with my family. Mia and I watched one of my favourite moves, Pirates of the Caribbean-Dead Man's Chest. She liked it, except the Kraken parts when he'd show up.

Art-wise, I'm struggling with a portrait currently, but hope to nail it. I've restarted it 3 times, but recently found a high-res photo that will be a lot easier to get that real fine detail. It's the nose that I"m struggling with. I hope I can pull this off.

Tomorrow, Mia has her first dentist appointment. Once again, I'm nervous. She'll probably be fine, but I just am concerned. She's been doing real well with brushing, and candy is super limited (especially around me). That's about all that's going on this week. I don't think Chelsea has a Champions League game. Saturday, we're gonna watch my brother's hockey game.

Thanks for reading!

And the Dad Of The Year award goes to..

Good Morning. Hope everyone had a great weekend. It's been a busy week over here. Let's begin. Wednesday was Mia's Halloween party at her pre school. She of course was going as Anna from Frozen. Well, I struggled with getting her wig on. No wonder it was $5. I couldn't get it to fit on her mellon. Even with the wig cap she used trick or treating in New Berlin, the wig just wouldn't stay on! So I quickly looked online on how to braid. Mia just didn't trust me to braid her hair, and wouldn't sit still. I had to think of another idea. Called Jill's studio in hopes her coworker Christina would pick up. She used to do hair and could do this, no problem. No answer. New plan was needed fast. So, I thought to myself "the place that cuts our hair down the road, they could probably do it for me. So I called them, and they had a small amount of time opened for Mia. So we quickly grabbed everything for the party and were out the door. "DADDY I CAN'T BE LATE FOR MY APPOINTMENT!!"

So we got there, and she was absolutely awesome the whole time. This was the very first time she has ever let a single professional touch her hair. She explained what she wanted them to do, and sat like a champ. They even did her hair from the Coronation Day scene, added gold flake accent pieces and a dusting of glitter. I swear, she looked like she was getting ready for homecoming. They even gave us 10 DOLLARS OFF, which was pretty awesome. Mia told me as we're running out the door that she wants come back again. I'm so proud of her. In the future, they could easily cut her hair and she'd sit perfectly.

So we got to the party. TONS of kids. A few Elsa and Anna's sitting at a table. Mia's friend Olivia was there too. I gave her teacher the treats and was gone. A little hour to myself didn't last. Later, I picked up Mia and she told me about how much fun she had. Great success to a very busy day. Friday she had school. We brought her Halloween temporary tats to class since she forgot to on Halloween. She passed them out after I came back to pick her up. One by one, she's slowly giving them to every one sitting at circle time. They all thanked her by jumping up and giving her  a big hug. A few snuck in kisses. She didn't care for whatever boy kissed her. Oh well. I have retold the story about getting Mia to the salon about a dozen+ times to people. The responses are always nice. "You officially won "Dad of the Year' for taking her to the salon, that is SO sweet". I'm really just doing what any Dad with a daughter would do. I mean come on, it's my girl's first party at school. I wanted her to look nice, and in the end, she looked gorgeous :)

Over the weekend, Jill's parents came to town. I watched what I could of the Chelsea vs QPR game. Oscar's goal was incredible. His shot with the outside of the right foot was awesome. NBCSportsLive stopped working again in the 2nd half. We secured a 2-1 win. Still at the top with 26 points (I believe) We did lots of yard and house work. Overall, good weekend.

Thanks for reading!