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!

The Dizziness of Disney

Top of the morning. Hope everyone got to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend. Last week, we had the opportunity to set up our Fast Pass+ for the character encounter/rides/etc. I stayed up till 12am with high hopes of getting us passes to meet the always popular Frozen ladies Elsa and Anna. I read several places that you have to try to get the passes 60 days in advance. DAMN. To my surprise, I wasn't able to get us a single pass, which means that we'll have to suffer in one long-ass line at some point on the day we arrive. I did get us Fast Passes for meeting Ariel, Tinkerbell and her friends as well as Repunzel/Cinderella. Disney is overwhelming at times, but if you think of a game-plan, things hopefully work out, but it's important to have other options when things don't work out. Hopefully when we get to Magic Kingdom, everything works out and she has lots of fun. Going in June means it'll be super hot, but I always handle heat and humidity like a champ.  Mia was still on Spring Break last week, so we took the Friday we normally would be at school, and met up with her friends at the Playgroup at the library. It was nice catching up with everyone and the kids playing nicely. Saturday, we hit up the zoo. First time (for me) this year. It was pretty busy with what I expected, were a lot of people waiting for the Brewers game to start, so they were killing some time. All she wanted to see was a hyena. So, luckily we found a couple. Later, we had a real late lunch and did a photo shoot of Mia outside in her Merida (from Brave) dress, and later in her Super Barbie costume. She had a lot of fun doing the photos and they turned out fantastic.

Sunday, I got up nice and early for the Chelsea vs QPR game. We needed the three points, and luckily, we got what we came for. QPR made the game difficult at Loftus Road, but luckily the masked Fabregas was able to get a goal at the 88th minute. Still top of the table, but hopefully Loic Remy will be better for the Man U game this weekend. Didier Drogba was struggling at times, but did his best to keep up with the pace.

Nothing too exciting to discuss art-wise. Trying to get some time here and there on my dog portrait. Mia's back at school Friday, so hopefully I'll get a little work on it. null all for now, thanks for reading!

Hoppy Easter

Good morning everyone. It was yet, another busy week over here. I didn't get my usual Wednesday off and worked part of the day, which meant that I worked Sunday through Friday last week. It was exhausting, to say the least, but I made it through. Since Mia didn't have school on Good Friday, she could basically, attend any day this week she'd like (since it IS paid for) so since she had a doctor appt on Wednesday morning (she's now 39 lbs and over 3 feet tall) she went to school on Thursday morning. Dropped her off like I normally do, and when I went to pick her up I noticed that the Thursday class is pretty big. Her teacher could tell that I was surprised and goes "yeah this is my bigger class of the week" but all of the kids were playing so nicely during free-time. Mia was playing in the flower shop in the right side of the building. It was a pity I had to take her home. She had class with a few of her Friday friends including Brooklyn and Brayden and her BFF Hannah also goes to the Thursday 3k so they hung out quite a bit. They were talking about Mia's birthday party and the bananas she had brought on the previous week. Sounded like Mia had a good day and apparently enjoys a bigger class. She immediately told me "I wasn't even SHY DAD!!!" Great kiddo!

Friday, after Jill got out of work, they left for Illinois to spend some time with her family. I got to do some art here and there and Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Stoke game. My brother and I were supposed to go to a pub in downtown Milwaukee to watch it, but Friday he texted me he couldn't which ended the night and the long week in not the best way. I had a beer and watched the game with the dog instead. It was a gripping game at times. After Hazard got the PK, one of their players made a crazy goal from half-pitch, or about 65 yards. Courtois was a bit too far off his line and couldn't get back in time to get it over the bar. 1-1. Luckily, Remy got the game-winning-goal off of some goofy roll-out to a Stoke player. Hazard calmly got around their defense to set up Remy with the pass. It was a bitter-sweet victory. We got our 3 points, but Costa may be out injured for a few weeks. He was holding his hamstring after a short time on the pitch in the 2nd half and limped off and was replaced by Drogba. Hope his season isn't done.

Sunday, I did the early shift and when I got home, I set up a scavenger hunt for Mia. She REALLY loves these kinds of things. She loves figuring out clues and puzzles to find surprises and treats. It was fun coming up with the clues at work (since it was incredibly slow for 4 hours straight before picking up) Watched the Quakes vs Real Salt Lake game before they came home. Mia and Jill came with Mia, super tired but when she saw the Easter Bunny left a note, she perked up and did her hunt. It was a lot of fun. We quickly went to my parent's house for Easter Dinner with my bro, his wife and kids and my sister. The kids got to go egg hunting and they had a blast. This is why Mia says Easter is her favorite. Dinner and dessert was great and Mia had a lot of fun "helping with those troublemaker boys". "Ashley, you want help with him?" So cute.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

4th Birthday Madness

Good Morming~
It was an incredibly busy week over here, but somehow we survived. All week, we were preparing for Mia's 4th Birthday party getting everything cleaned, and figuring out exactly how many people were coming, etc. I think it got to about 30 total, which included 9 small kids running around, but more on that later. Friday, was Mia's actual birthday so Jill and I decided to take the day off to spend with her after she was finished with school. We made a little treat for her kids. We tied suckers to bananas, and put party hats on the bananas which had little faces on them (that I drew on) I made different faces of characters that her friends liked. For instance,
Mia tells me that Brayden likes Ninja Turtles, so I drew one on for him, I did Olaf for her friend Brooklyn because Mia told me she has Frozen mittens, etc. The kids had fun guessing who's banana was for whom. It was fun. Jill and I both took Mia to school, and like I imagined, Mia was her normal self, and said "OKAY BYE GUYS" like we couldn't get out of there fast enough. We spent the two and a half hours cleaning, and baking Mia's Minnie Mouse car cake. It turned out pretty awesome. We picked her up later, and she had a cute birthday crown they made for her, as well as birthday book of pictures her friends and classmates drew for the diva.

We grabbed a bite for lunch at a very busy Panera, and later went to the movies to see Cinderella. She was stoked for Frozen Fever, but Cinderella was live-action with a lot of death, so that was a tad difficult to sit through. This was only her 2nd time going to a movie theatre, but she did mostly well. Later, we visited Grandma and Grandpa and they gave her a few outfits and a toy for her birthday. Saturday was the big day. We got everything ready and prepared. Her other Grandparents and uncle came in from Illinois and before long, we had quite a lot of people at the house. She was quite shy at first because as she did invite so many friends, their parents came too, so she was a bit nervous around them at times, but later felt better. I, on the other hand got to meet a few of her BFF's from school's Mom and Dad so that was pretty good. Surprisingly, all the kids got along really nicely, including Mia who let them play with her toys and in her play-kitchen. She got a massive haul of presents, and hopefully today I can make my best attempt to put them places. Saturday evening Jill's family had to head back to Illinois, but this will hopefully be the last time they'll have to drive up for her birthday since they're planning on moving up this year.

Sunday, we had an early baptism for my nephew Camden. I photographed while Jill fulfilled her Godmother duties during the service. Mia was really really good so I was quite proud of her. It may have been because she was super tired.


So quickly, I'll do my year-summary for the kid. From 3-4 years old, She taught herself how to use the potty, has become more independent with wanting to do everything herself (like putting her jacket on or sneakers). She's getting more confident on new obstacles at the park and most importantly, she's gained trust in me that when I drop her off at school, I'll be back to pick her up. It's weird to think that now she's at the "school age" that every year from now on, she'll be in school. 3K has been an interesting experience for the kid, but she's really enjoying it. I just wish she was less shy during free-time/recess. Her attitude (at times ) really is a pain but she still is this lovable little girl.


This week, she doesn't technically have school Friday because its Good Friday, however because we already paid for the week, she can go in on a day so I have to figure out if she should go on Tuesday or Thursday. Wednesday, she had a doc appt and Friday evening, Jill and Mia are making their first road trip without me to Illinois to visit with her family. Mia's pretty good on long car rides these days so they're gonna see how this works. I have the 6am-2pm shift Sunday so I can do Easter with the family later in the evening. Chelsea is back in action Saturday morning against Stoke after a long international break, so I'm really looking forward to the game :) Thanks for reading!

Where Did Spring Go?

Morning all. Got a real late start on my Monday morning routines. For some reason, I didn't hear my obnoxiously loud alarm go off at 5:30am..Weird. Anyways, here's how last week went. Last Monday was the nicest of the days with a high of 70 degrees! We hung out with some of her old friends she hasn't seen in quite some time. It was really nice and enjoyable. She was talking to a random girl on the swings about Disney and how this will be her first time there. She also tried something completely new: At the park, they have a small fireman's pole and because her friend Gracie could do it, Mia wanted to. Sure enough, with a little help from me, she was able to do it :) St Paddy's Day, I worked a very busy shift and enjoyed a Guinness later at home.
Friday, she had school and when I picked her up, it sounded like she had a great time. Her friends are so nice, because apparently during recess, Mia gets nervous when there are a lot of kids out and Mia doesn't like all of the loud boys running around pushing each other. Her pal Alexa took her hand and they walked around. So all in all, good day. This Friday we're bringing a treat for her class for Mia's birthday.

Saturday Jill went to a craft fair most of the morning into the afternoon while I kept Mia busy. Mia and I went to this community event at one of the high schools. They had a gym full of kid stuff that had Mia playing for a few hours. It was mostly a bunch of different preschool and daycare giving out info, but having small tables out for kids to try different things. They had a karate demonstrator and a small gym group too. Mia has absolutely no interest in gymnastics, which is weird because at home she's constantly trying to tumble and jump. Later we cruised over to Interstate Music store on the way home. We had fun playing the different E-kids. Mia's got her heart set on getting a mandolin some day. Better save your $ kid.

Later when Jill came home, we cleaned the house getting it ready for Mia's birthday party next Saturday. We have 9 kids that will be attending (which includes Mia) Sunday, we watched Chelsea beat Hull City. For some reason, I read the game started at 12, but in actuality it was 11am so I missed 4 GODDAMN GOALS!! Caught the end of the first half and the rest of the 2nd. The defense for some reason, wasn't playing well at ALL. Brana was making all kinds of mistakes but thankfully, Remy got us the goal we needed to win and secure the 3 points before the international break. Phew. I was hoping this wouldn't be a game we'd hand the title over to Man City.

So much going on this week with preparing for the party. Both Jill and I are off Friday. She's going to bake the cake while Mia's at school and later, we're going to take her to Cinderella. Oh, also, it's SNOWING right now. Ugh... That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

Reunion

Good Morning. All kinds of things to talk about on this Monday. Last Wednesday, Mia and I watched the Champions League game against PSG in the 2nd leg together with my Dad. It was an important one, and sadly, we were beat 2-2 on aggregate. PSG wanted it so much more then us. We couldn't get pace or a good string of passing going. Diego Costa looked like he was about to explode and kept getting in trouble with every call. The controversial red card early in the first half against Zlatan Ibrahimovic was (in my opinion, a yellow) but our instant reaction to get the entire squad in the referee's face a bit too much. Hazard and Cahill's goals weren't enough to get us through, so now we have to focus all of our attention on the league title. More on that later.

So that was a frustrating day to say the least, but we enjoyed the rest of the day off with Jill when she got home from work. Friday, Mia had school. Her teacher (who was sick last week) returned and she was happy. Mia had a good day. Learned about St. Patrick's Day, shamrocks and rainbows. She gave her pals hugs after bathroom time and we were off on our way.

Saturday the weather was pretty nice, so we spent as much time as we could outside. Mia played at a couple parks with some kids and started doing more slides. She doesn't like the big ones still, but she'll get there. She pulled out her Mustang and drove it around the cul de sac. The boy across from our house last summer would run out and give her a sucker when he'd see her, but Saturday, he wasn't around. "Where is Max? He's the only cute boy that I know. Well, I LOVE YOU TOO DADDY!" that comment she made explained the whole "I don't like boys thing" to me. She wants to consistently prove to me that I'm her #1 boy whether I have to be or not, but man, was she so upset when Max wasn't home. She sad-face drove and parked her Mustang back i the driveway and kept repeating "Max is the ONLY cute boy that I know.."
Saturday night was a super rare night for me. My tech college friends and I got together (4 of us) and had dinner/drinks for the first time since my wedding. We went to La Estecion, one of the more authentic places to get Mexican food. Later, we head out for drinks at a local bar. My face hurt all the way home from smiling and laughing so much. These are some good old friends that I haven't hung out with in so long, so it was a total blast to catch up. My friend Nicole, we hang out from time to time at the park with our kids, and she'll be coming to Mia's birthday party in a couple weeks. Hard to believe we've been friends for 13 years. Anyways, when I got home, we put Mia to bed and watched a movie.

Sunday, I watched a very frustrating Chelsea vs Southhampton game. We got an early goal but a take down in the box left us tied 1-1 at HT. We should have been able to take this game, but we couldn't get that 2nd goal. We had a lot of chances, but in the end, we split the point and are now 6 ahead of Man City with a game in hand. I tell you, when I found out Man City lost Saturday, I thought we'd be able to capitalize on that and give some significant distance between us and them. 6 is still a good number to be ahead on, but we have to make more space and strengthen the defense. After the game, we later watched some of the Pens/Wings slaughtering before Mia noticed something outside. "DO YOU SEE IT??!! DO YOU SEE IT??!! MAX IS HOME! OH MY GOSH WE HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE NOW!!" I have never seen that kid get up and off the couch to get shoes/jacket on for anyone, but oh, the boy-next-door is outside and she has to go see him. She grabbed a sucker of her own to hopefully exchange with him. They were all shy to each other, but in the end, exchanged the suckers. It was pretty adorable.

I'm going to try to make as much progress as possible on this dog portrait that I've been casually working on. That's it 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 :)