4K Spring Break (Without the Spring)

Good evening everyone. Well, the kid has been off for a week and will be going back to school tomorrow. Sadly, the weather hasn't been all that great this week which has really bummed the diva out. "Daddy, it isn't spring break without the nice weather!" Well kid, sometimes Wisconsin doesn't get Spring for quite a while. We didn't let that stop our planned Friends Day on my typical Wednesday off. Mia, with some friends from school, met at the local park and played for a while. She was very excited, and unfortunately when we got there, she had tripped and fell on her knees and hands RIGHT before her friends started to arrive. She was in sobbing tears too embarrassed to cry in front of her friends. We ran home quick to get some bandages to treat the small scrapes she got on her kneecaps. When we came back, she didn't want me to let go of her. Still too "sore" to walk, she hung out in my arms for a while chatting with some of the parents. Later, she felt better when we let the kids bash in her piñata that she hand-made. It must have been a "miracle" because before long, she was running around with her friends and chasing Trey. She even played two new games: Ladder golf, and tennis. Well, it was basically two kids taking turns hitting a ball at each other. She got really good at the ladder golf game, which was exciting to see.

It would have been nice if the weather could have improved more. The kids didn't seem to mind most of the time, so we said our goodbyes and were on our way. Hopefully the next time, it'll be warmer. Olivia wanted to hang out more with Mia, but her brother had a doctor apt. I'm sure the kids will be excited to see each other again tomorrow morning. Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to watch the Chelsea vs Aston Villa game. The last few days, Mia insisted I wake her up for this game. "We'll watch it at sunrise but let Mommy sleep because she needs her bed rest". As much as I know she would have loved to watch the Blues destroy Villa 4-0, I did not wake the diva. It was great to see them in good form. We got to see some new blood debut including Miazga and Pato. Both played real well and Pato even got a PK goal. Yes, this team has performed terribly all season, but it was nice to have the Champions net a win, and hopefully keep winning. From what I'm told, that IF they keep winning and qualify for the Europa Cup, they'll cancel their US Tour, which means they won't be coming to MN which I had planned to watch them take on AC Milan. As bummed as I would be, it's probably for the best considering they'll be breaking in the turf of the brand new stadium built for the Vikings which would almost guarantee the ticket prices will not be cheap. I was very fortunate to have got a $99.00 ticket to the Inter/Blues game in Indy, but that was a Living Social deal. We'll see what happens, but they're advising Blues fans to wait to book rooms and tickets. Ugh...

After the game, the ladies woke up, we did some laundry and played a family game of Monster High Uno. Mia's at the age now where she can comprehend the rules of games well, plus this is a great learning game where you have to figure out which card number is the highest to play. I love it when she learns without realizing it :) We later made homemade pizzas and Jill worked on her yearly book for the kid. Since she's been 1, we've always made these beautiful books comprised of photos we've taken over the year. Today. the girls were on a quest to find some Blackhawks shirts. Jill's champion shirt is in rough shape so she wants a new one. No luck at Hockey Haven.

This week, I NEED to start painting the Torrent Tom, I have to get some ideas down in Illustrator for the Milwaukee Blues Chelsea Chapter banner and maybe start some new traditional art projects. That's all for now, thanks for reading! :)

GIMMIE FIVE!!

Good evening folks. Normally, I write Sunday nights or Monday morning but our stupid Internet went down for some weird reason. Luckily I fixed it today, but didn't have the slightest bit of time to write. It was a super busy week before Mia's spring break so let's get to it. Monday, I had the shortest shift ever due to some extra vacation time I had to use, so I got to enjoy a very rare taco night with Jill and Mia. It was quite fun, and we watched Hotel Transylvania 2. Mia had her assessment test on Wednesday for kindergarten. While driving there, she slowly started to fall asleep. I'm like "PLEASE DON'T YOU GOTTA FOCUS ON THIS!" and luckily, she perked up when we arrived. We waited out in the hall for the early child development instructor to call her in. She got real nervous and did NOT wanna go in. Thankfully, she wasn't the only kid from Smarty Pants there. Irianna was roaming around and gasped when she saw Mia "MIAAA!!!! HAPPY EASTER! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" They gave each other a huge hug. Mia tossed me her jacket and hat and went to go play with Irianna a bit before the screening. I went back out in the hall and saw her Mom. I thanked her for letting Irianna chill a bit with Mia so she'd get more comfortable. She soon came out and told me "MIA IN THERE NOW!! OKAY BYEE!!!" Such a sweetheart.

Mia came out about 40 minutes later, grasping a dino she cut out. She did real well and in 3-4 weeks, we'll get a letter explaining where she falls in the spectrum with the other kids testing. Such pressure, I tell you! Thursday, she had the spaghetti's dinner at her school. Jill went to that while I worked. She got to see some of the art that Mia's been doing, and they had some noodles. Friday, Mia attended an egg hunt at the park with some of her classmates. Friday night, Jill's long time pal Leanne came in and crashed for the weekend. Saturday, they baked Mia's cake and cupcakes,  dyed eggs went to the mall, and we did Mia's traditional balloon photo we've been doing since she's been real little. 

Sunday was the big day. She couldn't contain her excitement for her 5th birthday AND Easter. A rare double holiday only a kid could enjoy! She woke up early and did a little scavenger hunt for eggs and her basket in the house. Later, her cousins, uncles, aunt and grandparents came to help celebrate the big day. She got royally spoiled with gifts and did an egg hunt outside in the rain with the boys. They had a lot of fun. Her cake turned out amazing. She wanted a Marie-themed cake that would resemble her soft little kitten. Jill and Leanne did an amazing job. It was really nice being off on a Sunday (first Easter off in 12+ years). Sunday night, we tried to do a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt. Mia LOVED it. We spread the eggs all over the lower level of the house with glow sticks in them. Mia's got lots of new clothes and toys to play with. When I came home tonight from work. she had her new microscope out looking at different samples of things. The microscope came with a telescope as well. Looking forward to busting it out in the warm summer nights. 

She's currently on Spring Break, and I hope to host this Friends Day event for her and her pals on Wednesday at the nearby park. No presents required. Just a day during their break where they can relax and play with each other. Hopefully the weather holds off. Other then that, I've got lots to try to accomplish. I'm designing the Milwaukee Blues Chelsea chapter banner/flag, I need to start painting the Torrent Tom and try to keep a very crazy 5 year old happy and busy during her break. She already did her homework last week so that's good :) It's crazy she's 5 years old already. Didn't seem that long ago she was up all night not wanting to sleep. That's all for now. Thanks for reading! 

Water Parks Minus Sharks

Good evening everyone. Another busy week has passed with an even busier week ahead of me. Had kind of a nice week work-wise with two days off in the middle of the week, but we'll get to that later. Wednesday after school, Mia and BFF Olivia decided during class that they should go to Monkey Joe's. We had nothing planned and both her Dad and myself took the pint size pals to the inflated insane asylum. The girls had a lot of fun, per the usual sliding on just about everything. I love watching the kids play. They're so fun. I swear at one point, Olivia said to Mia "you and I have cute butts!"

Thursday, I took a rare day off so that after Jill got out of work, we could go to the Country Springs Water Park at their hotel. I have never been there before, and for $10 for three hours, you can't go wrong. Mia, who had woken up early that day to see what the Leprechaun left her, was able to keep a few moments of energy in her and enjoyed most of the water park. She didn't want to go on the bigger water slides, but really liked the lazy river. She tried a smaller water slide, but didn't care for the water that hit her right in the face. Later before we left, she hit up the arcade. She "beat" me at air hockey and won herself some things out of those claw machines. All in all, it was a really nice day together. She fell asleep on the way home and didn't get up till Friday morning. We didn't do anything special before I worked Friday. Just tried to clean before her birthday party coming up in a week.

Saturday I watched about 15 minutes of the Chelsea vs West Ham game. Jill, Mia and my Mom went to the Just Between Friends resale event in Waukesha while my Dad and I watched some of the game. We missed the majority of it, but I found out later they had a draw of 2-2. I had to take him to his acupuncture appt so we missed it. Glad they got a point out of it, but we should be doing better and at least try to win some games. Jeez. Later we went to Stefans for the old man to poke around and see what he could afford, which of course was not much. I saw the few Torrent jerseys left and one of the guys said that they sold out of all the adult sizes and only have small to kid size. That's amazing! They have to order more from the online store to be sold at store front. Incredible.  Later Saturday, Jill and I wrapped Mia's birthday presents, get the eggs ready for her birthday party/egg hunt and made homemade pizzas. Trader Joe's dough is so amazing. We finished the night off with some Man vs Food. Even Mia likes the show now.

Today, we did some cleaning and I washed some of Mia's new clothes. The fashionista needed more shorts and leggings. This kid is growing so fast. This week is very busy. Tomorrow, school and I have to drop off the eggs that she'll be putting into the Egg Hunt her friend's mom is hosting at the nearby park Friday afternoon. Wednesday,  She's got to bring her birthday treat to class and has an assessment test for her kindergarten she'll be enrolled in the fall. Thursday is spaghetti night at her school with a display of artwork (I have to miss it :() Friday, egg hunt with some kids from school, plus I believe one of Jill's friend is coming up as well. Saturday, CLEAN! Sunday, her 5th Birthday Party. So much to do, so little time. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Send Spring

Good morning everyone. Normally, I write Sunday nights my thoughts and the events that went down for the week, but when I came home last night, Jill was awake with Mia passed out so we stayed up till 12am, watching Man Vs Food laughing at this ridiculous show we've somehow never seen.  The week started out solid, weather wise with gorgeous back to back 70's. Nice to be able to walk out of the house without even a jacket on. Didn't last of course, and its currently mid 40's. Not unusual for March, but I'd prefer 70's the rest of the month. Wednesday after school, Mia and I watched Chelsea take on a very difficult PSG and the end result wasn't great, with the Blues exiting the UCL. The biggest trophy to win, and we got beat badly. I knew the challenge would have been difficult, but the players were just struggling. Costa put one on the board for us, but that was the best we could do. Defense was again, lousy.

Later that day, Mia tried skateboarding again. Still tough to get the balance, but she gets an A for effort. Found out this week that Stefans soccer store is carrying the Milwaukee Torrent home jersey. I can't tell you how exciting that is to see something I helped design being sold at a store front. I hope they sales go really well. Saturday, while photographing Mia in Jill's beautiful wedding dress, I watched Chelsea fall apart to Everton in the FA Cup. We officially have no more titles and cups left to play for. Summer is going to be quite busy for the Champions. I don't even know why we signed anyone last January. None of our new guys have played yet. Ugh. Changing topics...

Later, Mia planted Jelly beans to see if by Easter, they'll grow into candy. I love her imagination. For dinner we tried this place called MooYa where you can custom build your own burger/veggie burger/turkey burger. Crowded place, short staff but not bad food.

Sunday, daylight savings completely through us off for the morning. All of us had a severe lack of motivation to do...much. Hate daylight savings. We don't need to even observe it :P Over the weekend, we changed phone services from US Cellular to Project Fi. New service, new phones and better bills. :)

This week should be a quick and busy one. I took off Thursday so we can take Mia to the Country Springs water park to go swimming after 5:00pm. She's really excited. As far as the weekend, not completely sure what the plan is. May take her 5th Birthday pictures. Hopefully the weather improves and we can make the most of being outside with the extra daylight.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Old Friends

Good evening everyone. Let's get right to it! The week started a bit rough. Mia had a fever from Sunday night into Monday, which meant that the diva had to skip out of school. She woke up, sorta out of it, not realizing she was supposed to be at school. I checked the temp. Much better, but still high. She took it easy, relaxing and watching Scooby Doo (which is what I watched as a kid when I was home sick ironically) She felt better later that night when I got home from work, and the next day went to school. it was Crazy Hat Day to celebrate all things Dr Seuss. The kids had a lot of fun.

The next day, Jill (who wasn't feeling the best) chaperoned Mia's field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum. From what they said, it was a lot of fun, but Jill was pretty miserable from her fever she had. Mia didn't care for the dino eating the other dino. Too scary.

Friday, I picked up all the Milwaukee Torrent apparel in Glendale at the owner's gym. I'm incredibly grateful he gave me the track jacket/hoody/toque/1/4 length pants, but it was he, himself that said "no thank YOU for everything you've done for us". It's really humbling to "work" for a guy and team that appreciate my work. I hope this lasts quite some time and the team really picks up steam during the season, and following season.

Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Stoke game. Was hoping we'd get the 3 points and win after Traore netted a sick goal, but Stoke equalized when the defense let back in the 2nd half. Terrible. GH should have never put on Remy and probably should have got Pato some minutes on the pitch for once. I know they're resting Costa for the UCL game Wednesday (which I am both nervous and excited for) but we still need to climb the table into a 4th place position. Can't draw or lose games. Later, I took her to her longtime friend Gracie's 6th birthday party. They haven't hung out since the holidays, so it was good to see her and her sister (who's closer to Mia's age). They had a lot of fun as I hung out with the other adults in the kitchen. In fact, I even was offered a Habanero beer. Very spicy in the throat like tequila, but it was pretty tasty. At one point during the party, Mia and Hannah (Gracie's sister) where just sitting at the table slowly eating the Frozen-themed cake, catching up about life and school. It was very cute. Mia told me later that she made friends with a shy girl at the party.

Later that night, we went to see Zootopia. It was Disney's latest animated movie. Let me tell you, it was better than I thought it would be. Almost too parallel with everything that's going on in the world. I won't say too much, just see it when you can. Later we had a very late "dinner" that consisted of peas and potatoes, and as Mia fell asleep, Jill and I finished season one of Fuller House.

Sunday, I did some Torrent work, and some cleaning before heading to work. This week, busy week at school for the diva, Chelsea game Wednesday (PLEASE win!) and Jill and myself will be activating our new Nexus 6P phones and getting out of US Cellular for good. Looking forward to a cheaper bill and a new service that hopefully will be solid. The weather is supposed to improve this week, so cheers to that! Thanks for reading!

Less Fever, More Cowbell

Good evening. Going to try to get through this quickly. It's been yet another busy week over here as February just about closes (leap day tomorrow). Solid week at school for Mia. I think she's getting things a bit quicker now, and catching on with no problems. She has a field trip this Wednesday to the Milwaukee Public Museum. Normally, I'd go but decided that if possible, Jill would chaperon this one. Sure enough, she can. Should be a fun time. Last Wednesday after school, Mia and Olivia went to Chuck E Cheese. They had a lot of fun, but that damn Chuck E scares her every time he comes out.

The Torrent has kept me real real busy (which is good) but everything is where it needs to be for the time being. The schedule is out, season ticket design was released and I'm already moving on to other projects. Its been nice to have a few days to breath and think about what I'm going to do next. Torrent TV is my latest that I came up with. First off, I've always enjoyed seeing the Chelsea Unseen videos on Youtube which takes fans behind the scenes of the club getting a glimpse of training, signings, pre/post game interviews and photoshoots. I want to do something similar. It gets fans more familiar with the Torrent players, staff and such. I have already designed a logo that will feature on the bottom or top of the screen in iMovie. Last night, I mastered some important techniques that will help polish these videos when I start filming. I'm pretty stoked about this. The song book for The Flood is coming along nicely. Apparently, I have to lead them, so this will be real interesting.

Friday night after work, we started watching Fuller House. Just as I predicted, the series will have lots of feels and caters mostly to the older audience. Mia loves the old episodes and enjoyed the first two of the new ones. Saturday morning, I watched Chelsea narrowly beat Southampton 2-1. Branna and Fabregas got the two goals, and we secured 3 needed points away. I believe they play Norwich on Tuesday. Later after the game, we went to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum. I've never been there before, but I have heard great things about it. Didn't disappoint. The place is totally fun and Mia had a blast doing all the different activities from TV camera operator to roof top gardening, it was a great family day.

Today, Mia wasn't feeling good (from what I understand when I got out of work) and has a fever. Hopefully she feels better in the morning, but most likely will have to stay home from school. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Mahalo Ono Kine!

Good evening everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Early in the week, we noticed that Marie the cat was limping around in the morning. Turns out, she had an infection and a fever. Lucky the antibiotics helped the kitty to a quick recovery. She was feeling better the day she had went to the vet. Wednesday, Mia and I went on an exciting field trip with her class to the First State Theatre in Milwaukee to see Just a Little Critter. Mia was paired with her friend Kaylee as "bus buddy". She didn't get her recess BFF Irianna, (AKA-The Runner) because her mom attended. In fact the 4 parents that came each got kids to watch. Olivia's Dad got three crazy ones including his girl. Olivia wasn't that bad, but Alexa and Isabella were bouncing off the walls in the bus. It was cute, and they were fun. Kaylee and Mia were great on the bus ride there.

The play was fun and the kids had a lot of fun. Mia liked all the songs and fun acting. Before it started, Kaylee had to pee and Mia was FREAKING  out because she was so worried she'd miss the start of the play. It was both funny and nerve-wrecking. We had to go into the girls bathroom because I had NO clue where the guys one was. Whatever. I've always enjoyed going on field trips with Mia (this is my third since she started at  Smarty Pants in 3K) and it's just really enjoyable to see the kids in a more relaxed environment. On the ride home the kids were dead exhausted. Olivia passed out with Alexa sleeping on her. Mia was tired and Kaylee tried the same thing. She doesn't like to be annoyed when she's tired so it was a bit of a rough ride back to school. All in all, fun time.

Throughout the week, I've been working on different game announcement images for the Torrent, each one pushing my creativity to new heights. Friday morning, Mia and I had a boardgame-a-thon and played a few new ones she got for Valentines Day. While playing, it reminded me how old my 4 1/2 year old is getting. She gets concepts of games without me explaining anything to her, and can patiently wait her turn to spin or pop the bubble thing on Minion Trouble. Jill and I both agree that 4 has been our favorite age so far. She has her moments, but is sweet and kind a lot of the times.

Saturday, the ladies went to a craft fair while my Dad and I watched some of the FA Cup games. Reading beating West Brom was entertaining. Wish Everton would have lost to Bournemouth. Later for a late lunch, we went to this small Hawai'ian takeout and grocery store in Tosa'. Ono Kine Grindz. I tell you, it brought back some fond memories of our trip to Hawaii. Everything sold there was from the island including the tasty POG juice. We bought a few of those. MMM! I had gotten this cornish game hen in teryiaki sauce and a sticky rice that was super tasty. We'll have to go there again. It was cool to see my buddy Andy's photography all over their walls. Such an eye for beauty, but when you're in Hawaii, you see the beauty everywhere. Saturday night, we hung out, movie night per the usual.

Sunday I got up and watched Chelsea destroy Man City in the FA Cup on Youtube in Arabic. You could say "yeah they played the youth team because Man City wanted to rest some of the senior players for their UCL match this week" but who cares? If we win the cup, who's going to look at the game and say "well they only won 5-1 because they played the U-21 group". No. The team played creatively the 2nd half and smashed goal after goal. Hazard's free kick was solid, and Traore was able to get yet, another FA Cup goal. Everton is next and they'll be a bit more difficult. I worked my usual 2-10 that night.

This week, nothing major planned. Just graphic design work on some projects, for the Torrent and that's about it. Thanks for reading!