The Gala Night

Good evening peeps. What. A. Week. I know it's been said a few times, but wow it's been busy and pretty surreal. Leading up to the art show, we've been preparing and getting everything ready for the big night. Thurs we got our taxes done and later arrived at the school to help set up the massive display. Between Jill, myself and the two workers from Artome' that delivered everything, it didn't take too long. After, Jill and I delivered little bookmarks from the pieces we created with the classes to their desks. It was a little something from us to them :) After I put on my Dali stach' it was go time!

Everyone came in and checked out the amazing art their kids worked super hard on. Jill's Mom had a dog-toy making table where the kids made dog tug-toys out of recycled shirts that they could either A-donate to HAWS or B-take home to their own dog. The kids and parents really liked my Dali mustache with matching shirt. Mia enjoyed seeing all her friends and showing us her room. The only thing that was a huge downer was that less than half of the art sold for the fundraiser. I was hoping for quite a bit more than that. I know not everyone has $30 to spend on art, but man, was it a huge bummer that so much art was left behind. In the end, they'll get their art back eventually, but sans frame. Some parents didn't know they had to bring cash/check so we had plenty of them sending their husbands or wives to the nearest store to hit up the ATM. After we took everything down, it was time to split. The principal told us it was a huge success and she loved everything we did. It's surreal that it's over because of the huge lead up to the whole thing. I'm very proud of Jill for all the hard work she put in with me. We had the best time working with these kids would do it again if given the chance, but maybe in a few years. Looking forward to continuing art lessons in the Spring and/or Summer with my usual students and would love to take on new ones :) I love teaching and watching kids grow in art.

Saturday, We picked up some balloons for Mia's traditional birthday photo. Apparently there is a helium shortage so we luckily got some balloons at the Dollar Store. Phew. Before that, I took Remi to Petsmart to get his nails trimmed. They've been pretty rough and he was overdo for a good trim. The salon ladies couldn't get enough of his adorable face and pleasant personality. We spent a few hours cleaning and later, Mia and I drove to the Wave vs Tropics match. My buddy from The Flood (Torrent supporters) gave me some free tickets so of course I'm going to take the diva. Last year when we went, we were running late due to a severe lack of parking but this time we made sure to arrive early to get the Lemos bobble head and some food for Mia. After the first half, she regretted her choice of popcorn and would have preferred shave ice or dippin' dots. Oh well. They were up 5-0 at HT and were dominating these guys. Mia kept telling me "why would they have to play such an easy team??!" at FT they beat them 9-1. Easy night out for the good guys. Mia had the  best time watching them. Every single goal, she'd go crazy. Her hopes were that when they kick the ball out, that she'd catch out and "cherish it forever" but it never got close enough to her. The whole match, she was on the edge of her seat enthralled with the game. It may seem like I really push soccer with her, but truth be told, she really loves the game. She doesn't care for watching baseball or basketball and was bored to death with football (American) so yeah just like her parents, soccer and hockey are the two sports she prefers. Jill still loves watching baseball but Mia just never got into it.

She passed out on the way home but woke up when we arrived back at the house. I made her my special grilled cheese sandwich that she always says "is the best". Aww. She watched her new fav show Just Add Magic before crashing for the night.

Sunday, we didn't do much. Hung up some of the lanterns for her upcoming party and that was about it. This week I'm going to complete the drawing for her friend Charlie that she requested and we'll be cleaning and preparing all week for her birthday party. I work a short week because I took off Wed and will be off Thurs. Hope to get a hair cut this week and I'll be visiting Mia for her birthday on Wednesday. Can't believe she'll be EIGHT! The EPL returns so hopefully Chelsea can finish the season strong. That's all for now thanks for reading!

Late Night

Good evening everyone! Quite the busy week but an overall fun one. The week started pretty rough with Mia getting a gnarly fever. Sunday evening it started and kept her from making school on Monday. She spent the majority of the day just sleeping. She didn't want to eat and every once in a while, would wake up, take a few sips of ginger ale, and went back to sleep. When I came home from work Monday night, Jill had told me she was pretty dizzy and weak due to the fever and lack of food. Luckily, Tuesday she was starting to fever but we kept her home because she still had a bit of a temperature. She finally was able to eat something and started to act like her normal self. Phew. Major thanks to my in-laws for helping out with her.

I had 3 schools during the week. Two in Waterford and one in Pewaukee while Mia was recovering. Both schools were pretty fun but the most intense one of the season was Pewaukee Lake Elementary. So many classrooms to capture but the kids and staff were a lot of fun. I've got one more this week and I'm done for the season.

Anyways, Mia returned on Wednesday and had a decent day. Didn't really eat much lunch throughout the week unfortunately because she was worried her tummy would hurt again. I joined her for lunch Thursday as a surprise. The temp was super nice so I figured it was a good idea. Every dropped their coats off at the door and they all had blast at recess. Her friends threw their coats at me to hold onto while they played charades. Super fun.

Friday, I took off so that after we dropped off Mia at her friend Ryan's epic sleepover birthday party, Jill and I could grab some sushi and watch a movie at night. First of all, Mia was absolutely stoked for the party and couldn't wait to go. Upon arriving, she was mugged by her excited friends before saying goodbye to me for the night. We picked up some Meiji sushi. Jill always picks out the very best at every place we go. I never tell her what I like, she just knows what sushi would be a hit for me. We watched some goofy movie with Jason Sudakis and called it a night. Saturday morning we picked up a very sleepy Mia. She said they stayed up late and she ended up waking up pretty early. When we brought her home, she passed out on the couch for hours. After she woke up, we didn't do too much. Just did a bit of art. I've been working on Mia's friend Charlie's custom fairy sketch while Mia did an animal poster for a contest. I picked up some hair dye for Mia as well so she could dye it Sunday with Jill.

Today, Mia did her traditional St Paddy's Day scavenger hunt. We made pancakes as Mia did an Irish jig in the kitchen. Later I watched a very frustrating Chelsea vs Everton match. This season has been such a nightmare for the Blues and I really don't know how they think they'll break top 4 or even 5. I watched them pick apart Dynamo Kiev on Thursday. 1st half of the CFC vs Toffee's match, they looked really good. 2nd half, they just weren't in it. It's been proven the manager just isn't the right person for the job and the players for one reason or another just aren't working with his system. Someone needs to take over and do a factory reset on everything.

This week is a really big one. Photographing my last school Tuesday and we've got the much-anticipated art show on Thursday. So much work has gone into this and I really hope the parents and school staff love the hard work we put into it, as well as their talented kids. I may be bringing Mia and her friend/Dad to a Wave game this weekend. We'll see if we can pick up some tickets. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Sledding, Sleepover, Soccer

Good evening everyone! My! What an incredibly busy week. Plenty to discuss on this well-enjoyed day off. Here we go. My replacement glasses came in earlier in the week. Great! I was excited after work to try them out and see how they work. Bummer. The right lens was very loose in the frame. There's no way that'll work so I took them back and after several hours, they called me and told me they'd send them back and have them replaced. Can't fix them there because the frames don't have a screw to adjust. Fantastic....

We got a good amount of snow this week. You'd never guess it now because by the end of the week, it all melted but we did get snow which is perfect for the kids to play in at recess. Wednesday, I watched a bit of the Chelsea vs ARSEnal game before picking up the diva after school. The Blues lost in a lousy game that Arsenal was very lucky to win. We once again, went sledding and were joined by Noelle and sister Cora. A few other kids in the area made the trek up Pickle Pond's hill. The temp was nice so the kids had a good time sledding. Mia's been wanting to sled with a friend for quite a while so she was stoked her good friend Noelle joined her. The kids had a great time before we went home to relax and do homework. I spent the rest of the weekdays balancing graphic design work, drawing for the diva and regular Kwik Trip work. Never easy.

Saturday was the big day. Before we get to the epic sleepover Mia and Cecilia have been planning for months, we took Mia to the JANBOREE free ice skating at Eble. we've gone in past years and it wasn't as busy. Due to the incredibly nice weather, Eble was incredibly busy. My Mom was going to skate with us, but due to the overloaded ice rink, she skipped it for this time. Mia and I weren't going to let a packed rink of ice skaters ruin the experience. We had a great time. Took Mia a few laps to get her balance at a comfortable pace, but she did fine. After about an hour of skating, we went to Trader Joe's to get supplies for the epic sleepover. Mia waited by the window just watching...and watching...and watching...I got a text from her Mom that they were on her way and Mia screeched with excitement...Just as Cecilia's parents pulled in, Mia screeched even louder.

The girls played a bit before making pizzas from scratch. Mia made her classic Alfredo/cheese pizza while Cecilia made a pepperoni pizza. The had a few slices before watching maybe 10 minutes of Descendents movie. They didn't stay long on the couch before heading back to Mia's room to play. It was pretty nice that Mia had a friend to play with through the evening. Jill watched Netflix while I worked on my Monday drawing for Mia. They'd come down every once in a while to talk or see what we're doing. At some point, they got ready for bed and eventually, we talked them into going to bed. The sleeping arrangement was pretty interesting. They decided to sleep in Mia's tiny room and both somehow fit inside Mia's bed. At first they were going to sleep opposite in the bed. While getting ready for sleep, we could hear them giggling loudly. Jill reminisced about her sleepovers with her friends giggling and talking into the evening. It was pretty cute. Eventually, the two cuddled up next to each other on the same side and passed out. It was a cute sight to see when we checked on them.

The next day, both of them woke up early and immediately started playing. Mia came in by us to wake us up. Jill made the girlies pancakes and bacon. While Jill was making breakfast, the girls made "signature books" for the players to sign after the match. Later, we went to the Milwaukee Wave vs St. Louis Ambush match. Great game and the kids had an awesome time. We didn't get our free shirts because parking was a massive struggle. Literally, could not find a place to park for the afternoon. Somehow we parked inside this garage with one spot barely available. The game was close and the good guys won. After the match, the girls and myself made our way to the pitch to meet the players. There was only so much time to meet them, so the kids got as many signatures as they could before jumping into what easily could be compared to as "Disney world Character" line to meet Ian Bennett. Thy had so much fun getting signatures and were super stoked to meet Ian. He loved Mia's IB26 gear (hat/shirt) and had fun meeting Cecilia. We went back up to meet up with Jill and made our way back to the car and went home. The girls fell asleep on the ride back and gave each other nice big hugs when we dropped off Cecilia. What a weekend. The girls were a blast to have together and Cecilia's already looking forward to Mia coming over to her house again. This week, I've got a lot of Torrent work to do. We're having a friend visit us this weekend as well as Uncle Tommy.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Sleddin' Diva

Evenin' everyone. Don't know why I typed it like that, but we're sticking with it. Mostly enjoyable week was had, and we even got to watch snow appear and disappear in a matter of 7 days. 5.7 inches in New Berlin after that snow dumping, which of course means sledding on my day off after school with Mia. Before that, I watched the Chelsea vs Norwich League Cup match. It was funny, while waiting for Mia, I thought "just maybe I'll talk her out of sledding today since it's pretty cold out" she came running out of the building for the 1st time ever fully dressed in snow pants/boots/gloves/hat. There was no way I was going to talk her out. It was 1-0 when I got the kiddo with only a few minutes left of the match. As intrigued as Mia was watching, we wanted to get to the hill with whatever light was left in the evening. As soon as we arrived to Pickle Pond, Norwich tied it. Crap.

We trekked across the snowy field and discovered someone built a kicker. Awesome. While Mia made several attempts to hit the ramp, I was getting updates on the match and in the end, Chelsea won in PK's. Good. Mia and I had a blast going down the hill and a couple other kids joined us as well. Mia only hit the jump once on a longer sled which didn't give her the maximum distance she would have gotten on a smaller one. It was getting dark so we had to leave despite the fact she really wanted to get one good jump. She was getting pretty cold anyways, so when we got back, I made us dinner and we relaxed and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory till Jill got home from work/acupuncture.  All in all, good evening.

Throughout the week, the weather changed and started to warm up. So long snow. Saturday, I got up nice and early to watch the Chelsea vs Brighton match. Great 4-0 win. Jill and I drove down to Illinois to meet up with our travel companion and good friend Leanne to go over our big trip. They ended up booking a chocolate tour. Dates are good. AirBnB's are good. All we need to do is book flights. We figured out what we're doing in California as well. July isn't too far away, so we're getting pretty excited for the trip.

Drove back home, picked up a cheap couch from my co-worker and met up with our very helpful family to help rearrange the living room. We didn't exactly measure the space and sorta winged it, so the space is a bit different now, but it works. The previous couch was completely falling apart and is now in the basement. A much better place to sit comfortably when Mia's playing downstairs.

At first, Mia wasn't a fan of the new layout in the living room. Not a fan of change, but over the course of a day, got used to it and likes it now. Saturday night, I went to our Flood Supporters Group meeting to discuss plans for the 2018 season. The owner/coach joined us, so it was nice catching up on things and what he's got going on. Today, Jill and Mia went to Easton's birthday party while i went to work.

This week, Mia's got her very first sleepover at OUR house with Cecilia. Not sure what the girls have planned for our house, but Sunday I'm taking all of them to the Milwaukee Wave match. It'll be both Mia, Cecilia and Jill's first Wave game. Should be a great time. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Morning Matinee

Evening everyone. Busy week to end off November. With the weather so enjoyable, it'll be tough to get back to a normal December this week. Last week, I had to once again, break Mia's heart that the sleepover her and Cecilia were planning for Saturday would have to postpone. Her parents had forgotten she had a cousin's birthday party Saturday night so she couldn't stay over. I did salvage the day and they made plans for a morning movie to see Coco, so Mia looked forward to that. Mia had a rough start to her Wed morning with a loose tooth that's been hanging on for a month or two bothering he. She tearfully asked if I could join her for lunch. FINE. It's not that I don't love going to lunch with he (I really do) but she's been having me go way more this year and Wednesday was a super busy day for me. Had a dentist appt that ran over the time because they did x-rays. I ran home, grabbed some yogurt tubes for Mia's sensitive mouth and ran to school. I missed the class walking down and had to walk into the lunch solo.

When I sat next to her friend Noelle, who was next to her with Cecilia on the other side, I apologized for being late and explained what happened. She was mad I wasn't there at the bench waiting, but understood and we moved on. Glad she' mature enough to know that Daddy was coming, and I know I was late, but at least I'm there now". We went out for recess with Mia and a dozen of her friends. That's the thing with when I go to lunch/recess. We end up with a dozens of kids wanting to play. Mia ended up playing with Cecilia and Avant (sp) for a while. He's a crazy boy I've never met and kept putting his arm around Mia. I asked if he likes her, and Mia goes "no he's just crazy". Okay. Later Ellahrose joined in and they took turns spinning each other on this disc thing. Mia and Cecilia were so chill playing at recess and for the most part, Ella was alright.

Later I went home to work on some graphics and logo stuff. I turned on the Chelsea vs Swansea match. Good win. Should have been a bigger win at FT but we'll take it. later, Mia met up with her ol BFF Olivia at school. While her bro had basketball, the dynamic duo played some basketball before we went home to make dinner.

Friday, I had a photo session with Wave star Ian Bennett and his wife. Short one, but it went well. The lense broke for some reason, but I made the best with what I had. Later, had to go to work but not before leaving a shirt/hat for Mia from Ian. She was pretty stoked. Came home from work and the tree was all decorated. Bummer I couldn't help, but oh well. Saturday, I got up bright and early to watch Chelsea beat Newcastle. Rough start, but the Blues got the job done and we earned the 3 points. A little later, Mia met up with Cecilia and we took the girls to go see Coco. What an emotional rollercoaster of a movie. Incredible movie. Beautiful art, music and story. Jill was crying. Mia and Cecilia really liked it too. There was a part that had Cecilia gripping and (she was next to me) she looked over gasping and goes "OH MY GOD MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST!! SO glad the guy is okay!!" We took them back to our house after so they could play a bit before her parents picked her up. They wanted to play longer, but Cecilia had to go. Such a sweet kid.

Later, we went to Blaze for lunch before heading back home to clean and organize a bit. We took our Christmas card picture that I think for the most part worked out. Concept was good. Execution was really challenging.  Sunday, Mia went to Jill's friend's little girl Arabella's 4th birthday party at Kids in Motion. Since I haven't seen them since I went to work, I have no clue how it went, but I assume they had fun.

This week, photo editing, graphic revisions, Chelsea matches and Mia's got the Shopkins play at the Riverside she's been looking forward to for months with her Grandpa Chicago. Saturday is his birthday so we're doing something. Not sure what yet. That's all for now, thanks for reading!