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!

Tattoos and a Toothless Smile

Good evening everyone! Hope the weekend was great. It's been a busy June and I can't believe we're almost done with it. Wednesday, Mia and I met up with her friend Kaylee and her sister Mayah at the Zoo. The girls had a lot of fun, despite the very warm weather. There were TONS of day camps from all over there. The girls really enjoyed the fish exhibit with the leopard sharks, turtles and octopus. Later after Jill got home from work, we went over to the park across the street to enjoy the remaining daylight. Mia was playing all over the playground before Jill noticed something odd in her mouth.

"MIA YOUR TOOTH IS LOOSE!!" Sure enough, she had her first baby tooth that was wiggling. I pulled out my phone to see if that's normal at her age. Apparently, kindergarten-1st grade a kid can start to lose baby teeth. Mia was excited and nervous because she didn't know what to expect, or how she'd eat with this wiggly tooth. It blew our minds for a short while that she has grown up so much. We went to the library later and she checked out 47 books for a Reading Challenge. She read quite a bit of them that night. Like, she really read them. It was insane. Jill's never seen her read to her before so it was really exciting.

Thursday, my Milwaukee Torrent custom jersey came in. Super excited to see this thing in person, with name on it. A lot of hard work has gone into creating so much for the team, and it's been an absolute joy. Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market in Waukesha with Remi. They really doubled it in size since the last time we were there. Jill got a really nice sun hat to match the same color of Mia's that she sports. Both girls looked very sweet. After some muffins and juice, we jet back home so I could get ready for my tattoo. It was a long time coming. 6 years since my last one and I was anxious to start. It took so long to find a guy who could do a photorealism 1/2 sleeve with confidence and after a few meetings with Marcus, I knew he was the man for the job.  As soon as he started, I remembered very quickly that this hurts in certain areas. Sometimes I'd talk through some of the painful areas to keep my mind off it. 4 hours later, we were complete for the day. He put the tiger shark in last which hurt the most. Once again, I'd have to close my eyes with this one and try to focus on something else, and that works most of the time. He cleaned me up and I was on my way.

Had to jet back to New Berlin to get the girls so we could make it to Finding Dory. We met her parents at the Majestic just in time for the 15 minutes of previews. The theater was very packed but we some how managed to get seats. The short, Piper was incredible. Very cute and the animation was insane. Finding Dory was everything I hoped it would be. Finding Nemo for a very long time, was my all-time favorite movie. Dory was just as good. Lots of great lines, the animation was solid and the story was well thought out. Pixar didn't make any mistakes with this one. I'd totally recommend seeing this one.

Today was Father's Day. Mia woke up stoked to give me all her gifts. A sheet of paper with an "all about Daddy" survey (which I honestly love and was always jealous that Mom's got these for Mother's Day), a jar of Recess Pieces with "I love you to pieces" on it, a plate of butterscotch homemade cookies and finally, two hands with an accordion paper inside that says "I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH". Super cute and amazing from both girls. We were supposed to meet my parents for brunch but they didn't make it. I worked the steady 2-10 shift with my new sore ink.

This week, hang with some friends at some point and start working on some art. I had this idea to do a story book style drawing/painting of some of Mia's creative quotes. It came to me in the dining room today when she was randomly talking out loud to herself. Should be really cool.

Thats all for now. Thanks for reading!

Turkey Fest

Good morning. Hope everyone got to enjoy their long weekend. I had Saturday off, but we'll get back to that later. Mia had a fun week at school. She learned all about the first Thanksgiving and had a feast at school on Wednesday. They watched one of those Peanuts movies with Snoopy and the gang as well. When I went to pick her up. she had on a headband that she made complete with feathers. She had a blast. Later, Mia and I hung out with my Dad for his 69th Birthday. He enjoyed his Chief (their dog) shirt and the brownies I picked up. Mia was extra sweet to him for his day. Later, Jill and I surprised Mia with tickets to see the premier of The Good Dinosaur. It was beautifully done but maybe a little long for a kid who was up since 7:45am. She needed a nap and at times, was distracted by that. She liked it though. Pixar really pushed the envelop with the art on this one. Everything looked like a live action movie. The trees, willows and water looked so real. It was incredible. It was a nice little family outing before the girls got the long weekend.

Thursday, I had the early shift like I do every year. 6am-2pm. We were pretty steadily busy throughout the day. I just wanted the day to end so I could enjoy family time. Later, we went to my parent's and joined my sister and brother's family for Thanksgiving. It was fun. Friday, nothing too exciting. Worked at 2pm. Jill and Mia went to a cookie sale event at the hotel in Pewaukee, and later a craft fair. She got her face painted like Rudolph. It was cute.

Saturday I had the day off. Finally. We went to visit with Jill's family for their very first Thanksgiving in Wisconsin as new residents. It was great. Good food and delicious pie. Sunday morning, I got out of bed at 5:30am for the Chelsea vs Spurs match. I tried to remain quiet not to wake anyone. To my surprise, 15 minutes into the first half I heard a little voice next to me. "Daddy?" "Mia, what are you doing up so early?" "Well, I said the other day I wanted to watch the game with you" So we did. We watched the rest of the score-less first half together, as the sun was rising. It was a special morning for us. She never gets up that early and it was just her and I. by ourselves. The only thing that would have made that moment better, was if Chelsea would have scored and won. Instead, it was a draw. Mia and I went out at half time to walk Remi. I carried her shivering body in my arms as we quietly walked the dog before the start of the 2nd half. We brought him back in and she promptly decided it was time to wake up Jill. She was less than enthused to be up that early on a Sunday. Oh well.

For some reason, Chelsea started Hazard as a striker over Costa. Apparently, his attitude has been rough and JM figured Hazard could get the job done. He's an attacking midfielder that hangs on the left so it was odd they'd put him front and center. He's played the number 10 spot before but it wasn't a major improvement. Yesterday, he did alright but just couldn't find the net. Begovic was superb in the net. Fabregas, I'm ready to see leave. He didn't do squat again, and just seemed lost at times. I don't know what the January transfer window is looking like at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if he left then or at the end of the season.

This week, try to start some new art, and watch the game Saturday. Last week, I started and completed a cool graphic for The Flood that turned out real nice. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!