Believe

Good evening everyone. Going to try to make this a quick one. Getting a late start on the blog so bare with me. This week was the "week from hell" from me. 6 days straight of late-shifts till 10. I especially wasn't digging it because it meant I'd only see Mia an hour a day which was to get her ready for school. We hardly get a lot of time to talk in that time and by the time I see her the following day, asking her "how was school" usually gets responded with "I dunno, I forgot." I had told myself "If a survive the week, I'll go to lunch with Mia on Friday" so with that, I surprised her on Friday by lunch time. She totally didn't see that one coming and was stoked I surprised her. We ate lunch with all her crazy friends and had a good time.

One of the things I noticed first hand is how hard it is for her to hang out with a particular friend for recess. If she wants to hang with Cecilia, Charlie or Vida or (insert friend here) want to hang out but don't necessarily want to do what another friend wants to do. Because Mia's such a kind kid, she has a hard time telling one friend she doesn't want to hang out with them for the day because she doesn't want to hurt anyones feelings. She ended up doing a jump rope contest with Vida, Leilani and Charlie for a little bit. Charlie didn't really care for the whole jump rope thing and wanted to play fairies with Mia but Mia was preoccupied with whatever Vida wanted her to do. I could tell Mia was torn between several friends wanting her attention. Poor kid. Eventually when it was time to go, Charlie quietly told Mia how she misses when they would just play together. She's been having issues missing her Mom at school and I think could have used a friend to distract her. Recess is always a part of my lunch time visit I loath because I see how hard it can be on her and friends when they want to all play together, but end up struggling to find things to do. She gave me huge hugs before I left and quietly asked "can you PLEASE ask Mrs Mayer if you could give our class art lessons? She wasn't the only kid begging for that. I had at least 3 of her friends asking the same thing so of course I asked so she'll figure out a good time to do it. I have to figure out what exactly I want to teach. :P

This week was difficult with myself doubting I'll ever get out of KT and into a job I thrive creatively but to hear the sincere requests just to have me come and teach art made me feel better. I've been updating my resume as well as my online portfolio in hopes of possibly getting something new in 2019. I need a job that allows me to be home in the evenings with Mia. I've gone too long working 2nd shift. I'm very grateful that I had the opportunity to hold a job at night so my parents (and later Jill's) could help with Mia. She's at a good age where I should be able to switch a career so I can spend more time with the family. Mia ultimately would be happier if I could be around more too. I truly believe that I can find a new career in 2019 and will have to work really hard to get the job I so very want and deserve.

Friday night she waited up for me which was super nice. Saturday, I watched Chelsea pull off the miracle of the season (so far) beating Man City 2-0. Earlier in the week they lost to the Wolves which really was pretty lousy. I didn't even want to watch the highlights, they were that bad. Somehow Kante and Luiz pulled out two great goals to give City their first loss of the seasons. Unbelievable. We spent the majority of the day working on the kitchen and have a little bit more to do. Getting so close.

Sunday, we drove to Jill's friend Heather's house to bake and decorate cookies with all the kids. I went to work shortly after the kids started to decorate but from what Jill said when I got home tonight, Mia had the BEST time. Arabella really enjoys spending time with Mia and she's pretty chill so Mia always enjoys her.

This week, I will continue my quest for a snowboard for myself. Almost found one on the FB Marketplace but discovered it's an all-mountain board and I need a freestyle board for park riding. Jill and I have an art meeting after school Thursday to hammer out any more details we need for the art gala night at OL. Awesome! That's all for now thanks for reading!

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.