End of 2017, Hello 2018

Good morning/afternoon everyone. I only say that because I'll probably finish this literally after noon.  2017 comes to a close today with a lot of great highlights and lowlights to discuss, but first, the week we had. It was an unfortunately quiet week as far as Mia's break. Due to the cold temps (couldn't go tubing/sledding) and Jill not feeling the best, we didn't do a lot. It was the first time ever since Jill and I have been together that her and Mia didn't go anywhere for the break. We saw Ferdinand on Wednesday evening. It was pretty cute and I'll probably not have any reason to watch it again. Chelsea played Stoke and destroyed them 5-0. Great win and fantastic to see them fighting hard to get into 2nd place which will be a great position to start in for 2018.

 Later, We took our very disgusting Remi to get washed up. He hasn't had a bath in such a long time and we couldn't stand the smell anymore. Now he's super fluffy and smells great. Jill went to acupuncture while Remi and I watched Man U draw Southampton with my Dad. Jill's parents stopped over later at our house and we had some dinner before Mia decided to have a sleepover by her Grandparents. After dinner, she packed up her bag and was on her way. I drew for her lunch note when she returns to school while Jill watched Netflix till we went to sleep.

As we continue to wait for Mia to come home (maybe I'll see her before I go to work) I'm going to highlight 2017's highs and lows. Here we go:

2017 was a pretty exciting year for us. Despite the biggest idiot on the planet making president, Mia had an awesome year. She completed Kindergarten and started 1st grade. The amount of friends she's made is amazing. Mia had her very first dance recital. She did great and didn't get nervous. Over the Summer, she had her first ever sleepovers at both Cecilia's house and Noelle's house. She's always been nervous about the whole process but when it comes to the actual sleepover, she really loves it. Both are great friends of hers. Mia played on the New Berlin Lightning soccer team that I helped coach. That's probably my biggest highlight of the year (with a close second Chelsea winning the league). Coaching was a complete joy for me. Lots of hard work went into this and I'm super proud of Mia, myself and the team I coached. The parents were great in helping with snacks as well. Mia can't wait to start again in the Fall and hopes to score a goal next season. One of the other exciting things I got to do was teach a 2nd grade class of kids some drawing techniques. The whole class was great and it was a lot of fun. I didn't realize till then that I love teaching art to kids and hope to do it again soon.

Despite not having an interest in learning how to ride her bike, Mia taught herself how to ride a scooter.  Her determination to blaze down sidewalks and hills on it has sparked her interest in teaching herself how to skateboard next year. The last bit of Summer, she would try to do it and she has the general motion for pushing herself but holds my hand. My board's bearings aren't the best (the board is probably 16+ years old) so I promised her when she can push herself on her own, I'll buy her a board for herself that's custom to her specifications. Mia's completely out of Frozen and has moved on to Star Wars and Harry Potter.

We had some great trips and adventures as well. We took a day trip to the Brookfield Zoo, plenty of trips and art classes for Mia at the Milwaukee County Zoo, took Mia to a Torrent game and went ice skating in a suburb of Chicago with friends on Christmas Eve. Some low moments: Remi has had some injuries. Ripped at two different times his dew claw. The worst so far has been the hotspots on his paw. He's trying to recover and we're going on about a month so far with the cone-of-shame. I sincerely hope it improves because its been hella stressful for me to keep coming home from work to see him bloody and gross.

I'm becoming more recognized for my art (specifically in Mia's school) and may have some opportunities in 2018 to do more teaching at her school and possibly others. I did some commission work in design and need to re-evaluate how I price my hours and make more money. Totally low-balled myself on my most recent one.

In 2018, we've got some exciting things going on. January, I'm taking Mia, Cecilia and Jill to their first Wave game. June, I'll hit 20 years with Kwik Trip. Way more then I planned to stick around but the long sentence will reward me with a paid month sabbatical. We're doing our major trip to CA/Hawai'i which clearly will be the most exciting part of the year. I've got plenty of Torrent games to go to and hope to take Mia as well. Mia's excited to turn 7 (oh my God..) and wants to do another fun birthday party with her friends.

That's all for now. Working 2-10 tonight. Stay safe, don't drink and drive and thanks for reading!

Friend Reunion

Good afternoon everyone. Hope you're enjoying Summer. Wednesday, Mia went to a 1st Grader Party at the park with all of her old friends from the Kindergarten, and some other kids from the other Kindergarten class. Maybe 25 kids total. It was an adorable reunion for the kids screaming in excitement every time someone they haven't seen in a long time showed up. Mia ran around for about an hour+ before getting tired and wanting to head home. All of her friends liked her dark purple hair. We may meet up with some friends this week, pending on weather. Friday, we WON tickets to a Wave game! I had submitted an idea for a theme night and our idea, along with 4 other people's that had similar concepts won so we scored 4 free tickets. Mia and Jill both have never been to a Wave game so I think it'll be fun.

Saturday, Jill's friend Leanne came to town, so we took her and Remi to the beach. Mia had fun playing in the sand and water. I hung out with Remi watching this old timer body paint random beach-goers. A lot of people would come by and ask to pet Remi. Of course his wagging tail showed them "no, please go away".

Later, Jill and Leanne went off to a winery and shopping while Mia and I had the afternoon to ourselves. She took a bath, watched a movie and made an attempt to skateboard. yes, skateboard. This kid doesn't want to ride her own bike but insisted she learn how to skate. She held my hand with a lot of grip while making her first few pushes. She figured out proper foot placement to secure optimal balance and while still holding my hand, the grip loosened and she was a bit more comfortable. She hasn't pushed solo but she really liked skating. When she was on her scooter that day, I had told her learning how to scooter will help her with skateboarding and bike riding and she answered with "why don't I just try skateboarding?" It was a fun little experience that she felt pretty proud of.

We later did some chalk drawing before watching Big Hero 6 and had pizza. Sunday, I got up extra early to watch the Chelsea vs Arsenal match for the Community Shield. We netted a goal early in the 2nd half but after red card, we went down a man and Arsenal equalized it later in the 2nd half. The game went to PK's and we lost. Lots to work on this season if we want to finish top 4. I'll be missing quite a bit of the Sept-Oct matches due to my coaching responsibilities but it'll be worth it.  Jill, Mia and Leanne are at the Milwaukee Public Museum and later may go to the studio for a project.

This week, nothing in the books but we may hang out with friends. Remi's got a vet appt on Wednesday but that's about it. Thanks for reading!