Short Vacation

Good evening everyone. Been a busy week. Mostly solo, but we'll get to that later. Tuesday was election. It was also Jill's day off before she was leaving for Florida with Mia and her parents and bro. After we dropped off Mia, we voted and spent the rest of the day together. Something we haven't done since before Mia. We picked up some birthday presents for my parents as well as her Dad's, had lunch and before I knew it, it was time to go to work. At work, I heard from a variety of people their thoughts on the election. A lot thought Hilary had it, but we were all wrong. Mia also had her first day of her new dance class she was recommended. She said it was difficult but she did like it. That night I found out Trump was ahead. I had to get up with the girls early Wednesday morning so I went to sleep when Hilary was gaining momentum winning Nevada.

The next morning at 3:30am, it was confirmed that a TV reality host would be the new leader of the free world. Worse than that, was that the Republicans took pretty much everything including senate and house. Terrible steps that will surely lead us into big trouble. I talked to a customer who was exclaiming his concern that 30 years ago, we should have been taking climate change more seriously, and with the new president and his administration he will pick, it'll set us back another 40 years that we as a planet can't afford. Mia cried that morning "How could Donald Trump win? He's going to be mean to all the cities!!" I explained that it's important to remain kind to one another and not say anything mean that would hurt anyones feelings. Jill's family arrived around 4:00am and they were off to Mitchell International to fly to Florida for a short little 4 days visiting Grandpa Gangier celebrating his 90th birthday. I attempted to go back to sleep but just couldn't. The thought of Trump as president sincerely kept me awake. Eventually, exhaustion settled in and I was able to get some sleep. Later, I did some art, drummed and hung out with some co-workers till 3:00am. We played Super Smash bros, had some pizza/beers and watched their favorite show Rick and Morty. It was a lot of fun even though I totally suck at Smash.

The rest of the week, I took care of my in-law's cat, designed some Torrent and IB26 stuff and worked on a lunch note drawing for Mia  with my brand new 72 pack of Prismacolor soft core pencils. These are total high end and different than I'm used to. I have to find an awesome paper that will work well. The one I used with my note was mostly alright. I think I need a heavier paper. Overall, it was fun exploring what these can do. I've got a lot to learn with techniques but the end result wasn't too bad. Saturday evening, I went to a house warming party my good friend Nichole had at her new house. I could only stay for a little while because my girls were finally coming home. 4 days doesn't seem that long, but for me, it seemed like 4 weeks. I asked Jill how she'd do if she was separate from Mia from that long and she was that far away, and she simply said "no way I could do that". I don't think people think its as hard on us Dads as we may let on.
Back to normal this week. School tomorrow. I'm off Tuesday and working early Wednesday. Mia's got her friend Charlie's birthday party this Saturday and I believe Chelsea is back from International Break this week. FINALLY.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Dance Little Girl

Good morning everyone. It was a pretty busy week so let's get right to it. Monday, I dressed up for work for Halloween. I was 80's hair metal drummer Metal Mike. It's the one holiday we can dress up (sorta) at work so I donned a black/blonde wig with aviators and had drum sticks in my back pocket.
I got all kinds of compliments and guesses who I was supposed to be. Bob Marley, Howard Stern and Ted Nugent were just a few of them.  Wednesday after school Mia and I hung out with her friend Noelle, and Noelle's sister Cora and neighbor Caitlyn. The kids had fun playing in the driveway despite the drab weather till Mia looks at me and says "Dad, I'm pretty hungry, but I REALLY want to play still". We went home. Jill and I stayed up and watched the World Series (which I can honestly say, I've never watched ever) in its entirety. She was so excited the Cubs won (despite being a White Sox fan) Jill believes in city solidarity. If a Chicago team can win a championship, she's stoked. Blackhawks, White Sox, Bears etc.

Mia had dance class Saturday. Apparently, it went really well because when we went to pick her up the woman who runs it pulled us aside and said "Okay, Mia's doing REALLY well and we want to see if she'd like to move up. She's got all of the technical skills down and I think she'd benefit from a more challenging dance group". Awesome. We had no idea what to expect when signing her up for dance or if she'd even like it. Turns out she likes it enough to be the best in class. To be fair, her group consists of 3-5 year olds but since it was her first formal dance class, we didn't know what to expect nor want to give her something she didn't feel confident doing. Starting tomorrow, she's in a new group at a different time. The reason why she's in Tuesday's dance class is because Wednesday, she's leaving for Florida with Jill and her family so it's a "make up day" for her. Hopefully it goes well and she likes it.

After dance class. we worked on the yard and raked leaves (despite the fact that on Sunday you could barely tell we even tried) Later, we drove to my parents house and Jill/Mia/my Mom went to a craft fair at HAWS while my Dad and I watched Chelsea thrash Everton 5-0. What a game. Hazard putting away two goals, Alonso gets his first and Costa adding to his already impressive list with Pedro grabbing the last one. It was a great performance showcasing confidence and pure raw talent that they so badly lacked last season. Conte is bringing the best out of these players and it makes watching every match more enjoyable when you see the players entering the pitch with their heads up high confident they'll bring home another victory.

Later, we drove to Milwaukee's First Stage Theater to watch the Goosebumps-Phantom of the Auditorium play. Mia loved it. Anything with ghosts and creepy singing, she enjoys. Afterwards, we're walking out and she says "I'm going to write and direct my own play called Shopkin: The Musical and have all of my friends star in it". Love this kid's creativity. Before the night ended, she completed a few sheets of homework before calling it a night. Sunday, we cleaned some of the garage before I went to work. Jill went to her parent's house and made her first batch of macaroons. She wasn't too happy with the final result so she'll have some tweaking to do with the recipe.

This week is a busy one. Tomorrow, Mia's got her last day of school and first day of her new dance class before she leaves for Florida early Wednesday morning. They'll return to Wisconsin Saturday evening. My plan is to do a lot of art, organize Mia's play area and make the most of the time. Saturday my friend is having a housewarming party so I'll probably stop over. Going to miss my girls. This is the first time she's ever flown without me.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Halloween Weekend (Blah bla blahhhhhhh)

Afternoon everyone. Quite the busy end to October with a short week for the diva (she was off Friday). Wednesday was her first conference at her new school. Her teacher praised her skills, she's in a higher level of reading group and has conquered 59 sight words. I was quite amazed as she told me all of these amazing skills. We had other grounds to cover, regarding her recent issues with a friend, playing "too rough". Mia was reminded to tell the teacher if anyone gets out of line and hurts her. Hopefully the problem is solved.

Saturday was a busy one. Dance class was first. After we picked her up, we jetted to Madison to meet with Jill's family to stroll the Botanical Gardens. Gorgeous weather made the walk oh so enjoyable. We grabbed some lunch before changing into costumes for Mia's boy, Trey's Halloween Party. The adults packed up the beer coolers full of jello shots, drunken gummies and brews and we were on our way.  It was a lot of fun walking around East Troy with this large group of kids and adults. Some houses even handed out shots to the adults. Awesome! Towards the end of the trick or treat session, I volunteered to pull the wagon with some kids in it up and down the hills. I don't know what the capacity of children for this particular wagon was, but they somehow squeezed 5 kids in it totaling the combined weight to about 250 pounds (not counting the candy). The task was difficult at times, but the kids had fun as I charged the hills thinking "WHY THE HELL AM I RUNNING??"

After wards, we ate, watched some of the baseball game and were outta there. Mia had SO much fun running around with her old preschool friends and fell fast asleep on the 30 minute ride home.

Sunday morning was an early one for me. Worked 6am-2pm so I could go with Mia and the gang trick or treating in New Berlin. Chelsea beat Southhampton while I was at work 2-0 and are back in 2nd place. We met up with my brother/sis-in-law and their kids with his bro in laws girlfriend. My in laws joined us as well. The kids had a blast. The weather wasn't as warm but they didn't seem to mind. After wards, they went home and we had spaghetti. Mia went to bed and Jill and I watched the Cubs/Indians game. I've never seen her more into a game. Probably because the game was so close.

Last night I completed my month of spooky lunch notes for Mia. Back to normal for November. I ran out of time today to draw for her so I'll have to come up with something today. This weekend, we've got the Goosebumps play we're going to so that should be pretty fun. Other than that, that's about it. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

Trick or Treatment

Good morning ghouls. Getting closer to Halloween and I've been successfully drawing up Mia's daily lunch notes in spooky themes throughout the month. My favorite so far as been my Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas. It's tricky working with negative space, but this one turned out really well. Wednesday was a beautiful day, so Mia and her friends met up at the park and got to play for a few hours. We ironically ran into her old friends Hannah and Gracie so all of them played together. Later that night I was lucky to witness something beautiful. I was fortunate to be present at the table watching Mia read aloud a book. It was the most beautiful thing that I don't think non parents can understand. She used to be this tiny kid trying to walk and make sentences. Now, she's comfortable reading sentences.  It honestly blew me away. I love watching her grow and get smarter. Thankfully, Jill has been working with her since the Summer with the technical aspects of reading so she's really polished Mia into this intelligent student while I'm stuck at work and the hard work shows. I've seen Mia get frustrated with work books over the Summer, but she has yet to get upset reading. It's beautiful.

Over the weekend, Mia had her dance class in the morning (as usual) which was fun. Later, we trick or treated at the zoo. She dressed up in matching unicorn costumes with Jill. The weather was gorgeous and she probably could have gotten away with her Draculaura costume. Later, we trick or treated the businesses in Delafield. We brought Remi who was dressed like a pirate. The kids loved him and everyone wanted to pet our dashing dog. Next year however, we won't bring him. It was a bit stressful and tough to walk at times. They moved the pumpkin lighting to a very tight area, so Jill and Mia wandered over there and I hung out with Remi on the opposite side of the street. He graciously excepted the pets and kisses.

Sunday, I watched one of the best matches of the season. Chelsea destroyed rivals Man U at the Bridge 4-0. FINALLY a game I could watch. Pedro opened up the assault at the .30 second mark and the goals just kept coming with Cahill, Hazard and Kante all getting on the board. Later, we went to lunch at Jill's parents house with her Aunt/Uncle that drove from Sun Prairie before I worked till 10pm. Busy week this week. I've got conferences with Mia's teacher Wed after school, she's got a Fall party on Thursday and she's off Friday. Saturday, dance class, then visiting Tommy in Madison, THEN we have her boyfriend's Halloween party. Trick or Treating in New Berlin is Sunday. Phew.
Have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading!

The Epic Halloween Party

Good morning everyone. Still recovering from the rather insanely busy week we had. The majority of the week, we spent preparing for Mia's Halloween party on Saturday. On top of that, work has been busy for both Jill and I so the stress level was high. Drawing up signs, making treats and trying to figure out who was coming was getting to us.  By the end of the week, we were ready to go on this party. Mia would ask every morning "IS IT SATURDAY YET??" Saturday morning I got up very early to watch Chelsea take on the EPL Champs Leicester. We prevailed with a 3-0 win, but I saw NONE of it. The NBCSN site wasn't working and I couldn't watch anything. I tried everything. I eventually settled for the audio and tuned in that way, but I seriously need to figure out why it wasn't working. They play this Saturday again and this time I have to watch.

Mia had her dance class,which was a lot of fun. When she got home, we started preparing for the party. My parents and Jill's played a huge role in helping out. We couldn't have done it without them and absolutely appreciate everything they did. Mia got in her costume, Jill and I got in our vampire attire and the party was running as soon as Irianna, the first one to arrive, showed up. Roughly 25+ kids were running all over the back yard playing the wide variety of different games we had. We had kids painting pumpkins, wrapping up friends like mummies and knocking down ghost-cups before all running at once to get some tasty food. The kids lined up for the flashlight hunt. 1...2...3....GO! They took off. One by one they all packed up their goody bags and slowly started heading out. Her last couple of friends stayed till about 8 watching part of a spooky movie. Overall, the event was incredibly fun. All the kids had a blast and she got to see some old pre school pals she hasn't hung out with in a long time. We are casually thinking about doing a "girls night" where her friends can hang out, watch movies and eat treats (more like, 4-5 friends) but if we do it, it won't be for quite a while. It's fun hosting parties. This was absolutely the biggest one. We met a lot of parents. (one dropped her kid off and picked her up later) and it was awesome catching up with some of the parents from her preschool. At the end of the night, Mia said "Wow...THIS was a lot of fun guys!" It's nice being able to do something like this for her and I hope she appreciated all the hard work that went into it.

Sunday was recovery day for us. Started taking down things, putting this back and that back. Mia and Jill later went to the pumpkin patch to get a small pumpkin to carve when we get closer to Halloween. This week, I've got a lot of Torrent work to do, and my usual art for Mia's lunch notes. I've been working on some Halloween-inspired ones to keep things fun and spooky. Not sure what the weekend holds for us.

Thanks for reading!

Short Week For Short People

Good evening. So it was a rather short week for Mia at school. The kids at Orchard Lane were granted two days off for teacher inservice or something but come Tuesday night, she wasn't feeling well. I got home from work and Jill said she was dizzy and had a fever. Poor girl. Wednesday we tried to wake her despite having a crappy night sleeping. We ended up letting her sleep in hopes the rest would help her out. After Jill left for work, Mia woke up feeling a little better. She didn't make it to school, however we did have a little adventure together.

Since she was feeling better and eating some food, we took it upon ourselves to surprise Jill. Wednesday apparently marked 16 years since her favorite show Gilmore Girls aired. Jill has been an avid fan since before I met her. She has watched every single episode dozens of times. Can quote it by heart, has researched some of the references etc etc. Netflix is doing a short one-off series based on Gilmore Girls with the same characters and they redecorated 200 different cafes across the country. Two of the 200 cafe locations were in Milwaukee, where they were handing out free coffee to the first 250 people that came. I asked Mia few times if she'd like to go and get Mommy a special coffee with Luke's on it (one of the characters). She really liked the idea of surprising Mommy, so we packed some food and headed out. We knew there would be lines so I made sure she had something to do. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, we talked to some of the people in front of us who thought getting Jill coffee was really sweet. They had Luke's signs on the building and employees dressed up. It was pretty nice. The fans were smiling with their coffee, headed back to school or work. Mia felt so glad she could be a part of this and she couldn't wait to bring the brew in to Jill at work. I personally never got into the show, but I know that it's a big part of Jill's life so I knew I had to get her something special.

After school let out, we took Remi for a walk by the bus stop where her friend Noelle gets out. She was glad to see Mia because she missed her at school. "Charlie said you were sick today Mia!" I'm glad throughout the day she felt better. It was only Wednesday and she was worried she'd miss dance on Saturday morning. She had a great day at dance and we spent the majority of our Saturday doing some yard work, cleaning the house and getting ready for the big Halloween party. Later, Jill went out with some former co workers so Mia and I visited Grandpa and Grandma whom she hadn't seen for about a week. She helped decorate their house for the spooky holiday. We left after 9:00pm and Mia fell asleep instantly in the car. I spent the rest of the evening looking up ideas to draw her for the week. Sunday, we rearranged the basement. My drums are now on the opposite side and Mia has a bigger area to set up toys and play. After the party, we're going to use a long table for her stuff. Chelsea had an international break this week and are back in action early Saturday morning. Hopefully I can watch some of it.

Busy busy week this week getting everything ready so it'll probably go fast. Thanks for reading!

The Dancing Divas

Good morning. Well, we got through the first month of a very busy school year so far with Mia. She's loving it way more than when she started. New friends, new things to learn about and a whole new routine are keeping her (and us) quite busy. During this month, I've successfully drawn her 22 different lunch note pictures every day. I hope to continue it as long as possible. It takes a great deal of time planning on what I'm going to do, but the end result is usually pretty positive.

Wednesday was Mia's first play date with a friend from kindergarten. She was super stoked to hang out with Noelle, who lives very close to our house. She lives so close that Mia rode her big wheels to her house. As soon as we got home from school, she could barely contain herself to hang out with her friend. She ate an after school snack quick and by 4:30, we were rolling to her friend's house. As soon as her friend saw us by their cul de sac, Noelle went RUNNING down yelling "MIA!!!" she showed us that she had written "Mia" several times on a sign and taped it to her door so Mia knew which house was hers. She was super sweet and her parents were just as nice. The girls played in the semi-cold weather and if they could, they would have played all night. 

Friday, I worked a very rare early shift. 6am-2pm. Trying to go to bed early Thursday night proved to be a difficult task. Between eating food and cleaning the kitchen, it was a struggle but the morning shift went super fast. I kept thinking about how I haven't seen Mia since Thursday morning when I took her to school and how stoked I was to get to pick her up later. When Jill got home, we had "breakfast for dinner" which consisted of pancakes, eggs and hash browns. Mia changed into a dress and we walked across the street to her school's dance party. I tell you, it was LOUD with about 120 kids singing to the DJ's Top 40 music. It was almost too much for Mia at first. We met her other awesome friend, Charlie and her parents. They too, were very nice and her friend is such a sweetheart. "I LOVE YOUR OUTFIT MIA!" Her and fellow classmate Ellarose kept trying to get Mia to dance and be silly, but she just wouldn't do it. Before I had to leave for Ian Bennett's launch party, Mia started to be more independent and hanging with her friends. I later learned that she eventually started dancing with the girls. "Dad, my heart kept beating loudly during the music!" She had such a fun time and it was nice to meet some more friends of hers. 

The IB26 launch party was a lot of fun. Very small bar but Ian hooked me up with some drinks. Very proud of him and his hard work. The banners I helped design turned out incredible and he's already got ideas for his next photos he'll need me for. It's fun doing different projects for Ian and I get to keep my design skills sharp, which is always a plus. Saturday morning, Jill had to work and Mia had dance class. I wasn't sure if the diva would want to go since she had hurt her head. She woke up. not feeling the best about going, but she put on her rights, I did about 3 or 4 tries at her dancer bun and she got to dance class. I went home, watched most of the first half of the Chelsea vs Hull City game before picking her up. She came out excited and immediately said "Daddy, I'm glad I went to class". They learned about counting steps with tap shoes and she absolutely loved it. We came home and watched Chelsea beat Hull City 2-0. Great to see the Blues getting all three points, even if it was against a sub par team. They have an international break and won't play next till Mia's Halloween Party.

Later, we picked up costumes for the Halloween party and went to the China lights exhibit at the Botanical Gardens. Absolutely worth it. Even in the crappy weather, the lights were spectacular. Mia was confused thinking "so do we just DRIVE through?" They had a really good turn out for their opening weekend and if you're in the area, I highly recommend checking them out.

Sunday, we did a little cleaning before they went to Jill's parent's house to celebrate Tommy's birthday.

This week, art, designing and more preparations for the party. That's all for now, Thanks for reading!