Birthday Beauty

Today is Mia's 6th BIRTHDAY! But...before we get to that, much to cover from the week. I had some random days off including Monday (for some reason) so Mia and I spent the first day of Spring hanging with her neighbor friend and classmate Noelle. We also brought Remi along with us so Noelle's dog Daisy and Remi ran around their fenced in yard. It was cute. They just chased each other all over the place and had a blast. She tuckered Remi out a few times. All in all, everyone had fun.

Wednesday after school. Mia wanted to do some drumming. She can just about reach the bass drum pedal. I think then next time she wants to play, I'll lower things so she can reach them a bit more comfortably. She can rotate sticks in between beats like a pro when she's playing the lower tom. "Dad, can you teach me something new on drums?" was probably the coolest thing she's said lately. Next time, we'll try something new and fun.

Saturday was her birthday party with family, but first was dance class. She had a great class and they had a demo of some dance moves from older kids. Mia was pretty impressed. Later, family came over and we celebrated her birthday. She got lots of great gifts and enjoyed spending time with her family. Her Grandpa Chicago and I had to build this big Monster High play set of the catacombs in her room. Took about an hour but it was worth it since Mia absolutely loves it. Another gift she's been really enjoying is this Hello Kitty Instmax style camera that prints out photos immediately. She's got about 25 pictures on the wall of her room. Her Grandpa Grumpy bought her 4 small containers of butter because apparently thats all she asked from him and today, Mia's wearing this beautiful dress she got from her Auntie Ashley and Uncle Zombie. After Mia fell asleep Saturday, Jill and I stayed up and binged Skin Wars on Netflix. That show is pretty fascinating.

Sunday I took off, and we spent some of the day cleaning and Mia spent it playing with new toys and such. Jill's parents came over for dinner since Mia wanted to stay in tank top and shorts and not leave the house. Eventually, the diva went to sleep and I spent the rest of the night drawing her picture while Jill did some photo work.

Today, I took off and will be joining Mia for lunch. Jill secretly is getting out early so she can walk over with me to meet up with Mia for some birthday fun. We love our little diva and are fortunate that we'll get to spend time with her today. It's hard to believe for us that she's already 6. She's grown so much in a short amount of time. Between 5-6, she's learned amazing things. She can write really well,  she doesn't have the stage fright she used to get, her art is beautiful and she writes the best stories. I think the most amazing thing, is that she she learned how to make friends. This may seem simple but think about that. You send your kid into a new school where they know almost no one. They walk into a class room full of 20 kids and they have to figure out who do they have something in common with. Mia made so many friends since starting Kindergarten in the Fall that to this day, impresses me. It could be as simple as finding people that are into the same things you're into, but it's still interesting to me. Mia's still in love with a boy from her 4K class, Trey. She talks about him every day and how she'l marry him one day. With all the great things she does and has done, she still has her diva moments and we have little battles. It's not all sunshine and cupcake here. Sometimes the battle is about clothes, going to bed/getting up or toys. Ugh. I'm hoping at 6 years old, she'll figure out tying her shoes and/or riding a bike with two wheels since they're two goals she'd like to accomplish.

This week, we'll be getting ready for Mia's 2nd and last birthday party. This one's with friends so it should be fun and crazy with a bunch of girls running around the house. Hopefully they'll have fun. I'm sure Mia will want to take pictures with all of them with her new camera. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Sushi for Divas

Good evening everyone. Hope you got to enjoy the week. It started a bit rough with some snow that we haven't seen since before Christmas! I don't exactly remember our total snow fall, but it was enough for the kids to enjoy at recess. It was a rare moment for me not to care that much about my drive home. Mostly because the snow wasn't sticking much and I had new tires that I was curious how they would do in the lousy weather. They were supposed to be better for the Winter and did just fine.

I missed the Man U/Chelsea match for the FA Cup quarter finals (Blues successfully won). Wednesday, Jill had to teach a photography class at her new studio space so she'd be home late. With that, Mia and I decided to visit her after school so she'd get a little time with the diva before she'd see her awake the next morning. It was difficult for Jill and I do feel bad for her. She was lucky that I was able to come over so she'd get to see Mia. I would see her go to school at 8:30am and not see her awake again till the next morning. It's tough for me, and I know it was tough for Jill. We love our little girl very much and enjoy the time with her that we can. I made Mia apparently the best grilled cheese sandwich ever for dinner, we did homework, picked out her outfit for the next day and read before bedtime. She read a story front to back with zero problems. It always impresses me how she can just pick up a book and read it. She's already passed the level most Kindergartners are at so that's amazing.

Friday was St. Patrick's Day. The leprechaun that came to visit our house gave Mia a little scavenger hunt to find little treats for her. Mia was super excited because she'd get to dress in greens and do her hair fun. Friday evening, Jill's BFF Leanne drove in from Illinois. I came home from work to all three girls sleepy and Mia playing a smaller version of Connect 4. It's a new favorite game apparently and she's really good at it.

Saturday, she had dance. Jill and Leanne took her while I got to watch the Chelsea vs Stoke match. Haven't been able to watch a Chelsea game in weeks due to schedule conflicts. Great win 2-1. Stoke was hacking players left and right and Hazard didn't even play (calf injury). Another crucial 3 points added to our total further separating us from the pack. Later, we went out for lunch to this great sushi place neither of us have been to. Mia apparently have had dumplings before elsewhere so Jill ordered that. The rest of us had a plethora of different dishes from their All-You-Can-Eat lunch menu for $16. Great value if you use it correctly. I had ordered a few different rolls that were fantastic. One of Jill's was called a Flying Fish Roe. For some odd reason, Mia wanted to try it. So she did. She honestly loved the little fish eggs in the sushi! She'd even say in a dark way "goodbye baby Nemo's" as she'd take a chopstick full of them and drop them on her tongue. Creepy kid. Still shocked that she really liked it and she said she was going to brag to her friends she had sushi. Later, we met up with Jill's parents, her brother and my Mom for the much anticipated Beauty and the Beast!

This has been a classic for so long so the build up to "will this be as bad as Cinderella was" was a big nerve wrecking. We couldn't have been more wrong. The movie was amazing. The music was perfect. Even the new songs they added (just two) and the characters were great. I've been seeing some press and bitchy parents complaining about what could be a "gay" couple of scenes between Gaston and his sidekick. It's a total bromance if anything, really. So what if Josh Gadd made his character homosexual. They're on screen chemistry was great and had plenty of laughs from the kids. No reason to be a prude and boycott a classic movie turned live-action. Mia absolutely loved this and it was so refreshing to see it in live-action.

Later, Jill, Leanne and Tommy went out for drinks so Mia and I stayed home. We wrapped a gift for Mia's friend Ryan's party Sunday and went to bed shortly after. The diva was pretty tired.
Today, we went to Good Harvest for breakfast. Super tasty. Mia went to her friend Ryan's party shortly after and from what Jill told me tonight after work, she had a lot of fun.

This week is a bit weird. Off tomorrow (with a store meeting in the morning), Off Wed and Thursday and I have the weekend off for Mia's family birthday party. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Sales for Tails

Greetings everyone. Looks like we're not quite out of Winter yet. Most of the week, we had colder temps which doesn't make walking Mia to school or the dog fun, but what can you do, its March and Wisconsin. Wednesday we got Moana so Mia immediately wanted to watch it. Such a good movie and I hope her friends like it for her Movie Night themed birthday party. Saturday morning, she had dance class followed by a women's clothing event at Jill's studio. Mia set up her Mia's Fashion Jewelry Boutique at the event selling hand-made necklaces and all her profits benefited the local animal shelter. Such a sweetheart. Always doing her part to help the animals. The event went alright and she made a little bit of money, however I think she'll sell a lot more this week. I've got several people wanting to buy pieces of her collection so it'll be a busy week trying to get all of that in order. She would get bored throughout the event because she wasn't as busy as she hoped.

We had kind of a chill rest of the night considering we were up pretty early Saturday and Friday night Jill and I were up late getting the pieces together so the girls pretty much crashed around 10pm. I stayed up and drew Mia's picture.

Sunday, we got some items for Mia's birthday party for the gift bags so we're in good shape in that department. They cleaned the rest of the day and went shopping for a friend of Mia's that's having a birthday party this coming weekend while I was at work.

The drive home last night wasn't that bad, but I got off the freeway when I saw an accident and took the long way home. I do have to say, its great having new tires that specialize in this kind of crap. Definitely made me feel better going routes that would normally give me trouble.

This week, nothing major going on. St Paddy's Day is Friday so Mia's got some cute outfit and accessories she wants to wear. Saturday, we're going to go see the new Beauty and the Beast.  Sunday, she has her friend Ryan's birthday party so that will be fun.  Today, I'm missing the Chelsea vs Man U FA Cup match. Should be a really good game considering Man U is going to be missing several star players and the last time we met, we destroyed them.

That's all for now. Drive safe and thanks for reading!

Another Week, Another Performance

Good morning everyone. MY was it a busy busy week. Most of the week I was off (including the weekend!) YAY! I had some mandatory vacation hours to burn or else they'd be gone, so I worked Monday and took the rest of the week off till Friday. Tuesday, Jill picked up some paczkis from the nearby bakery. Huge lines but she got a dozen. Right away, she wasn't super impressed. Mia liked the raspberry ones. It was nice to be away from work most of the week. Wednesday, I went to Jill's studio to help out with any lifting or moving around heavy things for a few hours. Thursday was Mia's performance with the classes at the Journey into the Arts program. Her school hired a couple of singer/songwriters to help write songs with the kids and perform them for their parents and family. The kids had TWO shows Thursday night. I volunteered to help out with the first one.

 My existence at the show to help out was plain pointless. They told me to help with "crowd control" with a class. So naturally, I stood with Mia's for a little while. I had to take a kid to the bathroom at one point but that was about it. The woman in charge then told me to wait in the wing and help escort kids on and off the stage. Okay that's simple enough. No. The teachers were getting the kids on and off stage and onto the risers. I just stood there like an idiot and completely felt out of place. Not planning to volunteer again for a school-wide event like that unless its something more direct like "tickets" or something. Anyways, Mia and all of the kids performed very well. Her class did two songs. Most of the other grades did one each. It was amazing. By the end of the 2nd performance, she was so tired and ready to go home.

Friday she was off from school so in the morning, we had scheduled a photo session with Ian Bennett and some of his Wave players at Brookfield Indoor. He texted me that he was going to release his 2nd collection of clothes and apparel and wanted new images. Awesome. So, Mia watched and I spend about 10-15 minutes photographing him and two other players in some new gear. We left and went home where she was bouncing off the wall with energy. Turns out, her friend who lives down the street had some friends over so Mia immediately wanted to run over and play with them. Luckily, her Mom said it was okay so they played for about an hour before Mia's grandparents came over to watch her when I had to leave for work again.

Saturday, she had dance and later, we went over to my parents to help celebrate my Mom's retirement from work. Mia chased the cousins around most of the time. They had a lot of fun :) Later, I had a Milwaukee Torrent supporters meeting.  Great turn out comparing to the previous year. We had some new faces that were passionate about having a team here and wanted to get as involved as possible. Great!

Sunday, Jill drove to Fond Du Lac for a baby shower so Mia and I drove to my parents to go play at the park. Later, we met up with Jill and went to her parents for their weekly Sunday dinner. Uncle Tommy also attended so Mia was pretty excited to see him.

All in all, busy but fun weekend. Mia was totally excited to see her costume for her big dance recital and we made the most of the time together. This week, nothing major going on. We'll probably do her balloon photo soon for her upcoming 6th birthday. Chelsea plays today (which I'll miss) Thanks for reading!

The Singing Diva

Good evening everyone! Great week for the most part. Not a bad weekend. We had some bizarre February weather with 60s-near 70's up to Wednesday! It was unreal! When Mia got out of school, we immediately got home, she went to the bathroom and we hit up the park. Normally, we'd just go to the park but from incidents in the past, the park bathrooms have been locked during the Winter months. Anyways, so we took Remi for a walk and she ran into her classmate and boy-next-door Max at the park. The kids ran around and enjoyed what would be the very last day of the warm weather.

Friday, I took the day off so that later, Myself, Jill and both sets of Mia's Grandparents could watch her perform and sing at the Kindergarten Friendship Concert. There were 3 classes of kids. 20+22 each. They all sounded great and the songs were adorable. As far as Mia, she sang her little heart out. Did all the motions, and had an awesome time. We were all so proud of her. She's really come a long way from 3K when she refused to sing to now in Kindergarten singing in front of a much larger group.

Later, we all went out to MOD pizza for some much deserved food. Saturday, Jill had acupuncture after a few hard weeks of manual labor at the new studio space. I took Mia to and from dance in between the Chelsea vs Swansea game only really catching about maybe 10 minutes total of the match. We won 3-1 grabbing an important 3 points giving us a 10 point lead over the Spurs. Later, we did some grocery shopping, had a very late lunch and watched the Penguins vs Flyers game. Another great game and win for the good guys. This was probably the first game I've been able to watch all season. Not surprising since most of the games are at night when I'm at work :( Mia even watched the game despite claiming to be a Hawks fan since Jill is. Psfff. Always, after the match, she passed out on the couch. I took her up to her room and drew till about 1am. I had to finish a rather difficult lunch note of Princess Poppy from Trolls. Don't think I'm drawing anymore. To blend the pinks is just super difficult. I need to get better at my soft Prismacolor pencils. It's difficult. I struggled with my drawing last week of Disgust. I used normal pencils on Poppy. I think for the most part it turned out okay. Earlier in the afternoon, we visited Mia's friends selling Girl Scout cookies at the local Pick N Save. Mia's addicted to the Lemonade ones and Jill got the coconut chocolate ones for herself.

Today, didn't do much. Jill and Mia went to my sister in law's clothing event. I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen. Mia called me before I left for work to excitingly say that she's lost her 4th tooth! She now has two missing up top giving her that authentic hockey mouth look. It's crazy. She'll be super excited to show her friend Charlie her missing tooth because she has the same two missing up top as well. It'll be funny.


This week's a weird one. I work tomorrow and then I'm off for three days in a row. I've got a lot of vacation to burn up so I'm using two days this week in that. Thursday I took off for a different reason: I'm volunteering at the Journey to the Arts program at her school. I'll be working back stage during the performance and helping get the kids ready for whatever it is they're doing. I'm sort of in the dark about everything so I'll find out this week what I've got to do.

That's it for now, thanks for reading!

Daddy/Daughter Day

Good morning everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the fantastic weather (if you're in the Midwest area) It was a busy week per the usual. I was off Tuesday and helped out at Mia's Valentine's Day party. It was my first party at her school to help out at. The kids were really good (I heard at the Christmas one they were crazy) I had groups of 4-5 at a time decorating cookies with frosting, icing and candied eyeballs. Yes, eyeballs. All of the kids used them. Total big hit. All of the parents that volunteered had different stations. Mine sort of was the trickiest because most of the kids were taking their time with decorating their custom cookies. Some ate them instantly. Others saved to eat/show their parents later. Mia saved hers. After I cleaned up the mess, the kids played hot potato before heading out for the day. Mia loved all of the different valentines she got. I had picked up a 4-pack of brownies for Jill for the holiday. She loved them.

Wednesday, I bought some new tires for my car. Probably didn't need to spend the amount that I did, but thankfully I've got a rebate card coming :) Mia came home from school with a thank you picture from her friend Noelle that I drew the dragon picture for. So sweet. Saturday morning was dance class. Jill and I dropped her off and Jill left soon for Schaumburg to hang out with her BFF's for the day. Mia and I went to the park after dance and had a picnic. After we came home, she went to her friend Noelle's house to hang out and play outside with her, her sister and the neighbor girl Mia frequently plays with at recess. They played for a couple hours before Mia and I got ready for our date night. We went to Applebee's for dinner followed by Lego Batman. Great dinner (despite the lousy service) and awesome movie. It was really nice having this time with her over the weekend while Jill got to hang out with friends that don't live in the area anymore. Sunday, we went to the park again but this time with Mommy and not Remi. I missed the Chelsea vs Wolverhampton match Saturday due to my promise to hang out with Mia all day. They won 2-0, but the day was more more enjoyed spending it with Mia. We also sent out invites to Mia's birthday party. So far, confirmed 3 girls.

This week, she has her friendship concert on Friday so I took off for that. Hoping the weather sticks around a bit before we got hit with some more cold. Tomorrow, Mia's lunch note drawing with be her 100th that I've drawn for her. Very stoked about that.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Creativity Never Sleeps

Good evening everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the week and your weekend. The week started pretty rough. As posted in my last entry, Mia started the week sick. She said she was dizzy Monday and stayed home from school. Tuesday, still not right. She didn't want to miss school, but stayed home one more day. Wednesday was the 100th day of school so there was NO way she was missing it. She survived the day and had a great time at school. She did her homework when she got home and we watched Trolls. 

She survived the rest of the week and hoped to be well enough for dance on Saturday morning. She got through dance just fine and went to some sort of Women's convention at the expo center. I enthusiastically stayed home and worked on some projects. They were both for Mia's friends. One, was Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon for her friend Noelle who had a really bad fever Thurs-Friday. A little bird told me she's obsessed with dragons and that movie so it was a no brainer I'd draw her Toothless to cheer her up. Saturday, Mia told me her other friend Makayla is a big fan of my art and wanted Rosita from "Sing" drawn for her. Okay, sure. So after I knocked out Toothless last night, I started working on Rosita. I think I had restarted that drawing 3-4 times before getting the shape and form just right. It's not nearly done, but its coming along really nicely. Toothless, I did in a real sketchy pen/color pencil attempt so hopefully Noelle digs it. 

Picked up the girls later, we came home, organized and changed things around in Mia's room,  made some dinner and put on a movie. Mia was passed out before dinner was out. Seriously, was out the rest of the night. So, I did some drawing before I went to bed. 

The next morning I got up early to watch the Chelsea vs Burnley game. Thought this should have been an easier match than it was but they said at home, Burnley is pretty solid. We got a goal in the first 8 minutes. Pedro netted one in the bottom right corner. Later, they nailed us with a free kick to even the game the rest of the match. Costa was struggling to get any chances at getting a goal as well as others. 10 points still ahead on the table. FA Cup this weekend. Gotta knock out Wolverhampton. Mia woke up an hour later, happy but very hungry. She had some breakfast, we did some homework and put together her valentines for Tuesday's party before I went to work.

This week is certainly a busy one. I'm off Tues-Wed (YES!!!) for Mia's valentines day party at her school. I get to run the cookie decorating table. Hopefully the kids have fun. Wed, I hope to get new front tires. Saturday, Mia's got dance and Jill's leaving town for the day so Mia and I get to spend the entire day together. We're planning on seeing Lego Batman. I kind of want to take her out to dinner as well, so we'll see if that happens. 

That's all for now, thanks for reading!