Trying on clothes

I tried to find an outfit to wear over the Christmas holiday to church and any other dress up gatherings. This is not an easy task since there are about 3 places to shop for maternity clothes in our town, all of which apparently think that pregnant women don't need to get dressed up (unless dressed up means a big shirt with stretchy black pants ... why is it even remotely OK to wear stretch pants when your middle is twice as big as the rest of you?). After trying on every dress in the aforementioned stores, I finally found one that's as cute as it's going to get. As if going clothing shopping wasn't depressing enough ...

On the upside, we are finished with Christmas shopping aside from 2 people! It's a nice feeling considering that I'm going to Toronto Sunday through Wednesday this week (yep, a meeting the week before Christmas). It should make the week fly by though and we're leaving to go to Champaign on Friday!!!! I'm really looking forward to 10 days with family and friends.

A great way to waste time

We got the Wii on Thursday. It is the most fun I've had outside a video arcade in years. You get to create a Mii that looks like you (or not) to play the sports game. Ryan got a kick out of watching his 6 month pregnant wife kick the crap out of a grizzled dude on the boxing game. You actually have to stand up and use the remotes like boxing gloves. We're gonna bring the Wii when we come home at Christmas time. I think it will provide some entertaining stories for years to come.

We also got a game about Rabbids (yes, correctly spelled) in which you throw cows, shoot plungers and race warthogs, to name a few activities. So far it consumed our last evening (after we got home from Christmas shopping at 8 pm) and all of this morning. Ryan ran out to mail a package, and I got stuck on a level, thus the blogging. I'll get some pictures up of us playing the sports game. Absolutely ridiculous.

Ryan wins a Wii!

Ry buys computer stuff from newegg.com from time to time. Apparently, he entered an online sweepstakes a while ago for free Wiis. Yesterday he was notified that he won one! Christmas is coming early to the Thomas family. Unreal.

Finally

I'm excited to finally be looking pregnant instead of looking like I spent too long in the buffet line. I'm also excited to be feeling good again. Aside from the occasional kicks in the kidneys, it's kind of fun being pregnant. I think he's gonna run us ragged. At least we've still got a few more months. How scary is it that we're going to be parents?

The (unsuccessful) Wii hunters

All Ryan really wants for Christmas (well, the thing he wants most for Christmas) is a Nintendo Wii. As most of you probably know, this little gem is nearly impossible to come by right now. Nintendo has come up with a brilliant marketing strategy that hinges on sending only enough to stores to keep people lining up each Sunday to wait for the stores to open.

And so, on Sunday morning, I found myself outside Target at 7:50 (10 minutes before they opened) waiting for a Wii. Target had given all theirs out already, so off we trouped to Circuit City, which didn't open until 10 am. There, we thought our luck changed, as we were 5th in line. Alas, the manager came outside around 9 am to tell the unfortunates in line that he had given out the 15 vouchers in his possession at 7:30 that morning. Apparently, the serious die-hards had camped out the night before.

While I can't say that I understand this behavior, I have to admit it was kind of fun to talk with the people in line. It was like an experiment in psychology. What makes people stand outside in 40 degree weather and wait for a game system? In some cases (like ours) it's just a "what the heck" attitude for a much-anticipated toy. In others, it is the parents of kids who "only want a Wii" for Christmas. I'm sure there will be many tears on Christmas morn without that white box. And then there are the die-hard fans. These folks wait outside overnight (sometimes multiple nights) for the elusive Wii. I don't know what's wrong with these people. I look at them with the same befuddlement as the people who dress as Klingons before the Star Trek conventions. I've also never been one to freak out about celebrities or wait in lines for concerts. Hey, I guess everyone needs a hobby.

A Moral VIctory?

Yesterday we once again watched the Illini football team lose a close football game. The commentators kept saying this was a "moral victory" for the Illini to come so close to Ohio State. Anyone watching the game would agree that the defense played an outstanding second quarter. If the offense had showed up a little earlier, we could've won that game. At least next year we'll have the record to support the quality of the team.

Ok, but seriously ...

How cute is he?

Elf Likes to Help

Ryan put up a banister on the top part of our stairs. Elf wanted to help. It seems he has an unhealthy fascination with the tape measure. I spent most of the time cat wrangling while Ryan got the banister up. It's a good thing the cats are cute, cause they're a pain in the rear most of the time.

Lazy Saturdays

I really love weekends, especially since I'm so exhausted by the time Friday night comes. I was trying desperately to stay awake last night and still fell asleep at 8:30. This means that we wake up at 7:30 in the morning and have all day to enjoy on Saturday. The Illinois-Ohio State game is at 3 pm. That's the only thing in our agenda for the day.

Expecting

I guess most of you know by now that Ryan and I are expecting our first child at the end of March or beginning of April! I apologize for the severe lack of posting over the last weeks. It felt weird to post about stuff going on in my life when I wasn't posting about the biggest new part of my life. Plus I felt like so much crap so blogging wasn't high on my list of priorities. I'm finally feeling better, thus I should be blogging again now.

The Fam and a big pig

Just cause it's fun.

Like walking into Willy Wonka's Factory

Butchart Gardens is the most unbelievable place. The only thing I could compare it to is the kids walking into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

House boat dog

Nothing special about him, aside from that tongue.

The coolest boats ever

I have never seen house boats like these. They are literally houses that float. There are about 3 docks full of house boats. I wouldn't like living there because it's such a tourist attration. People are constantly walking by and peering in windows.

A great time in BC

This is a (much delayed) post on our vacation to visit Ry's mom in British Columbia. All I have to say is that it's really beautiful there. It seemed like everywhere we stopped was a picture spot. These are the Olympic mountains as seen from the coast of Vancouver Island.

Home Alone

I'm home alone tonight (and until Thursday :( ). I always have great plans for home alone nights. My plan tonight looked something like this:

Eat Dinner
Work Out
Do Laundry
Clean Up House
Get toes manicured

Here's what I've actually done:

Eat Dinner
Play with Cats
Find hotel online for my husband who can't stay in the smoking room he's currently booked in
Write in blog

It's still early, so I might get some of the rest of my list done. More likely, I'll sit on the couch and watch something truly revolting that hubby doesn't like (like Bridezillas). Here's to procrastination!

I'm too old for this

We had a bachelor and bachelorette party last night. It was fun, but the evening included approx 4 hours of driving and an evening that didn't end until 3:45 am this morning. Even though I wasn't drinking, I still woke up this morning (well, early this afternoon) feeling like I'd been run over by a bus. I can't do 4 am nights anymore.

There were no fewer that 6 bachelorette parties last night in Atlantic City. It's a funny little ritual we all do. The Tropicana is definitely one of the nicest casinos in AC, and I really enjoyed the fact that smoking has been banned in restaurants and bars in NJ. I got to go home without smelling like an ashtray last night. It's still allowed in the casinos, but we didn't do any gambling last night. I had a fun time, but won't be looking for any more really nights again soon.

Right

Right, so it's been almost a month since I blogged. It's one of those things that gets harder and harder to get back to the longer you've been away. There's too much to catch up on ...

In brief: Ryan and I bought a kayak, which mostly resembles a large yellow banana. It's been fun, although getting knocked tail over teakettle in one of the area's rivers was a little unsettling. Actually, the getting knocked over part was fun, the realizing that I was having a heck of a time swimming and towing the boat was unsettling. The good news about that is that our bionic friend taught Ry more about how to get back into a boat without beaching it.

Life other than that has been quiet. Our jobs have been moving quietly along, and the travel schedule picks up again here in August. We're also going to visit Ryan's mom in September, which should be wonderful, since I've never been. It's also been a long time since we've seen her, so I'm looking forward to it.

We are attending a bachelor and bachelorette party today for one of Ryan's coworkers. His plan begins with golf, so I'm home alone for another few hours before getting dolled up to head to Atlantic City. I'm considering cleaning my house ... so far only a consideration though. We'll see how I feel after my little writing exercise. So, I really didn't need to blog over the last month, it all fits neatly into one little entry.

Kayaking Delight

Today was one of those perfect summer weekend days that only comes along every blue moon. We woke up around 9:30 this morning (ahhh, weekend) and spent the next 2 and a half hours eating breakfast and couch louging. Then we got up and did some gardening, work around the house and cleaned up.

Around 2:30 we took our borrowed kayak down to the county park and performed some self-taught kayaking. It was a gorgeous day; about 85 Degrees with light white clouds. Kayaking is pure delight. It's just you and the water, skimming by turtles and woods. Seriously, I haven't felt that much at peace in a long time. Long story short, I think we may be taking up kayaking.

We did the obligatory weekend Target run and had yummy tex mex food for dinner. I feel like we not only got a lot accomplished today, but also had a great, relaxing day. Ahhhh.

Another fun Philly Day

We spent the day wandering around Philadelphia today and got to finish most of the Once Upon a Nation storytelling spots. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the city on July 4th weekend. The Taste of Philadelphia was going on today. It was a pretty disappointing two blocks. Other than that, it was a nice day.