Anticipation

Would you rather look forward to something that you know will happen, but you don't know when, or dread an event, like public speaking, that has a set date but uncertain outcome? I think waiting for this baby is going to drive us bonkers.



Yesterday the doctor suggested that, while the baby looks fine, it may be time to help things along, call me in the morning with your decision. Yes, it's time. We called. The hospital is full. We're fifth in line, scheduled for tomorrow morning at the earliest. Aaaaaargh!

Happy You Near

I realized the other day that my last post was in December and that I hadn't put anything up yet this year, so here it is - the first post of 2008.



First of all, happy new year. Hope this one is twice as good as the last one, and at least as long.



Second, no baby yet. As most of you know, we're expecting our third little tornado. Today is Due Date Plus 6 and counting.



Some of you know my sister and her husband are embarking on an epic adventure into South America, starting today (hopefully). They've requested that their blog account of the trip be kept semi-private, so as much as I'd like to pass along the address I'm bound by blood and sinister oaths of secrecy to only comment "They're doing fine." Good luck Sal, we're thinking about you.



All of you know that my brother Spam is a slacker and needs a good kick in his creative posterior for not posting anything for a month.



As I'm writing this, Ohio State is licking its wounds in the locker room after self-destructing in the first half of the national championship game. Come on Buckeyes, show the world what the Big Ten is made of! (But not like Illinois showed them. Or Wisconsin. Or Indiana. Or Michigan State.) Okay, just make it interesting.



I didn't post a year-end wrap-up. If you want to know what happened to us last year go back and read the posts yourself.



Finally, we're looking forward to much excitement and many adventures this coming year. Check in often. Only leave good comments.

Winter Break

The winter break has been filled with activities. Kenrick and Anthony have filled the days with noise and toys, Andrea and I have slept as much as possible while waiting anxiously for something more than a twinge and twitter from Sleeping Baby, and Grandpa and Grandma are doing what they do best - watching the boys, reading stories, and helping with the housework. We're glad to have them here.

I dug my Legos out and Kenrick and I put together the crane. Actually, he put it together, I just found the pieces.

While Grandpa and Anthony tackled a little more basic tractor model.


I snowed a bit just after Steve and JoAnne came. Kenrick built a snowman, complete with a carrot nose!



New snowball makers! They work surprisingly well.


Grandma supervised the construction of an impenatrable snow fort.

Grandpa and I took the boys over to Jack's for a little wet sledding while the snow lasted.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Since the last couple of entries have been all about the appearance of baby, or rather the lack thereof, I thought I better throw in something to show that life goes on. As normal as ever anyway. Also, my first attempt at inserting a video clip. Here, the boys lost in their own little world a few weeks ago. (In double-time, in case you didn't notice)

Cool Your Jets, It's Not Time Yet.

Upon further examination, it seems that there's a hitch in the get-along. In spite of experiencing signs and wonders known to predict imminent explosion, the signs that really matter say no merging onto the express lane yet. One and still thick. (Husbands, ask your wives.) Andrea's hitting the stairs, walking the mall and doing laps around the living room, attempting jumping jacks, eating cookies. Generally feeling miserable.





On a brighter note, Grandpa and Grandma flew in yesterday. The kids have forgotten we exist.

Still Waiting...

For those of you who are anxiously waiting for news of a new addition, keep waiting. No baby yet. Andrea's getting some pretty good squeezes now and then, but so far nothing steady enough or urgent enough to head to the hospital. We'll give you a call as soon as we have something to call about.

Moving Day 2

This weekend marked a historic, long awaited day for Don and Leann, made possible by an epic effort from the Peoria Moving Crew. They closed on their new house on Friday afternoon and by Friday night the first of two truckloads of 'stuff' was parked in the driveway. Saturday brought a few inches of snow and many helpful hands (and backs) to unload, cross town to load again, then unload one more time. We were done by four. Here's some of the crew and the business end of a packed-solid second load, ready to head for it's new home.
Congratulations, Don and Leann, here's wishing you many happy years in your new home.

Intrepid Milestone

Last week we turned over 200,000 miles in the Intrepid. Here's proof.

It's still running strong, hopefully we can get another 30K or so out of it.

Last Belly Pic

Thought you would enjoy seeing one last belly picture before the big day. I'm not sure this really conveys the actual size or degree of misery but at this stage, pictures are few and far between.



Here's one with the boys. They are very excited for this little guy's 'birthday'.


Andrea's convinced that the baby will be born this week. She's showing some promising signs (besides feeling like a beached whale), so it may happen. We'll keep you posted.

Anthonyism #2

This afternoon the boys and I were driving around looking at snowy countryside when Kenrick said,


"My teacher likes the snow but doesn't like it when it gets really cold."


Anthony replied,


"But if it gets really cold, do you still like your teacher?"

Four Weeks and Counting

Well, there haven't been many pictures this week, but it has been a busy one. I've continued to work on our new bookshelves upstairs and about have them ready to paint, Andrea is still sorting and reorganizing and has the sewing room looking pretty good, and Kenrick and Anthony are as energetic as ever. A little snow storm rolled through today and left a couple of inches of white powdery stuff. Finally. The boys are thrilled and spent most of this afternoon making tracks in the back yard. And Andrea has hit the "this baby can't get any bigger or I'm going to pop" stage of her pregnancy. She's holding up admirably well, but has definitely slowed down in the last week or so. Only four weeks to go.

Parading Around Chicago

Last Friday the Pandemonium Fam piled into the truck and drove up to Chicago to meet our friends Gene and Terry (in town for a conference) and to see the Holiday Parade. Our hotel was right downtown, so we went for a little stroll down Michigan Avenue before supper. The holiday decorations are in full bloom, lots of people hustling to and fro, street musicians, mounted police, and lots and lots of shopping!

Andrea claimed that it's no fun to shop when nothing fits, so the only place we stopped was the Lego Store. Then to supper. Terry's favorite place to eat, a little hole in the wall called the Redfish Lounge, was just around the corner so we agreed to try it out. Fantastic! If you like Cajun, mosey over to the corner of State and Kinzie and check it out. Andrea had the Shrimp Brochette, I had Jambalaya, Terry had the Blackened Redfish, I don't remember what Gene had. Shrimp for Kenrick and Fish and Chips for Anthony. All excellent. (And it's really not a hole in the wall, Terry just made it sound that way.)

Saturday morning we got up (relatively) early and made our way down to State Street, but alas, no parade! After standing on the street corner scratching our heads for a while we found out that the parade had actually taken place on Thursday morning. Gene and Terry had seen it in years past on Saturday, and I guess nobody bothered to check the actual date of this year's parade. How embarrassing.

Well, since we're out and about, we might as well see what there is to see. Here's the famous clock on the Marshall Field & Company Building, which is now Macy's, and the street where the parade would have come down if we had the right day.

Then we made our way to Millennium Park, site of the very attractive and possibly thought provoking "Bean". More correctly called Cloud Gate, this huge stainless steel bean-shaped sculpture reflects its surroundings in strange and fascinating ways. A perfect spot for a group photo.

And a highly distorted self-portrait.

And a vertigo-inducing shot from underneath.

Then over the Great Lawn, across the "wiggly bridge," and through the skyscraper canyons to the corner diner by the hotel to have breakfast. Whew!

Turkey Day

Turkey Day at the house of Pandemonium brought visitors from Ohio and Michigan - the family of our good buds the Stick People. They are in the middle of getting ready to move to their new pad and didn't have the space for the family. We had the space and no family (waiting until the baby is born to make the long and dangerous journey) so we invited them over. As long as they promised to bring pecan pie.



Andrea laid out another fabulous centerpiece while the bird simmered.
Kenrick made the turkey name tags
The artist.
Rob hacks away at the finished bird while a couple of vultures (Don and Don) hang around and offer lots of constructive advise.
Finally, soup's on! The crew, sans Don and Leann (you can see her cheek) and the kids (destroying their own table in the kitchen).
First course, pumpkin soup. Second, salad and rolls and pickles. Then the bird, dressing, potatoes and gravy and Andrea's special experimental cranberry sauce. Yum! Then a break to let our stomachs deflate before apple and pecan pie. What a feast.

Hello Jarris

Last weekend the newest little man from Iowa City came for a visit. Oh, and Luke and Tammia and Kenna came too. It was nice to see them all and the boys very much enjoyed getting some baby brother practice.

The girls went shopping and Andrea found these...

Cool huh? When she showed me her new boots, the first thing I did was flip them over and take a look at the tread. I realized that I do that with almost every new pair of shoes that I look at. Is this normal? Does the top even matter?