Too Easy

Since Ellen is neglecting everyone, I thought I would take a break from my ESPN gig and my just generally being awesome, to remind everyone (especially you dirty Packers fans) that the Packers game was really too easy.  We'll see if the Little Giants can put up more of a fight.  Until then, enjoy this:

I know, I know...

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted anything. (And this, after teasing you with three straight days of posts.) Sorry.

I'm in Dallas at an online retail conference, hoping the Bears will destroy the Packers tonight so that I can wear my Cutler jersey with pride to Cowboys Stadium tomorrow night. I've got plenty of good blog fodder in my head, but that will have to wait another day. Right now, it feels kind of fried.

Turf war

Buster and I are in the midst of a little property dispute. All was going well for the first seven months, but apparently he thinks the little cocoon I have so lovingly crafted for him is no longer big enough. So he is trying to make himself more comfortable by stretching and kicking his way into a larger space. Despite the fact that I am a generally hospitable person, I must say that my stomach, bladder and other organs are not liking this new development one bit. I'm starting to feel squished from the inside out. (And, yes, I realize this is not likely to improve in the next several months.)

Seriously, can't we all just get along?

I told Buster last night that if he wasn't careful I was going to serve him with an early eviction notice. I'm fairly certain he wasn't listening.

Rolling out the red carpet

Every year, Chad and I host a summer party with a different theme and invite all of our friends. Last year's theme, which I documented with a few photos, was "redneck." This year, it was "At the Movies." And unlike the past few years, we had absolutely perfect - and I do mean perfect - weather. What a fun end-of-summer night to spend with lots of friends.

I am still laughing about the costumes and the creativity in our group. We had about 40 people show up - some moviegoers and paparazzi, a few tennis players and cartoon characters. We had some 80's flashbacks and some totally random characters that no one, really, has ever heard of. Chad and I went as the teenage couple from Juno, though managed not to get a photo of us together all night. But here were some of the best ensembles:

Our friends Mark, Brigid and Dan, who came as the Trolls from Troll 2

 

April, Tom and Braden as the couple from Raising Arizona
(for the second year in a row, the O'Reilly's won Best Couple/Family)

Our friend Aaron, who is really from Australia, came as the Crocodile Hunter (Line of the night from one of our friends who didn't know Aaron previously: "How long have you been working on that accent?" to which Aaron replied, "Umm...about 32 years.")

 

Sarah and Spencer, contenders in the Best Couple category,
had quite an inventive ensemble from Dodgeball

Our friend Jenn, who won the Best Girl category
with her Breakfast Club persona

Rob, a contender for Best Guy, who came as one of the main characters in The Hangover

Brigid and I are both really pregnant and both came as Juno

And the costume of the night went to Paul, who completed a flawless Cousin Eddie with a see-through white sweater, green Dickie, tight pants, and patent leather shoes (and don't forget the moose mug!)

Now can you see why I'm still laughing - and already looking forward to next year's party?

Testing...1, 2, 3

I've been thinking ahead to September 13 for the last several weeks. This is the one-year anniversary of Chad's total knee blow-out. And I thought about it even more yesterday when I watched a player on the other football team Chad's guys were playing likely blow out his knee, too. [cringe]

In retrospect, much of that experience was awful: it was a test of patience, expensive and led to a lot of unplanned finagling and rearranging of our life. The half-hour I spent trying to get a woozy Chad into our house and up the stairs when we came home from the hospital after his surgery was definitely a low point. But at the time, it certainly didn't seem tragic.

The whole "knee" incident was another example to me of how sometimes you just have to put your life on autopilot and take things one step at a time - sometimes literally. I actually think back on that lesson a lot when I'm feeling like something is just too overwhelming or unfair or frustrating. You deal with it, you learn from it, and you get past it. And one year later, thankfully, Chad's knee is as good as it's ever been. Well, almost.

And this year, our Sept. 13 was much better. Why? Because the doctor's office called this afternoon and my glucose tests came back normal. That experience was a social experiment like no other, by the way. And I'm glad it's over. (I will take you up on that cake now, Robert!)

Inside and outside

I mentioned a few months ago that we've had a big list of to-dos in getting ready for Buster's arrival in just a few months. We got a new backyard patio and landscaping, put a TV in the living room and are making slow progress on our baby check-off list.

The furniture has arrived, so I feel like I can finally show off the backyard. Chad's had breakfast out there a few times and now that the weather is cooling down, we'll be spending lots of nights out there too. (Remember what it used to look like?)

We've also been busy inside. In summary, Chad made a mess and I cleaned it up. If you didn't know any better, you'd think this just involved hanging a TV on the wall, but a lot of behind-the-walls work was involved...which of course also means cutting, spackling, painting...Our living room is now quite a bit more functional and Chad is already enjoying it immensely (as you can see by his feet propped up on the coffee table).

And we registered. One wouldn't think that this would take much time, but it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Thanks to some amazing friends who sent along lots of tips - plus one who even went to the store with me and another who gave us a ton of toys, clothes and gear they're finished with - we've made quite a dent in this baby thing. We finished registries at Buy Buy Baby and Amazon.com last weekend and have a study full of great baby stuff that needs to be sorted through and put away. We still need to pick out a crib and a dresser, but, well, we've been pretty darned productive lately. That project can certainly wait until next weekend.

I told you so

About a week ago, I went to the doctor's office for a routine appointment and a glucose tolerance test, which evaluates a woman's risk for gestational diabetes.The nurse told me if I didn't hear from her by the end of the week, I had passed. I was fairly certain I would fail just because this whole pregnancy has seemed relatively uneventful, but was crossing my fingers that I didn't.

Thursday came and went. Friday came and went. Hooray! I told my mom this weekend that no news was good news. She said she wasn't surprised: "I've never known you to fail a test."

Until my phone rang this morning. I failed.

#!$&@^#!

I was so mad, I ate three cookies.

So for five hours this Friday, I get to sit in a lab, drink straight sugar and see how my body reacts to all of it over time through a series of blood draws. I can't eat or drink anything else twelve hours beforehand or at any time during the test. (Jealous?) I'm relatively optimistic that I'll pass this more advanced version and that my only inconvenience in this whole deal will be five wasted hours. And let's hope that is the case.

If I fail, I get to spend the remainder of my pregnancy monitoring my blood sugar multiple times a day and adopting a modified version of a low-carb lifestyle (ie: no bread, pasta, dessert...). To me, this sounds like torture. To Chad, this sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd basically have to spend the next 10 weeks eating just like him.