I’m really too tired to edit all the pictures we have and post them, but I did manage one:

More to come.

We all know about Deuce’s infatuation with all things Thomas, and that includes the Lionel O-Gauge Thomas. Santa has treated him well in that respect over the years, from the initial Thomas set to various expansion packs and new engines, we’ve amassed quite a collection. This year was no exception.

Given that we have no room in our three-bedroom townhouse, Santa decided to take over Mimi and Papap’s unfinished basement. To hold all of this, I had built two 4′ x 5′ table tops (no legs) so that the track wouldn’t sit on the floor. No covering or anything, just something to keep it up off the carpet. Also, despite the fact that we have 3 engines, we only had one transformer and a simple inner/outer loop setup. Santa decided it was time for an upgrade.

He brought Deuce a new transformer and some more track (details below) to our house. At Mimi’s, he put legs on the two existing table tops (raising them to a 32″ height) and built a third 4′ x 5′ table. Putting the 5′ sections together, that gave us a nice 5′ x 12′ table to work. He put a half inch of styrofoam in an oval shape in the center to raise the center loop. He also delivered enough track for a sizable outer loop. Some nice green grass matting and a little screen beading, and all of a sudden it looks like a real table setup. He even embedded the operating gate man into the styrofoam to make level with the surrounding ground.

The new layout is pretty nice, although it is a bit loud. I’m not sure if it’s the echo from the table or what… We’ll have to fix that. Anyway, below are some photos of the layout. The outer loop is comprised of 10″, 5″, and 1.75″ straights and 0-48 curves. Notice the slight kidney shape. For now, that leaves room for the transformers, although at some point I may move the controls to their own table (perhaps dropped below the main deck). The inner loop consists of 10″ and 5″ straights, O-36 curves and switches. There are two isolator tracks and a terminal section that is used to activate the gate man in the house. I know the single house and tree look a bit lonely, but those are a work in progress.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and got lots of presents just like we did!  I’ve posted some pictures of our holiday festivities on the site, but unfortunately, you have to be logged in to see them. 

We had a great Christmas as usual, and I hope you are all as lucky as we are to have such wonderful family and friends to share the day.

And of course, there are the presents!  Deuce made out like a bandit!  I’m leaving it up to my husband to post the new train pics.  The new train layout he built is awesome!  “Santa” fixed up the table (us) and also got him some new engines (mimi and pap-pap) so the Lionel set is really starting to look like the Island of Sodor! 

Although I didn’t go to Christmas Eve this year, from the pictures I can tell everyone had a great time.  I spent a nice, relaxing evening in my pj’s eating roasted chestnuts and sitting on the couch.  And of course, Deuce got more presents.  My only problem now is we are definitely going to have to clean up a lot of boxes and start the post-Christmas cleanup-which I’m guessing will probably start tomorrow.  And its ten to midnight… so I’d better go!

I have less than two weeks to go!  Woo hoo!  Among the things I still haven’t done:  put up the crib and pack my bag.  At this point, I think it’s inevitable that I will be having a baby.

But I have taken my belly picture.  Which brings me to the reason I’m posting here.  Since I’m in such a giving mood, I thought I would offer advice to people that are either socially inept or just plain don’t get it-

DON’T EVER TELL A PREGNANT WOMAN HOW BIG SHE IS!

I would have imagined that people would understand this, considering you really don’t tell anyone they’ve ‘gained a few’ after a really big meal but some people just don’t get it.  I’m 9 months pregnant.  I know my belly is big.  Do I need reassurance of this?  Absolutely not!  My feet are swollen, my back/belly/hips hurt, I’m dying for a full nights sleep and I have terrible heartburn.  My patience and tolerance are wearing thin.  I thank the people that have the common sense to say “Oh you look so good” even if it’s a lie, because at this point, I need a little pick me up.  Apparently, I’m not the first to experience this dilemma.  If you have questions about what not to say to a pregnant woman, check this out.

I will give the majority of family/friends credit, but there are a select few out there that haven’t caught on.  Here are some of my favorites:

• You just keep getting bigger everytime I see you!
• Oh my god, are you still here?
• You look like you’re going to pop!
• Geez, I thought you would have had that thing by now!
• You’re never going to make it to your due date

Just to clarify, NONE OF THESE ARE ACCEPTABLE COMMENTS

Tell me I look good and go about your daily business.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

A very pregnant lady

I’m sure I’ll be posting more about Christmas in the days to come, but I thought I’d take a break from all the Christmas cheer and share this picture of Goose.  Matt took this pic while we were just sitting around watching tv.  Doesn’t he look ferocious?  The funny thing is he might be the world’s worst hunter.  Even though we can’t let our cats outside (there’s a really busy road behind us) when Goose does get the chance to go out on our deck, he talks to everything he sees.  It’s like he’s giving himself away.  To take it even a step further, when it snows, he sits at the glass door and talks to the flakes.  His brother Jack on the other hand, isn’t much for hunting living things.  He’s new toy has been the plastic ring off one of my cartons of soy milk.  He carries it everywhere.  He has also taken to stealing ponytail holders and some of the smaller toys around the house,  and he’s not above walking around with his prey in his mouth to show it off.  Hey-I thought cats were supposed to be super intelligent anyway?  I’ve decided that goose is the boss because a) he’s the fattest and b) he gets the dog bed more than anyone else.  You haven’t laughed until you hear someone snoring and realize it’s your cat sleeping in the corner:)

I would say more about the dog (Sammy) but she seems to think that having her picture taken will remove her soul so everytime I get the damn thing out she takes off.