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!

Okay, so no pictures this time around, just an update.  I have just over 2 weeks to go before we add our new addition to the household, and I have not a)packed my hospital bag or b)put the crib up.  I should really stop procrastinating.  I have however, washed all the baby’s clothes and cleaned the bathrooms.  I don’t know where toilets fit into the whole scene, but you never know when someone’s gonna stop by to take a pee.  At least they can marvel at my immaculate porcelain!  We made probably about a month’s worth of frozen dinners, so I think I’m okay there too.  In case you’re looking for easy freezer meals, here are a few suggestions:

• Soups-any kind and large batches in freezer bags. (I did pasta fagioli and pumpkin soup)
• Large casseroles-Chicken pot pie, stuffed shells, enchiladas and stuffed peppers from the garden were our favorites
• Chicken Broth-MAKE YOUR OWN!!!!! It’s so much better!  PW has a good recipe.  Freeze in smaller bags.
• Sauces:  I made spaghetti sauce (again, make your own!) and pesto from the garden.  This is so easy to thaw and pour over a pound of pasta.
• Any large meats on sale-After thanksgiving, we found turkeys on sale for 49 cents a pound. 

Trust me, ordering pizza and chinese will get a little old.  This is one thing I wish I would have prepared better the first time around with a newborn.  If I had more time, I’d probably make some mac and cheese and some more chicken dishes, but I think I’m good.  Thank goodness for our downstairs freezer!

In the middle of all this, Christmas is 9 days away and I still have three gifts to buy!  We did get finished today playing Santa, and that really was my main concern.  I’ve also started a new crochet project that I’m really excited about, and as soon as it’s finished, I will post a new pic.  This is the first project I’ve done where I’ve written my own pattern, so I’ll be posting that as well, and taking all the credit for it! 

I will hopefully get in a few more posts before the little guy comes.  And some pics of the train table my husband is building will be up next week (hopefully).

Happy Shopping!