Chee-Ca-Go

Dani and I needed a vacation, U2 was playing in Chicago, so we tied the two together. We took a Southwest flight (about 1.5 hr trip) versus driving (about a 7 hour drive). We were accustomed to using public transportation from our last Europe trip, and were eager to try our hand at US based traveling. However, this time, I was equipped with an active cell phone and had access to Google Maps with integrated transit info. It was absolutely beautiful. Turn on the GPS and the map showed where you were, tell it where you wanted to go, and the map told you where to walk, what bus to ride (and the next time of the next bus), where to transfer, which EL (elevated train) to get on, and your ETA. It was almost too easy! In fact, after mapping out our first route from the airport to our B&B/home, we waited for the 547X bus to arrive at 1:47pm. "Hey, here's the 547X at 1:40pm!" I exclaimed. It was a little early, what luck. We knowingly jumped on the bus and grabbed a seat. As we pulled out of the airport terminal, we headed South. Unfortunately we were supposed to be heading North. I double checked my maps, and noticed that it called for the 547X-Cicero bound. Uh-oh, I was so happy to see the bus, I failed to check the direction it was headed. So, we hopped on the South-bound one and rode it to some mall for about 15 minutes. The driver pulled the bus over near a Wendy's for a timed stop and was suprised to see us still sitting on the bus. I told him what had happened and asked if we should just sit it out or try and catch a North-bound 547X. He said that he was the next North-bound bus, so just have a seat and enjoy. We humbly ate our peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches while the driver cleaned up the bus.

Our "B&B" was wonderful. I use quotes, as it was listed online as a B&B, and they did stock the fridge with breakfast, but it was more of a place to sleep. A BIG place to sleep. The owners have an up/down-house and rent out the downstairs as they slowly renovate the place. The place was spacious with a large kitchen, bathroom, huge living area, a master bedroom, a small bedroom, and another medium bedroom. It literally could of slept 10. Our friends met up with us on Saturday to help fill the place.

Lets see, on Sept. 9, we went into town and enjoy the sites. I enjoyed Millennium Park.. and especially seeing the "bean" up close. It's art. It's a big, chrome like, reflective, well, bean shaped sculpture. The reflections in it are crazy as it absorbs all the images, city line, etc. It's a little hard to find yourself in the reflection when walking up.















We polished off the day with some deep dish, Chicago style pizza, and wow-wee was it good! It better be after waiting 30-40 minutes for it!




On Sept. 10, we took an architectural boat tour along the river. They discussed the "great fire", who started it, what happened, and how the city came together after to rebuild. Hence, the unique buildings that exist today. The Sears tower (now AKA the Willis Tower but no one calls it this anyhow) was built on the basis of a pack of cigarettes. I guess they don't just cause lung cancer.
We dropped in at Portillo's, an excellent, fast moving, dine-in, Chicago-dog and other assortment of foods place. I thought the dogs were $9 as they were just in that blurry vision range, so I asked Dani if she wanted to share one. She looked at me funny and as we moved forward I noticed they were $2.50. I got my own. We went back several times.. and yes, the dogs were amazing (I like everything on it too). Dani surprised me a clever visit to Garrett's Popcorn: they make an excellent caramel pecan pop-corn that is beyond addictive. Be careful! We ended our evening with our long anticipated tickets to see a live recording of "Wait Wait", the NPR comedy news quiz. It was quite fun!



Sept. 11: We ventured south of the city of the Museum of Science and Industry which sits where the world fair was held in the (I think) late 1800's, or early 1900's. If you read Devil in the White City you'll have a better understanding and excitement! For dinner we met up with old time friends and neighbors from Seattle, Chris and Jamie Conner! We had tapas at an excellent little Spanish restaurant in the Lincoln Park area. It was great to see old friends and catch up (they were also in town for the U2 concert).

Sept 12: We had brunch w/ an old friend from KC, Courtney Ryan. She took us to a little, quaint, brunch-ee type place that served the BEST ginger-pumpkin pancakes I've ever had. Those might of been the first I've ever had, but they were darn good!



We made our way over to Navy Pier, walked out on it, turned around, and headed home to meet up with friends coming in town for the concert, and then decided that we should all take a quick nap. It turned out to be rather longer than anticipated, but we all awoke well rested and ready for the concert. Emily brought an excellent chicken dish which she fixed, so we were able to sit down for a home-cooked meal. Unfortunately we weren't watching the time and it was time to leave (as we were finishing our meal). So we all quickly got ready and jumped on the EL. The ride was quick, but we still had to catch a bus to Soldier Field. As we walked off the EL in downtown the next bus that pulled up (heading to the stadium) was cram packed full! Everyone waited did the exact same thing--we all bolted down the street to catch a taxi. It was a little nightmare-ish as everyone would leap-frog each other to be the "next" person to wave down a taxi. We finally turned the corner and waved one down, but he didn't want to drive to the concert area (crazy traffic). We caught a nice driver with a mini-van and on the way, I told him he could just drop us off where ever he thought would make the best sense so he could get back to making more fare money. He was so kind, and we jumped out about a 1/4 mile away so he was able to do a U-turn. Thanks Mr. kind taxi-driver! See what we can do when we work together!? Due to our tardiness to the concert we missed most all (except for the last song) of the opening band: Snow Patrol, which was a bummer, because both Dani and I wanted to see them. Oh well. We were plenty early for U2. The show was great, and we had a blast. Dani could probably tell you the details of the concert. My description probable pales anyhow: songs, lights, smoke, etc. It was a cool stage setup.

Our last full day in down, Sept. 13: We had some B&B breakfast snacks I think. Dani bought a bag of Dyno-bites (the cheap version of Cocoa Crispies), and for some reason we're still talking about how good they were! We headed to Wrigley Field really just to see the park, however, a Cubs game was going on too. We walked around the park (very cool to see the stadium-like seats on the towering condo buildings next to the field!) and were accosted by a variety of ticket sales guys. I haggled with one guy and just honestly said we didn't have much of a budget. I offered $15 for 2 tickets and he kindly walked away. I wasn't up for paying much. We walked around some more and then it was the 3rd inning. As we were walking towards the EL we passed a guy w/ a LOT of tickets and appeared to run a business there. He was really nice and we asked how much (somewhat un-interested). He said $10 a ticket now... we could take our pick. He had 2 tix in the shade on the first deck between home and 3rd. We took em and enjoyed a cheap Cubs game!



After, we headed to the beach and walked in the sand along the lake shore, as it was a warm and sunny day. We once again visited Portillo's, enjoyed another dog, and then re-visited Millennium Park. A great last day if I do say so!

Baby Nicholson Photos

These are a long time coming! Busy doesn't event describe the Nicholson's as of late. But, the end is in sight and we will be able to shift our focus towards the new addition scheduled to arrive this January!

We did our ultrasound on Friday, August 21. It made for a great start to the weekend! The Little One was not that excited about modeling for us. Baby was covering his/her face most of the time so we have many foot and arm photos. In case you haven't already heard, we chose not to learn the gender of our baby. And, as you look through these, remember Baby's head is always on your right and captions are along the bottom if you need help. Or click on the photos to go to the album.

I hope you enjoy as much as we have!

Growing Pains

Well, it's 4AM and after nearly an hour in bed awake I decided to rise and (because I'm hungry) have something to eat. A strawberry Poptart and bowl of multi-grain Cheerios, if you must know. Unfortunately, I think I'm feeling worse not better after eating. Figures.

I've been thinking about this post for a few days. And mixing my 80's TV show references for effect...the theme from Facts of Life has been running through my brain: "There's a time you got to go and show, You're growin' now you know about (sing it with me) The Facts of Life, The Facts of Life". Because it's way better than the Growing Pains theme: "Show me that smile again. Don't waste another minute on your crying, we're nowhere near the end. The best is ready to begin." "Wait!," you're thinking. "Those GP lyrics seem to make great sense for a pregnancy". Right. Just what I want to think about - being nowhere near the end and someone telling me to quit crying. Awesome.

Anyway, the baby inside is starting to show itself. Now, I'm not really concerned about what I look like, per se. It's more that I'm between clothes right now and every day is a challenge to get out the door. My own clothes are quickly becoming snug and maternity clothes make me look A. Frumpy or B. Chubby, not cutely pregnant. And I'm feeling a little stuck as we can start to see the coming of the end of summer (trust me, I'm in no hurry). I feel stuck because I don't want to buy new clothes to wear for like a month (capris, shorts, etc.) and then go into fall and need to get more new clothes. Many of you mothers and pregnant friends are thinking, "oh, the Bella Band". Yes, this amazing piece of expensive spandex can be nice and cover up those unbuttoned pants. But, if you are say five feet tall, it covers from well below your waist up to the bottom of your bra, sorta like a really cool tube top. Again, Awesome.

On the bright side, we're in the process of picking paint colors for our interior. I know, no painting. Mark's doing the hard work (along with any willing friends). We bought some test colors last night after a week with different colored cards stuck to the walls. The living/dining color seems to be too light...we worried about too dark. The kitchen splotch looks good color-wise but the paint job is leaving a little to be desired (I suggested buying the stupid foam brush, my fault). In case you're wondering, I did laundry and painted my toenails while Mark tested out his skills. He thought the nail polish smell had to be far worse for me than the paint. Whatever.

Everyone keeps asking how I'm doing. The one word answers, depending on the moment: busy, stuffy, itchy, tired, hungry. Work has picked up quite a bit so I've been extremely busy but this past week has been great! I don't feel tired until the moment I'm walking out to the car. And then I feel like I could eat everything in sight (which is usually a piece of fruit or Fiber One bar).

I've been stuffy since the end of week 9 (count 'em, 9 whole weeks!). I'm congested mostly in the evening and during the night due to allergies and pregnancy. It was suggested that I not take my normal allergy medication as...well, no drug company is stupid enough to test drugs on actual pregnant humans! So, every now and then I pop a Benedryl which lasts me about 5 hours. I didn't take one before bed tonight and thus am awake. Our Nurse-Midwife made mention that I may feel congested THROUGHOUT the pregnancy. Seriously. With the stuffiness comes the ever-so-attractive "ahem" filled with phlem in my throat. I actually opened the car door the other morning at a stoplight to spit. Yet again, Awesome. I'm a 70-year-old man. Oh, and I forgot to mention that on our camping trip last weekend (which was great, thanks) I picked up some great mosquito bites on my feet. So, many nights during the past week I've been awoken by myself scratching my feet. Gross, huh. Sitting on the edge of the tub and running freezing water over them seems to calm the itchiness down but wakes me right up.

Thankfully (and quite seriously), I could never imagine a better partner on this journey than Mark. He has been my personal chef (many times breakfast, lunch, and dinner), encourager, compliment-giver, and event planner. I already think he's a better parent than I'll be...every day is an adventure and I'm so glad that he's willing to take it with me. He gets my humor and doesn't think it's gross when I tell him pregnancy stuff (or at least, he tells me it's not gross). I am so blessed!

16 Weeks and Counting

The proverbial cat is finally out of the bag...but, in case you hadn't heard, I'm pregnant!

Monday morning we had our 16 week appointment and met another of the Nurse-Midwives at our clinic. She was really great and shared our excitement. We heard the heartbeat again (always a joy), discussed my ever-increasing stuffiness, gaining weight, diet, and our 20-week ultrasound. It's crazy to think we're only a few weeks from the halfway point! We're excited to see the little one but still do not intend to know the gender until the big day. If you want to mark your calendars but haven't yet, our estimated due date is January 5, 2010. For those of you keeping score, that's 24 days after Mark's birthday and a mere 3 before mine - so much for avoiding another "Christmastime" birthday! Although, I have a feeling this one may take his/her own sweet time so maybe MLK weekend? Or my Aunt Diane's birthday? Thank goodness we got married in May!

Also, many people have commented to me that I seem to have "popped" this week. As I'm neither a kernel of popcorn or a butterball turkey, I prefer to think that I'm starting to "show" that I'm pregnant. Please remember this when speaking with pregnant women.

In other news this week, we found out that friends from church are also going to have a baby and are due just 6 days after us! We're excited to share this journey with them!

Less exciting but still great - we've been in the house a month. Boxes still need to be unpacked but that's ok. And, due to our lack of rain, the grass is quite brown but I'm trying to remember to water every now and again. We're settling in and loving our new neighborhood (Hamline Midway). I saw a sign this morning on our walk that stated, "On a bicycle, the top is always down". Give it a second. Makes me feel a little like we're in Ballard (our old Seattle neighborhood)...that and the neighbor with chickens in her yard! :) There are lots of friendly people on our block and many dogs as well as a few children.

Last night we had an exceptional date night! We rode our bikes to Midway Stadium, home of the Saint Paul Saints baseball team. It's maybe a mile each way and GA tickets are $5 each. We looked into the setting sun most of the evening but truly enjoyed time outside watching baseball together! Did I mention they sell Cheese Curds at the game (see Fried Cheese Curds)?

Work. We're both doing it. My boss is on maternity leave through September and I agreed to take on the Marketing aspect of her job, thinking "no big deal". Well, that plus many other unforeseen duties has meant I'm working a lot. And I'm wiped out when I get home! Mark has been rather busy with his business, Elite Asset Protection (www.eaprotection.com). It's been exciting to watch him grow and learn and build this new enterprise. I'm so proud and happy that he's been able to do something that is mentally stimulating, challenging, and fun to earn income! He's had the desire to have his own business for longer than I've known him so it's pretty rewarding to hear the "new order" text notification!

We will do our best to continue to post (including pictures) regularly now that we're "out". Also, if you want to read a couple of emails from earlier in the pregnancy, I've added them below (TGIF and All is Well).