B-Day - only two weeks (or so) to go!

We did our final class in preparation for the baby at the hospital today - 'Breastfeeding for Beginners'. I can now tell whether the baby will be properly 'latched' onto Biz or not - its amazing but there's a lot more than just bringing this little 'horse' to water so that he can drink!

One statistic which surpised me (but makes sense when you think about it) is that the worldwide average period of time a woman breastfeeds her child is 5 years! Also consider that this average is brought down by us in the western world. I also learned that a years supply of baby formula can cost from $2,000 to $5,000!

Anyway all is well on the Biz and baby front - Biz did have today what felt like Braxton Hicks or 'false' contractions which is basically the wombs way of 'practicing'!! So we are presumably getting much closer to B-Day! We feel we are now pretty much as ready as we can be - all the necessary baby equipment, such as the stroller and car seat that Biz is modeling in the picture above, are in hand while we also got lots of great baby outfits and other gifts at the recent baby shower organized for Biz. So we are down to just enjoying these final few weeks before we become a family of three!

Munster v Leinster

Went to the Irish bar, Fado, to watch this 'titantic' clash of two Irish provinces contesting the semi final of their European Cup rugby competition. The bar was not as busy as I expected, the gorgeous day outside may have been too tempting for some after the long winter - the Irish breakfast was worth it for me.

Leinster played better than I have seen them in many years and unfortunately beat my home team Munster. I wasn't too disheartened by the defeat - Leinster simply deserved to win and Munster were the reigning European champions and winners twice in the last three years so perhaps, a bit like the team, when you have gotten used to winning that hunger / desire to succeed wanes a little. However I do hope it doesn't mark the end of this amazing Munster team and the great times we have enjoyed with them.

Leinster were really up for it yesterday and I hope they go on and produce a simlar performance and win against Leicester Tigers in the final - while it has been great to have the bragging rights over Leinster, many of the players on the Leinster team (who contibuted so much to Ireland winning the 2009 Grand slam) should have won a European Cup by now. Of course I would also always prefer to see an Irish side triumph over an English one.

Grills are great!

I finally purchased a grill this week (thanks to Mike and Liz's generous wedding gift last year) -we felt that our second summer in Chicago simply could not pass without one especially as we are likely to be spending more time at home this year. It's a beauty!

The mountains of white powder at Keystone, Colorado!

We (myself, Biz and her family) just spent five great days skiing in Colorado - early April is well past peak ski season and so there is a risk that the ski conditions won't be good but in the days leading up to our trip it snowed over 40 inches - I have never seen so much powder on the slopes and some seasoned Colorado skiers told us it was the best skiing they have seen in years - it was simply fantastic.

Biz of course was not taking any chances and so did not ski. Instead she chilled out, went to the spa and caught up on some reading . Of course we were all able to enjoy some apres ski!

Grand Slam Champions 2009

I wasn't sure I would ever see this day after the near misses of recent years of arguably the best rugby players at our disposal in generations - Ireland being crowned six nations rugby grand slam champions in 2009. A proud day to be Irish.

Of course the team made us go through a nerve wrecking 80 minutes against Wales in the last game, going close to losing it in the dying seconds. But this team deserves it and the coach Declan Kidney is being called by many a 'legend'.

This even gives me hope that Limerick will manage to win an All Ireland hurling championship in my lifetime.

32 Week Update

I went to the Dr. today for the 32 week update. My belly is measuiring 32cm so I'm right on track. The Dr. told me I was having a boring pregnancy and we both agreed that was a good thing! I'm feeling good and staying active. I'm running 2-3 miles a few times a week and doing some other work outs. Overall I feel I have the pregnancy thing down. I just can't believe the next step is baby! Only 2 more months and we'll get to meet our little guy.

St Patty's Day

Thats what they call it here in Chicago - Patty's day. Seems to be the Amercian translation of Paddy. They do know how to celebrate it though - the last two Paddy's days in Chicago have been among the best - forget about dyeing the river green and the parade and all that, its the enthusiasm of Chicagoan's to get out in green and be 'Irish' (or 'Chirish' - the Chicago Irish - as they were pushing this year) for the day that is impressive.

We started the day with about a dozen people over for a traditional irish breakfast and we watched the Ireland v Scotland rugby match with the first beers of the day. The game was a lot closer than expected but the victory put us all in a postivie mood. We headed to O'Brien's, a neighbourhood bar, and enjoyed the craic agus ceol (i.e. fun, beer and music) and joined up with plenty of our Chirish friends. About 9pm (see the pictures of our merry state) myself and Biz had enough celebration - Paddy's day starts early but finishes early too which is different from back in Eire but no harm - my hangover kicked in about midnight but at least I was functioning the next morning.

Hope you enjoyed yours!