News Update

Well it's been a while since I posted any news about what is going on here with us, so I thought I would kinda pull together thoughts from the last few months. The first and most exciting news is our forthcoming new addition.

Our first child is due September 25th, for those of you who haven't read in a little while or seen the posting, click here. All is well, and we are trying to plan our year, including any trips, especially where flying is involved, before it is too late for Lorraine to fly. According to the due date we are at 15 weeks right now, and there is not much else to tell. She is not really showing yet, no kicking, etc. She was as sick as a dog on dodgy dog food for the whole first trimester, and whilst she is much better now, she still has some issues in the evening.

I mention the dodgy dog food intentionally because of an issue which is only getting worse here in the US. For months a major rebranding manufacturer (name withheld to protect from law suits :-) has been recalling wet pet foods due to many animals getting sick and dying. Until this week, dry food which Reggie gets was said to be OK, however the just increased their list to include dry pet food, including the specific brand that Reggie loves. So Lorraine has gone out today to try to find one of the brands that is not on the list (about 60 so far!) Reggie reckons if she can eat goose shit and dead birds in the park, then a little dodgy dog food is easy!

The winter was a lot of fun with some great snow dumps. We are getting into spring time now and we have had a few decent storms, although we have yet to see the fabled golf or baseball sized hail, although with a brand new car, I am kinda glad about that. I found this picture on the Internet from a storm in 2002. At least we have a garage to hide the car in now too.

The golf courses are starting to open, although still very soft in a lot of cases. I played at the weekend, only the second time swinging a club in 2007, and shot 104 with three 8s, so I wasn't too heartbroken. My hope this year though is to be consistently under 100, with a tendency towards 90, but we'll see! Lorraine is pleased; the OBGYN says that she can continue to play as long as it feel comfortable, so she will play through the summer, and has actually joined the league on the little course across the street.

I am heading off to my first Cubs game of the season tonight at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Spring baseball can be pretty cold, but they have a dome covering the stadium, so it shouldn't be too bad. Cubs dominated in spring training, and on paper they have an excellent team, but as usual, so far they have not covered themselves with glory, losing their first series against the Cincinnati Reds. The bookies have them at 3/2 to win their division, 4-1 to win the pennant and 12-1 (which I took) to win the World Series, so they better buck up soon!

I have just completed all of the paperwork for my green card. My visa runs on in February next year and we had to choose between simply extending that or applying for the full green card. Ultimately the cost was to be the same, so we went the green card route. Hopefully it will make our lives much simpler going forward. As usual of course, there is a gazillion forms, copies and hoops to jump through, including an interesting medical check procedure.

Not much else to tell, I don't think so happy Easter to all, don't eat too many chocolate eggs!