Tag, You're It!

Did I mention that I'm still sick? Yeah, I'm at the point now where I'm hacking my head off and coughing up lots of fun stuff. V's still no better with the runny nose and cough himself. I'm really getting tired of being stuck in the house, and I know he wants to get outside, too. I think a trip to the park or even our own backyard is in order, later.

So, on to more fun things. My mommy friend Kristin turned me on to a great website yesterday, The Mom Bloggers Club. It's kind of a Facebook or Myspace geared toward mommies who like to blog with lots of ways to network and discuss blogging and life in general. I've already been lead to a couple of neat blogs, including Punky Monkey. The mommy blogger, Tena, posted a fun little tag game to play with other bloggers, and I thought I'd share it with you all, and hopefully, get our own game going.

Here are the rules for “6 Quirky Things”:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Well, no one tagged me since I'm starting this particular game, and I'm not sure if I personally know 6 people who follow my blog and who also blog themselves, but I'll try my best with the "6 Quirky Things" bit.

1. I have this terrible habit of starting something and, if I can't finish it right away, it tends to sit there waiting for me to get it done. Then, I suddenly get bored with it and move on to something else that also never gets finished. I have a knitting project that's not been touched in weeks, my husband's chain mail dice bag that was supposed to be a Father's Day present and may not even be finished by Christmas, a book I've wanted to finish for a while that will have to go back to the library today, a video game in the middle of which I'm kind of stuck, and countless other things lying around the house. I'm not sure if I have ADD and become distracted too easily, or if it's just my mommy brain making it impossible for me to focus on one thing at a time. This probably isn't a "unique quirk", since I have a feeling there are a lot of people like me, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
2. I have a lot of friends who are girls, but I think I have even more friends who are guys, most, if not all, with whom I've never had any other kind of relationship. This may not be a unique quirk, either, but I think it's something interesting about me. It's not that I don't get along with girls--I totally do. It's just that I tend to like to do things geared more toward the male population, especially gaming. There were a lot of girls at Gen Con Indy this year, but I bet the majority of the population was male, and a lot of the games being demoed were made particularly with the male gender in mind. I chalk this quirk up to having lived and played with a brother for a long time before my sister came along. Also, I gave birth to a son, so it kind of helps that I tend to play more boy games with him than girly things (more blocks, and less tea parties).
3. When I was in high school, I spent a lot of time daydreaming with different movies playing out in my head, usually with me as the lead "actress". I've noticed lately that if I have a lot of time on my hands, the "movies" tend to come back, only they're a little different than what I daydreamed then. It probably happened because I read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies and TV growing up. I've had a lot of different scenes constantly playing out in my noggin over the years, some of which actually started as real dreams that I remember. I've always wondered what would happen if I wrote any of them down. I tried once when I was in high school and then, buried the notebook somewhere in my room. When I found it some time after college, I reread it and thought it was the silliest thing I'd ever read. It involved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, if that tells you anything. Yeah, I was a big fan back in junior high school. It was a weird obsession I had at that age, but I totally had fun with it.
4. I never ate cucumbers or olives before I got pregnant. Then, when I was pregnant with V, I couldn't get enough of cucumbers on my salads or olives on my pizza. I thought they were going to be just some weird pregnancy cravings that would go away after I had my son. However, I still crave them sometimes two years later, especially olives. Weird, huh?
5. I like to have wine every once in a very great while, but I'm very afraid to drink too much alcohol. I've never been drunk in my life, though I think I've been kind of tipsy once or twice. My parents never drank in front of me growing up, so that could have been a part of it. Also, I was a very rigid, conservative, religious, little goody-two shoes. There were a lot of things I would not try until I went to college, and even then, I didn't experiment with much of anything, especially alcohol. Part of me has always been afraid that I might become an addict for various reasons, but I think I just don't like the idea of losing control of my mind and body. I've seen and been around a lot of drunk people in my life, and even though it looks like they're having fun, to me they're mostly just an embarrassing mess. That's my personal opinion and impression. Please don't think I'm judging or thinking about any one person in particular. I'm just not a drinker and prefer not be in a situation where a lot of heavy drinking is involved. A little alcohol among friends now and then is one thing for me. A huge gathering with people falling all over themselves drunk is quite another.
6. I'm sometimes afraid of ghosts, the darkness, and very bad storms. Yes, even at 30-something years old, I'm still afraid of these things. I've heard too many stories from friends and others about hauntings and the like, and I've personally experienced a few weird things myself that keep me interested in, and sometimes afraid of, the supernatural and the unknown. I'll have to tell you the story some time about when I was in college, and I felt the spirit of my grandfather before I'd actually heard he'd died. My (sometimes) fear of the darkness is related to my fear of ghosts and really is just a product of my imagination. We live in a much bigger house now, and it can get really eerie and quiet at night, especially when B's working at the hospital and V and I are alone. My fear of storms is just a habit I picked up from other family members with the same fear and also, from when we actually had a tornado-like situation cause a tree to fall on our house when I was little. I think I'm getting better with this fear, but there are times when it can really overcome me, especially now with so many weird weather-related catastrophes happening around the world.

So, that's my list. It's not particularly funny or weird, but it's all me. And now, I'd like to tag a couple of bloggers I know and see if they have anything to share. Remember, you don't have to do this at all. I thought it'd be a fun departure from our normal blogging.

Kristin and Beth--TAG, you're it!
Updated to add: Anyone reading this with a blog of their own who would like to jump in on the fun, please feel free to do so. You've all been universally TAGGED! Sorry if I didn't tag you personally. I probably don't know you have a blog, or did at one time and just forgot (remember, mommy brain). If you decide to play, please add a link to your blog post in my comments. I'd love to read them all!

Have a great Saturday, everyone!
Amanda

Because I'm Still Sick (of Being Sick)....

The latest xkcd is up. And, lo, it was good:



This actually applies to our (recent) life. When we first moved to our new house, we ended up getting our cable modem hooked up before our new satellite dish. When the satellite was installed, the guy cut our Internet connection by mistake when he was digging up the yard to bury the satellite line. So, we had to get the cable company from whom we're getting our Internet service to come back to our house and reinstall our Internet, and thus, run ANOTHER line through our back yard. You should see it right now. There are several paint spots from where they had to mark for the new lines and a couple of nice brown lines through the yard from where they actually buried the cables. Nice.

I'm Sick of Being Sick

When I checked in with my mom while we were at Gen Con last weekend, she told me that she wasn't feeling very well and that V had the start of a cold, as well. He had caught it from one of his cousins, one of whom had just started Kindergarten that week. We picked V up on Sunday and found that he had a seriously runny nose and a slight cough. Mom was in her room in bed with a fever and a nasty virus or something. Well, it didn't take long for me to start feeling symptoms. Yesterday, I had a sore throat all day. Today, it's still sore with some congestion in my nose. What's worse is B was feeling the same symptoms as well yesterday, which means we're all sick. I hate that. I don't mind being sick at home as long as I can take care of V and the house. However, B can't just take off work whenever he wants when he feels bad, especially since he's so new with his office. He's working as I write this, and I hope he's feeling good enough to take care of his patients. He's on-call tomorrow, and then, he has Friday off, since he'll be post-call. Hopefully, the weekend will give him a chance to rest and get over this thing. I just hope I start feeling better, soon. It's hard enough to take care of a sick child, but it's even worse when the parent feels just as bad. I didn't want to do anything but lay on the couch under a blanket last night, which made V very upset. He wanted me to play with him, and I just didn't have the energy. Today, we're both kind of laying around doing very little. I want to get him out and about, but I'm waiting until he's feeling a little better and not so snotty. Poor little guy. The worse part about this whole situation is that we're still waiting for B's insurance to kick in, which may take a couple of months, and V still hasn't seen a pediatrician for his 2 year appointment. I may just have to make an appointment with someone and cover the costs until the insurance is ready. If V gets any worse and needs medical care, I'm not sure what we're going to do, except take him to an urgent care and hope it's not too expensive. One light at the end of the tunnel is that we're in the process of actually selling our house in Ohio. We finally got an offer last week after having the house on the market since April, and after the potential buyers countered our counter-offer, we accepted and are now going through all of the necessary paperwork to get everything finished. It looks as though we may have a possible sell date in early to mid-September, depending on the sellers and the inspection process and whatnot. I'm worried about the inspection, since our house is old, and though we repaired and renovated as much as possible, it's still not completely "new" looking. I guess there's no worrying about it until everything is finally settled. I'm ready to get rid of the extra mortgage payments and all of the bills associated with the house. Then, we can officially move on with our lives here in Indiana. Well, I best be going, so I can take care of our little guy, who's dripping from his nose and whining pitifully. I hate being sick, and I hate when he's sick, too.
Best to you all,
Amanda

Gen Con, Days 3 & 4

I've decided to combine the last couple of days of Gen Con into one post, since I pretty much described our entire convention experience in the last two posts. The only differences between Saturday and Sunday and the rest of the con were B was able to attend with me over the weekend and I actually paid money to attend an event. B and I started out spending time together and with our college buddy, who I happened to run into on Thursday and with whom I spent most of the rest of the con when B wasn't around. I demoed a couple of games with B that I'd already played, and we spent a lot of time wandering the exhibit hall, checking out the booths and talking with friends we met along the way. At lunch time on Saturday, I was scanning the program book for interesting seminars or workshops, when I found a chain mail class I wanted to try. I wasn't sure if the class was already full, so I went to the event registration area to check it out. Luckily, someone had canceled and left a spot, so I was able to join the group. We went back into the exhibit hall, and B and our friend immediately found a game they wanted to demo. I wasn't interested in the game at all, so I left them and went wandering by myself. I found an amazing booth full of great costumes and jewelry, most of which could be used for belly dancing outfits or medieval wench costumes. There were tops, balloon type pants (like in "I Dream of Jeannie"), and skirts galore. I have a great belly dancing hip scarf at home, and after a lot of rummaging and some help from the booth vendors, I found an amazing velour-type top with flowing sleeves and a pair of sheer, lavender genie pants. I'll have to find some kind of tights or something to wear underneath the pants and a pair of slippers or sandals to wear on my feet, but once I do, I'll have a great belly dancing outfit to wear to the con next year and for Halloween! After that, I stopped by Steve's booth in the art show and chatted with him and another one of the dads from our Ohio play group who happened to be attending the con, too. It was great to be able to catch up with people we hadn't seen in a long time! After we parted ways, I found the room for my chain mail class and spent the next few hours attempting to create a "handflower", which is a kind of bracelet that attaches to the middle finger and covers the top of the hand. It was a fairly difficult class, even with my prior chain mail experience. I wondered how many people in the class had never attempted chain mailing before and wouldn't have been surprised if they had decided they never wanted to do it again, afterward. The two guys who taught the class were great and very patient with everyone. They went around to every single person and helped us create the weave correctly. I have terrible spatial awareness skills, and it took me about two hours to get the weave down as well as to keep my rings in the right places in order to fit them together correctly. I wasn't able to finish the handflower during the class, but I had enough of it done to show my hubby and my friends, which is just a great feeling. We had dinner after that and went back to the Convention Center to watch a couple of independent film screenings. One of the screenings was of our friends The Dead Gentlemen's movie, "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising". Lots of con-goers showed up for the screening, which made it so much fun to watch even though B and I have seen it several times in the past couple of years. We didn't get home until after 2 am, and though we were very tired, we managed to get up the next morning and head to the con at a reasonable hour. On Sunday, the exhibit hall closed at 4 pm, so we tried to do as much as possible in that short time period. We ended up buying lots of goodies (see pics below), including a few new T-shirts for next year's Gen Con. My favorite shirt says "I'm Not Anti-Religion, Just Anti-Hypocrisy." I also bought a "Cthulhu for President: Why Settle for A Lesser Evil" shirt, which I hope to wear to the voting booths this November! B demoed a prototype of a new game for a while, and I spent some time saying goodbye to friends, finishing my handflower, and checking out whatever I hadn't seen over the last three days. We ended the con with a quick demo of a new game, which we bought just five minutes before the exhibit hall closed. The last thing we saw as we left the convention was the final entries from a Spam carving contest from Saturday night. It was absolutely hilarious and a great lasting impression of Gen Con Indy '08. We immediately left for my parents' house and had a small birthday celebration for V before coming back home. B and I were both exhausted, but we left the con discussing next year's convention, when B will try to take several days off, so we can get a hotel room in Indy to spend even MORE time there playing games and having fun. I'm already looking forward to it!

And, now, as if I hadn't rambled enough, here are a few pics, so you can experience Gen Con, too:

Me tossing a die in Gary Gygax's memory! RIP, GG!


The sign for the Days of Wonder booth, one of our favorite game companies.


If you think the back of this fairy's costume is spectacular, you should have seen the front!


Cardhalla! Build towers out of leftover playing cards and destroy them later by throwing coins at them for charity! Huzzah!


No Gen Con is complete without a roaming Darth Vader and random Storm Trooper...


And an R2 unit, even! W00t!


I finally found my "Dr. Horrible", Death Ray and all! Thanks, Chad, for making my Gen Con experience complete! Not only do you have a Ph.D. in horribleness, but in awesomeness as well!


From Geek Chic, every gamer's dream gaming table...for $10,000! B and I are going to try to get our brother-in-law to build something similar for our gaming room for, hopefully, much less.


Another view of the Geek Chic table.


How about a life-size Marvel Heroclix game with Superman and Mr. Fantastic?


The "RattleSnake" game using magnets, brought to you by Fantasy Flight Games.


Steve Prescott scribbling away at his booth on the last day.


The Spam Carving Contest winners: a foot, a dragon, and a computer.


And, finally, some of my favorite things (besides the games) from the con:

My black cat hat from the VooDoo Baby booth.


Some free swag from demos, the swag bag, and game pre-orders, including a miniature from the "Monsterpocalypse" game and a giant 64 ounce mug for pre-ordering some game expansions from Smirk and Dagger Games, another of our favorite game companies.


The chain mail handflower I created in the workshop on Saturday.




And, now, it's back to the real world. I'll post from there some time after V gets over the nasty, snotty cold he contracted at my parents' house while we were off gallivanting around Indianapolis.
Take care, and I'll see ya when I see ya.
Amanda

Gen Con, Day 2

So, Day 2 was just as much fun as Day 1. The best part about these conventions is that you can really just spend your time doing whatever you want (to an extent), and it's been even more fun because I haven't really followed any type of schedule. I've just kind of gone with the flow and whatever happens, happens. I made it to the exhibit hall soon after it opened in full costume. I've tried to dress up as something at least once during the con the last few years. This year, I decided it might be fun to be one of Dr. Horrible's groupies. If you've seen the Internet phenomenon that is "Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog", then you know what I'm talking about. If you have no clue at all, then just take a gander at the pics below, and you'll kind of get an idea of the zaniness that is Joss Whedon's latest musical/fantasy series creation. The last part of the costume I needed was the goggles on my head, and luckily, there were all types being sold around the exhibit hall. Today, I found some real steampunk leather and brass goggles that were amazing, but I'm sure were much more expensive than my plastic welders' goggles. Plus, mine more closely resemble Dr. Horrible's goggles, so I was satisfied with my outfit. I only had one person want my picture, and she just so happened to be dressed as a Dr. Horrible groupie, too! It was kind of ironic that we ended up sitting in on the same seminar, since I think we were the only two dressed like that at the entire con today. I did actually see a "Dr. Horrible" roaming the exhibit hall floor at the end of the day, but he passed me before I could get a picture, and the next time I saw him, I was passing him in my car in the parking garage. Oh, well. Maybe he'll be there tomorrow. I just mentioned a seminar I sat in on, this afternoon. When you attend Gen Con, you can go to all sorts of workshops and seminars on just about anything related to gaming or the sci-fi/fantasy genres. Today, there happened to be a seminar on The Dead Gentlemen and their latest and future projects. Six of the "DG" led it, which was one of the funniest experiences I've had in a very long time. As I said in my previous post, their latest movie, "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising", was released on DVD at the con, yesterday. Today, they spoke a little on the distribution process and why it took them a while to get the film released to their adoring fans. They also talked about The Demon Hunters RPG, a role-playing game based on the first movie they ever made (while still in college) called "Demon Hunters". While the seminar was partly a plug for their current projects, they also spoke a little on what they have planned for the future. I'm not going to go into specifics, but some of the things they have in store for the world just sound totally awesome! By the way, I highly, HIGHLY recommend anyone reading this to find a copy of "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising" and watch it with all of your pals. It's a great film for anyone who loves playing games and/or loves funny, fantasy films. Because they signed with Anthem Pictures to distribute their movie, you'll now be able to add it to your Netflix queue or even buy it on Amazon.com or from your local video store. Hopefully, this wider distribution will give them an even bigger fan-base. Which means more money for them. Which also means more great movies and other products they can create for the rest of us! Yay for independent artists and their lovely creativity! Speaking of independent artists, I also took a picture of my friend and fantasy artist, Steve Prescott, at his booth this morning. He's been busy there signing "Magic: The Gathering" cards and selling originals and prints of some of his artwork. He received the "Best in Show" award at Gen Con, last year, so he gets to judge the artwork of his fellow artists at this year's show. It'll be interesting to see who gets the ribbons, tomorrow. Besides talking to friends and enjoying that seminar this afternoon, I did take the time to sit down and demo a couple of games. It's hard to demo at some of the exhibits because they're always so busy and full of people. However, a friend of mine and I were able to find a few places where we could get a quick demonstration of the companies' latest games. I left the con exhausted from all the walking and from the little sleep I got last night, but it was all worth it. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, when I can share the day with my hubby! Yay!

Before I ramble on even more than I have, here's a look at the day:

Steve Prescott at his booth in the "Art Show". He wanted me to make sure it looked like he was "working" in the pic!


Me as a "Dr. Horrible" groupie! Yes! That is me in that picture!


I met Angela from Louisville at the Dead Gentlemen seminar, who just happened to be dressed as a "Dr. Horrible" groupie, too! What a crazy, random happenstance!


I wanted a picture OF the Dead Gentlemen. They made me get in the picture WITH them.


Then, the person taking the picture told them to look "disturbingly" at me. I had no clue what expressions they had on their faces until after I saw the picture! Yeah, that's pretty much how the entire seminar went! They are just wacky, funny guys!

Pictured with me (from left to right): Scott Brown, Nathan Rice, Brian Lewis, Don Early, and Matt Vancil. Thanks, guys, for brightening my day!

Oh, and I can't forget the reason(s) why they gave their seminar: "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising" and The Demon Hunters RPG.


And, finally: "I'm a monster! Rawrrr!!!"


I probably won't get home in time to blog, tomorrow, so I'll see ya all on Sunday or Monday (depending on how exhausted I am when we get home!).
Amanda

Gen Con, Day 1

Just a quick post to say I survived the first day of Gen Con and had an absolute blast! I didn't quite make it to the Indianapolis Convention Center in time to be one of the first people in the exhibit hall, but I was able to get to the Paizo Publishing booth to buy a copy of The Dead Gentlemen's movie "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising". They premiered the movie at Gen Con two years ago to standing-room-only crowds, but it just went on sale at Gen Con today because it's taken them a while to find the right distribution company for the film. For anyone who likes to play games, it has a lot of inside jokes, and for anyone who doesn't know anything about RPGs, it's a wonderful introduction to the gaming world. By the time I picked up my copy of the movie and got in one of the increasingly long lines, I noticed that the DVDs were quite literally flying off the shelves. In fact, the five guys in front of me and the guy directly behind me in line were all there just to buy the movie! After buying it, we all had the privilege to stand in line again and get the cover signed by many of the cast and crew members. B and I personally know a couple of the members, so it was like meeting old friends again. In fact, that's how my whole morning went! I kept running into friends who I usually only see at these conventions. I made it to the Art Show area, where sci-fi and fantasy artists show off their talent, and I met up with my friend Steve Prescott. He was one of the dads in our play group back in Ohio, and it was only after I had joined the group that I had discovered his artistic talents, which can be found in most of my husband's Dungeons and Dragons guide books and supplements. We caught up on what's been happening in our lives since B and I moved before I went back into the main area of the exhibit hall to seek out the rest of my "must-haves", which included the final element for my costume for tomorrow! Hurrah! I grabbed lunch at Circle Center Mall, which is attached to the Convention Center via many skywalks, and I managed to run into one of our college friends and gaming buddies. I was so glad I ran into him because neither of us had any major plans for the rest of the day at the convention. We went back to the exhibit hall and demoed a few games and just checked out what everyone had to offer. We ended up having dinner together and watched some anime before parting ways. I got home around 8:30 pm, called my mom to check on V (who is having a great time with his grandparents, cousins, and aunt and uncles), and I've spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics and surfing the Internet. It's been a great day, and I'm really looking forward to more fun, tomorrow! I'll try to start a list of some of my favorite games from the convention, later. Oh, and here are a few pictures from the convention. I didn't take many today, mostly because I was too busy playing games and meeting people!

A giant 20-sided die welcomes everyone to the exhibit hall, in honor of Gary Gygax, the "Father of Dungeons and Dragons", who died earlier this year.


The Dead Gentlemen signing autographs: Steve Wolbrecht, Matt Vancil, Don Early, and Nathan Rice.


The banner of Fantasy Flight Games, one of the many gaming companies selling their newest games at the convention.


Look! Belly dancers in the hallway!


Now, it's time for bed. I'll try to get some pics of my costume tomorrow as well as those of the many other people wacky enough to dress up! I saw a lot of pirates today, but I think my favorite was the pirate walking with his friend, the ninja! Classic!
See ya, tomorrow!
Amanda

When The Kid's Away, The Parents Will Play!!!

Only two more days, and I'll be having the time of my life at Gen Con Indy! For those of you who don't know, Gen Con is a huge annual gaming convention in Indianapolis featuring all forms of game play: board games, role-playing games (RPGs), live-action role-playing games (LARPs), collectible card games (like Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering), traditional card games, video games, miniature games, and so on. Not only can you learn how to play the strangest and wildest games in the world (usually imported from Europe), but you can also do things like learn how to make chain mail, compete against your friends in a foam weapons battle, fight your way through a life-size dungeon full of puzzles and monsters, watch tons of Anime or sci-fi/fantasy films, dress up in wacky costumes (and win a costume contest, if you'd like), or learn how to write sci-fi/fantasy novels or your own game. If there's a particular thing you want to do while there, you can probably do it 24 hours a day for the full four days of the convention. I'm serious. I can't wait for Thursday morning, and this year, it's going to be even more awesome because B and I will actually be able to attend the convention sans baby! A while back, I asked my parents if they would be willing to watch our son on the Saturday of the convention, since that's usually the busiest day, and it will be the first day B will be able to attend. He's too new at his job to be able to get time off for fun stuff like this. Even if they decided to watch V on Saturday, that still meant I would have to take care of V AND try to attend the convention on Thursday and Friday all by myself. Granted, it would be tough, but I was willing to do it. Well, we got a call from my parents soon after saying that if we were okay with it, they wouldn't mind watching V during the entire convention (Thursday through Sunday) and having him stay at their house. Overnight. Without either of us there to be with him. Now, this won't be the first time we've left V for an extended period of time. My in-laws watched him for us back in December when we went on a medical conference trip to Vegas. It was a nice little honeymoon for us, and V got quality time with Papaw C. and Grandma. When my parents suggested a sleep-over for V at their house while we attend Gen Con, we jumped at the opportunity, though I had some reservations, mostly because I felt a little guilty--like we were pawning him off on somebody else so we could go be big kids and play. However, they're actually thrilled with the idea. Now that we're back in Indiana, they've been able to see him more often, and they couldn't pass up the chance to spend more time with him. Not only will my parents be there, but V will be able to play with his two older cousins (my nephews) and his aunt and uncles. I'm so happy for him, but I'm also thrilled that B and I will be able to have fun and not have to worry about V's safety or routine while at the con. It really isn't the place for babies, though we did take him last year with us. I think he had a good time, but it's hard to maneuver a stroller around the Indianapolis Convention Center when you're surrounded by about 40,000 other attendees. Plus, V was a lot less mobile and curious last year. We learned first hand at the Origins Game Expo a couple of months ago that 2-year-olds and games with dice do not mix. He wanted to get into everything he saw in the exhibit hall, and he wanted to help us play every game we demoed, which meant a lot of "No!", "Put that down!", and "Don't put that in your mouth!" from B and I. Origins is a much smaller game convention, so I didn't mind letting him walk ahead of us in the exhibit hall when we were there. There would be no way I'd let him down to run around at Gen Con! It's just way too big and way too crowded. So, this Thursday morning at the very early hour of 6:00 am, V and I will leave our house for Papaw D. and Nana's house north of Indianapolis. After I leave him with my mom, I'll head on down to Indy by myself to register for the next "Best Four Days of Gaming" and enjoy the extensive exhibit hall without having to worry about diapers, sippy cups, whining, and grabby hands. Do I still feel a little guilty about it? Maybe. But in all fairness to my son, he'll have a much better time with his Nana, Papaw, and cousins than he would if he were stuck in a stroller all day watching Mommy try to roll natural 20s to survive a nasty dungeon crawling with kobolds or orcs. I'm getting into the spirit so much this year that I'm actually going to "try" to wear a costume on Friday. I have most of it together, but I'm still trying to get one element for it. If it doesn't work, that's fine. Most of the outfit is perfectly cute without that one piece. However, it'll be even more special if I can make it complete! I won't have a computer with me to blog from the convention, but I'll try to post pictures when I can at the end of each day, depending on what time I get home. B will be attending on Saturday and Sunday with me, and then, after we're done on Sunday, we'll go up to my parents' house to have a late birthday party for V before bringing him home. I just spoke to my mom earlier this afternoon, and she wants me to pack his swimming trunks, so he and she can go swimming at her neighbor's, whose grandson will also be there visiting. It already sounds like V's going to have a blast without us, too!
Best to you all, and I'll see ya when I see ya (which will most likely be Thursday night!),
Amanda