I can’t tell you what a relief it was to be done NaBloPoMo on Friday (yay! I made it!) and not have to worry about throwing together a blog post on the weekend, not because we lacked bloggable fun but because we were so darn busy I hardly had time to sit down let alone blog about it.
This week is Beloved’s birthday, and I found out way back in the summer that there was a really cool social media conference going on in Toronto that I wanted to attend – on his birthday. “Happy Birthday, baby, I’m leaving you alone with the two kids while I jet off to a hotel for a day or so. Have a great one!” Because of that, and because he’s just such a great guy and wonderful husband and friend, and because he almost never gets really and truly spoiled, I wanted to get him something special for his birthday.
Way back in the summer, I knew I wanted to get him a Wii console. I like the idea of the Wii, like that they market themselves as a kid-friendly company, and love the idea that some of their games have a get-off-yer-duff-and-move component to them. The trick, of course, was finding one. It took me about a month of idle looking, but I finally found one online and ordered it at the end of September. I can’t remember the last time I was so twitchy to give someone a present! Two months of waiting – it’s been torture!
The funniest part has been listening to Beloved talk about the Wii systems for the last two months. To keep the secret, I had the console delivered to my parents’ house, and it seemed like every time they were around, he was finding some way to talk about the Wii. Or maybe it’s just because he was ALWAYS talking about the Wii and sometimes it happened to be when they were around… regardless, it’s been fun listening to him. Not that he was saying we should get one or anything, he was just rhapsodizing randomly on the various merits of the Wii, and I’d counter with either a flat out, “Are you kidding? Not a chance in hell” or a more compromising, “Why don’t we rent one after the Christmas holidays when the boys are home, just to test it out?” Beloved has long since discovered the efficacy of what I call the “death by a thousand paper cuts” approach to wearing down my resistance to any home electronics purchase, from our first DVD player to the laptop to the digital camera… just keep idly mentioning it, working it into conversations, reading specs out loud from the Future Shop flyer, until I can no longer stand it anymore and say something like “Oh, for the love of all things holy, just go out and buy it already. I don’t care what it costs, just STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!” He’s devious, that one.
He was, of course, shocked and overwhelmed and very, very pleased because he was nowhere near the usual critical mass of annoyance required to get me to capitulate to a purchase like this. The system I ordered came with Wii Sports, which I completely didn’t realize, and so I bought another game called Play that comes with a second controller. We had fun on the weekend playing everything from table tennis to bowling. (Those of you who have bowled with me in real life will be amazed to hear that apparently I’m quite good at it!) They also have one game which I’m suspecting will become a bit of an addiction for me, a game that is half air-hockey and half Pong. I’m all over that!
As if that weren’t enough for a weekend, we also put up our tree and decorated the house (a challenge on an ordinary weekend, and a feat of amazing strength and fortitute while trying to manoeuver around The Belly That Ate New York) and the boys have taken to standing in front of the tree and gazing lovingly at it, saying “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen” in reverently awed voices… for about six seconds, before they started clamouring for another go at the Wii.
We’re now in the middle of an epic snowstorm that may well scuttle my plans to fly out to Toronto tomorrow. We’ve got 20 cm (8 inches) on the ground already, with another 20 to 30 cm forecast for today. It takes a lot to shut this city down – aside from the ice storm in 1998 I’ve never seen it happen – but getting snowed in with the fancy new Wii is not the worst way to go…
mmm WII ohhhh. I am the electronic lover in our household and I have been trying to convince my hubby we need one. I am also trying to convince him we need a third child. I just may get my WII 🙂
Having bowled with Dani many, many many many many times in various settings and formats including midnight, disco, bingo, and drunken, I can confirm that, without a doubt, she is the cutest and most entertaining bowler I have ever seen. Skill, not so much. Fun factor…off the charts.
Good luck with the Wii – let me know when “The one where she throws the Wii controller through the window” blog gets posted.
Have fun with the wii, Dani. I’m teleworking today and glad that I visited the grocery store, the LCBO, and the library on Sunday.
I mean Saturday, the library isn’t open on Sunday.
Isn’t wii the best!?
My hubby has no patience when it comes to game console’s so he had his in his hands the day it came out. He still loves it! And Christos is learning to use it too!
Cool… What an awesome gift.
Hugs
S
Wait! where are the pictures? There were so many picture worthy moments in that post! Photo us! Photos!!
Wii!!! I love our wii. Sounds like Beloved had a very good birthday indeed!
The best part about the Wii is watching someone else play. I hope you can dig out before you O.D. on it though.
We like our Wii too.
I’m totally with you about Wii play, esp the laser/air hockey game. I love that one, although I love cow jumping just as much.
My Mark has devoted many hours to playing Zelda (you know, in case you’re looking for stocking stuffers) but I personally enjoy Wario Ware. It’s crazy fun.
I camped outside Circuit City for my daughters’ Wii last Christmas. They’ve been great with it; no Wii until all their chores and homework is done. It’s a fabulous system and I’m glad the era of the “overly complicated gaming with your thumbs” is past.
Catching up on my mad amount of reading here… Way to go on getting the Wii! Mr Babbler and I decided that this was the thing for Christmas. His brother got one for his birthday and we had the best time together test-driving it (and it really *is* a workout!)
And coming to T.O.? Hey…. I’m in T.O….