Feeling Wii Fit

Little IT had a very specific request for her birthday present.  She wanted a Wii Fit. 

I was a bit surprised that she asked for one in the first place.  Since Nintendo was doing a lot of outreach to MommyBloggers about the gadget, I didn’t think it was for kids.  When I tried out one at the BlogHer conference, I saw that it was certainly fun, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to get one.

Then, I started to shop around.  Ha.  Sure.  Why not just ask for a Tickle Me Elmo ten years ago?  The holy grail of electronic gadgets, next to the Wii itself, the Wii Fit still elicits chuckles when you ask for one at an electronics counter. 

But I was unafraid.  I had gotten a Wii last Christmas, due to perserverance and dumb luck.  I could do this.

I went to Amazon.com first.  They were out of stock, but had a bunch of marketplace sellers offering it for at least twice the going rate.  That was not an option.  Then I noticed you could put in your cell phone number to receive a text when it was in stock.  Why not, I said, and input it.

Three weeks later, I got a text that the Fit was in stock.  Based on the time of the text, it was in stock RIGHT THEN.  I went to the site but was unable to snag one.  Same thing happened when the next text came 2 weeks later. 

One week after that, I got another text.  This time, I was sitting next to my computer working away.  I noticed the text indicated that the Wii Fit would be in stock in five minutes.  I hopped onto the site and F5ed away, and sure enough, I was able to get one. 

Pretty amazing.  I half heartedly looked and got lucky.  Since it was a month before the birthday, I had not shopped around, virtually or at the brick and mortar stores.  Had I not gotten one from Amazon, I certainly would have. 

So, on her birthday, she unwrapped the Wii Fit and was thrilled.  Strangely, she now has a toy that few of her other friends have, so it comes out at every playdate.  It leaves me torn.  On the one hand, I prefer that she PLAYS on playdates, either outside or with board games or something else.  But at the same time, they are interacting with the thing, and moving all over the place.  For the time being it’s fine.

What isn’t fine is my Mii on the Fit.  We set up a few Miis to play on the Fit, and I wanted my “Ellen” on there.  It took height, weight, and did a fit test.  On the plus side, it gave me a Wii Fit age of 43, which is only 2 up from where I will be in December.  On the negative side, it made my Mii chubby.  VERY chubby.  I’m certainly not saying I’m thin, by any stretch of the imagination, but I am certainly no where near as chubby as my Mii!  Even the kids laugh about it, saying I look nothing like me Mii now.  If the Fit thinks this is motivating, it is most mistaken.  Girl and her friend have conspired to “slim” my Mii by getting on as me.  That’s certainly easier than diet and exercise and I may take them up on the offer.  In the meantime, it’s off to the plank challenge!