Here we go again

blah blah Halloween blah blah sewing blah blah HOA blah blah...

Let's get to some REAL news.

Drumroll, please, Maestro......
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Introducinnnnng,

for the Very First Time on the Internet,

(and surely not to be the last),

the Newest

Member

of the Pickles Family!!!

Toot-ta-toot!

(c'mon, it's the fourth kid -- it deserves a little pomp!)

(and WHY do doctors always give you the ultrasound that makes your baby look like a peanut-shaped lump, and never print out the cute teddy-bear ones where you can see their little hearts beating? WHY?)

So, here we go again! We officially have Too Many Children (depending on whom you ask). I'm going to get a little notebook and carry it around with me, so that when I inevitably get asked the inevitable questions that everyone believes it's their business to ask, I can tally that particular question, and respond with the handy previously-decided-upon answer. (Like, "No, I guess we DON'T know what causes that! Can you please explain it to me?")

Well, all the rest of you are so nice, ONE of us has to be snarky and shut the busybodies up. Or at least make them go home and re-think their purpose in life.

So, the pregnancy is going really well -- all hormone levels where they should be (praise God), baby's heartbeat looks good, it wiggled around for us on screen, so now we can draw a collective breath of relief and really start to feel glad. A miscarriage really changes you forever -- every rejoicing at a new pregnancy is carefully measured, until you feel you're "safe." Still, prayers are much appreciated.

So far I feel pretty good -- the nausea is really understated this time (again, PRAISE God!) and I haven't noticed any true moodiness -- but I am unbelievably, overwhelmingly, t-i-r-e-dddddd. I could get 11 hours of sleep at night and still wake up tired, need an afternoon nap, and go to bed early. (I actually did that once.) I am sleepy ALL the time. This is making driving reeeeeally interesting. I'm happy though -- I will take crippling exhaustion over mild nausea ANY day. Tiredness, I'm used to -- I'm a mom who likes to stay up late, for goodness sake. But nausea I could easily, happily, joyfully live without. I haven't escaped it completely -- it still likes to creep up on me, particularly whenever I'm making dinner.

So, stats -- I'm about 8 weeks along, due date mid-June-ish. (Happy Birthday, Uncle Dave!) It will be nice having a summer baby. School will be finished, PLUS I can spend the last few weeks of pregnancy floating in a pool! Ah, bliss.

It's going to be a busy summer for the family -- there will be baby cousins born in March, May, and now June!

Life is a beautiful thing.

(art credit: "Hope: Baby Hands and Feet" by Laura Monahan from art.com)