Again?!

I've never really wanted to be someone else, as in take over their life and all that, but there are all kinds of people that I wish I was like.

Right now I'm wishing I was one of those women who waits until the last possible moment to announce that she is pregnant and then comes up with a creative, cute way to make the announcement.

But I'm not her. I am pregnant, though. Only a couple of months along, but the weeks and weeks of vomiting are kind of a dead giveaway. There are a couple of days in there where I don't even know what happened. I know that I managed to crawl downstairs while John got the boys ready for school.  The girls are still alive, so they must have found something to eat. . . judging by the crumbs on the floor, I'd guess crackers.

Fortunately, I have a wonderful mother, mother-in-law and sisters and neighbors and I'm hoping that we're over the worst.  At least, I'm keeping most of my food down most of the time and I'm usually functional for most of the day.  Progress.

It is frustrating though, because I come from a long line of hearty, pioneer women who could plough a field, make soap, have a baby, make new shirts for the other 13 children, and then spend the rest of the day making dinner for neighbors, writing poetry and washing the laundry by hand.  Obviously the apple has fallen FAR from the tree.

And the "morning" sickness is so unpredictable.  I feel like I've become a worshiper in some ancient cult - trying to control volcanoes and monsoons by sacrifices and rituals.  I had five bites of un-sweetened cereal and then took my medicine - I lay down for twenty minutes and then ate some applesauce - I did the rain dance around the fire on the fifth day after the full moon - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  But I still cling to my systems and imagine that I can refine them until I get it just right.  Otherwise I would have to admit that I have absolutely no control  and my world will be devastated or not no matter what I try to do.

During the hours that I feel good, I'm really excited.  We were planning a longer gap between the last baby and the next one (19 months apart!) but I love babies all the time and am looking forward to another of my husband's beautiful spawn offspring.  Plus, I can't wait to meet this little person.  Anyone so determined to join our family that they make it through two forms of birth control is going to be an adventure.

(I tell my husband that he has Chuck Norris sperm - you can't kill it, you can't stop it.  He says I have electro-magnetic eggs that suck everything in.  So we both like to blame each other.  But we both know, it takes two to tango.)