M or F?

Today is the day that we find out (hopefully) if we're having a boy or a girl.  Earlier on I was hoping for a boy, given my fondness for Jack and how sweet he is, but lately I've warmed to the idea of having a girl.  Either way I'll be excited; this will simply narrow down our name pool by 50%.  And either way, we're all set when it comes to clothes, thanks to Kellie's generous gender-nonspecific clothing donation.  We're not big on the all pink or blue wardrobe, and are thrilled with all the greens, oranges, and yellows, and the abundance of animals.  Zoe even found a tiny Alaska tee shirt in the bag, which thrilled her to no end.  So while we'll find out what it is, Zoe has requested to be kept out of the know, even though I know that by her bedtime tonight she'll be running us ragged with her pleas to be informed.  Too bad.  In about three hours, we should know what this lemon is...

A fun way to entertain unruly 8th graders

So my 8th grade class has, for the past 2+ years, been the bain of my existence, taking great joy in testing my patience (which has worn quite thin as of late).  They're utterly out of control on most days, but are all capable of behaving themselves; they simply choose not to.  My being pregnant, however, has somehow captivated the interest of nearly every one of them.  Today they were all wanting to touch my stomach, which has just started to grow.  I guess at 18 weeks, I was expecting to be a little bit bigger than I am now.  Clothes are still fitting the same as they always have, and only after I've just eaten do I feel any larger.  

Anyway, I took advantage of my unusually respectful, good-natured students and entertained their questions, telling them about our plans to have a home birth without drugs.  They were surprisingly mild-mannered for the remainder of the class, diligently painting watercolor turtles, feathers, and medicine wheels in preparation for next week's National Indian Day.  Now I know how to keep these kids in check; I'll just have to keep cooking up stories of the baby I'm having, even if I'm not!  The worst part of my day is now over, and blessedly, it wasn't so bad at all.  

Not alone...

Last night while working my second (4th?) job as hostess at the Pickled Herring, Anne, a friendly acquaintance - girlfriend of our friend, Rafi - congratulated me, then quietly leaned forward, telling me that she, too, was pregnant. I was very excited for her, as she seems so warm, and Rafi will make a wonderful father. I was so pleased to know that I have someone else in our tiny community who is joining me on this journey. We're having them over later this week.

I've also just started getting some books in the mail about birthing at home and avoiding the conventional methods using medications and technology. This stuff is all well and good, but not necessary when things are all in place - as I hope they will be - so we're preparing to do this more or less on our own.

And...we find out in ten days whether we're having a boy or a girl, at which point we'll start seriously considering names.