I’m pregnant. Almost 11 weeks. Feeling pretty much like doody, but happy. I have been falling asleep at 7:30 with the kids every night, and thus not writing. Each day, I make it through with barely enough energy to fold the laundry and then collapse and promise to write the next day.
Reactions from others have been pretty much positive, with some notable exceptions. The kids are excited though—I would not have told them this early, but Ava overheard me make a doctor’s appointment, and I naively said “I’m 6 weeks pregnant.” Duh. She came flying at me, screaming “you’re having a baby!!!”

Carter is dying for it to be winter so that he can finally see the baby. Occasionally, he yells “hi baby!” at my belly. Ava just talks incessantly about how she is going to play with the baby, take care of the baby, etc. They both talk about what they are going to teach the baby. Ava is going to teach him or her ballet and skating, and Carter is going to teach him or her how to wakeboard.

So, needless to say, getting through Ava’s birthday had an added challenge. Adding to the physical exhaustion, for the 2nd year in a row, I woke up at 3 AM, thinking about everything I had to do. The party went off well, albeit totally not as I had planned. I had almost postponed it because so many kids were out of town, but it ended up being just the right amount of children, once siblings were accounted for. The fairy decorations were GREAT, I have to say. I bought tulle and garlands of silk flowers and made a little fairy-land by draping them around the house – from the ceiling, various lighting fixtures, etc. It was hard for those of us over 5 feet in height, but very effective. I had all sorts of costumes for the kids, and Ava is so into dressing up, I forgot that others might not be. It was so weird—Ava very enthusiastically would invite the kids to put on wings and a tutu, and they would say no, and she would just look at them dumbfounded. Not upset, just unable to grasp why anyone would not want to be a beautiful dancing fairy. But kids are great, and they all figured out how to have a great time. Presents, candy, cake and favors are pretty much a good bet. We still have to do thank you notes.

After the party, I had a Very Stressful Week, which was ok, but just brought up all sorts of crap that I can’t stand dealing with, so we ended the Very Stressful Week with a visit to my yoga friend in Burlington. She has a 6-year-old child, and is pretty much a saint, and the kids had a blast, which was the point. She is so different, and so free, and so open, and is just a model for humanity. And you know, it is not hard. Be nice. Simple. Why is it so hard for some people to do that?

The first night we slept in a tent in the backyard (their house is very small), and it was fun to wake up and drink my (decaf) coffee while Ava jumped on the trampoline at 6 AM. So weird how hard it is to get outside early in the morning, but how great it is when you wake up there. The second night, it was pouring, so we crashed inside. On the third day, I took all of the kids to Shelburne Farms, where Kathy’s son managed to catch about 20 of the 50 or so chickens. I was amazed. He and Ava founf 2 eggs too. That was very cool. The rooster freaked me out—he had those horns/spikes, but no one seemed too worried about him, and the pig had just had babies—I cannot tell you how cute these piglets were.

We came home, remembered that there were auditions for Robin Hood the following morning, woke up, went to the theater and then had a terrible experience. The flyer had said “5-16 years” – but the man in charge got up and said “if you are 5 years old AND have completed kindergarten…” HELLO? This is NOT what the promotional material said, and moreover, how many 5-year-olds are going into 1st grade these days? It was an example of terrible communication between the theater company and the arts center, and neither party was willing to accept responsibility. I know, because I fired off a few emails that were somewhat sharply worded. It did not resolve anything, but it made Ava feel better to hear that mama stuck up for her.

And since then, all I have been doing is cleaning.

That is the last 2 weeks in a nutshell. Oh, and I finished The Post-Birthday World. More on that later. Right now, it is WAY past my bedtime.