Yup, We Got News

See that there ticker thingy? I'm generally not a big fan of them since they always seem a little cutesy to me, BUT, I saw this one that has ferret footprints on it, so I changed my mind. Besides, my ferrets have a ball like that, and it's one of their favorite toys. I have to admit my all time favorite use of a ticker was a few months ago when I saw that someone (I think it was Jennifer although I don't remember for sure) used one to count down the remaining days of the Bush administration. That was true stroke of genius. I wish I'd though of it myself. Hmph.

In this case, however, I'm using the ticker for its traditional purpose. I've been trying to come up with a deep and meaningful post, but I'm just.so.tired. that the desired writing obviously isn't coming anytime soon. Some friends already know the news, and anyone who sees me in person is going to be able to figure this out very soon. Also, my son knows:

Zeph: "I'm so 'cited!!"

Me: "Hmmm? Are you excited about our ferrets?"

Zeph: "No!"

Me: "Are you excited about the trucks in the street?"

Zeph: "NO!"

Me: "What are you excited about?"

Zeph: "I'm going to have a baby!"

And with that he sat down, pulled up his shirt, and pretended to nurse a toy hippo.

So, if you've been noticing a scatterbrained nature to my posts recently, and if you've noticed that I'm not posting with the frequency I used to, just bear with me. I'm feeling the full drag of the first trimester tiredness, and I'm hoping that in a couple of weeks I'll tap into that fabled reservoir of energy in the second trimester. Or failing that, perhaps Zeph will oblige me by returning to afternoon napping. Or pigs will fly. Or something.

They say the second child doesn't get the attention the first did. I'm seeing how this happens already. I'm not shopping for the "essential" baby gear. I did that the first time, and found out all I really need at first are a safe car seat, diapers, clothes, and a sling. Those we've got already. I'm not worrying about eating exactly right. I'm just concerned with eating nutritiously, and that's no different than any other day. I'm not worrying so much about there being something wrong with the baby this time around. I've learned that pregnancy is something our bodies are meant to do, and as long as we don't do stupid stuff, things generally work out in the end. Besides, I'm chasing a toddler all day. I don't have time to obsess. Nor do I have the energy. Which is probably for the best, since worrying isn't good for anyone, anyway.

I'm also finding that second children give us opportunities we might not have grabbed the first time around. Since Liam was born, the team of lovely, crunchy OB's who attended my first pregnancy have left the state due to drastic increases in malpractice insurance costs over the last few years. This is not a good situation for the state as a whole, but it does present me with the opportunity to have a homebirth with midwives. (Even really crunchy OB's don't do homebirths around here, as far as I know.) I really hope this is what happens in the end, because truly, it is kind of silly that bringing another member of the family into the world should involve breaking up a family, even for a few days.

And that is what's up here. It's going to be an exciting few months here at the Menagerie House. We've got chaos to spare on any given day, so we can definitely handle a bit more.