What We've Been Doing

So. exhausted.

It's like I have a tiny little person inside of me stealing all of my energy. Weird, I know, but it's the only explanation I have for dropping off the face of the earth every now and then. Usually right around 7:30 at night.

Last week was an unusually busy one, which also may help explain my absence from the internet world. I try to maintain a daily schedule that keeps me at home for most of the day since the little'uns are just plain happier, but it was not in the cards last week.

There was a lot of running back and forth to school for various reasons, which culminated with going in to pray the Rosary with Fiver's class last Friday. Let me just say that it was more awesome than I imagined. It took all my energy to keep my heart from exploding, that's how sweet the children were.

Also, I am loving Fiver's teacher so much that I'm wishing I could win the lottery and pay her to be his private tutor for the REST OF HIS LIFE. I think it doesn't hurt that he is a little enamored of her.

The rest of my time has been taken up by The Great Seasonal Clothing Switch of '09, which is always a back-breaking good time. This year, however, I have been very pleased to discover the joys of sharing clothing among sets of children of the same gender.

Sally and Bun are finally at a size where they can start using many of the things I have saved from Francie and Fiver. It is like a little treasure hunt for me, and I get to see some of my favorite outfits repeated for another year.

The only thing I struck out on this year were coats for Sally and Bun. I don't have hand-me-downs that are the right size for them this year, and since we had SNOW last week (really, Mother Nature?), I had to break down and buy them new coats. Arg.

Next year, though, I'm good to go.

In addition to all my sorting fun, I've also been figuring out what to do with all those buckets of apples we picked. We've been eating apples every day, drinking fresh apple cider, eating apple crisp, and I'm ready to make applesauce this week.

Forget the flu shots, we're working on keeping every doctor in the tri-state area away. (Except you, Rob, my dear. There's no way you're getting out of this booby hatch without me.) (And apples or not, don't forget the flu shots. We need 'em.)

In Numero Cinco news, things are going well, as far as I can tell. All the sickness has gone away, and I have a round belly to show. No more people wondering if I'm pregnant or I've just had one too many helpings of apple crisp.

It's hard to believe that I am almost to the halfway mark with this pregnancy. I have felt the baby move, but the movements are still irregular. That is all perfectly normal, but I am not perfectly normal, so of course I worry. Rob spends a lot of time telling me that he thinks the baby is fine. Poor man with the crazy wife. (And St. Gerard Majella has been hearing from me as well.)

At my last doctor's visit, I got the paperwork for my 20 week ultrasound, so now the great debate has begun. You know the one: should we FIND OUT?!?! I mean, I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a BABY, but should we find out which kind?

We have not purposely found out with any of the other children. Francie, Fiver, and Sally were all surprises, but we ended up knowing Bun's gender at the very end.

We couldn't help it, it was like the perfect storm of factors: I had serial ultrasounds for the last weeks of my pregnancy, Bun was an exhibitionist, and Rob reads ultrasounds as part of his job. It was only just a matter of time, my friends.

Now that I've had it both ways, I cannot decide what I want to do this time around.

Also, many of you have asked what I am going to call this baby here on the blog. And to that I say: No clue.

Bun was originally named because he was the Bun in the Oven, but I think he will keep the moniker "Bun" even though he is fully baked.

Instead of Bun in the Oven, I think of him as a Hot Cross Bun, thanks to his temper. I know he is feeling his two year old oats, but he is by far the most short-fused of the children. His frequent ear-splitting shrieks of protest leave no doubt about that. Good thing he is a generally happy guy. And that he's cute.

But all that leaves me no closer to a blog name for this baby. Forget a REAL name, how can you have a baby without a suitable internet pseudonym? Let's get serious here. I'd like to keep it in the literary vein of the other kids' names, so maybe this is a wait-until-the-baby's-born kind of situation.

So I ask you, my friends:

A: Did you find out your babies' genders ahead of time? Why or why not?

B: Any suggestions for this baby's blog name?