2 kids with colds and fevers
+ 1 lovely intestinal bug (giardia?)
+ 1 kiddo kicking around at 21 weeks in utero
+ 1 case of weird, shooting lower back pain (sciatica?)
+ 25 hour travel time in the air and waiting in airports
= 1 exciting, upcoming adventure

On Tuesday, we fly to the States. Lord-willing, the kids will be past their colds, I won’t get any sicker, and Kabob won’t get what any of us are having. Particularly the fever part… Being quarantined in the airports stateside sounds like no fun.

All this said, we’re all very excited about this upcoming adventure. It’ll be go go go from the moment we land because the trip is short and sweet (we hope to come back for a more leisurely time in the fall, after Lentil is born). But it’ll still be good.

In the meantime, I’m preparing to speak at a conference, Kabob is preparing to travel solo with two kids from Atlanta to Oregon (we split up in Atlanta, and I go on to Nashville), and Chickpea is preparing for some Chick-Fil-A. Garbanzo is preparing to not poop one time while we’re in an airplane.

We’re traveling light because 1. we prefer to, and 2. almost all the kids’ pants are highwater. Yeah, we’ll be stocking up on clothes when we’re there. Watch out, Goodwill.

Be it in Nashville, Eugene, Austin, or somewhere in between, we hope to see you soon!

Well, 68 percent of us were wrong (myself and Kabob included). It’s a BOY!

The doc says she’s 70 percent sure. The little guy was wiggling a lot, and then he settled in to this position with his feet curled up (he was sitting “criss cross applesauce” style), and wouldn’t move. All this to say… We didn’t get a great view. So that’s why she’s saying 70 percent.

We’re going in two weeks from now for a follow-up, so maybe we’ll get a better view then. I won’t get into details, but after having taken progesterone orally twice a day from 10 weeks on, I still needed a very painful progesterone shot at the appointment. The doc says I’ll need another one in a few weeks — hence the appointment so soon.

Everything’s fine, mostly, but I’m supposed to be on modified bed rest for the next four days, just to make sure everything’s okay. Bed rest sounds nice, but it’s not. Not when you have two other kids vying for your attention.

Kabob’s got a major video deadline on Monday, I’ve got a website deadline on Wednesday, and then my book is due Friday… A big week for us. So maybe bedrest is God’s way of telling me to slow down, stay horizontal, and just work.

The house is a wreck. But oh well.

Oh, and I should say that Chickpea is elated. She’ll randomly grin from ear to ear and say, “I’m so excited about my new brother!” On the way home from my appointment, I was concerned that she’d be disappointed, since she was hoping for a sister. But I prayed for her in the car, and He answered. She’s thrilled! And since Garbanzo will now have a little digging-in-the-mud playmate, that means Chickpea will have sole control of the china tea set and her centerpiece creations.

Tomorrow is my 18 week prenatal checkup, and there’s a good chance we’ll find out the gender. So… Just for funsies, take a guess at what “Lentil’s” gender is:

I have a guess, but I’m curious how many friends and family members will be right! I’ll let you know when we know…