Babies Everywhere!

Brand-new Liam, the impending Petite Monnette, sweet Jacob, adorable Cullen, and the manchild Brody. My life is peppered with all these adorable little ones, with the effect that my baby dreams have started back up in full gear. This morning I had the clearly articulated thought, "If I don't have a baby soon, I will die."

Clearly, I am a 100% rational being.

That, following a dream last night in which a five-month-old Liam was already reciting catechism answers. Is it any wonder that my maternal instincts are in overdrive?

Add to all this the fact that we will have sweet, sweet health benefits at TRHMC for the next year - we could potentially have a $500 baby! - plus four weeks paid vacation (not counting possible maternity leave), and I am completely convinced that we would be utterly foolish to not have a child in the next year.

Any other "yes" votes? Grandparents? Anyone?

But the timing is still TBD. I'll defend my dissertation this fall sometime (Oct/Novish) and "graduate" next May (sans diploma, since I'll have to accrue my remaining internship credits before Pat will confer my degree). Joel will be working and hopefully attending an online MLS program starting in January.

Since a blog is, like, the totally best and easiest way to cull wisdom from a solid five people, how do you think we should time this? What should we be thinking about, other than blatantly cranking out a kid on somebody else's dime (which, really, isn't that enough?)?

More importantly, who will volunteer to be a free live-in nanny next summer?

I will totally slip you a twenty if you tell my husband that we should start trying next month. (love you, honey!) We are going to meet Liam this weekend, so he might be an easy sell next Tuesday....

Whew, I feel much better, now that I've spewed my baby feelings all over the internets. Emotional modesty what?