We’ve been practicing! Ian, Lucas, and I have been taking occasional evening bike rides after dinner. Lucas is a wiz on his tagalong bike now. (The tagalong is kind of like a tandem bike for one big person in front and one small person in back.) Lucas loves going downhill as fast as possible, and he pedals like a madman no matter how quickly they speed along. When Ian’s coasting, Lucas is pedaling. He even helps on the uphill climbs. Ian says the balance shifts based on Lucas’s movement and that’s a little weird, but they both seem to have the hang of it. We got Lucas a new bike helmet that has little cartoon dinosaurs and cavemen on it. He wears it religiously and without argument, for which I’m very grateful! So, except for the fact that my 3-speed clunker only has one speed (3rd gear—not my first choice for neighborhood hills), we are ready for the playa!

* We are borrowing a pair of walkie-talkies and a generator from Ian’s stepfather.
* Thanks to X’s growing feet, we have an extra pair of boots for Lucas to wear on the playa.
* I have a new pair of maternity shorts, and a handful of old sarongs: This may be the extent of my playawear & costumery this year.
* Ian figured out our shade structure configuration.
* My dad’s trailer should be here for our packing this weekend.
* There’s plenty of el-wire in the garage, but not plenty of time in which to make something el-wirey. Ian has hopes of making something, nonetheless.

Poor Ian has to write a paper and take a final this week.

Step-by-step, little-by-little, we inch toward our departure for Black Rock City at 3 a.m. on Monday morning.

A little trouble at preschool: I’m told by Miss Jennifer that Lucas has been picking on Ella lately, especially Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Today was better, apparently. Ian had mentioned to Jennifer that Lucas has been pretty rough with me lately, too. The teacher’s theory is that, on some level, Lucas may know about the pregnancy. Who knows? I just know that WILD, and OUT OF BOUNDS, and RAMBUNCTIOUS are the best words to describe him these days.

I’ve bragged about Lucas’s artwork before. I’ve seen a tremendous level of detail coming through his drawings over the last several months. His favorite themes are rockets and robots, machines and vehicles, cannons, pirate ships, and the occasional princess (riding in a rocket). Today at school, he drew a damned good picture of a train, complete with engine, engineer, smokestack and smoke, wheels, a trestle bridge, and couplers linking two other cars to the engine. One of the other cars is a box car (with a box inside) and the other is a passenger car with two little passengers poking their heads out the windows. It’s freaking great! I think he’s brilliant … perhaps diabolically so.

I’m feeling pretty great, if a little tired. (I’ve been working a lot lately (thank goodness.) I actually made it to my second appt. with the midwife today.

Baby sounds good! Heartbeat is strong and regular. Not difficult to find this time. Ruth says everything looks fine to her, and that’s nice to hear. I have to get 3 tests: bloodwork (soon), AFP, and an ultrasound (after Burning Man). Not too excited about the AFP test: It screens for some genetic defects but not all. So if you get a “negative,” that’s good, but there might still be a problem with the baby. If you get a “positive,” that’s bad, but maybe not because the test gets lots of false positives. More tests then become necessary. It sounds very stressful.

Lucas is impish. He threw a royal tantrum today because I wouldn’t let him wear his batman sunglasses to school. The only gratifying part was that my father got to witness the tantrum since he was driving Lucas this morning.

We’re all getting excited about Burning Man. It’s not far off now at all and I haven’t even thought about all the stuff there is to do between now and then. Yikes. My attitude is pretty laid back, all things considered. My only concern is making sure Lucas is happy and well out there, and that we have a relaxing time. I’m undertaking no big projects, and accepting no big responsibilities beyond taking care of our own needs. I’m looking forward to slacking for a week. I’ve secured my parents’ promise to come and pick Lucas up from us in Reno on Friday before the Saturday burn so that Ian and I can return to BRC and enjoy 2 days alone with no kid. I’ve also secured my folks’ permission to borrow a chaise lounge, which I plan to enjoy if I feel tired or cranky or lazy.

The only bad thing is that it’s looking like Burning Man is causing some potential work to flow away from me and toward other editors because the dates are pretty rotten for one particular client. But I NEED this vacation. And so, I’m taking it.

By this point, Ian and I have managed to tell many people our news, but if this is the first you’ve seen or heard of it, we apologize:

We’re expecting a baby in February of 2007! My pregnancy is proceeding well and I’m feeling pretty good now. We’re at 15 weeks tomorrow, which is out of the first trimester and into the second. I’m happy about this because it’s during the first trimester that things are most likely going to go awry, if they’re going to go awry at all. I feel a little relief to be past the “danger zone.” So far, everything is going great.

I’m apparently well-made for pregnancy because I didn’t get sick with Lucas and I didn’t get sick this time either. I was extra sleepy and tired earlier this summer, but never really nauseous, and I never barfed. (Some women are sick for 9 months straight.) I had to eat on a pretty regular basis in order to avoid getting that wobbly, I’d-better-sit-down-for-a-while, low blood-sugar feeling. But that was pretty much it. A worse complexion than usual is my only real complaint … Oh, and forgetfulness.

Last week, for example, I was supposed to have my second OB appointment, but I forgot about it and worked right through the appointment time. I’m to go in this Tuesday, so somebody remind me, please.

In July we had our first appointment and heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. It took a while for my midwife, Ruth, to find the heartbeat with her doppler thingy. I guess baby was hiding–where, I don’t know. Anyway, that fast, little whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh was a lovely sound and it made me really excited.

About 95% of the time I’m really happy that we’re having another baby. About 5% of the time I’m freaked out and scared about how this might send my life into a tailspin again. Although Lucas’s daily antics are sometimes trying, things are generally a million times easier than they were when he was small. One voice in my head is insistently asking me, “What in the hell are you thinking?!?”

Nevertheless, we’re well advanced down the path. There’s no turning back and I don’t really want to. I’m not usually one to run away when life gets scary. So, I tell myself everyday how I have loads more skills and knowledge now than I did when Lucas was an infant, I have an established business now (not a fledgling one), and I have tons of family and community support now just like last time. And then there’s my darling husband, who is the best daddy in the world! I’m sure things will be plenty challenging, but so what? (See, today, I’m optimistic.) And the money worries that currently plague me will all work themselves out, right?

We have been asked over and over if we plan to find out the gender of this baby. (With Lucas, we didn’t know he was a boy until he was born.) I think perhaps this time we will find out. It’s too early to know right now. Perhaps sometime in September. Anyway, I have a literal MOUNTAIN of boy clothes in my garage. It would be nice to know if I can give them to someone else’s deserving child, or if I should be washing them in January to make them ready to wear again.

As to the second pregnancy being more laid-back and relaxed than the first? Well, so far that’s pretty true. I’m not reading my pregnancy books every day. In fact, I’m hardly consulting them at all. Frankly, I’m too busy to obsess about it. The time is passing.

If you’ve read this far, the only other thing you should know is that we have not yet told Lucas about this baby. We hope to keep it from him for another month, until after Burning Man and after he starts Kindergarten. The events of the end of this month and beginning of next are going to be plenty stressful (living in the desert, a weekend without mom & dad, and starting a new school) without potentially experiencing feelings of jealousy or worry to boot. Plus 40 weeks is a hell of a long time to wait–even more so if you’re only 4-years-old. If we can tell him next month at 19 weeks, he’ll have only half the pregnancy to wait for his baby brother or sister to come along. As soon as he knows, I expect he’ll ask me if it’s time yet every day.

Or maybe he already knows. Lucas has been kissing my belly a lot lately.

So, that’s the news. We’d like to send a big thank you to all of you who have already expressed congratulations and joy for us. Thank you for doing so in a quiet way so as not to alert Lucas prematurely. Thank you for the good wishes and prayers. We are grateful to have such a loving community of friends.

Here we go again …

Today, my parents have been married for 38 years. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad.
Tomorrow is our dateversary. Sixteen years ago, Ian and I started dating. Ah, Agape. I love you, honey.

All Aboard with Thomas and Friends

“Day Out With Thomas is a family event that offers children and their grownups the opportunity to ride with classic storybook friend Thomas the Tank Engine[tm] at heritage railroads nationwide. Parents, grandparents and siblings join their aspiring engineers in the fun. The Day Out With Thomas experience will engineer miles of smiles for the whole family and introduce a new generation to the timeless excitement of railroading.”

So, I’ve already mentioned that this is what we did last weekend. I’ve already said we had loads of fun, and I even managed to post pics. (Amazing!)

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip. We left the house on Saturday at 1 pm and stopped for lunch even before we got on the freeway. By the time we hit Davis, Lucas was asking if we were almost in Santa Cruz. Fortunately, he managed to go to sleep somewhere after we passed Benecia. That made the rest of the trip go quicker for him.

We camped in Felton at Henry Cowell State Park, which actually is split into two sections. I didn’t realize it when I made the reservations, but we camped in the section that was the farthest from Roaring Camp, but still only a 5-minutes drive away. The campsite was FILLED with families with little children. Poison oak was shining invitingly and everywhere; it’s a lovely combination of red and gold and green at this time of year. So, we gave Lucas a botany lesson and quizzed him many times on the way to and from the restrooms.

Speaking of restrooms, this state part had the cleanest, most pristine restroom I’ve ever seen. It was all freshly painted. Nice.

We had pizza that night at a local pizzeria that featured organic salads and toppings, then returned to our “little paper house in the woods.” Lucas slept in his Thomas the Tank Engine sleeping bag, of course.

We woke on Sunday at 6:30 am, ate cereal, and struck camp (only about 12 hours after we set it up). We were at Roaring Camp by 7:45 am and watched as a worker hosed the Thomas engine down.

We and a bunch of other families road a train about a 1/4 mile down the track to the main event. The area was set up like an old west town/train yard. We got our pictures taken with Thomas. And we did our shopping in the gift store right away. (I’m glad we did because later in the day the place was a zoo.) We bought a sticker book, a T-shirt, and the Troublesome Trucks (two freight cars that, unfortunately, giggle with mischief)—$45. I figure we got away lightly.

Our tix allowed us to ride the very first Thomas ride and we were in the number 1 car, right behind the engine. The train backed up for a couple of miles, and took us back into the redwood forest. It was chilly and overcast and beautiful. We crossed a steel trestle bridge dated 1899. Then we reached a certain spot, stopped, and then returned along the same track, chugging forward.

Lucas was excited the whole time, but he was also cautious. His eyes were big as saucers and he watched the people. He didn’t smile too much, though. I think he didn’t feel very comfortable around all the people. Perhaps he was surprised to realize that other kids were crazy about Thomas like he is. Perhaps the reality of seeing one engine surrounded by fans was something of a letdown—In his mind, the engines talk to each other, have relationships and adventures, and even fly. Thomas is part of a whole magical world in his mind.

Apart from the Thomas ride, there were other “fun stations,” but they were only so-so. The bouncy house was cool. We visited the tatoo booth and Lucas got a Thomas tattoo on his forearm. They had face-painting, a coloring station, and a battery-powered train table. A teenager was manning the train table and he posted signs all over it saying “Do Not Touch.” He was funny; he was bitching to patrons about how his underling had left the train table for just a minute and some children messed it all up—they just destroyed his meticulously built trainyard. He he had to rebuild it all over again! I thought, Dude, this is an event for the under-5 crowd, all of whom love, love, love trains and Thomas. You built a Thomas train and then expected them not to touch it?!? Lucas stood there and watched the trains moving around the track with a wistful expression on his face while the teenager fumed.

We left the event at about 11:30 am, after we had pretty much done everything. We didn’t feel like eating the hot dogs and burgers they were selling, so we got in the car and drove 3 miles to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. We ate a picnic lunch from our tailgate (sandwiches with pickles, juice, potato chips, fruit, and cookies), then went down to the beach. Lucas played in the sand and waves for a while. He cried big crocodile tears when he realized he was too small to ride the big roller-coaster. (Ian has memories of being too small to ride that roller-coaster when he was a kid too.) We bought tix to ride the sky-gondola (during which we gripped Lucas as close to us as possible), and Ian and Lucas went on a spinning ride called the Starfish. (I was pretty sure it would make me barf, so I watched.) Lucas loved that one: He smiled from ear to ear the whole time. We got soft-serve ice-cream cones and then left the Boardwalk at 2 pm (just about 24 hours from when our trip started). Lucas was asleep within minutes of beginning our drive home. He woke up when we reached Dixon. Ian and I enjoyed the time in the car together.

So, it was a big day, punctuated on either end by a long drive. But we had a great deal of fun. I’m glad we were able to take a vacation that was all about doing things that Lucas likes to do. It was a special day and one I won’t forget. He’s still talking about how cool it was to ride on the REAL THOMAS.

In the car on the way home, Lucas suggested that we call Uncle Jon and invite him over to our house to see Lucas’s Thomas tattoo.

http://www.ticketweb.com/thomas.html

Home

I want to write about this trip, but alas, a client has me backed up with strategy guide text. I have to unbury myself before I can write more.

But, for those of you who are waiting on the edge of your seats to see pictures, here they are:

p.s. There are also a few lovely shots from Marina’s special May Day school festival, if you care to look past the bright blue engine.

Back in April, we bought tickets to a very special event. This event will be held tomorrow morning. Today we are driving down to Felton, CA (near Santa Cruz), to camp in Howard Cowell State Park in the redwoods for one night. In the morning we will walk to Roaring Camp Railroad and present our dearly purchased and precious tickets to ride the number 1 car behind …

none other than …

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!

The train ride will be 25 minutes long. We paid $48 for 3 tickets. There will likely be a million families with three million Thomas-fan children in tow. I expect it to be a zoo, but I also expect meeting THE REAL THOMAS to be possibly the greatest highlight of my young son’s life to date.

It’s now 9:31 am on Saturday morning. We can leave town as soon as …

Ian finishes his final Ethics exam
I edit Ian’s Ethics paper and we turn it in
I finish editing a chapter of a strategy guide
We pay some bills
We do another load of dishes
We move the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer
We pack the food
We pack our clothes
We pack our camping stuff into the car
We shower and dress
I print some chapters to take with me for editing

Needless to say, Lucas is starting to bounce off the walls.

Lucas is sick. Actually, today he’s a little better, but I’m keeping him home from school again. He’s had a fever for about 36 hours. His temperature goes up to 102 degrees, then we give him ibuprofen, then it goes down and he’s more comfortable again until he sleeps. Then his temp goes back up. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. We did nothing all day.

I called the gym yesterday to let the swimming instrutor know that we wouldn’t be able to make our private swim lesson. They said not to worry: the swimming lessons were cancelled because the pool was 94 degrees. Too hot.

Sheesh.
My AC has been on almost nonstop for 4 days.
Thank god we have the overhead fan in the office now.

We still don’t have tix yet, but today we make our first important purchase, signalling our commitment to going–money be damned!

Lucas will be riding in style! We bought him a “tag-along” bike to mount to the back of Ian’s bike. It’s got a seat, handlebars, pedals, and one (rear) wheel. See a picture of it here: http://www.whycycle.co.uk/children-tagalong.htm

Pretty cool, eh?