The Tummy Teller

If you haven't read Austin's Movie Maestro review of The Tummy Teller, it really sets the stage for today's blog entry.  It was as if he wrote the story into life.  The "movie" follows an African woman who travels from village to village to determine the gender of soon-to-be-born children with alarming accuracy.  When the woman becomes pregnant and cannot tell the gender of her own fetus, mild chaos ensues.  In the end, her gift is validated because she has twins: a boy and a girl.

Our lives track this character's life on two fronts.  First, Austin has a still-developing passion to become a doula so that he can help women through a process that he will never actually encounter himself.  He is hoping to build a team of brute, handsome midwives and brand their services MANDOULA(tm).  Second, we are also having a boy and a girl.

This past Monday, we visited our friendly spectrogramographer and sent ultrasounds blasting and echoing through Anna's paunch.  For the sake of our children's modesty, we won't post pictures, but we can assure you that the boy is a boy (Dad Note: "Fo' sho!") and the girl is a girl.  For you twin-o-philes (which sounds pretty creepy and will not be used again on this blog), Baby A (the baby closest to the cervix), also known as "Biscuits," is the girl, and Baby B, or "Gravy," is the boy.

Next up, the so-called Naming Summit, where Austin and Anna will compete in a series of physical and mental challenges to determine the name of each child.  Then, we shall all visit the Sorting Hat to determine which house each child will belong to.

Family Discussion Questions:  How do you think you could tell the gender of a fetus without an ultrasound?  Can you truly give names to people without meeting them outside the womb?  Can you imagine the weight of the responsibility in naming someone when he or she will likely outlive you?

Catching Up: The Padgetts Go to Washington

Aspirational and Glowing View

Pessimistic and Dingy View

[In the Catching Up series, the Padgetts try to give you fair and adequate notice of their various goings-on during their long hiatus from posting on the blog.]

A few months ago, Anna and I traveled up to DC for me to swear into the DC bar and to see some friends. It was a great trip, and we wish we could have spent more time in the city.

Our hotel was a block from the Capitol. So I found a park bench and plowed through some work during some our down time. The day was beautiful. Matching-shirt tour groups passed by me, and I was in a suit flipping through redweld files. I wonder of any of the touring folks thought I was someone important. One could hope.  Perhaps I should have worn sunglasses or a Bluetooth earpiece. Are those items not the indicia of highfalutiness?

Photo Notes: Credit to me. Taken on the above-mentioned trip.

Family Discussion Points: What is your favorite DC landmark? Can a career politicians ever truly represent their constituencies?  Do fat cats ever eat regular ketchup, or do they forever dip their fries in a truly fancy tomato-derived product?

Working Titles

When you are pregnant with multiples, the doctors and nurses adopt a clinical and cold reference system for your children: Baby A and Baby B. Baby A is the baby closest to the cervix (wherever that is--that isn't a lady part the dudes are responsible for knowing, I think). Doesn't that seems a bit harsh and boring?

We have abandoned these so-called "doctors'" system and given our fetuses working titles. Baby A is Biscuits, and Baby B is gravy. This follows our Southern culinary roots and, I believe, serves as a compromise on Anna's behalf. Addy's middle name is Macaroni, which Is the result of a long-fought lobbying effort with the wife. I like food names, but I can understand why they may be a poor choice for a lifetime commitment. Still, I am happy I at least got biscuits and gravy in the mix somewhere.

Photo Notes: This picture is licensed from the appropriately named Flickr user snowpea&bokchoi. I altered the picture slightly under the license. It looks delicious, which is a weird thing to say in a baby-related post.

Family Discussion Points: What is your favorite food? Would you want to be named after this food? If you were trapped with your friends on a snow-covered mountain pass for months, do you think you would start naming your friends after foods?

What a Pocketful World

The last name "Padgett" is not the easiest word for anyone to comprehend as a last name. Many adults botch it up--particularly labeling us as "Pageant." It's not particularly adorable. What is adorable, however, is our friends' daughter who refers to Anna as "Pocket." Imagine it. You can't do it without smiling.

All of this leads us to some fantastic news. We are making the world a more "pocketful" place. That is; we are pregnant. In true "The As Have It"-style, we are doing things differently. You see, we've always favored things in pairs: shoelaces, crutches, knitting needles, handcuffs. As it turns out, children are on that list as well. Twins y'all.

So, while we've been quiet on our blog for a while, we have come out of our vow of silence to announce this news. We are . . . in a word . . . stoked. Anna is doing well, and I am handling it like a champ (thanks for asking).

We are looking forward to meeting the new Pockets, Pageants, or whatever.

Photo Notes: The picture above was licensed by the Flickr user HeatherW through the Creative Commons license. Terrific shot.

Family Discussion Points: Can you imagine having a paunch pocket where you stick your offspring? Do you think the pictured joey is uncomfortable? Does the joey's leg sticking out of the pouch remind you of those disgusting footling breech pictures in the baby/pregnancy books?