In recent weeks, I’ve been eating a lot of meals on my own. Changing a lot of diapers by myself. Spending a lot of evenings alone in the basement with the TV on, the laptop open, or a book in my lap. Read after the jump to find out the cause for all these oddities.

No, S. hasn’t left me. Rather, like our two friends named Jennifer in Kansas City who also had children in July 2004, we are expecting our second child in May 2006. While our offspring were scattered over four weeks two summers ago, this coming spring we’re scheduled to deliver within six days of each other. We know delivery dates don’t necessarily match due dates, but regardless, it promises to be an exciting month in our circle of friends. Rumor has it that Caroline N. and Jason L. are lobbying for late babies so they retain their claims to the middle of the month.

S. is currently 11 weeks along. She had a pretty rough month or so, but finally started to feel better just before our trip to Portland. Thank goodness! I can’t imagine every smell making you nauseous and being stuck on a plane full of strange odors. As with M., we went through a few weeks where I was pretty much eating all my meals on my own and spending evenings alone in the basement after S. fled for the comfort of our bed, waiting for sleep to arrive to soothe her nausea. The degree of difficulty is jacked up a little bit when you have a teething toddler (i.e. 3-4 unfortunate diaper changes a day) who is also going through periodic “I Must Cling to Mommy” phases. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m glad men can’t get pregnant. The best thing about pregnancy, other than the fact we’ll have another baby in the house soon, is that S. has been craving barbecue on occasion. They say what the mom craves, the kid will crave later in its life. That’s a craving I can get on board with! I can’t wait to take this one back to KC to cut a wide eating swath through <a href=”http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/”>Arthur Bryant’s</a>, <a href=”http://www.gatesbbq.com/”>Gates</a>, and <a href=”http://www.oklahomajoesbbq.com/”>Oklahoma Joe’s</a>.

Yes, we will again find out what we’re having. That should happen in another four weeks or so. I will share whether we have a Boy Fetus or another Girl Fetus when that information is available. You will not, however, hear any of our names. OK, I’ll share one. Rashaun is getting a lot of love this time around. Depending on how well the Pacers do this fall, Jermaine could hit the charts with a bullet.