It's a Whimsical Christmas: Thing 1 & Thing 2, etc.

This is the Christmas card pic I have been sending out this week.  

We went to a local production of Whimsical that we have attended every year for the past few years and I took this quick photo of all my little "things".  Be sure to count them, if you have not noticed anything unusual about the picture.  And if you still don't notice anything unusual look a little closer at Mr. Grinch.

Yes, this is the card that is going out to even family... and this is how they are finding out.  I am writing this in advance and I can hardly wait to hear the reactions.  {Insert sarcasm}  Honestly, I could not bear to tell family in person because of the shocking things I know they will say... even if it is without thinking.  I want them to have time to think before they speak.  And much of that is to have some control over what my children hear come spewing from our relatives' mouths.  

At the point that I am writing this I am 15 weeks, so by the time everyone gets the cards I will be 16 weeks.  I have managed to keep this secret from close family even through the Thanksgiving holidays while some of them stayed here for four days.  That was super hard, but I knew I had to keep quiet because I wanted to be the one to tell my children.  With my last pregnancy my mother bumped into me and felt my hard belly and realized I was pregnant while we were visiting them.  I asked her not to tell because the kids did not know, yet.  She ran straight into her living room and told my daddy in front of my kids.  I was really way more upset about that than I let them know.  My daddy immediately got on the phone and called my brother and his wife and told them without my consent.  Yes, that is how it all went down... and I was not at all one bit pleased with the situation.  So, I admit I even lied to them a couple of times when they were all here for Thanksgiving.  I would not normally lie and I have a real hard time lying, but in this case my driving force was protecting my kids from the conversations that would take place.  And I think I should get to tell them this big news.

My kids will be so excited and I do not want anyone ruining that for them or me and Cody.  Correction... my kids ARE so excited.  We told them halfway through me writing this post.  They were surprised and I caught it all on video.  The way we told them was to ask them what they thought of this Christmas card pic.  It took them a while to catch on, but when they did it was pretty funny.  

I am so glad that my kids are always happy to add another sibling to our little family.