Our first baby-related drama... how to tell the fam. The timing was such that Christmas would fall around the three month mark, a good time for tellin' assuming I wouldn't be showing too much. Since we'd be with my folks in Peoria, we devised a way to reveal our secret to both families at once. Basically we were going to buy "World's Best (insert self-appointed grandparent related title here)" sweatshirts and have both sets open them while on speaker phone. We were sure that this convoluted and time-sensitive plan would work. However, an even better opportunity presented itself, and we jumped on it.
Telling the Folks - Plan B
My artsy-fartsy mom was having an open house - a sort of christening for her new art studio - in Illinois on December 9. Vicki (Timothy's very generous and thoughtful mama) had called and asked if I would be interested in road tripping with her and Leah (Tim's sister) up to Peoria to be there for mom's opening. I hadn't really entertained the idea because Timothy had a final that morning and I couldn't imagine trying to make the trek by myself. Tim and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to tell both families, at once, in person.
Thus, Plan B was born (pun intended). Timothy rescheduled his final and got Bill (Timothy's dad) on board, so that the whole Evans clan could make the trip up to IL for the family reunion. We bought a "congratulations" card that would be given to mom under the pretense that it was your standard "congrats for being brave and ambitious and talented and finally opening your own studio" card.
We wrote a little poem inside that revealed our secret, knowing that mom would read through it until her jawed dropped open, she would look at me, then scream and jump around. Then I'd have to tell her to tell everyone else why she was flailing about, as she would most likely assume that everyone else already knew. Lots of crying, hugs, and nervous laughter would follow.
The Reveal
So we headed to Peoria on Saturday morning, a difficult ride for me as the frequent urination and nausea stage was in full effect, further compounded by the fact that Timothy was the only one aware of my predicament. But I kept my eyes on the prize and made it to the open house sans bodily functions of any kind.
After changing clothes amongst snow piles in the 30 degree parking lot, we all made our way inside. My whole family was there - grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins included. Hee, they thought the only surprise of the day would be to see how hot my beautiful and goldenly tanned sister Rachel looked upon her return from her 8 month business adventure in Hawaii. But little did they know, we had another shocker in store.
After things had calmed down a bit and our two families were milling around in the same general vicinity, we decided the time was right. I pulled out the card and handed it to mom, who took her sweet 'ole time opening it. Meanwhile, I am shaking like a leaf and Timothy is attempting, (and failing) to maintain a single train of thought while conversing with my dad. Finally, all eyes on mom, she opens the cards and reads:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Guess what, we're PREGNANT!
Congratulations to you!!
Essentially every detail from that point on ran like clockwork, precisely as it had been planned. Mom read, jaw dropped, looked at me, jumped and screamed. At this point, everyone is wondering whether we've presented her with an all expenses paid trip to some exotic island or announced that unisex dressing rooms were no longer lawful. Leah, unable to take the suspense for a second longer, snatched the card from mom's hands at the precise moment the words "they're pregnaaaant!" left her mouth. More jumping and screaming ensued, followed by crying and hugs, followed by nervous laughter. Right on cue!!
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