The Secret it OUT

I am an open book. If you ask me, I will tell you. If you don't ask me- I will probably still tell you.

Here's a perfect example:

At a staff meeting last year, a guidance counselor I don't know very well and I were making small talk. He politly asked, "So, when can we expect the babies?" Without thinking it was an odd question, I went on to explain how our 5 year plan had turned into a 6 year plan- on and on. Finally, another teacher stopped me and said, "Alli, I think he means the electronic babies that the kids take home."

Oh, right. That makes more sense. Sorry for the overshare. 

So, this whole NOT going up on our roof and shouting "We're pregnant!" has been really hard for me. Really, really hard. I find myself telling random strangers- like the sandwhich artist at Subway, or the checkout boy at the grocery store. I have to have some release. I had to straight up LIE to my students, who ALL want to know if and when I plan to get pregnant 

(understandably, I mean they have a parenting teacher who isn't even a parent.) 

So, I lied. 

I lied, I lied, I lied. 

To my students, my family, my friends, and my co-workers. Yes, all these people actually asked me. 

Since we basically knew we were pregnant from afew days after we conceived, it felt like we had been keeping this secret FOREVER. Now, I know, I could have just told everyone earlier, but I didn't want to have to come back and un-tell everyone if something went wrong. That would break my heart. So we descided to wait until our 11 week appointment, where we got to hear little Ruffio's heartbeat. (Did I cry? No. We did EXACTLY what we did when we saw the positive pregnancy test and what we did when we saw Ruffio in his 7 week sonogram- we smiled like the Cheshire cat and stared at eachother, smiled and stared, smiled and stared.)

As a reminder. I. Love. Events.

On valentines day, it isn't good enough that we go to dinner, I want to make it a progressive dessert only dinner.

On vacation one year, I instituted a "Taste the Rainbow Challenge" where I had to drink my way through the colors of the rainbow- 1 color each day. I even coordinated my swinmsuits and outfits.

One of my first notes, as captured by TJ Studios

Rico knows of my love of events. He knows that this is the best way to make me feel loved. Throughout our wedding day, he scheduled with the people I love the most to deliver specific love notes he'd written to me, all the way up until the last one that his mom delivered before I walked down the aisle. He had passed them out secretly to each note-giver at the rehearsal dinner, with specific instructions about when to deliver them.

The last note, just before going down the aisle. Captured by TJ Studios

Each one had been written to go along with what I was doing at that time of day (which he clearly knew because I had made a detailed excel spreadsheet outlining the events of the day in 15 minute intervals.) I know, he rocks.

The point is, I love events and themes. So, I couldn't just very well walk up to people and say, "Hey, by the way, I'm pregnant."

Oh HECK NO!

I had a plan. I was going to get as many on video as I posibly could, and then use those to make my "facebook official" announcement.

It didn't go perfectly. As much as my husband "gets" my love of events, he also just wanted to tell everyone he saw, so waiting to do it in person just so I could film it was not his favorite idea in the world.

I even got a text one day from him saying, "I can't stop telling people- I just told the tech guy! We've got to get this video out!"

So, now, it is OUT:

And the secret keeping is over! When we know a gender- you will. 

(after a fun gender reveal event, obviously)

Once we know a name- you will. 

No. More. Secrets.