FAQs

Here are our responses to our most frequently asked questions:

Q: When are you due?

A: August 20th

Q: What are you having?

A: a baby (a boy baby since that is what most people are getting at ::smile::).  Reid thinks it may be an alien or a marsupial. 

Q: What are you doing with all of the animals after you have the baby?

A: We are keeping them.  Penny very much likes children and is interested in babies.  She is terrified of the baby swing.  We had a baby gate to keep Penny out of the room with the cat's litter box was in our last house, it is only 18 inches high and she never tried to jump it or knock it down. She is super smart that way. We have 2 hexagon baby gates which we plan to use to separate Penny from the baby. They should also work on the cats since my cats don't think they can jump more than 2 feet.  The ferrets are kept in their cage for most of the day.  Our new house has a hallway that can be blocked off from all of the other rooms using doors we let them play in the hallway (or the hallway and the bathroom).  They are happy and contained.  If they figure out how to breakout then we will have to reconsider. It won't be fair to the ferrets to just live in their cage; so we will likely try to re-home them. We will cross that bridge if we need to.  Just to be safe, one of us will be in the room with the baby if the ferrets are out.  We have a crib tent to keep the cats out, although our cats have not tried to get into the crib (different story for the pack and play--but now it isn't close to anything so they cannot climb into it.)  We set up the baby chairs. crib, pack-n-play, and swing to give the animals a chance to get used to them and figure out if they will try to use them for their own.  Penny wants all plush toys, Potter likes to nap in the changing station of the pack-n-play; and true to form Pixie likes to hide under the crib.  Oshikuru (our beta fish) should experience the least amount of change so long as we remember to feed him when we are sleep deprived.

Q: Why did you move while 8 months preggers?

A: The economy is North Carolina is terrible; one of the worst in the country with not sign of improvement. New Hanover county cut at least 25 teaching positions.  Reid did not have a tenure position and was told that even though they would love to re-hire him, he had less than a 5% chance of having a job.  Medicaid policy changes continued to negatively impact my job and our benefits were cut a few times, if the new budget contains cuts for speech therapy reimbursement we would at best see more cuts and at worse not have jobs. It wasn't anyone's fault except for the budget-makers.  Our choice was to stay, hold our breath, and potentially both be unemployed and have to move because we couldn't afford rent--or look at other options. I found an incredible job opportunity in VA and I am really loving working here.  To top it all off Reid gets to stay home with the baby!!! He may work part-time or sub; he is currently pursuing some opportunities.  We are both excited that we will not have to put the baby in daycare.

Q: How long will Reid stay at home?

A:  Until further notice. He is going to play it by ear.  It will likely be at least a year since teaching positions are hard to find in the middle of year. It depends on finances, if he likes staying at home, if we decide to have another baby...etc.

Q: Why Danville, VA?

A: I was six months preggo when we were looking; we wanted to leave North Carolina (because it doesn't matter where you go--it's the state budget that is bad). We didn't want to go too far (flying for interviews and such was pretty much out).  We ruled out Tennessee last year, discussed Wisconsin, and were both interested in Virginia.  We are not beach people--Reid actually hates sand and thereby all sandy beaches.  I am not a fan of ocean wild life unless it is behind glass in an aquarium.  I really wanted to live in or near the mountains and Reid was game; I've been trying to go north west since i got here, but somehow wound up moving south east first. Danville is close to Reid's family in North Carolina.  It is closer to DC and Busch Gardens, zoos, and a ton of other things we enjoy; not to mention you are in the mountains in an hour.  It is wicked affordable, the clinic i work at is amazing, the town has a ton of potential, and the location is great. We are happy to be here; it seems like it is the right place for us.  We miss our friends...