So...

I have dropped at least one hint, (and to one Alabama Marsupial, several) that something's up chez skinny. Terry thinks it's a medical condition, which, in effect, it is.



Say Hello to my leetle frien':







I know, I know, it's a little grainy and out of focus. I think I used the wrong F-stop or something.



So indeed, there is another small parasite headed our way come the spring. The ex-utero two have taken to calling it Little Matzah Ball, which is appropriate since we are due right around Passover.



This particular gestation has not been without its issues. I was planning to say something here a while ago, but we had a disturbing last 3-4 weeks, courtesy the medical establishment. One of the zillions of tests required in this nation before you are considered fit to reproduce came back as positive for a genetic disorder known as Trisomy-18 (you can read about it from the dedicated folks over at the Trisomy 18 foundation).



When the midwife describes said disorder as "incompatible with life", it certainly does make you pause a bit. Unlike its cousin, trisomy 21 that's involved with Down's Syndrome, children with this genetic anomaly generally don't survive the first year if they make it that far. Needless to say, we were not prepared for that particular development. What followed is standard - more tests. Amnio for the Mrs, prayer for me. Thanks to the piece of crap lab the insurance insisted we use (thanks for nothing, Quest Diagnostics! I hope some marketing jerk is reading this and tells everyone I think you people suck!), we had to wait three full weeks for results.



Which were negative. Which in this case is a good thing. So we are, happily, one of the thousands of people out there who got a false positive from one of these dopey blood tests. I'm glad of the results, but I can't say the last month has been fun. When you and your spouse begin discussing the euphemistic "options" if the worst happens, most people are not in a great place. Happily it's all moot, even if I have not enjoyed much lately.



Anyway, that's the big news around here. Work has increased, but not my paycheck. The children grow up, and I grow out. Life continues, and thankfully the Lord agreed with me on this particular question.



Look for a Little Matzah Ball this spring, coming to a Skinnydan nowhere near most of you.