How I told my other kids...

I knew I was pregnant before the marching season started, and I dreaded hiding the pregnancy from the kids.  One thing I love about our music program is that it really is like a big family... these kids know me so well, I feared they would pick up on my changes in habits very quickly.  I was relieved to make it through our 12 week appointment since I knew it meant getting to tell my students!!

I had been wrestling with how to tell them and woke up Saturday morning and a plan had come to me.  I decided to make little baggies of candy for the kids to give them as a good luck gift before our first competition on Saturday.  This is what I made (Jonathan helped!):

I put Smarties, Dum Dums, Rolos, Tootsie Rolls, Dots, Starburst, Milky Way, and Fun Dip, and wrote this little good luck message incorporating each piece of candy, and signed it "Mrs. Fencik and Baby Fencik".

After our rehearsal, I gathered the kids in a large circle and handed out their baggies with instructions not to look at them until we looked at them all together.  I let them look and then read it to them line by line - but didn't read the last line out loud.  It was hysterical watching them as they read that line to themselves.  The all looked up and started saying, "Baby Fencik?! Who's that?"  I told them that they'd get to meet Baby Fencik in late March!  The kids went nuts!  The drummers started running in circles and screaming, one of the girls started crying, a bunch of my boys came up and gave me hugs.  It was all really, really sweet.  I just wish I had the foresight to videotape it!!

Jonathan came a few minutes later to bring me lunch, and the kids were all hugging and congratulating him - it was really sweet!  They have all been really sweet and excited about the baby.  They have asked me tons of questions about whether we know the gender, how far along I am, what do we want to name it, etc!  Very cute! :)