Not the most timely on keeping this updated, I know. But I’m so very excited to be able to tell the world: we’re having a baby! Jennie is due in late May.

The grandparents-to-be are, of course, very excited. We told them all this weekend.

Now if I can just get our credit in good enough shape to be able to get a safe car for Jennie to drive with a baby seat, we’ll be okay. Right now, we can’t even afford the combined insurance on my Jetta and the Plymouth Voyager we’re borrowing from my parents. Until that changes in December, we’re not going to be able to buy a car at all. I get pretty grumpy when I realize that credit rating has more to do with your insurance rate than a clean driving record. I haven’t had a ticket in 6 years, and I haven’t had an at-fault accident in over 10. Yet I pay $163/month for the Jetta. Jennie has good credit, but two accidents and a ticket going back three years. We have to pay $104/month for her, just for liability — the Voyager doesn’t even have full coverage! The stupid kicker is, because of my spotty credit, Jennie is the primary insured for the household! That’s right, folks, the driver with a spottier record but better credit gets a better “risk assessment score” than the driver with a spotless driving record but worse credit. What bullshit! Bad credit has about as much to do with driving ability as hair color does. Between my credit and Jennie’s record, we can’t even change insurance companies!

But enough of that. My brother’s girlfriend has left Louisiana to rejoin him in Arizona, since LSU basically lied to her about the Ph.D. program she enrolled in, and threw out most of her Master’s coursework. I feel very badly for her, that she’s basically being set back a year in her studies. On the other hand, she and Kent seem so happy together, and she seems to bring out his better qualities, which is something I haven’t been able to say about most of his ex-girlfriends. All of us in the family like Megan a lot, and I’m glad they have a chance to be together longer.