Interviewed by Alison

Alison challenged readers of her blog to ask to be interviewed, which leads to five personal, specific questions designed by Alison and answered by her interviewee. Also, I must offer the same interview opportunity to readers of my blog. (There are readers of my blog? I guess I'll find out. . .)

The rules:

1. Leave me a comment asking to be interviewed.
2. I will ask you 5 questions of a very personal nature.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to said questions.
4. You will include this and an offer to interview someone else in your blog post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them 5 questions.

So finally, the questions Alison gave me, with answers below:

1. How weird is it to have a living being squirming around in your belly? I mean, seriously--that had to be a bit freaky the first time you felt Harry move, right?

Feeling the baby move for the first time was more exciting than anything else. By the time I finally felt him move, I'd been waiting for it for so long that there really wasn't a "freaky factor." The idea, however, that there was a living being in my belly was always (and still is, when I think back on it) definitely strange. Even more strange was to look at Harry when he was only a few minutes or hours old and say inside my head, "This has been living inside of me for nine months?"

2. Rate pregnancy on a scale of 1-5. 1 being not at all like you expected, 5 being everything you expected and you can't wait to do it again.

I rate pregnancy as a 3. There are so many things people don't tell you about being pregnant, going through labor and delivery, and having a newborn. I was very lucky in terms of health: no gestational diabetes, no hypertension, no c-section. All I had was some sciatica and heartburn, along with the usual morning sickness. Looking back on it now, I would go through it all again, but not for a few years: I can't imagine being pregnant while taking care of Harry. Being pregnant was exhausting and having an infant is exhausting, so major snaps to any woman who has two children within two years.

3. Enough with the pregnancy questions, what are you going to school for and why did you choose that?

I went back to school in August with the intention of starting a radiology technician program this May, but along came Harry! The plan now is to reapply for May 2009. I chose the program for a few reasons. First, it's a two-year program that's heavy on internships and hands-on experience, so I'll be well prepared. Second, any health-related job is in high demand in my area, and it's nice to be wanted. Third, it pays a lot better than what I'm doing now. Medical transcription is wonderful in the sense that it lets me work from home and at my own pace, but there's very little opportunity for advancement/more pay. Finally, I think being a radiology tech would be a good fit for me because it's a job where I can punch out at the end of the day. Part of the reason teaching didn't work out for me was because I brought work home with me every night. I worried about students, I wrote lessons, I stressed over parental involvement or lack thereof. As a tech, I can go to work, do my job, and come home as "Kate, wife and mother," not "Kate, flustered teacher trying to hold it all together."

4. Do you ever miss teaching?

I miss being around kids, but I don't miss teaching them. My seventh graders especially always made me smile, and I miss the one-on-one conversations that I had with my at-risk high schoolers, but not once have I missed grading, attendance, bells, or administrators.

5. Okay, so I lied. One more pregnancy-related question. How about that Jamie Lynn Spears getting 17 other girls pregnant, huh? What a piece of work! (if you don't know what I'm talking about, google something like "Jamie Lynn Spears, pregnancy pact, Juno". Playing the blame game is fun!)

If Jamie Lynn Spears was actually responsible for 17 other girls being pregnant, that would be as Oprah-worthy as the pregnant man a few months ago.