So my wife and I were settled on having only two children. Both are boys, both smart, funny, happy and of course, trouble. My wife stays home at the moment with the kids and I teach at a very good public school here on the east coast. It is tough on one salary, even with the extra pay for my extra class (that makes 6 in an 8 period day) and 5 preparations, so I took a job teaching a night school course this year. I figure I've put in about 60-70 hour weeks so far this school year. Late nights, maybe a full 24-48 hours without seeing my children awake. Hey, it's money and it pays the mortgage, puts food on the table, helps save for college and having my wife at home with the kids is priceless. And, it is all part of our master plan - she will start to work in another year and then we will have a nice second income - or not.
Anyway, I arrive home last Wednesday night to find my wife pacing. She stammered something and then told me to come into the bathroom. She didn't look upset, just flustered. She didn't say anything, she just pointed to the pregnancy test on the counter with that little blue line that says: you're having a baby. I dropped my tupperware container of half eaten pasta onto the floor. I looked at her and we hugged. Neither one of us freaked out and now, a week later, we are still just as happy about this little unplanned event.
I told my parents who are thrilled to be getting a 3rd grandchild. They asked if I was ok with this and I responded that I was, although what choice do I really have in the matter. I said as a father to be (again) I was really dealing with the shock well, but financially, I'm f-ed. I work pretty hard and so does my wife but we barely make ends meet, especially during the summer when I don't get paid for 11 weeks. We are frugal, don't eat out, don't take vacations, do as much handywork as possible, drive small, fuel efficient cars, buy lots of stuff second hand and run the things we own into the ground before considering replacement (like this 7 year old iBook that is getting crankier every day).
In the end, though, so what. We'll deal with it. We'll make it work. Now back to grading papers.