The Long Trip Home

(with apologies to Cathy for the title.)

We're back from West Virginia. We got back on Tuesday evening, actually, but I've been too busy digging out at work and home to think about posting. My in-laws are without Internet access at the moment, and it was actually nice to take a break.

Brief updates:

* The trip was relaxing, except for the 14-hour drive each way, which we at least broke up by spending time with Andy's aunt and uncle in VA, since they're on the way. It was nice to see all of Andy's cousins and our friends. However, there's no getting around the fact that Beckley, WV, is a fairly depressing place, especially in the dead of winter. It's less depressing than the town the ILs lived in until this summer, which is officially The Middle of Nowhere, but there's still not a whole lot going on.

* However, we did talk a lot about how a 28-hour round-trip drive is grueling, and getting more so all the time, and how we didn't think it was going to be possible with a baby/child. We could fly, but flights to WV are inconvenient and expensive. And yet I LOVE Andy's family, and can't imagine our children growing up without knowing all of their aunts and uncles and cousins. I don't want my family to be the "real" family and Andy's family to be the people they get dragged off to see once or twice a year. We talk a lot about moving, and we've never settled on anything, but we talked about the DC area being a possibility. It's the exact halfway point between my family and his, and it's a big city with plenty of job opportunities for both of us. It's also not any more expensive than Boston, at least. I definitely want to wait until after things are resolved with the Pad (I still can't bring myself to say "when the Pad is born") because I love this new doctor and hospital and don't want to try to relocate while pregnant anyway. But after that, it's worth thinking about, I think.

* Speaking of WV, many people have asked me if we had any friends or family in or near the Sago mine accident - we don't. It's fairly far north of where we were. It's so terribly sad, though, and makes me worry a lot about my FIL, who does work in the mines and who insists on being underground doing the dangerous work a lot, even though, as the superintendent, he doesn't really have to very often.

* After three years, we finally got it together to book a vacation. I'm in shock. (My therapist will be so proud.) We're going to be spending 4 days on Big Pine Key - we've booked into a B&B and we found a flight, although we haven't booked that yet. We'll be flying into Fort Lauderdale, renting a car, and driving down the Oversea Highway - I can't wait.

* The morning sickness is getting better, although not gone completely. I have a pooch, and several pairs of pants no longer fit, while others are fine. Freshly washed jeans are out, but broken-in ones are OK. I have my nuchal translucency ultrasound and blood test for the combined screening on Monday, at 12w3d.

* I have to be imagining this, but for almost a week I've noticed intermittent, very light little pings in my lower abdomen. It doesn't feel like gas...it sort of feels like the very first few times I noticed Joseph moving. But how could that be possible when I started noticing it at 11 weeks? It's always in the same area below my navel, but it's in different places every time. I probably feel it 2-3 times a day or so. I wonder...