Thank you

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who left comments about Joseph's birthday and Andy's blog entry. I am so lucky to have my husband...and to have the support of friends like all of you.

Last weekend turned out to be really not so bad. We just tried to be good to ourselves; the weekend included more social activity than we've had in a good while (dinner with friends on Saturday night; a trip up to New Hampshire, just to drive around pretty places and ooh and ah, on Sunday; lunch with girlfriends on Monday) and that was good. Also, we had some pretty big news to occupy us and make us think ahead to the future instead of the past.

The Wednesday before Joseph's birthday, Andy called me from work all excited. It seems his company is expanding their operations in Reston, VA, just outside DC (they currently have a sales office there, but they're opening an engineering office now too) and wanted to talk to anyone interested in relocating. As I've mentioned here before, we've been talking about someday moving to that area for years; it's the one place in the country that's exactly halfway between my family and his. Living there, we'd be the same distance from my family as we are now, but the 13-hours-each-way trek to his parents' would become more like 5-6 hours each way. Not to mention, Andy's favorite aunt and uncle live near DC, as does one of my stepbrothers and several of our friends.

He spent the next three days discussing the new office plans with various people at the company, as well as with me, and on Friday he verbally agreed that we'd like to do it. So it looks like we're moving! They will help with relocation expenses, and the new position would be a great one for him - possibly more money and responsibility, but also an interesting new project and more room for advancement. I'll have to find a new job, but there seem to be a lot of opportunities in my field down there.

We don't know the exact timeline, but they're talking about late summer/early fall, which, GAH. But they know we're having the baby, so they're willing to be flexible - and anyway, it might work out better for me to just resign when I go on leave and then find a new job once we get down there. That could even give me a little extra time with the Pad after she's born, and we've got enough put away to cover it. We'll also have to sell our house - I think once we get down there, we'll rent until we know where I'll be working and what my salary will be. So the next few months are going to be VERY busy, but we've got plenty of offers to help from parents (Andy's parents, understandably, are thrilled).

I think it will be good for us to have a whole new start. And I'm looking forward to the Pad knowing both sets of grandparents, instead of thinking of Andy's parents as strangers she gets to see once or twice a year after a grueling car trip.

So that's been the excitement around here this week. In other news, the Pad continues to squirm and kick - I had my first NST last week and got more comments on how much she moves. I've heard that at every ultrasound and other test I've had - it's starting to make me wonder if this kid will ever sit still once she becomes external!

40 more days. 24 more work days. It is starting to drag. I can't wait to meet her.