It's good to be home...

So, here's the scoop on my trip.

We spent our first weekend in PA. We went mainly to look at rentals, and casually look at lots to build on and new construction. We ended up finding a house!! It is currently being built in the neighborhood that we'd thought about buying a lot in. So we already knew that we liked the neighborhood (love it, really!). There were two houses under construction and on the market, I thought that we might like the other one. But this one (which is more expensive) is the better of the two. It's on a great lot with views of the Blue Mountain Ridge (which looks like a big hill to me--certainly not snow-capped!!), and the plans for the house are perfect!

So we are currently under contract!!! The house should be finished next spring, so we will still rent for a while. Because we're getting in so early, we can make all selections, interior and exterior!! We'll be heading back in a couple of weeks to start that process. It's a little overwhelming to have all of these choices to deal with, but it's pretty exciting as well! I can't wait until it's finished!!

After PA, we went to NYC. I had the computer so I was able to stay in touch a little bit. Without the computer and other technologies, we wouldn't have been able to get the contract on the house. We did all of that from the hotel. Oops, got a little sidetracked--we didn't do a lot of stuff, as I wear out pretty quickly. Mainly our destinations were based around where the next meal was coming from. Hee hee, sad, but true!! We got to see The Producers--very funny. We went to the South Street Seaport, and then walked all over Lower Manhattan. We saw Ground Zero, and St. Paul's, which is the church across from the Trade Center. Ground Zero was the one place that I really wanted to visit. I can't describe the feeling, but everyone should see it.

After dh's conference was over, we went out to his parents' house in Long Island for the weekend. We caught up with some friends Saturday night, and we had a Christening to go to last night. I'm getting really stressed over the whole issue with the in-laws moving to PA. MIL was crying Saturday because she says that she doesn't want to go. I really hope that FIL really listens to her, and takes her wishes into consideration. Theirs is a male dominated marriage, so I have no idea what will happen here. I would hate for her to move to PA and end up terribly unhappy. I could see her slipping into a pretty deep depression. She would be leaving a lot behind. Her family (10 brothers and sisters and their families) is all in NY. She would have no peer group in PA. She doesn't drive and barely speaks English. I'm worried about this. Hopefully, dh, BIL, FIL, and MIL will all sit down and really talk about this. Hopefully, they will take their time in making this decision.

The christening was strange. The baby being christened was just a few weeks younger than Speck would have been if I hadn't miscarried. And the baby's cousin is the same age as Chip (our second pregnancy) would be today. I couldn't help but think about that. I was happy to see both babies, healthy and happy. But it was a little bittersweet, too. I just kept rubbing my belly and thinking of our little Charm. And I do have to admit, that I loved all of the attentions from the women over my belly. You can always count on an Italian family to make a big fuss!!