Life On The Road

So, it's obviously been FAR too long since my last post. I know that some of you know what we've been up to, but some may not, so I'll update you.

On June 26th, Mom came out to Florida to help me drive Sydnie, the dogs, and our "stuff" up to Harrisburg, PA. We started our long drive on Saturday the 27th, about 2 hours later than I wanted to. But with loading the car and making sure Syd was ready to be stuck in her carseat for hours upon hours, time just got away from me. We actually made really great time getting into North Carolina that night for a quick stay at a Super 8, though. It was so nice to just lay down and sleep after such a long day. On Sunday morning, we woke up and got going after a stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We had the short part of the drive left; just about 6 hours from Carolina to Pennsylvania. We finally got into Harrisburg on Sunday evening, just in time for Matt's double header to finish up, and we all had dinner together at the Harrisburg Hilton's restaurant. It was a LONG weekend, but Mom and I had so much fun getting to have girl talk the whole way up the East Coast, Sydnie was SUCH a trooper, and hardly made a peep the whole trek. The dogs kept to the backseat, and snoozed the whole time, minus potty breaks. And the best part of it all was getting to see Matt again after such a long time apart! It had been close to a month of separation!

After Mom left on Monday, and Matt finished up his workout with the team, he was able to drive (another 5 hours!) to Mystic, CT. with us for the team's road trip. Mystic was ADORABLE!! Such a quaint, sweet little town, and I was really excited to get some sight-seeing in. I wasn't able to take Sydnie to the aquarium in town because of rain, but the three of us did get to look around historic Downtown Mystic, and even ate at the famous Mystic Pizza! (Have you seen the movie)? Here are some pictures from our stay there:

A little side note about the trip to Mystic:

I think most of you know that I have been a part of an online message board for about a year and a half now. I joined this board on babycenter.com back in March of '08, when I was just newly pregnant with Sydnie, and met some of the greatest women and mothers I've even met! We are from all parts of the country, but lots of us have been able to meet on vacations to eachothers' towns, or through planned get-togethers for those of us who don't live too far from eachother. I have met a wonderful friend, Jen, who actually lives in Orlando, so we've been able to take our babies (Baby Carlos is her little one) on some fun little excursions with us in Florida. Jen, just imagine us in about a year, and the circus we'll be with FOUR babies between the two of us!! And I also was able to take a trip to St. Louis, MO back in April, and met 7 or 8 AMAZING ladies and their sweet babies! But while we were in Mystic, another friend from my message board, Abi, asked if I'd like to meet up. OF COURSE I said yes, and we were able to meet at Matt's game! Abi and her little boy, Gunnar, were just SO sweet, and I am so excited that we were able to get together! Here are a couple pictures from our day together:

After our trip to Mystic, we made our way back to Harrisburg, and other than a quick trip to Altoona, PA for a couple days, this is where Sydnie, the dogs, and I have stayed! We found an extended stay hotel near Hershey that we've made our little home for now. We don't have a washer and dryer, so over the All Star Break, Matt and I did WEEKS worth of laundry at a local laundromat. This was my very first trip to a laundromat, and I can promise you that I'll never take for granted the luxury that is a washer and dryer in your home again! Also over the All Star Break, we took a trip to Hershey's Chocolate World to take in the sights of Hershey, PA and eat lots of chocolate! Of course, after our "Chocolate Tasting Tour", Matt and I were both so sick of chocolate that we only came home with a small bag of York Peppermint Patties and a pack of Kit Kats.

This past month has been my first taste of baseball life with a baby. I had heard friends talk about the challenges that surround family life in baseball, but you really do have to experience it for yourself to truly understand what it's all about. I have a new-found appreciation for "home home", as we call it in baseball. "Home" is your during-season apartment, and "home home" is where you live in the offseason. We miss "home home" TERRIBLY, and are already counting down the days until we can be there together as a family again. This lifestyle is tough, but we are just happy to be together to share it all together!

And in other news, if you haven't heard, our surprise baby on the way is a BOY!! We are thrilled, and for the second time for me, finding out my unborn baby's gender was just a confirmation of what I already knew in my heart. A mother's intuition is VERY strong! I find it hard to believe that I am already four months pregnant... it really is FLYING by this time. January will be here before we know it!