Baby Shower Numero Tres aka Work Family Shower

I cannot say enough good things about the people I work with. They are awesome. And not just because they bought me terrific presents. :)

My work family threw me a baby shower. It was AMAZING.

Although I did get really nervous opening gifts in front of people. (There are more people at the shower at other tables, but I don't have a picture of everyone.)
There was YUMMY FOOD: (Not pictured is HOMEMADE VANILLA ICECREAM. My favorite.)

And of course a delicious homemade cake filled with strawberries. Oh AND it's cute:

And let's not forget the amazing gifts. Adorable stuff too. We even go the travel system AND pack-n-playI have been dying to have:

After it was over, my car was loaded full of loot. It was so thoughtful of my co-workers and bosses to do this for me. I am so blessed to work with such amazing people. I was overwhelmed by all they did for us. I cannot thank them enough.

Thank you!

Plans

Before I get into writing this post, let me just say that I know it may be a little controversial. I do not mean for it to be. But lately I have heard many different opinions and I realize this can be a touchy subject. I am just sharing my thoughts. Feel free to share yours.

Before I was pregnant, I always new it would be hard. Pregnancy would be hard, delivery, and parenthood would be hard. But I also knew that these experiences would be wonderful. Above all, I know that we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into.

So far pregnancy has been great. Changes come all the time: new feelings, new phases, a bigger belly. It has been interesting and I feel blessed to have had a fairly pleasant pregnancy so far.

One of the difficult things, atleast for me, is not knowing what to expect. I am a planner after all. We have no idea when this baby will decide to join us. We have no idea if she will be a super needy baby(like her mother) or a laid back baby (like her father). We have no idea what we feel like as parents. I could go on forever. But I guess part of becoming a parent is learning to give over some control. It will be an interesting ride.

Also, one of the most difficult things for me has been visiting daycares. It is so hard to go into a place and decide if the people there will take good care of your baby. If the atmosphere of a place is safe for your baby. It is so hard to look at people and realize they may be taking care of your baby for a large part of the day. They may be the ones who see your baby reach a new milestone for the first time, even before you do. No matter how nice these people seem, it breaks my heart and I haven't even met our little one yet.

Growing up, I always fully expected to be a stay at home mother one day, and maybe one day I will be. I know being a stay at home mom is hard. It is a lot of work. By no means do I think that it is all fun and games. But I wish I could be the one who creates the atmosphere my child will be surrounded by. I wish I could be the one who sees all of our daughter's milestones. I wish I could be with my baby and make sure she is safe and loved all day.

I know there are people who look down on working mothers. I have already experienced some of these judgments. I also know stay at home moms are also judged in the world today. You just can't win I guess. I think that every family is different and you have to do what you have to do to make things work. So people shouldn't judge.

Despite others judgments, I will not be a working mother because we want to afford fancy things or want cable tv. We do not live frivolously. I will not be a working mother because I think my career is more important than my family. I will be working because it is what is best for our family at this time.

Don't get me wrong. I have a wonderful job. I have been blessed with the most amazing co-workers. I feel a purpose in what I do for a living. I (mostly) like going to work everday. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to work where I work with the people that I work with.

But I will miss my baby.

I hope I don't sound too whiney. We are very blessed with the amazing opportunity to have a child. I have a wonderful husband who is supportive and caring and sweet. He works so hard and is striving to provide for our family. I honestly could not ask for a better partner. We both have wonderful parents and siblings who are there if/when we need them.

Does anyone have any working mom advice? We thought about finding and paying someone we know to take care of the baby at their home. But I don't know anyone who would be interested in this commitment.

I know that everything will work out just fine. I am going to treasure the time I get to take off of work to spend with our baby. I know it will all be ok.

This baby stuff is hard already. But it's worth it.

CA to FL and Everywhere In Between

This week I have been in Columbia, South Carolina, for work training. It's interesting because I get to meet people from all over the country who do my exact same job. They are like me in an alternate universe. During the week, you get to chat with these people and go out to dinner and such. We often refer to each other by what state we are from, just because it's easier. For instance, my main friend this week was Rhode Island. She works in RI but actually lives in Boston. I like her. She says fun things like "Grocery Market", "Wicked", "Huge Big", and "Rememba".

During the week, I met Nebraska, Georgia, California, DC, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, and so on. Very nice people. One night Rhode Island and I were walking through the lobby when we ran into Florida. She had her husband, 6 month old, and 9 year old with her. We chatted and she introduced us to her husband. "Sweetie, this is Miss Tennessee and Miss Rhode Island." We chatted a while and goo-ed over her baby. I noticed her 9 yr old seemed to be staring at us kindof funny.

The next day, she told us that after we had left, her 9 yr old had said "Mommy how come Miss TN and Miss RI didn't have crowns and sashes like the ladies on TV". haha. He thought we were beauty queens or something! How funny. I guess he probably thought that beauty queens sure do look better on TV then in real life!

Other funny story: Security is very important at training. (After all it is the government.) During class, if you had to go to the bathroom, you had to memorize a code to be able to get into the outside batroom door. I went out into the hallway and began looking for the bathroom. I couldn't find it. Finally, I found a door with a key pad, punched in the numbers, and it let me in.

Later, Rhode Island had to go to the bathroom so we went out for another trip. She passed the room that I had went into earlier. "Where are you going" I asked. "To the bathroom, rememba?" she said. I thought to myself, if this is the bathroom where did I go earlier? On the way back to class, I realized I had used the mens restroom. Perfect.

Things I was reminded of this week:

1. I don't care if my future kids take tennis lessons, speak only french in their 7th grade classrooms, or are enrolled in the same private school as the president's daughters so they can go to white house sleepovers. I just want my future kids to be happy. (Thanks Miss DC)

2. I don't care about getting promotions, and furthering my career. I just want to make decent money so I can support my family and pay off my student loans. (Thanks Miss NH)

4. If I were Miss Tennesse I would work towards world peace. (Also, saving children, feeding the poor, umm....... spaying and neutering pets....)

5. Seriously though, Tennessee is beautiful.

6. I have the best husband.

7. I am grateful for my life.