While Grandma was here

A few pictures from DM's week of FUN!

Rest and renew

We've been on a little jaunt south of the border to San Jose del Cabo to celebrate our anniversary!  It was a great time and a beautiful town we'd never been to.  The food and views were amazing!  And oh, how heavenly it was to sleep!

And our amazing babysitter for the week even greeted us with a home cooked dinner and flowers when we arrived home!

We go out of town and . . .

. . . She finally takes off!

Before I was even pregnant, David and I often discussed how important it was for our marriage for us to continue to get away as a couple after we had a child.  Before leaving last week for our first big "childless" trip, we both agreed DM would walk while we were gone and we were right.  It broke my heart to not be home for her first steps but at least she shared them with her Grandma, who was gracious enough to fly across the country to care for our little love!

...The Greatest of These is Love...

Ten precious, unpredictable years that man could have never orchestrated alone.  

Typical weekend

 Chillin' with Mama's sunglasses.

 Enjoying my new water table.

 Shoes always end up in the drawers.

 DM really thinks Tahoe's space is her space.

 Toilet paper is fun!

Cat is free to anyone willing!

Why my short commentary?
A.  I am tired.
B. My brother is a writer.  That is a bit intimidating.
C.  My best friend is a writer.  That is super intimidating.
D.  See post below.  I work full time and am extra tired today.

Love y'all!

So close!

I hope I don't jinx us but we seem to have "lifted" off our knees a bit today! 
(Ignore David's work discussion in the background and focus on the little one finally off her knees!)

LOVE My Job!

I was meant to be with the Apartment folks!  As you may know, I worked with the Apartment Association while we lived in Memphis and loved it.  I learned so much about running an association and the multifamily industry during that time.  When we moved back, we moved less than four miles from the Atlanta Apartment Association, but unfortunately, it is an AMAZING place to work so NO one ever quits!    Now in late March, it became evident I was going to have to quit my job with another association for the sake of me (IE:  my family).  Also at that time, AAA was finalizing plans to add a new position to their staff, something that hadn’t been done in nearly 15 years.  Meanwhile, I was diving in to round FOUR of interviewing with a nonprofit for a fundraising position. 

My dear friend and mentor Russ, who is VP of AAA, sent me the job description just for kicks knowing that I was completely overqualified.  However,  he had fielded multiple phone calls from me in tears over the past few months as I wonder what in the hell I’d gotten myself in to with the CRAZY ASSOCIATION.  Not only was the AAA position going to back me way up in my career, it was also part time.  But I asked for an opportunity to interview anyway sure that something had to work out.  I interviewed and received the best offer they could make given the nature of the work and it include a full and part time option. 

I almost didn’t take it and was going to opt for the fundraising position, but David gently reminded me I’ve wanted to work for AAA for the past five years, and I did make sure that the house we purchased was close enough to the AAA office so I could come home for lunch if I ever worked there.  And so as you know now, I’ve been with AAA for a few weeks and love it.  They are easily one of the top trade associations in the country yet no one there is stressed out.  I have a boss who encourages me to grow, supports and guides me when I make mistakes, and most importantly would come in the middle of the night if our family ever needed anything.  The best thing is I get to give DM breakfast every morning and when she finally grows enough hair to get her hair “fixed” in the morning, David won’t have to attach what is sure to be a curly mess alone! 

DM will still get to grow up knowing it is okay for a woman to have a career, and it is even okay to take a step back in that career to balance being a mom with work.  And I can say I think I finally truly understand that while I know my mother could have had more than one "powerful" positions in her career, she opted for a little less.