I didn't know...

How long that would be!!! If you don't want to read, that's OK, and I promise I am not a basket case!

hi ho, hi ho

...It's back to work I go...

I got a job and I am excited, though not EXCITED!!! I will be working for the United Way as the coordinator for one of their Full Service School sites. My commute will be a grand total of 2 minutes, but it is going to be a busy full-time job.

As many of you know, since I have been pregnant, I had planned on going back to work part-time. I thought I had a great part-time position, but that fell through, and since then, I have been trying to figure out what to do, the big dilemma being to struggle as a family with me working part-time or go back full-time. The truth is that we (we meaning the Prevatts but also, I guess, we as a country) are in a very different situation now than we were six months ago. I have a husband who works (VERY HARD) in sales with a commission-based salary, and the economy is not good. I was scared that we weren't going to be able to pay the bills in the coming months, and now I know we can. So, that's good.

Yet, when I got offered the job, I hung up the phone and cried! I have enjoyed being home with Anne more than I can possibly say. It truly has been the happiest, simplest, most joyful time in my life. I didn't know how motherhood was going to feel; I didn't know how hard it was going to be to go back to work.

Do you know the feeling when you really, really want your husband/boyfriend/parent/whoever to say just the right thing and then they say completely the opposite? (You know this feeling). Well, Chris did the opposite and said just the right thing today. I told him I got the job, he asked me why I was crying and I told him, and he told me that we will figure it out, that if this doesn't work out in the best way for our family, I can do something else, that this isn't a lifetime commitment; this is what works now.

Annie will be going to Bea's (Chris's mom) 4 days a week and to the tag team of Nana and my mom 1 day a week. The saying, "it takes a village...," comes to mind. My hope is that Annie will have several strong relationships and will always feel loved, but these are my fears:

• That Annie won't know I'm her mom.
• That I'll feel sad for missing all the big milestones (her first STEP, her first WORD!)
• That she'll refuse to nurse and/or my milk supply will diminish while pumping and we'll have to give her some formula.

One fear that I don't have is whether or not Annie will thrive. She is doing so well. She really is a wonderful baby, and I know she'll do well wherever she is. I do hope she misses me a little but I really know she'll be fine.

I will report on my new job, but I'm going to try hard not to complain beyond this post. This is life and you do what you gotta do. It actually is a job that I am going to enjoy and that I am going to rock, and Annie is going to know that she has two parents who love each other and love her. The rest will fall into place.

Very Big News

Annie slept from 7:30 - 3:15 last night, woke up to (ravenously) feed for 40 minutes or so and then slept until 7:30!!!!!! WE FEEL GREAT TODAY!!!! I slept for 5 straight hours for the first time since B.A. (before Annie, in case you couldn't figure it out), and it has made such a difference in how I feel. Thanks, Anne! I needed that.

random fun get-together

Two of my AmeriCorps friends were randomly in town (separately) and we got together and had lunch. It was so nice seeing them. It is funny how after you have lived with someone and known them and then not talked to them in awhile, it can still feel like you saw them yesterday. It was so, so great to see them. How cute are we?

happy smiles and big milestones

Annie is stoked about Obama's election, so much so that she rolled over in excitement twice on election night (11/4)! She was crying in bed, and I reached over to pat her before picking her up. I started patting and then I was patting all up and down her, thinking, wait a sec ... that isn't a face ... that's the back of her head! What a proud moment for a new mom!

She also laughed out loud last Thursday, 11/20. The old "pretend to eat the hands" trick gets them every time. It was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

It's getting kind of cold in Florida. Here she was on our walk today with bonnet and sweater knit by Gram:

best weekend of the year (or at least the fall)

FL/GA was a blast as always, with lots of fun out-of-town guests. It was so nice seeing everyone.

Harper Christmas picture?

I am so lucky to have such great friends:

happy halloween

If you know me at all, you probably know how I feel about Halloween - I don't like it. I must say, though, having Annie around makes me like it so much more. I carved a pumpkin, roasted the seeds, gave candy out to trick-or-treaters, and just generally had a great day. No, you probably won't see me dressing up anytime soon or decorating our front yard like a graveyard, (seriously, what is WITH the Halloween decorations? what will these people do at Christmas??) but I might just learn to enjoy Halloween yet.


She was a cute ladybug, but also a sleepy and confused one: