1st Mother's Day

Today was my first (sort of) Mother's Day! I didn't really think it counted since my baby isn't even a member of society yet, but other people said it does count so I took their word for it. Though today is the same day I flew home from Omaha, I figured Mother's Day needed a special (short!) post of it's own.

On my way to Omaha, I had to take a bus to the airport from where I parked. The bus driver was a larger black woman probably in her mid-forties. She was super friendly and said she'd been driving busses for 20 years. She discovered I was pregnant and told me all sorts of stories about her (8!) kids on the way to the terminal. When I flew home, she also picked me up to take me back to my car and was the first person to wish me a happy mother's day. I was surprised she remembered me but it was kind of nice that she did.

Anyway, when I got home, Lee had a few gifts waiting for me. I was surprised to receive anything, it was really thoughtful of him. He got me a Boppy body pillow, to help me sleep, and a few things for Bailee. He had had lunch with his mom and we went to my mom's for dinner. Next year will be even more special, when Bailee is actually here.

Couldn't find a pic of just the pillow but here's what it's for:

Two onesies and sandals for Bailee so "we can both be beach bums" :)

Omaha Trip and First Baby Shower

A few months back I planned a trip to Omaha, NE to visit my aunt Mary Ann and my cousin Shonda. Mary Ann I'd seen last year when she was out here for their annual sisters trip but I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen Shonda. The plane tickets were cheap - only $200 round trip from LA - so I booked my trip and was all set to go.

That was back in February and the trip was booked from Wed. 5/6 to Sunday 5/10, which ended up being a couple days after I got laid off. It seemed to be great timing, I really needed to get away for a few days and not think about the fact that I was unemployed.

When flying somewhere, it's always a gamble on whether or not things are going to go smoothly. Luckily for me, I couldn't have had a smoother trip - start to finish. I even got to use my pregnancy as an excuse to pre-board and get the front seat with extra leg room.

I arrived Wednesday night around 10 PM and was met at the airport by a super excited Mary Ann, who told me she had a great weekend planned out. She was right! I learned how to knit, took a tennis lesson, went to Pilates, watched No Doubt on American Idol, enjoyed an Omaha steak, went to see "Wicked the Musical" and even got to attend my first baby shower with a surprise guest - my other cousin Brendon.

On Sunday it was time to fly home - I was pretty wiped from the weekend but so glad I got a chance to spend time with everyone. Of course I took pictures:

Laid Off

Today was a sad day for me....and frustrating and confusing and humiliating all rolled into one. I was laid off from my job at Processes Unlimited due to "budget cuts." I was told I made more money than a lot of people so it made sense to let me go first. I had been there 13 days short of a year and it was a total shock to me. I had been working super hard, in fact, last week I had to take an extra almost full day off because I had so much overtime from working on special projects. Marketing was a busy dept. still, even with the economic slow down, since we bring in the business. I didn't specifically make sales, I did writing, photography and graphic design, but our dept. had been told we were safe from layoffs. Apparently not.

I was told at 3pm that I was being let go, got my severance pay, and was told to clean out my things and go home. My supervisor had to watch as I collected my belongings, sent out a few last emails, and tried to keep my composure. The suckiest part of it all was that they shut off my computer before I even had time to get any of my work to have for my portfolio. I'd been printing out a lot of it, but the most recent projects I worked on, which happened to be the biggest, I had no copies of and wasn't allowed to print them.

Supposedly I can say this is for the best, I was having a hard time choosing work or full-time mom or part-time work after Bailee gets here, I guess my decision was made for me. I just wish it had been closer to my due date so that I could still be getting my benefits and keep earning a paycheck until then, but I guess no one really has a choice about any part of being laid off.

I at least kept my tears to myself until I had gotten in my car and was driving out of the parking lot - I called Lee to tell him and that's when I fell apart. He was nice about the whole thing, I know, it's not my fault but I still feel like a loser for getting laid off. He met me at Lengthwise and tried to make me feel better with some fish and chips. It helped just a little bit but man, what a sucky day.