New Jobs for Everyone!

Well, things have been a little crazy around here hence my lack of writing. In a nutshell, me, Austin and Beckett all have new gigs!!!

Austin: He has been at a start-up working from home for the last 3 years. He's really enjoyed it, but a great opportunity came up with a firm he has always admired and he snagged it! He'll be starting his new job outside the home on Monday. I'm so happy for him and proud of him. Yes, the commute will be a little tougher than going downstairs (4 days a week; he'll have one work-from-home day), but it's an awesome opportunity and a great fit for him and his career. And, he's had the opportunity before his new job starts to be a stay-at-home dad with Becks! They have had so much fun and he has done an amazing job supporting me while i've been back at work, including sending flowers on my first day. :)

Flowers from my awesome fam

Austin and his mini me - iPhone shot

One of the many pics I get from Austin throughout the day while he's taking care of Beckett while i'm at work - so  fun to get

Beckett: Well, on May 15 I sent in Beckett's picture to a casting agency here in Atlanta. A friend told me they were looking for babies 3 - 12 months old and me and Austin decided that it couldn't hurt to send a picture in. On May 18 they reached out for a job the following Monday - she would be doing print ads for Kids II products (e.g., Baby Einstein and Taggies activity mats, bouncers, etc.). We tried it and she LOVED it - all smiles and fun, and just 3 hours on Monday. Then they called us for another job on May 23, and again on May 24 - she worked 3 days that week and seemed to enjoy it more each time. The staff is super sweet and Austin enjoyed his time as 'Beckett's stage dad.' Who knows if they'll call again, but if so, Becks is in so long as she continues to enjoy it! We can't take pics of her with the products, but here are some recent pics of our little bean!

Me: As some of you know, I've been in Corporate Communications with AutoTrader.com/Cox Enterprises since 2006 when I finished my master's. I have loved it. I have learned so much, moving from coordinator to specialist to associate manager to manager during my time. I had an amazing boss for the first 5 years - she was and still is my mentor. For the last couple of years I have been managing a team of communicators  and can not describe how much I love my team - these brilliant people with great, fun personalities. Overall, I love the company, the brand, the people, the philanthropy the company supports, the benefits - I could go on and on - you don't spend 7.5 years at a company that you don't love. But, I just can't stand being apart from Beckett. I went back on May 6 and had a really difficult time transitioning. I just felt like, deep down, being a 'working mom' wasn't going to work. I didn't feel like 'I had it all,' instead I felt like 'I sucked at it all.' Like I was thinking about Beckett when I was at work, and work when I was with Beckett. Like I was being a less-than-stellar employee and a less-than-stellar mom. I just felt like I couldn't do both. Well, I could, but not to a level that I was satisfied with which made me unhappy. And life is too short to be unhappy. And I wanted Beckett to have a happy mom, and AutoTrader to have a focused, invested employee. Therefore, after much deliberation with my family, I resigned on Tuesday, May 28, and my last day is this Friday.

It will be sad to leave and there are certainly things I will miss, but it just feels right and I'm so excited to start my new job next Monday as Beckett's full-time stay at home mom! And I am so thankful to Austin who has been incredibly supportive as this decision obviously impacts him - but he's happy for the family and glad that i'm excited to support Becks and him in his new job!

So, yes, I did VERY few of my monthly To-Dos in May, as so much of my time and energy has been focused on figuring out what to do with my life. True story. Exploring daycares in light of Austin's new job, assessing and adjusting our family budget to see if and make this possible, making lesson plans for Beckett and the list goes on. SUCH an exciting month - can't wait to start the next chapter of our lives!

I hope you're all well - blog reading will resume soon! As will 'Fitting Back In' Take 2 as I have 20 pounds to lose and am ready to get started!! I'll leave you with a few pics of my family! Love being a mom!