Friday, December 19, 2008

The working world

As my time in the in the 9-to-5 working world winds down, Mark is ending 2008 with a bang! A few months back, Mark was awarded with the Engineer of the Month award. It’s a very cool honor because he is being recognized for all of the advancements & efficiencies he has created within his division. Not to brag, but he created a process that the headquarters in Japan have now adopted. In the world of Toyota, this is a very big deal!

This week, his boss created a new position for him & he was promoted. And to top it all off, he won the Engineer of the Year award today. It’s been a very big week! I'm so proud to be married to such a badass :)

As I write all of this, my time in the 9-to-5 world is winding down. Yesterday, I cleaned out my desk at work in preparation for Tuesday, my last day of work. I'll have nearly 2 months to 'nest' to my heart's content, before the lil one arrives and then I'll be a stay-at-home-momma. I could not be more excited about my transition into motherhood, but packing up all of my 'work stuff' was a little surreal. I've been working at ad agencies for the past 10 years & have come to know the ebb & flow of life at an agency.

Now I’m starting at square one & will need to learn the new ebb & flow of being a stay-at-home-mom. While we will definitely miss the extra paycheck, time raising our son or daughter is priceless. According to salary.com, if a SAHM mom in Orange County, CA were to get a “mom paycheck”, I’d be making nearly $150,000 a year!

As 2008 comes to a close, I couldn’t be more proud of my husband or more excited for our new chapter in life! We hope everyone has a safe & happy holiday.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I have the greatest friends

Its been way too long since our last post! We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to my parents house & celebrated with 35 extended family members - true LaBonge style. I'm so thankful we have such a big family. It really makes the holidays fun!

On the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend, two of my absolute dearest friends threw a baby shower for me. Stephanie & I were roommates 3 of the 4 years in college & have been best of pals since. Tracey & I got to be friends when we were in preschool at 3-1/2 years old! Not only did we grow up taking dance classes together, but we also went to college together too!

Stephanie's mom has a beautiful house in Carlsbad & was generous enough to host the shower there. The weather was perfect & we sat outside for lunch. Then we went inside to open gifts & eat the cutest cake ever! All in all, it was a wonderful day & I was reminded of how generous & amazing my friends are. For that I am truly thankful!

The hostesses & me ... plus the cutest cake ever!

Kath, Shannon & Amy ~ wonderful friends

The grandma's to be

Nana, Aly & Michelle enjoying lunch