Thankful Thursday

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In honor of Thanksgiving month, I am linking up with Julia for my first ever "Thankful Thursday" post.  Lately I have been über aware of how much I have to be thankful for, but this week I am specifically thankful for:

Maternity Leave and the amazing company I work for:  Henry is almost 8 weeks old and I know a lot of people only are allowed 6-8 weeks of maternity leave.  I can not even imagine leaving Henry next week to go back to work.  I am so grateful that I have 2 additional months at home with him and even more thankful that once I go back I have the flexibility to work from home.  I still have a lot (probably an unhealthy amount) of anxiety about having the nanny take care of him during the day, but day by day and week by week I am definitely feeling more comfortable with that reality.   I am going to cherish the next 2 months home with my little baby and focus 150% on being in the present and my time with him.  And the best news of all is that as of last week I have been promoted to my dream role working for my dream boss.  That exciting (and unexpected- particularly while on maternity leave) news has definitely made thoughts of the transition back into the working world a lot easier to swallow and I am really looking forward to my new role and the impact I will make! And as cliche as it sounds, I literally prayed for a week straight for God to give me some sign or vibe that focusing on and being passionate and driven about my career was still the right path for me while also being the best mother.  Then poof! I get the phone call regarding my new role. 

My friends:   From coast to coast I have the most amazing, beautiful, smart, kind, and generous friends a girl could ask for.  I am so thankful that as our lives continue to evolve, and we find ourselves in different stages of life, my most important friendships have remained so perfectly in tact. I am especially grateful for all of my single girlfriends who still love me and listen to me ramble on and on about babies (despite the irrelevance to your lives):  breastfeeding, baby weight, baby poop, spit up, lack of sleep, and preschool waiting lists just to name a few.  I know I am one bad day away from mom jeans and a minivan (ok not really, but still), so I am leaning on each of you to keep me cool.  I am also SO thankful for new friends.  I can not  imagine how I would have navigated the last few weeks of pregnancy and these first few weeks of motherhood without having a friend experiencing each milestone and pot hole right along with me!  AND, how awesome is it to have a workout buddy motivating you to get that pre baby body back!

A healthy baby:  I am not sure if it is a reality of being an adult or the fact that we are more connected to a large network of people than ever before, but I feel like I continue to hear stories of very dear friends or friends of friends who have lost babies or are learning to live with a baby who has a serious illness.  I thank God everyday for my perfectly healthy baby boy.

Gosh!  This seemed to turn into quite a long and serious "Thankful Thursday" post!  Just to lighten it up a bit, I am  also EXTREMELY thankful for the absolutely AMAZING "Adult Milk N' Cookies" (warm chocolate chip cookies with spiked milk) dessert I had tonight with the girls at Saint Genevieve.  We all know I have a sugar addiction and it seriously does not get any better than that.  And while it may possibly be the newest Cougar hangout, I was quite impressed with the ambiance, food, and drink at Saint Genevieve.  Definitely recommend!