As an FYI, it seems that blogger is having issues with some of the blogrolls not updating their feeds correctly so, if anyone happens to be including Office Suite to Baby Sweet on your blogroll, don't be surprised if it looks out of date for awhile.  I read this is being worked on so we'll see if and when it gets up and going again.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I so did NOT simply grab the camera when I saw Little Bit headed for my new pair of snazzy purple ankle booties this weekend.  And I definately did NOT wait to see what she would do with camera in hand so I could snap this adorable picture of her checking out said snazzy booties!  Her grandmother would severely scold me if she knew that I did NOT just let her sit there and play with them for several minutes while I snapped away!  Ahh, feels good to confess ... this Not Me! Monday may become a bit addictive!

I remember as a child having my picture taken with Santa Claus, dressing up, preparing the wish list, sitting on the big guy's lap and telling him all the wonderful things I wanted that year.  It was a rite of passage, a tradition ... what it wasn't was expensive.  I confirmed with my own mother this morning that my parents did not pay an arm and a leg to have Santa pictures done of my sister and I.  She was as shocked and dismated as I was when I told her some of the local malls are charging as much as $30 for pictures with Santa!  $30 ... seriously! 

So, I was delighted when I found out, thanks to some friends, that our local Bass Pro Shops has Santa for free.  And not just Santa!  When we arrived, there was a reindeer carosaul as well ... for free!  Now that's the Christmas spirit in my opinion.  In a year when many families are struggling to make ends meet, why should the children have to be deprived of the chance to see Santa, simply because someone decided to prey on the emotions of parents?  There were so many adorable, expectant faces standing in line, all spit and polished, just antsy with the excitement of a visit with Santa Claus.  No child should be deprived of that small joy and tradition.

So thank you, Bass Pro Shops, for being that glimmer of true Christmas Spirit in a world that seems to have forgotten there is a Christ in Christmas.

I've never really believed much in the power of a suggestion to influence reality, until it happened to me.  I've been wonderfully happy, challenged and fulfilled at work ever since I started here 4 1/2 years ago.  I work for a great company, one that believes in its employees and their development.  Oddly enough, its that committment to employee development that's started this conundrum I find myself in.

See, a few weeks ago, our director came to me asking if I'd be interested in working on a special project that would require some extra travel back and forth between Dallas and New Jersey, our headquarters.  Of course, I was excited about this prospect.  One of the reasons that he gave for wanting me to work on this was he was afraid I would be getting bored if I didn't have a challenge to work on ... something out of my comfort zone.  The thought of being bored at work had never crossed my mind until then.

Fast forward to the present ... you guessed it ... I'm bored!  Not bored out of my mind but definately realizing that I'm tired of doing the same old things, running the same old reports, etc.  I wonder, if he had never suggested that I might start finding work boring, would I feel this way right now?

I mean this with all love but the Cookie Fairies in our office are going to be the bane of my existence this holiday season!  We have two wonderful ladies who cook all manner of treats during December and bring a new batch in every Monday for the office to devour.  And believe me, we devour them.  They are delicious, yummy and in some cases (like the Red Velvet Cake and the Buckeyes, both of which have yet to appear) they are simply sinful in their goodness.

But I'm trying to lose the extra 13 pounds I've been carrying around since before I got pregnant!  I may have a lot of will power in other areas of my life, but I've got a serious sweet tooth and every time I walk in the kitchen for another class of water or to stash my pump bag in the fridge, its a fight.  One one shoulder is the voice saying "don't eat that ... you're trying to be healthy and set a good example for Little Bit" and on the other shoulder is the devil saying "but its only once a year and you can be good after Christmas and by the way, remember how good it tastes!"  ARGH!!!

Some days are better than others, which is why, today being a Friday, I think I'll be able to behave.  Because all my favorites are gone ... until Monday rolls around and it starts all over again.

So, my baby girl got to play hooky from daycare yesterday because she had "the crud".  Yes, that's what our pediatrician's official diagnosis was on Friday before he promptly said she was well enough for her second flu shot, ordered it up and sent us on our way.  All weekend, we battled "the crud" and kept her home yesterday so she could rest up and battle "the crud" some more.  I went to bed last night, actually looking forward to being at work today because I'd had my fill of bodily fluids.  From snotty noses to drool to incredibly impressive poopy diapers, I was done with bodily fluids.

So, I drop my little sweetheart off at daycare this morning, feeling slightly guilty about it since she still wasn't feeling 100%, more like 80%, but thinking she'd be fine.  Two hours later, daycare calls and she's got a 102 degree fever.  Drumroll please ... cue up mommy guilt ... and action.

Thankfully, Dad was able to take a sick day and dashed off to daycare, then the doctor's office.  I'm awaiting the call with the verdict and hoping we get something more specific than "the crud" this time.  I'll be home with her tomorrow and I'm really hoping she's feeling better, not just for her sake either.

Powerful Women: How they do it all
Everyone wants to know how high-achieving women balance work and family.  Three top executives share their stories.

A co-worker shared the above article from Fortune magazine with me a few weeks ago.  Like a lot of working moms, I struggle with how to balance it all.  How do you work and not be distracted by thoughts of your child?  How do you deal with the guilt, which invariably will, and does, strike, over being away from your child?  On the flip side, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in what you do for a living.  In fact, in my mind, the fact that I work makes me a better mother than perhaps what I would be if I were staying home.  See, I know myself well enough to realize that I need to have a career.  I need to be satisfied mentally by the work that I do.  It makes me a better woman, which in turn makes me a better mother. 

It was personally satisfying, and inspiring, to read that Sheryl Sandberg, who is the COO of Facebook, also questions whether leaving her children in someone else's care for the sake of her own career is the right thing to do.  If she can balance it all, and she's got a much larger work load than I do on a daily basis, then why can't I?  I've learned some of my most important lessons on humility, respect and teamwork from my co-workers and managers.  If I can share that knowledge with my daughter, then my career has not only been personally challenging and satisfying to me, but rewarding for her as well. 

Granted, I envy my girlfriends who are able to stay home with their children.  They have the blessing of not missing a minute of their lives and when I hear them talk about how wonderful it is, that nagging voice in my mind kicks in and tells me that I am missing out - that worst of all, my daughter is somehow missing out too.  But then I hear a co-worker tell me his daughter started daycare when his wife was hospitalized and she literally blossomed in an environment of new friends and experiences, and I don't feel so bad. 

Its a struggle some days to sit at my desk, analyze numbers and offer advice on how to manage a multi-million dollar category of consumer products for a leading retailer (that sounds WAY more important than it actually is) but on the other hand, I really do love my job.  Without it, I would be missing a part of who I am.  So, with that in mind, I'll go check the webcams at daycare to see what my precious baby girl is up to and know that she's happy, I'm happy and all is right in our world.

Okay, what you all don't know about me at this point is a whole lot more than what you do know, which is scary and intimidating, a little nerve wracking but rather thrilling.  This is me ... the hand wringing, hide in the bathroom instead of face a crowd of unknown people, spotlight craving (now that's a juxtaposition!) me.  You don't know me, yet.  Will you?  I have no idea.  But, I've been told someone "out there" will read what I have to say, and maybe like it, so I'm joining the world of Mommy Bloggers.  It should come as no surprise to those that know me that, right or wrong, I've got something to say.