Do you know how fantastic it felt to set my alarm for 6:00am instead of 2:3oam?  It was truly amazing!

Apparently I hit the snooze because my feet didn’t hit the carpet until 6:09am.  I attempted to chronicle the first day of my new job on Instagram and Twitter.  (If you don’t follow me you totally should.  Surprise! You can find me @SomebodysParent.) 

6:12am–  The Keurig is fired up with His and Her coffee mugs ready.  Yes, my husband drinks from a Chewbacca coffee mug.  Oh, and mine is a Precious Moments mug with the meaning of my name.  I can’t decide which one is more ridiculous, or which one I love more.

6:24am– Charlotte is up and rockin’ her Santa pajamas in February!

7:20am–  Miss C is ready for a fun day with her fellow Waddlers.  She kept it casual, yet toddler chic with her Ralph Lauren Infant Girls blouse and dark wash jeans.  We had no tears as she cared way more about that teddy bear than her mama leaving.

7:45am–  I’m the only person in the parking lot.  That’s good because I still need some make-up.  Right at 8:00am one of my new coworkers pulls up and was all like, “Um, can I help you?”  I laughed, introduced myself and walked in.  Here goes nothing.

8:05am–  Shut up!  I mean, how sweet is this!?  I even had streamers on my seat and WELCOME spelled out in a red banner.  It was very nice.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur as I tried to remember names, set up my email, and figure out equipment.  My head was spinning with all the new things to remember, but I didn’t feel the old familiar panic.  That was nice.  One of my goals with this gig is to keep my head.  I think the 7-8 hours of sleep and regular meals should help with that.

I kept it cool with the picture taking.  I didn’t want to be the new weirdo with the cell phone camera.  I didn’t have time to snap a pic of myself all dolled up for the first day, but I did sneak a shot of the shoes.  My God I love these boots!

12:15pm–  I went to lunch with some of the girls in the office.  It was so nice of them to invite me.  Did  ya’ll read that?  I WENT TO LUNCH!  That means I did not eat two meals of my day in the car.  They were very sweet and luckily geeked out with me over The Hunger Games.  Naturally the conversation led to tonight’s Carolina/Duke game as we enjoyed Mexican fare.

5:00pm–  I was dismissed and took a call from Greyson right away to recap.

5:17pm–  I got a latte from Starbucks.  Shh!  Don’t tell Greyson!  It was my little first-day treat.

5:25pm–  I picked up my sweet babe who was all smiles and played Peek-a-Boo with my hair.  I snuggled her close as her teacher told me how fabulous her artwork was today.  I smothered my little DaVinci with kisses and gave her crackers to hold her over in the car.

6:15pm–  Greyson called in take-out to Pei Wei.  Neither of us were in a cooking mood.  Oh God!  Mexican and Asian take-out.  I gotta fit a workout  in tomorrow.

6:45pm–  I let her splash a little longer, and we counted her rubber duckies a few more times after Greyson and I delivered a rousing rendition of “Elmo Had Four Ducks.”

7:15pm– I got into PJ’s and we read “Piggies” and “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” for the umpteenth time.  I smelled her hair.

7:45pm–  Sadly I had to put my little one in the bed.  She didn’t fall asleep right away, however.  No joke.  She had a little book about Louis Pasteur from the Chick-Fil-A Kids Meal and she was ALL ABOUT HOLDING IT!  I can only hope it will inspire her to cure some infectious disease.  (Yeah I know, fast food.  Mother-of-the-year.  But, it was from awhile ago!  At least the book was educational.)  

8:00pm–  Greyson and I whip out our laptops while catching up on Tosh.O on the DVR.

9:00pm–  Battle of the Blues.  Go Tar Heels!  (I’m so glad to be watching it as a fan instead of covering it as a reporter!  Yay!)  

After the game I’ll make sure Charlotte and I have outfits laid out.  In writing all this I realize how little time I spent with her today.  But, I’m calmer, happier, and more rested.  That makes the time we have more QUALITY time.  I’ve learned being a working mother that it’s the quality, not the quantity during the week.

I’ve got my gameface on.  Let’s do this!

My obsession with Madonna as a young teen was ridiculous.  From the wall collage of photos, to the VHS cassette tapes of MTV appearances, my fandom was absurd.  When my peers moved on to Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the mid 1990’s, I clung to the pop queen.

When I found out I was having a girl my sister bought Charlotte a Madonna  Newborn size onesie.  I LOVED it and we got a great laugh.   I dug it out of the Rubbermaid bin of Newborn clothes and put it on my 15 month old unsnapped.

Okay, so maybe this isn’t the best way to keep “Material Girl” excess at bay when you’re raising a daughter.  But, I couldn’t help myself!  Madonna was doing the halftime show and our teams weren’t playing.  What else was she going to wear?  Oh yeah, my fantastic parenting continues.  I let her stay up and watch the halftime show too.  I may or may not have helped her “Vogue” her hands.

Strike a pose…

The last day was great.  Easy stories, happy goodbyes, no tears.  It was exactly what I had hoped for ending one chapter and starting another.  My photographer Mark  surprised me with a spa gift card, complete with a note chock full of inside jokes.  The thing about news people is you can’t suffer through endless hours of covering homicides and foul weather without developing inside jokes.

Mark and I surprised the Control Room after we were “cleared” from the the last live shot.  THIS was the silliness that ensued.  (YOU WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK! I will be singing in this video.  You have been warned!  And no, this did NOT go on TV! )

I forgot my camera so I snapped some shots on my phone of the last day, just to remember.

Mark calls the station, "Hey, do you see our shot?"

One hour later. "Hey, do you see our shot?"

I got an incredibly sweet goodbye from Maggie, a reporter from another station. It was hard saying goodbye to talented peers like her.

Thanks Guys, I'll miss you too.

One last look at the newsroom. The news goes on without me, and that is a relief.

The peace I felt leaving Friday reaffirmed my choice to leave.  I’m happy.

Amidst all the ups and downs of changing careers these past couple of weeks, I’ve had some breaks in obsessing over my future.  My extended family grew last week!

Allow me to introduce you to Miss Emma!

Emma Reece 01-27-12

This lovely little lady joined our family last Friday weighing just over 7 lbs.  She has her daddy’s hair, her mama’s eyes, and cheeks I can’t wait to smooch.

She is the firstborn of my cousin Meagan.  If you have a first cousin who’s close to your age and who’s felt the ups and downs of growing up with you, than you understand my relationship with Meagan.

This is 1-year-old me (left) looking proud of my new cousins Meagan (center) and Scott (right) with our Grandaddy in Summer 1982. I hope Emma doesn't cry like Meagan is in this picture. Ha!

Growing up we were all at once playmates, family, fierce competitors, and best friends.  Meagan is the person I would tease and taunt, but then fight to the death anyone else who made her feel bad.  We rose above similar teen angst to go to the same college together.  (I appreciate my family overlooking the fact she came to college one year after me, but still graduated before me.)  Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you she’s a Doctor?!  She graduated Summa Cum Laude. I graduated Thank Tha Lawdy.

Dr. Meagan

There are few people I am prouder of than Meagan.  She is one of the hardest working, most determined people I know.  I feel incredibly bad about being a bratty bride when we were engaged at the same time.  I also feel rotten for making her feel bad this one time when she couldn’t come to a family event.  I chock that one up to pregnancy moodiness.

Emma’s arrival creates a downright gaggle of girls in Charlotte’s generation.  Meagan’s twin brother, Scott has two-year-old Lana.

Scott with Lana and Charlotte

I can’t wait to go meet Emma this week!  I have gifts, and a bunch of stuff that Charlotte never used that I can pass on to her.  I want to hold her and smell that sweet newborn scent.  

More than anything I want to hug Meagan.  I’m so proud of her and I know she’ll be a great mom.  It’s sort of like welcoming her into this sisterhood of mothers well, “mamas” in our Southern family.

Meagan's mom, my Aunt Wanda, welcoming another generation.

Welcome Meag!  Welcome to the stress, mess, worry, concern, joy, happiness, and overwhelming love I’ve learned about over the past year.  I have no doubt you’ll take on motherhood with all the strength and determination you use in the rest of your life.  You’ll be the Summa Cum Laude of mamas.