I Can Take Constructive Criticism But This is Ridiculous

Every year, the company I work for conducts an employee satisfaction survey, polling its employees on all areas of their work. Today, in our senior management meeting, the whole administrative team reviewed the results of the survey. Nothing too surprising, considering the people who usually respond to surveys are the ones with the most grievances to get off their chests. That is, until we got to the verbatim comments section in which employees were free to write anything they wished. The HR Director said she'd be sending each manager their center's comments in an email for us to review but I just so happened to be sitting next to one of the senior managers who had a copy in front of her. So I asked to see them. At first, she shook her head and then she prefaced handing them over with a "Just remember, some employees say really stupid things," which made me really want to see what was on that piece of paper.

The very first comment I read from one of the employees I manage? "The Center Manager should dress more appropriately for work...." and after that, I don't even remember the rest. Now wait a minute, dress more appropriately?!? Sure, if I was prone to wearing low-cut shirts displaying cleavage or skirts that didn't cover enough leg or even midriffs that allowed my navel and tattoo to show, then I could understand what this person was getting at. But, for the entirety of 2008 I have been pregnant and wearing maternity clothes. It left me wondering, does my elastic waist-band pants offend someone? Or maybe it's the tent-like shirts with the little ribbons that tie in back that emphasize my bulging pregnant belly too much? Or maybe, just maybe, it's the open-toed shoes I am forced to wear as a result of my feet swelling to double their size by day's end? I gotta say, this left me quite stunned. Prior to getting pregnant, I was very conservative in my attire- skirts to the knees, button-down blouses, khaki pants- and I plan on returning to that style postpartum. But for now, I'm left wondering if maybe it's time to break out the mu-mus.......

Some Truths about Pregnancy

It's funny how you think you know all about something until it happens to you. For example, I have plenty of friends who have already had babies and I thought I knew the adventures pregnancy would hold. Ha, was I wrong. Every month brought something new that made me think, "now why has nobody ever told me this before?" Then I figured out maybe it's because I never knew to ask. So, I wanted to share just a few things that I've learned throughout the last 37 weeks of my life.
1. No matter how great of shape you are in, a trip from your bed to the couch can be the most exhausting 25 feet you'll ever walk.
2. Maternity clothes are not one size fits all. What fits you in the beginning won't necessary do the job in the end.
3. Hot flashes are not just for menopausal women; pregnant women get them too. So when your spouse complains that the house is 70 degrees and why does the ceiling fan need to be on all night too, it's okay to tell him to shut up or go sleep in the other room.
4. Pregnancy has a way of taking the nicest people and making them say the dumbest things. I mean, is it really necessary to tell me how big my rear end has gotten or that my face looks fatter, people?!? (And by the way, that's really not a smart thing to say to a pregnant woman when that pregnant woman is your boss).
5. Even the most adoring spouse is going to get scared to death of all the ways pregnancy changes the body. (Hubby never said anything per se but I've caught the shear look of terror on his face on multiple occasions).
6. By the end of pregnancy, intimacy with your spouse can be equated to a middle school dance (as my mother always said, "Make sure you leave room for the Holy Spirit!" Don't worry, Ma, with this belly, we have room for the Father, Son AND the Holy Spirit).
7. And lastly, you start missing parts of your body that you just always took for granted. Me? I miss my feet.

Well, Okay, My Blog Name is a Little Misleading...

When I say that baby makes three, I mean three human beings. Hubby and I already have 3 furry four-legged creatures of the canine sort running around, which makes for a very full household as you can imagine. They are truly our babies- they lounge on furniture, eat human food and sleep in our bed, many times forcing myself or the hubby to move to the guest room for some shut-eye. I have no idea how C, C & Big H are going to handle a baby in the house. It's already been a challenge to keep all the fun baby toys- teethers, rattles, stuffed animals- from them. Once there' s baby poo in the house....well, I won't even go there.

Anyways, welcome to my blog! I decided to try this new endeavor after my sis, KAT, had so much success with her blog. (Check it out at http://funnygals.blogspot.com) I can't promise I will be funnier than her. Hell, I know I won't be funnier than her. But, with all our family within flying distance only, I figured a blog would keep everyone up-to-date on the latest happenings in our crazy household. Hubby just surprised me with a video camera so once we figure out how to use it, I'll be posting videos up as well.

Little Goochie probably won't be making an appearance until around September 14th but until then, I'll be sharing the latest happenings involving hubby, myself and our spoiled rotten "practice children." I'm not sure any of us know what we are in for in just a mere few weeks....