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Summer is finally here, which means my diet now consists of avocados on top of avocados on top of Doritos. I LOVE avocados (and, separately, Doritos). I could be the third competing female in that Subway avocado commercial (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to click here NOW). The irony that is my life is I'm allergic to avocados. My mouth gets really itchy and depending on how much I've had starts to kind of swell---but whatever because those are small prices to pay for that subtle yet complex flavor of summer. And last summer, in the midst of my pregnancy cravings, I created the best avocado summer salad EVER.

Or not because I soon learned it's actually a super common recipe, lol. Of course---I watch a few episodes of MasterChef and suddenly I think I'm the next Gordon Ramsey. To be fair to myself, I only started like avocados about a year ago, so I'm a little new to the scene. Here's my 'recipe' for this simple yet delicious salad. (I feel I'm offending you even typing out these 'directions.')

INGREDIENTS

1. avocado
2. cherry tomatoes
3. feta cheese
4. salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice avocado into cubes.
2. Halve or quarter cherry tomatoes.
3. Mix together with feta cheese crumbles.
4. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
5. Add some balsamic vinegar if you want to get crazy (YOLO).

I mean, I'm probably going to start my own food blog soon.

And if my food blogging career doesn't take off, it's okay because I got a new job to fall back on! Kind of. Returning to work after maternity leave was a little weird, and knowing I was going to have to tell my director and CEO I wouldn't be able to travel anymore didn't make it any easier. With Jordan's new job, he has been traveling much more than either him or I expected, which meant someone (Mommy) needed to be home with Sydney. (Did I discuss this? Last December Jordan left his employer after nearly 11 years for a senior sales position with a competitor. ELEVEN YEARS! He's like a martian.) Anyway, I'm absolutely the most awkward person when it comes to life these kinds of conversations at work, so I was incredibly nervous because I knew what a tough position I was about to put both my superiors in, and I hate letting people down. Plus, I was devastated. My company is actually fairly small at headquarters - we have a rather large system (over 250 franchisees with over 600 open and operating units worldwide), but we're a small corporate office, which translates to small budgets, and I knew they wouldn't be able to keep me on staff in addition to hiring someone to open retail locations and do site visits across the US. I loved the company, I loved my boss, I loved my co-workers, I loved our CEO... Was I really willing to give up a co-worker that brings flowers to all the women in the office just because? A boss who bought Sydney's coming home outfit from the hospital? A CEO that delivered delicious fried cheese curds to my desk while I was pregnant? A receptionist who manually picks out all the pink Starbursts in the candy dish just for me?!?

But I had to. Simply put, Jordan's job is more important than mine was, so I finally grew a pair and had the difficult conversation. And I cried. Cried talking to my boss about it, cried again talking to our CEO about it, cried again during our follow-up meeting. I'm like the poster child for the complete opposite of the empowered working woman.

But you know what? Shame on me for not realizing how truly wonderful my company is because their reactions were so amazing (which perpetuated the crying for sure). They were really disappointed to let me go but so incredibly supportive and understanding -- and even told me they wanted to do everything they could to keep me, which was flattering and felt so good to know I was so valued. They asked if I'd be open to doing consulting work on a contractual basis, which I had never even considered that to be an option. I took some time to weigh my options and ultimately decided it could be an awesome opportunity, so here I am, all self-employed and loving it. The best part is that I'm able to create my own schedule and work in my own environment; the flexibility it's afforded me has been a dream!

Anyway, shortly after my meltdown at the office it was Mother's Day, and I was premature in thinking it was summer because this happened. All damn day, and all day the next day.

Mother's Day in Colorado was a blustery, cold and snowy day, but I actually couldn't have been happier because it gave us the excuse to do exactly what I wanted without feeling guilty: curl up on the couch and soak in all the baby snuggles that I could get. The day started off like your typical Mother's Day...with a Mexican birthday present.

Jordan and Sydney took me to my favorite breakfast establishment, Snooze, and I got to bundle my little bear up in her tiny little winter clothes for the last time. My little doll.

We spent the rest of the day cuddling and playing inside and staying warm. It was absolutely perfect. Gracias to my sweet husband and my sweet baby for making my first Mother's Day so wonderful!!

All for now, clearly way more to come, but enjoy these pictures.

Bossing me around while I organized and cleaned her closet

Back at the pediatrician's office...ugh

Couldn't bear to bring her back to daycare, so she came with to the office :)

And she was so good!

My sweet husband