Surprise at work!

This has been a CRAZY week at work. We have had two different project teams in town, one from California and one from Colorado, all wanting to discuss their individual project documentation. On top of that, one of the teams located out of Houston had an all-day "guest installer" event I was required to attend and gather information. Needless to say, I have been in meeting after meeting, while still trying to stay on top of my documents...

Yesterday, I had a meeting in the morning, but I only had to call into it. I was hoping to be able to stay home and catch up on my documents. However, Woody, my manager at Integrity, scheduled a 1-on-1 meeting with me. Jesse asked me if I knew what it was about, and why Woody would schedule a 1-on-1; honestly, I just assumed he wanted to discuss maternity leave and make sure we were both on the same page concerning my absence. Honestly though, with as many times as he re-scheduled my last 1-on-1 with him, I was skeptical about whether or not we would actually meet. I sent him an email that morning before I left my house to confirm that we were still "on" to meet that afternoon. He said yes, so I begrudgingly headed up to work.

I was still in crunch mode and was extremely focused all day at work. A few people came by to chat, as normal, but I think they could sense that I was stressed and focused, and did not stay as long as normal. Woody even came by at one point and confirmed we were still meeting, though his day was as crazy as mine.

2:00 rolled around, and my calendar reminder popped up regarding my meeting. Sure enough, Woody popped his head in my office and asked if I was ready. He had his notebook and a pen, so I grabbed mine too, and we headed to the small conference room. We sat down and began talking...but not about anything real specific. He said he had been crazy all day, and he was hoping no one would "find him" in the conference room. No joke, 5 minutes into our talk, the phone in the conference room rings. We both looked confused, and he answered with a question in his voice, "Integrity Group...can I help you?" Then he looked frustrated, and said, "dang it- they found me. And apprently they need this conference room. We will just have to head to the other room." I didnt think anything of it. We left, and began to walk around to the other conference room. (Oddly enough, I did not notice that every single office was empty, and no one was out and about as usual.)

When we got to the large conference room, I noticed some people standing in there, in the dark, and whispered to Woody, "I dont think we can go in there- it looks like someone else is having a meeting..." He opened the door anyway and told me to go in. I looked at him like he was absolutely crazy, and again said, "Woody...I think someone's having a meeting!"

Then they flipped on the lights, and EVERYONE was crammed inside. I dont know if they said "Surprise!" or not, to be honest! I was absolutely stunned-- felt like a deer in the headlights! They all kept giggling and asking if I knew about it, because apparently everyone thought it had been obvious all day long what was going on. I guess I was really concentrating on my work and extra focused, because I did not notice a thing! I couldn't believe how many people participated in making the occasion so special for me. And it wasn't just the girls! The guys were all there, excited too! Even the CEO of the company came, wearing a light pink suit jacket "especially for the occasion." They even invited my boss from HP and our PA from Aesbus to come. It was truly a super special surprise, and I dont think I can put into words how much it meant to me.

Obviously, being a surprise and all, I did not have my camera with me for the shower. Another co-worker was taking pictures, and promised to send them to me once she uploaded them. They had a giant pink and white cake, decorated with little booties, flowers, and "Congratulations, Melody!" Half the cake was chocolate and the other half was a white cake, so everyone enjoyed the cake of their choice. The ladies had also made punch, which was excellent! I took some pictures of the decorations, etc that I brought home with me:

Aren't these cute? I might actually hang this in her nursery somewhere!
I dont think anyone knew I'm planning a "Pooh" nursery, and yet they had cute little Pooh Bear and friends decorations everywhere. :)
The theme for the shower was called "The Giving Tree," and they literally bought a Redbud tree for me to plant. They said to watch as the tree and the child grow up together. Not only that, but the Redbud tree is supposed to bloom with little pink flowers every Spring- right in season with her birthday. How sweet is that? On top of that, (again, I dont have a picture from the shower), many people in the office gave us gift cards to Target, Babies 'r Us, Walmart, etc, and they had them all hanging from the tree! The tree was covered in cards, gift cards, and even a few little baby dolls and toys. I think we were given close to $200 in gift cards alone...crazy! Cutest idea ever!
To continue with the theme, the graphic design team put together this book for me. Every one from the office wrote a page with advice, words of wisdom, encouragement, and congratulations. This was so special to me, and I will hold on to this book forever.
For "party favors," the graphic design team made matching book marks for everyone to take with them. I took 3 or 4, so I can put one in her baby book and a few for me to make my own scrapbook!
This was one of the gifts...I didn't dare open it all up, because I wanted to make sure and get it all home. It was made of two diaper bases (different size diapers: newborns and size 1), surrounded and pinned together with a receiving blanket, a few wash rags, bibs, socks, headbands, diaper pins, and then a some other cute baby stuff attached, like pacifiers, dolls, a stuffed lamb, a babysitters checklist, etc. Too precious.
Here is a picture of some of the goodies they gave me for the baby.

• Pair of green pajamas with little pink strawberries
• Couple onesies: One says: You'll sleep when I'm good and ready, and the other says Does this diaper make my butt look big?
• Pink, soft photo album
• Nursery rhymes book
• Many colorful baby bibs with more cute phrases
• Handmade crocheted hat
• Few pairs of baby socks
• Baby Einstein CD

I am still overwhelmed by everything. As much planning and time that everyone gave up to go out of their way and make this time so special for me...I cannot even imagine. It really made my week. I know I'm going to spend a good portion of time on Sunday writing many thank you notes. And yet, no matter what I say, I seriously do not have words to express how much it meant to me. I will never forget my special surprise baby shower at work. :)