Cheese, Cheesy and a Blonde Moment

The alarm was set for 5 am, but I snoozed until 6 am while the baby crawled all over me and Derrick. I rolled outta bed a little after six and ran to the bathroom before anyone else got there. Derrick ran to the kitchen and made the coffee. Have I mentioned just how much I LOVE that man? Once settled on the couch, I got on the laptop and checked all my social media sites and chatted with a few friends for a while. I watched the news and that’s when the depression kicked in. I swear, news has changed so much in the last 50 years (yes, I’m aware I’ve only been alive for 28 of the last 50 years). It’s frustrating. Where’s all the Good Sam stories? Where’s all the Cool Kid stories? Where’s all the Fireman Saves a Kitty in a Tree stories? Ugh!

Anyways, I made myself a protein shake for breakfast again. But this time I had a banana with it. Woot, mama got her potassium in. After breakfast I did the girly routine and washed up and started on my hair and makeup. My horoscope said that my lucky color for the day was “gold” so I wore gold concealer and gold eyeshadow. (I think it worked, I had a good day today.) I did my hair in a side-pony braid, twisted into a bun with a large black rose tucked behind my ear. The only jewelry I wore, were my great-grandma’s diamond stud earrings. Didn’t want to overwhelm my work uniform with too many accessories. Besides, I was spending the day in orientation and not many people got to witness my cuteness. But I rocked the Black & Blue today! Blue is not my favorite color, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t bring out my baby blues to pop!

I had to leave a little before 9 am to catch the bus for work. There was a man at the bus-stop in a wheelchair who was literally pacing back and forth. When I got to the stop he started talking to me but I couldn’t hear him because I had my earbuds in and was listening to Seether pretty loudly. He got kind of angry and wheeled off when I smiled but didn’t respond. I didn’t know him and he made me feel uncomfortable with his actions, so I minded my own business and stuck to my music while waiting for the bus, which, thankfully, showed up like two minutes later, ending this awkward session. So I got off of the bus at my stop to transfer to another bus and here’s the dumb-blonde moment of the day. I walk across the street to the bus stop I assume is the bus stop I need to go Eastbound for the bus (logically, it’s the stop on the Eastward facing side of the street, so I was right to assume) however, the bus I needed, was actually picking up the Eastbound passagers on the Westbound side—of which I crossed from. Which meant I needed to high-tail it backwards and cross back across from where I got off the first bus. Ugh.

The bus driver was pretty nice, she told me not to worry, that she’d get me to the stop closest to Kmart. And I kid you not, the stop is literally right across the street from my job—sweet! (Side Note: They’re building a BEV-MO next to my Kmart!!! YES!!) I got to work about 30-40 minutes too early, but I hung out in the break room watching TV with some other workers and managers a bit before orientation started. One of the managers I met during my second interview, made a comment about Guinness Floats with Vanilla Ice Cream and I chimed in with my approval and comment about them being “delicious Stout Floats that taste like a bitter-caramely milkshake or rootbeer float, they’re friggin delicious” and the manager smiled and told the others, “I knew I liked her”. That made my day. What a laid back guy, he’s great. My hiring manager is pretty sweet too, she’s super nice and helpful. There was one other new hire training with me today, a man for Loss Prevention. We chatted about college for a bit during out training videos.

I “worked” for 3 hours today and received my schedule for the next 2 weeks, which is awesome! I get paid this coming Friday for 11 hours—better than nothing, mama REALLY needs a haircut. I work Tuesday and the sucky part is that Tuesday is also my first day at Payless, so I have to work around that schedule somehow. Just for that day at least. My manager was totally awesome about Saturdays being the observed Sabbath for me. She scheduled me around Saturdays. Also, I’m totally allowed to mention my job via social media within respectable limits. Woot! Besides, I’d never bad mouth anyone that I work with via my blogging. That’s so declasse.

The bus picked me up 5 minutes after I got off work and took me home. It was a nice 2 block stroll coming home, in the humidity, not. When I got home, Derrick hugged me and asked if I was hungry and offered to make me a Grilled Cheese sandwich. It was so delicious. I was ravenous. I got on the laptop and checked all my social sites and email. Turns out Starbucks and Dollar General want to interview me, but I respectfully declined because I already have 2 jobs that I really REALLY wanted. Now, if Torrid or Bath & Body Works call…that’s another story. I might just interview. But for now, I am HELLA excited to be working for Kmart and Payless, two of my most favorite stores!

I made Chinese Chicken Stir-fry for dinner tonight. With LOTS of veggies. The kids and Derrick loved it. I mean really, all four kids, even the baby ate it! Mama did goooood. Then, I made a rookie mistake. I decided to have a Reese’s Candy bar for dessert. I ate the whole bar…then read the nutritional facts. The bar was FOUR servings. OMGosh, ugh. So now I’m stuck with a tummy ache and the chocolate jitters. The kids all went to bed good tonight, no fighting, no arguing, just kisses, jammies, teeth brushed and to bed they went, even the baby. Derrick and I have been glued to Lifetime since they went to bed. We watched a movie with Daryl Hannah called Social Nightmare and I have to say, for a Lifetime movie, it was pretty damn good! Now, the movie we’re watching right now (Killer Reality) is a different story…

I’m off work til Tuesday and I plan on doing some fun things with the kids; going to the park, baking goodies and playing some board-games. I sure hope it rains during the next few days. Any excuse to use some candles and make hot cocoa, am I right? I have to write up a budget, a grocery list and a household necessities list for payday, tomorrow. I also need to make a weekly menu before the grocery list is written up. I need things to take to work for lunch. Speaking of lunch, the breakroom is pretty sweet at work. We have a 60 inch TV, leather couches and a stocked kitchen with a wall of lockers. My discounts are pretty sweet too, especially with Halloween right around the corner. So, I’m done for the night, I wrote a lot. Sorry if I rambled. Today was a pretty good day. Be back tomorrow for more adventures. 

Round and Round We Go...

I spent far too much time of Twitter again today. Good Lord. Good news is, I got two celebrities to follow me back on Follow Back Friday! I haven’t been feeling good today. I woke up kind of late and didn’t feel right. Derrick walked the kiddos to school this morning, which was a total blessing. I love that man for all that he does for this family. He’s an amazing SAHDaddy. I’m so glad I married him, he’s the best man for the Daddy job. Like right now, as I sit typing this out, he’s in pain, but on the floor rolling around with Savannah, keeping her happy and giggling. What an awesome father, to be disabled, in pain, but putting your child’s joy ahead of your body aches. Which is good, considering that Savannah doesn’t want anything to do with me lately. She won’t even take a bottle from me, it has to be from her Daddy only.

Nothing super exciting happened today, other than the baby destroying the house after I worked all day to clean it. I didn’t get to have “relations” with Derrick because the baby woke up, so there went that bit of excitement. I cleaned the house, checked social media for a few hours, BS’d with friends on Twitter and made breakfast. Around lunch time, I started feeling super shaky and dizzy and needed to lay down. I laid down on the couch and instantly fell asleep because when I woke up, Derrick was home with the kiddos from school! He went and got the kids for me too, how awesome is that. I hope I’m not getting sick because I have to work Kmart tomorrow and I’m not sure how many hours I’m working. Also, I need to make me a lunch for tomorrow too. I have to catch an 8 am bus. I have to miss church again too, but I plan on talking to the manager Billie about Saturday mornings because of religious purposes. 

I need to go to bed early tonight because I don’t feel good and because I have to get up and get ready for work kinda earlier than normal. After I’m done with my hair & makeup, I’ll wake up the family so they can get ready for church. Sometimes I like the peace & quiet in the mornings, but other times, I like to watch the news with Derrick so we can discuss it. So, after I clean the kitchen tonight, after dinner, I’ll make the coffee and set the timer to 5 am, so I can get up and enjoy it while reading my Devotional and Bible for a bit before taking a shower. But, for now, it’s time for dinner. I made a Veggie Loaded Turkey Meatloaf with baked sweet potatoes and carrots. I plan on enjoying my meal and then checking social media a bit more, then crashing because I feel tomorrow is going to be a helluva long day! 

Damn Near Blew Me Away!

It’s 3 pm and the rain is coming down with pressure harder than that of my showerhead. It’s windy, breaking trees and we’ve been text-messaged a Tornado Warning. It could very well happen, but I doubt it. It’s hot and cold and humid. The kids are all sitting in the doorway listening to the weather and playing with the rain. They’re all bundled up in their winter rain coats and Derrick and I are sitting on the couch next to each other. The power is out and there isn’t much to do. I can’t go chat on Twitter or update Facebook with the wild weather updates. Oddly though, we’ve gotten 4 phone calls since the storm started 20 minutes ago. I hate that the internet is down and I can’t get online. So I’m sitting here, on the couch, in a humidity filled house, waiting for the power to kick back on, so I can post my blog.

I woke up to a bunch of tweets, replies and retweets from the dads on Modern Dads the TV show, so we chatted back and forth for a bit til the kids were ready to be walked to school. I had a meeting this afternoon with the District Manager of Payless for Riverside County in southern California at noon. I walked the kiddos to school and came back and got back on the computer and emailed a few people before I got off to make myself a PB & Chocolate Protein Shake for breakfast. My favorite part of the shake is the Chia Seeds…am I weird? LOL After breakfast I decided I might as well start getting ready because hair and makeup can, honestly, take an hour if I’m doing it right. I picked out my outfit and laid it on the bed while I went and brushed my teeth and washed my face. I got my makeup done in 20 minutes and got dressed. It took me 10 minutes to do my hair all cute in a chignon.

I’m a pretty confident woman and I tend to go after what I want, so I happen to be a power color player. I wear notice me colors and I’m not afraid of rocking them. I have long nails that are currently painted blue ombre with glitter and I wore hot pink lipstick. I could almost pass for a New Yorker. Derrick says I looked classically cute today and I thank him for that because if he tells me I look good, then I KNOW I look good. I decided against wearing heels because heels could be interpreted as either sexual or domineering, which could still be misconstrued as sexual as well—either way I woulda been screwed-ha! So I wore simple, black ballet flats and a nice outfit. Too bad I didn’t remember that my blouse is see-thru and that there’s a simple white camisole underneath and that if pulled too tightly, the cami slips under my bra and shows everything through my shirt. I have no idea how long the cami has been under my bra, but that’s how I noticed it when I got home.

So, this afternoon I took the bus to the Galleria at Tyler Mall to have a meeting with the Payless District Manager about my employment whereabouts and he was a pretty cool guy. We literally BS’d for the whole meeting, just up until I literally had to leave to catch the bus with only minutes to spare. He showed me the program I’d be using, trained me in the conversion software and toured me through the backend of the store, which is vaguely similar to all the other Payless stores. So he said, you learn one, you learn em all. He scored me highly above average in the “second interview” process and offered me the job right on the spot while we were joking about his buddy who had a falling out with Dollar Tree. So, I officially have 2 jobs. I am a Cashier at Kmart and a Sales Associate at Payless. I know I can make this work. I have to. We need to get on our feet. We need to move to a bigger house. 4 kids in a small 2 bedroom apartment isn’t going to fly much longer. We need space.

I got home around 2pm and Derrick was cleaning the kitchen and the kids were all doing their homework at the kitchen table. I got on the laptop and checked my emails to see if any other closer to home job leads came through, but none yet. While I was at the mall, I checked in with Torrid, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Motherhood Maternity. 2 said they weren’t starting interviews till October and the other 2 said they’d take my information and call me within a couple days. I know I have 2 jobs already, but they’re kind of out of the way and I need something closer to home *aka* one bus ride to and from work versus 2 to 3 different buses. Don’t get me wrong, I am completely grateful and happy to have Kmart and Payless and they’re not that far away from home and who wouldn’t want the employee discounts, but I’d be spending 90 minutes plus both to and coming home from work. That’s a lot of time I’m missing with the family. But you gotta do what you gotta do to make the family survive and have the things I didn’t have growing up, right? Exactly.

Funny story, at the mall today, this Sales guy who was trying to sell moisturizers to all the ladies shopping, caught me by the hand while I was walking by in a hurry and asked me to sample a few of their products. I’ll admit it, the guy had some gorgeous blue eyes and a foreign accent, so I didn’t say no. I tried the body scrub, the body butter and the facial cleanser. All worked wonderfully, but this Salesman worked his ass off in the flirting department just to make a sale. A sale that would never happen, because mama was broke, had no cash and 2 maxed out credit cards in her wallet, LOL. But I let him sweet talk me. I let him joke about me being too young to be married for 10 years and for having 3 kids (I’m 28 BTW) and I laughed at his “trying too hard” sales pitch. But when he got desperate, that’s when I had to cut ties and run. Run from the blue eyes and the thick Greek accent. He gave me his business card and told me he’d remember my face and would see me again when I came back to work. I smiled, nodded and ran for the bus—I had 5 minutes til departure and I was ½ the mall length away from the depot.

Now I’m home and relaxing and the power is still out. I took turkey out to thaw for homemade Meatloaf for dinner. The kids all need to take showers. But instead, I’m letting them all play a boardgame since I’m writing. Derrick hasn’t moved from the couch in the last 60 minutes as I’ve written this…technically I haven’t moved either, if you don’t count my fingers. The rain has stopped and the humidity is high and I’m starting to sweat my makeup off. I need some water. Maybe I’ll watch Shaun of the Dead while the power is out, but I doubt my laptop battery will survive a 2 hour movie after I’ve sat here typing this long ass blog for almost an hour. Derrick is listening to Nightwish on his cellphone and I’m listening to the kids play their boardgame. Who do I join once I’m done writing? Choices. Choices. 

Takin' a Break Before the Mad Dash Rash!

If I had to brag about one app or one website that makes my life super simple, I’d have to brag about Cozi.com. I don’t even use Outlook as much as I use Cozi. It’s on my phone, it’s on my desktop and it’s always open in my browser. My kids all have access to the account, so does Derrick and we’re always on top of the schedule. It just makes life so super simple, so check it out when you have time. It’s a life-saver for parents. It’s totally worth the $5 upgrade to Cozi Gold, I have it, I use it and I love it. Check it out! And no I’m totally not being paid or even recognized for bragging about this company and their program. Just use it, you won’t regret it!

So, today is the last “Free Day” I have to do pretty much whatever I want before the madness of life kicks in. 3 kids are in school now; Evelyn is is 4th, Maverick is in 1st and Olivia is a Preschooler! Savannah will be in Daycare and Derrick is now taking Life Skills classes. I have multiple appointments this next week for everything from an interview, to doctors appointments to orientation to starting work! Life is becoming super busy, but I am super excited about that! This mama will be working two part-time jobs and she’s ready! I’m ready to start making the money it’ll take to get us out of this tiny 2 bedroom apartment and into a big enough house to where the older kids can each have their own bedrooms. 

I painted my nails “Blue Light Special” blue for Kmart. I’m that giddy to be starting work. I’ve already set up my Direct Deposit. I get paid weekly. And I’m so ready for all of this to just begin! 

I also plan on becoming super busy with the kiddos at their schools. I plan on volunteering in their classrooms, joining the PTA (I know! I said I wouldn’t but I have 3 kids in this district and I want some damn say!) and I joined the School Site Council—hopefully I’ll be elected to the ONE open School Site Council position because I really want some influence on school topics this year. Especially if I’m going to have 4 kids, all eventually, in this school district and going to MES. I want to KNOW that my voice is being heard and my ideas being shared. Yes, I know it sounds like a lot, but back in 2011, I was incredibly busy with a fully packed schedule and that’s when I lost the most weight. (Then I got pregnant and lazy LOL and gained 70lbs back) I only have maybe 30-40 lbs left to lose and I know I can do it. Walking and riding the bus everywhere has been helping a lot. BUT I really need to get back to logging on to MyFitnessPal.com.

I’ve been walking the kids to school everyday and that’s about 1 and 1/2 miles round trip. So I’m definitely getting the recommended 30 minutes a day of exercise, but I need to get back to my routine of walking twice a day, doing Just Dance and Zumba on the Wii and some strength training again. I know what I need to do and I’ve been trying but I don’t want to try anymore, I want to DO. So I WILL be exercising today, even if I don’t want to, but I will. I will make the time to lift weights and play on the Wii for an hour. Starting September 1st, I’ll get back to logging on to MyFitnessPal, at the latest, the 3rd because Lord knows I REALLY need to go grocery shopping. I can’t wait til the third to go grocery shopping. I need to take an hour or two today and write up a Meals Menu Plan and a Grocery Shopping List so I’m ready on Tuesday. 

I’ve already cleaned the kitchen floor, now I need to do the dishes, clean the bathroom and start some laundry. But for now, I’m going to watch my Extreme Makeover the Weightloss Edition episode I missed last night (because I fell asleep on the couch LOL) because Rocco DiSpirito is on and I wanna enjoy my coffee and show in silence (the little girls are napping! Woot!). Afterwards, I will attack the chores and start with vacuuming the living room. I’ve enjoyed blogging during the mid-morning hours. Oh and one thing I forgot to mention, I AM going to go to school, from home though! I am officially an MIT student and my first course is the GOOD FOOD: The Ethics and Politics of Food Choices. I’m pretty excited to take this course. I really want to become a Nutritionist/PE Teacher when I grow up, LOL. Anyways, time to get back to my show and hot coffee! Later! 

Where Ya Been Mama?!

This Mama with Mental Illness has been super busy over the last few weeks, that I haven't had a chance to blog the way I want to. Hell, I haven't done anything the way I want to, not even sleep. I haven't blogged, haven't been out for a run in three weeks and I haven't logged onto MyFitnessPal in 2 weeks. What the heck is wrong with me? I've been so super busy that I really haven't had time to think. But at least my house is still standing, my kids are healthy and happy and we've been going to church weekly. Life has had it's ups and downs over the last few weeks, but there's been far more good than bad. Life is good for the Rathgeber Household at the moment. 

For starters! I got a job! Well, make that two jobs! Kmart hired me as a cashier for part-time and Payless has hired me as Sales Associate for part-time. I am excited to have BOTH jobs and look forward to starting them both. I am thoroughly surprised at how quickly I got a job, let alone, TWO jobs, after job searching and interviewing for only 2 & 1/2 weeks. Literally, I started searching on the 5th and I was hired the 24th. Granted, both jobs are a bit out of the way and it'll take maybe a 2 hour bus ride to get there, but HEY, I got 2 jobs! Mama's doing her happy dance! Best news is, Kmart pays weekly AND I get a 20% discount! Woot! I already went shopping three times this week for clothes; got 7 new shirts, 4 pairs of black pants and 2 pairs of black shoes. I am SO ready!

Today the kiddos went back to school (Evelyn & Maverick started 4th and 1st grades) and Olivia was not happy about it. She wants to start Preschool super badly and I want that for her too. So, when I went to the DPSS GAIN office this morning to talk to my caseworker, I was able to adjust my contract, add Derrick as non-exempt and now Olivia is free & clear to join Preschool this next week! So that means, three kiddos will be in school! I'm super happy about that. Next year Olivia will be in Kindergarten and Savannah will be in daycare and things will be great. I'm so looking forward to getting off of welfare and making a life for myself and I'm taking all the steps to get there. I WANT to be self sufficient. I WANT to be successful. I WANT to be a role model for my children, by working hard, studying hard and smiling all the way through.

Speaking of "studying"...it's obvious I didn't start college today and I am bummed about that. I, so badly, wanted to go to school and study Kinesiology, but things didn't work out and so, I have to re-apply for winter or spring of 2014. I'm patient and maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe God knew I wouldn't be able to juggle the kids, Derrick, 2 jobs, GAIN activities AND school. So, I have plenty of time to get back to school when I can, hell, even when the kids are grown. Because to be perfectly honest, my priority is to get back on our feet, make steady and stable, reliable income, so we can move out of this small apartment, into a bigger house, that we either rent or BUY! I wouldn't mind buying a house in Moreno Valley. Hell, 5 bedroom houses are CHEAP out there...plus Moreno Valley is close to my Kmart job. 

The kids had a great first day of school today. They really like their teachers. Derrick walked them all, yes, all four, to school this morning because I had to be at the GAIN office before 8 am. I am so amazed by his strength through all of his pain. He's an amazing father and I am proud to call him my husband. I can't wait to renew my vows with him. But, back to the kiddos and their first day. Maverick came home with a manila folder full of paperwork for me to fill out. Weirdly, Evelyn came home empty handed. I need to sign them up for HEARTS after-school program, so maybe I'll do that tomorrow morning. I also need to meet their teachers and discuss me volunteering some hours per week, just to add it to the resume. I pray my babies have a great school year this year and that they learn a lot, make new life long friends and have fun.

Church has been incredible. Moving to Riverside Community Church, I think, has been the best decision we've ever made as a family. We are all in love with this church. It's interactive, fun, educational and God-fearing & loving. We're never bored. The music is all music we know. The people are extremely friendly. And the potlucks are DELICIOUS. Though, I totally feel ousted for the Cupcake Wars competition, LOL. But that's what I get for making a Maple-BACON topped cupcake for a (vegetarian) Seventh Day Adventist church, LOL. I know better for next time, and next time I shall rock it and take that first place ribbon! Also, I WILL be participating in the Chili Cook-Off too! I WILL win a first place ribbon from that church, soon!

Tomorrow will be a day of relaxing for me, mostly. I don't have Open Entry/Volunteering this week for GAIN, but I DO have to go to the GAIN Office to pick up Daycare paperwork and Employment Verification paperwork. So, after I walk the kiddos to school, I'll be jumping on the bus to head to the DPSS to get the paperwork and then I'll come home and have breakfast and probably clean house. Then, to spoil myself for the past two weeks (not to mention the rest of this hectic one) I shall take a bath and give myself a mani & pedi. I'm gunna do "Blue Light Special" blue ombre on my nails for work. :D Maybe I'll bake the kiddos some cupcakes as a treat for getting the school year off to a great start. Wednesday and Thursday are going to be the BUSIEST days of the week. So, I'm going to sign off and get some much needed sleep to enjoy my day tomorrow. Goodnight!