Happy Birthday!

So today is my favorite big sisters birthday! That's right boys and girls. Vicki is 29!!! So I just wanted to devote this little blog to her!! So in honor of my sister... here are some fun quotes about sisters and a poem or two:

"Chance made us Sisters, hearts made us friends." ~unkown

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." Marion C. Garretty

"If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater." Pam Brown

"The best thing about having a sister was that I always have a friend." Cali Rae Turner

"I smile because your my sister...I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it!"

I LOVE YOU!!!!

There is no Friend like a Sister - Mary Engelbreit

There's no better friend than a sister -

There's no one more loyal and true . . .

and even when sisters are different . . .

their likeness comes shining through!

Perhaps it's a family resemblance

that strengthens the bond they share . . .

or maybe it's just that sisters live life with a similar flair!

A sister remembers your collegehood -

She knows more than you will admit

of times you were Little Miss Perfect . . .

and times you gave others a fit!

She's seen you in some situations

when silence just wouldn't suffice . . .

and managed somehow to get by

with those sisterly words of advice!

And when some encouragement's needed . . .

a sister will always be there . . .

to listen . . .

to laugh . . .

or to lean on . . .

to comfort, or simply to care.

There's no one who's more in your corner . . .

and no one you're more grateful to.

There's no better friend than a sister . . .

and no better [big] sister than you.

Labor Laws??

Darin had accrued 3 days PTO at the job he just quit but when I checked his paystub it wasn't showing on it. I asked the boss/wife/lady to let me know what would happen with it and this was her reply (via e-mail):

"I wished you would have notified me in September about Darin's vacation not being on the paystub. ESG was supposed to have that effective then. Oh well. It doesn't much matter now. Cashing out the extra vacation is only legally obligated to those who get fired. I'll double check, but with Darin not even giving two weeks notice and leaving us in a bind, it will only be allocated if it is legally owed to him, sorry. I would have no problem giving it had he given two weeks. Monday's will be on though. Also, final checks are usually physical checks instead of direct deposit."

Lol! Now I'm not really familiar with the actual legalities but it is my understanding that the PTO that is accrued is owed regardless of who terminates employment or the circumstances surrounding the termination. (At least in the State of Utah.) So... now that I have this great e-mail... I can go to the Labor/Wage people with proof that she acknowledges it! Some people are not so bright! I wrote her back a very kind e-mail! I am proud of all the things I typed... but then deleted because it wouldn't do any good! Why do harm right?


NEW STUFF!!!! So after she sent that e-mail she sent me this:

"Trent did think Darin was avoiding him--especially since there was no communication from Darin as to a thank you or good luck at the end of the day. Had that happen, maybe Trent would feel differently about cashing out the vacation days. I did double check with ESG, and I was right. The employer has the right to either cash out or not cash out vacation when an employee quits. Each company is different."

So I called the payroll company myself (because it's Veterans Day and the Labor Commission is closed) and their exact words were, "Uhh... we don't really know what the legalities are. We just do whatever TJ Electric tells us to." Than she said she needed to call TJ Electric and would call me back, but hasn't managed to dial my number yet!

I guess it's not really worth getting too stressed over... but it does reiterate why Darin needed to get out of there. He was dealing with this kind of childish selfishness every hour of every day... no wonder he was stressed!

And so it goes!

So yesterday we threw a little party for my oldest brother who turned the big 3-0! on Friday! It was really a vision I had with black balloons and cupcakes with tombstone on them. It was a lot of fun but of course not exactly the vision I had pictured because we are all broke! Payday isn't till Wednesday for me so blah. But it was still fun and I think it made him feel really good.

Darin starts his new job tomorrow. He seems pretty excited about it so I hope that it goes very smoothly. As it turns out he already knows one of the guys he'll be working with and the main guy he is working with is named Damon!! With a name like that, dudes gotta be cool right?

I am still a little nervous about how we will fund Christmas but I'm sure we will find a way. I mean maybe it will be good for us to not spend a lot of money this year. Our kids are small enough that they don't care right?!?!?

Okay.. so this is a lot of blah blah blah but just wanted to post something!

One last time!

Today is Darin's LAST DAY working for TJ Electric. Hip Hip Hooray. No more empty promises, no more flat out lies, no more working for a man who would rather make excuses than take accountability!!

Monday he starts with what we hope... is where he is going to stay! Everything sounds perfect about this company! (But it sounded good with TJ as well!) The big difference is that this guy has been in business for at least 18 years and he has proven that the things he says are standard for his company really are that way. He sees his employees as assets and he does whatever he can to keep those assets around. Anyway.. hip hip hooray!

Tonight we are going to celebrate this new change! Can't wait to have a little get together and see Darin finally be Darin again! Yay for new jobs!

Sunshine

Today I have been blessed with lots of love!
First my older Sis. Vicki babysat Dom so I could go read with Jaydin's class. Then Nicholette offered to babysit Dom so I could go get a pedicure, which had I had the funds would have been great. My sis-in-law Jess brought me over some lunch and I held her new baby and stared at his fingers, and just thought about how my baby should have fingers by now, but I didn't cry! Jessica also spent some time cleaning until my mom got here and took over! She is working really hard to help me get my house clean. I think this will help me be sane. Then around 3:15 my doorbell rang, which NEVER happens and this cute girl was standing there holding a beautiful arrangement of flowers for me. I was a little surprised and tried not to cry, but I read the card, and of course, the tears started to flow. My sweet sister in law who lives in Colorado sent me these with the perfect message! Thanks so much Elise!!

So my visiting teacher just brought me dinner and let me know that it is hot so I guess we should go eat. Thank you everyone who has thought of us. Your love helps a lot!

When it rains, eventually, it stops pouring.

Today, some light shone through on our poor little family. I got out of bed this morning even though I didn't want to and went to the school to do some volunteering. I even voted. I had a major melt down in the afternoon and right in the middle of the trauma, this girl from church called and asked if she could bring us dinner. (It was good too!)

I have been stressing over Darin finding a job with a company that has PROVEN that they care about their employees. Darin is always good to his employers so the "if your good to me I'll be good to you" attitude is really all he needs. Although finding someone who is good regardless is hard to find. So I cried a lot and told Darin how I felt about everything and he let me write a list of questions and took them to the company who is trying to hire him. He came home ecstatic. Life is good.

Lately I've been feeling more and more jipped by the miscarriage. Like tomorrow I will be 11 weeks, except I won't be, because I'm not pregnant. It's just so weird adjusting to not being pregnant anymore when you don't have a baby to show for it. I know it will get easier to deal with and have finally come to terms with the fact that I will never forget this. In the beginning I sort of wanted to chalk it up to bad luck and move on, except I can't because I wanted that baby so bad, and now I won't ever hold it. Damon started crying last night, kind of out of nowhere because "it was his brother or sister that died" and that isn't something I can ignore.

Life is full of challenges. I usually find a way to overcome them. I think with this one I just need to find a way to be okay with it.... but I will, hopefully soon! Thanks for all your kind thoughts. I know that you all hurt when I hurt, and I'm sorry to pass the pain on to you, but it feels kind of good to share the load.

Tomorrow is another day, maybe I'll even feel like cleaning! (But probably not!)

The Lie

So as most of you guessed #2 is the lie. Darin had actually dumped me by the time I found out I was pregnant! He even had a new girlfriend already, so finding out I was pregnant was devastating and I spent a lot of time contemplating adoption. So yeah... not the best time in my life but everything turned out for the best!
Thanks for playing my game!