The Rollercoaster Ride to a Compromised Situation

Monday. In my honest opinion, I wish Mondays never existed. But then we would all end up with crappy Tuesdays, so it goes on. Yesterday sucked more than any other Monday of my life....or so I can remember.

Sunday, Kevin and I decided to put up the trampoline that my parents gave to us for the kids. This trampoline has been around since I was like 9 yrs old....well the frame has....the mat, on the other hand, has been replaced once. Anyway, we assembled it upside down and had to flip it over. The kids tested it out for a few minutes then we went inside and got settled for the night. Before we went to bed, Chris told us his eye hurt so we looked at it. I removed an eyelash that was curled under and poking in the corner of his left eye. We thought that was that.

Yesterday morning he woke up with a red puffy eyelid. I also noticed that there was some discharge and also a few lashes that looked to be bent down inside the bottom eyelid. He wouldn't let me mess with it so we got an appointment with an eye doc. The appoinment went so-so as Chris would not cooperate with the doc, but he did manage to brush the lashes out of his eye and prescribed some drops to be placed in his eye 3 times a day for 5 days.

We left out of there somewhat hopeful and decided to check out the new Dollar Tree that had finally opened in town. That was a great decision as we have been planning Megan's upcoming 10th birthday party and she wanted a luau theme. As soon as we walked in the door, we noticed an entire row of luau themed decor! We didn't want to spend alot so we decided we would just get a few things this trip and continue to buy a little each week so we can be prepared. We ended up getting plates, cups, napkins, 2 luau party signs (one to stick in the yard, the other to hang up), and a grass skirt table cloth. They even had leis that we believed were cheaper than Walmart but decided to wait on them until our next trip so we can compare prices. I will be making the invitations since we found a great template that Megan loved and wanted to use. We are so excited! The kids had some saved up cash so before we headed home, we stopped for a snowcone. Chris opted for a split: banana and strawberry, Megan got blue raspberry, I got chocolate, and we brought a green apple home for Kevin to enjoy later. I do have pics of Megan's blue lips/tongue that I plan to post later!

As for the compromised situation....I am getting to that.

We devided to have sandwiches for dinner since it was so hot yesterday and we didn't want to fire up the beast(stove), as Kevin calls it. LOL! As we were sitting down to watch a little tv, my phone rings. Now, normally, if I do not recognize the number, I don't answer it. For some reason, this time, I did. It was an automated message saying they(risk management) were calling in regards to our bank atm debit card and needed to speak with Kevin immediately, and to call this number back. So, learily, I did. A dude named Richard took my call. He never ask for any info. He simply asked me if I had used my debit card online recently to make any purchases. I told him no, that I had not used it in that manner within the last 6 months and that I use it mainly to pay certain bills online and that was it. He said he thought so and proceeded to explain to me that our former card had somehow been duplicated and been used to make a $482.33 purchase at some department store in Brazil. What I mean by former card is that, a week or so ago, we received new debit cards in the mail from our bank and a note stating that our account and cards possibly had been compromised and to stop immediate use of the old cards since they would be canceled, which we did! Apparently, somehow, this transaction made it through authorization. The girls at the bank assured me that by Thursday, this transaction will have expired and drop from my account due to the card being blocked, but in the case that it came through and overdrafts it plus anything else, they will dispute it and return all monies and od fees to our account. You damn right you will....or you will be hearing from our lawyer. Speaking of which, Kevin and I will be going in to see him today to talk about a settlement offer. Hopefully, this time, it's in our favor and we can get on with our lives. I am so sick of drama.

So, there ya go. A look into my rollercoaster ride so far this week. I am hoping the Good Lord sees fit to grant us a reprieve. Megan has a follow-up with Dr. Yarber tomorrow at 1pm. I am sure it will go exceptional. Now I am hot and tired. Think I will grab myself a Dr. Pepper popsicle and chill on the couch for a while.

Later taters!!

Monday, T&A, reduced pay....what can I say?

....but OY! And no, T & A doesn't mean "tatas" and "a$$". LOL

Yesterday, I needed to make a small run into town for a few items and something for me and the kids to eat for dinner. Earlier I had comtemplated driving to the next town over to shop at Walmart, but decided that the items I needed from there were not a necessity at the moment and I was just too tired to go. We only live 3 miles from city limits of our town so it won the toss up. Thinking back now, it apparently was meant for me not to go to Walmart, as I would have been so screwed if I had.

The kids and I got to the store, decided on tv dinners for dinner/supper, picked up a few necessary staples, i.e., bread, milk, and proceeded to check out. As the cashier was scanning the items, I opened my checkbook, looking for my debit card. NO CARD! It was not in my purse either. WTF?? The other bad part? I have no check either! I ran out and have not had the cash to order anymore lately.

Boy, did was I embarrassed! I nicely told the girl that I had apparently left my debit card at home and would run and get it and come back for my groceries. I hate to admit it but I broke all sorts of laws getting home and back to that store. I normally wouldn't have but I had ice cream in one of those bags and I had the feeling they wouldn't have the decency to put my cold stuff in the ice cooler up front til I returned....I was right!

Thankfully, we made it there and back with no incidents and all my items were ok.

Now on to the T&A (tonsils & adenoids) discussion. Megan is having a T&A tomorrow morning at 8am. She has had too many problems with strep this year and due to the fact that she does snore at night sometimes, we decided it would benefit her to have them removed. Right now as I type this, Kevin is on his way home from Searcy, Arkansas to be with me at the hospital while we wait for her surgery to be over. It takes the doctors 1 hour to complete the procedure and then we have to wait for her to wake up in recovery and be brought back to the room. Once there, she is given a cold diet of popsicles, jello, and tea to drink. They want her to eat most of this and go pee before she is released to go home. We anticipate being there quite a while, so I have decided to take Chris to Ms. Dana's so he won't have to wait around with us. He will be able to play with his buddies Josh and Josiah (who is Ms. Dana's son), plus get breakfast and lunch and maybe a nap! This will also allow us a little time to focus on Megan. Hopefully all goes well, and we receive a good outcome.

We also learned that Kevin, and the other TK employees, are in for a pay reduction of 10% per hour. Right now, Kevin makes $11/hour and with the cut, he would make $9.90/hour. It's not the greatest of pay, but it is better than nothing. I know with all the bills we have, it's not easy but we have been pinching and making it through. I know if I have to refile on food stamps, I will. I have no problem with receiving help, especially when I am trying to get an education and better our lives. We were receiving them up until October 08, when I had to recertify. The stupid office manager dude filled out some paperwork for us and put on there that Kevin would be getting over 60 hrs a week and would also receive a pay increase of $1/hr which caused us to lose them. Then, to top it all off, he didn't get the pay increase and he barely got 60 hours for a while after that. Typical. He still hasn't got a pay increase and, in 3 months 2 weeks, he will have been there a year. Gosh, I hope he get vacation days, lol!

So now it's back to turning the thermostat down/up to save on the power bill and eating mac and cheese, ramen noodles, and beans til something happens. Speaking of that, I think something will happen as soon as Kevin walks in the door....as soon as I get out all I want to say. Time to pay the piper or move on. Simple as that. Life isn't free.....at least not to those of us who pay bills!

The Bad and The Worse

Wow! So I am now officially on summer break from college. My last day was April 30th....well, night actually. I had my Astronomy final that night and got out about 6:30pm...2 and a half hours ahead of schedule. Passed that class with an A. I actually managed all A's again this semester. I am so proud of myself juggling mom and wife duties and a college education all at once. It is not easy but I managed to crawl my way through it. With the normal stresses of everday life and those cast upon us by asshats, I managed to deal quite nicely. Bring it on bitches! I am ready for ya!

We still have not heard anymore on the house/lawsuit deal. We had to slack off paying the lawyer some since we were neglecting other things. We had him caught up on the bill he sent us anyway so until we get another, I feel no justification to keep handing him money we need at the present time. He knows we aren't going to leave him high and dry. I am kinda worried at the fact of not hearing anything. I thought our next step was court but I am hoping if that is so then it comes while I am out of class.

Another thing I am stressing on is Megan's upcoming surgery. She is having her tonsils removed June 3rd and Kevin and I are nervous about it. I heard that it was possible that we would not be allowed in the recovery room. I hope that is not mentioned at her pre-surgery appointment on the 27th. If it is, I hope the dr is prepared for my answer: GO F*** YOURSELF DOC!! You wanna stop me from being in there.....try me! My nephew, who is 4 yrs old, is having the same thing done. I really feel for him and my sis. If she can't be back there when he wakes up, all he** may break loose. He does not do good with strangers as far as I can remember and that worries me. I really think it is stupid that doctors and nurses don't give any consideration into the child's well-being. What if he wakes up and there is no familiar face to soothe him from his pain? He will probably cry and risk opening up the sutures. *shudders* Let's not think about that right now. Maybe everything will go ok. I know I will be here praying that whole day til I hear otherwise.

Ya know, I love my family. I love having family time. But sometimes do you feel as if someone in your family is a little too intrusive? Let me explain. Kevin left for work this morning and accidentally left in a hurry and did not get his cell. I really think it was for the best anyways. I took Megan to catch the bus, came back home, and lay back down on the bed. Starting at 8:30am, his phone began ringing....every 10-15 minutes. It had started to annoy me so I cut the ring off. I looked at the phone calls just to see who it may be. Lo and behold it was his brother...his almost 24yr old out of college for the summer, don't have a job so dad gives me money brother. I was curious as to why he was calling him so much and that early in the day. At the precise moment, I was sleepy so I went back to bed. Later today, he tried calling again. This time I pretended to be Kevin and texted him asking what he needed. Of course he asks where I (Kevin) am. Duh! WORK!! So then he replies asking how much I (Kevin) would charge him to stay in our shop til he finds somewhere else to go. Apparently, his dad's girlfriend is raising all sorts of h*** about him being there, no privacy (GET OVER IT!) and crap like that. I told him I would have to think on that. He asks me to think fast. Ha! If it was actually Kevin, I feel he probably would have done told him yeah without even discussing it with me. That is not something he should do. This is my house as well. Now I don't mind helping family but there is no way we can afford to feed him, shelter him, and all that without money. I seriously doubt their dad would give us one red cent for a roof over his head. And I am not too sure on him and work either. He loves to sleep so early rising is really not in his book. To be honest, I am not willing to deal with a freeloader. Plain and simple. It was different when we were getting government help, when our cash money was not having to go on food and we could use it to pay bills. That was different. I mean, gee, really, they have a mom who has a spare bedroom. Why is he not asking her? Why his brother with a wife and 2 kids to feed? I don't get it. I just hope Kevin can see it from my point of view. I don't want someone here that is just sitting around looking for a handout. I just don't feel comfortable with it. Period. And right now, I just don't want to deal with it.

OK I have rant and raved enough. Stepping off the soapbox now and going to get something to drink. My throat is parched!

Later, peeps!

What next?

Life, in general, still sucks. My kids and husband are really the only things at this moment that are keeping me going. Well, school too....I actually want to keep going and finish and plan on it if I have to move there, which is starting to sound like a good idea.

Our expenses with our lawyer are accruing everyday and the retainer fee we paid him is long gone. If we have to go to court, that means more money....at least a thousand bucks! Our stupid relatives, from whom we were purchasing the house, want us to pay them over eight thousand dollars, that is $100/wk, for the time we have been in the house, deed them the house, and move immediately. Uhm, if I am not mistaken, IF we deed the house back to them, does that not mean that we pretend that this arrangement never happened. I mean, we borrowed $40,000 at a loan company, paid the house off, gave them the remaining $15,000 and signed a note that we still owed them a balance of $25,000....even though the house only approved for $60,000!! So, if we sign the house back to them, and they assume our note at the finance company, why would we need to give them anymore money? I really wish they would allow a new note to be typed up so we could continue paying them and keep our house. I hate moving, and when all your resources are getting ate up due to rising lawyer fees, it doesn't make it any easier to keep paying the bills here and try to save to rent something else.

I just don't know what to do. We can't really afford to pay a lawyer to go to court, I can't afford to miss school, and Kevin can't really afford to miss work either. It's as if we are in a damn if we do, damn if we don't situation. I really want out of it but I am not giving them that amount of money. I would be glad to sign the house back to them if they payoff or take over the note in their name....but there is no way in hell I am going to let them just have the house and assume the note in my husband's name. What if something happened to them? Then, we would still be responsible for that loan.

I meet with our lawyer tomorrow afternoon to go over a proposed settlement. I know we are willing to go 2 ways: a) let us assume the payments with the relatives once again in good understanding or b) sign the house back and move....no money, no questions asked. All in all, I really don't care how it goes....I just want it to go away! It is really messing with my emotions and I told Kevin yesterday that I really felt as though I needed to see a doctor to get something to help with my nerves. It is getting to where I think about it during class and it is distracting. I get anxious about it and wind up taking it out on him or the kids sometimes by snapping too quickly. Most of the time, I just take a deep breath and walk away. I have broken down and cried on several occasions......once or twice at school. I do it when I know I can get out of my teacher/advisor seeing me because she sure would be asking about it if she saw what shape I was in. So, I tend to put on a mask for that part of my life. Sometimes, it is hard here at home. Kevin doesn't seem to understand why I let it get to me like I do. I don't know why he is like that but I mean, I worry since we have 2 children to think about. If it was just us, then it would probably be no biggie. I mean, we have nowhere to go. My granddad would gladly open his home to us but it is a small 2 bedroom trailer. Now, we have stayed with him before, but we didn't have Chris. It was just us and Megan and Kevin was also over the road trucking too, so he wasn't there much.

I am just disgusted with it all right now. I have so much work to do for school next week and I need to get it done, but it just seems as if everything tends to burst open at the time I have something to do or concentrate on. I really just want to go to bed and sleep it all away.

Hope you all are having a better-than-expected Monday!

Odds and Ends

Well, it's Monday.....again! Is it me, or do the weekends just seem to zoom by now?

I am so sleepy. I think I need to go to bed earlier than I do. I don't think it would hurt any at all. I know I will need to do that starting in March. Since I am taking Child Development II, we have to have 20 lab hours of observations. So I am going to do mine in the childcare center on campus from 8-9am for 20 days, which means having to wake up earlier than I do now. I think once I get into the habit of it, and maybe going to bed a tad earlier, it will fall into place. I know this semester is going to be time-consuming with all the projects that we were told we have to complete. In the fall, I start student teaching I, which is exciting! We actually get to work with the kids in the centers more. I am so thrilled about this major! I can't wait til my graduation in May 2010.

I think we are a little closer to getting things settled with our house. I hate to give it up, but sometimes you have no choice. I told Kevin that I just want to move and forget that those certain relatives ever existed. It really sucks that folks would do family like that. Heck, they knew we couldn't come up with that high amount of money that was left owed on the property. It took an act of Congress, practically, to even get the loan we got on this house.....and that's because it is a manufactured home. They say now that we should have gave them something, anything, as a payment. Yeah, right! I wish Kevin had recorded all those times when he told them he couldn't pay what they wanted that week and their refusal of those payments of 'something, anything'. I honestly believe they did this so they could give their daughter and grandchild a place to live. She left her husband and is currently residing with them. So they go and file for foreclosure on us.....and didn't even acknowledge the fact that we paid them anything on the remaining balance. Crappy, huh? Really, I am kinda glad that we may be able to relinquish ourselves of this place. The school district it is in is not a school I want to send my kids to and the home itself is steadily falling apart. I am not sure if we will ever 'buy' another home or just rent for the rest of our lives. All I know is that I want a place for my kids to lay their heads at night. That is all that matters to me now.

I woke up Friday morning feeling kinda blah. My head felt all gooky, my eyes burned, and I was not very balanced. My throat felt kinda scratchy and I figured I was about to be really sick. One of my instructors had been complaining about sinus problems on Wednesday and I guess it was about that time for me too. I hadn't been sick in a while. Now I feel more tired than usual and I have all this gunk in my head/nose/throat that doesn't seem to want to come out. My nose is all crusty when I wake up in the mornings and I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep til I can't sleep anymore. I tried to sleep in this past weekend only to be awakened before 8 am each day by my young son wanting milk in his sippy cup. Why dad can't do it is beyond me! LOL :) So I got up and made breakfast. Saturday morning, we had biscuits, sausage, oatmeal, and bacon. Sunday morning, I fixed us all a cheese omelette. Thank goodness I wasn't feeling that bad those mornings or I would have made them eat cold cereal....AHAHAHA!

Thank the Lord we are out of school on Monday, the 19th. That is Martin Luther King Jr.'s observed birthday, as well as the 23rd birthday of my baby sister, Terrie. I am the oldest at 31. We have 2 other siblings between us.....our brother, Charlie, who is 28 and our sister, Heather, who is 24. Dang, they are gonna catch up with me yet!

Ok I am out of here. Megan's bus should be getting close to the stop. Over and out!