Thursday, May 9, 2013

McDonald's - Worst Job EVER!

This is long. I recently got hired to work at McDonald's. I have over 15 yrs of retail experience, but the chunk of my employment history is working computer call centers. I don't HAVE to work. I chose to go back to work. I wasn't looking for anything serious and just something that was fun. I've never worked in fast food before.

I have a degree in criminal justice, and computer technology. I used to be an ADA for over 10 years, prior to quitting work. My husband is AD Army, so my career has suffered a lot. I am only working now for the enjoyment, as my children are currently old enough to go to school without my assistance. I'm not the type of person to sit on my laurels. I'd rather be outside of my home bringing in extra money just for kicks.

I am also taking college courses online to finish a degree in social work. I would like to eventually become a social worker. Unfortunately, since my college credits are too old...most of them don't carry over and I'd need to retake them.

But, so far it has been a lot of fun learning everything, but I've noticed issues. I've been working there a total of 3 weeks, and was set to counter. I did maybe two 4 hour shifts on the counter (8 hrs total).

They showed me videos that are outdated and don't go over a LOT of what I STILL need to learn. The manager (Lupe) that is usually in charge doesn't help me with anything. I have learned nothing from her, not even her name (GM told me yesterday). If I have a question, I flag someone else down. They just threw me onto counter one day. I have learned a lot on my own, but I'm sure I still make mistakes.

This manager does things like quietly stalk me around the restaurant when I'm cleaning and will sneak up behind me to scream in my ear. It's creepy. When I ask her for help she either says "No", or looks at me and ignores my question. You know, they look at you like you're stupid and then slowly turn away. I get that a lot.

She has also made comments to other people in english about how I'm not doing my job and/or are stupid (she will switch to spanish, which I don't speak, if she sees me listening). One day a regular customer stopped me from wiping a table to ask me a question, and her friend Norma freaked out on me. She called me back to the counter (mind you, I had been working there 3 weeks by then) and told me that this customer is long-winded so try to end the conversation quickly. I just figured I was being nice to the customer...but whatever, I'll end the conversation next time.

When Lupe overheard Norma lecturing the shit out of me, Norma turned to Lupe and was like "I'm just telling her to do her job!" This started in on how I'm supposedly stupid, and when they saw me listening they swapped to spanish. Bitch, I may not be fluent in spanish...but I KNOW when you are talking about me. You're fucking obvious. I haven't told anyone about this yet.

I even was told by the GM to ask the on call manager for help going over my schedule, so that I can show up to work on time next week. When I asked Lupe she said, "No, I'm not here to babysit you." I completely have been ignoring her since. I was also told by another manager that she treats EVERYONE like that. Peachy. I did report this to the general manager, and she did not look happy.

I handled my 3rd official day on the counter, and I was set with one of her friends to train me. He's maybe 18 yrs old, his name is Tony. Everything was a disaster from the get go. I was making tons of mistakes. When I got set with someone else, I only make 2 total mistakes in over 5 hours. But the two hours with him? Over 100 mistakes. It was terrible. He wouldn't let me do anything and was constantly yipping about how I did it wrong, then completely taking over the counter.

I had a sinus infection, which caused both of my ears to become infected. So, sometimes I missed parts of an order and ask to repeat or read it back to them. This can cause mistakes.

I tried to explain why I was making a lot of mistakes, that I really hadn't of been trained and that I was trying my best. He told me to stop leaning across the counter, which I explained I can't hear out of one of my ears. The customers are very patient and nice. I'm not horrible at listening, but when I have someone yipping in my ear...it's hard to hear the customer and the trainer. Right before the kid was done "training" me (which was basically just telling me I am doing everything wrong and not letting me correct the mistake) he turns to me and say: "When someone is training you, it's best not to make excuses." Eh? I wasn't even trying to make excuses, I was trying to explain that I was thrown on counter with zero experience, and now when the customer is trying order...he's all over me interrupting the customer so I can't hear.

So far, I have relied on most of my training via two people and on myself. I don't mind teaching myself, but they have protocols for everything. I tried to explain it, but he thinks I'm making excuses, when it's really true. I don't think that that's a good opinion to have of someone.

I asked the trainer after him if I was doing a good job and she said I was doing a lot better then what when she first started. Even the GM says I am doing a good job. I just seem to have an issue with that manager Lupe and Tony.

I have been trying my hardest to make sure that I don't get anything wrong and to listen to the instructions that people give me. I have noticed that the instructions Tony and Lupe have given me (if at all) have been 100% wrong, and I had to be corrected. I'm tired of getting "talked to" when I was TOLD to do it one way. I didn't say anything back, I just nodded like a moron.

Overall the customers and most of my coworkers are nice. I don't want to quit and ruin the team. They are already short staffed. It's still a lot of fun otherwise. If I quit it would cause all of the rest of the good employees to go back to working double shifts again. That is why everyone is so nice to me. We are currently short over 15 crew members, and I was desperately needed to help fill that gap. I feel quitting would set a bad example to my children and leave the rest of the good employees in a horrible lurch. So, I've decided to stay...but I need to figure out what to do about these two as to help minimize the drama. I can't just tell my children it's okay to quit when things get hard. I also don't want to hurt innocent bystanders with my decisions.

That was what I was told anyways, I found recently that it was all a lie just to keep me working there. I am also harassed off-duty. I brought my youngest to the same place to get a milkshake (Mommy-Daughter day), and Lupe took our order. She forgot to give me a spoon, so I retardedly reached behind and grabbed a spoon. As I was walking away and almost back to our table, I hear Lupe SCREAMING at me.

Apparently, I can't do that. I might of been told before. I was so embarrassed and pissed that she did that in front of my child. I even had the regulars and other customers apologizing to me for her. She doesn't think she did anything wrong. She could have just calmly walked over to me and informed me, but instead she made a huge fucking scene. I draw the line at verbal abuse in front of my child.

The new girl at McDonald's has received more training then I did in just one day. They stuck her with me to teach her, so I taught her a lot of what I knew. The managers didn't even know what videos to show her. So, I showed her the videos (which are outdated and worthless) and then walked her through a normal counter routine. Apparently I know enough to train the new girl, but not enough to do my job without Lupe screaming at me.


Her bullying extends to while off duty, as well. I have been stalked while getting my purse for my break. I was even yelled at once for standing still and digging thru my purse for my cellphone...while on break and in the break room. Apparently, if I'm on break I can't even look through my purse? Well, that's an interesting rule that the GM disagrees with. Whatever bitch.

Don't get me started on how each manager is different, and each one has different rules. One will tell you something and the others will disagree with it. For instance, if the GM is on shift I am golden and do my job well. If Lupe is on shift, it's nonstop her screaming at me. Other workers have even complained to me about how bad of a manager she is.

Did you know she has made 6 people quit within a week of starting to work there? I shit you not. She drove them away. The job is hard enough with people writing "fuck you" in ketchup on windows, for you to have to clean up. Let alone, adding her shit onto it? HA!

So, she has thus far poisoned Tony. I don't really know much about him..and it turns out that Tony spends time with Levi outside of McDonald's (he is another manager). So before my accident, Levi was also on my ass too. Peachy. Levi's main complaint? I shouldn't explain everything I am doing to him...ex: I am taking out the trash, I will be right back. I was TOLD to do that by the RM and GM. So fuck you.


Before you all say, that sounds like Lupe is just a manager...no...she is not. There is a difference between being a manager who helps people, and a manager who just stalks their prey to insult/fire/degrade. She is poison and a terrible manager. She has never heard of constructive criticism, only criticism and bullying. I just won't be putting up with it anymore, and I have a whole speech prepared about how her life's goal shouldn't be to work at McDonald's nor look down on WHITE people. (Yes, others have told me and I have witnesses her being racist) If you work for her or with her, she will ONLY talk nicely to you when you can speak fluent spanish.

She also likes to randomly scream my name across the restaurant for NO REASON. I mean it. NO REASON. If I ask her why she called me, she never tells me why nor responds to me. I am out on the floor cleaning table or the drink area...what's the issue? I think she does it just to be a bitch.

By the way, she seems to think that anyone who works at McDonald's for longer then 3 months is suddenly amazing. In her mind, if McDonald's is not your life's goal...you are a waste of space. Granted, I like working at McDonald's...but really? That's a fucked up logic to have. I wouldn't mind being here for a while, but if you only treat people who work at McDonald's for years...appropriately...you will NEVER treat anyone with respect. (She doesn't do this shit around the GM or RM...so she KNOWS it's wrong)



I tore several ligaments on April 15th, and finished my shift not knowing. I had been working there about 2 months. I was refilling the ice box for drive thru (I was currently learning how to do the hole, it's fun) and my left knee popped. I didn't know what workman's comp was really until my friend told me about it. On April 17th, I arrived to finish my shift and after taking out the trash - my entire knee buckled and I almost face planted.

My workman's comp was approved. I called my insurance company just in case, then called my HR department, then they sent me to insta-care. I have several torn ligaments and am not allowed to work for several weeks. I had a friend cover my shifts for me (I had to cover those shifts myself). Doctor there said I can maybe go back to work on 24th of April while on crutches. That didn't happen.

I later found out that I can't even sit down in the hole and work there. I am required to be able to stand a full 4 hour shift without a break. I won't be returning to work, as advised by the doctors and therapists until the 20th (at least). I have worked hard to get myself off of crutches. I have been completely taken off of the shift schedule until I have express permission to work again.

I also received a nasty call from Lupe (and saved the message), where she was attempting to fire me. She was informed that I am out of work, and last week she called me pretty much threatening me. I called her back and informed her nicely that I am on workman's compensation because of her request to make me fill the ice box...and if she had any questions ALL of the other managers AND HR know what is going on. She hung up on me.

I have so far only received $30.00 of my paycheck. I have spent about $350.00 on my leg. Workman's comp has paid me nothing so far. I am waiting until next week before I freak out. I was told it could be until May 10th before I am repaid for what I had to spend on medications, etc. We'll see.

I currently attend therapy every other day, handle all kinds of paperwork on my "days off", and really have not had a day to relax since the accident. I like to tell people that being on workman's comp is worse then actually working, because well...it is. I do way more now then when I was actually working.

If I go back to work, I will not be putting up with shit. I will need to re-learn things, but I plan to be as good at my job as I was before. If I have a problem with Lupe, I will just leave and call later to tell them I quit because Lupe is a bitch. They probably won't like that I quit right after having workman's comp, but fuck them.

If they see this post, I don't care. I was thinking of quitting anyways, just pay me for my shit. Fast food is great for the customers here, but it's terrible for the uppity bitch manager named Lupe. She is a racist who needs to be fired. (Btw, HR even admitted that Lupe gives them attitude too)

Update 6/2/13:

I am currently back to work. I have found out a few things of note in the past few weeks since my original post. This may be surprising to most of you. Mind you, this is what I have heard/seen. These are my personal experiences, thus I cannot be sued for slander. Thanks.

I did start getting my workman's compensation checks. Thank god. They take forever to come in the mail. I was NOT reimbursed for majority of my expenses for my knee. But, that's okay, I was getting paid. I just used my compensation to cover my costs of my knee. Yeah, it shouldn't be like that...but Utah is a "no fault state". Which means, they can hire/fire me for ANY reason. I have been going out of my way to make sure they DO NOT have a reason to fire me. Thus far, I have been staying within my guidlines. So, I am currently getting paid for the 5 hours a week I work...and getting compensated for the other 30 hours I am not working. Granted, it's not 100% covered pay..it's only 66 2/3rds%...plus $5 per dependent, and $5 for a spouse. But, it's still enough to make sure that I can pay a bill or two.

My doctor is the ONLY workman's compensation doctor in the entire town. So, if you hurt yourself at work - you will ALWAYS see MY doctor. His name is Doctor Houseley. He is being investigated for prescribing too many narcotics (this explains why I received only tramadol for nighttime from another doctor, and advil for the day). He is also has a horrible track record with knee injuries. My lawyer's husband had a knee injury, and the guy totally fucked up it all up for him.  I also found out via my lawyer, that he has absolutely no idea if people are really injured or not. She told me that he has been in Workman's compensation for so long that he can't tell if people are faking or not. He's pretty much burned out.

I was supposed to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon this past week, but he has since revoked that. I feel that I STILL should see one, but according to him, I don't. It's been close to two months since my original injury, and I still randomly get bruising around my knee cap when I do vigorous therapy. My knee is still randomly giving out. I'd really like to see someone who knows what the fuck they are doing. But, alas, I must wait until he gives the say-so.

I convinced him to sign off on my working for an hour per day, about two weeks ago. This past Friday I got him to sign off on that I wanted to work 2-3 hours. He reluctantly signed off on it, as a temporary thing. He doesn't agree with my working that long (uh huh...), but at least he signed off on it. So, hopefully, starting next week I can go back to a somewhat normal schedule AND take my counter back.

He still won't let me carry trays. Sigh. I guess that makes sense, because he doesn't want me to face plant anything again. But, it makes me seem like a damn princess who can't do all of the work...I really don't like relaxing like that at work. I feel bad whenever someone else has to grab them for me. UGH!

Last week I was unloading the dishwasher in my house, spun around to put a bowl on the island/counter...and my knee totally buckled. My face hit the edge of the counter. I took too long to contemplate if I should put the bowl down or not, and before I knew it - I had hit the counter. I usually can catch myself before I face-plant something, but this time I was holding something at the time.

It looked TERRIBLE. Like someone hit me in the face with a pan, that's how bad it was. Dr. Housely obviously saw what had happened (as I had to go into WorkMed because my knee once again buckled...it does it every two weeks like clockwork.), and he asked me if "everything was okay at home". Huh??? My husband is in TEXAS! ANOTHER STATE! What the fuck! He assumed that my husband had punched me in the face! WOW!

Another doctor there saw my knee and claims I re-injured it. Dr. Houseley sees it, and he's like "It's not even sprained". The fuck? So we've gone from the original diagnosis of one-several torn ligaments, to sprain, to he has no idea. GREAT!

So, I am back to working. They put me in drive through to take orders while someone else takes the cash. I enjoy it a lot. I've had some customers tell me that I have a radio voice. I thought that was funny. I have gotten the hang of it, and expect to be super amazing by June 15th. I set myself a goal date, so that I can work really hard to attain it. This job does actually mean a lot to me, regardless of what other people may think.

There is a new girl working at my counter named Ingrid. She's not a happy soul, nor does she really understand her job. She gets the basics as she has been here a month, but she still makes quite a bit of mistakes that I have witnessed. She also cops an attitude with customers, to their faces, when she gets their order wrong - like it's their fault or something. I've seen some interesting things when I show up for my shift early.

She also seems like she is generally unhappy. She is proud to have worked at McDonald's for a month. Good for her, but she attempted to throw her month experience in my face like I was some new person. I've been here about 4 months now. I made sure to mention that, and her face was priceless. I plan to eventually take back my counter from her, as she is making a lot of people unhappy.  I shouldn't judge though, since I am currently relearning the breakfast menu.

It took me a little while to relearn breakfast, total of 2 days, 2 hours total to get back into the swing of things. They changed the POS system again, so I had to relearn the menu again. I am constantly getting asked by customers if we serve "any steak" or "any bagels". Neither of those have been on the menu for 6 months, at least. When I express this to them, they usually give attitude. I get that the McRib was awesome, and yes, I'd like to see it back too...but don't give me your shitty attitude just because it's gone. I don't make those decisions. Plus, I have worked here long enough to KNOW when something is NOT on the menu. People bitching at me about the menu, is really insane. I have NO CONTROL over the menu. Bitching at me about it, won't CHANGE it. It will just piss me off, and I'll not even smile at you when you pull around. No, you're not getting a "Thanks for coming". You're lucky if you get a receipt. (I usually give everyone their receipt, and I say Thank you...but I still don't WANT to...to people like that)

The main reason I like the drive thru, is because when a customer gives me attitude - I can mute them and say what I want to say. Like: "What a bitch!" I can also roll my eyes at them when they are being completely retarded. No one hears or sees it, so that's always good. I've only had one customer where I have had to mute them. She was a ROYAL bitch.

Unfortunately, sometimes the headset cuts out people's orders when there is a lot of background noise. This bitch was honking her horn nonstop (I could hear it), and she was getting pissed because I could only understand two of three items on her list. Naturally, I had to clarify with her what she wanted...and she was NOT happy. She starts screaming into my headset her order...and of course, if you are screaming - I REALLY can't understand you then. I get that you don't like repeating yourself, but I'm not your fucking slave to treat like garbage. If I'm asking to clarify something, it's because I don't want to fuck up your order. I prefer to get it right the FIRST time.

I also found that I am about 3 months pregnant now. My hubby is telling me to quit working, but I really do enjoy it. It's a nice break from the kids and another like $60.00 that we didn't have. I like having some FUN money. I might have to give it up around 7 months in though. I'm unsure how long I will continue to work there for. I enjoy it so much that I'd rather not give it up, if I don't have to. But, working at McDonald's while pregnant? I'm not sure how well that will go.  My patience is pretty much fried lately. I already HATE stupid people, so when I deal with asshole-ish stupid people at work - I generally don't take it too well. Thank god for the headset. The pay sucks, but it's nice to feel like I'm contributing to the family....even if it's only pocket change.

I am also high risk pregnancy. I am getting older, and I am always low blood pressure. Stress or people screaming at me, immediately raises my blood pressure through the roof. This causes a lot of issues with the baby. I am O Rh-, and have NOT had the shot yet (my OB is currently out of town). So, I have a cold...same sinus infection as before, and I can't take antibiotics for it. I am also trying to monitor my stress. If anything happens to the baby, or me, because of this job...I will put in my two weeks.

Trust me, I'm still sticking to the: if anyone just flips a shit on me for no reason, I'm going to lose it. I have decided that I am not here to be treated like garbage and I won't let anyone do it to me anymore. After Julie (which I'll tell you about later) flipped out on me, I took a stance with her. I will NOT be treated like that in public. I will attempt to keep it in a professional manner while off the clock, and tell them so...but I will NOT be screamed at again. So far, this new attitude has given me a lot less stress.

I'm pretty sure people have noticed a change in me. I joke around like I always did, and I am always nice to people - even if they are being dicks. But, I have made a mental stance in my head, that if anything untoward happens to either piss me off or endanger my baby...I will NOT take it.

I have noticed that most of the time Lupe is NOT on my shift. I am SO relieved by that. I had fun conversations with Levi and Norma. Both of them are seeming to be normal lately. Only time will tell on that one. Neither of them have gotten to know any of the 5 new hires. They expect them to either quit or stick it out. I have noticed that no one really cares about you, or who you are, until you have worked there a decent amount of time...say 2 months or so. They also don't attempt to converse with you at all, until said time has expired. There is such a high turn over rate that the core workers don't have the energy to get into who/how/what you are. I don't blame them, but I attempt to get to know them because...well....it's nice and makes them feel like they are part of a team.

The only downside was that one customer and that Julie (the GM) reamed me while off-duty. I was trying to inform her that last week was super bad for me to work mid-afternoons. She didn't understand that with school finishing for my kids, my mom's nursing home constantly setting appointments, and my own doctor's appointments - it was pretty much impossible for me. According to her, I never told anyone and she had confirmed my schedule through HR. HR does NOT have permission to verify my schedule, at all. So, she was lying about that. Julie also made a comment about how I couldn't bring my kid to work, as McDonald's is not a daycare. Well, no shit. Eventually my schedule was changed, with lots of yelling and freaking out on Julie's part...  We have been cool since then. It was another one of her OCD trigger things, and I guess I should have realized that before the conversation even started.  (Side note: When did it become my responsibility to have to remember EVERYTHING that sets off every different person that works there? No way I can remember it ALL, for EVERYONE.)

I still enjoy the customers, don't get me wrong. 99% of them are just fucking amazing, and REALLY funny. I get to joke with them while they are ordering, and even when I'm upselling - I make the upsell into a little song for entertainment. They generally enjoy that. I also get to joke with them when I am handing them their money. I work here for the customers and the general enjoyment. I am doing something that I never really thought I could EVER manage before. Having zero experience in the food industry, to having some...is ALWAYS a plus.

Otherwise, I am enjoying being back to work. Love drive through and am looking forwards to either completely taking over my original counter again, or taking over drive through - by myself. I will attempt to convince Julie or another manager to let me do it without a babysitter. Naturally, I am better at a lunch menu (as I know all of the lunch menu by heart) so being on breakfast has been a challenge to relearn for me. I am hoping that SOON I can master it as well as I had done before. Here's to hoping that I can become super amazing at my job, like I was before I got injured.


Update 6/13/13

For three weeks, I was consistently scheduled for 1 hr per day everyday. This is not even worth the gas it takes to drive there. But, I sucked it up. I kept reminding myself that eventually I will be put on the schedule for longer. This didn't happen until this week (week 4). I was scheduled every day this week for a 2 hour shift.

Before you ask, my knee is almost completely healed and my doctor cleared me for working at least 4 hours per shift. But, they never scheduled me for it. The doctor nicely decided that he was going to put in a work note that said: "hard work therapy". Which basically means, if I can handle 4 hours in a shift - they can schedule me for 5 the next day, etc. This NEVER happened. I handed in both of these notes 3 weeks ago, and not once did I ever get scheduled for longer then an hour (two hours this week). I was also scheduled to work on my birthday, but knew I couldn't take off - as that would be wrong to do.

In reality, this really meant that they were going to stick me in drive through with someone to babysit me and god forbid if someone ELSE messed up. I was the one to blame all the time, naturally.  Drinks being refunded? Oh yeah, caught me. Totally me. Even though the person standing next to me was dumbfounded over it as well. They *think* I'm not saying "is your order correct", even though I've obviously been saying it nonstop since I started working there. It's not hard to remember to ask. It's also not hard to figure out who the real issue is, when you are constantly listening to me. If you are refunding drinks, why aren't you saying something WHEN it's happening instead of AFTER my shift? Looks like you are looking for someone to blame to me! Sad when you need to do that, to cover your friends' asses. Sad when your friends take my side.

I had some terrible morning sickness this morning (mine tends to last ALL day long), and I finally had to just call out of work. I called in about an hour and 50 min before my 2 hour (total) shift started. In reality, I knew they were going to stick me either cleaning something or being babysat in the drive through like they have been doing. So, my being there was not really required - at all. I also knew that calling in that *late* towards my schedule was a big no-no, but I was hoping that I would eventually be well enough to go into work. This never happened (I was sick in bed or in the bathroom until 8 pm).

When I called in to inform them that I just couldn't physically peel myself off of the bathroom floor, I was once again told that I was going to be fired or suspended. Wow. This is the FIRST time in over 4 months that I have EVER called in sick. What a load of bullshit! I've NEVER called out before. The only time off I had was because of a work injury THEY caused! (I think they were just looking for a reason to fire me)

So, I took a few hours to contemplate my situation and I decided this was the deal breaker for me. In 4 months time, I CAN call out at least once for being a pukey mess. I was TOLD if I am vomitting, to always call in. Granted, I didn't have the flu. But, I'm sure the customers wouldn't be happy with them if they saw me running to the bathroom throughout my shift.

I called them about 30min ago, I expect the word that I quit NOT to reach people by my shift tomorrow. I *might* answer their call, but I wouldn't expect it if I were them. After the way I was treated (less then human most of the time), I am pretty much done with EVER working at fast food again.

Thank god I only have two more classes to finish my MSW, and thank god we don't need my paycheck.

My final notes: When I found out I was pregnant, I asked them what to do if I had to vomit all of a sudden (this actually happens quite a bit at home, and no chugging ginger ale or chewing on crackers helps it). The GM and two manager's responses were: Ask for permission. You heard it here folks. If you have to vomit while taking orders, you must stop what you are doing (even if you have vomit in your mouth) and ask for permission to throw up! WOW! I don't know why I didn't quit when they told me that. I should have.


Update 6/6/14:

I actually should have updated this a lot sooner, but I have a new baby and tons of new things I have to do during the day. 

I dealt with workman's compensation for MONTHS.  I literally JUST got all of that stuff figured out and completed last month.  They finally stopped calling me.  Thank you, Jesus!  They claimed that I got paid an additional $5.00 that I shouldn't of been paid, so I sent them a money order...but they claimed to have never gotten it (uh huh).  Then it was a lot of updates, etc etc.  There was a LOT of calls between HR, workman's compensation, doctors, and myself.  I am just happy to be rid of the headache.  Phew.  Can you believe that I had to deal with it for 4x longer then I actually worked there?  Oh, and I lasted about 6 months of working there before I finally quit.

Yes, I wrote a little bit about what happened when I did quit...but I actually had to call in FIVE additional times AFTER that and tell EVERY manager that I had quit.  When I told the managers, it was a lot of brush offs and fuck you's.  So, all in all, they didn't really care to have me anyways.  Not a one of them even considered that I had a RIGHT to call out.

I also found out AFTER I quit (from a friend there) that the reason they had me filling the ice, was NOT because it was a counter duty.  It was actually a drive through duty, and I was NOT assigned to do it.  This was Lupe's job.  She just didn't want to do it.  They also didn't even have a step stool to use for me.  Lupe thought it would be funny to watch the "little white girl" try to fill the ice bucket.  Cute.  So, for a joke, I hurt myself maybe irreparably.

My knee actually did NOT heal, as I was previously informed by Dr. Houseley.  My knee had actually caused my hips to dislocate by a good 3 inches.  So, after I posted this - I was in a wheelchair for the final 3-4 months of my pregnancy.  It has all been tied back to my original knee injury.

Supposedly, because I had injured my knee, I was leaning too far on my right side.  My hips actually shifted and realigned 3 inches.  My hips were out of place for 3-4 months during my pregnancy (it's called SPD - Severe Pubic Displasia) and I couldn't physically walk or do much of anything without massive amounts of pain killers.  It got really bad during trick or treating on Halloween.  It was so bad that the baby actually almost fell out of me (no kidding) and I couldn't walk more then 2 inches.  I'm assuming because I had been walking and doing so much, while on an injured knee, that this is the reason I had to be wheelchair bound.  I had NEVER had a problem walking or with a pregnancy before.

My ob actually had me on hydrocodone (a strong dose) for those months, and I'm still taking it.  My husband hated watching me be in that much pain.  I couldn't even roll out of bed without assistance and crying, that's how bad it was.  We both attended therapy classes, did the stretches, and he even realigned my spine a few times.  That was all we could do.

My husband wisely convinced my mother-in-law (wonderful woman) to fly out from GA to UT, to help take care of me and the kids.  It was fantastic!  She did everything for everyone for two months.  Bless her awesome soul!

The only solution to SPD is either to have the baby, surgery, or life-long issues.  Well, after I had my son (Jan 13th) within hours, my hip knocked back into place.  It was so loud the nurses thought I broke my back.  I was fit and happy for two weeks.

However, I did get meningitis and severe post-partum eclampsia.  Because of those two diagnoses, I am still having some issues walking...and when I get sick, my knee/back pain comes back.  So, only time will tell now at this point.  As it stands, I am just happy to be walking again.  It also seems that if I don't sleep a good 14 hours a day (not lying..), that I start to hobble like I've broken a leg or something.  Sigh.  They tell me over time it should get better.  We shall see.

I have been contemplating suing McDonald's for this, but I am unsure if the connection could be made between my knee and my pregnancy walking issues in a court.  So, for now, I've washed my hands of the situation.

My husband has declared - NO MORE KIDS.  This last one almost killed me. I am very lucky. He's an angel baby, though.  He's worth it and then some.

Side notes:  I actually saw two workers AFTER I quit working.  Both of them are named Jose, and I am friends with both of them.  Neither are the ones that told me about the "joke".  I call one of the Joses "Fluffy Jose" and the other "Jose".  Obviously, because one is a bigger guy.  The Fluffy Jose works Grill and can sometimes cover counter.  The other is the maintenance guy.  Both are funny and nice.  Both are friends with Lupe.

Fluffy Jose warned me not to give him a nickname, which I did anyways, because "Lupe would be upset".  I am assuming because she pissed all over the Joses, like a cat does to mark territory, that she won't allow anyone to be friendly with them - without being a super bitch.  That might of been the reason why she was so angry.  I was making friends with people she deemed "hers".  But, I do know for a fact that she was definitely racist.  She hated EVERYONE who wasn't Spanish.

This behavior is actually very common in the fast food industry.  It does not help that I look like a teenager.  I remember everyone there being surprised at my age, let alone my degrees.  That might also be another reason.  When people see me, without knowing me, they assume either I'm a teenage mom or a teenager.  I am neither of those, and it drives me nuts.

My husband is just happy I am no longer having panic attacks.  I actually used to get them for months AFTER working there.  I would have to pull over the car or stop what I am doing, just to calm down.  I didn't eat at McDonald's for over a year.  I couldn't step foot near the place without bursting into tears.

I also ended ALL of my shifts in tears. My husband has NEVER seen me cry before this.  He was pissed and torn at what to do.  I kept telling him not to get involved, but I could tell he REALLY wanted to do something.  He wanted me to quit working because I was falling apart.

I also did some more research later, and after reading blog posts with people's experiences about working at a fast food place...this is normal.  So is the coworker bullying.  Bullying can happen ANYWHERE.  (Even at my daughter's school...)  It is NEVER okay to treat someone like this.

Once again: Before you ask why I didn't quit sooner, I didn't quit because of my girls.  I wanted them to KNOW Mommy knows how to work.  Mommy has a job. It was a good experience for them.  Not so much for me.  No, they never knew what was happening to me at work.  It helped with my daughter's RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) immensely.  She didn't freak out when I walked out of her line of sight, anymore.  It was great for her.  It also set a good example.

Mom's Stroke and My Sister Spreading Rumors

So, my mother had a stroke about 4 years ago. She's paralyzed on half her body, and literally does NOTHING to take care of herself. She even refuses to go to physical therapy and brush her own teeth. She is pretty much just sitting around waiting, and randomly causing drama when needed.

So, my siblings and I decided to place her in a nursing home near my brother. This was mainly my brother's decision. My sister supposedly handled all of the paperwork while she was there. I tried to remain out of it, as they wanted to keep me out of the loop in regards to it. According to them, they had it handled...so I didn't get involved. I called once a month to talk to my mom and that was about it.

After a while, the siblings decided she needed to be relocated to my sister. My husband and I had to pay out of pocket to relocate her to my state (she's SUPPOSED to be relocated to my sister's, but my sister keeps flaking out). She's been here since last April. She was supposed to go live near my sister last Aug. She flaked out on me, obviously as she is STILL here!

The main reason I wanted to stay out of everything was because my mother is a narcissist. She randomly stirs up crap, and makes up things. You could TRY to blame it on her stroke, but I know from experience that she was always like this. Now that she has had the stroke, it is just more "in your face". Prior to the stroke, it was subtle and you couldn't really tell what was happening when it was happening. Now, it's very obvious...and people are always making comments about her personality change. In my mind, it's not a change at all.

We spent a lot of money out of pocket for her to relocate near us, to have her later relocated to near my sister. The original problem was the old nursing home. They were doing things like having her lay in her own filth for days on end. They were putting her on medication she's obviously allergic too. A whole mess of problems.

As a family, I pretty much strong armed the other siblings and told them that she needs out of there. We all agreed to have her relocate to near me from May-Aug (last year), and then my sister and brother would relocate her to my sister. While she was in my care, I would keep her at my house in the basement where she had her own little apartment. Then my siblings would relocate her in a timely manner, and I am done. This did not happen...

She didn't have a wheelchair, no medicaid/medicare (I had to resign up for EVERYTHING) and her social security checks were still being sent to the previous nursing home. (I actually found out via her taxes that we didn't even cash one of the checks?) She was getting nothing until I resigned her up for everything. Medicaid took about a month, and Medicare was active in Aug. Her SSA was an entirely different story and it took almost 3 full months. The SSA office is actually about a 2 hr drive from here, so you can imagine the pain of all of that. It took me almost all of the time she was in my house to set all of this back up, and to make sure she had all of the necessities she needed. It was a lot of money out of pocket, and I had to pay myself back from her checks just to cover my mortgage. ( have since been paid back mostly...)

About 1.5 months into her actually living in my house and my paying out of pocket, I decided she needed a nurse to come and visit her once a week so that she had the companionship and I would have help bathing her. I didn't care if she got a shower or it was a sponge bath. Just as long as I wasn't having to haul my mother in and out of the shower all the time. Our first appointment with the new nurse would be our last.

The nurses showed up, immediately went about putting her in the shower. I said I didn't mind if they did it that way (there were two nurses), as long as they were careful as my mother weighs a LOT. Within seconds of my leaving the room, I hear them screaming my mom's name. My mom passed out in the shower - or rather according to doctor's later, she had a panic attack because the nurses were trying to rush her...and they wouldn't listen. I had only of stepped out of the room for about 30 secs to find my eldest daughter's shoes for her, before I heard the screaming.

The nurses can't find a pulse, and neither wants me to call 911. I call anyways. I am told to ask them if they know CPR. Neither does. How the fuck is that possible?! I have no idea. I performed CPR on her until the ambulance arrived. She was sent to the local hospital, and with all of the neighbors staring I get into the car to find the ambulance. (Didn't you know? Soon as anything happens on this block, people arrive just to WATCH...not to help! No one even said, we're sorry this happened or even brought over a fucking pie. WTF!)

While she is in the hospital that night, I finally found a nursing home that was decent and had a spare bed. It's a great place, and sure there were complaints from the siblings that she was being placed in a nursing home when she was just going to be relocated anyways. But, I just couldn't do it anymore. The nurses causing that was the last stop for me. If I can't do this by myself, then I need to put her someplace safe and nice that will take good care of her.

I spent a good five hours that day speaking to social workers, police (yes, the nurses filed a false police report!), and random nursing homes. All while trying to stay updated on my mom's condition. I am told later that day that the nurses are at 100% fault, and should have been trained better then that.

Next day, the cops were on my doorstep asking a ton of questions. Not really sure why. Turns out the nurses that CAUSED this problem (and yes, I see this as their fault...since we've given her showers before without any issue), filed a report stating the following:

1- We feed her only crackers
(She eats the dinner/lunch/breakfast/snacks that the rest of eat, plus Diet Coke with each meal. The cops even took pictures of her unfinished meal from the day before, that I never got to clean up. She was currently eating lunch before the shower, that consister of a banana sandwhich, gold fish crackers - her choice, and a salad.)

2- We never gave her a shower
(Gave her a shower every week, how else did those nurses know how to put her in the tub? I had to TELL them how and HELP them do it. I even gave them the option of a sponge bath.)

3- She was laying in her own filth for DAYS on end
(She has a baby monitor set in her room, and jic she didn't ask to be changed...we checked every hour)

4- She's been here for 6 months
(LOL??? What? It's been 2, at best)

5- She's currently dying in a hospital
(Police didn't even know she had been checked into a nursing home and was absolutely fine)

6- She doesn't have a wheelchair
(Actually she does, and it cost me $120, plus a prescription from her doctor. So whatever.)

7- Her living quarters were a disaster!
(Even the cops said that with having two children, that my house is fucking pretty damn clean. They took pictures of that too! Bitches)

I'm sure there are MANY other lies they have said to cover their tracks. But, those are the ones that I can remember off of the top of my head. I find it ironic that not only can I disprove EVERY lie they said, but that it happened the day AFTER they caused her to have a panic attack. Fucking stupid. Even the police doing the report didn't know why the nurses did what they did, and the charges were dropped within 24 hours.

Anyways, I was up to eyeballs in debt, and I was trying to save money for her to be relocated to near my sister (I have since saved $850.00 up for this). My mother's expenses are huge. She gets her social security check, and all of it but about $7.00 is eaten up by the nursing home.

Now starts the drama. My sister has been running around telling everyone that will listen that I am stealing my mom's money. According to her, around $6k-$8k. I'm unsure where she got this information from. According to the people calling me, she has a "strong case". Eh? My sister doesn't even know anything about her financial situation, let alone how much a POA OR her cost of living actually truly costs.

From the start out of pocket I have spent at least $2207.50. That is being reasonable too. I didn't charge for things like gas or her actual care. That is also including the amount it cost for me to drive from Utah to WA state to get her and bring her back. I have documentation of EVERY dime I have ever spent on her, and have since posted all of my proof to my facebook account. I also made sure that when I posted all of that information that I blacked out the actual account details, social, etc. I didn't want anyone trying to screw her over.

I finally got fed up after a long reaming from my dad. He was yelling about how I was stealing mom's money, so I posted proof on facebook for the world to see. Pictures of her bank account (I had to set that up too) and the withdrawals from it to pay the nursing home (only money orders or cash). I even posted her living costs while she was straight up living with me, and not in her current nursing home. Her relocation fees, down to the penny. I didn't even charge my mother for her PHYSICAL care, just things like needing a wheelchair. I posted copies of her taxes, without her SSN on it, showing how much total she was paid. I showed how much the nursing home gets, with receipts. If I have a receipt of it, I showed the world. To add on, every month I spend about $50.00 of my own money just to get her snacks and interesting things to eat or do. I have never asked for my mom to repay that. If I did, I don't think she could even afford it.

I broke down every penny she has ever gotten, and even openly suggested to people to call SSA if they feel I'm stealing her money. But, that doesn't stop the rumors from spreading and continuing. Not a one of these people have actually helped take care of her!

I have essentially done all of this by myself. My sister likes to take credit for everything that I do, including setting up her medicaid. Uh huh...cause you spent all that time down at the medicaid office, right? She also likes to randomly tell people that I am still stealing my mom's money and that she just wants to have mom with her. Yet, she won't come and get her.

My sister also blamed me for my mom having exema (My daughter and I were recently diagnosed with it as well). We are all allergic to chapstick. The nurses had been putting chapstick on my mother, without her being diagnosed, and it made her lips look absolutely terrible. Instead of my sister blaming the nursing home, she ran around telling everyone that I was abusing my mother. Even though, she wasn't in my care...and people believed her!

I've been getting these types of phone calls about once every other week since she got to this state. I even broke down her SSA check, and PROVED she really only gets an extra $7.00 a month. I mean, my sister is in massive denial about my mom's condition and then to add on that I am stealing her money too? She keeps coming up with excuses to relocate my mom too. HER kids come first, etc. But, apparently, MY kids don't matter at all. I've been waiting since last Aug for them to come get her!

My mother needs to have a full mouth tooth extraction done. They will make her dentures for free, via the very accommodating nursing home. I'm unsure how much a tooth extraction will cost. I will need to contact the oral surgeon myself, and figure out pricing options. I will also be setting up the appointment for her. I'm unsure why the nursing home isn't doing this, but it needs to get done.

According to her dentist, almost all of her teeth have been rotting, decaying, and/or broken for approx. 2-4 yrs. This is not just the previous nursing home, but the current one as well. The previous nursing home caused the decay, rot and broken teeth. The current nursing home has caused a gum infection, with little or not brushing of her teeth. (Her toothbrush keeps going missing too, hence I've had to keep buying her a new one every month) The current nursing home has not properly provided enough care for her teeth, so fillings that went missing/cavities that previously existed, only got much worse.

I have given them permission to give her loretabs for the pain (as of last Thurs afternoon). So, if you call and she sounds high - that's because she is. She says she's in pain, so I let them give it to her. Otherwise, she has NOT NOT NOT been on any new medication.

After the tooth extraction, she will be without teeth for approx. 3-4 months. They need to wait for the gums to reduce swelling before taking casts for the dentures. She will wear her dentures during the day, and remove them at bedtime.

I have told people that I have the phone number for the dentist. He told me to inform them, that theyu can call at ANY time with ANY questions. Just ask me for the dentist's number and I will give you it. Duh.

Unfortunately, her teeth are too far gone to be saved at this point. We only just now realized the severity of the problem when she recently did her ~6 month checkup.

After teeth, we'll work on her glasses.

My parents have been divorced since I was 15. My sister's main target for the fodder is my father. He cares about my mom, and when he initially heard that I was treating her horribly/stealing money...he was livid. I completely understand why, however he will NOT listen to my side at all. He keeps claiming he's not involved and she makes an excellent case. Sadly, he is not the only person to do so.

I even was accused of telling my mother that I hoped she died on her birthday. Actually my mom called me the night before and was harassing me to quit smoking. When, she kept hearing me repeat "I'm an adult, it's my decision" she knew the conversation wasn't going anywhere. She hung up on me. I called her back the next day to wish her happy bday, and even dropped off a cake for her and helped her celebrate.

Not 2 hours later, I am receiving angry phone calls from relatives about how I told my mom if I ever got cancer from smoking, I'd just kill myself. That apparently, I'd never want to live in a nursing home. I don't know about you, but a nursing + internet sounds fucking amazing. No responsibilities, and lots of fun to be had. Yes, it'd get boring...but I doubt I'd kill myself just because I was in a nursing home. I shit you not...this was all because I said I wouldn't quit smoking, and eventually it turned into my mom should kill herself for being in a nursing home. I give props to N-in-training sister, and N mother for coming up with this one. It was so far out there.


Update:
Found out last week that I need to pay out of pocket for my mother to get dentures. Because she does not brush her own teeth (even though she can), and the old nursing home didn't take proper care of her...it's come back to rear it's ugly head.

While the nursing home will cover the dentures, they will not cover the full amount for her extraction via medicaid/medicare. So they are putting mom on a payment plan (if I approve it) for a total of about $200.00 - on a total bill of over $6,000, which isn't that bad. So either that comes out of her relocation, or I pay for that out of pocket as well. Either way it's the best option we have come up with so far. I have currently paid out of pocket for it, and she is set up to have her teeth removed/dentures made in the next two weeks.

If you are asking yourself, well you have a brother...why isn't he doing anything? I hear little to nothing from him. He actually refuses my phone calls and never calls me back. If I have an issue with taxes or something else, he doesn't call me back. Even if it's about my mom. My sister has completely poisoned that tree, that I feel even attempting to continue to update him on mom is just pointless. My sister will just twist it around anyways.

In the end, I have been told my sister won't be willing to relocate my mother as her kids have school...and then summer break is too important! My brother has tried to arrange to come and fly with my mother out to my sister, but he simply can't get off of work without supposedly getting fired. I believe him getting fired is a lie. It's been almost a full year since she has been here, and I'm fed up with it all.

As per the rumors, they continue. I am a thief and I treat my mother like garbage! Yup, you heard it from here...I do everything I can to take care of her financially, physically and mentally...yet I am the one doing nothing and my sister (from out of state mind you) is doing it all!

Yes, that is my life. I work three jobs, am pretty much a single parent (my husband is currently stationed in another state for the Army)...and I also deal with all of this shit.

PS. I have heard rumors and direct quotes from my sister stating she was going to put my mom in a trailer, and pretty much keep all of my mom's checks. My sister is notorious for borrowing money, and never paying it back (she owes us $3k, and my dad about $15k). She is just a money grubbing bitch.

Field Trip Disaster

Yesterday, I went on a field trip with my eldest daughter. I have a feeling that I really should never be the parent to ever volunteer for this type of stuff. Worst part is, I volunteered last minute (I have 2-3 torn ligaments, and have been having issues walking...) and the REAL teacher was absent (so was the office receptionist!). Even getting onto the field trip was a hassle and required a lot of not knowing because both were absent.  Plus, I left my sweatshirt in the car - so when it started raining, like a tard, I am the only one getting soaked.

This was a multi-class field trip, to two locations. Over 100 students, and in my brigade I personally had about 20 students to take care of (with the help of another parent, who had NEVER done another field trip EVER before). The sub had about 6 students at the first location, and 8 at the second. So, we really had the harder job of it all.

You can imagine my horror at discovering just how evil and bratty other people's kids can be without any supervision. They LOVE to test the rules and are constantly trying to piss people off. Some of those kids are actually RAISED to be little snots, and I'm sure their parents don't care. Mind you, I have been on almost every other field trip available to my oldest (my youngest hasn't been on any yet). I am used to kids acting up, and I can keep them entertained for a good while before I go insane. However, you always come across that one or two children in the group that you wish their parents would just smack some sense into. You know it will never happen, thus you put up with it until you are finally FREE of them.

In the end, for the first part we went to Willow Park. I go there all the time with my kidlets. It's a nice small, little park. Most of the animals were actually "out of exhibit"...so we spent most of the time looking at the ones that were really there. The little signs to explain the animals usually only say things like: "Indigenous to America for 20 years" and that's it. Not really informative. So, I put on my best Mommy face and did what I had to do.

I had to completely take over the field trip. The substitute teacher was letting them run wild. (She's really nice by the way) So, instead of reading the horrible little non-informative cards. I tried to remember facts about the animals or things we were seeing and pointed them out. I even had them make animal noises just for kicks. I think they had a lot of fun.  Though I had to fork over about 10 dimes for people to feed the fish and ducks, the other parent and sub didn't even consider the kids might want to do that...good thing I had been here before and KNEW what to expect. I even joked with them about the "quicksand", and they all told me about zombies (boy, that's not a new conversation in my house).

Until we reached the playground, the only real problem we had with any of the kids was when we were moving from animal to animal. Some of the boys kept wanting to pick up sticks and hit each other with them. Boys will be boys, sure. But, not on my watch. You will NOT smack each other in the head with sticks while I am watching.

We did have a little girl named Lolah who kept pushing and fighting with the other little girls. She is a mean, cheerleader in the making. You know the type. If she's not trying to be a know-it-all, she is having to have her partner switched because she made the other little girl cry. She went through 5 different partners in less then an hour before she finally settled down.

I could already tell that we had three little asshole kids that were the ringleaders. So, I kept my eye on them as best as I could. One of the little bratties, I actually converted into a good kid by the end of the day. He even started calling me "teacher" nonstop. So cute. The other two were just a disaster from hell, and I'll get into that in a minute. This is actually not that surprising, as you always have those one or two kids that act like idiots...because at home, they get away with it. So, naturally, at school they think they can get away with it there too. Add on that we were missing the real teacher (she must be a saint to deal with these kids everyday), so they KNEW they could get away with some stuff.

We finally get to about lunch time, and one of the best perks of Willow Park is actually their playground. It's nice, clean, and a lot of fun to take kids to. I tried to warn all of the kids before we dispersed for our fun, to please be safe and respectful of the other students. I was actually really terrified they'd kill someone, on purpose.

Before I even get a chance to find a prime location to hang out, or stand, I am approached by three different students not even in my group. Apparently the boys were either purposely or not purposely stepping on other kids' fingers and hurting them. They were also playing see who can kick the other person the highest. I knew that if I didn't step in, things were going to go downhill fast.

So, I calmly and a little louder then usual (since there were like 100 kids making a ton of noise...), said exactly: "Please watch where you are putting your fingers and toes. Some other kids have been hurt. Let's be respectful of the other students." That was it. No cursing, didn't scream at them. Just made sure they heard me and then stood next to the other parent that was helping.

As I am standing there, I can hear two fat bitches (the first I'll call teal, and the other I'll call fatty) saying things like, "I hope she's not a teacher!" "She looks to be 15! She can't be a parent!" "How dare she say that to those kids!" I let it go, because these parents aren't even on the field trip...so I assume they will eventually stop their yapping. I had a job to do. Make sure none of the kids were killing themselves or getting lost.

We managed to lose a little girl from eyesight, but realized quickly she had taken her hair down...so we didn't recognize her immediately. LOL Our kids were actually having a ton of fun, hanging upside town, climbing trees (picking up sticks again), and generally being kids. There were no other major injuries after I had addressed the children. (For the time being...)

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So, I'm hanging out while the other parent goes on a bathroom run with some of the kids. I get approached by another volunteer from another class. She is a grandmother. I will explain later why this is important, I just didn't know it at the time. She started asking me all of these weird personal questions, and after a while I just stopped responding.  All she could really get out of me was that I was a parent, and that our teacher was absent today...so our kids are going a  little crazy.  She walked away mid-sentence from me, and was actually really cold in her demeanor. She didn't try to converse back, and she was definitely asking a lot of creepy questions that I just didn't respond to, or I just changed the topic on.

Later, the other parent comes back (thank god!), and I notice I am standing near Teal and Fatty again. I'm like god, why are they even here. I can't tell that they even have kids at the playground, by the way. I have not seen them move off their little bench once. It was a little weird, so I kept my eye on them.

The other parent nudges me (by then, I have filled her in on what happened with the grandparent and the other two women). Apparently Teal and Fatty ASKED the other grandparent to interrogate me. Yup, you heard that correctly. They asked another volunteer to do some espionage and spy on me. When the grandparent walks over to Teal and Fatty and starts to try to discuss me, I can obviously hear it. I am not happy, as this is fucking childish.

Obviously, my original opinion that they would stop their shit didn't work. They actually took it to a brand new level I had never been to before. I was livid, but I made sure that when I approached them that I was calm and didn't curse (kids around...). I calmly explained to them that I had simply asked the students to be safe and respectful of each other, and that I can hear them talking about me. That, I was indeed a parent volunteering, and I didn't appreciate some of the comments they were making. (Grandparent rolls her eyes and walks away within seconds of my explanation, still not sure WHO she was rolling her eyes at.)

As I go to walk away, thinking naturally that this is finally over with, Teal has the NERVE to continue speaking to me. She says, in her loudest and meanest voice: "You need to be quiet on the playground." I'm pretty sure I just looked at her like she was crazy. Here we are, with at least 100 students from the same school hanging out on a playground making a ton of racket...and I need to be quiet? Yeah, that's gonna happen.

As I am walking away, another kid walks up to me (from my class) and his tooth has been knocked out. He was kicked in the face by another kids in our class. So, I guess even telling them to cut it out didn't work. There was a lot of blood, and he hung onto his tooth for the rest of the field trip for the tooth fairy. We had tissues on us, so we plugged the newest hole in his mouth, and he was mostly fine for the rest of the day. I'm sure that hurt like a bitch though. But, hey, I should NEVER tell students to be careful with each other on the playground.

I immediately inform the substitute of what had occurred and who was involved, as the grandparent was also volunteering. As I am walking away from the substitute, the grandparent approaches me and apologizes. I'm unsure if she really meant her apology, but I don't really care and accept it. In the words of the other parent that was volunteering with me: "Some people just like to insert themselves into drama, and help make it worse then what it really is." She actually found those two women obnoxious, too.

I only told the substitute because the grandparent was involved. I'm fairly certain the substitute and the other teachers had a pow-wow about the incident later, as they were off to the side and I could hear my name plus "parent". I probably shouldn't of said anything. Next time, I won't say anything at all. I learned my lesson.

It turns out later that the grandparent was on my bus. I made sure to stare at her until she was uncomfortable a few times. I just felt like it was the only thing I should do. Did I do it more then once? Eh...maybe three times on the bus trip to the next place, and twice on the way back to the school at the end. I had more things to worry about...like a tooth being knocked loose and two terrors trying to kill each other in the back of the bus.

The second part of the field trip was to yet another place I have been to before with my kidlets. It was to the American West Heritage Center. When I had originally gone with the kidlets, we didn't really get to look at all of the nifty Mommy-history type of stuff. They pretty much just wanted to see the animals and ride the train. So, I took the backseat to this part of the field trip and listened to what everyone had to tell us.

We learned about where they stored wood, and all about a Granary. I made sure to take a lot of photos throughout the day, as I wanted to forwards them to their absent teacher and some of the other parents.

http://i.imgur.com/HBdzJqGs.jpg

That is an album of some of the cooler stuff we did. We learned about how a kitchen worked, how people lived back in the day (outhouses and everything), how to churn butter, how to grow veggies, and how to clean our laundry! We even saw the blacksmith make a cup holder! We all got to milk a goat too!

Overall, during the 2nd part of our trip the other parent had to pull aside her kidlet to give a stern warning to and one of the terrors was still in our group...so we kept an eye on him. According to the terror, he hated being on the field trip because he'd rather be playing video games. So, his acting like a snot and treating his partner like shit, was because he plays too many video games. (I love and let my kids play video games....but damn...this is a field trip kiddo!)

When we got back into the bus, apparently terror #1 was causing such a huge fuss that the substitute dumped him in the back of the bus near the other parent and I. I had to eventually have him relocate to sit near me and we played I-Spy for about 20 minutes on the way home. The sad part about this? When I went to take my angel home (she really was an angel the whole time), he tried to pay me a dollar for being "so nice to him".

I'm not sure how to take that. Either get insulted because he thinks I worked for him, or get angry that his parents raised him to believe he can only pay people to be nice to him. Wow. Just wow. I couldn't take his dollar, as that would be wrong. But, why in the world did he do that? To be a little dick or because his parents told him that's what he should do? Either way, he has massive ADD and needs a proper spanking. He was out of control the entire time and the kid that knocked the other kids' tooth out. He is a little psychopath that needs to have his energy put into more resourceful things.

Unfortunately, I have heard through the grapevine that his mother is actually a regular bitch. So, I won't even try to get to know that family at all. I will be telling my daughter to avoid him, as he has tried before to bully her. She should not be put into that situation, but that kid is out of control and the school can't really do anything about it.

I have told hubby that I will NOT be volunteering for another field trip, as the parents sitting on that park bench just pissed me off to no end.  He has suggested that since I am no longer on the field trip, to go and visit the park again randomly during the week so that I can properly tell that fat bitch off. I don't think I will waste my time doing this...seems pointless at this point. My friends and family all think that this fatty was just jealous that I am half her size, look presentable and know how to handle children. I hate to use the "she's just jealous" excuse, but I have a feeling like she is...or she was just looking for someone to be a bitch to.

In the end, my little girlie had a lot of fun (though she hated it when I had to tell the children to calm down a few times), and she was VERY good. I'm still amazed at how good she was. She also apparently has a boyfriend. They were holding hands the entire time and didn't leave each other's side. Both were super quiet and shy. It was cute, but I'll have to nip that in the bud eventually.