It's great to be 8! Daisy turned 8!!

 

My phone created this. She did grow up so fast!

We had her party at Toad's. We never been there as a family so we were really impressed. It was a beautiful day! At first we didn't think it was going to happen because the power was out and I know Daisy was a little upset when we told her but the Lord was on our side and the power came back on when we were on our way to Toad's. 

Daisy was pretty excited for her best friend to come to her party

Her cute cake from Smith's

A little bit about Daisy. She loves to be independent and do things by herself. Like pour herself a drink or even clean up her room but she does it in Daisy speed. She is really slow at doing something but she eventually will get it done lol. She has always been like this every since she was a baby; always doing things her own time; like walking for example. I remember she took forever to walk and we took her to a physical therapist because her pediatrician was concern and we found out there was nothing wrong with her. She was just been a little stinker! She is the sweetest though and will give anyone a hug. I love how every time I come home from work she is the first person to give me a hug when I walk through the door. She is just like a Daisy; small but very pretty and unique in her own way. We love you Daisy!

I loved how we had the whole upstairs party room to ourselves! Thank you to everyone that weathered the storm per say that day with us. Nana Heckert, Uncle Justin, Aunt Jordan and cousins Landon and Miranda, Aunt Johanna and cousins Avien and Everest and Aunt Trena, Uncle Shane and cousin Aaron and of course her best friend Celecia. 

Rocky is 18!!

 

Rocky is now 18! I officially have an adult son! I don't know why it took me forever to write this post maybe because we have been so busy between work and his graduation and party. Rocky is very kind and such a hardworker. Me and him have a very close relationship. I feel like he is can come to me and tell me anything and I am the same way. I like that we can tell each other everything about each other's lives. I hope it stays that way. Rocky is such a great big brother and great friend! He loves five nights at freddy's; that is a game if no one is familiar with that. He loves transformers and cars and action figures that he calls it. He loves to be independent and buy his own stuff. I am really proud of the man that he is turning into. 

His ice cream cake

All of his gifts

 

I made a scrapbook page of him for my book

Him with the school mascot

So Rocky graduated High School almost a week after he turned 18. And of course we had a party to celebrate both his birthday and graduation. We are all so proud of him! Everybody ask me what he is planning on doing now that he graduates and all I know is that he wants to get a full time job so not just a seasonal job. I know that he loves Lagoon he just wants to get a better paying job and one that is all year. He is going to stay at home as long as he wants. I know how hard it is out there and I don't want him to struggle financially so as long as he is working he doesn't have to go anywhere. I don't care what anyone says college is a money pit so I rather him learn a trade than go to college. You can still get a good job without a college degree. Now a days you don't even need a college degree to get a job.(now this is just my opinion so I don't want anyone bashing our beliefs; with our experience this is what we came to) We are trying to work on him on getting his driver's license but he feels like he isn't ready yet. We try to take him out driving as much as we can but between all of us working it's kinda hard. I want to thank everyone that came to his party and graduation. You know who you are! I want to also thank you guys for all of the support. It means the world to us! 

Why I left Crazy Candy

 Everyone is probably wondering why I left Crazy Candy. I have been quiet about my job for a long time. Only my family and close friends knew what was going on. Just warning I am going to get real and raw right here. I felt like I had no voice and now I am speaking up for myself and standing up for myself. When I first started there was a different manager. She made work fun and laid back. When I first started they made all these promises. Like we were going to be in a bigger building by September (that was last September). That after 90 days I was going to get a raise which I didn't and I was there for 10 months. That eventually we were going to get benefits and we still haven't. I was working full time Monday thru Friday with no benefits and just a 15 min break. Our old manager left in July because she was getting burnt out working all the time. The owners like to go on vacations left and right to Hawaii and everywhere else and would stick everything with the managers. When our new manager got hired slowly but surely she made things strict. Our old manager knew life happened and that if you couldn't be at work or you were going to be late you weren't going to be punished for it. We were a small production team so I don't know why they started to get strict with everything. Back in October or November they hired a manager specifically to be over in shipping and receiving but for some reason he wouldn't take care of that department. He is the owners brother/brother in law. He would be in the back of the warehouse watching us or specifically watching me and saying condescending things to me. He would always deny that he said anything to me. Everyone saw it and try to stick up for me. I don't know why he targeted me. I felt like I couldn't be comfortable at work and that I was being constantly watched and that I couldn't do anything right. I felt like they wouldn't do anything because he was family. So we have these numbers that we have to perform everyday like how many trays to cut, how many bags of candy we have to bag so they can determine what price to price the bags. And back in December I was pulled aside from J and S the managers and they basically tore me down. Said I wasn't a hard worker and that coming to work everyday that I am scheduled and on time isn't being a hard worker and that I shouldn't enjoy work. They said with how many trays I cut I should be paid 8 bucks an hour. They said that I am on my phone all the time and just tore me down to nothing. I left that meeting crying because when I tried to stand up for myself they would throw it back in my face saying that it's possible to cut 12 trays an hour and if you put your mind to it you can do it. Mind you they aren't the ones that price their candies. The distributors price their candies so I feel like the numbers were irrelevant. I felt like we were getting worked like slaves and if we didn't meet the numbers that we we weren't good enough and it wasn't always like that. I felt like the supervisors were favored and also certain co workers. Supervisors and certain co workers could do whatever they want and get away with anything but if you didn't make your numbers all the time you were constantly watched. Everyone knows that I am hard worker and that I don't play around at work and that I take it serious and I try my damn hardest because I am there to make a living and I am there for my family.  But when they say these things to you then you get inside your head and feel like you aren't good enough and you can't do anything right. Since S the shipping and receiving manager started we lost around 15 people that tells you something. His mind set was you had to constantly work and not take breaks and not even talk to people; we aren't robots. If you were caught doing those things you would get written up. At this point I had to be careful what I said to people because it would get back to the managers. I told myself that I wasn't going to stick around in a place that I wasn't happy and that I was losing sleep over and dread going to work everyday and I wasn't going to stick around a toxic environment and be around S and feeling like I was getting watched everyday so I started looking for a new job. No one knew this unless I trusted you or you were family. Just recently last Thursday I got pulled aside once again where everyone was getting reviews and I am pretty sure raises with it. When I got in there they said that I wished we were giving you a review but that isn't the case. I got a written warning instead. They said that I took the meeting in December the wrong way. What way was I suppose to take it? You were destroying me and breaking me down. They asked me why I hate them so much and I told them that hate is a strong word and I don't hate anyone. Then S said that he doesn't do anything or say anything to me which is bull. Everyone sees it! He said that he was joking all the time; which is harassment. He would say things to me like when I was on my break "Did you work hard enough to get a break" things like that. J said that if she took everything he said personally she wouldn't be happy. But there are just certain things that you don't say to a co worker when you are a manager. They also said that I need to stop leaving to go to interviews during the day. Like they can stop me from getting a new job. If they aren't going to pay me PTO or sick time why should I give them the respect to tell them where I am going. I tell a supervisor and isn't that the point of having supervisors. I don't have to tell the managers everything. I had other obligations on Thursday as well that involved my kids. They said I lied to where I was going on Thursday and I said that I didn't lie I did have things with my kids. I wouldn't lie about my kids. And then they asked when my interview was. Which is none of their business. They told me that I need to stop talking about my interviews with my co workers. I can't control what they do with that information. They said that they don't know if my co workers are applying at the jobs that I am applying at. Once again not my problem. I can only control myself. They also said that I am disrespectful to the managers and supervisors and I don't do what I am told which I do all the time. That I don't put my trays on the racks which everyone stacks them on the table. And that I throw trays which I don't. And that they heard from multiple people that I do all this stuff but they wouldn't tell me who. And that I am always on my phone which everyone is. I just don't understand why they were picking on me unless they wanted me to quit. So they sent me home for the day on Thursday and I couldn't go to work on Friday and that it was my decision if I wanted to return back to work on Monday. So it fueled something in me. I worked everyday since Thursday to get a job so I didn't have to return on Monday. I was dreading going to work on Monday because I didn't know what the vibe was going to be. I decided that I was going to kick ass concentrate on my work and don't really talk to anyone. I left my phone in my bag on silent and worried about myself. I was kind like I am always am and got up to put my trays on the rack. I didn't want them to find a reason to fired me. I was a new me with my new hair and I think everyone saw it. J and S were extra nice to me. And it seemed like everyone else was having conversations around me and I didn't know what the hell was going on. I don't know what happened on Friday and what J told everyone. I felt like I was in my own world. Both me and Chris decided once I found a job I wasn't even going to put in my two weeks notice because they didn't even deserve it. I am so thankful I touched base with Alisha. I think something was telling me to reach out to her. She was always a great manager to me and valued my potential. I don't feel like Crazy Candy ever did or ever will no matter how hard I tried. Alisha was also thinking about me when the assistant manager position came up at her store. She wanted me to apart of her team again. She was surprised that everything went down at Crazy Candy. She knew something was up when I stopped talking about my job. I didn't want to say anything on Facebook and get backlashed. I am so thankful for her giving me this opportunity and trusting me again. She was surprised that I even went into production in the first place when I am so great with customers. I am excited for this journey and to have a better job that fits my family needs with benefits and someone that values me. We have this app called Homebase for Crazy Candy to clock in and request days off and everything and I messaged J on it saying yesterday was my last day and I wasn't returning to Crazy Candy because I found a better job opportunity that treats me better. And J said that this is the worst way to quit and that she wishes me the best and that for the record no one treated me badly. Someone is delusional. If she thinks nothing more is going on there then I don't know what to tell her. Chris wanted so bad to tell her off but I told him don't give her that power. I just left it alone because sooner or later she is going to figure it out. Then I messaged the whole team on Homebase that it was my last day and that I got a better job opportunity and thanked them for working with them and supporting me and J said that this wasn't the place to do it. Where was I suppose to post it at? I wanted them to hear it from me and give them a voice. I didn't want them to hear it from J. I wanted to leave by March 1st because February 28th was the end of the pay period anyways. I am glad it worked out. In the long run Crazy Candy lived up to their name. It was a toxic environment that the managers didn't see why their business was falling apart. I didn't want to supposedly move to the new building that they were supposedly going to move in next month anyways. With it being in Farmington in the middle of nowhere and where I was getting paid 14 bucks an hour with no benefits; it wasn't worth it. It was just a bunch of empty promises anyways. I wish my fellow employees the best of luck and I hope it works out for them and if they decide to leave it's not my problem or my doing. They can control themselves like I am taking control of myself and my life and doing what is best for me and my family. I couldn't do it all without my husband and my family and all of the support from my love ones. I thank you all!!

Daisy is 7!!

For some reason it took me a while to make this post. I think because we have been so busy. October is a busy month between birthdays, appointments and Halloween. But Daisy turned 7 on Wednesday the 19th. It was a great day!!

I really love this picture of my kids

 When your kids get older it gets harder to figure out where to have their birthday parties. My former co worker told me about this place in Farmington called Pack Farms. It was really fun and a good price too! It's like Black Island Farms but cheaper. Everything was included with the price except the pumpkins and the tractor ride. It was a gorgeous night; great weather. I am glad we decided to do it on her birthday because it got cold fast this year. I guess that happens when your sister, your daughter and your birthday is all in the same week this year.

Her cute fox cake from Smith's. She had a jungle/animal theme

Daisy wants to be a seamstress. She said that she wants to make beautiful dresses and clothes. I love that she has that dream! She kind of reminds me of my mom; she is a seamstress and would always sew our clothes and our baby doll clothes and now whenever my kids have things that have rips in them she always says that grandma can fix it. Every since she got her sewing machine she has been bugging me to have her use it. We got as far as getting it out of the box. I think grandma should be the right person to teach her. I am not much of a sewer. Daisy is such a great artist! It's amazing what kind of drawings she can draw especially for her age. She is very thoughtful and whenever mom is relaxing she wants to pamper me. She is very demanding and very smart for her age. She understands more than you think. She loved having her aunts Jordan, Johanna and Trena and their families there and also her uncle Justin, Grandma Heckert and of course mom and dad and her siblings. Everybody enjoyed themselves at Pack's farms. 

Sienna is the big 10!!

 We had Sienna's birthday party at Classic on the 11th of June on a Saturday because her actual birthday was on a Monday this year. Fun fact her birthday is so close to her Uncle Justin's birthday. Her party was actually on his birthday this year. I feel like this was one of her best birthday parties. The kids had so much fun! I know that she has been wanting her party at Classic for a while now so I am glad that we made it happen.

Sienna in her cute pretty white dress that she picked out for her birthday. I love how she got a big card and balloons. She looks so grown up! I feel like she has grown so much in this past year than she ever has. I took her to the park to meet up with her friend Leah today and then took them to the mall to go shopping. She is growing up to be so independent!

She had a tie dye theme party and the cake was so yummy! Cake from Smith's fresh marketplace. It had fudge in the middle and the frosting was so good. First time that we actually ate the whole cake. 

They had a game cube where she can collect more tickets

We had it in a Karaoke room so that was fun

Sienna on her actual birthday! I dyed her hair especially for her birthday. I didn't think I did a great job but she loved it and that was all that matters. I am not a hairdresser by any means. It sucks because it kinda washed out already because she was in a pool; I think that is why it didn't last long. I don't think she really cares because she said that it doesn't stay forever. I think she just wanted to look her best for her birthday and that is what all that mattered to her. This girl is very mature for her age and wise beyond her years. She likes to speak her mind and she still to this day my social butterfly; which she always has been since day 1. She is my best friend but at the same time when she is with her friends she wants nothing to do with me and says I embarrass her; typical girl! I can't wait to see what the future hold with her. I am glad that she had a very successful party. She had her friend Leah there, Ella, Clara. Her cousins Karalina, Miranda, Avien and Everest and Aaron. Landon and Isaac are teenagers that have busy lives; like jobs and other projects. She had her brothers and sister there. Aunt Jordan, Johanna, Trena and grandmas Charlene and Teresa. She is very much loved by everyone. She got some money from her birthday party so on Monday on her actual birthday she wanted to go to the mall to eat dinner and shop. She got a few shirts. She is all girl! We always try to make our kids feel specials on their actual birthdays if they have a party or not and I think we accomplish that. She is going to have a fun summer with her friends!

2-22-22 Tuesday

 I always say that everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that. Today is a special day because it's a palindrome which the date reads the same forward and backwards. I feel like it's a new beginning for all of us. I saw on one of my groups to write 22 things you are thankful for today. There is so much that I am thankful for especially what happened yesterday with Chris' accident. 

1: I am thankful that Chris is ok and he is all in one piece. 

2: I am thankful that things work out the way they are suppose to like with my job. Chris needs the SUV for his job. He does Doordash for a living. So I am thankful that I work just around the corner. If I still worked at Target in Riverdale it probably wouldn't of worked out.

3: I am thankful that we are all healthy

4: I am thankful that everyone was ok in the accident. It could of been a lot worst.

5: I am thankful for my pets. They give us all comfort when we need it the most.

6: I am thankful for the wonderful people in our lives. You know who you are!!

7: I am thankful for God and all of our lives ones on the other side that always look out for us and want the best for us.

8: I am thankful for our roof over our heads

9: I am thankful for the air that we breathe

10: I am thankful for the sun because on the days that I have to walk to work I can get some Vitamin D. And walking is good for you.

11: I am thankful for me and Chris' everlasting love for each other. It doesn't matter what is going on in our lives we always show our love for each other and always there for each other when the other one is in need of more of it. 

12: I am also thankful for the love for our children and for each other in our house.

13: I am thankful for the right to choose how we feel and react. Me and Chris couldn't reacted so much differently yesterday but we remand calm and just had to do what we had to do.

14: I am thankful that we have a little bit of history in our recent family photos. We will always remember that day and that moment because it was a beautiful day and everything went well that day. We should always feel thankful for our good days and even the bad ones.

15: I am thankful for the clothes on my back. I always seem to get clothes left and right from people in my life.

16: I am thankful that we still have one car. We just have to deal with what we have right now. 

17: I am thankful that our insurance company is going to take care of all of the lady involved in the accident's damages. That is all that matters to me. Her car isn't too bad.

18: I am thankful that the kids are doing so well in school and are thriving. 

19: I am thankful for flowers. I always enjoy when my husband gives me flowers; they seem to brighten our house up. I still have my flowers from Valentine's day.

20: I am thankful for comfort. I always great to find comfort in everything that you do in life. I think being comfortable is important. 

21: I am thankful that we can still provide for our family.

22: I am thankful for technology to be able to connect with people and love ones. 

Channnages!!

 There is changes and new journeys in the Harmon household. Rocky is really enjoying his new job. He says it's really easy. I am also going to be starting a new job. I am so stoked and on Cloud 9!! I really didn't think I got the job because it took her a little over a week to call me back. But I got that call today; not expecting it. Blessings come when we least expect it and I for sure wasn't expecting it today. I am now the Salon Coordinator/Receptionist at Avalon Institute just right around the corner from my house. I am so excited to start this new adventure. Happy 19th Dating Anniversary for us tomorrow and Merry Christmas to me!! I start tomorrow. I have been wanting to leave Target for a while. I don't talk too much about it because no one really understands what we go through there unless you are there. It has been going down the toilet really fast; you can say that we were on the Titanic and it was slowly sinking. I didn't want to be on there once it sank. I felt like I was taken advantage there because I knew everything up front. Team members were quitting left and right and we weren't getting any help up front. There were few sales floor team members that were helping us but they were even getting burnt out because they were doing all the work like us up front. It was getting to the point where no one was responding to me on the walkie when I was up at Guest service calling abandons out and trying to transfer over calls. No one would even answer the phone; like I said there were a few and they know who they are and I appreciate them dearly because they were sweethearts. That is the one thing that I am going to miss is my team members. We really enjoying working with each other for 3 years. Style (clothing) was a hot mess; most of the time there was no one in that department to grab their abandons or they were all minors and had to leave by 9:45. I always say how can we do our jobs fully up at guest services if we weren't getting the help from the sales floor team members. We all have our jobs to help the store run smoothly and when one person isn't doing their job it shows. We weren't a Team! I felt like certain team members would get away with murder per say and some would not get away with anything including me. I felt like I had to work my ass off and couldn't slack off and others could. It was exhausting. There were times where I would get home feeling like shit and there would be times that I would be crying and felt like walking out because I couldn't take it anymore but I stuck through it because of my family; I couldn't quit because of them. I told myself just to make it that day and the next and never think too far ahead and just think that eventually I would leave. After many weeks and many interviews I finally feel like this happened at the right time. I feel like we have no leaders in that store. No store manager, team leads are leaving left and right. One team lead up front left and another one is leaving at the beginning of the year. They now have an opening for a team lead up front and that has been the talk lately. Everyone told me that I should of applied. I was thinking about it but it wasn't what I wanted. I felt very honored that my team members saw me that way. I already felt like a leader because everyone would always come to me for this and that the whole time I was there. I feel like I am respected by my front end cashiers. We are like a big family up front!! Before I got this call today I try to apply for the team lead position because it doesn't hurt to apply right by for some reason it wouldn't let me log in to fill out the application. I couldn't remember my password and it never sent one to my email. Once again someone was telling me that something better was coming up and that everything happens for a reason. Look what happened today!! I hated to do this to Target and my ETL (executive team lead) but I had no choice; they wanted me to start as soon as possible. She apologized to me for taking so long to get back to me they just had to get everything approved; I thought for sure that I didn't even get the job. Not a lot of people knew I went to this interview. I left work early and told my ETL that I had an appointment that I had to go to but it was totally worth it. It was a group interview and I usually don't do good on those but apparently I made a good impression because then she called me for a second interview and now I have the job. I finally told my co workers because I couldn't hide my excitement today. I am finally out of retail and it feel so good!! I was miserable and everybody at work knew it. Target was falling apart and I didn't want to be there to see it. On top of everything else there is only one person at Optical there and they haven't had a doctor in there in forever. Alex that works there knew how bad I wanted to leave and he was so excited for me today!! Even though he is at Optical he sees what is going on around him. I just hope my other co workers figure out what they want to do and that everything works out the way it is suppose to. I wish everyone good luck and can't wait to start this journey! I feel like I can be a so much happier person, mother and wife. I wasn't happy because I dreaded going to work. Now I am looking forward to what my future holds! It's a new beginning for all of us! I am so proud of me and Rocky for not giving up!! I hope everyone else can be happy for us because this is so good news all around!!