Disgruntled Employee?

This is so embarrassing – even more so than the chicken/tuna story – but it’s worth sharing

I volunteered to shampoo the carpets at work last Saturday. I cleaned at the nursing home in the morning and felt bad for leaving my beloved chewy monster at home all day, so I decided to bring him to the office with me since nobody was working. It took six hours to shampoo the carpet! The water was as black as black as night – totally disgusting! I didn’t leave the office until 8:00pm and had been up since 6:00am – I was wiped.

Monday morning, as my boss was leaving for lunch, he noticed chewy left a little surprise in the corner. Little chewy drops – yuck yuck yuck yuck. He smiled and asked if I had chewy out here on Saturday. I was beyond mortified. It was so unprofessional and I wanted to sink into the carpet.

Because my company has faced a major reduction in workforce, my schedule is sort of scattered right now. I work in the office from 8:00-3:00 and on Monday and Tuesday evenings, I go to class in SF from 4:00-6:45, drive back to Madison, pick up Alex, head back to Gehl where he works on his homework or plays on the computer and I clean the office. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I leave at 3:00, workout for about an hour, pick up Alex and head back to Gehl to clean. Depending on how late it gets, Alex sometimes brings Chewy and they play in the parking lot, which is unfortunately often empty.

Last night Alex asked if we could pick up chewy and I said no because chewy pooped in the office on Saturday and mommy was very embarrassed because my boss found it.

Alex looked at me and asked “did your boss think you did it?”

That really brings a new meaning to disgruntled employees

My Monday

Allow me to set up my Monday: I was up until 12:30am studding for my Business Policy & Strategy test and was awake at 5:30 to make note cards to study over lunch. I share this next story because it brought so much joy to Amber’s world and hopefully, it brings a smile to yours as well.

The company that I work for had a meeting over lunch and my manager asked me to find a way to feed everyone and more importantly, make sure it’s not very expensive. I ordered two pans of lasagna and two pans of a dish called “Chicken of the Sea bake”. As each person went through the line, I asked the if they prefer “chicken or lasagna”



It wasn’t until I sat next to Amber at the meeting and she kept insisting that it wasn’t chicken that I realized the “chicken of the sea” is really tuna. Unfortunately, I had already told the group of fifty colleagues of mine that they could choose between chicken or lasagna so the slipup was out in the open.

I cleaned up after the meeting and drove home to review my note cards over my lunch break before I drove to class for my test and studying wasn’t easy when the whole “chicken/tuna” fiasco was still running through my head. No time to for that now I insisted as I forged ahead quizzing myself on strategic and tactical business objectives.

Our first laborious task in class was reviewing our last test. Upon finishing our arguments, the professor proceeded to lecture. “WAIT – what about our test” I inquired. You could feel the air being sucked out of the room and daggers of twenty eager business students’ eyes being hurled at the back of my head. The professor looked confused and said “I have the test scheduled for next week” I’m batting a thousand at this point….but wait….there’s more

I always keep my cell phone on vibrator mode during class in case there is an emergency regarding Alex. About twenty minutes into the lecture, my cell buzzed and the call was from a consultant for the PTO fall fundraiser. I told her that I would get back to her today regarding or decision to sign on with her company for the fall of 2009 – shoot! She left a voice mail and I slipped out of class to listen to what I was sure was going to be an angry message because I left her hanging. I walked into the washroom down the hallway and I swear there was at least a 20 second lapse in time where I stared straight ahead and wondered why they would install urinals into the ladies room. Thankfully, there was nobody in the washroom to see my stunned face when I realized that I wandered into the men’s room.

It’s a Monday

Stereotyping

The first psychologist I met with regarding Alex asked if Alex was on Medicaid. I really didn’t think anything of it and politely said no and gave her our BCBS medical card.

Then the nurse at the clinic asked if Alex was on Medicaid. Ummm….the paperwork is right in front of you….but, no, he is covered under my medical plan.

Then the physician asked if Alex was on Medicaid. Okay, now this is getting old. I wondered if this was a question they asked every patient or if it was simply because I was a single mom. Nonetheless, I said no and gave him Alex’s insurance information. However, I called my girlfriend Carrie (married woman and mother of three) later that night to ask if she is asked if her kids are on Medicaid. As I assumed, she was never asked if her kids were covered under Medicaid.

Then yesterday, while talking about Alex’s Connors 3 evaluation, the assistant asked if Alex was on Medicaid. I paused for a long time until she interrupted and said “or is there another insurance provider”. I looked at her and just simply asked if she was only asking me that because I’m a single mom. She was stunned and said that she was just wondering who his insurance provider was. I told her that maybe a better way to pose the question would be to just ask “who is his insurance provider”

I’m pretty sure she’ll be aware of her stereotyping next time she crosses a single mom

Psychologist and Psychiatrist and Neurologist – Oh My!

Alex’s teacher and I completed the Connors 3 evaluation for Alex’s behavior at home and school and the results where very similar. According to the magical all-powerful computer generated test, Alex seems to have some difficulty staying focused and could possibly fit under an ADD diagnosis, but the psychologist also sees some strong sensory integration symptoms as well.

I took the results to his pediatrician and discussed what our options would be. He was reluctant to start him on a medication because of the sensory integration factor. Our next step is to see an ADD/ADHD specialist at the Avera Behavioral Health Institute in Sioux Falls, SD. His pediatrician also referred us to a neurologist in SF because of Alex’s headaches and “head banging”. I don’t think I’ve discussed that last part on my blog before because it tends to freak people out. Alex has this bedtime routine where he sort of rocks himself to sleep. He started it when he was about a year old and in the beginning, it freaked me out as well. I was a young mother and rushed him to doctors in the beginning because I was worried about autism…seizures…. you name it, it’d probably thought about it. His doctors said the same thing – it’s just his way of relaxing….like sucking his thumb. So, I left it alone until the sensory integration part came up – which has now led to him having to see a neurologist. I feel a little like everyone around me is saying “this is what’s wrong with your child” and I know that they all have Alex’s best interest in mind – but it’s overwhelming.

Alex is doing really well in school right now according to his grades and the papers he is bringing home. He was so excited last night because he past three timed math exams in a seven day period. I’m a bit concerned that all of this attention to his learning will become discouraging for him. It’s difficult to know if you’re doing the right thing and having to make these decisions alone has made me feel so incredibly isolated. He is such a bright kid and I just want him to do his absolute best and not have a roadblock that discourages him.

Alex's First College Course

Alex was sick yesterday and because my marketing class starts at 4:00 and it's an hour drive, I knew finding someone to sit with him would be very difficult and I had no luck.

I had a scheduled exam in my marketing class and the professor preset the course by saying he does not give make-up exams

Each exam is worth almost 1/4 of our total grade so missing an exam is significant and I didn't pay $1000 to go down like that

So, I brought Alex with me to class last night. Prior to going in, I showed him where the bathrooms were and explained that if he had to use the facilities, he should just get up and go without asking for permission. He sat - ate some gummy bears - watched a movie and was very well behaved (thankfully)

The professor didn't look too happy - but that's what you get when you threaten a woman who's been in school for almost a decade with a zero on a test.

Ethic Treats

Are Alex zingers getting old yet? Yeah, I know they probably are but the kid is cracking me up this week!

I made Quesada’s for lunch the other day with my snazzy Quesada maker…the one I received two Christmas’s ago but have only used once or twice.

I called Alex down for lunch. He looked at the Quesada’s and wrinkled his nose and said “Mom, you know that I don’t like things from Texas”

Things from Texas - the kids cracks me up!

College Savings

Watching mom work her way through school has obviously had a profound impact on Alex.

Alex: Mom, when can I get my own bank account

Mom: You already have a bank account

Alex: Yeah, but I have to waste all of that money on college