New Job.. Maybe?

It's been quite the road these past few weeks.  To kind of give you a quick background, the past few months Fehi has been interested in Union Pacific Railroad.  He applied everywhere, Wyoming, Portland, Las Vegas, Provo, SLC, etc.  After months of applying and not hearing anything back, he finally got an invite to attend 3 different hiring sessions at 3 different locations, one of which was Salt Lake City.  We were pretty excited about that because all we hear is good things about the Railroad, and well my husband has a goal to retire early so he can spend the rest of his time with his family.  So he accepted a hiring session in Salt Lake City.  He did great at the session.  The next day they called and extended the job offer to him.  So the first step was done.  He then had to do the New Hire Registration, call and set up appointments to do a Physical Abilities Test and Get a Medical Examination.  He passed both and was given his info for training.  Second step = done.

Monday was his first day of training.  Luckily for us, training is done at SLCC 2 minutes down the road from where we live.  It's from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, but it's just so much information that he comes home and studies until he sleeps.  Though he's made it this far with the Railroad, he has to pass all his training.  So this is just one more step he has to do.  What we thought would be only 4 weeks of training, is now looking to be 6 months of training (so they say).  He trains 4 weeks in a class, he has to take a test and has to pass the first time with 85% or higher, if he doesn't, he gets only one retake but has to get 90% or higher.  If he doesn't pass then that's the end of the road.  After those 4 weeks, it's then out in the field for 4 more weeks, then back again into the classroom for Conductor training, etc.  I have faith he will pass.  It's definitely a challenge for him, but I know this is something he wants and something we need as a family.  Though he's dead tired each day, he pushes himself to study everything and learn it all.  I guess the way it works is before UP would hire someone specifically to be the crewman, the conductor, the engineer, etc.  But instead they will train them to be all the above.  It saves the company money, but it's demanding on the workers.  I've heard the pay will make up for it, but I guess we'll see when that happens.

It's gonna be a rough few weeks, but I pray and hope my husband can get through it all, and pass these tests with flying colors.  I've never seen him want something so bad, and being the hard worker and great person he is, he deserves it. Wish us best of luck!

Upcoming Changes!

Where do I even start?? There are some changes for our family and I like most of them, but I'm definitely dreading some of them that will eventually come. First of all, as you know my little sister has been here from Hawaii for a little over 3 weeks now.  Since she's been here my mom told us that she wanted her to stay here and go to school here for a year, and she wondered if that was ok with us.  I told her Yeah, that we don't mind but she had to talk to my little sister about it.  After asking and confirming with her, I guess it's official and she'll be living with us and going to school here for her 5th grade year.  So now my mom is in the process of making me a legal guardian and now I have to go find out what I need to do to enroll her into school here.  I'm excited, and I hope she is too.  She'll get to experience a lot out here, but I think she'll mostly be excited to see snow for the first time. ;) And now I'm reminded of all the winter clothes I'm going to have to buy her... awesome. lol.

Some other changes in our family is Fehi has put in his 2 weeks to go from full-time to PRN, where he'll only be working 1 or 2 days a week at the treatment center.  I'm SUPER excited about this because that means he'll be home 5/6 nights a week (he's worked graves since before baby moe was born, so that's a lot of nights away from home!) and most of all he'll get to rest and not work so hard.  For the past few months he's worked 2 jobs full-time and though he never complains, I just don't want my husband to tire himself out. So when he told me on Monday morning that he put in his 2 weeks to go to PRN I was happy.  I'm mostly happy for him because the treatment center he works at has had some major changes as well, and it has affected a lot of people there.  My husband has worked there for almost 4 years and a lot of people recognize his hard work, and how well he works with the kids, and they have even rewarded him with gift cards and recognitions for his work, but yet they don't want to give him a higher position.  He's applied for the supervisor position 3 times just this year (and all 3 times he was urged by management to apply) and each time the position is given to someone who everyone knows is less qualified for the job.  There have also been occasions where they've tried to get him to go for a different position by giving him for a far lesser pay (only a 50 cent raise from the $9.90 he makes now.. yeah their pay sucks).  It's really just insulting when they do stuff like that to him, so it was time to just give it a break.

Now with him working less hours there, he can pick up more hours at Costco.  Which brings up more changes.  He's officially off his 90-day probation from Costco, and he has moved to part-time.  Fehi loves working at Costco, and can really see himself growing with them.  He's been talking to management about the possibility of moving up, and they all tell him that they really see him moving up fast, to even being a manager.  The head-honcho of the Costco that Fehi works at pulled him aside one day and told him that he's heard nothing but great things about him, and he wants to try to make him full-time by the end of the year.  Which is a really GREAT thing because there are people who have been waiting at least 5 years to go full-time.  One of the managers even mentioned to Fehi about moving to the mid-west because that's where Costco is thriving, and he could possibly be a manager within two years.  Which brings up the change that I'm dreading.  This manager told Fehi that mid-west is where it's at and if he wants to move up fast he should try going there.  So when my hubby approached me about the possibility of moving I just cried (mind you, he told me this just a few days after giving birth to our son).  I would cry and get so upset that I wouldn't even talk to him. lol.  Then after a day or so I was ok, and never talked about it again.  But then he would bring it up again and I would cry and get upset at him again. lol.  But after the 3rd or 4th time of bringing it up, I was finally ready to talk about it.

I know my husband wouldn't want to move for the heck of it, but rather he's thinking about our family and providing well for our family.  I told him that if he decides to move to the mid-west, that it would just be him going.  I don't want to loose my job at Delta, and I really don't want to move anywhere else so he would move and we would stay here.  I know that if this does happen it'll be the hardest thing we'll have to go through because I don't like to be apart from my husband, and I know my husband doesn't want to be apart from our family.  It's all still up in the air, and if it does happen it may not happen for a few more months or so, but I told him that we first and foremost definitely need to pray and fast about this, and then second I need to know where in the mid-west he thinks he'll go, and then from there we'll move on.  I just hate the thought of our family being separated and my kids not get to see their daddy, especially Baby Hinckley not having his dad around for all his "firsts" and vice versa, but since all is not set in stone just yet, I'm not going to stress out too much over it.

These are basically the changes that are in the works right now for our family.  Though some of them are exciting, and the thought of my husband being away from us isn't so exciting, I know that it's all for a greater purpose.  I couldn't ask for a greater husband because I know everything he does is for us, his family.  He's the best husband ever, and I love him to eternity and back!

36 Weeks & Braxton Hicks

35 Weeks Pregnant.. Belly Bump

So tomorrow I'm officially 36 weeks pregnant! I still can't believe that I'm ALMOST there, but I'm very very excited. At my last appointment (last Tuesday) my midwife measured my belly, and confirmed that baby's head down and feels about 6 lbs right now to her. I also gained 2 pounds, making it a total of 9 pounds this pregnancy. I had talked with my midwife about my weight gain not really sure if it was something to be concerned about or not. I mean I know technically (according to US/palagni standards) I'm obese lol but I've never gained such little weight. My last two pregnancies I would gain somewhere between 20-30 pounds, but she assured me that I was ok and because I actually am "obese" (no she didnt say that to me lol) I'm not suppose to gain as much and am on track for my pregnancy as far as weight gain. So yay for that, I guess (except the obese part lol).

This pregnancy has treated me very well, and I'm glad I've still been able to have the energy and stamina to keep up with my kids and work. Last week Friday I finally went over to seven peaks (salt lake city) to take my kids. The waterpark is across the street from my in-laws house, yet I've never been there. So Friday I met up with my sister in law and her little family and we had a blast. My kids LOVED it! This was their first time going to an actual waterpark so I was glad to be able to take them. Fehi had to work (boo) but he made sure to stress the importance of keeping his kids safe lol. He was so worried about them, about us, and the fact that Im pregnant and taking our kids to the waterpark. He asked me to buy them floaties for their arms and other stuff as well. I thought it was so cute how he was concerned, and it's understandable lol so I did what he asked and got them floaties for their arms and swim shoes so they wouldn't slip or fall on anything, and then when we got there I put life jackets on them as well, so I was pretty confident that they would be ok. We had TONS of fun and my belly and back was loving the water as well. :)

We stayed there for like 5 hours and afterwards we picked up Fehi from work. I was so tired and had to sleep for work the next morning and so I tried to sleep but couldn't. Around 1 in the morning I started getting those bloody Braxton hicks contractions (lol) and they lasted until 6 in the morning! They weren't super painful or anything, but more so irritating because I knew I had to get some kind of rest before getting up at 330am to get ready for work at 430am. By 230am I was even more irritated and even more tired because they didn't go away. Those Braxton hicks contractions were coming what seemed like every 4-5 minutes and they were starting to hurt my back. So around 230am Fehi told me I should call in sick to work and so I decided to do that. And I'm glad I did because I didnt get any kind of sleep and I would'nt have been able to function at work.

So finally at 6am I knocked out and I didn't feel anything else the rest of the day. Then at night (last night) they started to come back again. I was hoping they'd die down, and they did (thank goodness) and I was able to get a good maybe 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep (thanks to my hubby). So this morning at work I was ok, but I'm still 36 weeks pregnant and right now with summer travel it's getting pretty busy. For the last 2 weeks they have been putting me at Kiosk Assist, which works out for me because I'm not lifting as much bags, but since numbers have been big and they need more help at baggage drop, they've been sticking me there this week. And baggage drop is a killer (pregnant or not) because your tagging and lifting bags nonstop. I've been debating on leaving on my maternity leave early and I would always say that I'd just work until I give birth, but I decided to just talk to my midwife and ask for a note to excuse me from work. I talked to my Redcoat about it as well and she was cool about it and said I needed to take care of myself and baby first and that Delta will always be there. She said its gonna be busy with summer travel picking up and that they have to have more people at baggage drop because of it. And though they probably would rather I not be a baggage drop, they can't help it because they need the people there... And I totally understand that, and don't mind it. But it does take a toll on my body, especially when I don't get good rest. And last night was actually considered good rest lol.

So I'm pretty happy with the decision to go on my leave early. I just hope that my midwife agrees. I think it'll be good as well to be able to have one on one time with two little ones before the baby comes and takes most of my attention away from them. And it'll be nice to NOT have to wake up at 3 in the morning, and also not get weird looks when the passenger sees a pregnant women lifting their 50 pound bags lol. So wish me luck! :)

Pictures from this week:

Kids keeping me busy while getting an oil change

Little miss cheesy smile! lol

Moe showing me his toy and kesaia pretending to eat with her spoon lol

Playing with the water beach ball again

Love it when daddy is off from work = Family time!

Knocked out after having fun with daddy

She was out too! lol

SLC Delta Flash Mob

I just had to post this cause it was awesome! I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of working at Delta here in SLC, and I have to say that the people I work with are AWESOME.  For months they had emails and postings about a flash mob, and invited us all to come out and learn the dances and participate.  I didn't get a chance to do it because I've been busy with school and my family, but I love the end result and how they pulled it off! I recognize a lot of them, and even one of the trainers (the only man dancing at first)... I'm so gonna say something to him when I see him lol. I just hope there wasn't any delays while they had the flash mob, hahahha.. jk! ;)

Perks of Working at Delta...

One of the many perks of working at Delta is the chance of meeting celebrities... :)  As cheesy as it may sound, it is true.  However, I use to run into more of them when I worked mornings.  I've gotten to see Dr. Oz and his wife, a rapper named Tygah (??? I had to google his name to find out who he was.. true story... the only reason I found out he was on my flight is because a kid told me), I've also seen M.C. Hammer but all those times I've never actually talked to them or anything; just saw them, got excited for a little bit, but kept my cool cause you know I was trying to be professional. ;)  Well now that I work nights, and at the B-gates (where we handle all the small flights) I don't see as much celebrities.  Tonight, however, was different.  :)

I was boarding my flight to Omaha and this guy walks up and asks me have we boarded yet, and I told him that we did but to hold off for a little bit (because we had someone in a wheelchair getting seated).  Then when I looked at him I said "Hmm... You look familiar..." and he just smiled, and I said "Where do I know you from..." and he didn't say much, and I kept (ahem) harassing him because I just knew him from somewhere but I couldn't pinpoint where.  Then I kept bothering him and finally he said "Yeah my name is Chad Murray".  And I said "Ok, but where do I know you from?" and he wouldn't say what movie or anything, so I said "Okay, I'm gonna google your name just so you know.. " lol So of course I let him go, but I could NOT remember what movie he was from.  Then it dawned on me that he was "Austin" from a Cinderella Story!! Which happens to be one of my favorite teenage girl movies! :)

I do have to say he looks even better in person. lol. So after I figured out where I knew him from, I went on the airplane to give the flight attendants their closing paperwork and then I went to him (of course he was sitting in first class) and I told him "Now I know who you are! You're the guy from 'A Cinderella Story'!" lol.  He just laughed and then he said "Well, it's nice to meet you!" and he shook my hand. :) lol. I do have to say that I probably irritated his girlfriend (I think her name is Kenzie Dalton).  She was probably like get away from my man you stalker! hahahaha. It was fun though, and I think I got a little headache from all the excitement of meeting him. But a nice cold can of Coke took care of that for me. lol. One of my co-workers was so mad that she didn't get to see him, and we actually tried to see if we could see him (from the outside of the plane) when we were walking back to our break room, but we couldn't so we just left.  Oh and I didn't get a picture with him, or of him... I'm just not that nervy, but he did hand me this part of his boarding pass, and of course I kept it. lol.

Chad Murray's Boarding Pass
*don't mind my fake nail that needs to be filled lol*

Taking It One Day At A Time

You know when things seem to get so hectic, and it seems like the long list of "to-do's" just keep growing, I have to pause for a second and be thankful for all I have. This week we got news that we would be re-bidding our shifts at Delta.  It kind of sucks, ok, I lie, it really sucks.  I've gotten really comfortable in my schedule, working up at the C concourse in the morning, and I've gotten to know my team and I don't want it to change.  But for whatever reason, they decided to make all 98 of us re-bid so we could add in 12 more people.  Doesn't make much sense to me, but it's whatever.  Oh and btw, I'm number 106 of 110. LOL. Yeah my seniority sucks, but I'm just grateful to still have a job, a wonderful job that allows me to have the benefits that I have.  I'm hoping that I'll still be able to get my same shift, as long as I don't have to end up at ticket counter, especially with all these winter bags (skis, snowboards, etc.) I definitely don't want to be lifting all of that.  Also, we have our school schedule for next semester almost set.  We were trying to take all our classes on Tuesday-Thursday, because let's face it, with my seniority I highly doubt I'll get any other days off but Tuesday-Thursday.

And since I'm on the topic, it's a little hectic figuring out our school schedule.  I just realized that it's actually really hard to get into an evening class.  It seems like most of the evening classes go first before morning classes, and that's probably because the students are like us, we have jobs and other things to take care of in the morning.  So we were suppose to take our Biology class this semester, but now it seems we'll have to drop that and take a math class.  At SLCC, if you don't take a math class every year, until you are done with your math classes, you'll have to take a test and pass it to see which math class you'll go in (kind of like the placement test).  So we have to drop the biology class, and now we're taking math, psychology (yes again lol) and english.  Lately I've been thinking about how long it'll take us to get this nursing degree.  There's a few classes you have to take before you can even apply to the program.  And we've been taking prereqs this whole time, so that we can take those classes.  Now, only next semester will we start on 1 of those 5 classes.  It just seems like it'll take us forever, I even told my husband last night that I was rethinking doing nursing.  I just told him about how long I feel it's gonna take, and it only gets harder each semester as we juggle work schedules, class schedules, and especially figuring out who will watch our children.  We could take classes separately, but we don't want to, we want to do it together.  I did apply for childcare assistance, but we found out that they only give assistance for times when your work schedule overlaps.  Well that doesn't do me much good. LOL.  They are looking into it, and hopefully we'll get something for when we go to school. My husband did reassure me that we are making the right choice.  Thought it'll get tough, and we may have some extra planning to do, we are doing what's right, especially with the field we've decided to go into.

No matter the circumstances, I keep thinking about the Lord and my faith in him.  He's helped us out this far, and I need to continue to have faith that things will work out.  They always have.  It's all about taking it one day at a time, it seems that if I do that, things don't seem as stressful or hectic and we seem to work things out fairly well.  I know something will work out for us, the Lord knows how important it is for our kids to be safe and cared for properly, and also how important it is for us to finish our schooling.  With changes comes growth, and I know we will continue to be strengthened through all this. :)