Look what I got.... for free!

I like free stuff. Everybody likes free stuff. And it's not very often you find something that is truly free, but I've actually found it. Swagbucks! It's simple and if there is any kind of catch, I have yet to find it in the two years that I've been using it. Being B's long-distance co-driver means I spend a LOT of time on the computer. Often I end up functioning as his search engine. I used to be a dedicated google user. Wouldn't touch Bing or any other search engine until I heard about Swagbucks. All I do is use their search engine instead of google. It's rare I don't get results with SB, but once in a blue moon I use google to search. Every time you use their search engine, you have a chance to win swagbucks, usually between 5 and 20 for the average search, but sometimes up to fifty. You don't win bucks for EVERY search, but I've had days where I can easily rack up 50 - 100 swagbucks. Swagbucks has a whole prize catalog you can redeem your bucks in, but I wait until I get 450 swagbucks and cash in for a $5 Amazon gift card. It's nice having these gift cards coming in regularly and I use it as my "play money" to spend on things I want but don't otherwise have the money for. My most recent score:

Total spent: $3.95 (for shipping because I didn't want to wait another week to get one more gift card to cover shipping too) More often than not, I pay absolutely nothing because I shop completely within my current gift card budget. I use my trucker's atlas on a daily basis to plan out B's trips and to track him and absolutely love having it. And seeing as soon I will be the one OTR, well, I've got my atlas! Since I got this about 3 weeks ago and spent all of my Amazon GC balance, I already have $15 on Amazon again that I plan on using on a BlueParrott bluetooth headset.

Check out Swagbucks!

B's Live & Learn tip of the day

Don't be the guy who falls asleep and doesn't wake up when the gates open.

These truckers aren't going to be like mommy and make sure you get to the school bus on time. They've all got loads to drop too and the sooner they do it, the sooner they can get ready for their next run. Time is money and it is more true in the trucking industry than most others. When you're told they open the gates at 2200, be ready at 2150.

And if you do decide to get your beauty sleep, don't be pissed when you find yourself at the back of the line.


 Fortunately this didn't happen to B, but that was this evening's entertainment: listening to the CB chatter and when one guy didn't wake up when it was go-time, those truckers started rolling right on around him.

The Map Game

I've found being B's stationary navigator and co-pilot to be quite a rewarding experience. The downside is that I don't get to see anything but the inside of my house ((or around town if I'm out running errands)). But there's nothing new for me other than maps and satellite images. Overall though, I'm extremely pleased with my unofficial job because it gives me something to do, and is important. I don't think B realizes what it means to me when I've heard him talking to people he meets and casually giving me credit for making his job a whole lot easier by being his map. He certainly doesn't have to acknowledge what I do to strangers, and it's unlikely anyone realizes that he has me on the phone even when he's in the truck stops or shippers. But it means a lot to hear him say it, because I know he means it then and isn't just saying something straight to me just to sugarcoat or win brownie points.

Besides having something to do, I'm learning a whole new skill that will only help me in the future. I can quickly utilize Google maps and my truckers' atlas to plan an ideal route that also guides along the fuel solution provided to him. Or like tonight, while calculating how far he could get before his 14-hour clock cut his drive time short, I discovered that if he skipped his planned fuel stop and went elsewhere, he would actually save more by filling at my stop than if he had filled at the stop where his company got a discount simply by crossing state lines. While my trucker focuses on driving, I take the time to plan out his total trip or end of shift stopping point, generally searching for a location where he still has a shower credit so he doesn't have to pay our of pocket or go without a shower. He takes me seriously and I know that if I screw up, then he screws up too. Even though we're separated by hundreds of miles, this is a team effort on our part and I love it.

Until we meet again

We made it through the first of many cycles of hello and goodbye. Having B home for my birthday was the best present I could ask for. We weren't expecting him to end up spending four days home considering he had only requested 36 hours, but thus is the unpredictable nature of the industry. Even if he had only stayed home for the requested amount of time, that would have just meant that he would be sitting on a load for 2 days only 3 hours away. So we got up at 4:00 this morning and took him back to where his truck was parked. It was rough on Boogie, but it's difficult to make a two-year-old understand. I can only hope this gets easier over time.

Having him home allowed us a chance to have fun, get necessary things accomplished, and then get ready for the cycle to begin anew. I lost count of how many times I started tearing up just watching my trucker and his newest son together for the first times and knowing that the next set of pictures I get with them together will have a very different baby in them. We bounced from place to place, just enjoying being together as a family. As much as I love him though, that man is bad for my diet! We must have eaten out almost every meal and I gained back several pounds I had worked so hard to lose, so now that he is gone, it's back to the grind for me.

My new outlook on housekeeping had me practically twitching at times over the weekend. Dishes on the sink, laundry on the bathroom floor... It was too close to the way I used to let things just pile up! The minute he went to lunch with a former co-worker and I was alone with the kids I immediately set about washing dishes and picking up. And then ended up going overboard and doing several loads of his laundry and folding his clothes. At one point yesterday I requisitioned his keys and took some groceries up to his truck, turned his fridge back on and took the sheets from his bunk so I could wash those too. And of course because men will be men, I found and removed most, if not all, of the trash in there so he can at least start from scratch. So I was able to send him off this morning knowing all of his clothes have been washed, his sheets are fresh and clean, he has food until next payday at least, and he has a freshly baked batch of brownies to munch on. If anything I just wanted him to feel taken care of because he is out there working hard and sacrificing seeing his kids grow up to support us.

I'm surprised with how "okay" I am with my trucker leaving. This was the first time he came home and left again with both of us knowing that it will be weeks before we can hold one another and be together again. I don't know if this is because I want to be the one leaving OTR and letting him stay home with the kids to be Mr Mom or if it's just easier because I turn around have him in my ear again as I hit the maps and plan his next stops. I might not be a crying wreck, but I am already looking forward to his next hometime, whenever that may be. Until then, I pray that God helps steady the wheel and keep that rig rolling between the white lines all the way home.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

The 24 hour countdown...

...has begun! I cannot even begin to describe my excitement. My trucker has his load and tonight will make it frustratingly close to home by the time his drive time is up. But he'll be home tomorrow morning! I couldn't ask for a better birthday present than to have B home with me for the next few days. Boogie is going to be so happy and B will finally meet his new baby who is five weeks old already!

Recipes to Go: Nacho Cheese Soup

Nacho Cheese Soup is something my mum made one night when she got the recipe from one of her email lists. I was skeptical at first, but gave it a try and really enjoyed it! The best part is that this is a one pot meal and is one that can be cooked on the truck in a slow cooker.

1 can nacho cheese soup
1 can chicken broth
1 can Rotel
1 can diced green chile
2 cans canned chicken
1 package taco seasoned shredded cheese

Throw all ingredients in the slow cooker on low for a few hours and then serve in a bowl over crumbled tortilla chips. I intend on making this at home and freezing a couple portions to vacuum seal in the food saver and send with B on the road for an easy heat n' eat meal option. For moms at home, this is an easy meal that should even please the kids!

And after the storm, a rainbow

It's reassuring to know that there are rainbows, little slivers of happiness after life rains all over you. Sometimes it's small meaningless things that simply make you smile and other times it is something more significant things. Yesterday was one of those rainbow days for me. My trucker got a good run to finish his week and is on schedule so knowing there's a good paycheck coming is a major stress relief! I was also very pleased to go up to the Lowes where we often see trucks parked and speak to a manager and secure permission for B to park when he's able to make it home. I had been calling all over and searching for somewhere to park the truck and being able to cross that off my list with more than a week to spare was a wonderful feeling.

Two days ago, a very special dog rejoined my family for good. Clue is a 9 year old border collie that my mum got as an older puppy and he lived with us for years. Over the course of his life, he did live with two others, but fate kept bringing him back. This time when I received a phone call, the answer was out of my mouth before the question was even fully asked. Clue was coming to live with me. I immediately called my trucker to confirm that he had no qualms over this, but he has never been one to deny me my pets. But I still felt the need to at least ask. At 9 years old, Clue is starting to show his age a bit. He's not particularly fond of going up and down stairs and I can hear his joints crackle a bit when he gets up and down. But his mind is as sharp as ever and in his usual fashion, last night learned a new trick in under ten minutes. I taught him to "go night night". I've been on cloud nine for the past couple days having him here. He's such a love and actually barks at the things that go bump in the night that make me anxious.


I guess some things are just meant to be.

When it rains, it pours...

It seems to me that when one thing goes wrong, then everything goes wrong. B can't seem to catch a break right now and we are both frustrated. Every day is something different. But there is SOMETHING that just doesn't go right. From the trailer wash out that ate up two hours of his tight schedule that he ended up not needing, sending him off the wring exits, it just feels like nothing is going right right now. He seems discouraged and it makes me sad because I truly want him to succeed!

And then on the home front, whenever I drive my car anywhere it overheats. It doesn't mater if it is 2 minutes or 20, my car is not happy. It won't hold radiator fluid and the water pump is possibly shot. Plus there is a leak in one of the hoses too! We can't afford the shop until next month! We have bills and rent to pay before we fix the car.

My cat is sad that his buddy is gone and is now refusing food to the point he has lost a lot of weight and is fairly skinny.

Devlin's pediatrician isn't happy that he has only gained 2 oz since birth. He has a normal number of diapers and is hydrated. I'm just happy that I'm able to mostly breastfeed this time.

This has just been one of those overwhelming weeks where I keep asking "Can't something just go right already?"

How a piece of cloth has saved my sanity (or most of it, anyways)

Being a trucker's wife (or girlfriend) and having kids together is something akin to being a single parent. Day in and day out, you are the only one available to kiss booboos, change diapers, shop for groceries, clean house, pay the bills and all of the other tasks that come with maintaining a household. When you're sick with the flu, the kids don't get put on hold. There's no one else to tag out with and take a break from everything and it can be incredibly overwhelming. B left for orientation not long before Devlin was born, so for the past couple weeks I have been dealing with the overwhelming hurricane of postpartum hormones AND a rambunctious two-year-old on my own. Boogie has been even more difficult to manage because he has been acting out because he doesn't understand why or where his daddy has gone. Grocery shopping is a nightmare. I often dread leaving the house because even the smallest trip becomes a chore. Devlin is the most mellow baby except if I try to put him down in his swing or pack n play. He will cry until I pick him up. He will cry forever. Or it feels that way at least.

It seems impossible to get things done with a newborn who doesn't want to be put down. But one thing has saved my sanity: my ring sling. At this point I could just about profess my undying love to that piece of cloth. It started its life as a paprika BBslen woven wrap and its previous owner had it converted to a ring sling. I later bought it and used it some with Boogie, who was an older baby at that time. I have used it every single day with Devlin since we came home. Wearing Devlin frees up my hands to wash dishes, do laundry, pick up the house, walk the dog... anything. It saves me from having to lug the carseat into the grocery store and take up most of the basket. But most of all, it keeps my baby close where he is warm and content to sleep. As the days grow cooler I will break out the Sleepy Wrap and when Devlin gets bigger we will try the Ergo. Boogie still enjoys being worn in the Ergo from time to time.

Without some kind of productivity in my day, I start getting anxious. Whether it's planning my trucker's time schedule for the day, finding him a truck stop, doing the dishes or vacuuming, I need some kind of progress in my day. This kind of forward motion keeps me from dwelling on the fact that B isn't here and feeling like I'm "stuck". Instead, I keep my eyes on the horizon and know that each passing day is one day closer to him coming home. With as needy as my newborn is right now, wearing him grants me more freedom. When Boogie was born, I started wearing him because I enjoyed it. Now with two kids, babywearing is simply the most practical solution. And it's a solution I love!

 Grocery shopping today with a toddler in the basket, a newborn in the sling and my trucker in my ear. That's about as easy as it gets while B is OTR.

Thinking outside of the box

Being dirt poor has it's advantages: it sparks creativity when fueled by desperation. In B's case, he hasn't been able to swing by the house to outfit his truck with essentials. He's getting by with a few changes of clothes, his shower bag and my netbook, but not much more than that. After a week on the road, his food supply is dwindling and at this point isn't much more than some stale bread, some wilting lettuce, even more wilted salad, a tomato and some frozen burritos. The downside to the frozen burritos is that they need to be cooked before they can be eaten. When you get a truck it's not like being handed the keys to a fully furnished apartment. In other words, B doesn't have any way to cook right now. Money is tight enough right now that eating all his meals out is not feasible when we have kids to care for and bills to pay. And the fact that today is a bank holiday and delayed his paycheck certainly doesn't help either.

So with next to nothing to eat, B spent a while wracking his brain to figure out how to get his burrito to an edible state. What he ended up doing was cranking the heat up in his truck, then taping one of the burritos near his heater vent at the base of his bunk and left it there for half an hour.

Leave it to a hungry man to come up with that! It's not nearly as convenient as being able to throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes, but it was better than anything else he had to eat. I've gotta give him credit for resourcefulness and for giving me a good laugh. My poor trucker! He's really roughing it tonight.

Meals to $ave: Tater Tot Casserole

While it's true that there is good money to be made driving OTR, that doesn't mean that trying to save money at home is out of the question. One great way to save money is to prepare meals that stretch. Especially if you are only feeding yourself, or yourself and the kids. One of my favorite meals to stretch is tater tot casserole... if you don't devour it all at once! It was a recipe my trucker came home with from his previous job and was an instant hit. The best part about this is that it actually heats up the next day and tastes as good as, if not BETTER, than it did when it was prepared fresh! It's super easy to make and even impressed Boogie. And most moms know that it can be a feat in itself to find something two please a picky two year old!

11/2 lbs hamburger meat (you can use just 1lb, but 1 1/2 seems to work better)
1 bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 jar pizza sauce (we prefer Classico)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag tater tots

Brown the meat along with onion and bell pepper. In 13x9 dish, combine meat mixture and sauce then cover with mozzarella cheese. Spread frozen tater tots evenly over the mixture then cover with cheddar cheese and bake in oven according to the directions on tater tot bag.

This is a great meal to have again as leftovers or even put half in the freezer later on. It's one of B's favorites and is filling so I will be sure to save a serving or two with the Food Saver to send along in his freezer on the truck when he comes home again. Except for the pizza sauce and produce (obviously), I buy all store brand ingredients. I get it all for under $15 and when you make it a meal for two nights, you're not even spending $8 on dinner for everyone.

And of course I know B would want me to recommend topping it with some Texas Pete's hot sauce, but that man put Texas Pete's on everything. ;) Bon appétit!

B's Live & Learn tip of the day

As a new trucker, there are plenty of opportunities to learn as you go. Not all of these opportunities are things you actually want to encounter, nonetheless you have a chance to learn from it.

Check your trailer's landing gear before disconnecting. As B witnessed yesterday morning (not his own truck fortunately!), there is no guarantee that both supports will engage properly. So when this happens and you unknowingly try to pull forward? Your trailer threatens to tip over. When you're doing a swap and that load is on a tight deadline, a tipped trailer is not something you want to be calling RoadAssist about first thing in the morning.

Fortunately, disaster was avoided and the trailer didn't actually tip, but it was an unexpected delay. The culprit behind it all? A single 3/8" bolt that held a connecting rod that allowed the landing gear to deploy simultaneously decided to go AWOL. That one little bolt could have left an inattentive or hurried driver with a trailer on its side and you know that wouldn't go over very well with the higher-ups.

We can joke about it now since it ended up being nothing more than a hiccup in getting on the road for the day, but B will be checking that on his pre- and post-trips from now on!

Our adventure begins!

I'll start by saying that when I first found out I was pregnant, I didn't picture myself in this position at all. I think most women envision themselves and their significant other together in the delivery room welcoming their new baby and then bringing him or her home to settle in as a new family. As it stands, I am a (nearly) 26 year old mother of two and proud trucker's girlfriend. B and I have been together for nearly 4 years. Our oldest son "Boogie" is 2 years old and our little one is only three weeks old. The end of this pregnancy was a stormy up and down experience as pregnancy induced hypertension began to really take a toll on me. During the last two months, B was attending a truck driving school to obtain his CDL while I stayed home on bedrest taking care of Boogie and filling out numerous job applications. To this day I still don't even know my own driver's license number, but can reel off B's drivers license, expiration, social, and past five years of work history, complete with addresses and phone numbers.

I was so excited when my trucker got his CDL at the end of August but began wondering which would come first: our baby's arrival around September 23 or B's departure for orientation for a new job. We were hurting for money so postponing the job hunt was out of the question. On September 3rd, we decided to set an induction date for the 17th. Later that week we got a phone call that I had been hoping for and dreading... B landed a job. More significant was that he was given his departure date: September 10th. I was crushed as now I had a deadline more or less if B was going to be with me in the delivery room. There was no one else in the world I could imagine being with me because I'm a private person. My attempts to jumpstart labor over the weekend came with no success and I was left with a broken heart and a toddler who was screaming for his daddy as the Greyhound bus rumbled away on Monday night. On Thursday the 13th at my doctor's appointment it was decided that I would go in the next morning for induction because my blood pressure was getting out of control and I was contracting regularly anyways. The next day was a whirlwind of emotion for me and really all I wanted was to have B at my side. I was fortunate that things went well. I delivered an 8lb 14.2oz baby boy at 12:47 and the first thing I did after touching him was to text B who was at job orientation and then ask a nurse to use my phone to take pictures. That night we were able to video chat over our phones so he could "meet" baby Devlin.

Since coming home, I have had good days an bad days and looked forward to any calls or occasional texts I received because until now, my trucker and I had been together every single day. I was genuinely interested to hear about the things he encountered during training and secretly I was a little jealous because I have wanted to be a truck driver since I was in the eighth grade and here he was doing it while I was home with the kids. When he was assigned his own truck, a 2012 Kenworth T700, I was thrilled for him and filled with a renewed sense of pride. When I have moments where I sit here feeling sorry for myself because I'm home alone raising two kids, I firmly remind myself that I am lucky to be able to stay home with them while B is out over the road, also all alone, working hard while he waits for the chance to come home and see how his family has grown.

I must admit that I've probably been in need of a reality check since I graduated from high school. I've never been truly on my own and there has always been someone there to make sure I don't screw up too badly. Now I've been essentially thrown to the sharks! I have organized and micro organized everything. I have "The Brain" which is a small organizer book where I write down every bill and when it's due as well as appointments. I figure in a weekly expense allowance for my trucker as well as how much I need for household expenses while trying to be as thrifty as possible. I have found this ongoing task to be quite satisfying. I am so excited that we will be climbing out of debt and getting ahead.

I have reached out to the online community and found other truckers' wives and girlfriends who are in the same situation. And it's not just a situation, it is a lifestyle in which our little family has just entered into. There is a growing strength within me that is determined not to fail. My trucker is out there driving long hours to make the money and with it I will pay the bills, feed and clothe our children and put away for the future. A month ago, I was depressed and nothing but miserable... just trying to get through each day. But this week, I woke up one morning, pulled my head out of my ass, and knowing that I am the one who sets the tone for my day I chose to also gave a sense of pride in myself. Since giving birth I have already lost 40 lbs and that sparked an enthusiasm to better my lifestyle. I am eating better and finding time to exercise. It's an almost rabid obsession right now because I cannot wait to see the look on my trucker's face when he sees how much I've changed (for the better)! Our house was a pig sty when B left. By the time he comes home it will be clean. There is some magical property in coffee that turns me into a crack squirrel and I just start cleaning. Half way through a cup, my brain suddenly goes "CLEAN ALL THE THINGS" and it just goes from there. Now that I see progress I am excited and proud of myself for making another positive change. I have been forced to reclaim a sense of independence which has been incredibly refreshing for me because I didn't realize what I had lost.

So first I am mommy two my two boys and then I am Suzy Homemaker, but I've found a third hat to wear in what I think of as this "trucker's wifestyle". Even though we are not married, I think being together for four  years and having two kids together is enough for me to be allowed to consider us married on all but paper... I'm certainly more than a casual girlfriend and my trucker easily fulfills the role of husband in my heart! My newest hat to wear is that of stationary navigator and co-pilot and is a role I am thoroughly enjoying. Hearing the relief in my trucker's voice when I assure him he is running on time and how much squeeze room he has is enough for me. He says that right now while he is a newbie, it takes a big weight off of his shoulders to not necessarily have to calculate every time/mileage scenario. I've already caught a screw up in his second route/fuel stop plan that he was given. And his GPS is on my shit list right now because it has only been trouble so far. I told B that anything I can do to make his life easier whether it just be taking care of the kids, or trying to help bail him out of a tight spot, that's what my job is. Maybe one day we will team drive once the kids are older.

I have learned a lot about a lot of different things in the last couple weeks. I've been learning about the trucks, the job, DOT stuff and hearing a lot about different companies and the types of work. But mostly I've learned a lot about myself and that I am a stronger person than I thought. I fully support my trucker and stand behind him because he is out there missing the chance to see his boys grow up. Before now, I never gave much thought to the lives of truck drivers or the families they leave behind, but now I understand. It's not a job, it's a lifestyle.  And for me this isn't just a situation I'm in... it's a wifestyle.