Bored = Driving around or Grocery Trips

Today we went to the Preschool office to enroll Kyle for the rest of the school year, which apparently is only a week and a half left.  Preschool lets out next Tuesday.  He will go on Thursday and Friday of this week and hopefully Monday and Tuesday of next week.  He couldn't start tomorrow because they are going on a field trip! 

We also set up a "transition meeting" which allows us to meet with the school representatives to set him up for Kindergarten. 

On our way home, we found the school he will be attending for 4 days.  We will be transporting Kyle to and from school just because it would take 10 days just to set up the bus schedule. 

We also needed a few things, so we went to Harris Teeter just before going home.  Harris Teeter is a grocery store that is open 24 hours a day!  I also signed up for their "savings club card" just so we can save on their sales and specials they have every week!  Shannon and I really like that store and Kyle seems to like it too because they had balloons at the registers and on several displays.  They have a lot of organic fruits and vegetables and other food products!  Another thing we liked about the store is that they have a few more varieties of greek yogurt and they also carry sushi! 

8 Days

Today is our 8th day in our new apartment!  We seem to have a nice routine down.  Next week, we're going to stop by the Exceptional Children's department at the school district to drop off some paperwork.  I finally heard back from the lady I was waiting to hear back from.  She wants a copy of his latest IEP so she can determine what services Kyle will need. 

Since we've been in our new apartment, I have read two books!  I have one more book to read and write a review for.  I am so glad I am almost caught up.  I am really enjoying reading books and doing reviews.  I am still doing product reviews too.  Since we moved, I've been working on catching up on my reviews and also trying to do all of the cleaning, laundry, changing our information, and just making sure everything is caught up and taken care of. 

Shannon took our car in to get fixed and we finally got it back yesterday!  Shannon said it runs like new!  In addition, they fixed the interior lights and the electrical on the inside so now our clock works and our radio stations can be programmed again.  The lock works to where we could probably use the alarm clicker again.  Shannon has to manually use the car key to open the driver side door and then unlock each door manually.  Our final bill was over $1400!  We eventually want to get the car re-painted because there is rust on the top of the car.  We also want to get it reupholstered, eventually. 

This week, Kyle started saying "pee pee."  He likes sitting on the potty (with all of his clothes on) but now he likes saying "pee pee" and then one of us takes him to the potty.  He still likes to sit with his clothes on or he'll pull down his pants.  We'll have to get him pull ups and try it that way... 

Waking up early

This entire week, I started waking up early (usually around 5 AM - 6 AM) so that I have some time for myself in the morning before Kyle gets up.  I wanted some peace and quiet while I workout and maybe do some reading.  It's been really nice and working out for perfectly to get some alone time.  This morning I woke up around 4:15 AM. 

I am doing two loads of laundry today and will slowly try to catch up on all the other things I need to wash (sheets and towels we don't absolutely need right away). 

Shannon took our car in for it's 60,000 mile "check up."  Our car needs it bad too.  We are hoping they can fix the A/C and heater.  When it's winter and we turn on the heat, it fogs up the car.  The A/C works fine but when it's time to use the heat (for the winter time) it may not work properly.  Hopefully they can fix that for us.  So far, this will cost us around $1300 as of this morning.  We're hoping it won't be more than that. 

I found a recipe to make "mocha frappe" and "caramel frappe" like the ones at McDonald's.  Shannon and I love the frappes.  Shannon likes the caramel frappe and I like the mocha frappe.  Instead of spending about $3 for each, I decided to search for a "copycat" recipe of both coffee drinks.  The recipe is really easy too! 

We went to Walmart yesterday for a few more groceries and other things.  I finally found Borax there!  So I made a batch of homemade laundry soap today. 

Washing machine works!

Shannon finally called the place where we are renting out washer and dryer from and they said they would send someone out to look at it.  He literally showed up about a half hour later, maybe even less than that.  Well, our washer is now working!  I am so excited! 

The school district

I've been waiting for days for the school district to call me or email me.  I emailed the lady from the Exceptional Children's program on Sunday night (hoping she'd receive it on Monday morning).  She hasn't called me or emailed me.  Then I called and left a message for her and her assistant this morning and they still haven't called me back.  I guess I'll call everyday until I get a call from them.  I was told that we could enroll him for the rest of this school year and also for next year. 

Kyle really should be in school, which would give Shannon and I a break!  We need a break from Kyle and we need some alone time. 

Still unpacking

We've been at our new apartment for the last few nights and so far it's going good for Shannon and I.  Kyle is having a hard time adjusting.  He's not used to this "new routine" and this new place of ours.  He doesn't want to take a bath and hasn't taken one since Thursday night.  I may have to force him to take one.  He also does not like to take his socks off when it's time to go to bed.  The last few nights, we've taken his socks off while he's asleep but in the morning he freaks out until he has socks on again.  He also likes wearing his shoes all the time (except when it's time for bed).  He puts his shoes on first thing in the morning. 

Other than that, we've been unpacking a little each day and trying to get used to everything.  The first few days, the sink in the bathroom wasn't working to where it was barely dripping water out of the faucet so we had to have that fixed.  Our washer is not working, the company that we're renting it from didn't give us the right part to hook it up to our sink.  We have a ton of laundry to do.  I've been hand washing a little bit every day in the bathtub and putting it in the dryer to dry!  I am so glad our dryer works. 

Our oven doesn't have a timer, nor does it beep to let me know when it's heated and ready to go.  Luckily I have a kitchen timer.  

Today, I unpacked our pots and pans and our knives!  We are also working on putting our clothes into our dresser drawers!  It's so nice to have dressers for our clothes! 

Our last night!

We had a busy day today!  After we got Kyle on the school bus, we packed up and organized everything else that needed to packed away into the UHaul.  I pulled out our clothes for tonight and tomorrow.  We wanted everything [that needed to be packed into the UHaul] to be ready to go at 9:30 AM. 

Shannon, his dad, and the neighbor left around 9:30 AM to drive the UHaul to our new apartment to unload it.  Apparently it only took them 30 minute to unload all of our stuff.  The neighbor did most of the heavy lifting and moving everything, he kept insisting on doing everything. They were back around 12:30 PM or so. 

While Shannon was gone, I did a little more cleaning and organized our stuff to make sure it was all ready to go for another trip we were taking after Kyle got home from school.  I also had time to update my blogs!  I wrote two book reviews for my blogs!  I am trying to get caught up on my reviews.  I have 4 product reviews to do and 3 books to read and write reviews for!

Shannon packed the car while I waited for Kyle at the bus stop, so by the time Kyle and I got home, we were ready to go.  We left shortly after we let Kyle get settled in.  I washed his hands and gave him a snack and water.  We spent about 2 or 3 hours at our new apartment.  Shannon and I both had our own agendas!  He set up the TV stand, TV, cable box, computer table, etc.  Meanwhile, I cleaned our dining table and kitchen counter tops.  I also unpacked our clothes and hung them in the closet.  I also tried to empty as many boxes as I could so we could take them back to pack more.  I "helped" Shannon set up our mattresses.  We are considering getting a new TV because the one we have isn't digital as we bought this TV about 5-7 years ago! While we were at our new place, we realized that there is no light fixtures in the bedrooms or living room, so it was kind of dark.  We had to improvise and turn on the light nearest to the rooms we were in.  So, we need to buy lamps for the bedrooms and living room! 

I am a little concerned that my houseplants won't survive in our apartment.  Our windows don't get much light since they are covered/surrounded by bushes or trees.

Tonight is our last night here.  I can't wait until we are officially in our new place!  I hope we can figure out how to hook up the washer in the kitchen!  We still have a lot of cleaning and organizing to do!  I can't wait until our moving is done and over!  We plan on going grocery shopping this weekend so we'll have food!  We've been eating out all this week and I am already tired of it. 

Windex

Shannon is completely against the idea of "green cleaning."  Right now, I use Shaklee cleaning products, white vinegar, and baking soda (depending on what I am cleaning). 

A few weeks ago, he was looking for Windex because he wanted to use it to clean the inside of the car.  He likes using Windex to clean everything (not just windows).  I told him he could use my Shaklee cleaning products and he quickly refused.  He ended up finding some Windex to use and he cleaned the car with it. 

Today, he used Windex to clean a table so he could take it to the UHaul.  Soon after he was done wiping down the table, he started coughing!  He still doesn't want to see that store-bought cleaners are made with toxic chemicals. 

The UHaul is here!

Shannon and his dad went to pick up the UHaul this morning and they packed all of our stuff into it this afternoon.  They had help from a neighbor who did all of the heavy lifting since Shannon is injured and my FIL has a bad back. It only took about 45 minutes to get all of our stuff into the UHaul! 

After getting most of our stuff into the UHaul, I now see how much more we have to pack and/or throw away upstairs!  We hope to most of the cleaning/packing tonight after Kyle goes to bed.  I can also do the rest of the cleaning and packing while Kyle is in school.

Tomorrow, Shannon, his dad, and the neighbor are going to drive out to our new apartment to unload the UHaul.  After Kyle gets home from school, we're going to take another trip out there to bring more of our stuff over.  While we are there, we're going to clean and try to organize most of our stuff and put them in the appropriate rooms.

Long Day, Moving is almost complete

Today was a long day!  Kyle had his last day of therapy this morning.  While Kyle was in therapy, Shannon and I went over to Walmart to get a few more things for our new apartment.  We bought a Swiffer starter kit and extra wet wipes, trash bags, and a paper towel holder!  I still need borax, which apparently I can't find at Walmart so I may have to check a regular grocery store. 

After therapy, we came back home and relaxed for about 3 hours.  We took another 2 boxes of our stuff over to our apartment, and I only unpacked one of the boxes and left the other one there.  Our stackable washer and dryer in now in our kitchen!  They are bigger than I imagined, but I am glad!  They are the perfect size for our family.  Hopefully we can figure out how to use them [the washer needs to be connected to the kitchen sink when in use].  Our cable and internet is already hooked up.  Our phone service is active but we don't have our phone to plug in (it's still packed away). 

While we were at our apartment, Kyle seemed at ease there.  He wasn't nervous or in a rush to leave.  I think it helps to ease him into the idea of us moving to a new place.  

It rained throughout the day today.  It was actually a nice day, not too hot or cold. 

When we got back "home" I was able to do my workout!  I took 3 days off from my workout program due to a sore back and sore muscles.  My sore back was not feeling right, so I decided to take the time off. 

928 sq ft

Yesterday, we received the keys to our new apartment and we made another trip out with Kyle.  We brought out another 2 boxes and a few other things, plus my last 2 potted plants to our new home.  While we were there, I unpacked everything we brought over while Kyle explored our new home.  Shannon had to call the cable guy since he was coming by to set up our cable/internet/phone service. 

After I finished unpacking, we went to the nearest Walmart to buy some things we needed to make our new place a home!  We ended up getting a garbage can (for the kitchen), dish rack, kitchen towels, matching towels and carpets for the bathroom, and a few other things to make my own laundry soap, etc.  I was so surprised and thrilled to find washing soda at Walmart.  Now I don't have to order it online and pay shipping!  I also found laundry bar soap to make my laundry powder soap.  I just need to find borax and I will have everything I need to make my laundry soap. 

I want the colors in the kitchen to be green and Shannon wanted the bathroom to be gold (to match a picture frame that I have)!  I let him decide that and pick the towels and carpets for the bathroom, he's better at matching things.

Shannon and I put everything we bought at Walmart in it's place.  Shannon put the bathroom together and make it look all nice and pretty!  I also did a little bit of cleaning, just wanted to wipe down counter tops here and there.  I plan on doing more cleaning once we get moved in.

Kyle has therapy tomorrow but we plan on going back to our apartment afterwards to bring over more stuff.  This also gives Kyle a chance to see our new home and where he will be living.  This time around he wasn't as nervous and unsure about why we were there.  But I don't think he still understands why we keep visiting the apartment.

Keys to our new place!

We stopped by our apartment today and they gave us the keys!  We brought over 2 boxes of our stuff and 3 of my plants.  We set up my plants on the plant stand and I unpacked the boxes we brought over, that way we could bring home the boxes to fill them up again.

We had a chance to see our place again and I am so excited!  I can't wait until we are fully moved in!  This was Kyle's first time seeing our new place!  He was a little nervous and wasn't sure what was going on.  We showed him around the apartment and showed him his room.  He still didn't understand that this is where we are going to live soon.  He kept wanting to leave. 

We plan on going back on Monday and Tuesday to bring over more of our stuff, just a car load at a time.  Shannon rented a U-Haul for our boxes and furniture for the second half of the week.  I am going to help him load the truck with the boxes and anything else I can lift! 

One more week!

It's getting closer and closer, I can smell it just around the corner!  We will be in our new place in a week!  Yesterday, while Kyle was at school, Shannon and I went through Kyle's toys and got rid of the ones that were broken, missing pieces, and toys that he really didn't play with.  We also cleaned up any trash so our living area looked so clean...until Kyle got home.  LOL 

Shannon also called to have our our cable, internet, and home phone set up and it will be installed next week. 

The lady from the new school district finally called me back (I had also emailed her).  She's the person I needed to talk to from the Exceptional Children's program.  I had to re-email her Kyle's IEP (individual education plan) and she said we could set up an appointment for them to place him in a pre-school class for the rest of this school year and also get him ready for next year.

In our new place, we would be required to pay for water, but they only charge us for our hot water usage.  I am thinking of handwashing our dishes instead of using the dishwasher to help save us on that part of the water bill.  Plus, we don't have enough dishes to use the dishwasher everyday.  It would just be easier for us to handwash our dishes.  Today, I got the idea to make my own dish soap and went online to look for recipes.  I found an easy recipe that I plan on using.  I may buy some dish soap first, just so I have a bottle to use when I do make my own.

My moving "to do" list

My moving "to do" list is pretty much completed!  The last thing we need to do is update our information with DMV but we have 60 days to do that so I am going to wait until after we get moved in and settled.  We also have to set up our internet service, but Shannon will be doing that part. 

I called Kyle's school today to let them know that we're pulling him out of school early and he won't be returning next year.  The lady said that if he will be attending a school within North Carolina, she can transfer his information over to them through the same computer system!  So that is one less thing for us to worry about.  I am just waiting to hear back from the coordinator from the Exceptional Children's program in the new school district Kyle will be attending. 

We still have the "upstairs" to pack.  However, we are saving the packing part for when Kyle is in school.  I don't think he will understand what is happening.  We also want to throw away as much as we can.  Luckily, Shannon and I don't have that much clothing to pack.  Kyle's clothes are easy, he only wears his school clothes.  We have a lot of our clothes in the plastic drawers and there are some clothes hanging up in the closet. 

We're going back to the apartment complex (while Kyle is in school) on Wednesday to sign the lease and turn in our rent payments for the next 9 months.  The rest of this week, we'll finish up on packing and throwing things away.  We hope to be ready to move by next week.  Our last day will be May 20th.  After we pick Kyle up from the bus stop, we plan on taking him straight to our new home!  We are already anticipating him to have a tantrum and want to "go home."  So we plan on setting up his room and putting things out that he would recognize.  We also plan on pulling out the bubbles to play with! 

We were approved!

Shannon and I went back to Winston Salem to turn in our application for the apartment!  About a half hour after we turned in our application, she called and left a message.  We decided to go back to the rental office to see if we were approved and thankfully we were!  We are moving in on May 16th!  Kyle's last day at school will be May 20th.

We decided we are going to rent a portable washer and dryer since our apartment doesn't have the connections.  I like the convenience of having a washer and dryer in the apartment! 

I have a list of what I need to do, to get ready for our move and Shannon has his own list of things he needs to do.  I already switched the power into our name for the new apartment.  I also called the new school to get him enrolled and emailed the coordinator for the Exceptional Children program.  Our priority is getting Kyle enrolled for Kindergarten for the new school district!  I am not sure if we will need to have him attend their school for the remainder of the school year since there will be about a month left.

As soon as we get moved in and settled in, I plan on applying for jobs.  Our apartment is walking distance from grocery stores, eateries, and shopping!  I plan on applying at TJ Maxx!  I also like that they have sidewalks and crosswalks (which we don't have here in our current city)!  There is a family practice, pediatric and adolescent practice across the street.  There is also a Family YMCA in the same shopping center, as well as a Tae Kwon Do studio!  I would love to take a few martial arts classes!

I am looking forward to living in a big city again and near shopping!  I love that I can walk to many different places too!  

We found a place we like!

Shannon and I went to Winston Salem while Kyle was at school.  We planned on leaving around 8am, but left around 8:20am instead.  I made a list of possible apartments that I liked and we picked 3 of them that we wanted to see today.  We printed out directions to each place, that way we wouldn't get lost and help save us time (to get back before Kyle got out of school). 

The first place we saw was way out of our price range!  We really wanted to see it because it was in an area that we liked.  Unfortunately we won't be applying there.  The second place we saw is near Shannon's dream law school!  We had driven by that area both times we visited Winston Salem, but never knew the turn off to get to the apartment complex.  I also like the name of the area, "Robinhood" and the apartment complex is called "Sherwood."  We ended up touring 3 different apartments.  The first one was the townhome, but I knew we really couldn't afford it.  The second one we saw was a 2 bedroom, 2 bath but the only ones available are on the second floor.  Just looking out on the balcony scares me, especially with Kyle.  It's not very safe to even risk living on the second floor, I see an accident waiting to happen.  The 3rd apartment we saw was just perfect for us (2 bedroom, 1 bath), it's on the first floor and it's available!  The only downside is that this particular floor plan does not come with washer/dryer hookups.  Although, we can rent a portable washer/dryer that you hook up to your kitchen sink.  Shannon and I really like it because it's on the first floor and it's on the end of the building!  After we left the complex, we pulled in to the gas station on the corner and Shannon said we really should apply for this apartment.  He loved the place and he loves the area, since it's quiet, nice, and safe!  He also said we won't find another apartment in that price range, especially in the area that we were in!  We're going back tomorrow to turn in our application.

The next step is waiting to see if we'll be approved!   Hopefully we won't have any issues! 

Busy Week

We drove out to Winston Salem on Monday.  We intended to look at some apartments but got lost, plus it's difficult to get things done when Kyle is with us.  We decided we would go apartment hunting while Kyle was in school.  Although, it was fun to drive around to see the city a little more. 

Kyle had therapy today!  While he was at therapy, Shannon and I went to Walmart.  We had an early lunch at Subway and then I went shopping. 

We're going back to Winston Salem tomorrow while Kyle is at school!  I am excited to get out of town with my husband!  It will be fun to be together without our son, which is rare for us! 

Just 5 pots

Yesterday I was worried about moving all of my plants when it came time to transport them in the car.  This morning, I was looking at my plants and came up with the idea to downsize!  I repotted and moved a lot of my plants into just 5 pots!  I am also throwing away about half of my plants.  Hopefully with 5 pots, it will be easier for us to move them when it comes time.  I am sad to get rid of my bigger plants but we need the room.  I kept the most healthy looking and smallest plants.