Lost first tooth!

Kyle came home today and his tooth is gone! We noticed earlier this week that his tooth was loose. Unfortunately, he lost it while at school, so we're not sure what happened to it. He may have even swallowed it or it fell out...

Stomach bug

We kept Kyle home from school yesterday.  When he came home from school on Monday, he looked a little glossy eyed, tired and had red cheeks.  We tried offering him water because he looked thirsty but he refused.  He ended up throwing up about a half hour after getting home!  He threw up a few more times throughout the evening.  So we kept him home on Tuesday. 

He didn't look much better today but we sent him to school anyway.  We'll see how he is when he gets home today. 

Mini shopping spree

One of the sites that I am a member of, I earn points to redeem for gift cards, prizes, and cash.  I've been able to redeem my points a few times from this particular site.  In the past, I have redeemed my points for gift cards to restaurants. 

I couldn't decide if I should redeem my points for Paypal cash or a JC Penney gift card.  Shannon and I agreed to go for the gift card so that we can at least have a mini shopping spree.  He only has 3 pairs of pants that he wears.  Hopefully we can get him one or two more pairs, more shirts for Kyle and maybe a pair of shorts or capri pants for myself. 

Shutter Island

Shannon and I watched Shutter Island last night.  It is a psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the very end!  It was a really good but confusing movie.  I really enjoyed it.  It reminds me of other movies, but I won't mention them because it would just ruin  the movie. 

Old Shows and Pilates

Since we now have Netflix, we are taking full advantage of it.  I found a handful of pilates workout videos that I plan on using. 

I found a few shows that I saved to watch.  I started one series that I am watching from the very beginning.  I didn't really watch it when it was on the air, I am enjoying watching it now and seeing actors that I know from other shows in the present. 

The Next Three Days

Tonight, we watched the movie, The Next Three Days. Kyle fell asleep in the middle of it. It is nice to be able to sit and watch a movie with Shannon. I plan on canceling our cable tomorrow.

As we were watching the movie, I was having a hard time hearing the dialogue. It seemed the music was super loud and the dialogue was low. I'm used to watching TV with closed captioning. Shannon found out how to turn it on with NetFlix and after that, I was able to enjoy the movie.

Netflix!

We've been talking about trying Netflix because of the savings and decided to really give it a try after receiving our cable bill yesterday. So, I signed up for Netflix this evening and we get a full month free as a trial.

Today, we went to Walmart while Kyle was still at school to buy MagicJack! We hope to set that up this weekend or so.

After trying Netflix for about a half hour, I'm ready to cancel our cable now! But Shannon says, "not yet." Kyle is playing with Netflix now and he's finding all of his favorite shows. He likes the beginning while they are singing and stops it after the song to find another show. I can also use Netflix on my iPad2!

Two more food pantries

Today I called two more food pantry locations and we plan on utilizing them as well. Hopefully they won't limit us to visiting only once a month.

If the two food pantries allow us to pick up food once a week, that would be great!

It finally hit Shannon that we are running out of money and have to be frugal and conserve. He's in no hurry to find a job because he keeps putting it off.

Changes need to be made

We received our Internet/cable/phone bill today and it literally doubled from last month and they added Showtime Unlimited! I called them to rectify the situation. Our bills down to $143. This is still too much for us. We decided to switch to MagicJack for phone service. We also plan on canceling cable for either AppleTV or Hulu Plus.

First loose tooth!

As we were getting ready to head out the door to pick up food at the food pantry, I noticed one of Kyle's teeth look croocked, it was sticking out a bit. I gently wiggled it and realized it was loose! I said to Kyle, "Oh, your tooth is loose, we have to tell Daddy!" After that, Kyle signed "daddy" which was really cute.

Kyle knows at least 20 signs and we go through them with him to practice and help us remember them!

No School and Food Pantry

Surprise!  This morning, while waiting for the bus, another parent pulled over to tell me that school was canceled due to a flood near the entrance of the school!  Kyle was not happy! 

We ended up going to the food pantry today.  We took home two plastic grocery bags full of food.  We have 10 cans of food, two boxes of crackers, a box of mac and cheese, peanut butter, and a loaf of whole wheat bread!  We are so thankful for the food! 

Unfortunately, we are only allowed to visit this particular food pantry once a month.  So, I plan on calling other food pantries to find out when they are open! 

Grocery Shopping and Food Pantry

Today, we went grocery shopping.  We find it easier to go while Kyle is at school.  It's quicker and less stressful.  He likes to pull stuff off the shelf and put them in the shopping cart.  He knows what he wants and he likes to grab for them. 

I called a few food pantries today and found one that we will use for now.  They are open every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  We plan on going tomorrow.  It will be helpful to supplement our grocery bill.

Before our shopping trip today, our fridge and freezer were about 90% bare and our shelves were about 70% bare.  So we needed to go shopping today!  

9 months ago

Nine months ago, I asked Shannon about going to food pantries for help with food and at the time he said no.  I think it was his ego that kept us from going that route.  Yesterday, when I suggested we start going to food pantries for help, he agreed!  I am so shocked and surprised that he is actually "okay" with going to food pantries!  I realize that the food we will receive from food pantries won't be as healthy, such as white bread instead of whole wheat and cow's milk instead of soy or almond milk, but it's food. 

Nine months ago, when I was searching for local food pantries, I saved my list of information and thankfully I didn't delete the document on my computer.  I was able to find it and now I am going to use that to find out where we can go. 

Asking for donations

Along with our mail, we were given a brown paper bag to fill it up with nonperishable food for the food banks.  This gave me an idea.  I think we'll need to turn to the food banks for supplemental food for our own shelves since food is such a big expense.  Most of our money is going to food and bills and that's pretty much what we buy these days.  It doesn't help that we have very little money coming in, which is what I make with my blogs.  That money is not nearly enough. 

Unexpected Surprise in the mail!

Yesterday, I received an unexpected surprise in the mail.  I am an ambassador with the Purex team and I use my blog to write about their products or do product reviews for them.  They sent me a $10 Amazon gift card for Mother's Day! 

This will be the only gift I will receive for Mother's Day!  I am so thankful.  I'm not sure what I want to get though! 

Taking a break from school

I decided to take a break from Ashford University for a bit. It was getting to be too time consuming and overwhelming for me.

I am enjoying being a blogger and blogging is taking up most of my time.  My blog is much more important to me than school, which may not make sense.  However, my blog is my main focus.

I am considering re-enrolling at Ashworth College since it is self-paced and less pressure to stay on a schedule. 

A nice outing

Today, we went to Greensboro, NC to eat at Red Robin. We don't take Kyle out to eat at restaurants because of his special needs, so trips like this are far and few between. Afterwards, we went to Target. I earned a $10 gift card a few months ago, so I wanted to use it. I ended up getting paper towels and a pack of 2 bras ($16.99). It was so odd going to Target since we normally don't shop there. I can tell they are trying to look like a department store. They have nicer shelving and displays for their merchandise. This particular Target had a fresh/frozen food section, as well as a Starbucks in it! Wow! Target sure has changed.

Jurassic Park

Yesterday, we ended up watching Jurassic Park on cable. It was nice to sit down as a family to watch a movie. It is rare for Shannon and I to watch TV together, so it was really nice.

One week of overlap

This week I have two classes that are overlapping.  I started a new class today (Tuesday) but I am on my last week of my current class!  It's a little stressful as I am trying to juggle the school work and making sure I don't miss a deadline!  My current class is pretty much done.  I have a few discussion posts to post and respond to and then I have to turn in my final paper (which is done). 

I've been keeping up with my workouts and doing pretty well!  I am proud of myself for sticking with the schedule.  I am trying to get into better shape since I want to take Kyle to our apartment complex pool this summer!  Kyle loves the water.  He loves taking a bath and I am pretty sure he would love the pool.  Although, I am going to have to get in the pool with him.  I may want to get arm floats for him to wear in the water, just in case.  He even loves putting on his swim trunks when he takes a bath. 

This morning, I gathered as much trash as I could.  I wanted to get rid of knick knacks, scraps of paper, old toys and junk that has been piling up.  I hope to do more trash gathering tomorrow.  I have to throw away things when Kyle is away from home, otherwise, he'll want to put everything back! 

We've been talking about canceling cable and switching over to Netflix.  However, I believe we need a special remote to use with the PS3.  We can still use and watch Netflix but having the remote would be much easier.  So we've been stalling on actually ordering Netflix.  I would also love to switch over to Magic Jack to save money on our phone service.  I'll have to discuss it with my husband and see what he thinks.