Last day of school for the year

Today is Kyle's last day of school for 2012.  This morning, as we were waking up and getting ready, I noticed he wasn't feeling well.  He kind of threw up and he was a little lethargic.  As we were waiting for the bus, I could tell he has a tummy ache because he was hunched over. 

I wanted to send him to school since this is the last day of school for the year and I didn't want him to miss anymore school than he has to.  He always seems to get sick before he has a "vacation" from school.  The last time he got sick was the day before Thanksgiving and his teacher had to drive him home. 

Today, he had to come home early because he threw up two more times at school.  So he's been home for a few hours now.  He has the next two weeks off! 

While Kyle was in school, I stopped at Walgreens to pick up a few things.

Needed to get out

I was feeling a little confined so we decided to get ready to go somewhere.  We ended up going for a drive.  We went to Red Robin to eat.  Kyle actually sat still the entire time!  We think it helped that we sat near the window so he had a nice view to look out of.  We had a nice quiet meal at a restaurant for the first time ever!

Afterward, we went to Target to walk around the store.  It was nice to get out of the house! 

Since being back home from our vacation, Shannon has been job searching and applying like crazy.  It's nice not having to do everything around here for once.  He's actually doing his own job search and filling out online applications.  I just wish he started looking for jobs weeks ago. 

In Florida, we ended up having a discussion about our marriage and I told him everything that bothered me and angered me about our marriage.  He didn't realize, nor did he see that everything was just building up and making me unhappy.  He thought that the little things do not matter, only the big things.  Since then, he's changed completely. 

For the last 3 years, he would talk about nothing but his case.  He would always brush off what I wanted to talk about or my hobbies as things that do not matter.  He has also changed his direction in life.  He no longer bases his future on what a psychic told him.  He's finally thinking and planning for Plan B, rather than what may happen.  All of which, I believe he/we should have been doing the entire time.

Good to be home

It is so good to be home.  Nine days is too long to be away from home.  I started feeling homesick and I think Kyle did too.  I was ready to return home after only 4 or 5 days. 

I have a few obligations at home that I want to keep up with. 

Today is our first full day home.  I am caught up on laundry!  I woke up early to update my blog.  I also did yoga and pilates after nine days without it. 

At the beach

We spent the day with my in-laws.  First, we went to the mall to eat at the food court.  They have a restaurant there that offers a healthy variety of food in the food court.  After eating, we walked around the mall.  My mother-in-law bought me a candle from Yankee Candle.  She also bought herself a candle. 

After about an hour at the mall, we went back to their apartment where we then headed to the beach.  We spent over 2 hours there.  Shannon and I walked up and down the beach a few times.  Kyle was scared of the water, so he stayed near the back of the beach on the sand. 

After only a few hours at the beach, I have a nice golden tan! 

Disney World July 2012

Last Tuesday, we left for Disney World.  We ended up staying overnight in Georgia on Tuesday night and continued on our journey on Wednesday morning.  We've visited Disney World parks for 3 days and taking Saturday off.  We also went today.  We went to Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios.  We tried to give Disney Hollywood Stories another chance, since we didn't like it the first time.  The park disappointed us yet again.  The park is mostly for older kids or childless couples.

Since we've been walking for hours since being at Disney World, we have noticed how healthy and fit we feel.  Shannon has noticed a huge difference since he's been sitting around for the last 4 years.  

Tomorrow is our last day at Disney World and we will check out on Tuesday morning.  On our way back home, we plan on stopping in Myrtle Beach, SC to visit my in-laws for two nights.  We plan on returning home on Thursday.

Shannon plans on looking for jobs as soon as we return home!  Finally!  With all of this exercise, he should be ready to return to work.

Being prepared

When I was packing for Disney World, I packed paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning spray. The hotel we're staying at has a little kitchen and I wanted to be prepared. The cleaning spray I use is all natural, made by Shaklee. Kyle ended up getting car sick soon after we arrived at the hotel. We hadn't checked in yet and he threw up in the car (we were just getting out of the car). Luckily, I brought my cleaner and had paper towels because I cleaned up any trace of the mess!

10 hour drive to Disney World

On Friday, we planned to leave at 5am for Disney World!  We ended up leaving around 4am.  Shannon and I couldn't sleep that well, mainly because we were both excited and thinking about what needed to be packed.  I think we both just had a lot on our mind.  Shannon ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep and I got about 4 hours. 

Since we were all up so early, we ended up leaving an hour earlier than we planned.  Overall, we made great timing and that extra hour gave us the time to stop for breaks to get out and stretch. 

We made it to our hotel in Kissimmee, FL around 3:45pm.  Check-in wasn't until 4pm.  The hotel has a little park that Kyle played at while we were waiting.  We finally got into our room around 4:30pm. 

The hotel also has a pool, bouncy house, arcade, and many other features. 

 

Wrong bra size

While we were in Myrtle Beach, SC, we walked around one of their outdoor malls (Broadway at the Beach) on one of our date nights.  I stopped in Victoria's Secret and started looking around and one of the sales associates approached me and ended up asking me if I wanted a bra fitting.  Well, lo and behold, it turns out I am wearing the wrong bra size.  It's really hard to believe the cup size but instead of wearing a 34B, I wear a 32C.  I am thinking the cup size may be wrong though.  I haven't tried on any new bras since receiving my new bra size so I don't know if it's right or not. 

Four Days in Myrtle Beach, SC

Thursday
We decided to go out of town this past weekend since Kyle had a 4 day weekend from school.  We ended up keeping him home from school on Thursday because he still wasn’t feeling well and he had thrown up the night before.  We had originally planned to leave on Thursday afternoon soon after we picked Kyle up from school.  We planned to pick him up at 2pm when school let out, and bring him back home.  I had planned to give him a quick bath and then we would hit the road.  We ended up leaving on Thursday around noon.  It took a little over 4 hours to reach Myrtle Beach, SC.

My in-laws live in an apartment community that offers an apartment suite for guests for about $55 a night.  We were able to stay in the suite while we were in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Luckily we are about a building away from their apartment home.  It was nice to stay in an apartment, it has a kitchen which is great when you are away from home.  The apartment also has a washer and dryer but the washer wasn’t working so we weren’t able to do laundry.

Friday
Our four days have been eventful.  We stopped at the beach on Friday, but only stayed about 5 minutes because the wind was blowing and the waves were a little rough and we weren’t sure how Kyle would be around the ocean.  I did find about 4 seashells! 

On Friday night, my in-laws offered to watch Kyle so Shannon and I could go out on a date.  Shannon and I have not been out as a couple since Kyle was born.  It’s not easy to leave him with just anyone, especially with his Autism and special needs.  We ended up going to a place called Broadway at the Beach, which is a bunch of shops on the beach.  It’s like an outdoor mall with all kinds of shops.  There are also restaurants, IMAX, and movie theater.  We saw a Starbucks and had to stop in there.  I had a hot Chai Tea Latte and Shannon and a White Chocolate Mocha.  It was really fun enjoying coffee and just walking around alone!  While I went into some of the shops, Shannon fed the catfish in the water.  I ended up buying 2 Yankee Candles!  I really wanted to buy more, but I have to remind myself that I can make my own soy candles!  This has definitely inspired me to make more candles, especially Christmas scented candles!  It was fun to smell all the Yankee Candles.  We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Abuelo’s.  It was delicious!  It was really nice to be out without Kyle! 

Saturday
On Saturday, we went to an indoor playground type of place for Kyle.  They have bouncy houses and bouncy house with slides and other playground type equipment that are padded.  We stayed for a little over an hour, but Shannon and I were pooped out by that time.  Kyle dragged us to go play with him.  He had us bouncing along with him and going down the slides with him.  We also had to swing him on the soft swings.  Shannon and I took turns and we were both sweaty and worn out afterwards.  We stopped by the beach after that and stayed for a half hour or so.  Kyle loved the beach!  While he was picking up seashells and throwing them back in the ocean, I was collecting as many seashells I could fit in one hand!  I honestly think Kyle thought he was cleaning up the beach by throwing the seashells back into the ocean.  At the end, he started picking up handfuls of sand and throwing it back into the ocean. 

On Saturday night, my in-laws watched Kyle again so Shannon and I could go out!  Shannon really wanted to see a movie at IMAX and we wanted to go back to the Broadway at the Beach again.  It was fun the first time around since we walked around and it was really good exercise for us!  It got us out and about and walking!  Instead of going to see Harry Potter at the IMAX theater, we ended up seeing Puss in Boots in 3D.  I really didn’t want to see Harry Potter as the books or the movies interest me.  I have no desire to read the books and I really tried watching one of the movies, but didn’t really understand the hype.  We had a big lunch so we weren’t hungry by the time we headed out, so we didn’t eat dinner out.  We walked around the Broadway at the Beach and had Starbucks again (we ordered the same coffee drinks as the night before).

Saturday night was Halloween night at the Broadway at the Beach so we saw a lot of people dressed up in their costumes. They also had live music. We saw one costume in particular that got a lot of attention. There was a person dressed as Death and he was walking around with a guillotine. There was a mannequin set up in the guillotine and the sign said, “Casey Anthony’s Retrial.” Just before he brought down the guillotine, the mannequin would fidget a bit and then the blade came down! Everyone was taking pictures and video of it. It was very creative! We also saw two guys dressed up as plastic army men, I think they got that idea from the Disney theme parks.

Sunday
We took it easy on Sunday.  My husband and Kyle stayed home while my mother-in-law and I went to the mall.  We shopped at JC Penney and just walked around for a bit.  While I love shopping, it’s no fun when you don’t have money to spend.  I saw a lot of cute clothes, but I kept reminding myself that I don’t “absolutely need them.”  It’s just too bad when my husband gambled away our savings the week before.  My MIL saw a cute leather jacket and looked at the price tag and said, “It’s only $89.  That’s not bad.”  All I could think was, “um, sure.”  Again, her son just gambled away all of our savings the week before.  I didn’t even dream about or think about getting anything.  We also looked at shoes and saw a few cute boots that I would have liked to get. 

We stopped at PetSmart on the way home since my MIL needed cat food.  It was so odd going in to a store that allowed pets.  As a non-pet owner, I have no reason to go to PetSmart. 

My MIL watched Kyle on Sunday night so Shannon and I could go out again.  We ended up having dinner at Hard Rock Café.  The service and employees were so-so.  I bought a Hard Rock Café glass cup.  Our first date was at a Hard Rock Café in Sacramento and I got a glass cup back then. 

Being in Myrtle Beach, SC, it’s been a nice change to be in a city with plenty of restaurants, shopping, and things to do!  Even though we were out of town, we were able to fit in plenty of exercise. 

Mini-Getaway

We just got back a little while ago from a mini-getaway!  We decided to stay two nights in Cherokee, NC.  We stayed one night at Fairfield Inn & Suites and then stayed the second night at Harrah's.  Our hotel at Harrah's was comped.  We were also able to comp our breakfast from this morning as well as a few other purchases. 

On our first night, I ended up finishing a book I had already started and was able to write the review the same day.  Our second night, I didn't have internet access because Harrah's charges their guests to use their Wi-Fi, so instead, I started reading a new book and already over half way done!

On a whim, we decided to get away.  Thursday afternoon, we just decided to go.  While Shannon made the hotel reservations, I packed our stuff.  Kyle was easy to pack and I packed my clothes pretty quickly.  The "hardest" part was gathering our toiletries.  We were able to fit all of our stuff into one suitcase!  It only took us 45 minutes to get packed, make hotel reservations, and out the door. 

Now that we're back, I am catching up on laundry and just trying to get back into our normal every day schedule.  Thankfully, I only have 2 loads of clothes to do! 

Home from vacation

We are back from our vacation!  We arrived home around 8:30pm last night.  Kyle fell asleep about an hour after we got home.  I have already finished unpacking today so I feel accomplished!  Most of our things are put away as well. 

We're going to go grocery shopping today since we don't have any food!  Kyle wasn't feeling well yesterday and he still seems sick today.  He barely ate anything yesterday and doesn't seem hungry today. 

We had a great time on vacation.  We bought tickets for 4 days and also got an extra day free.  We ended up going all 5 days!  The first day we went to Epcot where we walked around for about 4 hours, went back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest.  Then we went back to Epcot later that night!  The second day and third day we went to Magic Kingdom!  We had so much fun!  We even took Kyle on several rides!  The fourth day we went to Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood.  At Disney Hollywood they had replicas of the streets of San Francisco and New York.  They also had a replica of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA.  The first day we went back to Magic Kingdom.  It was so cold and windy that day.  Kyle may have gotten sick from that cold weather. 

On vacation

We left for our vacation yesterday and got as far as Brunswick, GA where we stayed the night.  We all got up early this morning and left the motel around 8:30am.  We made it to Florida soon after and arrived at our hotel a few hours later.  We were able to check in early and put our luggage in our room.  Shannon and I took showers and then we went for a drive.  The hotel is located in Shannon's old neighborhood.  We drove down Shannon's old street to see where he used to live, saw where he took karate classes, where he had his first kiss, where he went to daycare, etc!  We then went to Walmart to buy some food, swim suits (for Kyle and myself), and a few other things.  Walmart was so busy!!!

The hotel has a little water park in the middle of it so hopefully I can take Kyle down to the pool.  They have some slides and a couple of little pools. 

The weather is nice, it's in the 70's here.  It's about 30 degrees warmer here than in North Carolina.

Left Today

My in-laws left for their vacation yesterday morning.  They were gone less than an hour when they returned home.  My FIL was unable to drive due to his arm and hands were hurting, which stems from his back injury.  So they had to come back home because his arms were shaking.

They ended up leaving today.  He's off of work for the next two weeks, so we're not even sure when they are coming back. 

Kyle went to school today.  We talked about keeping him home today because we weren't sure if he still had the stomach bug.  He did throw up on Sunday afternoon.  He was able to eat dinner on Sunday and he was just fine after wards! 

Home early from school

We received a call from Kyle's teacher, he was crying all morning.  They were trying everything to calm him down.  We ended up picking him up after only 2 1/2 hours of being in school.  We're looking at having Kyle go to school for 5 days a week instead of 3 days.  His teacher said we will have the IEP meeting at the end of this school year so he'll be ready for next school year.  This will give us more time to ourselves and Kyle more time at school! 

On the way home, Shannon wanted to make a few stops.  I saw a big "now hiring" sign and it turned out to be for a new Dairy Queen that is currently being built.  I asked Shannon what he thought about me applying there and he said I should!  At first, I was a little worried about it being right next to/attached to a gas station, but Shannon didn't seem to be worried about that.  I have a pen pal who started working at a Dairy Queen a few months ago and she loves it!  I have been applying for jobs for the last two weeks and still no calls.  I know that it is difficult to get a job out here because of the economy and because employers seems to want to hire family or friends.

My in-laws are going on a little vacation this weekend.  They are leaving on Sunday and will be gone for at least 3 days.

I am still working out with the kettlebell!  I love it.  I haven't even touched my other workouts in the last few weeks.   I am still on the same workout that is only 20 minutes.  I am still getting tired about halfway through it, so I am glad it is still a challenge for me.  I have even started doing an extra 10 minutes of a different DVD workout in the set!

Two More Days of Working

The weekend was pretty busy at work. Yesterday I had an 8 1/2 hour day at work and was stuck on the express lane! It was annoying, but overall, it made my day go by fast.

I am disappointed to hear that the "balloon boy" story was a hoax all along. I believed the father when he said they had nothing to gain from all of this, but he was playing us! Crazy!

The next two days of work are short shifts for me. I love the 4 hour shifts! I plan on doing some chores when I get home today. My in-laws are out of town on a vacation. They said they were going to Charleston, SC. If they don't like it there, they would drive up to Myrtle Beach instead.

Long Weekend Feel

My in-laws went out of town last Thursday and came back on Saturday. They went up to Asheville and stayed there for 2 nights. They did some sight seeing and had some time to relax! We had a nice weekend.

Shannon had an appointment at Department of Social Services regarding our food stamps. Our caseworker needed more information from us. Thankfully I woke up early and woke him up at 8 AM, the appointment was at 9 AM. Let's hope we are approved for food stamps!

Keeping Up

My in-laws return home tomorrow evening. Shannon and I are going to do a quick tidying up around the house before they return, I am also going to do last minute laundry.

I worked out with Turbo Jam yesterday and it was really fun. I couldn't wait to do it again today! It looks like I won't have a problem staying motivated to workout, it gives me a ton of energy. So far, I am only on the beginning workout. I just want to familiarize myself with the "elite 11 moves" before I go any further. I woke up a little sore today, but it was a good type of sore!

I checked my email today and found that my paid blog post was approved, which means I earned money for that post. The minimum payout for that site is $50, so I will have to keep checking for more assignments.

Shannon was chosen to try and review a product for MySurvey, a reputable survey site that I belong to. He gets to try a deoderant product, it's unmarked, but Shannon says it's Speedstick, just from smelling it. We don't necessarily get paid to take these surveys, but we do earn points that we can redeem for cash or prizes.

Halfway there

I've been taking today a little easier than yesterday. I was doing some much needed cleaning yesterday and glad it's done for now.

My MIL called this morning and said that they are coming home Saturday night. They found a really nice place on the beach, their porch/window is on the beach, the tide is about 30 feet from them. It's an actual condo and they are paying a little over $100 a night, which is really good!

I feel accomplished, I found the last 4 years of our tax returns!!! We need them (eventually) to file for bankruptcy. If we didn't find them, we would have to request them from the IRS and they charge $57 for each year requested. I knew where 2007 and 2008 were, I just didn't have 2005 and 2006 on hand. Our next step is to print out our credit reports and fill out some forms! FUN!

I still want to enroll Kyle in preschool, but with the hysteria of hog flu, I don't know what kind of chaos is going on with schools. We are waiting until all of it passes or winds down.

Just one of those days

We shaved Kyle's head today. He did not enjoy it, and kept trying to run away. He looks much better and I am sure he'll feel a difference when there's a nice breeze outside. Hopefully it will be cooler for him, since he loves being outside.

I saw a snake in the backyard today! It was about 2 1/2 feet to 3 feet long. It was a blackish grey snake, so we think it's harmless. When I saw it, there was a bird playing around it and I saw the head sticking up from the grass so I wasn't sure what it was, it looked like a twig sticking up. So I ran up to it and saw that it was a snake. It started slithering away from me and I ran along side (not too close). I stopped, it stopped and then it stuck it's tongue out. I started moving closer to it and it slithered away.

My in-laws are leaving tomorrow for their vacation. They don't have a return date, but they are aiming for a week long vacation.

I have the dinner meals planned out for this week! We bought ingredients for 3 different casseroles, and a frozen pizza. I also plan on making Monkey Munch. I first tried this recipe in high school and only knew it as "puppy chow." But I love Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Kate calls it "monkey munch." So, I am sticking with that name...Monkey Munch. It's cute!


I also bought some clothes on the clearance rack for only $3! I needed some workout clothes and found shorts and tees. I also bought a pajama capri bottom with tinkerbell on it, also on clearance! I am leery about buying clothes from Walmart, because they don't usually last very long, so we'll see. Although, I did have a pair of pajama bottoms I bought from Walmart and they lasted me about 9 or 10 years!

Gearing Up and Amazon Order

Shannon started college this week. Actually he had a few "orientation" type of classes, to prepare new students to how their school works online. They showed him the forum (how to login, how to navigate, etc). They also had a few classes with practice tests. Shannon officially starts his coursework later this month.

We finally received the debit card for his unemployment! We're just glad it arrived safely. They had to send him a new card. We are allowed 2 free ATM withdrawls a month at our bank (Wachovia), after that, there are fees (booooo!). We can also use it as a debit card in any store.

My in-laws are going on vacation this week. They don't have any hotel reservations, they said they are the type to just go and find a hotel when they get there! Shannon and I did that too many times while we were dating, we used to drive up to Reno, NV all the time without reservations. They plan on going to the beach! We get to watch their dog and cat for them during that time. With the hysteria of hog flu, I am sure they will find a hotel with plenty of rooms available and maybe even lower room rates than normal.

I am going to attempt to make a few casseroles this week! Look out! I'll have the fire department on speed dial, just in case. I have never made a casserole on my own, but I figure I can read...how hard can it be? LOL

I made a purchase on amazon tonight! I am so thrilled with this order, I blogged about it here. This was a mother's day gift to myself. I considered purchasing a DVD for Shannon, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008 version), however, I read the reviews for the movie and most of them said it was really bad!