Surprise in the Mail

A few days ago, I blogged about our experience at BJs. I received a letter from them today. They refunded my membership cost (in the form of a gift card) that my MIL had to pay just so we could use our food stamps and they included an additional $25 gift card!!!

Not only that, the lady who called to talk me to about the incident was the General Manager! Wow. I am so glad she took the time to investigate what happened. She talked to the employees involved, so hopefully this won't happen again.

Cleaning and More

After all of the excitement with Kyle's speech therapy starting yesterday, we are taking it easy today. I watered some of my plants that needed it and gave them a little shower. I am also catching up on laundry.

The bathroom needed a deep cleaning. I used all green friendly cleaners. I used baking soda and white vinegar to unclog the bathtub and sink drains, hopefully that will work, that will save us from buying draino. I ran out of toilet bowl cleaner so I used baking soda to clean the toilet. I may just stick to using baking soda to clean the toilet, instead of buying toilet bowl cleaner.

I found some recipes to make our own shampoo. But that will have to wait, since we have 2 or 3 bottles of shampoo to use. Just trying to find little ways for us to save money. We're almost out of laundry detergent. My MIL and I are going to make our own laundry detergent, we're curious to see how it will turn out and see if it works!

The learning begins

Kyle had his first session of speech therapy today. It was more of an "orientation" for both parties, she had a chance to see and observe Kyle and it gave him a chance to get familiar with her. She asked a ton of questions regarding Kyle's patterns, understanding, likes/dislikes, reactions, etc. She even had some exercises for Kyle, this gave her a chance to evaluate Kyle further.

Before she left, she explained what would happen next. She said she would write up a report, based on this first visit. She is going to request speech therapy twice a week for Kyle, and hopes Medicaid will approve it. She's also going to look into referring us for further evaluations for Kyle. It was heartbreaking seeing Kyle not understand simple instructions, such as point to the picture of a shoe in a book or handing her a block when she asked. She used the word "severity" regarding his understanding of things. His motor skills are just fine, he seems to have issues with vocabulary.

We're looking forward to what she recommends for Kyle as far as further assistance with his learning and more testing for him. We're open to whatever he needs, as long as it's covered by Medicaid. I told her that we wanted to put him into HeadStart for preschool. She hesitated a bit, and then hinted towards him needing more than that. She asked if his hearing has been checked (which it hasn't). I briefly told her about his pediatrician mentioning that a hearing test is pointless since he can't talk. She even disagreed with that. However, we did explain that we know he can hear, he runs to the TV when certain songs start playing or if he hears a familiar song playing he'll look at the TV.

We really like her overall, she's very friendly with Kyle. He warmed up to her because she had toys for him to play with (she used them to evaluate him).

Third Time's a Charm

Kyle will officially start his speech therapy tomorrow!!!! The speech therapist that was assigned to him called today and we rescheduled for tomorrow at 12 PM. She said she finally received the doctor's orders! Sheesh! Things take way too long to get accomplished here in this part of the country (I live in NC, by the way).

That's all we were waiting for, the "doctor's orders" so that Kyle could start his speech therapy. Crazy! I am just glad we can finally start.

The Incident and Conclusion

Yesterday, my MIL and I went to BJs for groceries. BJs is a warehouse store, just like Sam's Club and Costco. I also noticed that BJs is much cheaper than Costco! As with any trip to a warehouse store, you may spend as much as an hour or more in the store shopping around. At checkout, we experienced bad customer service and embarrassment. So much so, that I wrote an email to them and sent it to them through their website. I wrote this around 12:30 AM this morning.

Here is what I wrote:

This was my first visit to BJs and it will most likely be my last. By the way, we visited your Mooresville, NC store on July 28th at approximately 3:30 PM.

I am writing to let you know that I truly think your cashiers/front end employees need retraining on customer service and sensitivity training in regards to Food Stamps/EBT. When we informed the cashier that we were going to use our EBT card, they wanted to know what the name on the account was, not only that, they wanted to see our EBT card. We have had Food Stamps/EBT for almost a year now and have never had a store ask to see our card, let alone want to check our ID.

We felt like a criminal just trying to use EBT to pay for our groceries. We also felt ganged up on by your cashiers, as they all felt the need to reaffirm that your store “just started accepting EBT” even though we’ve used it in your store since March of this year. They were implying that we (the customers) were liars and felt like a stranger in your store as a customer. I always believed that I should feel welcomed and appreciated? I have worked in customer service in the past and I have never treated a customer in the above manner and think it is unacceptable and just plain rude! Also, the cashiers who felt the need to be “involved,” ALL gave us dirty looks, right in front of our faces! They didn’t even try to hide it. I felt uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to get out of your store. Do you make all of your customers feel this way? The supervisor that got involved was not sympathetic or helpful to us at all, even though we tried to explain we have used EBT before and had no problems. This particular supervisor was named Lia G. or Lisa G. (I couldn‘t really tell since she had too many damn stickers on her name tag), she was heavy-set with long black frizzy hair and a round face. I should mention that the supervisor gave us dirty looks as well.

Every cashier involved treated us like the enemy and acted like we were not welcomed in your store. I am saddened that they could be so unprofessional and rude at the same time, especially to a customer spending time and MONEY in your store.

As a food stamp/EBT recipient, I am not “proud” to be poor and do realize my inability to feed my family without the extra help. I think your cashiers need to understand that. Food Stamp/EBT users are just trying to feed their families.

I doubt my comment will reach the store, but I felt the need to let your company know of this incident. This visit also made me realize that I do not plan on recommending your store to any of my family as I do not want them to be embarrassed or feel anywhere close to how I felt today. Thankfully my family live on the West Coast, so they don’t have your store there.

Signed,
A Customer too embarrassed to sign a name


I was really hurt and confused with the way we were treated. It was truly inconvenient and embarrassing. While all of this was going on, our food was defrosting on the conveyor belt.

I received a call today around 4 PM from the "Membership Manager." She was very apologetic, appalled, and embarrassed for the incident and how we were treated. She said she talked to everyone involved (good to know)! She recognized the fact that any customer has a CHOICE to shop at their store, we have a choice to spend our time and money at any other grocery store. I also told her that we came from another city just to shop at their store and she acknowledged that it was a long way to drive. I should mention that my MIL was forced to add me on to their membership just so we could use our food stamps. The manager I talked to is going to refund my membership cost and send us a gift certificate to use at their store. She is also going to extend my in-law's membership for a full year free of charge! In the end, she confirmed what we thought was right, she said any member who brings a friend or family member into their store is welcomed to use any form of payment (except checks).

Been too long

I finally received my 2 free books from harlequin! It took longer than expected because they had my old address on file, thankfully they had books leftover and were able to send me the books! I am so happy that they are here and I get to start reading again! All I had to do was join their panel and they send you free books based on your profile.

Kyle starts speech therapy tomorrow afternoon! I am excited to get this going! I don't know how it works but every parent who has a child in speech therapy says the kids are talking! I can't wait to hear my son's voice and hear about what he's thinking about or wants to tell us.

Birthday Weekend

On Friday, July 24th (my birthday), I decided to treat myself and I bought more mineral makeup. The company that I represent is having a really awesome sale, so I had to take advantage. Plus, I am in need of more makeup. The makeup that I bought will last at least a year, if not more! A little mineral makeup goes a long way!


We had another quiet weekend. All I can think and hope for is the two recent jobs I applied for! I am really hoping to get a call back for the County Job, although the other job would be just as great! From what I hear, this city/area hires based primarily on nepotism, friendships, and schoolmates. I am still keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

I've been blogging like crazy this weekend. Some of my blogs have been neglected, so I am trying to keep them updated. In addition, I did a "paid to blog" post, now I am just waiting for it to be approved. There's another opportunity for me to do, I may work on it when I have free time. I was looking for other ways to get paid to blog and joined a site where I can submit my articles/writings. I get paid when people read them. All but one has been approved so far!

Shannon and I went out to Chili's today (Sunday) for my birthday! I originally wanted to get the 3 courses for $20 special, but Shannon didn't want to. Shannon got ribeye steak and I got a shrimp alfredo dish. The food was so-so, nothing to be impressed about, but the service was great.

Fast Food Splurge

My MIL and I went to Sonic (I have never been there) tonight, we wait until after the sun went down. On our way out, we saw a bat flying in the air and a few seconds later, we saw a frog. Crazy!

I ended up getting a blizzard/milkshake mixed with oreos and cheese fries! My MIL had a cherry limeaide that's mixed with vanilla ice cream and fries. Just before we left, we ordered 2 burgers and fries for our husbands.

When we got home, I asked about Kyle. Luckily he fell right asleep with no problems. I am glad he didn't miss me. Shannon said he was glad we brought food for them, he was starving!

Shannon and I also had a chance to see a really big black beetle looking bug! Shannon brought it in from outside. He felt something crawling on him and startled him out of his chair! It was a huge black beetle!

Another Application

I did a quick job search locally and found a job that was posted earlier this month, and it was posted again today! I told Shannon about it and he said I should definitely apply for it! It's for a customer service position, it looks to be a call center type of job. This particular company provides uniforms and other supplies such as floor mats, restroom supplies, mops, and shop towels. They also specify that this is a "day shift" position, so that's good! No mention of pay, except "based on experience."

I just applied online. We'll see if I get a call back.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday! I am having a good day. I started my morning with a big smile from Kyle just as I was waking up!

Last night, I filled out the employment application for the County Job! I mailed out my application in today's mail! I am crossing my fingers and toes hoping I get a call back!

I found a really cute and funny wedding video that is all over the internet!

Then I found another wedding video that is worth sharing:

County Job

By accident, I found a job opening with the county in which we live in! I just happened to look on the county job website today and found a position that I am going to apply for! I even told Shannon about it and he's very supportive and encouraging me to apply for it. I hope to mail in my application tomorrow. There is no "closing date" either, so that worries me. The job ad states that the job is opened until filled. The ad was posted almost a week ago.

We went to Walmart today for groceries! We bought food for the entire household. I had a list for us and a list from my MIL since she needed some things as well. It was fun! Kyle behaved, as he always does. He loves car rides and loves looking out the windows to see the world! When it's time to get in the car, he loves getting into the car by himself and sitting in his carseat by himself (Shannon buckles him in)!

We had to do two separate orders, since we bought a few things with our WIC coupon.

On our way home, Shannon said that I may have made the cashier's day, that she seemed appreciative! I asked him what he meant, to which he explained... She would bag our groceries and she would hold the bag up for me, she was nice enough to wait until I put the bag in the cart and then reach for the next bag from her. I would say "thank you" to her each time. By the third time, she responded with appreciation, "well, you're welcome." He said she may have realized that she needs to check her attitude and start smiling. We both talked about being in the customer service industry. Sometimes you get into a mood of just helping people over and over again, and not realizing that you aren't smiling or cheery! I really hope I made her day and helped her in the end!

On the lookout

I search several job sites for jobs for Shannon or myself. I only have a few sites that I use. I tend to search throughout the day, since new jobs may be posted.

Today I ended up applying at Pizza Hut! Hopefully my application will actually reach an actual person, since I have applied to other jobs online and never received a call back. I found the job for Pizza Hut posted today!

Not Today

Kyle's speech therapy was rescheduled for next Tuesday at noon. The speech therapist called a little over an hour before his session to let us know that we had to reschedule. Apparently she needs an approval/note from Kyle's doctor before we could start. Since she wasn't sure when that would come in, she rescheduled for next week.

She had perfect timing with her call, I was just getting ready to get Kyle ready, get Shannon up, and do some last minute cleaning!

3 Month Wait?!

I just applied with Kmart again! I was able to apply online. I saw that they posted a job ad online (posted today). Anyway, when it came time to set up an interview, they had no availability until OCTOBER! LOL If they need to hire people, why would they want a 3 month wait? I did set up an interview for October 12th!

Speech Therapy Starts!

We finally received a call from Kyle's speech therapist this afternoon! We have an appointment tomorrow at noon! She said the first "consultation" takes a little longer than other appointments. Hopefully, Shannon can wake up early enough to be present during his appointment!

What's great about this, is that the speech therapist comes to our house!

I am excited to finally get this going for Kyle. I just can't believe it takes them this long to call us! But I am glad we were able to set this up so quickly.

I still don't know what to expect, but I am keeping an open mind and will take any and all advice/tips she can give us to help.

My Birthday

My birthday is coming up this Friday! I can't believe it's almost here!

I am trying to convince my husband to take me to Chili's, since they are having a 3 course meal for 2 for only $20! What a bargain! Applebees is having something similar but they are only offering 2 courses for $20!

Shirtless Monday

Kyle decided he wanted to go shirtless today!

As I write this, there still hasn't been an interview. The guy emailed Shannon on Friday asking him to call on Monday in the "late AM." I checked Shannon's email this morning and the guy emailed back asking him to call "after 2:30PM." Shannon called him "after 2:30 PM" and lo and behold, no answer (he left a voicemail)! WTH? Shannon called him again and left another message leaving his phone number letting him know he'll be here all day. I feel like this guy is stringing him along or just messing with him! I don't know anymore!

Interview tomorrow?

Shannon received a call back for a management job in North Carolina (on the coast) and he ended up leaving two voicemail messages for the guy. Shannon called him back about 45 minutes after he had called and then called again about 2 hours later. Shannon seems really interested in the position and company. The guy emailed Shannon late Friday asking him to call him on Monday in the late AM to discuss his resume. Let's hope he answers his phone!

It's been another quiet weekend for us. I did some cleaning and caught up on laundry yesterday.

Hopefully Kyle's speech therapist will call us sometime this week. We were assigned a speech therapist and were told she was going to call us. I am just waiting for her to call to set something up, I want to get Kyle's therapy going!

We've Been Stamp'd!

We found out last night that we were approved for food stamps! Not only that, we have a big spending budget, it will be more than enough for us. I feel much better now that Kyle is covered on Medicaid, we have WIC, and we're on food stamps!

Shannon received notification that they scheduled a hearing for his unemployment appeal.

Shannon also received a call back for a management position in North Carolina, on the coast. The property is about 6+ hours away!

Lately, I've been making sure Kyle is watching a show called Between the Lions on PBS. It's pretty much a mix between Reading Rainbow meets Sesame Street! They read books, teach words and sing songs. I also try to turn on Barney for Kyle. They sing songs on that show too. He's never really watched much of Barney when he was younger. I never really paid attention to Between the Lions until another mom told me about it.

Mirror Image

We went to Walmart yesterday. We bought some food with our WIC a few other things.

In addition, we bought Kyle a mirror! It's the kind that hangs on the back of a door, I saw the same one at Kmart and Walmart had it for $4.99 cheaper! We bought Kyle a mirror because my MIL has a mirror that hangs on the wall above a table that's a little higher than a desk and Kyle would always climb up on top of the table just so he can see himself in the mirror! When I think back, Kyle has always liked mirrors. When he was an infant, I would stand in front of a mirror and he would just stare at himself in amazement. I would ask him if he's looking at his twin.

We have the mirror leaning against the wall next to the bed, that way if it gets knocked over, it will fall on the bed and not the floor. He's quickly figured out how to put the mirror back against the wall when he knocks it over.

Kyle played with the mirror for a bit yesterday and he's been playing in front of the mirror for most of today! He loves taking his socks off and then putting them back on himself, or even taking his shirt and pants off and put them back on. Now he can watch himself do all of those things! Free entertainment for our 3 1/2 year old!

I have noticed that Kyle is truly asserting his independence! A few days ago and even this morning, I picked out his clothes (as I do everyday), and he doesn't like the shirt I choose. Kyle and I go through all of his shirts and he refuses all of them! LOL So today, he went without a shirt!

He enjoys playing in front of the mirror, making faces at himself, taking off his clothes, and putting them back on.

New Clothes

My MIL and I went to Kmart today. I ended up getting Shannon 2 collared shifts and boxers, both of which he really needed. I also bought myself 2 tank tops!

We're still waiting to hear back on his appeal with his unemployment! We're anxious to hear how they rule. Still job hunting, and received a few call backs. He's returned their call, but they end up not calling back!

I am still doing my workouts. I did a 43 minute cardio workout today! I actually did this workout for the first time last week. It's a really great workout, but very draining!

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!

Speech Therapy

Kyle's doctor's office called us a few days ago to let us know that Speakability would be contacting us regarding his speech therapy. I was finally able to speak with them today! It sounds like they will send a speech therapist to our house! I guess it would be better for Kyle, to learn at home in an environment that he's familiar with. She said she can have something set up by mid-next week!

I have no idea what to expect or how a speech therapist can help!

WIC-ified!

It's official, we're on WIC! The entire process was very easy and very quick. When they explained what we had to do, I expected to be there for at least a few hours! They sped us through each step, which was great! First, we had to sit down and give them some basic information, we were automatically approved for WIC because we are already on Medicaid! One of the questions she asked us made Shannon and I laugh out loud. She asked us for our income level!

After that, they had to weigh and measure Kyle. Today he only weighed 31.8 pounds. Then we had to go down the hall to have his blood drawn (they pricked his finger) to check his iron. Our next step was to meet with a nutritionist and she said Kyle's iron level was at 35 which is normal for his age/height! She said they want them to be at 33 or higher. She also said he was at normal weight and height for his age. She asked us about his eating habits and what type of milk he drinks (soy milk). With WIC, he can only be on 2%, 1%, or skim milk. The last step was to meet with the first lady we had talked to and she explained how to use the vouchers and explained what type of foods we could get with our vouchers. WIC covers eggs, cheese, milk, juice, and our choice of peanut butter or dried beans. We are limited to certain types of milk, cheese and juice brands as well.

We have to come back in 3 months to get new vouchers!

We also received a reply back regarding our food stamp application. Our case worker set up an appointment for next week. They need additional documents and proof from us, which is no problem.

Accidental Road Trip

We planned on going to the Head Start office to enroll Kyle in speech therapy and preschool. Shannon looked at the map online and I wrote down the directions. We get to the area he thinks it's located at and it's not there! Come to find out, he realized his misread the map! LOL We ended up going on a 45 minute road trip!

I kept asking him if he wanted to stop and ask for directions. He didn't want to. LOL

If anything, Kyle and I got out of the house. Kyle LOVES car rides anyway! He had fun looking out the windows.

Shannon said we'll go to the Head Start office AND the WIC office tomorrow. Of course I was surprised, TWO places in ONE day?! He never likes to do more than one thing a day, he prefers not to do anything if he had it his way. I am just glad he realizes that we need to get on WIC and Head Start. I hope it's not too late to get Kyle enrolled in Head Start!

4th of July Food

Wow! What a feast! My MIL made so much food! She barbecued the hamburgers, hotdogs, potatoes, and corn on the cob. We also had potato chips, potato salad, and cole slaw. Kyle even had his own corn on the cob and he loved it! It was cute watching him eat it. Shannon had a burger since he rarely has one. Kyle even had a few bites of hamburger!



I ended up having ONE Smirnoff Ice, which is an alcoholic beverage. I rarely drink and I believe the last drink I had was about 4+ years ago. I couldn't even finish the entire thing, the drink got to me quick. I also made sure to EAT before drinking. My heart started beating fast and my lungs felt like they had 10 lb weights on them. I just looked up "alcohol allergy" and this is what I found. I have the flushing reaction.

Here is more info, and this is also what my MIL heard on Oprah (from Dr. Oz):

Many people of Asian descent experience an unusual flushing reaction after drinking alcohol — even in very small amounts. This is caused by a genetic disorder in which the body is unable to break down alcohol completely.

The above reaction to alcohol went away about 2 hours later. I did have to drink a few glasses of water just to help dilute the effects or at least try to. I ended up taking a nap for a few hours! LOL I don't know if it was because I ate a LOT or because of the alcohol! Shannon was sweet enough to watch Kyle during this time.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

My MIL and I went grocery shopping yesterday for our barbecue we're having today! We tried looking for veggie dogs and they didn't have any. My MIL even tried asking an employee if they had any "meatless hotdogs" and I could tell he had NO IDEA what they were because he pointed us to the "meat" section where the other hot dogs were. LOL Plus this employee was a GUY and he had the southern accent, I could just tell he didn't know what "meatless hotdogs" were, he probably thought it was an oxymoron. Anyway, I ended up getting "meatless ribs." Everyone else is having either hotdogs or hamburgers. We bought a lot of other things like chips, corn on the cob, and angel food cake (to make strawberry shortcake) for dessert. Yum!

Shannon started a new class a few weeks ago. This class is on a subject he really likes and it's an ACTUAL class where he can learn something. He had a 1000 word paper due last week and he was already graded on it. He got 100% on the paper! The professor said he's only given out full credit to 12 other students and he will make number 13.

Everything else is going okay. We're still waiting to hear back regarding his appeal on his unemployment. If they don't rule in his favor, Shannon said he will look at getting a local security job. I applied for 2 jobs for myself last night. I am still job searching for Shannon as well.

We applied for food stamps this week! Let's hope we are approved! Hopefully next week we can get to the Head Start office to apply for that for Kyle.

The parts are in!

I have my laptop again! It works. The parts for my laptop FINALLY arrived today! It turns out it was the cord that wasn't working. So I am using the new cord with the same battery. I am saving the battery for when my current battery goes out. I am so happy that Shannon and I won't have to share one computer anymore!!!