Trying to stick with it

Yesterday, I decided to get back into working out again.  I had stopped over the past few weeks and stepped away from it when Kyle was off from school for the Christmas holidays.  I am trying to get back into it.  I started Turbo Fire yesterday and woke up so sore today.  I did the second day of the workout this morning but now I am rethinking the regular schedule.  Instead,  I may switch to the "prep" schedule.  I don't want to burn myself out nor do I want to start hating the program because I am unable to keep up.

I love working out and I love Turbo Fire.  I'd rather do this right, than struggling through it.  

New Year's Eve

I can't believe today is the last day of 2011!  Although, that means tomorrow is my 9th Wedding Anniversary! 

I am looking forward to the New Year!  I just started a new project.  I am organizing virtual book tours for authors.  Since I love to read and review books, I decided to do this. 

I am still unsure if I should go back to college at this time.  I am loving what I am doing now with organizing book tours.  This allows me to be a stay at home mom and earn a little extra income. 

Our dryer

While I don't mind doing laundry, I was starting to hate our dryer.  I realize we have a stackable washer and dryer, but it would take several hours to dry one load of laundry.  I should preface this by saying that when we first moved in, we had to call customer service because we needed someone to show us how to hook up the washer to our kitchen sink (we rent the washer and dryer).  Also, we asked about the screen and how to remove it to remove the lint.  The lady on the phone told Shannon that we don't have to, since it's connect to the hose. 

It would literally take 4-6 hours to dry one load of towels.  Let's say I was doing 6 towels, I would have to split the load and dry 3 towels at a time and each load could take 2 to 3 hours to dry!  I really didn't look forward to drying jeans, which is why I started hang drying them! 

Just today, Shannon was playing around with the dryer and he found out that there is a screen and it does need to be cleaned.  It was filled with at least 3 inches thick of lint!  I was in the middle of drying our bedsheets (for a second round in the dryer) and who knows how long that would have taken to dry.  I also cut that load in half so I was only on the first half.  After Shannon cleaned the screen, I couldn't wait to try our dryer.  My second load of our sheets dried so quickly!  I didn't even have to do a second, third, or fourth round in the dryer. 

I have a desktop again

This week, Shannon put together my desk so that I have a place to use the computer.  

After using a laptop since 2007 or so, it's nice to have my own desktop computer to use.  My in-laws gave us their old desktop, so we Shannon set it up this week. When Shannon went to turn it on, it wouldn't work and the button got stuck inside.  When he opened up the tower, he realized that the hard drive had been removed.  Then he remembered telling his dad how to remove it a few months ago.  We think his parents forgot that they removed the hard drive when they gave us their old computer. 

After realizing the tower was useless, we were thankful to at least have a new computer screen, keyboard, and mouse.  We decided to shop online at Best Buy for an affordable tower.  I left that to Shannon to choose.  Last night, we ordered it online and picked it up at the next closest Best Buy.  Shannon set up my desktop and I have been working on setting it up to my preference and will work on transferring my files to my desktop. 

Do I see a flat screen in our future?

Earlier this week, Shannon and I read a news article called TV Prices Fall and we are optimistic!  Our current TV is a "flat screen" but it's not HDTV, LCD, or Plasma.  We bought our TV back in 2004 or 2005!  I am a fan of Clark Howard, he's a money saving guru on HLN.  About a month ago, he said that flat screens will go on sale for the holidays.  He gave examples such as, "32 inch screens will be $399, etc."  I am sure he did not predict that TV prices will lower even more! 

We are hopeful in the fact that TV's will drop so significantly that by the time we have money, we could buy one. 

Applied for college

Yesterday, I spoke with an Ashford University Admissions Counselor and she explained the school, background, and answered my questions.  I am unsure if I can fit college in my life and of course, I don't want to any more debt (school loans).  I am also intimidated by the idea of going back to college and having school assignments, homework, and essays to write!

On the other hand, I am excited at the Bachelor's Degree program.  The subject interests me.  

Since I already have an Associate's Degree, it would take me about 2 years to complete my Bachelor's Degree.  If I qualify for Pell Grants, it may cover about half of my tuition.  I was informed that I could also apply for other grants that I wouldn't have to pay back.  I really want to avoid school loans!

I ended up applying for the college last night and we'll see what happens from there.  

Also, would I have the time to put into school studying and learning?  Kyle can be time consuming.  The best time for me to study would be when he's in school.

I also have to consider our current situation, we are both unemployed and one of us will have to start working (most likely me).  But if he wins his case, we would be okay financially. 

Another week off of school

Kyle is off of school this week.  This past Monday, December 26th, I was feeling bored and decided to go for a walk.  I took Kyle with  me and he loved it.  We walked about a mile or so and then he wanted to go play on the playground that we have in our apartment complex. 

The next day, Tuesday, December 27th, I took him for another walk.  This time, we walked across the street to the park.  The little park has a playground and two tennis courts in the middle and there are walking trails all around.  It's not a huge park, but it's a nice place to walk.  Kyle also played on the playground at the park.

We couldn't go for a walk yesterday because of the weather.  It decided to rain throughout the day.  Today's weather looks promising.  The sun is out, but it's still cold! 

Merry Christmas

Last night, I was having trouble falling asleep.  My throat was hurting and I kept coughing.  I ended up taking some cold medicine just so I could fall asleep.  I only took half of the dose recommended because I hate taking liquid cold medicine. 

Kyle and I woke up this morning around 7am.  I did a few things for my blog and I also did 2 loads of laundry. 

I tend to feel tired in the afternoon time and I usually take a nap.  Instead, I opted to take Kyle for a walk and enjoy the fresh air.  We took a 30 minute walk and then he wanted to go on the swings.  We spent a good 45 minutes outside.  It was cold, but he was bundled up in his jacket. 

I think I will take him for a walk in the afternoon time for the rest of the week since he's off of school.  Plus it will give us some time outside!  Kyle loved it!   It is also great exercise for the both of us! 

Talking More

We have noticed that Kyle is really trying to talk more.  He likes to use signs and say the word.  Just this week, we heard him say "dog" as in hot dog.  He wanted hot dogs so it comes out, "daw."

Overall, he's talking more.  He also understands our words because he does what we ask of him.  When I tell him to put on his jacket, he'll run to find it and put it on.  He also understands "shower" because his daddy started taking showers with him.

He likes to dance.

Last sickness of the year

Kyle started showing signs of being sick last Sunday, but I sent him to school on Monday and Tuesday since it was his last days until his Holiday vacation from school. 

By Wednesday, Shannon and I started getting sick.  He and I have either runny nose, stuffy nose, feeling achy, or headaches.  Hopefully we won't be sick much longer.  I don't think it's that severe of a cold as I haven't had to take cold medicine.  Kyle seems to be feeling better for a few days already. 

Sociology or Social Science

I was thinking about going back to college again and I would love to find an accredited online college to attend.  Shannon is almost done with his school, he will have his Bachelors in Criminal Justice.  I stumbled onto Ashford University and found two bachelor programs that really caught my attention!  I am interested in either Bachelor of Arts in Sociology or Bachelor of Arts in Social Science. Both have different advantages and disadvantages.  I would need to talk to an admissions rep or counselor to weigh my options. 

When I was attending the local community college right after high school, I remember I was interested in Sociology but the classes were always full because they were so popular and the teacher was popular too!

Both programs interest me, I can't wait to find out more info.

So close to home!

I received an email from my son's principal with no subject line.  Normally when she sends out emails, she uses a subject line, so that was a bit surprising.  When I opened it, this is what I found:

As you can see, I erased any personal information, email address, phone numbers, and our County that we live in. 

Receiving this email was a complete shock because I had no idea about this investigation.  In my defense, I don't always watch the news and when I did a search online, I could only find that our Fox affiliate news station covered the story.  They didn't name the teacher involved in this in the article either. 

I still can't believe this happened at my son's school.  Although, I am glad they seemed to handle this in a professional manner and not just accuse him and assume he was guilty.  I don't believe that all teachers are child molesters.  They are innocent until proven guilty. 

Dinner invite

Today was Kyle's last day of school for the year!  He has the next two weeks off from school.  On his way off the bus, his bus driver gave him a candy cane, which was really nice of him.  I didn't see him give a candy cane to any of the other kids either!

Our neighbor gave us an invite to another dinner party they are having on New Years Eve (the day before our 9th Wedding Anniversary).  They invited us over to make dumplings and then have dinner.

They invited us to a dinner party they were having for last Saturday but we ended up not going.  We have two reasons for not going: 1. My diet.  I'm a vegetarian and I would feel rude for not eating their food.  2. Kyle's special needs.  Sometimes Most of the time he can be a complete handful and take all of our energy trying to hold him and keep him from misbehaving.

Anyway, they ended up bringing over some of the leftover food they had.  Their kids were all dressed up and the little girl looked so cute in her red plaid dress!  Both kids are so adorable!  The little boy happens to be 4 months older than Kyle and they ride the same bus to school.  They ended up giving us 2 slices of pizza, 4 chicken breasts, 1 slice of cake, 1 slice of pumpkin cheesecake, and some bread.   Shannon was so shocked at how generous they were for bringing over the food.  I had the pumpkin cheesecake, which was really good.  Shannon ate the pizza and chicken breasts! 

The last time they invited us, Shannon straight out said that we shouldn't go.  He doesn't like to be social.  I would like to be friends/social with neighbors every once in awhile, but I'd also like to share it with my family! 

Special Olympics ribbon

Kyle came home with his first ribbon!  Apparently he participated in the Special Olympics at school!  Even though Kyle had no idea what he was playing, I am pretty sure he had fun!  He loves being active, playing and running around! 

I've never seen the Special Olympics in action, but playing in this type of set up teaches the kids confidence, having fun, sportsmanship, and so much more! 

I'm on the list!

Every Tuesday, the school sends the students home with a packet.  It's a weekly information packet full of school information, updates, announcements, and any classroom information as well.  There was a flyer from the school asking for volunteers to help with the annual talent show in February!  I asked Shannon what he thought about me volunteering and he had no problems with it.  So, I emailed the contact person and she took down my name and cell phone number (I also gave her our home phone number since that is the best number to contact us at).  I've been added me to the list!

Computer Desk

A few months ago, my in-laws gave us their old desktop computer (they have since upgraded their computer).  I just ordered a computer desk from Walmart.  I plan on using the desktop computer in our second bedroom.  I hope to do my workouts in the second bedroom if I am unable to do them in the family room.  I can also use the computer if I don't want to use my laptop.  I can't wait to use a desktop computer again as I have not had my own since 2007.  I miss not having a mouse to navigate too. 

Bed and Bath items from Walmart

When we moved into our current apartment back in May of 2011, we bought decorative bathroom towels, matching bath mats and a bed set at Walmart.  We chose their Canopy brand because we thought it was supposed to be better quality.  Shannon chose the colors of course -- he loves blue, so it's in a light blue color.  Our towels are gold/yellow color. 

We soon found out that Walmart bed and bath products do not last.  Our towels started unraveling, losing it's shape, and shrinking after a few months!  Our sheets are okay but the bedspread slowly started beading up and making a lot of fuzz balls!  We were forced to wash our bedspread for the first time since May and I can only imagine how it will look when it's washed and dried. 

Since we finally saw how low quality Walmart stuff is, Shannon and I have decided to buy any future things at a department store.  We've been buying our clothes at JC Penney and I just purchased a new bedspread at JC Penney as well.  I am tired of my clothes unraveling, losing it's shape, etc after only a few months. 

I also plan on buying Kyle's clothes and shoes from a department store. 

How nice!

This morning, our neighbor (they live across the street from us and live in the same apartment community as us) stopped by and asked if I could possibly watch his son after school (meet him at the bus stop).  He had to take his car in to get fixed because he was in an accident yesterday (the other guy hit him).  Anyway, he wanted me to wanted me to watch his son just in case he didn't make it home in time to meet his son at the bus stop.  I told him it wouldn't be a problem and he gave me his apartment key. 

Well, he just returned home (about 20 minutes before the bus drops off the kids).  He said he went to Costco and he gave us two apples and two grapefruits and a fresh loaf of bread (made at the store).  The package of bread had two loaves so he gave us one of them!  I thought it was so nice of him to give us the food! 

Changed his shoes

Awhile back, when it was time to buy Kyle new shoes, I ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes.  He only ended up wanting to wear one pair, the blue ones.  He wore them until they literally ripped at the soles!  Earlier this week, I brought out his other pair of shoes (white ones) and he reluctantly put them on and as soon as I walked away, he took them off and tried to put them back.  I ended up helping him put them back on his feet and I quickly changed the situation (this usually helps when he's about to have a tantrum). 

Kyle does not like change.  He does not like new clothes either.  It is very difficult to bring in new clothes for him to wear.  He thrives on routine.  I would love to dress him up in cute boy clothes but I have to stick to his school clothes. 

All this week, he's been having tantrums, morning and night.  It is very out of the ordinary for him.  We don't know what triggers it either.  There are times when he bangs his head against the wall.  The other morning, he was a happy boy and smiling with me.  The next minute he starts having a tantrum!  It has been frustrating. 

Shannon has said he does NOT want to put Kyle on medication, even though I am open to the idea.  Then I thought about the possibility of trying an alternative herbal remedy that would be all natural and safe to use with no side effects.  I found a product for tantrums but it's almost $40.  If you buy 2, you get one free and that's about $70! 

When Kyle got home from school, he was much better from the rest of this week.  He cried and got upset at the usual issues that triggers him but that quickly passed.   We're thinking he's used to his new shoes by now.  It usually takes him a few days to get used to something new.  After that, it's part of his routine.