Paperwork and more

Shannon's boss called yesterday and gave him additional hours this week.  He had to work for about an hour this morning, just long enough to train for that particular work site. 

This morning, I went to Human Resources to fill out a few forms and they gave me the benefits package to read through and fill out the forms to bring back later.  They also sent me to get my drug screening done.  Thankfully, I only waited about 15 minutes to take the test. 

Pending my background check and drug screening, I should hear from Human Resources or my new boss on a start date. 

I got the job!

I got the job at the County as an Office Assistant.  The pay is lower than the salary range they list on their website.  However, on their pay plan, it lists that that is the starting pay for all "Office Assistants." 

I am going in to Human Resources to do the background check and drug screen. 

Grocery shopping at Trader Joe's

My MIL and I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.  I ended up getting fruit and spinach and few other healthy items.  I just bought as much as I could but also thinking of staying under a certain amount.

I am amazed at the prices, they are comparable to what I would pay at Walmart or any other grocery store. 

I bought a goodies for all of us too.  I bought Kyle "cheetos" like snack.  For Shannon and I, I bought ice cream.  I bought him "coffee bean" and for me, I chose chocolate.  Kyle has been helping me eat the chocolate ice cream. 

Less Diapers

Kyle is still successfully using the toilet to pee.  I am not sure if he is pooping in the toilet but he is still using a diaper to go number 2.  Other than that, we put him in diaper at night at bedtime.  Now we're using about 3 diapers or less a day. 

We have left the house while he was wearing underwear but it was for about 20 minutes or so.  We haven't tried taking him out while wearing underwear for very long. 

I just bought a new box of diapers, I hope this will be the last box ever with him!  

Using the toilet

For the majority of the day, Kyle has been using the toilet to go pee.  For the last few days, I have been having him wear regular boys underwear.  I bought these several months ago, maybe even a year ago.  At first, he wouldn't put them on, or he would put them on and then quickly take them off.  Fast forward to now, he likes putting them on and wearing them for a little bit.  A few times, he would put them on and pee just a enough to take them off and put on another pair.  And then put on diapers. 

Today, is completely different.  He did pee a little bit in two pairs of underwear.  Then he put on a diaper.  Then I told him to get his underwear.  He's been wearing underwear since this morning and going pee by himself.  He recognizes the urge to go and runs to the toilet. 

We even went for a walk today and he was wearing underwear. 

Hopefully we won't have to buy diapers anymore...  I hope to have him potty trained by the time school starts. 

Electric company

By June 21st, we would pay our electric company over $746.  I am not sure why it is that much.  I know we were paying for two places for awhile but I don't think it should be that much.  Not only that, we received another bill in the mail that combined both our former account with the electric company and this account.  They merged the two accounts and they say we owe another $402+ on July 2nd.  They did tack on $312+ from the former account to this latest bill.  So I am going to call them next week to get the current total we owe.  That is just ridiculous how much we owe.

Not only that, when we got home today, we had a letter from the office stating we have an outstanding bill of $12+ due for the electric company!  I don't know how that is.  We switched the apartment to our name.  I am pretty sure it was from the days that the construction people were in here. 

One day for errands

Shannon is still working non-stop and today is his only day off this week.  Thankfully, it was just in time for us to pick up some things I ordered online through Walmart.  I chose the “site to store” option which means shipping was free!  I bought a Rachael Ray tea kettle in red (to match my red Rachael Ray casserole dish).  

I also bought a welcome mat!  Shannon liked the personalized mat.  We decided on the one below:

We chose the black color design.  Ours has the letter “F” for our last name and also represents what apartment number we’re in.  Instead of our last name, we choose the word FAMILY.  It worked out perfectly.  The letter stands for our last name and the word family!  It is a very basic welcome mat, but it will do.

 

While we were at Walmart, Shannon also received a call from his boss.  He now works every day except Monday!  So, he’s working six days next week! 

Two Miles of Walking and Yoga

Kyle and I walked at least two miles total!  Today is the first day of summer break for him.  We went for a walk around our apartment complex and I am guessing it was about a mile walk, although I could be wrong.  We went for a walk around 9:25am and then again at around 12:40pm or so.  It was overcast and not hot at all when we went for a walk the first time.  However, when we went for a walk in the afternoon, it was hot and humid!  

This morning, I also did 15 minutes of yoga!  

Shannon has been working non-stop since we moved.  So he’s been working just about every day for the last three weeks.  I think after this, he won’t be volunteering for this many days of work.  But then again, he knows we need the money.  He is trying to pay off his credit card, plus we have bills. 

I did manage to save us about $21 a month by switching our car and renter’s insurance.  I am very happy with the change.  I am also ecstatic about saving that much per month! 

Afternoon trip shopping

My mother-in-law went to Trader Joe's and Stein Mart today.  They are in the same shopping center, so we went to Stein Mart first.  She was looking for a few things and only found one, which is a kitchen timer.  Then we headed over to Trader Joe's.  It was perfect timing for me, since I was going to go to the grocery store across the street later this week for produce. 

I ended up buying spinach, tomatoes, avocados, meatless patties, frozen quiche, chocolate covered raisins, and two bottles of wine!  The prices were comparable to any other grocery store and Walmart which was surprising to me.  I am glad that Trader Joe's is more affordable than I thought. 

Law School in the future?

For as long as I have known Shannon, he has always wanted to go to law school.  When he finally went back to school and graduated to earn his Bachelor’s Degree, I wanted him to pursue law school.  It seemed he was putting it off. 

I knew he was not actually putting it off.  I know that we cannot afford it, but I kept urging him to apply.  He said that law school does not allow you to work the first year of school, which means we would not work for our family.  I told him to try other schools.  I also told him they don’t expect new students to hand over a $40,000 check just to attend.  Law schools do have financial aid offices, I am sure they help students figure out how they are going to pay for school. 

The other night, I just finally told him how frustrating it is that he has his Bachelor’s Degree.  He should really look into law schools or at least apply to a few schools.  He took our talk to heart and the next morning, he told me he found an online law school that would cost roughly $4000 a year to attend.  The only downside is that they do not offer financial aid or loans, it would all be out of pocket. 

Last night, he found out that Concord Law School offers an online option through Kaplan University.  The law school is entirely online.  They also offer financial aid and loans.  To make a long story short, if everything works out, he could be a law student starting in September! 

The only downside to studying through Concord Law School/Kaplan is that if he were to become a lawyer, he would have to practice law in California.  His law license would be legit, he just could not practice in any other state.  However, that doesn’t mean he could apply for other jobs with his law degree.  He could always go back into management, training or even Human Resources. 

Switched insurance companies

Since we moved, it was time to consider switching or looking for a lower insurance rate.  We have been with Progressive since 2007.  The other day, I shopped for a car and renter's insurance rate with Allstate.  If we switched to Allstate, our car insurance payment would be about $20 a month!  Our renter's insurance was about $1 or so lower. 

I made the switch this morning.  We are paying about $20 less a month for car insurance and about the same for renter's insurance!  I am excited we are now Allstate customers.  Our insurance goes into affect at the end of the month. 

Floor lamp hand-me-down

My mother-in-law stopped by this afternoon and asked if we wanted their floor lamp.  She also brought over a decorative plastic plant in a basket and asked if we wanted it.  Right now, it is sitting on the top shelf with my other plants in our living room. 

Shannon and I agreed that we could definitely the lamp.  They brought it over this afternoon.  I like it.  I have it in our living room for now, but Shannon may decide to move it.  Kyle likes it.  He turned it on and is sitting on the couch watching TV. 

A few more hand-me-downs

My mother-in-law gave us four wine glasses, a wine rack and a wine glasses rack/holder.  I don't drink, but I am glad Shannon has actual wine glasses to use.  He has wine on occasion.  He will have a glass in the evening time to help him fall asleep. 

She also gave me a brass candle stick!  It's pretty.  I may use it to hold an air plant!  I am not sure what to do with the candle stick!

She gave me a huge white serving bowl!  I love it.  We can use it to serve and store salad or even our homemade salsa.  

I also have a cheese grater and a few plastic beer mugs that they got from Epcot!  I also got a coffee or tea carafe that will keep our beverage hot.  I love tea so I can keep it in the carafe.  She gave me the utensils holder that will sit on our counter.  It holds our kitchen cooking tools!  I really wanted something like it.  Lastly, she gave me a green/BPA free cooking pan, it is a small square size that can cook one egg or so. 

My new air plant container

My mother-in-law is going through her things to determine what she should keep and what items to donate to Goodwill.  Before donating to Goodwill, she is offering me anything we want/need.  One of the things she gave me is the glass container with a lid.  She used it as a candy dish but she suggested I use it for my air plants! 

So I took a few pictures to display my air plants. 

I may look for a big enough plant or two to fit inside!