Almost 2 weeks

We finally went grocery shopping today.  We have been out of food for a few days.  It's been almost two weeks since we last went to the store.  Thankfully, we have a supply of food that is meant to be stored for years.  We have several soups and pastas, so we've been eating those the last few says since we didn't have anything else. 

It's been a good Friday

This morning I found out that my graduation date is about two years sooner than they had originally had me scheduled for because my transcripts have been applied.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and it's not too far!

I also received my rough draft of my paper back from the Teacher's Assistant and he gave me great feedback on my paper to make it better.  He also complimented me on my writing and said I had a well structured paper.  Looks like my Honors English class back in high school really played a huge part, even though it's been over a decade since I've been in high school!  My final paper is due next week and today I changed my paper based on his feedback.

I am all caught up for school for this week so I have the rest of the weekend to relax and not worry about school.  Next week is the last week of the class and it doesn't look too difficult!  

This afternoon, my Corelle dinnerware set arrived!  They are so pretty and lightweight which is a huge difference from our current set.

Aside from everything above, we ended up keeping Kyle home from school today.  He was looking like he wasn't feeling well the last few days and this early this morning (around 3:30am) he threw up!  He then threw up this morning and this evening!

Corelle Dishes

The other day, I was finally able to purchase a set of Corelle Dinnerware on Amazon.  My order came to $0.  Even the shipping was free.  I used my Amazon gift cards to pay for the entire order!  I can't wait to get our new dinnerware set.  The dishes we have now have lasted us over 9 years (my in-laws bought them for us shortly after we got married).  Unfortunately, some of our dishes are chipped and some pieces are missing because they broke over the years.  I'm tired of having dishes that chip and break. 

The above picture is the set that I chose!  I chose blue and green because they are our favorite colors, Shannon likes blue and I like green. 

Our organic dinner

Today I made quinoa for the first time!  I've heard of it before and then my MIL told me that they eat it and that I can use vegetable broth to cook it, as opposed to using water.  I read online that I could use a rice cooker to make it. 

I made organic quinoa (and organic vegetable broth in place of the water) in my rice cooker!  I also made organic tofu and organic spinach.  I cut the tofu into cubes and let them marinate in olive oil and soy sauce for about 15 minutes.  I cooked the tofu and spinach in my non-stick pan. 

It turned out really good!!!!  Shannon said it tasted good and said that he likes spinach, so I guess that means I'll need to make more of it! 

I am searching online for more quinoa recipes and found 3 that look easy for me to make! 

Epic Burritos!

We made bean burritos at home yesterday!  We bought our ingredients at Walmart and they turned out really good!  They tasted so fresh and tasted so good.  We used canned refried beans, tomatoes, an onion, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese!  I had Shannon cut up the tomatoes and onion since I don't like onions, nor do I like the smell.  While he was doing that, I heated up the beans and made sure all the ingredients were on the counter and ready to go.

We had leftovers so I had a couple of burritos today!  I can't wait to make them again!  Our burritos were so fresh tasting!  Love it!  I tried making a burrito for Kyle but he wasn't interested!

Happy Halloween

Today is Halloween and we're staying in tonight.  We don't do the trick or treating or dressing up since Kyle probably won't be into it.  I don't think he would like the "scary" stuff, nor could we ever go to a Haunted House with all the screaming and scary sounds.  Which reminds me, I love the show Parenthood on NBC, one of the families has a son who has autism.  Here is a scene that I could relate to, where the mother is explaining Halloween to Max.  She is preparing him to what can happen at Halloween and how it all works.  In their case, Max is afraid of fire (whereas Kyle is afraid of scary noises/screaming).  I can relate to what the family goes through with their son Max.  There was a particular scene where she was asking her husband to pick up a certain type of cereal for Max, otherwise he won't eat his cereal, it had to be a certain kind. 

Also, Kyle doesn't like putting on just any clothes, he would literally struggle if I had to put something different on him and if I did manage to get it on him, he would take it right off. 

We were going to do the same as we did last year, pick up some Chinese food and eat it at home, but we had a big lunch and there's even food left over.  I also "made" Double Chocolate Chip Cookies that I bought from Kyle's school fundraiser.  I made a small batch yesterday as well and Shannon loved them!  They are really good and gooey!

Spa recipes at home

I was browsing around the Sephora website and saw "brown sugar body polish" for $65 and thought that it was a ridiculous price to pay for something that you could make at home.  Today, I also saw a local news story about "making your own spa products at home."  You can also view the video below.



I decided to look up recipes on how to make "brown sugar body polish" at home.  After finding several different recipes, it's pretty much the same ingredients as the sugar scrub recipe that I have.  Since I don't have brown sugar on hand, I used white sugar and mixed it with olive oil, honey, and coconut oil.  These type of homemade spa recipes are customizable and you can add whatever you prefer, which is what I like about them.  I can't afford to go to a spa, but I can find these ingredients at the grocery store!   The recipe was easy to put together and I used it after I showered and rinsed it off when I was done.

This evening, I made spaghetti!  I haven't made spaghetti since 2005, right before the time we found out we were pregnant with Kyle.  Anyway, I used one package of whole wheat store brand noodles, Prego spaghetti sauce, and added a can of corn!  It was so easy and everyone loved it.  Shannon ate at least half of it.  Kyle loved it because he loves noodles.  He looked like a vampire while he was eating, the sauce was all over his lips, cheeks, and chin.  I wish I had bought more spaghetti noodles now.  I did buy other types of noodles and have a little spaghetti sauce left, but I also bought alfredo sauce.  I am not sure if Kyle will like the other noodles or just spaghetti noodles.  I was going to offer some to my in-laws but wasn't sure if it would be up to their standards of "organic, all natural, Oprah-approved, Dr. Oz approved, upper class, etc."  But I don't have to worry about that because there's only a tiny bit left that Kyle can eat tomorrow.

100% Better!!

We are 100% better!  We've been feeling better since yesterday!  When I went to make breakfast for Kyle and I yesterday morning, I realized that we were ready to eat cereal!  Kyle ended up having two bowls of cereal!  He's also been wanting mac 'n cheese or ramen noodle soup throughout the day!

We are so happy that Kyle is ready to go back to school!  Unfortunately there is less than a month left of school for the year!  His new school schedule is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday which we are excited about!

First Day of a New Job

Today is Shannon's first day of work with a new job! He was out the door right at 6 AM! He had packed his bag the night before.

Today was also my first full day of watching Kyle. It sure has been awhile. I think I will have to let Kyle play outside tomorrow because he got pretty antsy today. If the weather permits, he will play outside! I may even take him for a walk. Kyle is doing better with eating. He ate a good breakfast of cereal, had a corn dog for lunch, and tuna helper for dinner. I am making an effort to offer him milk and juice at each meal.

Shannon is hoping we can move as early as mid-February! We're open to renting a house or an apartment. Since I found his job on craigslist, we are looking on craigslist for rentals. We are aware of the many "scams" on craigslist, so we're being careful and cautious.

Stopped by the Classroom

We got up early hoping to have Kyle start preschool today. The weather was freezing cold, the car had ice on it and Kyle was shivering by the time we got out of the car to go into the school. We met the teacher and saw the classroom. She went over the main points of what he needed to have. We're going to have him go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The school has a uniform dress code and we're also going to apply for free or low cost meals for him. We gave his teacher his paperwork as well.

My MIL and I ended up going shopping today for his clothes. First, we tried Goodwill and found a pair of pants and a shirt. We then we to Big Lots and Walmart. I didn't find anything at Big Lots but I did find his pants and shirts at Walmart. I bought long sleeved shirts since it's cold outside. We then went to the "mall" that they have out here. I went to JC Penney's and found a jacket and a beanie and glove set. We also looked at Sears and found a jacket for much less and ended up getting the jacket there and returning the jacket I bought from JC Penney's.

I tried on some of the clothes on Kyle and unfortunately the jacket is WAY TOO big for him. It's more of a size for an older boy of at least 7 or 8. It's not a toddler size jacket. Plus, Shannon wants to get a thicker jacket for him. The pants that I bought for him were marked for 4T but they are too big, hopefully after a wash or two, they will fit better. I am going to take the clothes back to the Goodwill that I bought from there since they are too big for him. The shirts look big on him, but they will do for now.

Kyle also needed a backpack and he will need a towel or blanket (for rest time) as well. I found a backpack at the goodwill for only $3! We're probably going to have him use a towel because his blankets are still packed away.

Kyle will start his first day of preschool on Wednesday! Shannon and I are excited for him and want to make sure he is ready. At least we know where his school is. It's a beautiful and clean looking school. All of the classrooms are inside a big building. When we got home from taking Kyle to the school, he starting crying when we got home and we think it's because he didn't want to leave! Hopefully he'll like playing with other kids.

When we got home, we all ended up eating tuna sandwiches and other things we could find. We were all hungry! Shannon, Kyle, and myself ended up taking a nap after eating! I think we slept for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When I woke up, I took a shower and Shannon was up by the time I was done.

Day of Sunshine

Today was the first day in 4 days we had nice weather. The last 4 days were overcast, cold, windy, and raining here and there. It was pretty much too cold or wet to go outside. We took Kyle outside to play throughout the day, which he loved!

For the first time in about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks, Kyle had something else for dinner this afternoon. Normally for lunch and dinner, he would have a waffle and a Morning Star sausage patty. Today, Kyle had brown rice and corn! I was so surprised to see him eat it, but I am very glad at the same time! Hopefully we can get him to eat more meals like this! He hasn't had vegetables in a very long time. I honestly think he was getting tired of the same thing over and over, but it's really hard to get him to eat! He's so picky!

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I ended up quitting my work at home job today. I have many reasons for doing so and feel better now.

Other than that, we're hoping for some phone calls this coming week! Shannon is really wanting to go back to work! And I am really wanting to get our own place! We are really hoping to hear back from the local job, I even found an apartment complex that I really like here.

At Home Gourmet Meal

We went on a mini-grocery trip today. I bought more ingredients for some new recipes that I plan on making this week. We also bought lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and an apple pie. Tonight for dinner, I felt like we ate OUT, without going OUT. It was really nice. It was gourmet-like to me. We can't afford to go out to eat, but tonight's dinner was awesome! It definitely beat going out. I shared my lasagna and garlic bread with our son and he loved it.

Our DS has been biting off the tops (the spout) of his sippy cups, so we bought cups that have lids and a straw. We decided to "upgrade" him to cups (with a lid). =) We tried it tonight with him and he seems to like it.