Carpet Cleaning Friday

While Kyle was at school today, I shampoo'd the carpets -- the carpets we walk on everyday! They really needed to be cleaned, there were various stains and it started to smell. I haven't had any carpet cleaning solution since I bought my carpet cleaning vacuum (it came with a sample size), so instead, I use some Shaklee product that is super concentrated all purpose cleaner. The carpets look so much better and our rooms smell better!

I happened to find a "rug & carpet shampoo" product that is earth friendly and safe to use around pets and children. I am excited to try it, as the reviews are very positive. There are still some stains and hope to get them out with this product. I miss using my carpet cleaning vacuum, it was fun shampooing the carpets! I plan on shampooing the carpets on a regular basis now. I like having clean carpets to walk on.



I also needed more homeopathic medicine for my allergy to cats! I am running low and don't want to risk running out.

I am job searching daily for Shannon. I am only focusing on finding State, City, and County jobs. I have applied for several so far. I check several times a day and search at least 4 or 5 surrounding cities and counties in addition to the State website. Every once in awhile, I will apply for other positions that are not State, City, or County jobs. Hopefully we'll get a call back soon.

I am looking forward to Kyle's doctor appointment next Thursday! Hopefully the doctor can direct us on what we should do and give us a few referrals to other specialists.

Did I interrupt your nap?

I had to call our local Social Services Department and the "operator" transferred me over to someone without telling me why. I thought it was rude. She could have explained to me that she was not the one to help me but would connect me to someone who could. Either way, I thought that was rude of her. The next person she connected me sounded rushed and rude (just like the operator). I didn't like that both ladies never said their names! Anyway, that call is done and over with!

Then I had to call Kyle's pediatrician's office to make a "4 year old checkup" appointment. The lady said that he's not due for one until June 25th. Considering my son turned 4 in January, I asked why. She said that insurance only covers one visit a year. So then I told her about my concerns we have with Kyle. We want to see if we can get referrals for a hearing test, possibly see a psychologist, etc. She was more than happy to schedule an appointment for my concerns and thankfully medicaid covers that! We have an appointment for next week -- that was quick!

Kyle won't have summer school and we're hoping we can get him further help and see if there are more programs out there for him. While he LOVES going to school and we love it too, the school doesn't let us know what's going on or how we can work with him. He sees a speech therapist once a week and that person doesn't even inform us of what they are working on or how we can help him. Plus the speech therapist is there to work with all the kids in his class, not just him. In other words, we have no idea what is going on at the school. I am not complaining about his schooling, he loves it and he loves riding the bus, so that tells us something! If Kyle doesn't like something or he feels uncomfortable, he won't go near it or he'll start whining. Instead, when he sees the school bus, he will literally run towards it!

Another Round

My in-laws informed us today (I wish they had given us more notice) that they are doing another round of using the septic tank cleaner in their septic tank! Which means we have to conserve on the water for 24 hours. Since the last time they used the cleaner, we were limited to doing one load of laundry per day. I have only done two loads in the last week and a half!

I am taking the weekend off from working out. I did 30 minutes of pilates yesterday and my body is paying for it today. I am sore all over!

When it was time to pick Kyle up from the bus stop on Friday, the bus was already there waiting for us. Apparently they arrived early and they tried calling us. They said every time they tried calling us, they would get the fax machine noise. My MIL and her friend were trying to send a fax during that time! It sounded like the bus had been there for at least 10 minutes! I felt so bad. I am going to give the bus driver our cell phone number. I don't have the voicemail set up on it, but they can always text us too (since many people have cell phones these days).

We went to Walmart yesterday to pick up a few things. I talked to one of my former co-workers and he said that I could come back to work there (he already asked for me). It made me wonder if I really want to go back to work there. I've been thinking about taking the certified nursing assisting course. I guess North Carolina doesn't have a requirement of how long the course has to be, because this course is only one day! Once I take the course, I can take the State tests to get certified. There are actually several places that offer the "one day/fast track CNA course." Typically they are taught by one or two Registered Nurses, it sounds like they do this on the side for additional income. I have also looked on the local hospital website and they are currently hiring for CNAs.

Lately, we've been letting Kyle play on the computer. He plays around on the Nick Jr. website. They have games, art, videos, and radio of all their cartoon shows. As he plays, he's learning eye-hand coordination, he gets to hear music and cartoon characters talk to him. He loves it!

Our forecast is calling for a "winter mix" on Tuesday, which usually means snow and/or rain! Hopefully it won't be so bad to where Kyle will miss school on Wednesday!

Nice Monday

Today was a nice day. Kyle had school, so it was a nice quiet break for us!

I did a Turbo Jam workout this morning and a pilates workout this afternoon! I was feeling energetic and decided to take advantage! I am feeling a little more energetic since I started taking my vitamins!



Kyle looked like he just woke up from a nap when he got off the bus! So cute! When we got home, I gave him a little snack, which he gobbled up! He still looked a little tired. We came upstairs and I pulled out some coloring books and he colored for a bit. Meanwhile, I took that time to skim through my new pilates DVDs! While I was watching them, Kyle came up and ended up falling asleeping next to me!

That was fast!

My pilates DVDs that I ordered last week arrived today! I was so surprised they arrived so quickly! I watched them just to see how they were. They look challenging, but fun.

I already did one of the videos. I had intended to do one section but ended up doing the entire workout! This video is broken down into 3 sections with a bonus 4th workout. This was definitely a nice change and they are different from other pilates workouts I have done.



This video looks like a challenge since it's a 43+ minute workout. The first 28 minutes of it is standing pilates inspired cardio. The last of the video is mat exercises.

Lazy Weekend

This has been a lazy weekend for us! Besides going grocery shopping yesterday, we haven't done much! It's been a nice relaxing weekend! I did write two letters today, so hopefully I will have two new pen pals! One of them is in San Francisco, CA which is exciting to me, as I am from California!

Earlier this month, I ordered a workout DVD on amazon and have yet to receive it. Per the vendor/seller, it was shipped on February 3rd. According to their email, they said it should arrive within 4 to 14 days. Well, it's been 18 days! I am tired of waiting so I emailed the vendor asking for a refund. It was shipped via USPS and I know things don't take that long to arrive.

I am anxious to receive my pilates workout DVDs! Yesterday I did a few different pilates workouts from videos I found on youtube! I forgot how much I enjoy pilates.

Kyle still enjoys school! He loves riding the school bus too! He's always so happy when he gets off the bus, I can see it in the way he acts while we are walking home (from the bus stop). The school already has snow make-up days set, which is great! I didn't like that Kyle had to miss a whole week of school.

Vitamins, Picture Frame, Movie, and More!

A few days ago we re-applied for Food Stamps. They called us yesterday wanting additional information and she said we probably won't qualify for the month of February but we could be "pre-approved" for March. We are really hoping we get back on food stamps!

We went to Walmart today since we were almost completely out of food! We bought our usual groceries. I also bought lotion, vitamins for myself, and a picture frame. I bought the picture frame for Kyle's class picture. It's his first class picture and I thought it deserved a frame! Shannon also bought a movie that he's been wanting to see. I ended up using a little over $6 in coupons too! So proud, since I am not that good at couponing.

I had a choice between buying the name brand of vitamins but decided on the store brand. This bottle of vitamins cost me about half the cost of the name brand! I wanted to start taking vitamins again since I am working out and trying to stay healthy.