New week, new schedule

Kyle starts this week with a different school schedule and different therapy date!  He is now off from school on Monday and Tuesdays.  His therapy has been switched to Tuesday afternoons.  He now attends school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!  I don't think Kyle will notice the difference but I am making sure I remember his new schedule!  We now have to plan our life around his new schedule! 

Was it worth the savings?

My in-laws bought 2 recliners from JC Penney's with their friend's employee discount.  The chairs were originally $1200 each but they only paid $500 each for them.  However, I don't see that as a "deal" considering JC Penney's doesn't even deliver, so they had to drive out there to pick them up and get them into the house themselves and unpack them.  What a hassle.  I personally don't see that as a deal.  If we were to ever buy furniture, it would be from a place that delivers! 

Anyway, they have the recliners in the house and the first thing they start whining about is how big the recliners are!  They didn't realize how big they were in their living room, considering they bought the smallest ones in the store.  The next morning, my MIL informs me that they decided that they want to return the recliners because it hurts their backs.  LOL  So yeah, it's not really a deal, is it?  You go pick it up, unpack it, put it together and now you have to take it apart and take it back to the store to return them!!!  My MIL also said that the next time they buy furniture, they are going to get it from a place that delivers.  DUH!  What a brilliant idea!

Schedule Changes

We received a letter from Kyle's school saying that they are doing some changes and Kyle would be moved to the other preschool class (the same class and teacher he had last year).  We think this was stemmed from me talking to his teacher.  His teacher was calling us every other week or at least once a week asking us if Kyle was okay, or wasn't feeling well, etc.  In other words, she was wanting us to come pick him up without asking us to pick him up.  It started to get annoying having to sit by the phone waiting for his teacher to call.  A few weeks ago, I asked his teacher is there was a way to have another teacher assistant just for him for the extra help he needs.  She understood what I was asking and she advised me to call the main Exceptional Children's coordinator for the school district.  His teacher said it would mean more if a parent were to call, rather than his teacher.  I called them later that week and was told that this would be up to the people who were above her to decide.  Well, the next week, we get notice that they were putting Kyle in his previous preschool class.  We are actually happy about this since this teacher is a mom and she is very loving! 

I received a call from Kyle's teacher today just letting me know that they made the change and Kyle is still adjusting to the change but he's doing good.  She also wanted to change his school schedule to where he would attend Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (instead of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday).  She said there are less kids on Friday, plus they go to the cafeteria and the library on Fridays.  She also wants to show him how to get his own tray and food in the cafeteria to get him ready for Kindergarten!  His new school schedule will start next week.

Since he will no attend school on Thursdays, that meant I had to reschedule his therapy appointments.  I called and was able to change his therapy to Tuesday mornings!  He will start that next Tuesday as well.  His appointments are at 11am now.  He will still receive Occupational and Speech Therapy! 

One more step towards green & frugal

I just made my first batch of homemade shampoo!  There is only 4 ingredients and you can get 3 of them at the grocery store and/or health store.  The ingredients include: Dr. Bronner’s organic castile liquid soap, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, and water.  I had to purchase Dr. Bronner's castile liquid soap from Amazon.  Apple Cider Vinegar can be purchased from Amazon too.  Tea tree oil can be found at Walmart, in the vitamin aisle.  Instead of using a spray bottle for my shampoo, I am using one of those soap dispensers that makes liquid soap come out all foamy.  Homemade shampoo is very liquidy, so it's best to use either a spray bottle or soap dispenser.  The shampoo doesn't bubble up like store-bought kind because it doesn't have the chemicals in it.  I actually like my homemade shampoo, I started to get annoyed with all the bubbles. 

Now I have 3 bottles of store bought shampoo in our shower.  One of them was sent to us for free and another was purchased from the store.  The other one was given to us by the in-laws.  I don't think Shannon will like using the homemade shampoo, but I will ask him to try it.  I also plan on making a body wash for Kyle's baths once his baby shampoo is gone.

I cleaned again

Kyle's teacher called this afternoon to let me know that next Monday there will no school but there is school on Tuesday.  Monday is a "school make up day" due to the snow a few weeks ago.  She also said they are doing something with teddy bears next week, so I need to send Kyle to school with a teddy bear.  LOL  I don't think we have a teddy bear, so we'll have to buy one. 

A few days ago, I ended up buying Valentine's Day cards for Kyle's class, so I need to ask the teacher for a list of the student's names!  This should be fun to do, since I haven't done Valentine's Day cards in so long! 

I ended up cleaning the bathroom again.  I did a quick clean of the bathroom, floor, wiped the toilet and cleaned the sink!  I love using white vinegar and baking soda and there are no toxic fumes to worry about.

I am also going to try to make homemade shampoo using liquid castile soap.  I found a few recipes that I want to try.  The same recipe can also be used on our skin since it's all natural. I also plan on using it in Kyle's bath.  Hopefully this will help our dry skin, Kyle's eczema, and prevent staticy hair!

Went to the Warehouse Store!

Kyle was off of school so we were all home, just like all of last week (due to snow, icey roads, etc.).  Anyway, we ended up going to BJ's Warehouse and bought some food!  We bought some organic burritos that all of us can eat because it's meat-free.  We also bought oranges, Uncle Ben "ready rice," Carpi Sun drink pouches (for Kyle), and a bunch of other food!  I also bought a HUGE container of white vinegar to clean with. 

I ended up cleaning the bathroom today using baking soda and white vinegar!  I feel so accomplished.  I scrubbed the bathtub with baking soda and white vinegar and then I used the same combo to help unclog the shower drain.  It helped a bit, it drains a little more than before.  I cleaned the sink too.  I also poured some white vinegar in the toilet bowl to help disinfect/clean it.  Then I wiped the bathroom floor with white vinegar and wiped down the toilet (yuck).  Lastly, I wiped down the shower curtain with white vinegar and it's a little bit cleaner.  I may have to step into the bathtub and really scrub the shower curtain.  Everything is clean in the bathroom, and it smells fresh and looks clean! 

Food Stamps update

When we went grocery shopping last Sunday, our food stamps had already been re-approved, but we were unsure how much it had changed.  We received a notice in the mail of our new amount in food stamps...it's been DOUBLED!!!  

The snow has been crazy here.  It hasn't snowed in the last 2 or 3 days and the snow on the ground is slowly melting, but it's also icing over.  School was canceled on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and now today (Thursday). Since it hasn't snowed, we plan on taking Kyle to therapy today!  He hasn't been to therapy in about a month now! 

Since Shannon and I are both unemployed, I decided to apply for full coverage of Medicaid for us.  Kyle is already covered on Medicaid.  Shannon and I are already covered on the "family planning" side of Medicaid.  I mailed our application in yesterday's mail and they should receive it today.  I am not sure how long it takes for them to process the application.