I have a head ache today. I talked to my pediatrician who also has an autistic son and we chatted about assisted technology and what it would take to get some for my son. Turns out to get it through his independent speech therapist we need DDS (disability) eligibility verification through the state to get a grant to pay for said technology. Well I just got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago that our DDS eligibility had lapsed (it renews every three years, but they didn't give me a head's up beforehand) and I would have to reapply for it. Last time it took four months to get that eligibility and that was before the Affordable Care Act got passed and everything got horribly bogged down. After I get THAT then I have to get the necessary paperwork in place through my pediatrician and our speech therapist to get said device and that could take up to six more months and that is IF we can get approved for said device, which the last time I went through this crap I was trying to get my son an I-PAD. Two years later of getting excuse letters about running out of funds and such I went and used my son's PFD one year to just get him the IPAD. So, basically, I have two choices here. I could go forth with the DDS eligibility and then submit grant paperwork and sit on my hands for who knows HOW long until the grant goes through to get it or I could just take 300.00 out of our tax return this year and put the app on the back up device I ordered from Amazon and just use that as his primary device for communication. The latter is probably what I'm going with, but that also means that 300.00 is now gone from our tax return on top of my husband's tooth bill. Ugh.
Anyway, combine that with occupational therapy issues (scheduling and what not) and my head hurts. The life of a parent is never simple.
This week's menu plan is going to be kind of all over the place as I'm cleaning out my fridge and freezer a bit and trying not to spend much on any satellite items that might need to be picked up at the store.
Menu for Week of 1/4/16
Monday: Chicken nuggets, french fries (found a bag buried in the back of the freezer. Once you dipped them in BBQ sauce you'd never know).Desserts: Jello and whipped topping, leftover birthday cake w/ chocolate frosting (on kid's cake anyway), chocolate pudding.
Tuesday: French Toast, bacon (use old bacon from freezer and stale bread in fridge)
Wednesday: Baked fish, rice (use slightly freezer burned fish in freezer), green beans
Thursday: Baked chicken, buttered pasta, peaches
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Turkey Alfredo (use turkey pieces from freezer)
Sunday: Meatloaf (use ground pork and turkey in freezer), mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans
To Bake: Chocolate Chip Muffins, bread. Baking day: Tuesday.
I'm trying to use up a bunch of things that have been in the freezer and cupboards for a while, as well. Today, I used 1/2 cup of dried cherries I dried a long time ago. I had Patsy make sweet cherry biscuits (gf). It's not much, but every little bit....right? I'm hoping to use something every few days, even if it is small.
ReplyDeleteIt sure feels good to clean out some things before they get ruined.
Sweet cherry biscuits sounds good! And every little bit helps, absolutely!
DeleteUsing up the older items in the fridge, freezer and pantry always feels like free meals to me. Your meals sound pretty good this week, though!
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel better, I have a mild headache too. I applied for E.I. and was denied because I was short 35 hours from their cut off. Seriously!?!
Ugh. Dealing with the government should come complete with a bottle of Ibuprofen and a bottle of Tums shouldn't it? Sorry that you got denied. When can you reapply?
DeleteWhen I log in another 35 hours of work. I don't start back to work until late April, or early May, so I'm pretty much not getting any income until then.
DeleteMy husband was also laid off this winter (first time ever and he has worked there for 14yrs), so he is also applying for E.I. We're not worried about him getting denied though as he definitely meets the requirements.
Although I am pushing down a feeling of panic, I'm sure we will be fine for money. The panic is more related to past experiences, not our current one. I just need to trust that everything will be fine!
I understand about the panic feeling. We were so terribly broke our first year of marriage. My husband's acid reflux got out of control and there were so many medical bills to try and figure out what was wrong with him. On top of that I lost my job due to lack of work and couldn't find another job and my husband was unable to work. We were so poor. Our savings that we'd put aside to help pay on a down payment for a house were just gone in no time. It got to a point that I was writing the hospital explaining that all I could pay was 5.00 per month for the time being, but as soon as we got any money in I would pay the bills off. The hospitals were actually really good about the entire thing back then and we were finally able to dig our way out of it, but that sense of panic when we were broke has never left me.
DeleteLuckily, I've found there's good reason why you go into that panic mode and go to worse case scenario. It helps to stave off said worse case scenario *laugh*. It has served me well over the years. Course, now a days I've found new levels of panic now that the kids are involved, but it still helps me to be that much more frugal in my ways.
Good luck and I hope your husband makes enough on EI to at least get you guys through. Unemployment here is a joke and a half, so I pray it works better in Canada.