Home and back to "normal"

Finally on September 26th, Joel got discharged from Children's Hospital. No more hospital. No more sleeping in the hospital. No more McDonald's. No more IV on Joel. I am so thankful that this experience is OVER! Thank you God!! Joel is doing wonderful now. I think (besides the pain of the surgery) Joel's 2nd issue was the IV stuck on his arm and that hurt him while moving. Doctor's orders were to walk walk walk the next day after surgery. Joel gave me so much trouble every morning because he didn't want to get up and walk around. There were three important things the Doctor looks in a patient right before they let them go home... 1)Walk around, 2)No Fever and 3)Appetite. Obviously, the walking and the appetite for Joel were a little hard but at the end he worked on them and passed. When we got home, you could see a difference in Joel... he could move around more freely and he could get on and off his bed so much easier than in the hospital. Now, he was able to laugh a little more without feeling pain.

Today, September 29th, Joel returned to school. Of course, there are some important things Joel needs to avoid for 3-6 weeks and those are strenuous activities such as rough play, bicycle/skateboarding riding, contact sports, and P.E. Talked to the school and his teacher about them and they even made copies of those instructions so that they are aware of it. I'm glad that little by little things are coming back to normal. On October 7th, I'll be taking Joel to his Follow-Up appointment in the afternoon and for the doctor to take off the tapes he has on his tummy (hopefully, it's not too painful for Joel).

My overall view of Children's Hospital

I think Children's Hospital is a really nice hospital for kids. I didn't had a bad experience while I was there. All the nurses and the volunteers were there to help the parents and for the parents to be comfortable while staying there. On Friday (which it was a little late for me), a volunteer came by our room to let me know about some programs the hospital have and mostly was about The Ronald McDonald's House (which is just across the street from the hospital and above the parking lot). That Friday night, I went for Free Dinner at that house. I couldn't believe how beautiful that place is. They have 40 rooms for parents that can't afford hotel while their child is in the hospital and they provide all the necessities for the parents... food, showers, laundry room, etc. and free of charge. I think that is wonderful!! Also, another thing I would've loved to know was that the hospital (and that was in the same floor and close to Joel's room) has a shower place for parents... they just had to ask for towels but you must bring your own shampoo, conditioner, etc. Bummer! I went home to take a shower and knowing that would've saved time and gas.

Also, this hospital is great for kids. There are tons of things for the kids to keep them busy while in the hospital. Joel had his own Wii system and that thing had a lot of games... and besides that, he could watch movies. Bad part was that the room we were in didn't had a tv hooked to cable so we watched movies most of the time. At certain hours of the day, the hospital opens this Play Room where the kids can walk there and play... they have Wii, Xbox, PlayStation, books, movies (dvd's and for vhs), a hockey table, tv's, computers with Internet, and more!! I took Joel several times there so that we can get movies and board games so that we both can pass the time quicker. Everybody was so helpful!! Even before Joel's surgery, a woman came by (I think she is the Social Worker in there/or in that floor) and she explained to Joel why he was having this surgery, where his appendix is, etc. and she did it with this doll that had like a human anatomy from the inside so that Joel could see where his appendix was. She also explained where the nurse was going to take him just before surgery and who he was going to meet there. She also talked about putting him to sleep and what he was going to feel. I think that was very nice of the hospital to do for kids that are going to surgery... that explanation with pictures and with that doll help kids not to get too scare or nervous before their surgery. So, I didn't had a bad experience while there.

The Result of the Sickness

That tummy ache Joel had Tuesday morning... turned into vomiting almost all day Tuesday. I got very concerned about Joel's health because he couldn't keep anything down and even the Pedialyte was coming up. I was very worry of him being dehydrated. Tuesday night came and Joel wasn't feeling any better and now he was complaining of more stomach aches. By this time, no vomiting and it looked like he didn't felt the "need" to vomit anymore which was a good sign for me. Still, he was complaining of his tummy hurting. The first thing to came in my mind was that maybe Joel's stomach muscles got sore because of all the vomiting he did during the day. He went to bed and I went to bed thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal and his tummy was just sore from throwing up.

Wednesday morning came. My hubby got up around 4ish in the morning to get ready for work. At around 5ish, Joel got up to go to the bathroom and then went to bed. I then got up to go to the bathroom too and when I got out of the bathroom my hubby came to me with a worried face telling me to come see Joel. Gosh, he scared the crap out of me because the first thing in my head was "Oh no, he's throwing up blood now"!!... but that wasn't it. My hubby told me that the pain Joel was having could be his appendix so right there we decided to take Joel to the ER. We got to the ER at around 5:30 in the morning and glad the ER had couple of people waiting and it wasn't a full room; Joel got called quickly. So, Joel got an ultrasound and blood tests done. When the doctor came to let us know what was wrong with him, he said "Appendicitis". Great!! Joel got transfered to Children's Hospital. It was our first time for Joel and me to get in an ambulance... so that part was cool.

Joel got a room right away and we shared the room with two other boys that had surgery (both of them got released today so we have the room for ourselves for now). It was a little difficult for all of us because since Joel was an Add On for surgery, we couldn't get an exact time for his surgery. We got at Children's Hospital at around 11ish in the morning on Wednesday. But, thank goodness for the pain medicine that made Joel feel a little better and was able to sleep. The final hour to get ready for surgery came at 10pm... and probably the surgery began at 10:30 or 10:40. The surgery took an hour. Close to midnight, the doctor/surgeon came to the waiting room and told me that surgery was over and that everything went smoothly and Joel was ok. When Joel woke up from the anesthesia, one of the nurses came for me so that I can be with Joel. It was surprising to see Joel wide awake, talking and eating popsicles which made me very relieved to see him like that. After that, they took him up to his room.

My hubby hasn't gone to work since Wednesday because he's taking care of Seth while I stay here in the hospital with Joel. But Thursday and today, my hubby HAD to stop by his work to take care some of his things... on Thursday he left me Seth here in the hospital because he had a 2 hr meeting. Today (Friday), he had to stop by his work but this time he took Seth with him.

So far, my stay here in Children's Hospital hasn't been a bad experience. Everybody is nice and very helpful... and, they are great with kids. Before Joel going to surgery, a woman came by to say hi to Joel and to explained what was going to happened to Joel in surgery so that he could understand and not be too scared. She explained it with a doll and explained to him about the appendix. Another time, a fireman came by to say hi and to give him some toys (Seth was here too so he got toys too). Everyday, someone comes (besides the doctors and the nurses) to either give the kids something or to tell them that there are Play Rooms around here that are open at certain hours so they can grab movies, use the computers, toys, video games, board games, etc. and not get too bored in their rooms. I think Children's Hospital is great!! Today, I noticed they have a Shower place for parents!!... if I knew that ahead of time, I wouldn't have gone home to take a shower yesterday. Too bad I didn't bring shampoo, conditioner, mousse, etc. to take a shower here tomorrow... ugh! Oh well.

So, the doctor came this morning to check Joel out and it's going to be another day here at the hospital. Hopefully, tomorrow (Saturday)... Joel will be able to go home!!

Sickness

If only there was a medicine to make it all better. Joel's sick. This morning, he told me he had a tummy ache. I thought he needed to go to the bathroom and that it wasn't that bad. I almost took him to school but thank the heavens I didn't. At around 8ish, he threw up. Had to wash his blanket, pillow, and clothes because they were puked on. Joel then told me he felt a little better (yaay!). I thought, oh good... maybe that's over. Wrong! It is now around 2:35 pm and Joel has threw up like maybe 6 or 7 times... nothing much to throw up because he haven't eaten. I tried to give him a piece of toast but he didn't even finished it half way. I don't know what's wrong with Joel or why he is sick. Seth's fine. I'm fine. I just hate it so much when one of my kids get sick like this. Is like, I would give anything to take their sickness and for me to suffer instead of them. I just hope this is something quick that he catched and it's out of his system soon. Hopefully, Seth doesn't catch it.

Velvet

Well then, thanks to Diana... I'm hooked on this song now "Velvet by The Big Pink". The repeat mode button is going to be on when I'm driving.

Alive and kicking

Isn't this nice... I've been neglecting my blog for months. Not good!! I need to come back and update it.

Operation Aloha

I found out about this Operation Aloha album just yesterday... as my husband hit the play button, I began to listen to "Failure" and I totally felt in love with that song. Thank goodness for good ol' iTunes!! This album was just released May 12th. It's funny that this album was created in Hawaii with friends and some musicians that went to a secluded island in Hawaii... they stayed in a treehouses for 30 days with NO running water, electricity, cell phones, expectations. They had microphones, instruments, and whatevet musical related they can carry... they also drained wine bottles that ended up becoming percussion instruments. It's awesome that they came back with an awesome tan and a this new record.

This Operation Aloha is made up from Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, Gomez, All Spots To Black... a 14-member mix. The album has 14 tracks. I love it!! I do like all sorts of music (with the exception of rap and country 'YUK') and this album is a keeper!! It's music is somewhat like tropical, rock, indie, pop, hawaiian, and it's under alternative.

Season 2 of Ghost Adventures

I'm excited that there is finally a date for Season 2 of Ghost Adventures. I can't wait!! Ghost Adventures is one of my favorite Paranormal shows out there. Friday, June 5th, at 9 pm Season 2 starts. 26 new episodes (compared to only 8 episodes in Season 1) are coming up and the locations will be the MOST haunted in the world!! So, Ghost Adventures will be securing that 9 pm time-slot with reruns from Season 1 at that time. Thank you Travel Channel!!

Also, I can't wait for that three-part series "Return to Bobby Mackey's" that's going to lead up to Season two of Ghost Adventures. Yep, three episodes are scheduled for May 15th, May 22nd, and May 29th. I can't wait for those either. I'm excited!!

iPhone vs Blackberry?

I've been an Apple fan since I was in college. I think Apple makes really cool gadgets. I'm a proud owner of an iPod Touch (I love iPods) and I really like the other things the iPod Touch can do (besides music). Now, I'm thinking in getting an iPhone... or a Blackberry? I'm between them two... iPhone or a Blackberry?... which one is better? I must say that I like the Blackberries. My friend has one and she LOVES her Blackberry (and so do I lol). Maybe, I should go for the cheapest? I don't know. The only Blackberry I don't like is the flip one. I don't know what to do. Get the iPhone or the Blackberry? I'm very familiar in using the iPod Touch... I know where to get those thousands and thousands of Apps the iTunes Store has... easy to get them and to download them right to your iPod Touch/iPhone. The only thing that is missing in the iPod Touch is the phone and the camera... that's all... everything else is the exact thing. Maybe, I should just get the iPhone. Ugh! IDK!!

May and School Assembly

I can't believe we're in May already!! Mother's Day (10th) and my mom's birthday (14th) are in May... double the gifts for my mom. We are almost reaching the middle of the year. Then next month, my baby will be turning 5 years old!! Time is flying very fast. Gotta enjoy every minute of it while we can.

Today, Joel will be receiving another award at school (yaaay). The Assembly is at 1 pm so I have to be a little bit before 1 so that I can sit in the front row. :) I don't know if I will be able to video taped the whole assembly so that my husband is able to see it. I'll see what I can do.

Ugh, then today... we will be out of water from 11am to 12pm. Maintenance is going to be working on something that they need to shut the water off. So that means... I have to get in the shower NOW (it's already 10am here). I also need to finish washing the dishes before I leave to the assembly.

Another cool and quick note. One of my bff is planning in getting a Mac... it seems she wants a 17" MacBook Pro (woohoo). My husband gave me an Aluminum MacBook for our 10th wedding anniversary and I told her that maybe my husband could get her one for a lower price because Apple gives him good discounts on their stuff. Sooo, I asked my husband and he said yes he can... so that's so cool and I'm super excited for her. I can't wait for her to get her Mac. I totally LOVE Macs.

Swine Flu

Is the Swine Flu something to be very concerned about? Or... is it just another 'normal' flu? I've heard there was an outbreak of the Swine Flu in 1976... so, it's not new stuff. For me, it does concerns me. I have two kids and I do care about their healths. Thankfully, the schools in our District remain open and safe for our children to attend. This is the time to practice good hygiene skills... ensuring that we all wash our hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds at a time, cover our cough to prevent the spread of germs, and sneeze with a tissue or into our sleeve.

Now, there was an incident in one of our local schools that children became sick and that school was closed for couple of days. It was confirmed later that the kids were sick with the normal seasonal flu and not Swine Flu (thank goodness). School was re-opened.

I think this is kinda scary. It's spreading. There's been 159 deaths in Mexico... 7 of those deaths have been confirmed from Swine Flu... and the rest of them are suspicious. There's been one death in the United States caused by it... an almost 2 year child. Then, there are 2,498 possible cases and 19 confirmed in Mexico. The United States has 68 cases confirmed, 14 in New Zealand, 13 in Canada, 5 in Great Britain, 4 in Spain, 3 in Germany, 2 in Israel, and 1 in Austria. Scary?... I think so. California alone has 14 cases confirmed.

Living in Southern California and close to Mexico is a little bit more scary as many people cross the border daily. I have family in Mexico (Baja). I have a cousin that lives in Mexico City... and worst, my mom lives over there.

This is a good site to go and read about what's going on... http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

A trip to Mexico

The kids and I are taking a little trip to Mexico (Tijuana Baja California) tomorrow. We are visiting my mom so we are going to stay for two days and we'll be coming back on Sunday morning. I was going to leave this morning but since we had a Maintenance Inspection in our Unit... well, I couldn't go. Then, my mom was going to meet my nephew, Tavo, this afternoon so that she can make an appointment at the DMV to renew her Driver's License and my nephew was going to go with her... or she was going to renew it (not sure which one was).

So, my hubby had to take the tint off my car from the side windows... that totally blows!! There is a law in Mexico that it's illegal to have tinted windows in cars now and it doesn't matter if the license plate of the car is from the United States or not... it's still illegal. The only time you can get away with it is if you buy a new car like an SUV, minivan, or a pick up truck that came with tinted windows from the factory... that's the only way the Mexican Police will let you go without a ticket. Oh well!! My mom lives in Mexico so I gotta do what I need to do so that I can still go visit her. I don't understand why she doesn't come to the States and live here instead. My mom is a US Citizen and she is entitled to live in this side. But I guess, she doesn't want to because she owns a house in Mexico and if she comes here... she will be renting.

I'm watching Hell's Kitchen right now. I can't believe Robert had to leave because of his health issues. I liked Robert.

Earth Hour 2009

I keep forgetting to post about the results of Earth Hour. But, we had fun on that night for that hour of darkness. The kids were excited and Joel was counting the time until 8:30... and boy, he was bugging me about it LOL. Funny!! Sooo, the kids and I played Gin and my hubby decided to listen to his iPod. Couple of my friends also got involved in participating and it was nice to hear about it. We are really looking forward to next year's Earth Hour!!

Earth Hour

What will you be doing this Saturday night from 8:30 to 9:30 pm? Will you be voting Earth? On March 28 you can Vote Earth by switching off your lights for one hour. Or, you can vote global warming by leaving your lights on. The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. They want one billion votes for Earth, to tell world leaders that we have to take action against global warming. They need the world to take action on Global Warming. And you can start here. So, are you in? I'm happy to say that we are voting earth this Saturday. It's only one hour. Easy!! Lots of cool stuff you can do in the dark LOL.

What the heck?

It's very difficult for me to say ~No~ or to that ~No thank you; not interested~ and close the door to people asking for something. I got a knock on my door early this afternoon and it was a young guy. Boy, he was talking so fast that I could barely keep up with him. Ok. I'm all up to helping people when I can and when I have extra money. These type of people talk to fast and (thank goodness I knew about them before) they just want to suck you in and earn those "points" they want for supposedly take a trip somewhere in the world (this guy wanted a trip to Spain). No thank you!! These people knock on your door, start talking about what they are doing, the points they get, suck you in to sign for some magazines for 2 or 3 years... and the magazines are even MORE expensive than when you buy the subscription in those little papers the magazines have inside. I mean, they don't even ask ~are you interested?~. Noooo!!! They just ask for your name and write it on their little paper paystub and tell you they just need a hard surface so they can write more comfortably. At that point, I told him I was broke and I only had $5+ in my wallet (which is true). He then asked if I had a checkbook... no I don't!! Credit Card... no I don't!! So, he said thank you and left. Phew!! Wish I knew who he was before opening the door and start listening to what he had to say... which by the way, it was getting close to the time I needed to leave to go pick up Joel from school. I only opened the door because he looked like the maintenance guy around here. And, he was really nice but all vendors are nice.

Talking about vendors, a guy named Felipe was supposed to call me yesterday in the morning about the car but he never did. I blanked out when he called on Monday morning and I totally forgot to give him my husband's work number. But, like my husband says "if it's mean to be it will be". So, no worries.

St. Patrick's Day came and went. I made the kids green cupcakes which they loved!! And to top it off, they asked for green milk too LOL. That day, when I went to pick up Joel from school, it was so cute to see a lot of green in the kids... even silly hats, socks, and green jewelry. Everybody was in the St. Patrick's spirit. What's the next fun holiday coming?... Easter!!!

Decades

My latest favorite song right now. Decades V2 from Assemblage 23. I can't stop listening to it!

Daylight Saving Time

This DST has taken an hour away from me this morning. I was waken up by Joel telling me it was already 7:20 in the morning. Great! I usually got up around 6ish (sometimes even 5:30) and today I wanted to keep sleeping. Ugh!! I still feel so tired and sleepy and I feel like I didn't had enough sleep. Joy!! Coffee didn't do squat for me. I might stop by Circle K and get a cup of their strong coffee and see if that wakes me up before I head out to pick up Joel from school in a little bit.

A trip to Starbucks

I love Starbucks! I love their coffee, their flavored ones, their frappuccinos, and it doesn't matter if it's a cold one or a hot one... I love them all!!  Not to long ago, we didn't had a local Starbucks around here.  I had to drive around 12 miles to buy coffee at Starbucks and that Starbucks was inside a grocery store. But then, our community decided to open a big chain grocery store around here so a little mall was created and in there was a new Starbucks.  Oh yeah!!  Heaven for me.  What's the best thing to relax?  Free WiFi, Starbucks, and a tall (or grande) flavored coffee. So yesterday, I decided to stopped by Starbucks after picking up Joel from school and just take a little drive to Starbucks.  As these photos show, we're surrounded by mountains and beautiful nature views. My kids got some French pastry and an apple juice.  I got my favorite... a hot caramel macchiato.

iDracula game

The other day, I decided to browse around the App Store through my iPod and came across this iDracula App for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I'm a big fan of vampires so almost anything that is related to vampires, or dracula, I'm there. At first, I wasn't too sure in buying this iDracula game but Joel ended up brainwashing me lol. So, I bought the game for $0.99 (which said it was on special?). To my surprise, that game is totally awesome!! The graphics are super, the game play, and even the music!! I think it's worth the $0.99... I don't know for how much longer it will be on special. It's just amazing how Apple came out with such fun gadgets like the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

March already?

I can't believe we are in March already. From now on, I'll see Summer in the distance. Lately, we've been having some warm/hot weather over here; thanks to that high pressure. Yesterday, we got close to the 80's. Today, we're in the mid 80's. Perfect weather to be at the beach or take a dip in the pool. We have all the windows open right now, so this wonderful breeze is getting in and it feels so good.

So in this month, there is this exhibition called "Body Worlds & the Brain" in our local Natural History Museum opening in March 5th. Some years ago, this exhibition came to San Diego but I didn't had the chance to see it. Two of my cousins went and they said it was an amazing experience. I love things like this... science, human physiology, etc. Tickets are a little high if we can't go in an off peak day but I'll try to go.


Body Worlds

It's Valentine's Day!!

Another Valentine's!! Made a little fun Valentine's breakfast for everybody this morning... heart shaped pancakes (the kids loved them). I was too lazy to take pictures 'tho. Gave everybody their little Valentine's gifts (chocolates) and my dear husband gave me mine too. Aawww!! Nothing really major is planned for later on today. We're just enjoying Valentine's as a family indoors for the moment. It's supposed to rain later today but it's sunny outside right now with some clouds around. Yesterday, it was Joel's Valentine party at his classroom. I actually was able to go and help around. I didn't told Joel anything that I was going to help in his classroom because I wanted to be a surprise for him... and it was a big surprise and he LOVED it. It was nice that I was able to take Seth with me because... usually, no siblings are allowed when you go to volunteer in the classroom... except on parties. So, yaaay... Seth was able to have a little fun too. I had fun too!! Just wish I could do this more often. Speaking of Seth, next week (if it's not raining) I'm going to several PreSchools and see how much they charged for Seth and see if he can get in. In June, Seth will be turning 5... so in January 2010, Seth will be well qualify to attend the EAK. So, we want him to have a little heads up before he enters the EAK. Hopefully, he can start soon. I'm actually going to Lakeside to see if we can put him in the same PreSchool Joel went when he was 4... it's a little far but worth it. We'll see what happens and how much they are gonna be. Talked to my mom this morning to wish her a Happy Valentine's. Mom is doing good.. my aunt Vita and uncle Nacho from Oxnard are there for the weekend. Mom, aunt Vita, and uncle Nacho went to Sycuan Casino yesterday. Mom said she lost $140; bummer!! Today, my cousin April is getting married in beautiful Coronado... hopefully, it won't rain when they have the ceremony because it's gonna be out in the open. The ceremony is supposed to be at 3 pm. I actually want to go to Target to buy some Playtex bottles for Agustina. She is due to having her baby boy (Carlos Daniel) next month. I just can't believe she's almost done with her pregnancy. Seems like it was yesterday when I found out she was 12 weeks pregnant and saw her 1st ultrasound of her little bean. Angela is going to be a Big Sister. I LOVE Angela and Agustina so I'll see if I'm able to get her more baby stuff. I can't wait to meet her little boy. I'm going to Mexico probably next weekend.