11 Years In Time

I'm without words at this very moment. My last entry in this blog was in September 21st of 2010... 11 years ago! Time flew, I grew older with grays, my little boys are no longer little kids anymore but young men now... life just changed thru these 11 years that passed by. When I came across with this blog again, I wasn't sure to delete it... leave it alone so I can come back and read some of the posts and go back in time for myself... or, pick up where I left off which is back to writing and use it as a journal for myself. So, I decided to come back and give my blog some life again. I'm not looking for "subscribers" or to have a famous/well-known blog but to have somewhere I can go write and express what I'm feeling; similar to a journal/diary. But, friends and friendships are always welcome and nice to have since... specially other moms.

The update-

∙My "little boys" are now 20 and 17; one is in College and the other in High School (11th grade). My husband and I are still together on our 22nd year of marriage... of course, marriage is not easy and we have our ups and downs but still with each other.

∙My lovely mom is still alive (she is 95 years old) and still living in Mexico. Sadly, my mom can not drive anymore so my sister is the one taking her to the doctor's appointments, to the store/grocery shopping, etc. as my sister lives in Mexico too and just ~10 minutes away from my mom. Not too long ago, my mom had eye surgery to take a cataract out from one of her eyes; all went well with her surgery.

∙We moved out of the apartments in late 2010, or 2011, and into a lovely home and we're still here. My husband wants to leave California and move to Maine... MAINE!!!! I am very sad about this because I am a California girl and one thing I love about living in California is the weather. Reason my husband wants to move out of California is because the cost of living is ridiculously expensive and its taxes... but, we'll see. I know Maine has a beach and it looks lovely but I am afraid of its Winters because I've never experienced a REAL Winter nor snow... not to mention Maine is just next to Canada and I know Canada gets way too cold; but I'm a bit tiny open to the idea.

Well, hopefully I will keep coming back here and write my mind. I do miss reading the blogs of other moms I used to know that were in the same Mommy Boards I was back then... but like me, they stopped blogging here. I guess, it's time to fine new blogs and new "friends" around here.

'Til next time 👋

My tongue pierced experience

Other than my ears, I don’t have anything pierced. I always wanted my tongue pierced, lip, and/or eyebrow. On Monday, September 13, 2010, I decided to go to a Tattoo Piercing place and do it… get my tongue pierced. I searched a place with a good reputation and good piercers until I finally found one.
I won’t lie, I was VERY excited but at the same time I was nervous as hell. The shop looked kinda empty with one tattoo artist and one piercer. There were three girls in front of me (as it was first come first serve thing) so the tattoo guy told me there was like a 15 minutes wait after it could be my turn. I began to fill up some paperwork as you have to be over 18 and show some ID before hand.
One of the girls before me was having her belly button pierced. I thought the three girls were together because they were in the piercer’s room but apparently they weren’t and only the last two girls were together as they were sisters. When one of the girls left, another girl sat on the bed (she was getting her tongue pierced too). I was very nervous that I was walking around the shop but I couldn’t concentrate on one thing nor to calm myself down LOL. The other girl was talking on the phone and checking her sister that was sitting on the bed… she then asked me what was I getting and I told her a tongue piercing. Then she told me, come on in so you can see what you’re getting yourself into LOL. I got behind the counter and into that little room and sat on the stool that was there. Man, the girl that was getting her tongue pierced was extremely nervous, afraid, and got a panic attack. The piercer tried to calm her down but her sister was laughing so much and telling her it wasn’t going to hurt that much. I asked her if she was getting one too but she already had her tongue pierced a week before. I asked her several questions LOL. I was nervous!!
The guy that was doing the piercing was very cool and down to earth… and he was cute too. The girl was ready for her tongue pierced but apparently she was having second thoughts LOL… until her sister changed her mind. Time for the poke! When that needle passed through the girl’s tongue, a HUGE scream and tears came out of her. Man, by that point I started to be MORE nervous but I still wanted this piercing done. I couldn’t believe this girl was screaming so loud. I wasn’t laughing!!… but her sister and the piercer were laughing LOL. Afterwards, she couldn’t talk nor shallow LMAO. Her sister asked her if she wanted to stay and see it done to me so she could feel better but she just wanted to leave and kill her sister for making her do it LOL. It was over for her.
For me, it was just starting. I was very shaken and nervous when I sat on that bed. They guy began to tell me that it’s not THAT bad. He was getting the things ready and I was getting more nervous. I was texting one of my friends to see if I could calm myself a little but didn’t worked LOL. It was time!! I took some Listerine to rinse my mouth, spit it out… the guy cleaned my tongue with a paper towel… then he marked “the spot” on my tongue and told me to close my mouth and swallow. Saw the freakin needle that was gonna do the work and Oi!!!! Guy told me to stick out my tongue… by the way he told me I have a long tongue LOL which is good because it was gonna be more to the inside than usual and it’s less painful. Oh boy… did he said “less painful?” We were ready!! Told me to take a big breath in and then out… THEN he passed that needle through my tongue. I have to say that IT DIDN’T HURT!!! That girl really really exagerated with the tears and her screams… totally!! It was a very quick procedure. I didn’t screamed, nor closed my eyes, nor jumped. The piercing was perfect!! I was very happy afterwards. Also, because of my long tongue, the balls on the bar aren’t close to my teeth… I have to stick out my tongue in order for the top ball to hit my teeth… so I guess that’s a good thing as I heard you can crack some of your teeth.
Now, the only bad thing was the day after. My tongue got swollen and it was extremely sore/painful from the bottom (he did it from the bottom up not top to bottom). Eating was painful so I basically chewed on ice, drank lots of iced water, soups and anything soft or liquid. I stayed away from cheese (as it has bacteria) and spicy food. I didn’t wanted to end up with an infected tongue afterwards so I followed the rules. I brushed my teeth after every little thing I ate and rinsed my mouth with mouthwash… I also used sea salt water to rinse.
After the 3rd day, I could feel my tongue was getting better because the soreness was getting less and I could eat a little more of other things. Today is the 6th day after I’ve got my tongue pierced and it’s back to it’s normal feeling. I’m starting to get used to having the bar in my tongue and to eat normal and anything. I also was able to brush my tongue on the 4th day (if I don’t brush my tongue, I feel like my mouth is dirty).
I had a very good experience in getting my tongue pierced. If someone is thinking in doing this, go to a place where they are professionals and have a very good reputation. I would probably go again there to get my lower lip pierced on the side. I’ve seen places where they don’t do a good job and you end up with damaged nerves in your tongue or the bar won’t go in the hole, etc.
I’m happy to say that I’m officially tongue pierced!

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.