Every year, there's a Touch-a-Truck thing that happens locally. We've only brought the kids twice, maybe three times. This year it fell on a Saturday, but Zac and I weren't going to be home. So we opted for the science museum instead. I was glad we went when we did, because there were hardly any other people there so the kids could run around and explore. The boys were so interested in everything.
Happy Leprechaun Day! This year, we didn't do a parade since we were just in Louisiana, but NEXT YEAR we will definitely go. Meanwhile, the kiddos had some treats of rainbow candies and didn't get pinched. I like that my teens still participate in these traditions.
Jessie and Grahamm got married over the weekend. I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid and it was such a beautiful venue and ceremony. I didn't even get drunk! Zac and I went to the rehearsal dinner Thursday and were able to see the location and meet the wedding planner and go over the details for the ceremony before heading to dinner. I had a mimosa that hit me hard, but managed to chase it off with a lot of water and sweets. On Friday, we didn't do too much, except eat crawfish and bring the kids to 2nd & Charles to look at all the books. Zac bought us a record player, so he's been looking for vinyls to start a collection. So far he's only been lucky at thrift shops around town. Friday evening, he dropped me off at the hotel so I could stay with the ladies and get to know them. Jessie did my nails and we listened to all the hip hop from my high school days. All the other gals are so sweet and fun. We stayed up til maybe 1-2am, but like clockwork, I was up at the butt crack of dawn. I shared a room with Natalie and Jessie, but didn't even know Jessie snored until Natalie told me, ha. We got all our things together and I rode with Jessie to get some caffeine and head to the venue. I feel awful that my hair took the longest to do. It's a lot longer now and would be thicker if I didn't keep my undercut. I had my makeup done and it came out so nice. I even had fake lashes. Whaaaat. I was so fancy. So fresh and so clean clean. Jessie let me borrow some heels and as predicted, they definitely left my feet crying by the time the ceremony was over. But oh man, I got to dance and it was so fun. Like, I felt young again. Zac and I danced, Jessie and I danced, we toasted the happy couple, had some cake, etc. It was so much fun. The best wedding I've ever attended or been a part of.
Before heading back home, we had to stop and get some beignets and Reginelli's.
Earlier this month, Cole was diagnosed with phimosis. We tried a steroid cream, but it didn't work, so he was scheduled for surgery to fix it. Zac was able to come with me, so we got to the hospital for 7:30. Cole is the most patient of my kids. He sits still, doesn't whine or complain, and is usually content to watch whatever is on the TV or to watch other people. He had his procedure and we were able to be discharged around 12:30. Dr. B said he's glad we came when we did because Cole was on the verge of another infection. We were all starving by the time we left, but like I said, the kid doesn't complain. We picked up some lunch and got home. He started feeling pains after he ate, so we started medication doses. That baby, he must've been in agony. For the first hour he was home, he just screamed and couldn't be still. Once the meds kicked in, he was able to relax a little. He sat in my lap and watched Coraline before feeling pain again. I've been overwhelmed, mostly because his cries overstimulate me and I KNOW he's in pain, but I also can't do anything about it. When he was a baby, I could nurse him and hold him, but right now I can't do anything but empathize (which is draining) and just be there. He's very good at taking deep breaths, but changing his training pants is a very difficult job because he's so sensitive to touch. It makes him shaky and he has a hard time calming back down. He did take a nap for a little while and we've been on top of making sure he has his medicine. Before bed, he was feeling more like himself. He was wanting to walk around and show us his Lego creations with occasional bouts of pain that didn't last long. I really hope he sleeps tonight. I feel he might wake up at some point in the night, but I'm hoping he gets some good rest.
I brought Jac to his scope appointment early this morning. We were originally scheduled for 12:15, but someone cancelled, so we went at 8 instead. I feel bad because I told him to stay up late since his appointment was late that way he could sleep in, but we're both glad to get it over with. So far, they didn't see anything concerning. I'll know more next week. So far, he's still kinda tired, but doing good. I'm hoping they can offer some answers to his digestion issues.
I brought Leah to the dentist this morning for her fillings. She promised she'll floss more. While I was waiting for her, there was an old guy who was just awful.
Receptionist: Hi, good morning.
Man: What's good about it?
R: I'm sorry?
M: What's good about it?
R: (awkwardly) We're alive?
M: Well, I'd rather be dead. I'm sick of this life.
R: Huh... well, it says here your appointment is for 9:30
M: No, it's for 9.
R: I'm sorry, but it says 9:30 here.
M: Well, it's wrong. My appointment is for 9, that's why I'm here at 9.
R: Alright, well, have a seat and we'll be with you shortly.
M: Fine, but I'm not watching no cooking show. Yall need to put it on hunting or fishing. I'm not gonna watch a cooking show.
R: I'll see what I can do.
Receptionist never switched the channel and I'm positive she had to take a few deep breaths. Meanwhile, this guy just kept making comments through the entire episode. The chefs were making a pound cake. He kept making remarks like, "Anyone can make a pound cake. They act like it's hard. I could make a pound cake." It took all my mature restraint to keep from shouting THEN GO BAKE A POUND CAKE BOB. But, I didn't. Once they finished the pound cake, there was another episode doing something with meat marinade. This guy once again continued with his commentary, "Why do they keep repeating themselves? They already said that. I'll never know why people like to talk so much."
Mind you, it was only the two of us in the room. I'm not sure if he thought he was talking to an audience or me or just talking to talk, but my lawd. If you're so miserable and want to die, why come to the dentist to take care of your teeth?
After the dentist, I taught the kids and then brought Leah in for her toe appointment. Dr. W removed part of her toenail and I've just got to either help her keep it clean, or supervise her for a week. I'm hoping this fixed it so she won't have anymore issues. She's braver than I am, even though she got lightheaded after it was over. I told her it was probably an adrenaline crash. I'd have freaked out, but she barely made a sound. It has been a day. I'm mentally tired. I've got two more kids to get through and will hopefully be able to breathe.
I had a dental appointment this morning and am super happy to report no cavities and no evidence of any gum disease. Yay! My appointments are now back to every six months since there doesn't seem to be any issues of concern. I am relieved.
Lots of things going on lately. Let's go from the beginning of the month, I guess?
So, the new homeschool year has started. I'm teaching/guiding 11th, 8th, 2nd, and PreK this year. The first week was a little stressful, but I told myself it's the new year, new routine, new things to learn. It's not going to be easy and I'm going to have to be patient. I filled up the month of January in my planner with lessons, activities, menus, etc. to make sure I had something definite to do each day. It's less stressful, but also more stressful. But, we're doing it. Tomorrow starts week 3.
I brought Jac and Leah to the doctor Friday to get their annual checkups and see about getting a referral to a GI doctor for Jac and a urologist for Leah. Jac's all caught up on his vaccines for now, so that's checked off. Onto the other things:
Jac has been having an upset stomach multiple times a day for a few weeks now. At first, I figured he was eating too much candy. All the candy-filled holidays are back to back and Zac keeps finding discount holiday treats. But, after cutting out candy, the sickness continued. I had him take meat from his diet, just in case, but it's still on-going. So, I brought him and Leah to the doctor for wellness checks and he's up to date on his vaccines now, but also got him a referral to a GI. From what we know, he's possibly having an intolerance to something. He's always had issues with popcorn ever since he was little, and usually has an upset stomach after eating corn chips or corn on the cob. Basically regular corn, not so much corn biproducts like corn syrup or corn starch. So in the next few weeks, I should hear back for an appointment to talk to a pediatric GI specialist to see if he's going to need an endoscopy or colonoscopy. He's keeping a food journal for right now to see what he's eating, when, and when/if symptoms occur. But, his blood work was fine. No anemia or other issues.
Leah is probably constipated. She has trouble emptying her bladder or feeling like she's finished, which could indicate constipation since she has no symptoms of a UTI. She also hasn't started her cycle and could have a hormone imbalance. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was younger, as well as dealing with precocious puberty, so I kinda have her set up for issues. Awesome. So, she's getting referred to a GYN urologist to do an ultrasound on her kidneys and ovaries and check for cysts. Neither are excited for any type of possible blood work.
As for Cole's issues, he had an infection around his foreskin a month ago and it left scar tissue. So, it looks like he has phimosis and needs to be circumcised. We've been treating the scar tissue with a steroid cream, but it's not working. The good news is he can be put to sleep and won't feel anything and it'll heal better while he's little than if he were to have to get it done as a teen or older. I just hate he has to have it done. It's also genetic to have phimosis, so basically all our kids were doomed to get some sort of ailment from us.
A Year in Review: 2022
1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and biopsy. Also climbed a mountain.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I kept last year's. Maintain healthy weight. The only one I really made for this year is to read every Stephen King novel before the year is out.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
None, yet. This year I may have a different answer.
6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
A new house.
7. What events from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory?
Visiting Colorado. It really was amazing.
8. What was your biggest achievement this year?
Taking care of my health.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I don't think I had any.
10. Did you suffer an illness or injury?
We all caught Covid in January.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I got my nipples pierced again... does that count?
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I'm going to take credit for this one because with my anxiety the way it is, I am taking better care of myself and making steps in the right direction.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
An ex-friend who showed blatant hypocrisy after our friendship ended over religion.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Colorado. Worth it.
15. What did you get really excited about?
We finally put the floors down.
16. What song will always remind you of 2022?
Kate Bush: Running Up That Hill.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
-Happier or sadder? Happier.
-Thinner or fatter? About the same.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Reading.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Visits to the ER with these kids.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
At home! No traveling this time.
21. Did you fall in love in 2022?
Does falling in love with the mountains count? Because if so, yes.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
Loki, Squid Game. Probably others, but those are the only two that come to mind.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate's a strong word.
24. What was the best book you read?
Like I said, barely read much more than the One Punch Man manga or Blue Excorsist.
25. What was your favorite musical discovery?
Nothing new this year, really.
26. What did you want and get?
An Ipad.
27. What did you want and not get?
Tattoos.
28. What was your favorite film this year?
It was pretty good.
29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
Zac took me out to get macarons and sushi.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less drama with people. Less time with the kids and myself having ailments to tend to.
31. How woul dyou describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
I'm back in leggings.
32. What kept you sane?
Drawing.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I avoided most articles around celebrities.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Roe v. Wade, the hatefulness towards the LGBTQ+ community, book bans, etc.
35. Who do you miss?
Emily. A lot this year. I don't know why. I feel like there's so much I wish she were here to see. So much I want to talk to her about.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Leah J's friends at her mom's murder mystery party.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022.
"No hate like Christian love".
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God
And I'd get him to swap our places.
I'd be running up that road,
Be running up that hill
With no problems.
My mom had a mild stroke on Wednesday. She was at an appointment for her arthritis and they admitted her to the ER when her blood pressure was "critically high". They put her under a stroke alert since her left side started feeling weak. After staying overnight for observation, they confirmed a mild stroke. An MRI showed a small blood clot in her brain. They gave her some blood-thinners and was able to go home today. She claims to be doing okay, so now we wait.
Cole is 4! He's getting so big and has such an imagination. He's funny and opinionated and so loving. I'm excited to see how he does when school starts.
I made homemade brownies from scratch for the first time and while I didn't enjoy the process, they turned out delicious. I also managed to snag a larger Zero costume from Target's discount Halloween section so he can grow into it. I'd say he had a great day.
We made a trip out to Louisiana for Thanksgiving this year. I find it bizarre that it's been practically a whole year since we visited for longer than a day. We stayed with Sean and met his current girlfriend, Kat, and were able to visit Zac's family. Leah and I spent the day before leaving baking cookies, 72 to be exact, along with deviled eggs. Kyle came to stay a night at Sean's also, which was nice. I wasn't able to visit with Jessie because her fam had a covid exposure. Luckily, she never tested positive for it. All in all, it was a nice visit.
Zac and I got our Covid boosters yesterday. It wasn't terrible, but today I've been having the worst fever-chills. My body feels like pins and needles and I've been under my weighted blanket to keep the anxiety at bay. TBH, it's a good distraction from this annual reminder that my sister is gone, so there's some silver lining. Lovely. I feel like shit.
Cole was complaining of a tummy ache this morning, so while we're potty training, he usually means he has to poop. So he did, and shortly after started crying really hard like he was in pain and ended up throwing up some bile. He didn't eat much last night for dinner and Elias was complaining that he wasn't feeling so hot (he was kinda pale), so Zac got them both some toast. Elias ate his and felt better, but Cole threw his right back up. I waited about 20 minutes or so to see if he wanted a bite of oatmeal, but nope. That came up, too. So, I decided no food for a little while and let him rest on the sofa. He started feeling better, so I had him take a sip of water. Not five minutes later, that came up, too. I called Dr. Y's office, but he was leaving at noon today and was completely booked up, so the nurse told me to call the Urgent Care. I called and told them what was going on, but they said he should go to the ER because it sounded like "gallbladder issues"... Now, Cole is 3, so this is a little strange to assume without seeing him, so I decided to go ahead, get dressed, and head out. We spent the next 2 hours sitting in the waiting room near a small boy who had a gross, wet cough and wasn't wearing a mask nor was he covering his mouth (yay). We were finally discharge after they gave Cole a Zofran and had us make sure he could keep water down, then sent us home. The Zofran worked wonderfully. The rest of the day, Cole watched TV, had some soup and crackers and kept it all down. He did have a few meltdowns with Pedialyte and his water being too cold, but I think his throat was sore from all the puking. Two Lolleez sore throat lollipops later and he was tearing through the house like he had a case of the "zoomies". He was back to his original self by bedtime so I'm hoping he's all better tomorrow.
We took the kids to a Trick-or-Treat street near the library. It reminded me of my childhood Trunk or Treats, which is the Christian version of Halloween, even though they pretend its not. Lots of booths set up, lots of people bumping into us, etc. I was a little annoyed that the kids weren't able to just hold out their buckets for candy and instead needed to participate in cornhole games, which meant waiting in long, unorganized lines. We were able to avoid the church folks and the kids came home with plenty of sweets. They had fun, which was the main point. Something new to try and get some extra use out of expensive costumes.
Zac saw an advertisement for Boo at the Zoo, so we bought some tickets for us as well as Jessie and Orrin. We drove the three hours to Louisiana and after arriving at the zoo, realized we made an error because the amount of cars, lack of parking, and the plague of people was overwhelmingly frustrating for a football Sunday in mid-afternoon. I called Jessie and we both agreed to nix the zoo and instead buy candy and hang out at her place. Back across the lake we went to enjoy some gumbo and conversation about foods and recipes and all that jazz. Grahamm's parents came by for dinner so we were able to hang out with them and try some different wines. They gave us some bolita beans and chicos, talked about winters in New England, living in New Mexico, and Italian food. After dinner, we had to make the drive back home. The kids were somewhat disappointed in not going trick or treating, but they were able to keep a lot of the candy we bought and enjoyed spending time with Orrin and all the cats.
Five names I go by:
We made a trip out to New Orleans with Mom so we could celebrate Elias' birthday. We went to the Aquarium first. The kids had the best time looking at all the fish and animals, but Cole especially. He was so fascinated. This was his first experience at the aquarium where he's old enough to enjoy it (or maybe first time ever?). He loved all the sharks and jellyfish. It makes me ache for a tropical fish tank. One day! After leaving the aquarium, we let the kids cool off in the water fountain a bit. It was too funny. They got soaked. The Louisiana heat is a beast. We even watched the ferry go by before heading to the zoo. It rained a little, which helped us cool off a bit. I'm so glad we brought a wagon for the boys. They were able to get up and run around or look at the animals or sit when their legs hurt. They even tried frozen bananas for the first time. I was surprised they liked the flavor since they don't really eat bananas at home often. Once the zoo started closing and it started drizzling again, we headed out. The kids were able to swim back at the hotel before getting ready for bed.
This morning, we went out to see about getting beignets, but everything smelled of piss and it was so SO hot. My body was sore from walking all over the aquarium and zoo that I didn't even want to go into the witch shops. Shocking. We took a quick peek at Jackson Square, but the kids were miserable and we were just ready to get food. Zac brought us to Gambino's and I picked out some pralines. Cole had his first petit four and we bought some extras for Leah J and Tommie before heading home.
