Category: Pets

Another Year for Pixydust

So.

I just renewed my domain for another year. And I’m still paying for monthly hosting so I guess I’m keeping the site another year. Me and my packrat tendencies; I’ve had it so long (2001, or 2002–don’t remember) that I can’t bear to get rid of it. Even though I’ve hardly updated in the past year and have missed blogging about TONS of details of the girls’ lives…I just can’t get rid of it.

I’ve made a promise to myself that I’ll try updating again. I’m just so out of…practice, I guess you can say, that it’s kind of odd for me to try and update like I used to. I’m going to aim for at least once a week. Let’s see how that goes LOL.

So I’m going to try right now. I’m drinking my coffee and eating a bowl of sugar Cocoa Crispies. I just finished feeding Emily her baby cereal and she’s doing her Funny Face in her high chair and drinking her bottle.

I present to you: Emily's Funny Face!

Okay, scratch that. Alaethia woke up so I moved Emily to her play pen so I could stick Alaethia in the high chair to eat her breakfast, which consists of strawberries. Yes, she’ll be 3 in January (already, OMG!) and I’m still having trouble trying to get her to eat breakfast and sometimes to eat in general. Fruit is always my back up.

Aly at breakfast. She always has a "baby" or 2 with her.

Took a break there to get Alaethia situated in the living room to watch her Noggin–I’m sorry, Nick Jr. And I dusted the shelves in the living room and moved 2 more from my bedroom to the living room…don’t know if that was a mistake or not, after last night (I’ll get to that in a bit, heh). I’m so happy that this year I’ll get to actually put up a few Christmas decorations. I just need to FIND them.

We had everyone over last night, Jason, Mirella, Brianna, Jose & Elda, Adan, Aide & her kiddos and Mom & us of course. It was a nice night but the moments that’ll stick out in my head are when Jaylen & Jason were tossing a pillow back and forth & my Disney Jasmin snow globe broke. I left a gel pen uncapped and it stained the sofa bright blue. I almost had a heart attack but a few baby wipes did the trick–I love Enduro-suede sofas! And then–the climax of the night–the moment I walked into the bathroom and Alaethia and Belle were happily tossing cat litter all over the bathroom…again! They’d also dumped the cat’s food into the toilet and replaced both the food and water bowls with soggy litter. My whole world closed up; I didn’t know where the hell to start cleaning up. Mario, at first kind of rudely, had to take over and did a pretty good job cleaning up. Alaethia got reprimanded; I’m hoping this’ll be the last time she assists with that.

(OMG this darn cat just scratched my legs again!!!)

I guess this is enough blogging for now (it’s taken me about 3 hours to type this up little by little!). I just put Emily to sleep by singing “Morning Lullabies” by Ingrid Michaelson to her. They both love that song when it’s time for bed.

I need to do more laundry, wash dishes, vacuum the living room and practice everything for Taekwondo. Our Yellow-Advanced test is on Nov. 28th, 2 1/2 weeks from now. *gulp* I need to work on the form because I get mixed up if someone else is doing it at the same time or if someone even TALKS. I need to time myself and make my movements stronger and stiffer. I also have to work on my side-kick. That kick’s the devil. I get everything else except that. Oh yeah, and I also can’t get the Mula kick with my left leg and my left leg’s the stronger of the two, which is odd for someone who’s right-handed like I am. This is why I want one of those standing targets; so I can practice here at home. They’re expensive though and right now, let’s just say the bad economy finally reared its ugly head at us. Not cool now that Christmas is coming up!

Ok, ok. I won’t stall on my chores any longer. And Emily’s up already. Nice LOL.

My A.D.D. Always Kicks In

I’m still alive. Just been enjoying summer and at the same time, trying not to go completely batty having all 4 (loud) kids home at the same time LOL. I took for granted just how peaceful it was when the boys were in school during the day. The girls would get to sleep without being bothered. I could nap if I wanted to. Emily would take her afternoon nap when she was supposed to. But now the boys are constantly yelling; at each other or just, you know, randomly. Poor Emily wakes up screaming every time. The boys love to play with Alaethia, but she’s a little diva and can only take so much of their energy LOL. She’ll smack them and squeal for them to leave her alone.

My favorite thing to do when I have a chance, of course, is to surf the web. I probably have plenty of time to update my blog, but right when I log in to WordPress I somehow get distracted and start looking for Re-ment stuff on Ebay. I’ve become quite obsessed with those little miniatures recently. I’ve got Rachel to thank for introducing me to the world of minis! Shoot, I’ve even got Mom and Mary collecting them!

A Few Things

Those are just a FEW of the gazillion things I’ve collected the past few months!

I also get distracted by browsing through people’s photos on Flickr, search for decorating ideas on Flickr or I’ll chat on Twitter. I hardly even use my Myspace or Facebook anymore, either. I guess whoever’s following me on Twitter has the most up-to-date goings-on of my life.

And when I’m not plastered to the laptop I’m reading. I’m still on Breaking Dawn. Crazy shiz happening in that book. I won’t go into detail so as not to ruin it for anyone, but it’s crazy. I still think New Moon was probably my favorite. I CANNOT WAIT for that movie! So many awesome movies are coming out in the next few weeks, too!

So yeah, I’m doing great. Loving the awesome new, comfy living room. Not enjoying the scorching heat; we’re probably going to end up having to get a bigger central air unit: this one doesn’t feel like it’s cooling much anymore, probably due to the extra square footage and the fact that the heat index’s been 105-116 the past few days. Bleh.

As for the kiddos, Emily’s such a doll. I never knew what people meant when they said they had “happy babies” until I had Emily. It’s so easy to keep her happy. I don’t even have a problem lugging her around with me everywhere. As long as she’s in her sling, nestled near me, she’s completely happy :).

Alaethia, like I mentioned earlier, is turning into quite the diva. Everyone’s amazed by how much she speaks “for a two-year-old” but it’s really nothing new to me. She’s been a chatterbox since she was around 7 months old. Mario says she takes after me LOL. She’s really into her Noggin shows right now, especially “Max and Ruby”, “Ni-Hao Kai-Lan”, “Wonder Pets” (she sings the song ALL THE TIME!), and “Backyardigans”. I’m not too fond of those last two, but what can I do? LOL

I definitely need to start sitting down with her and teaching her the colors and alphabet. She’s excellent with shapes but she’s still confused about the other two. As for potty-training, she’s a pro, though she still has her accidents at night but not too often, thank goodness.

The boys are doing great, when they’re not trying to smack each other. But I separate them and what do they do? They’re together 10 seconds later, like magnets. Jaylen’s had some anger issues, which I can only blame on “middle-child syndrome” but we’re working on it. I have noticed that he’s gotten better.

Eenan’s usually the instigator when it comes to their arguments and physical fights but he’s a lovable kid at the same time. He’s usually the one who tries to calm Jaylen and Alaethia down when he notices that I’m getting frustrated. He’s having to learn responsibility for a pet since he’s got Daisy and Lady to take care of now. He’s not too happy about it sometimes, but I remind him that they’re really cute and someone would really love to adopt them and he gets right on task LOL.

We took the boys to the library this past Tuesday and they each checked out a stack of books. They were all excited about it that day and read for a good hour without being “told” to, but the novelty wore off. Eenan’s been more reluctant about reading. I’ve got to get them on some kind of schedule so that they know when they can and can’t play video games and when it’s time to read and learn and go outside to get some exercise. I don’t want them to become couch potatoes, or act like it’s the end of the world when they can’t pass a level on a video game.

Mario and I are doing great, I’m thrilled to say. Ever since I stopped working and he went back to his old job we’ve been on Cloud 9 again, like nothing ever changed. We’re spending time together, he’s actually getting to see the kids and we watch movies in the evening in the new living room (which is almost complete; Mario just finished up the shelves, we just gotta paint them), either by ourselves or Jason, Mirella and Adan come join us.

Almost-finished Corner Shelves

I’ve become quite the social drinker (LOL) and we have a few cocktails before bed while we watch TV, chat, or surf the web when the kiddos are asleep. I love that boy :).

Pineapple Rum Thingies!

Noelia should be coming over tomorrow and we have a dinner to go to. I’m hoping I can get some cleaning time in and I’ve really got to spend that gift card Pete and Sally gave us from Pier 1! Maybe on Sunday, if Mario gets a chance between all that extra work he’s got. It’s all for the family LOL. He’s quite the popular one!

Hook, Line & Sinker

I picked the boys up from school yesterday and went straight to my appointment. Jaylen really wanted to go to the Scholastic Book Fair they’re having at school, but I couldn’t take him so I promised I’d take him today. I’d completely forgotten that Eenan has percussion practice on Wednesdays, but thankfully Jose picked him up for me.

I talked and joked around with Elisa when I got there. She asked if I was ready to get it removed and I said sure, we’ll see what Dr. C. said when he saw me.

I read a chapter or two of Eclipse and after what seemed like forever was called in to the vitals room. I had a whole slew of questions I wanted to ask Dr. C., now that I had a chance and had actually made a list. When the girl taking my vitals asked me what I came in for I told her it was mainly so that Dr. C. could assess the ganglion cyst I needed removed. I figured he needed to give me an order for the hospital or something.

My Ganglion Cyst Before

I get sent into a room and I’m in there another hour or so. I was completely bored and remembered that it was April Fool’s Day, so I thought of the perfect joke to play on Mario. I was giddy with anticipation. I texted him that they did a urine test (which they didn’t) and that he’d never guess what…I was pregnant! How could that be?!

He takes a while to respond and when he does, texts You better stfu! LOL I didn’t want him to be mad, or die of a coronary, so I texted back ROFL! April Fool’s!

Again it takes him a few minutes to respond and says That’s impossible…

My response: I’m bored. I bet you panicked a lil’, tho! 😉

He says: F u. Don’t talk to me for the rest of the day. U’re the devil.

OMG I couldn’t stop laughing.

We keep chatting and 45 minutes later I text Lord Jeebus. I reckon they forgot about me…

He says U’re little 🙁 Stand up. How rude LOL.

Right when he sent that Dr. C. comes in and we exchange some small talk and takes my hand in his. He turns my wrist from side to side and says he’s going to get everything ready. I laugh, thinking it’s some kind of April Fool’s gag and he’s completely serious. I almost puked. I was so not ready! I didn’t even know what he was going to do!

Laura comes in and we chit-chat and she leaves then comes back with a rolling cart full of stuff. My heart immediately starts pounding.

This Made Me a Little Nervous

But not as much as when I saw these and heard Dr. C. telling Laura he needed the biggest gauge needle she could find. Then he said to forget it, he’d just use a scalpel. Again I thought he was playing a prank on me…but he wasn’t.

This Made Very Nervous

First of all, I HATE needles. I’m a total wuss when it comes to having IVs inserted into my hands and arms. These needles were MUCH bigger than those. I started feeling really sweaty and nervous when Laura rubbed that brown, sterilizing stuff on my wrist.

She walked out and left my door open. I could hear them talking outside, Dr. C. making jokes about ex-girlfriends and talking about work. Laura gasped and said be quiet, then peeked in and said, “Oh it’s Yajaira anyway. She’s family!” That made me feel so happy :).

Dr. C. took a seat opposite me and started tapping the syringe to numb the bump. I really started panicking, even though I was laughing to brush it off, and I seriously almost started hyperventilating. I took a deep breath and told him, “Wait, wait, wait! I’m not ready!” Laura ran to my side when she saw me freaking out and held my hand.

Dr. C. told me I’d be fine and I just stared, waiting for the pain I knew was about to come. Laura told me, “You don’t have to look!” So she pulled my face over to her chest and covered my eyes. I braced myself and winced when I felt the needle break the skin and then the sharp pain when the liquid started making its way in. I slowly pulled Laura’s hand off of my eyes and peeked to see what happened. The cyst was double the size it originally was and Dr. C. playfully says, “You did say you wanted it double the size it was, right?”

I nervously laugh and start panicking again when Dr. C. reaches for the scalpel. I quickly place Laura’s hand over my eyes and ask her, “Laura, Laura! Is it gonna hurt?!”

Dr. C. chuckles and says, “It’s okay, I’m already cutting. You don’t feel anything, right?”

I exhale, because I’d been holding my breath the whole time and remove Laura’s hand from my face. Sure enough, Dr. C.’s already gently piercing a little hole in the cyst and I don’t feel a thing. Next thing I know, clear goop is bubbling out of the tiny incision.

This Was What's Inside

Of course I was going to get a picture of it! Mario requested this one in particular LOL.

Dr. C. gently squeezed out all the gel, covered it with a thick wad of gauze and tightly rolled some medical tape around it. He said I should keep a bandaid on it and then wrap it in something tight, like an ACE bandage. He gave me some literature on ganglion cysts and told me that unfortunately they come back in 50% of people once they have them aspirated like I did. I hope I’m not one of those people :(.

We joked around as he was cleaning up and Laura said she was going to miss seeing me as often as she got to during my pregnancies. I told her I should just go work with them when I was ready. Her eyes lit up and she said I totally should and started explaining benefits to me right away! I really, truly would consider working there; I love all the girls and Dr. C. Once I was ready, of course.

I waited in the pharmacy area for my antibiotics prescription and helped Laura measure a window. I get a text from Mario telling me that he just missed a call from Border Patrol. I automatically think, “He’s totally getting back at me for the pregnancy joke,” but then I start wondering what if it’s for real?

He goes into this whole spiel about how he was talking on the phone with his boss and he called back and they explained to him what the next step would be, which was picking up his ticket. He would be leaving on Monday. My heart sank when he told me this, but again, I just had a feeling he was joking. I kept telling him he was lying LOL.

I went to Target and then Home Depot. Mario talked to me during my drive and was going on and on about how sad he was; how he wasn’t even going to get to finish our new living room. When I hung up with him I texted Maggie and asked her if Mario had mentioned anything about the call from Border Patrol, because he’d just told me he was leaving on Monday. She said no, that he didn’t. I told her not to say anything about it. She asked if I could do her a favor and text Jorge. She wanted to trick him, too.

So I text him What happened today? Mario got home from work and said he wasn’t going back tomorrow!

I know Mario did have a crappy day, so it was jiving with what I said. Jorge texted back that he didn’t blame Mario for feeling that way and so on.

I had just gotten home and Mario was already here. I try getting it out of him for about 15 minutes that he’s joking, but he’s playing the part really well. I finally tell him to break the news to his Mom and the boys and he can’t help but break a smile. I then get a great idea…supposedly he got the call around 5:30, so I check his call log on his cell and there isn’t anything about Border Patrol or Homeland Security or any number I don’t recognize. He has no choice but to confess LOL.

I tell him about the whole Jorge thing. Maggie texts me and says, Jorge is walking around all sad and mad LOL. I feel bad, so I text Jorge back April Fool! Don’t hate me! Heh.

Jorge texts back, I already told the boss he quit!

I KNOW he’s trying to trick me, so, using Mario’s prank to my advantage, I text back, Well, I guess that’s good because Border Patrol just called Mario. He leaves on Monday!

Jorge doesn’t waste time in calling Mario to confirm LOL. Of course Mario tells him it’s all a joke and we’re going over.

Mom offered to watch Alaethia and Mary had the boys, so we only took Emily with us. We ended up having an impromptu movie night, watching Monsters vs. Aliens first (which was really cute!) and then Last House on the Left (which was really effed up).

We got home around 12:30 and were in bed by 1am. Emily didn’t let me fall asleep till around 1:30 or so, which I was grateful for because she slept the whole time we’d been at Jorge and Maggie’s.

She woke up at 6 for a bottle and of course, was wide awake and didn’t let me go back to sleep till 8am, when Mario needed to get up to go to work. I feel awful when I don’t can’t get up to make him breakfast. The good thing was, she let me sleep till 10:45 and then all of us girls came to the kitchen to have breakfast.

It was a lazy day, for the most part. John came over and I told him about my cyst, which he called his “Cyst-er”, because he says it was so big it could be another person LOL. I went to deposit at the bank, paid bills online and did some housework, like laundry and tidying up. I can’t get much done with Emily. Even when Mom holds her she howls for me. As soon as I get her, she’s completely fine. Her wails turn into whimpers and dissolve into content sighs once she’s in my arms. As hard as it is to get things done around the house, I have to admit that it makes me feel super special inside knowing she’s happiest being with her Mama :).

I picked the boys up from school while Mom watched the girls and took the boys to the Book Fair. I spoke to a few of the kids’ teachers and then we were on our way. Jaylen had been making a big fuss about it yesterday and almost didn’t buy anything today. He just got one book. Eenan did, too, although if he had his way, he would have bought a whole bunch of expensive ones LOL.

I spent the rest of the day with Emily and then Mom watched her while I made dinner (artichoke lasagna). Adan, Aide and Belle came over and us girls sat around talking while the guys were outside doing guy things, like installing a radio and drinking. We found out Kilala had her puppies sometime today! Mario discovered her under our storage shed and declared, “I’m a grandpa!” LOL

I bathed Alaethia and then sorted through her clothes in the closet. There were tons of things she outgrew, so I weeded them out and put them in storage bins for Emily.

I took off my bandage and replaced my bandaid earlier and realized I still have a bit of the bump on my wrist. I’m not sure if there’s liquid in there still or if it’s swollen from the procedure but I stupidly tried to squeeze out whatever was in there. Now it’s throbbing more than it had been, but thankfully it hurts a lot less than I thought it would.

And now I’m waiting for Emily to wake up for her first bottle of the night. Her bath will wait till the morning. I have a few dishes in the sink and that’s where I bathe her. My wrist hurts so I’m trying to take it easy and not move things around. Believe it or not, typing doesn’t bother me. I’m supposed to keep my fingers busy, and what better way than a gajillion-word blog entry?