Just Another Life Update...

I feel like that's all I do on my blog - write a post, disappear for months (unintentionally), and then come back and say "hi! btw here's another life update!"

Story of my f*king life, right?

Really though, I have drafts saved that I had planned to write. And it just never got done. Call it laziness or life happening. Call it whatever you want. At this point, I will just accept that I'm not a consistent blogger and nobody probably really cares. But this was supposed to be my journal and I like looking back on my posts for memories sake. And so 10 years from now when I look back at the beginnings of this blog, Ima be like "hmmm, guess 2020 & 2021 just wasn't eventful enough to write about huh?" But it's been quite the opposite... I just never got a chance to document it all. *sigh*

Okay, so let's jump right into it.

The biggest most eventful thing that has happened since my last post is: I had surgery. Anything that has to do with my health, I don't share on social media or my blog until I know for sure that I'll be OK to actually share. So now that I've recovered, I feel comfortable enough to share that I had a thyroidectomy back at the end of August.

Quick back story on that: found some nodules in my thyroid in 2013/2014 which turned out to be benign after having gone through multiple biopsy procedures. They were considered to be tiny enough that surgery was not needed at the time. And I was told they can't just remove the nodules. The entire thyroid would need to come out. My endocrinologist said if it wasn't bothering me (swallowing and breathing can be a problem if it gets too big) then I shouldn't have to worry about taking it out. Anyway, after 2 pregnancies and having my hormones go up and down, my nodules grew and caused my thyroid to become enlarged. I was encouraged back in 2019 to have them taken out but I kinda prolonged the event mainly because I was scared. Then when COVID hit last year, I used that as an excuse to prolong it even more. Until I realized that it's been giving me enough trouble with swallowing and breathing and it just caused me so much discomfort that I need it to come out. So after numerous appointments with my primary care physician, my endocrinologist and then a meeting with a head & neck surgeon, on August 25th, I went in for surgery and had it removed.

Pre-Op

I didn't realize how risky my situation had become until I was in pre-op and had conversations with the head anesthesiologist and my nurses. All of which said they hadn't seen a goiter as big as mine in their career here in the US (some of the healthcare workers assigned to my case were Asian and originally from Asia). Then in post-op, I learned that my operation was a bit challenging and took longer than expected because I had many blood vessels attached to my thyroid that needed to be individually cauterized. What was supposed to be a 2-hour procedure turned into a 3+ hour procedure AND included an overnight stay at the hospital. Something I was not prepared for, by the way. I did not bring an overnight bag, not even a phone charger. And the sucky part about it, I was not being able to have visitors because of COVID. I also learned that I lost a lot of blood. Had I known how risky it was to have surgery on a very enlarged thyroid, I would have definitely done it sooner. But not once did my endocrinologist have a discussion with me about any of it. Only that I should take it out because it's big and could really affect my ability to swallow and breathe.

I also learned that my thyroid was growing down into my chest. Had it grown any bigger, I probably would have needed a chest surgeon in there too to open up my chest to take it out. My head & neck surgeon said he had to reach down behind my sternum to take it out.

Now if that doesn't give you a mental picture of just how big my thyroid was...

Anyway, I'm just glad it's finally out. The pressure my thyroid put on my esophagus is no longer felt. I can swallow vitamin horse pills again without feeling like it'll get stuck in my throat. And I can lie down without feeling like I'm being suffocated. Yup, that's the discomfort I've been dealing with for the past 2 years or so. But I also have a battle scar to show for it, too. Because of the size of my thyroid, my scar is a lot bigger than normal. And it's still healing so it's pretty noticeable. And it's definitely an eye catcher. I see the stares from people when I'm out in public. It doesn't bother me... I just wonder what they're thinkin' when they see it lol.

1 week Post Op - after the drain tube was removed

Other than that... life has been good. I'm still homeschooling my girls... we celebrated Everly's 4th birthday at the end of September...

And I've also been decorating my house for Fall/Halloween - which I'm hoping to share on a separate post but who knows if that'll ever happen lol. Here's just a couple of photos of what I posted on Instagram...

Call me crazy, but I'm already in the mood to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I know it's too early. But what can I say - I'm a sucker for holiday decorations. And because this is the first holiday season spent in our new home... I'm just a tad bit impatient.

Also, I may have started my Christmas shopping already... ok ok, I'll stop with all that lol.

Anyway, that's pretty much all the things that have been happening in our lives. Nothing too crazy... which is perfect for me. Let me know in the comments what y'all have been up to!

xo,

Jane

1st Grade, Here We Come!!!

It's been a couple of weeks since my Ella Bella's last day as a kindergartener happened and things have been kinda crazy around here with graduation celebrations and summer vacay things. But I'm finally in a good place to finally share it all with ya!!! My emotions have kinda been ALL over the place (shocker) and I'm still in denial about the fact that I am now a mother of 1st grader. 😳😭 So crazy, right? Like WHEN this happen? This whole 'watching them grow up' thing does not get easier for me. Being a mom is the most amazing and rewarding experience for sure! And watching my sweet girl conquer every milestone makes me so SO proud. But it tugs at my mama heartstrings knowing that each milestone we celebrate brings her closer to adulthood and well... I'm just not ready to let my baby go! 😭😭😭

Here's a recap of our last week of school...

Last Day of School - Thursday, June 3rd

On Thursday, June 3rd, Ella (and I) had our very last virtual class with Señora Agosto. And I bawled like a big baby. No joke. And I still tear up when I think about it. On a normal school day, we would have had 3 virtual sessions but because it was the last day, and we had to drop-off/pickup some things at the school, Ella's teacher did just 1 session. And you would think that the kids would be so excited to be done with class... but it warmed my heart to see that even when it was time to say good-bye, almost every single student stayed on to talk with their teacher and classmates for a few minutes more.

Let's rewind a lil bit to see what my little girl looked like on the 1st day of school in the Fall of 2020...

How is she already lookin' so grown?! 😭😭😭

We've seen Ella's teacher a handful of times throughout the year but every meeting was socially distanced and all of us were masked up. And while Ella's school was still taking all the precautions and implemented a drive-by drop-off/pickup, ya know we couldn't let the year end without getting a pic.

Ella really loved her teacher this year and is really gonna miss her! So far, she's had a great Pre-K teacher and an awesome Kindergarten teacher. We're hoping it keeps going and we love her 1st grade teacher, too!

Virtual Graduation - Tuesday, June 1st

Because these kids weren't going to be able to have an in-person ceremony, Señora Agosto put together a virtual ceremony complete with caps & gowns and a full program of songs and student performances. The school principal even made an appearance and said a few words. It was a milestone that needed to be celebrated and I thought it was the cutest thing ever!!!

What About Everly + Preschool w/Mommy?

And we can't forget about Everly! Because of the pandemic, we refrained from registering Everly for real preschool. And since Big Sis was doing distance learning and I was her at-home teacher, we thought it'd be good for Everly to be Ella's classmate! She loved it! Especially the arts n crafts part 😂.

...and look at how little she was back in August!

Oh and I am happy to report that she has been registered for REAL preschool in the Fall. And she can't wait!

Saying Farewell to Distance Learning

I cannot believe we freakin' survived an entire school year of distance learning! And, not gonna lie. I am gonna miss it. All of it. I know in the beginning, I kinda dreaded it because I was nervous and afraid that I wouldn't be capable of teaching her all the things she needed to learn to keep up with her grade level. Especially since she's enrolled in a dual language immersion program for Spanish. But all the nerves went away once things got rolling. And I have Ella's teacher to thank for all that we have achieved in this process. Ella's teacher is THE BEST. She loves to teach and is very dedicated to her students and their success. And she was there every step of the way which made this entire experience easier to navigate.

To be quite honest, I really enjoyed it. After I mourned over the fact that Ella Bella wouldn't get to experience Kindergarten the conventional way that I got to experience, I realized that I needed to make this year a good one despite it all. I needed to look on the bright side of things - the fact that we GET to do this as opposed to HAVING to do this... made all the difference. Because I got to have my babies home with me every single day for the past year and a half since the beginning of this pandemic. Because I got to have VIP front row seats to watch her learn and interact with her peers. Because I also got to know her teacher and classmates and their parents on a more personal level that we most likely would not have had the chance to if distance learning did not exist. I mean, we were invited into each other's homes virtually and got to meet siblings, other family members and even pets... it was GREAT!!!

Sure distance learning is not ideal. It is new, scary and different. And let's not forget just how messy and confusing it all was right at the very start of lockdown last year. But over the summer, these teachers worked their butts off to make it work. To fine tune all the things that went wrong. Yes there were challenges. And it wasn't easy peasy all year round. And it definitely was a team effort. But you know what? These kids are the real MVP's. They are so smart and SO resilient. This temporary change did not break them. They persevered. They totally rocked it. They freakin' did it! And we (Ella & I) enjoyed every bit of the whole process.

So yeah I cried like a baby at the end of it all. Because I am going to miss it. Schools are reopening up in the Fall and both of my girls will be in the 1st grade and Pre-K. And even though I would love to do another round of distance learning again, I know I can't be selfish. There's only so much my non-Spanish speaking self could teach them!

I'm gonna miss having these 2 with me 24/7...

However your 20-21 school year looked like, whatever challenges you may have faced and conquered... we survived it all! And we made history. So here's 🥂 to closing another major chapter of our lives and let's move on to tackling the next. 🙌

XO,

Jane

Unplugged From The Internet and I have ZERO Regrets

Hi, guys!!! It's me! 🤣 Yeah, I know. It's been awhile. Been thinkin' a lot about how to make an official comeback to the blog world. But then I remembered that I'm still a nobody in this space, which helped take off some of the pressure. And so HERE I AM!!!! 😂😂😂

2020 turned out to be a shitty year. Let's not even pretend it wasn't because it just didn't turn out to be the. best. year. EVER. Like we all hoped. I did my best to remain as positive as one could be during a worldwide pandemic, but who are we kidding. It just freakin' SUCKED. Especially on the internet. With the Black Lives Matter movement happening in the middle of the year, and the anti-maskers running amok, and then having to deal with everyone turning EVERYTHING into something political... it just got way too toxic for me and I just had to unplug from it all and focus on what was most important to me - my sanity and being present with my family.

So... let's rewind a bit with a recap of how our 2020 went. We started off the year STRONG. Made some goals, went to Hawaii in March, came back just in time for a nationwide lockdown and we quarantined/stayed home pretty much forever. Oh and I became a teacher! Ok, ok... that's a bit of an exaggeration. I didn't become a REAL teacher - and by REAL teacher, I mean one with credentials. I just became Ella's REAL teacher's assistant. Virtually. Because Virtual Learning is now a thing - circa 2020. In August, we had a flood in our house (and if you didn't know, we were living in a rental with my FIL and his 2 teenage daughters) which kinda forced us out of the house while it was turned into a construction zone. We didn't have anywhere to go, so we escaped Southern California and went up to Gardnerville, NV to stay with my MIL for a bit. We had planned to only be there maybe a month at first, but we ended up staying for a little over 5 months. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My girls only saw their grandma and other grandpa maybe 2x a year pre-covid. So this gave them (and us) the time to make memories and to just enjoy living that country life.

We got to experience a true Fall and Winter season complete with all the holiday things and were able to save up enough money to FINALLY buy a house.

Yup, you read that right.

We. Freakin'. Bought. A. HOUSE.

The current state of our housing market in the U.S. is INSANE right now and we didn't think we would be able to snag one since it's SO competitive out there (we bid on a total of 7 houses 😳). But we did! And I will have to write a whole separate post to talk about the entire experience later - because THAT was just a rollercoaster of crazy that deserves a blog entry all its own. The main thing is - we found one and we're extremely grateful our offer was chosen. And so our 5-month stay in Gardnerville, NV came to a bittersweet end in February and we returned back to SoCal to begin the next exciting chapter of our lives.

Life happened. Even during a pandemic. And I am SO glad I took a break from all things social media and the internet to enjoy the simple joys in life. And as crappy as 2020 was, I have so much to be grateful for.

So, as you may have already guessed... we have been super busy with making our new "old" house a home and now that things have slowed down a bit, I thought I'd give my blog some love. Because... I got LOTS to share - more of ALL the mom life things PLUS all the home reno/decor life things. This is going to be FUN!

I hope you'll stick around for all of that!

Until the next one...

xoxo,

Jane