confessions

I realize the Thanksgiving holiday is a time to reflect upon blessings . . . . and to eat boat loads of food . . . but I count my blessings everyday.

Really, I do!

I make myself visualize all the good things in order to not go crazy-insane with all the 'non-blessings' that pop up on a regular basis.

:: picture me with fingers plugging my ears, head down, eyes closed, rocking back and forth while whispering nonsense ::

Yep, e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y.

So, I am not going to write about all my blessings. 

Instead, I am going to post a few confessions in the interest of full disclosure.

Why?

Because I am betting you need a laugh or two after eating too much, spending way too much time with relatives, shopping until your wallet is empty, cooking for 42 hours straight, etc.

Confession #1:  I like graphs.  Life would be soooooooo much easier is lessons were wrapped up in a pie chart

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Confession #2:  I don't think the best sound in the world is my children laughing.  I prefer the silence of when they are sleeping.

Confession #3:  I like to watch the A&E show, Intervention.  It makes my life look soooooooo good.

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Confession #4":  I miss smoking.  It's been 1 year since I quit and yes, I feel fabulous in so many ways, but I still miss it. 

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Confession #5:  I feel guilty when I am grateful for Ellie having T1 diabetes.  Not for the specific disease, per say, but for the closeness the two of us have.  I am also grateful for the community of people we have been pulled into and supported by.  Our world has expanded and I wouldn't wish different.

Shoot.  I didn't want to count blessings.  Now I have gone and ruined the whole post.  Crapolina.

Here's another pie chart to make up for it:

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ding dong

It's dark out and I am at the kitchen table working on the laptop when: 

(Yes . . . . working!  I was inputting data into a recipe analyzer; so ppppfffffttt.)

:: Ding Dong ::

The girls race to reach the front door.

Who could it be?  We never have visitors!

Maddi:  "Oh! It's the UPS man!" 

Ellie:  "It's a BIG box, Mom!"  squeals Ellie

Me:  "Grab the scissors, come on now.  Open 'er up"  

Ellie:  "Packing Peanuts!  I love these things.  Who would send us a box full of peanuts?"

Ellie:  "Oh!  It's my Juicy Juice . . . AND packing peanuts"

Me:  "Yep.  40 boxes of perfectly proportioned carbs to treat Ellie's lows.  Ahhhhhh.  It's a beautiful thing."

Maddi:  "That's it?  Just juice?  Hokaaaaaaay"  ::shrugging shoulders::" (remember, Maddi is just 7 days shy of being a full-fledged teenager) help me 

*Thank you to Lora over at my diabetic child; who contacted Nestle, the makers of Juicy Juice, to host a giveaway (Sugar Bolus) and I just happened to be the winner-winner-chicken-dinner!*

what if

Since I rarely have a time where my brain is rooted in the moment, I thought I might share some of my "what if . . . . " thoughts.

And yes, I will try really hard to work on this that there problem.  Tomorrow


what if . . . .

. . . . . my babies never got bigger?  I would chomp on chubs ALL DAY LONG!

what if . . . . 

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. . . . I was a 1950's housewife?  I would wear the heck out of those pumps while doing dishes.

what if . . . .

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. . . . I won the lottery?  I would donate $1,460,000 to support Life for a Child for one year (4,000 children in 26 countries. $1 a day per child provides the medical needs for diabetic care) 

what if . . . .

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. . . . this were my laundry room?  I know I would find excuses to wash clothes.

what if . . . .

. . . . there weren't people who wrote and directed and made this scene?  I wouldn't appreciate all the beauty in the world.

what if . . . .

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. . . . Ellie's pancreas wouldn't have pooped out?  I would never have had the chance to play one. 

As in "I am not a real pancreas.  I just act like one so my daughter doesn't have to"  ;)

the good news

You have to look very close ........

"No diabeteis in heavon!"

This is a photo of our church bulletin; found recently in Ellie's Sunday School backpack.  

Why there is a 'bite' out of the side is beyond me.  Maybe she was a little 'low' and needed a small snack?

During a sermon a couple of weeks ago, a guest pastor was speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven and how there is no pain, no sorrow and no cancer in Heaven. 

I leaned over to Ellie and whispered; "Guess what else won't be in Heaven!"  She smirked at me and went back to doodling in her sketch book.

When she wrote this on the bulletin I have no idea, but I just HAD to share the good news.

38 is great

Well, so far, at least.  I am only on day 2 of being 38 so a lot can happen in the next 363 days.

Please notice the birthday tiara ..... it was authentic!

A few of my peeps and I gathered at a local eatery, Noodle Zoo, for a monthly luncheon put on by the Ankeny Women's Connection.  (hence the name tags)  We made certain to grab a table in the back so we wouldn't disturb the rest of the crowd with our mis-bahavings ....... too much.

dblog day

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As defined by creator Gina Capone, D-blog Day was started on November 9th 2005 during Diabetes Awareness Month, to help unite diabetes bloggers and create awareness about diabetes.

This year’s topic is: 6 things you want people to know about diabetes.

I have read ay least a dozen blog posts today with some incredible words of wisdom about diabetes.  Thank you to Gina for such a great idea, and for all the participating members who are spreading the knowledge.


Since Ellie was just diagnosed with T1 diabetes 6 weeks ago, I thought I would share with you '6 things....' from some folks who actually know what they are talking about ;). 


1.  From Wendy about her daughter 'Sugar':

• Just because Sugar "looks ok", doesn't mean she is. When a child with a seizure disorder has a seizure or a child with asthma has an asthma attack, you know they need help, because there is an outward display of symptoms. When a child with diabetes has a low or high blood sugar, you may not be able to tell just by looking at them. For this reason, it is necessary to check blood sugars every 2 - 3 hours around the clock, every day. If left untreated, both low and high blood sugars can lead to seizures, coma, and death.

2.  From Joanne about her daughter Elise:

• There are only two things my daughter cannot eat; poison, and cookies... made with poison.  Elise and others with Type 1 can eat anything you or I can eat. We just have to make sure we give her the proper amount of insulin to cover that food. Unfortunately, there are some foods (pizza, ice cream, mac & cheese - you know, all the kid favourite foods) that wreak total havoc on her blood sugar, but we think it's more important to let Elise be a kid first, and a kid with diabetes second. We are striving to teach Elise how to make good choices when it comes to food, and that almost everything is okay in moderation.

3.  From Reyna about her son Joe:

• What I want you to know is that Type 1 Diabetes changed me. It took from me an innocence that my family was "untouchable". It took from me my confidence in the "health" and "well being" of my children, of my family. It robbed me, for a couple of years, of the "spark" that is part of the core of my personality...It has left a permanent impression on my mind, in my heart, and imprinted on my soul.

(This statement by Reyna is how I feel.  Somehow she came and stole my thoughts right out of my brain.  Except for the 'couple of years'. )

4.  From Kerri, A woman living with T1 Diabetes:

• No diabetes is the same. Even within a community of diabetics, there are still widely varying ways of treating diabetes and even more ways of dealing with the emotional aspects. There's no winning combination and no "right" way to deal with this disease. Being on a pump means you use a pump to infuse your insulin - this doesn't necessarily mean you are taking better care of yourself than the person who opts for injections. Low-carb doesn't work for everyone, and neither do certain medications. Your diabetes may vary (thanks, Bennet), and what works for you may not work for everyone. It's important to remember that this disease doesn't have a predictable path, so there are plenty of "right' ways to handle it.

5.  From Carey, who writes for the dLife Blogabetes:

• People should know that type 1 diabetes is one ruthless, unreasonable and shifty mofo of a disease. It is not, I repeat, it is not as simple as just eating healthy foods and getting a bit of exercise. It is exhausting to manage. At the very moment you think you’ve figured things out, it likes to show you in devastating fashion that you haven’t. It constantly keeps you off balance. It’s like logrolling. Blindfolded. On three-hour’s sleep. On the ferocious whitewater rapids of Snake River. In a hail storm. While trying to figure out IKEA furniture instructions. On a unicycle. With a flat tire. While your 5-year-old tugs on your leg, saying “I did a pee-pee in my pants.” Which you think is unusual since he never does a pee-pee in his pants anymore. So you start to wonder. And wonder some more. And you test his blood sugar, praying you don’t have a second child with diabetes.

6.  From Merri, a wonder-woman DMom of 3 T1 boys:

• And lastly, comments to my child about your great uncle losing his foot to Type 2 diabetes, are not OK.

By this time next year, you can bet your booty I will have a list a mile long!

this, that and the other

Randomness is the order of the day.  It's just how I am feeling.


- Ellie's BS numbers ran on the high side (250's to 300's) from Thursday evening until Sunday night.  Then today, 3 LOWS (below 80) at school! (which means lots of time spent out of the classroom)  AAARRRGGGHHH. 


- Maddi was selected to help out with the special needs classroom at school!  She will spend her study hall reading to the kids, helping out the Associates and providing companionship to the students.


- Ben just left tonight with Dad to attend his Junior FIRST LEGO League.  He and 4 other boys will design and build solutions using LEGO elements.  Math skills will be challenged and the program also teaches presentation skills.  All under the guise of playing with LEGOs!!!!

- I won 40 boxes of Juicy Juice.  Yep!  Lora, over at 'my diabetic child', hosted a giveaway and my comment was randomly chosen.  Juicy Juice is VERY important in our household.  Those cute little boxes contain just the right amount of carbohydrates to lift up Ellie from a low.  If she has a day like today, that's 3 boxes she sipped down.  So, free JJ is super fantabulous!!!!


- The washing machine, the dishwasher and the shower are all going at the same time.  I think my hopes of a nice hot soak in the tub tonight have swirled down the drain.


- To keep this post random, here is a photo that has absolutely nothing to do with anything:

I miss my little fat-cheeked baby boy!

geek out diabetes

How do you geek out your or your child's T1 diabetes?

In other words, what techie tools or gadgets do you use on a daily basis that assist in the management of the disease?

When Ellie was first diagnosed and we were told we would need to log her blood sugars, I immediately searched the Apple App store for something to help me out.

First of all, the endocrinologist's office requested we use a particular log so they could spot trends and know at a glance what was going on.  

I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to create a color-coded, multi-layer table with cool equations built into the cells.  

What?  No graphs or pie charts?  

Anyway, here is an example of the chart we fax to the office on Monday mornings, or as needed when too many lows or highs happen:

 I scribbled out Ellie's last name and birth date.  Oh, and don't freak out about the readings.  This was our first full month of diabetes and she is 'honeymooning.'

If I couldn't make a pretty spreadsheet, at least I was going to find an app for my iTouch to enter the data. 

I think I paid $2.99 for this app.

Track3 - Diabetes Planner and Carb Counter.  I love how simple it is to enter a glucose reading, and an added bonus was the included nutritional guide. 

Sure, I use the Calorie King book (we actually have 3), but the Track3 app is more fun to use and I can alter the serving sizes to match what I weigh (grams or ounces) on my food scale.

The last geek product I searched for was a program where I could input the ingredients from a recipe and, based on serving size, it would spit out the nutritional information.

I found:

SPARKPEOPLE Recipe Calculator!!!!!  The best part about this recipe calculator is it's F-R-E-E!  You can set up a profile and register with the site so you can save the recipes.  What worked for me was to input the recipe and then write down the carbs / serving size right on my hard copy recipe page! 

These tools have helped me try to get back on my feet after Ellie's diagnosis.

Now, what are YOUR favorite was to geek out diabetes?

p.s. if the comment section fills with some great resources, I will create a new reference page with links and information for everyone to see and utilize!

fun time



Last Saturday the girls and I spent some time together.  FUN time together. 

Serious difference between the two now that school and activities take up a majority of their waking hours and most of our conversations revolve around:

'Did you remember to......'

'When will you ....' ,

'You need what by when?'

Then add in the conversations I am having with Ellie since was diagnosed:

'Have you checked .......'

'Do you feel low?'

'Did you eat half or a third?'

The blessings of a sunny day, a market to shop, baubles to admire and no schedule to follow were just that ............ blessings.

Fun time with two daughters who love to be silly and who don't get too embarrassed by their Mama's crazy ideas to create optical illusions.

I mean we were in public and people were looking at us!  Geeze Mom.  But hey, it's kind of funny and we are laughing and you know what?  Who cares!

Until I asked them to growl and yell and scream and act like they were really kicking the bridge.

Nope.  Not gonna happen.

So they ran ........... and laughed and screamed and yelled all the way across ;)

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

national diabetes awareness month

I know, I know.  No posts in 2 months and then I go and do something even crazier and post 2 times in one day!

But, I have a good reason.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month.  In addition, a specific day in November is recognized as World Diabetes Day, the 14th.

Leighann from the D-Mom Blog has a great post up about things happening this month.  Click *here* to check it all out.

I have a whole lot to learn about this month, so hang with me as I play 'show-and-tell' with all the activities going on.

First up: 

This video. 



Watch it and you will be donating a week's worth of insulin to a child with diabetes. 

Share it and you will be making a difference.

first D-Halloween

Another first out of the way ........ and a BIGGIE at that!

Yep!  Halloween 2010 was celebrated in spite of being 5 weeks into Ellie's T1 diabetes diagnosis.

I know the reason for the success was due to some great ideas other people shared about how to handle this 'carbaholic-simple-sugar-laden' holiday.

Here is how we rolled with it:

 - we tanked Ellie up with pizza before heading out to trick-or-treat. 

 - we walked and ran and giggled our way through several blocks until Mr. Ninja (Ben) declared he was DONE.

 - the kids poured out their loot on the kitchen table and ::gasped:: at the amount of colorful wrappers and yummy treats

 - we picked out and put aside all the candy Ellie could use to treat 'lows'.  Smarties, fun-sized Skittles, candy corn and SweetTarts. 

 - we gave Ben and Ellie a couple of minutes to select 10 pieces of candy/treats they would like to keep.  No restrictions on type.

 - the remainder of the candy was bagged up and put in the pile of things Daddy will take to work on Monday.  in other words ..... get it all out of the house.

 - Mommy and Daddy stole some favorites for themselves to devour later ;)

 - Ben and Ellie were each handed a $5 bill in exchange for the candy.


And, that's it!  No grumbling or tears or whining!  Well, almost.

Ellie started to get cranky and we realized it was probably time to get a blood sugar reading. 

Sure enough, the meter read 69 so Ellie got to pick out a treat from her new 'low' stash.  SKITTLES!!!!!!

I swear somehow she planned that ;)

This face?  Sneaky?  Nah.