good friday

Today's good Friday post is all about my bouncing baby boy, Ben.  In two days he will be 8 years old . . . . oh how time flies.  I simply cannot imagine life without my always-busy, crack-my-nuts-funny, sing-songy, defying-gravity, ever-loving, mini-Dave son of mine. 

Happy Birthday Benjamin 'Boobie' Russell Berger!

good friday

Is it really Friday?  Some of the days this past week felt like they were flying by, while others made me question if the clocks were working correctly.  Whatever the case, today is Friday, and that means it is the day to be grateful for three moments during the last seven days . . . . no T1D talk allowed.

1.  Farmer's Market season is just around the corner!  My local chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local newsletter arrived in my inbox and my mouth started watering just thinking about all the fresh foods coming available soon.  Included in the newsletter was a list of the surrounding area's markets, complete with with days and times.  Print out a copy of the list if you are local, or search for Farmer's Markets in your own area to see what is available.  I love being able to spend my money on foods grown close to home and support our small farms.  What do you do to support your local economy?

2.  More sewing time!  I was able to spend several hours last Saturday creating some new cash pouches for some friends near and dear.  I even designed a 'clutch' to hold the pouches together in one place.  (Still have to finish the black and white set) Now I just need to tweak the design to contain the change . . . . interior pocket, perhaps?! 

3.  Last night I went to hop on my sewing machine to start a quick project.  I started to wind a new thread color on the bobbin and noticed my machine was 'whining' and sluggish.  I turned it off, checked the plug, and turned it back on . . . . . or I tried to turn it back on.  It was d.e.a.d.  CA PUT!  Lights Out.  I called for my handy hubby to take a look, but I soon learned the motor would have to be replaced.  BoooooooHooooooo.

The dead machine provided an opportunity for me to finally take out and dust off the Singer 99K I received when Dave's great aunt passed away a couple of years ago.  I searched 'the Google' for threading instructions and also discovered an online instruction manual.  Yeah for Al Gore and his discovery of the Internet!  Dave oiled up the machine and I took it for a spin.  It only has one stitch (straight) but you can vary the length and pop it into reverse for a nice locking back stitch.  I hope to clean her up a bit and try her out on a future sewing project. 

I love her and I just met her!  I think I will name her Sally.

Have a great weekend; and be good!

 

good friday

Hhhhhheeeeeelllllllooooooooo Friday!  So happy to see your bright and shiny face.  Time to talk about three great things/moments of the past week for which I am ever so grateful.  No T1D talk allowed.

1.  Last Friday my belief in the good of mankind was strengthened.  A couple of days prior, I accidentally left my cash envelope ($80) at a local store.  I didn't realize this until a few hours had passed, so by the time I called the money was gone.  I left my name and number in case someone turned it in, then went and pouted for a bit.  Just when I was wishing the recipient of my loss well, Friday morning rolled around and I got a call.  They found my envelope . . . . still filled with my cash!!!!  WooHoo!!!!!!

As if this incident were not enough to strengthen my faith in goodness, another act of kindness occurred.  Ellie realized she left behind her itouch at the hospital where we have her Endo ::ahem:: medical appointments. We called and left a message with the nurse to take a look around . . . but she could not locate it.  This morning Dave logged on to his email and found a message from the security department of the hospital.  An itouch was found in an elevator and turned into security.  The officer looked at the itouch and opened up the email.  He discovered a contact for 'Dad' and sent a message reporting his find.  Wow.  I'm tempted to say "Only in Iowa" . . . but I want to believe this could happen anywhere.

2.  During some unexpected time alone, I found myself browsing the racks at one of my favorite places . . . Goodwill.  Two sacks of jeans, pants and dress shirts for under $25.  My children are still young (and gullible) enough for me to hand the items over and boast about how we are being 'eco-friendly' by purchasing recycled clothing.  Hey, a good deal is worth making up a fashionable story.

While still riding a high of a good buy, I came home to find the fabric I had ordered had been delivered.  The purple geometric print will be used for a 'pillow mat' I will be sewing for my niece's birthday.  The 2 fabrics on the rolls are a laminated cotton I will be using to make more 'cash envelopes'.  I will be sure to share photos when the projects are complete.

3.  The third grateful moment of the week has something to do with the cute cowgirl in the photo.  I took her to Hawkeye Tack & Western Wear after her Endo ::ahem:: medical appointment Wednesday.  It was a surprise stop for her, and oh how I wish I had a camera to capture her mile-wide smile as we entered the parking lot.  She can't wait to try them out and muddy them up tonight at her horse riding lesson.  YeeHaw!!!

Have a great weekend!

a little is a lot

Really, I am!  I came home yesterday from Ellie's Endo appointment and was so excited to post about the decrease in her HbA1c results.  I finished my post toting the AWSCHUMNESS of switching to Apidra and lamenting how Ellie's last result of an 8.0 wasn't bad, but certainly wasn't good.

It wasn't until a facebook friend mentioned she was praying for a better HbA1c number that I realized I never gave the result of yesterday's blood test.

I have a valid excuse, however.  Those 2+ hour appointments wear me out!  So much information crammed into a relatively small amount of time.  So much anticipation for such a small little blood test result.  A little amount of stress turns into a lot amount of tired.

Back to the appointment:

Our most favorite nurse in the whole wide world had us guessing at the new HbA1c number.  A big cheesy grin on her face indicated the number was lower.  Just to be funny, she had us take a guess at the result.

I chimed in with a hopeful 7.6

Hubby gave a conservative guesstimate of 7.8

Ellie presented with a 'deer-in-the-headlight-stare' and went with my guess.

Nope!  None of the answers matched.

Our nurse grinned and said "LOWER".

7.5?  7.4?  6.8?

Nuh, Uh . . . ::smirky smile::

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

You see, a .8 HbA1c reduction may not appear to be much, but a little is a lot.

An 8.0 means Ellie's blood sugars AVERAGE 183. (her goal is 80-150)

A higher average of blood sugars = higher chances of long term complications.

A 7.2 means Ellie's blood sugars AVERAGE 160.

Closer to goal = closer to better control = better health.

 = AWSCHUMENESS!!!!!

Even if her mother is a major dork.

not so wordless wednesday

I like words.  Just ask my boyfriend of 23 years . . . if you can get a chance to ask him without me butting in and answering for him. 

The idea of a 'Wordless Wednesday' post simple gives me the willies.  It's not right!  I tried skirting the idea by posting a couple of 'Wordless'ish Wednesdays', but it didn't feel right lying to y'all.

So today I present 'Not so Wordless Wednesday'.  Enjoy!

Maddi completed and presented her very first piece of commissioned art.  The lovely ginger you see on the left is a soul sister from church.  From the moment we met we knew one another.  Has that ever happened to you?  Anyway, she asked Maddi to work out a picture she has held in her mind for years.  A present to be gifted to her mother once it is properly matted and framed.  The dragon represents Miss C's mother, who is reading a story to a red-haired fairy (Miss C), who is sitting on a toadstool.  The smaller toadstool represents a brother who passed away 3 days after birth, and the father rounds out this family by appearing as a face in an oak tree. 

This project challenged Maddi, as the subject matter is not something she regularly draws.  I am proud of her for researching various ways to draw the subjects and for taking a risk by accepting the request to share her talent with a person outside her family fan club. 

 

While shopping around at Michael's the other day, I ran into (literally) a middle-aisle kiosk displaying stickers on clearance.  I grabbed a handful and took them home, simply to make Ellie squeal.  I knew she would love the sparkly designs and would put them to use 'pimping' her insulin Pod.  This might have been the first time she was slightly excited to do a site change!

Last but certainly not least, today was Ellie's quarterly Endo appointment.
Our last one in January was quite a kicker . . . going up to an 8.0 for an A1C.  Not a bad number by any means, but a consistent upward trend.  Hitting 8 meant something needed to change, and switching from MDI to an insulin pump, while wonderfully freeing for Ellie, did not better control her T1D.

Among the changes suggested, one was to try out a new insulin.  We were hesitant at first and certain some tweaking of basals and carb ratios would do the trick.  Nada.  So in the last week of February we opened a trial vial of Apidra and haven't looked back since.  It did take some time for her body to acclimate to a different insulin, but once it did we knew we were on to something good.  Post meal spikes are lower and shorter, and overnight numbers show to hold pretty steady. 

We Love Apidra
(and lowering A1C's!!!)



good friday

Three moments this past week for which I am ever so grateful.  No 'T1D' talk allowed.

1.  We did it . . . we took the plunge . . . we signed Ellie up for horse riding lessons.  Just look at that face!  I am set for bribery of chores/school/a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g for a very long time.  It.  Was.  AWSCHUM.

2.  I got a new 'do'!  Sure, it looks the same as in my profile pic, but I assure you before Wednesday it was a hot mess.  I last took the time to go get it cut in August of 2011.  Yeah, you could say I don't put myself very high on the 'ol priority list.  As for the self portraits in the mirror?  My coffee kicked in ;).

3.  We got a new cat!  Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha ::cough, cough:: Hahahahahahahahahaha.  Um, no.  We did, however, coax this cute little stray into our yard and have been pretending she belongs to us.  We might be feeding her.  We might be leaving a blanket out on our deck chairs for her to be comfy.  We might have named her Jane. 

 

That is all. 

wordless'ish wednesday

The Bellison School of Independent Studies presents:

Homeschool Fieldtrips

Tuesday, April 3rd

Science Center of Des Moines and IMAX (SeaRex)

Community Service at Kitchen Collage

Maddi in the bubble station at our Science Center

(she is happy . . . really . . . that is her 'WooHoo!' face)

 Ellie generating power by re-directing water

Ben just cannot stay away from the Lego's!

After the Science Center, we stopped by Kitchen Collage and helped cut seed potatoes for planting at a local farm.  This effort was part of community service project for our local chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign.  This year they are part of Go The Distance - Plant a Mile which will provide fresh produce to local food banks. 

Hopefully this is the first of many opportunities we will have to serve for the 2012 BFBL campaign.