T1D background noise

If I could touch that horn, I would wish for a cure for T1D. 

If Ellie's T1D was cured, my brain would no longer be filled with the background noise of the ever-present disease.

The high pitched barrage of questions looping through my brain would be replaced with the sweet sounds of anything-but-T1D-related-questions.

Questions, asked by Ellie just this past week, like:

1.  When will I be old enough to be a babysitter?

2.  When can you sign me up for horse riding lessons?

3.  Why can't I carry the baby from the living room to the kitchen?

4.  Why can't I have ice cream before bed?

5.  Why do we have to change my POD tonight instead of tomorrow?

Answers I gave to Ellie:

1.  After you take the American Red Cross babysitting course.

2.  I'll put that on my list of things to do.

3.  Because he is squirmy.

4.  Because we are out.

5.  Just because.

Answers (and more questions) I had a conversation about in my head:

1.  Babysitting?  As in watching other people's children?  As in being the responsible one in charge?  N-E-V-E-R.  What if you have a low and cant get to your 'sugar?'  What if . . . . way too many questions to address this request.

2.  Riding a horse?  Controlling a horse?  Falling off a horse?  Are you cRaZy?  What if you have a low while riding?

3.  Because you just checked your blood sugar and you are low.  You might drop him.  How are you ever going to babysit if you don't know to treat yourself before you pick up a baby?

4.  You can't have ice cream before bed when you have a blood sugar of 233.  I am going to lie to you and tell you we are out so I can find a more properly balanced snack before heading off to dreamland.

5.  Because the Apidra we are now using tends to putter out before the full 3 days of your POD.  I don't want to have to poke you more often, but this insulin works better overall, so changing a POD more often is worth it.  Right?  Won't this process give her a better A1C? 

I was happy to let Ellie carry this little cutie (not mine! just watching him for a friend) AFTER she treated the 47 blood sugar. 

How will she do this on her own ?????????????????

Wordless'ish Wednesday

I just got really tired of all that noise.

you'll shoot your eye out

google image search

Best. Movie. E-V-E-R.

Safety glasses will drastically reduce the chances of shooting your eye out.  Add in some earplugs to reduce hearing damage, and shooting becomes almost safe enough for a Mom like me to be okay Maddi's new love . . . . target shooting with a Browning Buckmark 22 pistol. 

Eeeekkkk!

Why not something a little more safe?  Like crocheting, or yoga, or speed walking?

"Because, Mom, shooting is safe when you are education about your weapon and know the rules of the shooting range." Says my sweet little (well, now taller than me) brown-eyed first born.

::le sigh::

Not only does she love hitting targets, she loves the sport of shooting.  So much so, she mustered up the confidence to enter her first steel challenge.

Take a look: (have to click on the link . . . for some reason I could not get the video to embed in the post)

Video from Dave's phone . . . a little jumpy and the sound isn't so great, but you can tell what is happening.

The gentleman behind her is holding up a device that tells Maddi when to start, when to stop, and times how long it takes her to shoot 5 steel targets.

Yeah, I am pretty stinkin' proud. 

I still wish she would take up writing, or photography, or drawing . . . . . oh wait, she does all those things, too.  It's all about the balance, right?!

good friday

Another week has come and gone . . . it's that time once again to be grateful for 3 things from the last 7 days, no T1D talk allowed.

1. The grandparents drove over to visit us last Saturday. We enjoyed a good meal, great conversation, and weather so nice we all decided to assemble the trampoline together. As you can see, I was most helpful . . . someone had to document the event!

2.  I absolutely LOVED telling the kiddos to take some of their schoolwork outside to complete. Here is Ellie, set up in the shade, losing herself in the 7th Harry Potter book. I love her dirty feet, as they are a sign of warm weather and care-free playing. The best part about homeschooling is getting to enjoy the nice weather days when they come our way.

3.  No, I am not grateful my son can defy gravity. And, no, I am not grateful for his ability to somehow know where his body is in relationship to 'space'.  I am grateful, however, for the safety net surrounding the trampoline . . . who knows where he would have ended up! (or down)

Have a great weekend!

pimp my pod

Ellie with her OmniPod Insulin Pump

Ellie chose the OmniPod Insulin Pump because she loved the auto-insertion, the tubeless design, and that the pod was waterproof.  She has been proudly pumping insulin since August of 2011. Here is a video we took of her first pod change last July, during her week-long saline trial.

Ellie wears the pod on her stomach, the back of her arms, and on the top of her bum cheeks. Changing the pod site every three days means she has lots of opportunities to decorate the replacement pod (the pod itself is disposable after wearing for 3 days) with stickers and Sharpie designs.

Other Omnipod pumpers personalize their pods, and some even keep the spent pods and use them as decorations and art projects.

Nate over at Houston . . . We Have a Problem likes to decorate his pods, and is kind enough to let his sisters in on the project.

Leighann over at D-Mom*Blog decorates the used pods and uses them as ornaments for her Christmas tree.

Bean from My Sweet Bean and her Pod likes to decorate her doll with a perfectly sized pod so she can be just as sweet as her.

While the stickers, temporary tattoos, and permanent marker personalization work o-k-a-y, Ellie has always wanted something a little more sturdy and re-usable to personalized her pod. These days it is all about personalizing your cell phone, ipod, backpack, t-shirts, etc . . . so why not an insulin pump?

Last night I was browsing my facebook feed and came upon an intriguing update on the OmniPod Group page. A woman named Emily posted a link to her fiance's blog where he wrote a post about designing a product called OmniSkinz.

image from Scott's wordpress blog post

Pimp. Your. Pod. 

Yes, please! I called Ellie over to take a look at the design.  She jumped up and down, clapped her hands, and squealed with delight. "I want those!  Can I, can I, can I . . . can I have all of them, please?!?!"

"Sorry, babe.  These are just prototypes.  They aren't for sale . . . yet", I told her.

I continued to read how Scott came up with the idea, (his fiance, Emily, was diagnosed with T1D and now pumps with the OmniPod) contracted someone to make a prototype, and contacted Insulet, the maker of the OmniPod Insulin Pump, to see if they would be interested in manufacturing the OmniSkinz.

Sketches of the OmniSkinz - personalization

I don't want to miss-quote by summarizing, and I really want you to check out Scott's webpage, so I will give you a link to go and check it out for yourself. 



"Switch it Up" OmniSkinz for OmniPod Users

After reading the article, I encourage you to take the survey and email the Insulet Corporation, telling them you want to see OmniSkinz get to market. (links on Scott's webpage) At this stage, Scott is trying to let Insulet know there IS a demand for this product, and pod customers want personalization for the pod, not just the PDM (personal data manager ~ controls the OmniPod Insulin Pump)

Ellie will live with T1D until a cure is discovered. With that knowledge, her dad and I try to make living with T1D as easy and fun and 'normal' as possible. If she likes these OmniSkinz, then I want to support seeing them manufactured. Even if you, your child, or anyone in your family/friend circle does not personally use an OmniPod Insulin Pump, please take a moment to fill out the survey and let Scott know he has a fantastic idea.

*I do not know Scott personally. I found his website through a facebook link and commented on his blog post. Scott emailed me a reply after I asked a question in his survey, and I emailed back asking if I could post his images, product, and story on my personal blog at three thirty three. Scott did not ask me to write about OmniSkinz, nor will I be compensated in any form for doing so. I support small business and great ideas, so this write-up is my opinion in hopes to see OmniSkinz available for purchase.

homeschool ninja

The Bellison School of Independent Studies proudly announces:

"Homeschool Ninja"

~ Would you like to add some fun to your homeschool day?

~ Complete your school work while practicing all your ninja skills!

~ Register now for homeschool ninja and you, too, can take:

 

Ninja Literature 101

 

 

Ninja Bible Scripture / Handwriting 101

Ninja Music - Classical Piano 101

Ninja Math (cat included) 101

Ninja PE 101

Coming Soon:

Ninja Spelling 101

Ninja Art 101

Ninja History 101

Ninja Home Ec 101

Ninja Foreign Language 101

saying goodbye

 

Bertha Winifred

November 2003 - March 2012

2000 Ford Winstar Minivan

beloved transporter

holder of precious cargo

and a talented musical friend

you will be missed!

 

I apologize for all the times we rode you hard and put you away wet

I apologize for all the bad names I called you

I apologize for breaking your armrest and never replacing it

I apologize for for the puke and other 'mystery liquids' we left on your floor

I apologize for letting you get all rusty

And, I apologize for trading you in without proper warning

But . . . . we must day goodbye to make room for:

<< Name not yet determined >>

March 2012 - at least 10 years from now

2007 Toyota Sienna

our new 'swagger wagon' ride

Hello and welcome!

* I will be holding a contest later this week to give our new miniature van a name. A gift will be the prize, so you don't want to miss out on this fine opportunity!