Good Friday 4/29

Last week, on the true Good Friday, I didn't write my "Good Fridays" post. Well, I had finally gotten mostly over my cold, the sun came out, and we headed south to spend the holiday weekend with my in-laws. All good stuff!

Which brings me to this weeks "Good Fridays"(3 good things from the week non-D related)....

1) The sun was out all day on Saturday. It was gorgeous. My husband and his brother helped their dad install a zip line from the tree house 20 feet up to a tree 135 ft across the field. The kids had a blast "flying" through the air. (will post pics later)

We also let the one month old chicks out, they are very tame and love to be held by the boys.

2) What says "Spring" better than cherry blossoms? The neighborhood kids up in a cherry blossom tree!

3) SNACK is a chihuahua puppy that needed a new home where he could get lots of attention and playtime. As some of you may know, we have been on the quest for a "perfect dog" Well this little guy is really darn cute so with a little training, could be the perfect addition to our family. So far, we are having fun with him. (and I will probably lose tons of weight chasing him around when he grabs things he isn't supposed to...tissues, legos, foam blocks, cars, and my boys' pjs to name a few!)

When you have a chance, head over to Beta Buddies and wish the amazing Joe a super happy 8th birthday. Then go to The Princess and The Pump to wish SweetPea a happy D-versary (so glad she is doing ok after their scare this week!!) Both have some great stuff to giveaway -you can send it to me if you win ;-)

So what are your 3 good things from this week??

Good Fridays 4/15

This was a tough week cuz we ALL got sick. It started last Weds with Bryce, Thursday with Drew, Friday with Jaden, Saturday and Sunday for my hubby and I. Lots of coughing and snot. Yuck! We still aren't feeling well but we do what we got to do.

And now on to my Good Friday list...here are the 3 top things (non-D related) of this week:

1) Saturday, we headed up north to a pond in Vancouver, WA for a kids' fishing event. We had never been fishing before so this was a new experience for us all. For a $5 registration fee, the boys got a tshirt and a fishing rod plus got to keep up to 2 fish that they caught. Well it took almost the whole hour they were given, but both Bryce and Jaden each caught a fish. They were so proud.

Jaden and his big catch

Bryce and his lil fish

2) Monday was my youngest son, Drew's 3rd birthday.

Because we weren't feeling well, we just had a small celebration for him. My in-laws and my mom came over for dinner and cake to celebrate with us. He requested hamburgers for dinner and the weather cooperated enough for my husband to be able to grill up some. His cake was a John Deere Gator...like the one Granddaddy has. (I even colored the frosting using spinach!)

my sweet 3 year old! I can't believe how fast time flies....my baby is THREE!

Drew with his Super Frog birthday hat

blowing out candles on his Gator cake

3) So last but not least....I didn't have to clean up any pee or poop off my carpets, floors, bed, or couch. Since we returned that sweet dog, this week has been less stressful and more quiet. (granted some of the quiet may be due to my ears being plugged up from this cold!) I still want a dog for my boys but know that now is not the right time.

What are your 3 GOOD things from this week?? Remember, NO D! :-)

I want Diabetes too!

While Bryce was getting dressed after swim lessons, his little brother, Drew, was going through his swim bag and found some glucose tabs. He looked up at me and in his cutest now-3-year-old voice said "I feel low. Can I have a goocose tab?"

Bryce: "you are not low...you don't have diabetes!"

Drew: "yes I do"

Bryce: "if you had diabetes, you would need to have shots and finger pokes."

Drew: "but I'm low!"

Bryce: "you don't get low, I do. and glucose tabs are like my medicine....you can't have them"

Drew: "but Daddy gave me a goocose tab befo"

Bryce: "well, would you like to get pokes and stuff?"

Drew sticks out his bottom lip and runs to that other side of the locker room and sits down pouting.

When I asked him what was wrong, he looked at me with his big puppy dog eyes wet with tears and said, "Bryce said I can't have diabetes"

Funny how little brothers want to be just like their big brothers...no matter what.

same and different

While none of us would wish type 1 diabetes on anyone, I am sure we all agree that the friendships we have made because of it are priceless. Being around others that get it is so amazing. To spew numbers and have others not stare at you with a blank look wondering if they should cringe or congratulate is great. The feeling of "same" is so relieving.

Every month, I get together with a few D moms for coffee. Our T1 kids range in age from 4 to 14. Some have been doing this for months, others for years, many years. Some are dealing with starting school, others with starting puberty. We have pumpers who moved back to shots, ones that just started the pump, others who have been on a pump for years, and some not interested in even looking at pumps. Animas, Medtronic, OmniPod, pens, syringes. Doesn't matter...we are the same!!!

We are all doing the best we can for our children. We test, we bolus, we count carbs, we analyze numbers, we worry, we fret, we cry.

We seek out others like us because it makes us feel not so alone. We gather for coffee, we read and write blogs, we comment on forums, we participate in fundraising and networking.

So what about those families that are in denial. The ones that close themselves off and don't reach out to others. They back away from those reaching out to them. They think if they just ignore it, it will go away. What happens to these kids?

Today, I heard a couple stories that broke my heart. A family that puts their 9 year old completely in charge of his diabetes....all the testing, carb counts, shots, etc. That couldn't tell you what his blood sugar is because THEY don't test him. A dad who thinks it will go away and therefore doesn't get involved in anything related to D. A boy who passes out then complains of leg pains all the while taking his bg isn't even on their mind. When throwing up on a car drive due to dka (prior to dx), was told to stop trying to get attention. And these were only a few examples.

THESE are the moms that need the support of other D moms. How do we get to THEM?

not just sticks but stickers!!

We always talk about how hard it is having to pierce our child's skin to test blood sugars multiple times a day, how we have to insert pump sites and cgm sensors under their skin, how brave they are to endure all this. What we never talk about is how this is actually the easy part. Getting those dang things off, now THAT is the hard part. Every couple days, we have to peel off the IV 3000 and unstick the pump infusion sites. Those suckers stick like crazy! I cringe thinking about those delicate little hairs getting pulled. This is the most painful part of the process. I usually use Unisolve to get them off....works great for the Dex sensor but makes the IV 3000 a globby mess and doesn't quite get under the Contact Detaches or the Inset 30s to dissolve the adhesive. So our whoas do not stop with sticking our child with lancets, needles, and cannulas but with removing these stickers too.

Big Thanks and Good Friday 4/8

First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone who left such sweet comments on my last post. 7.9 is great (just not what I expected) I know that I am doing the best I can. No matter how frustrated I get, I will never give up. I tend to be very optimistic and not let D get me down. But sometimes, it just piles up and overflows. The tears come pouring down, a ranting post gets written, then the sun comes out and all is better again. :-)

I am so thankful for all of you who "get" what it feels like (and for those of you who try to understand and thankfully don't have to KNOW)

Just looking at Bryce, I know I am doing great at keep him healthy. He is the strongest, smartest, most active 6 year old I know! Nothing (especially D) is going to slow that boy down. In fact, he is the healthiest of my boys, go figure!

So today is Friday and time for my top three non-D things of the week:

1) the sun is shining...it may JUST be for today, but it is out and it makes me happy.

2) the boys don't have school today so they can be outside most of the day enjoying this little break in the crap weather.

3) we made the decision to not keep the dog we are fostering. I feel good about this decision and am looking forward to dropping her off tomorrow morning. I see less stress in my future (and less poop and pee on my carpets!)

So what are your 3 Good Friday things this week?

endo appnt

Walking out of the doctor's office, I looked outside. The weather was a direct reflection of how I was feeling. Everything was gray, wet, cold...overall miserable.

I am sick of this weather! I am sick of how everything is turning green (and I don't mean the things that are supposed to be green like the trees,etc. but things like the roof, the driveway, our car) I am sick of the mud, sick of jackets, sweat pants, rain boots.

Gloomy and depressing.

This appointment snuck up on me. I can't believe it had been 3 months already.

We were running late. I couldn't find parking. When I finally found a spot, I hear "MOM, I feel LooooWWW!" coming from the backseat. We are already late and I really just want to run up to the doctor's office (afterall, Dex says 79 and straight) But seeing Bryce's limp body try to get out of the minivan, I stop and test him. 49. CRAP! 2 glucose tabs and we make our way to the clinic. Late but we made it.

7.9

I feel like giving up....what is the point?? No matter how hard we analyze his numbers, we just can't get it right. He gets a cold and his numbers raise, he recovers and we can't get his numbers high enough. One day he is bouncing off the walls, the next he is building with Legos or reading all day. Even if he did the same thing each day, ate the same foods, did everything identical...it STILL would not be predictable!!

My head hurts. I can't think straight anymore. I think all my brain cells have retired. I swear, I used to be really smart. I excelled in math and science. Now my head is filled with carb counts, bg numbers, trends, insulin to carb ratios, basal rates, glycemic indexes, combo boluses, meal times...and it is getting all jumbled so NOTHING is making sense.

Excuse my blank stare.

What I need is a vacation. But of course THAT won't happen because we have a child with D....nobody wants to take on that responsibility for us. It makes me sad. Very sad...and ENVIOUS of those that can get away (those that really don't NEED to get away but CAN, so they do.)

no changes

So our A1c increases but the endo has no changes to make. He feels we are in the range we need to be for a boy his age...under 8.5%. But that isn't good enough for me. I want him to look at our logs and say, "YES, you need to change this and this" and voila, all is perfect! The "good job" and pat on the back just isn't cutting it...I am not buying it.

What to do now?

rant over

Good Fridays 4/1

All the good and none of the D...that is what Roselady at Diapeepees was looking for when she started Good Fridays. Play along with us. What are your 3 good things from this week? Here are mine...

Well I am feeling much better this week and the boys are back to school so that is good! The weather has been decent (at least not downpouring) so I got some yard work done and my hubby mowed the lawn (yay!) and those aren't even my 3 things!!!

1) After looking at lots of dogs for adoption, we ended up bringing home the dog we fostered a few weeks ago for another trial. She is so good with the boys...snuggly and playful. It is so cute to watch her bounce around, tail wagging, after the boys while they run through the swamp that is our backyard right now. She seems to be doing much better but since she had been abused in the past, she has a lot of issues that will need work. We still aren't sure if we should keep her but she sure is cute!

2) Took my 2 year old to the Children's Museum to meet up with a friend and her daughter. The kids had so much fun...if only we had more time to stay, play, and explore.

3) I volunteered in Bryce's kindergarten class for their Art Literacy project. This month they learned about Matisse and did an abstract art project using various shapes of colored paper to make a picture. I was very impressed by some of these 5 and 6 year olds' imaginations. I think only one kid just glued everything in a pile. Oh and one other boy who had more fun gluing his fingers. But other than that, there was some great pieces.