TAG- YOUR IT!!!

Okay, Shamae, this is for YOU! :)

1. Do you like bleu cheese? Ummm......no.....even the smell makes me gag!

2. Have you ever smoked? I really hope my mom doesn't read this.....yes...I once smoked a cigar after Jeff and I were engaged.

3. Do you own a gun? Not currently....we are SO not cool Alaskans to NOT have a gun. However, number 1 son may be getting his first .22 for his birthday. YIKES.

4. Favorite type of Food? Oh my.....is dessert a type of food? I could eat creme brulee for every meal!!!

5. Favorite type of music? I listen to mostly Christian music, some Paul Simon (thx to my hubby for that), Amy Grant has been my favorite artist since childhood.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I think hot dogs are just ok....not my fave...I do get a craving every once in a while.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Holiday Inn....we watch it every Christmas Eve while playing Santa Claus!

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? What else is there???? My perfect cup of coffee....Silverhook Denali blend...black and st-r-o-o-o-n-g!!

9. Can you do push ups? Like the orange sherbet push ups the Schwann's truck used to deliver to our door? Yeah... I can do a lot of those!

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Wedding ring.....and of course, my latest fave is that beautiful, blue circle necklace sent to us by Nicole!

11. Favorite hobby? Playing my piano, reading, hiking, hanging with friends

12. Do you have A. D. D.? Ummm...no.....that's why I'm the perfect compliment to my husband!!!!

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? YES! So blind without them.....Lasik some day!!!

14. Middle name? Leann...story behind the name? I was named after my great aunt, who later disowned our family. I then lovingly passed the middle name onto Jada!

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: 1)I love CakeBoss on TLC 2)Did Mary Beth really drink two sodas before bed tonight????? yikes. That could be a problem! 3)Do we really have to watch football all day tomorrow??

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Coffee, Water, Coke

17. Current worry? None, really. Just the typical d-mom stuff!

18. Current hate right now? Not hatin' right now. Ask me tomorrow!

19. Favorite place to be? ALASKA! Also, with my family and close friends!

20. How did you bring in the new year? I think we were driving Oklahoma to Iowa when the New Year rang in last year!

21. Someplace you’d like to go? A mid-winter escape to a warm place with sand and water. Hawaii sounds nice!

22. Name three people who will complete this. Melissa,Laura, and Jill

23. Do you own slippers? YES! An Alaskan essential!

24. What color shirt are you wearing? Burgandy

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Actually no....

26. Can you whistle? Yes

27. Where are you now? At home, in my living room, on my comfy sofa!

28. Would you be a pirate? Yeah...maybe......if I don't have to be a bad guy!

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever pops into my head!

30. Favorite Girl’s Name? Mary Beth and Jada!

31. Favorite boy’s name? David and Eli!

32. What is in your pocket right now? Nothing.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Mary Beth telling me that "God who lives in her heart, tells her brain to tell her lungs, liver, kidneys and other organs to do their job!"

34. What vehicle do you drive? Ford Expedition

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Sprained my right ankle when Eli was a little guy.....fell asleep on the chair next to his bed, when I got up to go back to our room, I didn't realize my foot had fallen asleep. Not a nice way to wake up. At the same time, had an ingrown toenail that got infected on my left foot. I could hardly get around and Jeff was gone training for a new job.

36. Do you love where you live? Oh YES! Alaska is amazing.....it's beautiful and the people are as real as you can possibly get!

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1-in the living room!

38. How many computers do you have in your house? 1 working computer...my precious Macbook! LOVE it!

39. If you changed your job, what would it be? I don't know....I LOVE being a mom and LOVE to stay at home and take care of my family. Yes....there are days......

40. If you were granted three wishes, what would they be? 1)A Cure! 2) To be debt free 3)That more people could experience the freedom of having Jesus in their lives!!

Migraine Schmigraine

Yesterday morning I woke up at about 5 am with a pounding, throbbing headache. I wasn't too surprised, because it is that time of the month, if you know what I mean. I'm no stranger to migraines...I've dealt with them since about the age of 12 and I seem to go through times in my life where I deal with them more than others. During my mid-twenties, it seems that I rarely had any, but I was pregnant a good share of my mid-twenties, too. I've had an influx of them since Jada was born, and they can mostly be attributed to hormones. Jeff and I haven't had insurance coverage for the last 6 months, so I've had no preventive medication OR my handy dandy Imitrex injections to make them go away. On Saturday, we received our new insurance cards in the mail (yay for a job that provides coverage!) and on my to-do list for yesterday was to make an appointment for my annual checkup and of course, to get my preventive meds and to get an Imitrex prescription. And of course, I wake up with a migraine that didn't end until 2 am this morning. This was my 2nd migraine in the last ten days, too. My to-do list today...make an appointment as soon as possible!!

I really truly hate migraines, and not having meds to help take care of them almost causes me to live in fear of them. I've tried some natural things, like taking magnesium supplements and even the B vitamins, but nothing has helped. When I have a migraine, I have to stay in a dark room, no noise, light, or movement and I'm nauseous. It's nearly impossible for me to take care of Jada.

Yesterday, when Jeff came home to get Mary Beth to take her to school, he ended up with a flat tire and so, he was home for about an hour and half, in which time he was able to check Jada, feed her and check her again before her nap. Then, she was just waking up when the kids got home from school and David, my best helper, was able to check her for me and then I can just "direct" him what to do next. Jeff made it home by 5:15 and took the kids to McDonalds and I tried to sleep, but wasn't tired--I was thankful for a very quiet house, though! By about 9 pm, the nausea had subsided and I was able to sit up. The kids were in bed and I was able to visit with Jeff a little bit, but the pain didn't end until 2 am.

Today, I'm wiped out but the day after a migraine is ALWAYS a great day...actually, when I'm in the middle of one, looking forward to the day after is what helps me to get through!

I've Been Pretending.....

Sometimes, I like to pretend that diabetes just isn't a big deal. That it's just some pokes and numbers...that's all it is. I've been pretending the last several days and it seems like when I get in this mode, I just don't want to think about it, write about it or talk about it. I don't know....maybe I just get on D-overload and have to zone out of it for a while.
The pretending has been easy lately, because Jada's numbers have settled into a very nice pattern. She's been as predictable as a little diabetic can possibly be over the last week or so. I did lower her Lantus by a half unit, which worked wonders! I'm just amazed at the difference. We haven't had any wacky, don't know where they come from lows.....so much less drama. I love less drama. Less drama makes a happy mama!
So there. There's my Jada update. :) Back to pretending.......

Letter to the Editor

So....I wrote a letter to the editor regarding World Diabetes Day. I didn't say anything to anyone but Jeff because I didn't know if it would get published or not. I had to keep it at 350 words....which were not NEARLY enough. :) I went to JDRF's website and pulled a few myths/facts and used those. It wasn't much, but I'm excited that it got posted.
Here is the link:
www.newsminer.com
Then, go to the opinion page!

On the online edition, there is room to leave comments, so hopefully this will create some discussion!

D Blog Day- Would My Life Have Been Different?

Would our life have been different if Jada had not been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes? Would your life have been different if you or child had not been diagnosed? I've been pondering that question the last couple of hours and at first, I told myself that "Heck yeah...it would be WAY different!" And then I began to reflect over the last 20 months since her diagnosis, and realized that not a whole lot about us has changed.

We were living in Katy, Texas at the time of her diagnosis. Jeff was working for a restaurant chain and we had just moved from Alaska to Texas a few months before. When we move, (and we're DONE moving by the way) we spend a lot of time exploring our new surroundings and enjoying the benefits of living there. Our first road trip after her diagnosis was to McAllen, TX a month after her diagnosis. Jeff was spending a few weeks down there for work, so the kids and I drove the 6-8 hour trip to go and see him. That trip included time on South Padre Island at the beach. Diabetes didn't stop us that time.

A few months later, my cousin in Iowa was getting married, so we took off again. I'll never forget the myriad of supplies that I had to take along with me. Traveling with diabetes is a pain! It was on that trip I felt like I was packing for a newborn baby and all the gear that goes with them! It was on that trip, that I realized that I didn't have to stop the car to give her insulin before we ate! Have diabetes...will travel! Again...diabetes didn't stop us- but it was a PAIN on that trip!

Later in the summer, Jeff was promoted and we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was scared to death about leaving our endos and had even been discouraged by them to move so quickly after a diagnosis. Her last appointment with the endocrinologist in Texas happened the day we left- with the Uhaul sitting in the parking lot of the dr.'s office! But- we moved and survived! Again, Diabetes didn't stop us.

When we moved Tulsa and had cooler, less humid weather, we jumped back into one of our favorite past times. Hiking. I remember the first time we went- I was so worried about Jada and that she would have a low and I wouldn't have enough food with us, so I way over packed the granola bars and snacks! We took our Kelty backpack with us so she could ride on Jeff's back. But, she was a trooper and didn't ever want to ride. Diabetes didn't stop her that day.

Moving back to Alaska suddenly came to the forefront of our minds again. We missed it and the life we had here so much, but my biggest concern was for Jada's health. There are no pediatric endocrinologists in the state and the closest endo to us is 6 hours away. So, I called the diabetes center here and was able to talk to the C.D.E and she was more than helpful in easing my fears. It was she who told me about the two dr.'s here in Fairbanks who have taken on diabetes as their "specialty" and were doing a phenomenal job. At that point, Jeff and I were confident in our ability to care for Jada and whatever issues may come up. So, the search for a job began and we didn't let diabetes get in our way.

Jeff got a job and we made plans to move. Everything just seemed to go our way.... until we got on the road. We had major vehicle problems in Wyoming and Montana, drove through a blizzard on the way out of Montana and into Alberta and we kept having LOW BLOOD SUGARS!
When we pulled into Ft. Nelson, British Columbia, Jada had the lowest blood sugar she had ever experienced to that point. It really scared me, because we were in a VERY remote small town- and if there had been an emergency, I don't know what would have happened. However, we pulled through and diabetes DIDN'T stop us.

And now we're here. And we're still not letting diabetes get in the way. There are times when it has to take the forefront. For the last month, the d-monster has had our attention, because it's been a bear! I'm not comfortable leaving Jada with anyone right now, because of these lows that just seem to happen out of no where, but they are fewer and far between now.

So, I don't know if it would have been much different for us. We've just added some things to our day- like finger pokes, shots, midnight checks and at times, what seems like endless worry and fear. But that worry and fear isn't always there....because I know that we have the right tools to take care of her and to teach her how to take care of herself.

I do know one thing..... I would not have met some absolutely INCREDIBLE women if it weren't for this diabetic journey. My life is better for knowing you and so is Jada's and the rest of my family. You have helped me to keep my sanity and have encouraged me to reach deep inside so that I could pull myself back together. I know I'm not alone. I would have missed out on all of you if it weren't for diabetes. Maybe that's the one thing that I can thank the d-monster for!

If This Were Wordless Wednesday....

But it's not Wordless Wednesday......but maybe Finding Friday- because this is what I found when cleaning up the floor of the girls' closet this morning. No wonder we've had some curious high blood sugars this week!

THANK YOU JILL and KACEY!

This is a very much delayed thank you to Jill and Kacey for the pump pack that Jada won! She loves it SO much and NO ONE is allowed to touch it but her. :) We should be putting it to good use very soon!

Trick or Treat

Eli- forever our Army dude/Marine guy.

David- the vending machine! Jeff's idea!

Fairy Mary--Posing as Ninja Fairy!

Jada the Rock Star! Who, by the way, had GREAT blood sugars during trick or treating!

Trick or treating was great! The stars were sparkly and it was a warm 13 degrees outside. :) Our neighborhood was absolutely BUZZING with kids! We walked around for about an hour and Jada did awesome. When we left her BG was 150 and about halfway through, I went ahead and gave her some smarties, because of all the energy we were consuming with our bodies trying to stay warm and with as much as we were walking. When we got home, she was at 189, so she probably didn't need the smarties. However, it's hard take a blood sugar reading when your all bundled up, so I played it safe. She did run on the low side the rest of the night. 86 at 2 am, so she had a piece of bread and butter. She woke up at 113 this morning, so all of that exercise did help to keep her numbers down.
So glad Halloween is over...now just deal with ALL of this candy!