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!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

I AM A CHILD WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES AND I AM READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD!

Settled For a Little While

It's been a lo-o-o-ong week!  But now we are in our temporary place til we can make that glorious drive (some wouldn't call it that- but it's one amazing road trip) to Alaska.  I get those good, exciting butterflies in my tummy when I think about it.  I feel like a kid who is anticipating Christmas! :)  I just can't wait to go!

We had a few days that we were completely off schedule, which proved to be difficult with Jada's blood sugar.  Normally, they are somewhat predictable because I try to maintain a pretty good eating schedule with her.  The few days it took for us to move was hard, because we just never ate at the right time- always an hour or more later than usual.  It's going to be interesting taking a week long car trip with having to deal with this!   We should be able to maintain an eating schedule- we're planning on taking most of our food.  However, road trips with her in the past usually result in high blood sugar numbers.  My guess is the lack of activity.  

The next few weeks should be fairly "normal" for us.  Our daily schedule has remained the same.  We've moved so much that we've found the kids do much better in transition if we keep as much as possible the same.  School time, rest time in the afternoon and bedtime are all non-negotiable for us.  As soon as we are in Alaska, we'll go back to doing the same thing that we do down here.  Although, it will be more difficult, because I'm going to want to spend time catching up with all of our friends!!

My Non-diabetic Kids

Ok- so I have a child with Type 1 Diabetes.  It's been an incredibly stressful 10 months adjusting to this disease.  I often think  about how this has affected Jada, myself and Jeff.  How often do I stop to think about my other three amazing children and what this has done to them?  I don't stop often enough to even think about it- let alone do something about it.

  I don't even think that I've asked the boys how this whole "diabetes thing" has made them feel.

 I know that they worry about her.  She fell asleep on the couch the other day and Eli kept trying to wake her up.  She had been up since 6 am and was super tired.  Come to find out, he was fearful that she was asleep and not waking up because her blood sugar was too low.  He told me last night that when he grows up, he's going to live near Jada so that he can keep an eye on her.  I love that he wants to protect her, but I want him to understand that it's not up to him to be responsible for her.   David loves to take her blood sugar and even bought a cook book with his own money that had the nutritional info after each recipe.  Last week, she was spilling small ketones into her urine and obviously, I was concerned.  They heard me talking to the dr. about it and then had all kinds of questions about ketones and DKA.  

I think the one that has been affected most by my lack of time and attention is Mary Beth.  She just turned 5 in September and is probably one of the happiest little girls that you would ever meet.   Mary Beth and Jada are only 19 months apart in age and Jada's personality is such that she naturally tries to demand more attention than Mary Beth.  Jada has always been a mama's girl and Mary Beth has always been more independent and much more daddy's girl.  Diabetes has just seemed to made those differences more distinct.  I have noticed lately, though, that Mary Beth is definitely working harder to get my attention- wanting to sit on my lap, fix my hair, etc..   Yesterday, she asked me if just she and I could go to the mall together.  And so we are.  Honestly, I can't wait.   We won't do much shopping.  Probably the Disney store, the play area and get some cookies or a pretzel or something.  And I won't have to worry about whether or not Jada can have a cookie.  Mary Beth won't have to wait for me to take Jada's blood sugar before a snack.  It's gonna be a nice break!  The best part is that Mary Beth will have all of me- 100%  of the best of me.

It's the Little Things....

"Can I have one, too?" was Jada's question for me as the staff of the Christmas tree farm we went to tonight was handing out candy canes to their guests. I had just taken her blood sugar and she was 206- I had to tell her no and put it in my purse for later. David, Eli and Mary Beth gave me the questioning look- could they have their candy canes right now? I shook my head and when they looked at Jada's face, quietly put them away. I was so proud of them for considering Jada's feelings at this moment. When we got in the rig (Alaskan for SUV), Eli was in the front seat with Jeff, eating his candy cane. I didn't notice until I saw Jada's lips puckered up and tears rolling down her cheek as she stared at him enjoying the coveted candy cane. I cried along with her tonight, hurting so badly with her as we faced the reality of this disease. It's seems so silly, so simple. But these are the things that are hard- the little things. We can handle the birthdays, the holidays, the family get togethers, the trips to McDonalds- because for the most part they are planned for. But, when she is offered a piece of candy or everyone wants to stop for ice cream and then she can only get a diet soda because of her blood sugar, that's tough. The joy of spontaniety is completely removed and I want it back!

Heavy Heart

I wish tonight that I could be cheerful and rattle off my Thanksgiving thankfulness list, instead, there are a few people that are weighing heavy on my heart. It's been a tough week for some that I love very much. And I couldn't/can't physically be there for them.
My dear friend Kim lost her brother this week. He was only 47, I think. She lives in Alaska, he in Denver and she had to make an emergency trip (not an easy task when you live half a world away). She managed to make it to the hospital four hours before he passed away. I can only imagine the grief that Kim, her siblings and parents are feeling tonight. His memorial service was earlier today. Tomorrow- she picks up and heads back home to Fairbanks.
The other person, who will remain nameless at this point, last night discovered something that will change her life forever. My heart aches for her and my prayer for her is that she will cease to believe the lies that Satan is telling her and really understand that her wholeness comes from Jesus Christ. Hopefully, I'll be able to share more in the future. I would appreciate any prayers for this sweet, sweet person that I have come to love and appreciate so much.
Jada's blood sugar today was goofy. I'm not sure why- so frustrating. She even had an abundance of excerise! Tonight, we got off schedule and didn't have supper until about 7:30 pm (usually, it's at about 6) and rather than being low, she was much higher than she should have been. We were out getting shopping done for Thanksgiving and I checked her a couple of times, and I thought that by the time we were home, she would be on her way down, but no such luck tonight. She was up by 60! I just hate giving her a shot that late in the evening, but we had no choice. I'm thinking I'm probably going to have wake her up to feed her at midnight to prevent a scary morning low. I won't be able to sleep until I know that she's going to be fairly stable tonight.
Thanksgiving is just a few days away- the holidays are upon us! My sister and her family are coming from Iowa. I can't wait to see them! I have much to do before then! This house needs cleaned from top to bottom. The boys don't know it- but their first day of Thanksgiving break will be spent helping their mama get ready for company! I'm sure they'll be grateful for the opportunity to help me out!

Blogging in the Dark

It's approx. 11:45 pm and Jada is resting next to me on the couch. The lights are out in the living room and the screen on the computer give me barely enough light to see the keyboard. She's on the couch because I checked her and her blood sugar was 101. I was hoping to go to bed after I checked her, but not tonight. She got to have a big ol' glass of chocolate milk to get her through the night. She was pretty cute while drinking it. All of the sippy cups were in the dishwasher so I had to help her hold the cup while she drank with a straw. Her head bobbed around and I kept having to move the cup in sync with her head! Little sweetie. Now I'm just waiting for her to get into a deep enough sleep so that she will stay in her bed- and not decide to wander into our room any time soon.
My college roommate was here for two nights with her two little boys. It was SO GOOD to see her and to meet her little boys- who are really too cute for words. It's so different to see her in mother mode and she is awesome at it! It's amazing how quickly we picked up right where we left off. I'm so thankful for her friendship.
On Jeff's side, his sister is nearly a week overdue with her baby! I'm sure she' s getting annoyed with me calling to check on her everday! I am so pumped to have a new niece- I just love teeny tinies. I'm hoping to wake up in the morning with news that she has been born! This means a trip to Little Rock soon. Can't wait- love roadtrips.
Ok- once again- falling asleep as I'm typing. Jada is completely out.....time for both of us to go to bed.