Togetherness 2011

It has been almost two weeks since my last post. This is entirely due to the fact that my husband and I decided to take a last minute road trip with our girls. We drove over 1,800 miles and visited 3 states. The trip left us with many memories, stories, and moments that I would love to share, but quite honestly I feel that bullet points are the best way to go in this case.... otherwise you would be reading for days and/or stop reading my blog completely due to the annoyance of my "over-share".

In no particular order of appearance or importance:

1,800 miles driven

3 states

visiting friends

visiting family

visiting family friends

visiting Whole Foods

good conversation

great conversation

CVS

Wendy's

Sonic

packing

unpacking

Gas Station Facilities

Beauty and the Beast

Sleeping Beauty

The Little Mermaid

Car sick 2 year old in the mountain pass somewhere between North Carolina and Tennessee

Dramamine

diapers

Visiting family members' work places

visiting family members' co-workers

eating

eating

eating

room sharing

hotel indoor pool swimming

t.v. watching on mute due to room sharing with children

"castle" spotting..... (my husband started pointing to hotels and saying they were castles, to make the princess in the back feel at home/entertained)

laundry

low blood sugars

high blood sugars

diapers

warm weather

cold weather

band-aids

insulin pump injection site changes

laughing

crying

diapers

delirium

so very much togetherness

Overall, we had a great time. The girls were as close to perfect travelers as they could have been and my husband and I were able to have a lot of good conversation.... (with a Disney Princess singing in the background, of course)

I will say that if you are a parent of a child who needs to travel with medical supplies, make a visit to The Container Store and forget about the budget. Get organized, buy all the gear you need. Also, if your child has to travel with something that must be refrigerated at all times.... like insulin... you can buy tiny coolers that most people use for fancy lunches at their workplace.... you could also call the hotel and make sure there will be a little 'fridge in the room. (all things we have learned through trail and error.... I'll try to save you the error and maybe you can learn from our trials)

I hope everyone had a great Spring Break 2011! Great trip. Glad to be home.

A HUGE thank you to all of our friends and family that entertained, fed, and housed us along the way! We love you all so very much!!

Go Shopping!

If you are reading this any time before Sunday, March 20th... you should stop reading and go shopping. All of the Gap Inc stores (Banana Republic, Gap, Piperlime.com, Atheleta, and Old Navy) are offering 30% off your entire purchase AND giving 5% of every purchase to JDRF.... the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Our family loves and supports this organization and we want you to also! JDRF puts money into research, education, and outreach. We have not lived a day with Type 1 without the support and encouragement of JDRF and the other families involved in the organization. Just to give you a little nudge, I want you to know that I bought some fabulous high waisted, wide leg, denim at Gap today and we are in love. I plan to buy some shorts and tanks for my kids at Old Navy, and my husband is spritzing his new bottle of BR Classic cologne as I type. Spring is upon us and I know you at least need a new white t-shirt, or pair of nude platform heels, so go shopping and support a life saving organization!

Feeling the Love

This morning my 'little bit' came in the kitchen and, with both hands folded over her heart, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I love Jesus. And He loves you too! A whole lot, Mommy." I have to say, I really need to hear that every now and then, and I am so happy to see the Lord using my kids to speak to me..... Literally. Hearing her say that, as simple as it may sound, instantly brought me back to the moment my new normal all began, almost two years ago.

The night before we ended up in the hospital with a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, I was attempting to rock my little 9 month old to sleep. She had been fussy and not sleeping or acting like herself all week. As I rocked her, I prayed. I didn't know what was going on in her little body but I knew I wanted her to feel better. I prayed that God would help her feel better, so she (and I) could get some rest. (Daddy was gone overnight for work). I distinctly remember saying to God very late that night, "I am worried about her and whatever is ailing her, so I lay her at your feet and ask for healing. She is completely Yours. Use her as You need". Within minutes she was asleep and when she woke up in the morning the rest of our lives began.

I know that God chose me and my husband to be her parents and He is confident that we will do the best job raising her. I also know that He gave us this "thorn" in our side because He wants to keep us close and use our family in big ways. All of that makes me feel loved and confident in His love and plans for me and my family. We have grown closer together and to the Lord and it is all thanks to stinky Diabetes.

I completely surrender the lives of my children to the Lord and His plans for them.....I'll admit I have to say/do that over and over again, and sometimes I am so sure I could have made a better plan or design. And then I remember the part about God being perfect. He doesn't make mistakes, so I will have to run with the perfect design He has drawn out for us. To be honest, it takes a bit of a load off knowing I am not in control of it all.

Seeing such a drastic call from the Lord in our home reminds me, that Jesus loves me. A whole lot. And He will get my attention however He sees fit.

"Lovin' that fanny pack, Girl!"

A few days ago when visiting my parents, we were at the park and my 2 year old started playing with a little girl named Sally. They were having a blast introducing themselves to each other....(when asked her name, my 2 year old proceeded to give all three, first, middle and last names while pointing to herself and feeling oh so important. I only love it when she does things like that) The girls were going on and on about whatever it is that a 2 year old finds interesting. So naturally, Sally's Mom and I started talking.... should probably get to know the person, that is raising the person, that is influencing my little person at said moment. The very first thing Sally's Mom said was, "I'm lovin' that fanny pack, girl!" as she pointed to my little girl's tiny polka dotted pouch, which holds her insulin pump. I made a joke about tiny fanny packs for toddlers, and then politely let her know that it was actually holding my daughters little life support. Then Sally's mom made a joke about Sally wanting to put lip gloss in one and wear it at all times.... not a bad idea, Sally's Mom.

The belt that my daughter wears is actually called a SPI Belt. It was originally made for adults who need something to hold their "Small Personal Items" while jogging, riding, walking, etc. Now they make SPI Belts for children. They feel like a swim suits and come in all different colors. My little belted being wears one with polka dots! She used to wear a little white elastic pocket under her clothes that did a great job holding everything in place. But then we heard about the SPI belt from a friend who also has a toddler living with type 1 diabetes. They had tried it and liked it, so we followed suit and are now enjoying the polka dotted pump wear. Personally I feel there is hardly a better time to wear something polka dotted, and in the fanny pack family. When you're 2 its something to be desired.... at least according to Sally's Mom. I know when she is older we'll do our best to hide it and possibly quit wearing a pump all together. But for now, she is not older and I can still decide what she wears, so SPI Belt it is.

Thanks for the 'love' Sally's Mom!

Easter Everythings

Good Morning! Now that the Easter Season is upon us, as adults we are thinking about sacrifices, miracles, and all things Resurrection. However, for my two year old, it's all things bunny, egg, and flower. Every egg is an Easter egg. Every basket is an Easter Egg Basket. Every bunny, an Easter Bunny. Even newly blooming flowers: Easter Flowers! In sticking with her theme, my mom has bought a couple of "Easter Bunny Snacks" to entertain our Easter fanatic during snack time. Upon meeting these new snack varieties, the first place I looked was the little white square on the box that now seems to rule a bit of our lives. Nutrition Facts. As a mother and personal chef for a little girl with diabetes, I now have a love/hate relationship with Nutrition Facts. I'm capitalizing those words because to me, Nutrition Facts is almost like another little person living in my house, and in my opinion it can be considered a proper noun. All of that to say, Nutrition Facts gave me some encouraging news about the Easter snacks and I want to share. Even if you don't count carbs at your house, you might benefit from this information.

My favorite new snack is made by Annie's Homegrown, the honey bunny grahams. These of course are now Easter Bunny cookies. Nutrition Facts really pulled through for me on this one: 30 cookies = 20 carbs! For those of you who don't speak 'carb count' that is really great! We usually aim for about 15 carbs for a snack, so in this case she can eat 15 cookies (10 carbs) and some fruit and that is a pretty big (and healthy) snack! To give you some perspective; a small cupcake without icing has 30 carbs, which is more carbs than she has for a meal, and is actually a lot for a little body (with or without diabetes) to handle. Needless to say, I was very happy with my friend Nutrition Facts this week. And of course I was happy with my grocery shopping mother who came home with these fun new surprises. She also came home with some Nestle Toll House Easter Buddies Sugar Cookies, which are E-A-S-Y to make and each cookie only has 7 carbs.... and, they are actually cute.

Possibly a boring post for non-carb counting parents, but a very exciting day for my little girl and her relationship with snack foods. I have many more exciting, low carb snack options, but I will not overwhelm you with all of them right now. For now enjoy your day. Take a note from my 2 year old and start using the word Easter as a prefix to every other word. It will make your every day tasks much more fun and pastel-ish.

Success!

There were no postings yesterday because we were traveling and I was recovering from the traveling. My husband is away all week for work so the girls and I flew to my parents house yesterday morning. I must brag on my 2 year old and 5 month old.... they were absolutely perfect. The flight went so well, I feel like I've won some kind of award! I would like to thank "baby trend" for making the sit and stand stroller (that kept everyone strapped in and in place right up to the point of plane entry), and thanks to my mother for buying it. :) I would also like to thank the ipad, itunes, and Wonder Pets for the joint effort in entertaining my 2 year old in flight. And last, a huge thank you to my 5 month old for sleeping through most of the flight.

I will say, for those of you needing/wanting/thinking about flying with two children under the age of "independent".... I think it worked because I had help, and was very organized. I had a plan for the security check, a play by play for the plane ride, and a plan for curb side pick up/baggage claim. Not to mention my husband told me to "please ask anyone in a uniform for help if you need it!" For a little while I was considering making a list, almost like something I could cross off as I went along. (I am definitely one of those people that will write on my list "go for a run" AFTER I've gone just so I can cross it off.) So if you are considering an outnumbered, single parent fly over, go into battle prepared and confident in your plan. And please do not worry about the plane full of people who will look at your beautiful children in absolute horror as you pass down the aisle. They are wondering "will she scream, poo, throw up, kick my seat, ruin this one short hour of my life?!" Heaven forbid they remember that there are small children somewhere in the world. Hopefully the flight home on friday will go well also.... stay tuned!

Remember to breathe

I didn't post yesterday because it was one of "those days". Every parent (person) knows the kind. The day started at a bright and early 5:30 because Dad's alarm went off, and is so loud that it woke the baby. I won't go into my day completely I'll just let you know that there was no afternoon nap for either child, I made dinner for some friends with a newborn, made cookies for the people my husband works with, and it was also my shower day. (another thing that parents/moms have learned the hard way.... we don't have to shower EVERY day and we can still get away with looking cute) There was also some laundry, time-out, and errand running for husband. Not to mention countless minutes of food/bottle prep. All of that to say, all of the days happenings were adding up to be a terrible day. The kind that makes you say mean things to the telemarketer on the phone when he calls at 7 pm. (still feeling badly about that, "Bobby Brown from telemarketer USA") BUT lately I have been doing my best, and mostly succeeding, to remember to breathe.

When I think about the way things were before I had kids, I don't remember having to say to myself (out loud) "ok, take a deep breath...... now clean the peanut butter off of the wall and remind your two year old why she can't take her pull up off during 'rest time' (which used to be NAP)" Yesterday myself and I had this conversation or something like it about 10 times. But, by 8 o'clock everyone was asleep and I had my glass of wine and quietness. I went to sleep last night under the impression that it had been a good day. I didn't loose my temper, and everyone was fed, clean, and healthy. I have totally abandoned the inner monologue, and I am now full on talking to myself. Quite honestly, it helps. So today when you have a "day" or a "moment" just remind yourself to breathe.... maybe a few times in a row. It should at least get you to "bed time"

Happy Friday!

p.s. if my friend with the new baby, whom i made dinner for, is reading.... i truly loved making you enchiladas yesterday. Cinderella was on, and all was peaceful in the kitchen. :)

Get physical....... ly fit!

Its a beautiful day today in our lovely little city. We have spent quite a bit of time outside today, with a long walk, some playground time, bubble blowing, and dog chasing. I started thinking differently about my daily exercise routine ever since our little girl was diagnosed with diabetes. As she gets older it will be much easier to manage her diabetes if she maintains a healthy habit of working out and staying active. However, I can not expect her to do that if I don't live by example. She is watching and following my steps in everything I do. If I wear leopard print shoes, she does too. If I put on make up, she wants to also. The other day she stood on a flat rock and told me she was on the treadmill and attempted to run in place as best a 2 year old can. So this is me, exercising more than I used to because I know she's watching and I'm hoping she'll take notes.

Juice please!

My little one hardly ever gets to drink juice "recreationally". She usually only gets juice when she has a low, and even then she is drinking it so fast she probably doesn't even taste it! She can even be heard, when asking for snack, asking for some "cheese, grapes, and a little bit of water.... yummmmm!" so what if we have brainwashed her to the point that she is excited about water and low carb options. And then one exciting day, my sugar savvy mother in law found this juice by Healthy Balance. It has 5 carbs per 8 ounce serving as opposed to the usual 15! As you can imagine I was so happy to be able to offer "a little bit of juice" as an option every now and then. I am so thankful to be raising a child with a nutritional issue in the year 2011. We are getting help from the grocery aisles instead of feeling bombarded by things that could be life threatening. Here's to all of the parents who raised children with diabetes before there were things like Healthy Balance Juice, you are truly and inspiration to people like me.