The SUPER low

I saw a number today that I hope I never see again in my lifetime. Or atleast the Princess should never see again in her lifetime.

A little while after I had corrected her for a high of 450 this morning she came to me saying that she felt really low. (You have no idea how grateful that my 4 year old can tell me what her body is trying to tell her!) She climbed up on the bar stool and put her head down on the counter while I grabbed her tester. She closed her eyes and told me that she just wanted to go to sleep. I quickly tested her and there it was.

29

I started to shake and got her some juice and quick as I could. She was so pale and so sickly looking. She didn't want to lift her head to drink, but she knew that was the only thing to make her better. She drank it as fast as she could. We all stood there in shock and super worried. I wanted to cry. I couldn't believe that she was that low. Even her diabetic grandpa (that was sitting next to her) said that he had never seen a low THAT low.

It took her about 20 minutes or so to feel better. As we watched her you could just see the life coming back into her. I don't know how close she was to being unconscious, but I can't help but feel it was really close! We called her doctor and he made some adjustments.

It was scary! Really really scary!

Family Adventure Holiday Edition

It has been awhile since I have posted about our family adventures. My sister in law, Kaycie and her hubby Shannon and their 3 kids are here from Texas and they wanted to go see the lights at Temple Square. We have already been there this year, but we really wanted to share this moments with them. My other sister in law, Stephanie, who is living with us, decided to come to. It was so much fun! COLD but fun! We went to dinner at Village Inn (which had SUPER crappy service! That is another post all in it's self.) Then we boarded Trax to go down town. Since it was Christmas Eve the entire train was singing carols all the way down. The kids LOVED it! We really had so much fun! Here are TONS of pictures from our little outing. In complete random order since I am too lazy to fix it. And don't mind the poor quality. I just wanted to have fun so I shot in jpeg.

Kaycie, Shannon and the kids.



Stephanie

The ENTIRE group.

The lights.

Little Man

Shannon and Kaycie

Steph again.

The other Shannon. Or otherwise known as Shannon #2.

Kaycie. I love this picture of her! Such a beautiful smile!

I love that he has his arm around the Princess!

The girls!

Silly Face! Or crazy lady. You choose!

Silly face. Or Crazy Man. You choose. LOL!

Half of the Fam.

Group Shot.

They are from Texas and THEY WERE FREEZING!

The SISTAS!

Oh! CUTE!

All the kids waiting for the train! They were super excited!

Putting the power outage, the blizzard and having to work all afternoon aside, this was by far one of THE BEST CHRISTMASES EVER!

I hope everyone else feels the same!

The children are all nestled and snug in their beds!

OOOOHHHHH!!!! I can't wait! This Christmas turned out to be the best EVER!

I was worried! I really was. ALL because of the kindness of others my kids have gifts to open in the morning. Some I don't even know what they are! You guys I don't even know how to tell you how grateful I am! Every single time I start to think about it I just sit and cry.

Christmas is NOT about gifts, it really isn't. We have been given so much, and I can tell you with everything that has been given to us I have truly felt the Spirit. We have felt and been focused on the love of Christ this season.

There are so many good people in this world. Again I am overwhelmed with gratitude and love for my fellow man! Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you can all feel the warmth that this season brings.

Busy Busy

So this time of year is just meant to be busy. I love it to an extent, but I feel I have been neglecting my duty as a blog owner. Sorry to have let you all down. :)

Actually here's the updates:

The Hubby: Loving his new job. Trying to work as many hours as possible but still home TONS more than any other job he has ever had. He had a BIRTHDAY yesterday that I totally slacked on a blogging birthday tribute. Hope he still knows I love him! Happy Birthday babe! His sisters are with us for a bit. One more permanent than the other and he is LOVING it! So am I for that matter! It is great to have them here with us!

The Dude: Tomorrow is his last day before Christmas break and he can't hardly wait! He told me half awake last night that he really hopes that he is on Santa's nice list. I assured him that there have been lots of things that he has done lately that have made mommy and daddy proud and I am sure Santa will take that into consideration. I TOTALLY love this kid!

The Princess: She is still a trouper, but life has been a little harder lately. With the treats that people have brought over she is trying to learn a little self control. She can't wait for Christmas either. I love seeing the magic of Christmas in her eyes. She has been doing a few extra things around the house just so we will let her wrap the presents. I am willing to do anything the help her keep her mind off her glucose levels. She has been running pretty high lately. We are having a hard time determining if it is because of her runny nose, her maybe sneaking food, or if she needs a dosage change. Last night I was in tears when her meter gave her an error because she was over 600 and that is as high as it goes. We called to doctor and he gave us a little talking to about keeping her on a schedule of when she eats, and gets her insulin. Man I felt bad, but we can count that as lesson learned. Today is much better, but it is all starting to wear on her. As I figured it would. She is justified!

The Little Man: He is just as silly as ever. I am not sure what he understands about Christmas, but we took him to see Santa at Ikea and he screamed! He loves the snow though and would be out in it all day long if I let him. I can't wait for him to maybe get a better idea of what it is all about!

Me: I had 5 photo session last week, and have also been working lots of hours for Jet Blue. Since there has been so many airports with weather delays it has been SUPER busy! I have been preparing for Trev's sister to move in with us for a few months and his other sister from Texas to come for Christmas for a few weeks. I am loving them here, it has been nice to visit. I woke up this morning to awesome news that my sister had her baby! She had a little girl Hadley Nicole. I wanted so bad to go to the hospital to meet her, but I have been sick too. I decided to wait. It is killing me though! We did get all our shopping done finally. We did it all in one night. We started at 7:30 and picked up the kids a little after 1. I was so happy to get it done! Now I just have to wrap it all! URGH!

So that is what is happening with us. I can't wait to share with you all about all the Christmas Magic that has been happening, but I will have to share that when I am a little less tired. Thanks for sticking with me through this lame posting month! Hope to back an running after the holidays! Merry Christmas if I don't stop by before then!

It's time for a laugh.

I saw this on a blog that I have been reading lately and I had to steal it! It is too funny. Not all of them pertain to us, but alot do.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE THE PARENT OF A DIABETIC WHEN.....

In conversation, your husband describes his personality as Type 1 instead of Type A.

You ask your child how her day at school was, and she answers with a number.

The microwave beeps and your d-child shouts “that wasn’t me!”

Everyone in the family says they are "low" instead of hungry!

When your parents answer the phone, the first thing they say is "What's wrong?"

You have no problem asking your child if they are "high" in a middle of a public place.

You make sure your child has candy in bed with them.

You ask your child what they had for lunch and they reply 45 carbs!

Your daughter wakes you up in the middle of the night and says, "Mommy, I'm beeping."

Your child says "I'm tired" and you ALWAYS have to wonder if she's low, high, or just plain tired.

You travel with as much food as you do baggage!

You hear another parent wish that kids would come with instructions and your diabetic child pipes in and says, "I do, and I don't leave home with out them."

Your first grader calls you from school to tell you that his teachers, nurse, and health aide are all absent so you decide to go to first grade for the day.

Your child refers to sequel movies as "Type 2".

You automatically wake up at 2:00 a.m.

Every meal turns into a math equation.

Your child falls and before you ask if they're okay you ask, "How's your pump site?"

You base your entire self-worth on your kid's last A1C!

You know what glucagon is and what it does.

You wake up the entire house because you accidentally finger poke your daughter's best friend for the middle of the night check - they look way too much alike.

Your daughter has a sleep over and her friends line up for blood sugar check, and none of them have diabetes.

Your daughter begins to miss the school nurse over summer break.

Your child refers to having a cold as being 'real people sick'.

You laugh out loud reading this list.

Is it possible?

Is it possible to have a Bi-Polar house?

My house can't decide what it wants to be.

CLEAN ~ dirty

fixed~BROKEN

EMOTIONAL ~ strong

quiet ~ BUSY

WARM ~ cold

I realized a very long time ago that nothing at my house will ever be "normal". If it ever starts to feel a little normal I start to brace myself. The thing is I wish that this last year wasn't so full of the extremes.

I am really looking forward to the new year and what it can bring. 2008 has been a rough one for so many, not just us. I am not banking on the fact that 2009 will be any less challenging. What I am hoping for is that it will be a little easier with the knowledge, faith, and hope that I have gained this last year. I feel my armour is a little more protecting than before.

This brings me back to my house. My home is what I make of it. I fully believe that it shows every emotion that I am feeling. I can truly walk out of a room and if I have felt a little overwhelmed the remnants of that feeling is shown in every one of my footsteps. Since I have been feeling the extremes of so many emotions can you imagine my house?

I am not meaning that it is messy, which it hasn't been lately. I am meaning when someone walks into my house I wonder what they feel? Is it possible that they can see how I am feeling that day? I am trying to be more aware of this. I want for everyone who walks through my door to feel loved. To feel the spirit and to feel important to me. With as much stress as I have been under I have been worried that when people leave they might need to seek therapy and not know why.

That brings up another question. Does that mean stress is contagious?

I guess what I am getting at is that I may feel a little more protected a little more strong, but is my front door as strong for what may come knocking in 2009?

One Month Down....

.........1140 or more to go.

So we have been dealing with Diabetes for exactly 1 month now. I totally feel like we are on a roller coaster. I am starting to wonder when we are going to get off.

Today to ring in the anniversary we have been dealing with EXTREME highs and lows. And when I say extreme she has been as high as 500 and as low as 50. I don't have any reasons to explain it. I am frustrated. I want to say that we have it all figured out, but as soon as we think we are getting it we get a day like today.

When we were in the hospital I remember one nurse telling us that the more organized our life is the easier it will be to control her diabetes. I have taken this to heart. We have taken one room at a time and scrubbed, de-junked, and organized it. I officially only have my bedroom left to do. I am really excited that we have done this. It really does make life easier. Set meal times are a must at our house too. I still have so much more that I want to do though. If anyone has any great ideas for ways to organize PLEASE SHARE!

Looking back on this month I feel that my little Princess has grown up so much. I still am amazed at her strength and how well she is dealing with all this. I feel so bad for her when she has her lows and she looks pale, has a tummy ache and is tired. My patience is tested when she is really high and I can't get her understand instructions, when she is irritable, and the times before bed and can't sleep because of the high. I understand that it isn't her fault, that is just how she reacts. I wish I could just kiss it and it will all be better. That her broken pancreas will start to work again and never fail her so she doesn't have to get any more pokes. Even though I feel all this emotion, I can look at her and she is still smiling. She is being effected, don't get me wrong. She tells me all the time she doesn't want to have diabetes forever. How is it that I have a 4 year old, that since birth has been afraid of the sight of her own blood and has been known to scream at any scratch big or small, be so brave when having to have 25 or so pokes a day? She still has never had a major breakdown about it all. This strength is heaven sent. I mean that! Her breakdown may come one day, and when it does come, I will be there to hug her, to love her, to let her cry or scream. She deserves it!

So to the last month of our lives....thank you. Thank you for the knowledge, the strength, the love, support, the family and friends, the challenges, the highs, the lows, the connections, the tears, the inspiration, all of it. If this has to be our new life than I accept it.

No really he was!

Do you need something to make you laugh? (or make you wonder)

Think of this....

I woke up at 4:00 or so in the morning to my hubby biting my arm.

I don't know what in the world he was dreaming about, or why he felt that he needed to bite me in the middle of the night--WHILE SOUND ASLEEP! But you totally should have been there. I thought me yelling for him to stop was going to wake up the family.

What crazy things have you done while sleeping?

I guess I am old!

I had a quick reality check the other day. I am officially old.

My mind thought I could do it! My body said "NO WAY! YOU ARE WAY TOO OLD FOR THAT!"

I was just trying to show off to the kids. They are so impressed that Daddy can stand on his head. I couldn't let him have all the attention.

Well guess what happens to an old lady that trys to stand on her head? I am not technically sure what happened actually, but something! I can't move. It took 2 days just to be able to move my head. I could feel it tear/pull on something all the way down my neck and spine and into my shoulders.

I am headed to get a massage by a neighbor tonight.

Daddy can have ALL the attention he wants. Heaven knows that an almost 32 year old man that can stand on his head in the middle of the room TOTALLY DESERVES it!

My Entry for the HP Prize Package Contest

Moosh in Indy is having a contest on her blog where you can win an AMAZING prize package from HP that is worth $6000! (Go check it out! The prizes really are awesome! And you too can enter to win!) I read the rules on how to enter today and I was compelled to enter. Writing a post on how you would share the prizes if won enters you into the contest. (check out the rules and regulations for more info) So this is my entry.


It is no question that our family has really been through a lot in the last year. Between my hubby loosing his job, having to replace broken down cars, appliances breaking, and my daughter being diagnosed with diabetes. These are just a few of the struggles that we have been through, but the list is longer for the ways that we have been blessed. Our lives have been changed by many that keep the spirit of giving all year long. I have been brought to tears this morning thinking of those people that have touched our lives. There are so many that have helped us so picking a few is so hard to do. While really searching though I thought of a few stories that I would like to share.

It was right after my hubby was laid off from his job at the bank. I had been visiting with a friend and talking about the situation. I cried. I couldn't hold back my emotions of fear, self pitty, worry and more. She gave me comforting advise and offered to help in any way she could. I declined the offer but thanked her just the same. The next day in the hot summer afternoon I looked out my window and saw her walking up the street. She was 8 months pregnant pulling a wagon with her two little girls by her side. I headed outside to greet her and to my surprise her wagon was full of food. Her little family that was struggling as well had taken several things from their food storage and filled the wagon to bring to us. I stood there and cried. I literally felt like she had just given me the shirt off her back. I knew she couldn't afford to do that. She mentioned that she just wanted to help so that our family wouldn't be hungry as my hubby looked for a job. I humbly accepted. With every last bite that was taken I could feel her love and charity. I honestly don't know how I could ever repay such an act of love.


Another way we have been blessed this year was by my daughter's Preschool teacher. The kids had been to Mrs. Donna's class last year and they loved her. It came time to register Princess for this year and all I could do was worry. My hubby didn't have a job and I knew we couldn't afford to pay for Preschool. As the time got closer to the deadline for registration I was sure that she wasn't going to be able to go. When in my heart I knew how important it was for her to go. A few days before we had to meet with the teacher I decided that we would go meet with her and explain the situation. We walked in me embarrassed, the Princess elated, and I just sat with the teacher and told her that my hubby had been laid off and that things weren't looking good. That even though I would love for her to go to school we would have to pass this year. When I told her she looked up at me and said that she knows that Princess needs to be in her class this year and not worry about paying her. That we will somehow figure it out, but still bring her. I felt that I couldn't accept this offer. That was just so much for her to give. I talked her into letting me trade with photography for the year, but I feel like I still have the better end of the deal. I have thanked her many many times and every time we talk about it she expresses love for teaching and for her students. I found out that the tuition the parents pay goes only to things for the kids. She doesn't make an income off of it at all. She has been teaching for over 20 years and has never made any money from it. What an amazing person! I know how she has touched Princess' life with all that she has done for her. She has touched ours as well with the example that she is. I would love to be able to repay her for this year of Preschool, and for all the other 20 years that have passed with serving and teaching so many kids! I know that I could never really do that, but I hope to find a way that I can come close.



This is just an example of two people that have touched my life. I really could go on! But my parents, sister's and brother's have ALWAYS been there for me in more ways than one. They have paid bills for us, watched kids, given us food, helped us with projects and so much more. It will take an eternity for us to repay them for all that has been done for us. I have an amazing family that no matter the situation they are there, helping with open arms and a loving heart. If I can never repay them then I just can hope to become more like them.


If I were to win the contest and receive all those awesome prizes I would have to say I don't think that I would keep any of it. I really mean that. I have searched for ways to repay all those that have helped us. I am in debt to many wonderful people that it wouldn't be right for me to keep any of it. They have sacrificed for us and have been happy and willing. I mean it when I say our lives have been changed this year and I really owe it to everyone that has been there along the way. If any of you are reading this I hope you are blessed. Thank you for being who you are and thank you for being an example to the rest of the world including my little family!

Ana's Song

We were looking through some old videos of the kids the other day and we found this video. Please ignore my fat scroungy self. Just listen to the song. This is a song that the kids' "Ana" sang to all her kids and even now sings to her grand kids.

When I saw it last night I was taken back by how little my two oldest kids were. I almost forgot what they where like at that age. Little Dude was almost 2 and Princess was about 8 months old. Even though I look and sound terrible I am grateful that we captured this moment. Silly kid used to LOVE to sing.