Welcoming highs

So the kids have been sick. What's new. Izzy and Alex and I had a stomach bug and as soon as Izzy began getting sick with the tummy bug she stopped eating. She didn't really eat for almost 2 weeks. Last Monday she still wasn't eating well but she did eat lunch so I gave her insulin to cover the food just like I would normally do and a little over an hour later she was in the low 40's. I gave her some juice and a snack and checked her again in about a half hour. She was still in the 40's. It took me almost three hours to get her into the 70's! I almost threw her in to the car and took her to the ER.

I spoke to the endo office after it was over and they told me that it is not unusual for a child who has been sick like Izzy to do this. Apparently if they are not eating they utilize all of the stored sugar in the body and they don't have any to fall back on. This all happened after over a week of lows.

She is finally over the lows and we are seeing quite a few 300's. We are working on getting her back on track. We are slowly increasing her Lantus trying to get rid of those highs. But I have to say...after chasing the highs for a few months and then dealing with really bad lows for over a week I am not hating the highs as much.

During one of her lows...she woke up in the middle of the night low and scratched her face. Really bad. I took her in to the ped for her cold and her little face was infected. It was bad. It is looking much better now, but I doubt she will get over it without a scar. What a bummer!

Where did November go???

Here it is already December 8. I just looked and I didn't even manage to post 1 post in November. Geez...I'm a bad blogger. :P

All I can say in my defense is that I also missed 5 birthdays in November. I think I was asleep with my eyes wide open all month. The kids have been sick (what's new) and of course there was Thanksgiving and a trip to visit the in-laws. Lots of things going on at pre-school and lots of doctors appointments. Not to mention that the laptop that I was using took a dive. It was a little hard to get online and find the time to get online.

Izzy was getting better about sleeping. I actually got an entire night of sleep right after Thanksgiving. Yeah!!! Now she is back to fighting it. We'll see what happens.

Alex is the sweetest thing when he isn't throwing a tantrum. :0 He has taken to calling me sweetheart...like when ever I do something for him he says thank you sweetheart except he doesn't say the sweet part. I just get a lot of 'Thank you Heart!" It is just the sweetest thing.

Ok...enough for now. We actually got our Christmas tree up today and all of the lights on it. Tomorrow we will do the ornaments.

Children with Diabetes and Halloween

So our first Halloween with this disease is approaching. Isabelle started getting really excited about Halloween last year so this year she has been counting down the days. I don't know if it really is the candy or just being out after dark with Mom and Dad all dressed up in a costume, but she is excited.

All of that candy gives us another problem. How do I get rid of all of that candy without huge fits and without adding another 5 or 10 lbs to my butt and hips? Thomas can only take so much candy to the office. I was surfing around in the d-world and I found the d-bloggers on d-life. I found a link to a newspaper article about a department store in Pennsylvania (I think) that takes candy from children with diabetes and gives them a free toy in exchange. How cool is that!!!!! http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18934521&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6

Now I ask you...why can't every department store in this wonderful land of ours do this? How much money can it really cost them? I can only imagine the good press they would get out of this. Does anyone who reads this blog know of any other places that do this? I am working on writing Toys-R-Us, K-Bee Toys, Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart about starting this kind of campaign. Even if it is only a $5.00 toy wouldn't that be great? I haven't had any time to research this on the web to see if there are more programs out there, but I hope to get that done in the next few days. Maybe next Halloween will be different for a lot of boys and girls with d.

Yet another Izzyism

Izzy came into my room the other day when she was supposed to be napping. She had one arm pulled into her shirt and she said, "Mommy...My arm is gone!!! Help me find it!!!"

I almost laughed myself silly. Hehehehe.

Feeling a little out of control

Lately things have been so crazy. I know...half of my posts say that. I'm trying to get better about posting the good things instead of just using this blog to gripe. But it seems to me that as Izzy's bs's get crazy I get crazy. I just constantly feel like everything is out of control. The house is crazy...I can't seem to get it straighten out. Izzy's behaviour has been nuts lately, but then again I know I would be really mean if my bs's were that nuts. Alex has even gotten into the act. He has suddenly hit the beginning of the terrible twos. He is pulling everything out of drawers, the pantry, laundry baskets...pretty much anywhere he can get his hands. He is also moving the rugs that are in the kitchen all over the place not to mention throwing things over the railings from the second floor.

Lovely.

Wonder if I'll be bald

by the time my kids are off on their own? LOL! Isabelle's numbers have been extremely crazy lately. They have been seriously out of control for over two weeks now. I keep faxing the endo and we keep trying new things. They work for like a minute and then BLAM!!!! Crazy again. It makes me feel like pulling out my hair.

I looked back over her stats for the last week and we have numbers ranging from 24 (yeah...you read that right...24!!!!) to 450. I am completely exhausted trying to figure out what is going on. I know that she has a cold and has had one for a little over a week. I sent her to school today because she has been feeling better and got a call around 11:00 saying that they tested her because she was acting weird and she was 301. I went and got her and called the peds on the way. I got her an appointment for the afternoon and when we went in they said that yeah they can tell that she has a cold but it doesn't look that bad. But, her numbers should not be that crazy just from a little cold so we have to put her on meds in the hopes of getting her better quickly and getting her blood sugars back in control. So, here we go again. I do have to say that it has been around a month since we have had to make a visit to the peds. Yeah for me.

The timing is really off for this illness. Izzy has an endo appointment for this Friday. Since her numbers have been so crazy the last couple of weeks I bet her A1C is going to be way worse then the last time. Maybe it won't be so bad.

Oh yeah... the 24. Yesterday she went to school. I went in as usual at lunch time and she was in the 200's ( can't remember exactly and am too lazy as I write this to get up and look at the log) so I did a correction for the high and gave her the right amount of insulin for the lunch. After we came home we layed down for a nap and Izzy woke me up saying that she felt low. I checked her and my heart lept into my throat as it does every time I hear the monitor do that special low beep. I looked at it and almost fell over. It did come up fairly easily though. A half hour later she was at 180. I just have to feel for her though...I can not imagine how I would feel if I were the one that had to deal with that change in blood sugars.

She has been really crazy behaviour wise lately. She has been defiant and mean and of course I am the one that she takes it out on most of the time because I am the one that is around her the most. She is usually pretty good at school...or at least that is the story that I get from her teachers. But when she gets home...man! She is talking back and yelling and pushing her little brother. I don't know what to do with her. I am sort of pulled in two about how much to discipline her. I know that she has to learn how to control her emotions and her temper no matter what her blood sugar is, but I also think that it has got to be really hard to do that when you are going from 24 to 300 in a little over and hour. Right now I am just trying to keep her in check without freaking out too much until she is a little more in control.

Small Successes

Sometimes you really do have to start small. As most of you that read this blog with any regularity know, Isabelle has not been sleeping. Like for months. Which means I haven't been sleeping because who better to be your middle of the night buddy then your mommy? Well, we have been trying lots of things to get her to sleep. She keeps saying that she is scared so we have been talking a lot about why she is scared and how to be brave and that God is always watching over us and keeping us safe. Last night she only got up once!!! And she went right back to sleep after I tucked her back in. It was really great.

I think I actually logged 6 hours straight without being woken up. It has done wonders for my mood. Who knows...I might actually turn back into the mommy who doesn't yell about everything. ;)

Crazy house

I haven't been on much lately. Thanks have been crazy here.

Izzy has been doing pretty well lately diabetes wise. She is enjoying school and her new teachers and friends. Her blood sugars are doing pretty well too. Mostly in line with a couple of lows in the 60's and 70's so not too bad. Then all of a sudden she skyrocketed. Two nights in a row. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were not great. She then woke up Thursday and said that she didn't feel well. I asked her what was wrong and if she felt low. She said she wasn't low, she just didn't feel well. I was having a hard time waking up so I told her to hold on a minute while I woke up and she fell asleep. She never falls asleep like that so I knew something was wrong. When she woke up, she said she didn't feel like going to school.

We all had a really great morning. The kids played really well together after breakfast and then we had to go to the mall to get Alex's portraits done. That was lots of fun. Apparently my super friendly 18 month old little guy did not want to have his picture taken. But, with a good photographer we got some really great pictures all while Isabelle was playing all over the place and not acting like she was sick at all. I was thinking that I should have went ahead and sent her to school.

After portraits I took her in to the peds and she has a sinus infection. Lovely.

Before I could even get her prescription filled poor Alex was whining in the back seat so I thought I should just take him home and put him down for his nap. We didn't get Izzy's prescription filled because by the time Alex woke up from his nap it was about 5:00 and it was raining so we just stayed home.

Later that night Alex started crying and just didn't stop. He cred for about 2 hours and then finally fell asleep until about 5:00am. He woke up screaming again. I went back in and he had a really runny, poopy diaper. I changed him and the poor kid was asleep before I even got finished.

I knew sometime in the middle of the night that I was going to have to take him to the doctors. So off to the peds we go. We saw the same dr as the day before. She was surprised to see us. Alex has an ear infection. We stopped at the grocery store where we get our prescriptions filled and I got some groceries while we waited for our prescriptions. Alex was miserable before we were even done. I took the kids home and gave Alex his meds plus some Tylenol and some ear drops for pain and put him to bed. He was out immediately. But, only for about 40 minutes. Then he woke up and screamed for over 2 hours.

I noticed about and hour and a half into the screaming that he had a rash all over his legs and arms so I grab the medication leaflet and of course rash is on the list of side effects/allergic reactions. I called the peds and they wanted us to come back in at the end of the day. Shortly after Alex threw up and of course he wouldn't take anything to drink. He finally fell asleep and I had to wake him up about 15 minutes later to get in the car and go to the peds. By that time his rash was completely gone. They took a look at him, but because they couldn't see the rash they couldn't tell if it was an allergic reaction or not. The dr told me to go ahead and give him his next dose in the morning and if he had the same reaction then fill the new prescription that she gave me.

I have to say the whole time we were at home before going to the peds for the second time I was freaking out. Alex rarely ever cries. And for him to cry that long and that badly it was not good. If I had anyone to take care of Isabelle I probably would have just taken him to the emergency room. The poor kid was just miserable. I'm sure that I freaked Thomas out, he called as we were about to leave for the peds and I almost started crying on the phone with him. I hate being the Mom when you don't know what to do. It sucks. Izzy was freaking out too. She isn't used to hearing Alex cry and it is a little nerve wracking on a good day. At one point I laid him down on the couch so that I could talk to the doctors office and she walked over to him and said, "Quit crying!!!". I of course told her that he can't help it that he is very sick and is miserable. She then said "I'm freakin!" I had to ask her what she said. She repeated it and I had to laugh. I know that I had to have said that I was freaking out while I was on the phone with the doctors office. She hears everything.

The whole time we were at the peds Alex is just laying on me. That is not normal Alex behaviour. I brought him home and he was still whining and crying and just miserable. We gave him some Benedryl and some Motrin and he finally fell asleep. The poor kid slept until 7:15 this morning. I was so worried about him! I actually got up about 3 times last night and checked in on him.

Thomas and I talked about it and there was no way we were going to give him that medicine again. The ped thinks it might have been some sort of stomach virus that was causing all of the crying and the rash/hives so they wanted us to give it to him again to see if he had the same reaction. I just went this morning and filled the new prescription instead.

Alex woke up this morning acting really great. He has been a little clingy today, but he is drinking a lot (thank God!...all he had yesterday was like 1 cup of juice) and he had a little bit of an appetite. He had a pretty good day, but he did have a really hard time going to bed tonight. I think he just wanted Mommy to hold him and cuddle him and so did Izzy. It's hard to be in two places at once so it was a tough couple of hours trying to get them both to sleep. But, everyone is quiet now so I'm off to bed. Wish me luck...I am hoping that everyone sleeps through the night.

Sort of a re-cap. I think I broke my own record...three visits to the doctors in 2 days!!!! Geez.

Sentences

Sentences...they are so underrated.

Alex said his first sentence today!!! I was helping Izzy finish a visit to the potty and Alex walked in and said, "I want to go potty too." I looked up at him because I couldn't believe that I had heard what I heard. So I asked him, "What??" And he said again just as plain as day, "I want to go potty too." I almost fell over! I asked him "You want to go potty too?" and he shook his head yes. He sat on the potty and didn't do anything, but he was very proud of himself. :) So was Mommy. And I had to get Thomas to come in with the video camera and video the whole thing. He was too cute!!!

I can't believe that he is speaking so well at just 18 months! What can I say...both of my kids are talkers. Poor Thomas...he is surrounded. :)

Voices from the crib

Picture it...last night it was about 10:30 and I was in bed reading. All of a sudden I hear a little voice through the monitor. It wasn't Alex. At first I was a little freaked out then I realized that it was his Precious Moments Angel. Alex and Izzy both have one and you push their little tummy and they say a little prayer. I thought maybe he kicked it in his sleep.

A few minutes later I heard it again. That's strange. I thought maybe he was in a strange position and he was kicking it again or something. He sometimes kicks his little foot while he is trying to get to sleep.

A few more minutes and I heard it again. I knew that I could not sleep with that thing going off again so I snuck into his room to see what was going on. The little booger was sleeping on it!!! He was sleeping on his tummy with the doll under it. Luckily he rolled slightly, setting off the doll again, and I reached in and grabbed it. He of course completely rolled over then and looked up at me. I ran for the door. Mission complete.

I'm still laughing about this.

Beautiful Saturdays

I know that the day is not quite over, but just in case something happens to mar the perfection of this day I thought I would jot this down now.

I have had the best day with my family. Izzy has been in line with her blood sugars all day, Alex took a great nap and I got a long nap this morning thanks to my hubby.

Thomas played with the kids all morning and they had a great time while I was catching up on some much needed sleep. This afternoon has been a time of cuddling and tickling and playing and everyone is having a really great time without the screaming. I wish every day was like this.

I just wanted to write this so that when we are having a crazy day I can look back and remember that we really do have good times. :)

During my reading today...

I came across a link to another blog and a story. I thought all of you that live at the beach or are going to visit the beach (yes I know the summer is almost over) would like to read it so I thought I would post this link. Check it out: http://earthchicknits.blogspot.com/2007/07/worst-five-minutes-of-my-life.html

Oh yeah...be prepared with some tissues.

Back to School

Izzy started back to school this week. She is now in a 3 day program at the same church pre-school as last year. She is in school Tuesday through Thursday. I think that surprised her because on Wednesday I had to convince her that she 'wanted' to go to school.

She loves her class!!! They keep her really busy and that is really great. I went in the week before all of the school festivities started and talked to the teacher and her aide and explained how to use the meter and when to test and what to look for and how to use the glucagon. It was a lot of information to understand especially with a toddler and 2 preschoolers running around. I was very impressed with her teacher and aide. They had both been researching diabetes and working with a meter so that when the time came they would know what to expect out of Isabelle. I couldn't believe that they would spend their personal time to do that for her. This is why I love this school! We are still looking for books to read to the kids about diabetes so that they can better understand why I am there every day giving Isabelle shots right after lunch. They do love seeing Alex everyday. We were running a little late on Thursday and the teacher told me that a few of the kids were asking where Alex was. LOL! Her teachers are doing a really great job keeping an eye on her. She has had one low of 70 which is not bad and one blood sugar that was slightly high at 209. Both times they were on the phone telling me what they were doing and making sure it was ok. They are doing wonderfully!

Isabelle told me today that she LOVES M. He is a little boy in her class and wouldn't you know it, one of the days I was in giving her her insulin she was chasing him because he wouldn't share. HaHa!!

SHOOOOOEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!

It always amazes me when young children are learning to communicate. The lengths that they will go to to make sure that they get their point across is astounding.

In July I took Alex in and got his foot measured and he needed a size 4 wide. I went out and bought him 3 pairs of shoes. Tennis shoes, sandals, and water shoes. About 3 weeks later he began a strange behavior. He would walk over to any shoe he could find and pick it up and bring it to me and say "SHHHOOOEEEEE!" I thought that it was adorable that he was learning to talk so young. We were at the mall about a week later getting Izzy's glasses adjusted and while I was dealing with that Thomas was out in the mall with Alex. He came back in laughing and told me that Alex walked up to every store that had shoes in the window and pointed and said "SHOOOEES!!". Dad also thought this was very charming.

We decided to walk around the mall and low and behold they were having a shoe sale at Stride Rite so we went in. I was looking for some shoes for Alex (it's really hard to find wide shoes). I asked for a 4 wide and the girl asked if I wanted her to measure his foot. I said sure, but I just got him measure under a month ago. She measured him and he needed a 5 1/2 Wide!!! I was amazed. A whole size and a half in like a month.

So, I bought the kid a new pair of shoes and the girl said (this is the kicker) "Do you want him to wear these home or put the old ones back on?" I said he can wear the old ones home. What???? Why would I try to squeeze his poor little foot into a shoe a size and a half too small? I so wasn't thinking. The funniest thing is that he didn't say 'shoe' again for quite a while. I learned to take the hint.

Last week he walked over to me with a shoe and again said "SSSHHHOOOOEEEE!!!!!". We were at the mall later that day and he now needs a size 6 Wide. LOL! He sure is learning to communicate.

Get out the tissue

Isabelle always surprises me. The things that pop out of her mouth completely amaze me.

We went to visit my parents on Saturday and came home Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon she started running a fever and was complaining of her right ear hurting. I had just taken her to the pediatricians on Thursday and he diagnosed her with a sinus infection. She has been on an antibiotic since then. So, when she started running the fever I called the ped again and they said to go ahead and take her to immediate care. Well, I think it freaked her out. She did not want to go to the doctor.

We got home and I put her to bed and laid down with her. She started talking.

Izzy: Mommy, why am I sick?

Me: I don't know darlin.

Izzy: Who put the sickies in my body?

Me: I don't know darlin.

Izzy: Am I going to die?

Me: Not anytime soon honey. Why are you thinking about that?

Izzy: I don't want to be sick anymore. When is the diabetes going to go away?

Me: Honey, you aren't sick because of the diabetes. You just have a virus or an infection or something. That's why I took you to see the doctor so that they could make you better.

Izzy: Oh. Thank you for taking me to see the doctor.

I just love her so much. Sometimes she makes me want to cry.

Izzyism's continued

The other day Isabelle woke up hard from a nap in the living room chair and Alex kept trying to love on her. She really didn't want him on her and here is what she said:

"Mommy, Alex is making me crazy!"

Me: "Join the club."

Izzy: "I don't want to join the club!!!"


I'm still laughing over that one. :)

Bad week

What a week! I'm so glad that it's Friday. Maybe the week ending will cure this craziness.

I have not been myself this week. It has been really busy and usually I love weeks like this. It's fun to be busy and the kids almost always have a good time, but then you throw diabetes into the mix. You never know what will happen then.

My nephew came to stay with us this week and that is great. He is 12 and he is so sweet and very helpful. Poor him that he was here this week. I know he has been bored out of his mind. So add the stress of worrying about him to the mix and things get harder.

Isabelle's blood sugar has been crazy for the last few days. She has been hovering in the high 200's and spiking to the high 300's. Nothing seems to bring them on...they just happen. On top of that it takes FOREVER for them to come down.

Today I thought that finally the highs were on the run. She woke up at 116! Yeah! Then most of the day she was hovering in the 80's. A little on the low side for her, but not hypo. Then all of a sudden in the late afternoon she started asking for something to eat and drink and it wasn't dinner time yet. I of course checked her and BOOM! 256. Ok. That is high, but not that high. Dinner was just a little over an hour away so I just let it go. Usually in an hour or two it is down a little on it's own. So off to the grocery store we go. We got home two hours later. I checked her and she was 389!!! What the F**K????? I am so frustrated I can't even tell you. I was supposed to fax in her test results today to the endo and they were so good this morning that I relaxed a little too much and forgot to do it.

I was getting better about not tying my moods to the blood sugar readings, but after this week I guess I have to start over. I thought it was because I am PMSing and all of us women know that that makes everything at least twice as bad as it really is. I don't know what to do. I just hate feeling so useless. Almost like no matter what I do I can't do anything to help. This disease sucks.

Sorry this post is so down. Hopefully I'll have something better to post tomorrow.

Time for an Update

Yes I have been out of the loop. Somehow I just haven't found the time or energy to blog lately. It has been a busy summer.



Isabelle started gymnastics 2 Mondays before Fourth of July. She loves it!!! She made me buy her a leotard and wore it the whole weekend before her first class. After her first class the teachers told the kids that they wouldn't have class the next week as the gym was closed for the week because of the holiday. She totally freaked out!!! It took me almost an hour to make her understand that she was going to go back to class in 2 weeks. I guess I should go ahead and sign her up for the next session. :)



Poor Alex has been through the ringer. When I last posted he had an ear infection. We visited the pediatrician 3 Thursday's in a row! The last Thursday we found out that the first medication was not working and that now he had a double ear infection. The poor kid has slept 4 complete nights since all of this started. Since last night was one of them I am hopeful that they will continue. We have an appointment tomorrow for a re-check on his ears. I hope that everything is back to normal. He is eating well and is trying just about everything that we put on his tray (Thank God!). I do wish that he would eat things that are more substantial. He really likes things that are crunchy. I have tried shredded carrots and he will eat them occasionally, but most of what he eats are crackers and cereal. If anyone has any ideas for crunchy foods that will have some calories and nutrients in them please e-mail me or post a comment.



My Mom and my niece Logan came over for a week. We had lots of fun, but it was super busy. We went to American Adventures http://www.sixflags.com/americanAdventures/index.aspx which was lots of fun. It is basically a small amusement park for kids age 3-12. Most of the rides are for younger kids and Isabelle and Logan loved it! Alex even rode the balloon ride with his Meme. Isabelle was very disappointed that she was too little to ride the bumper cars.

On Saturday Thomas and I took Isabelle along with Logan and my sil Teresa to Fernbank Museum of Natural History http://www.fernbank.edu/museum/index.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. We also met Sheila and Andrew there. She was a good Mommy and took pictures. :) These days it is about all I can do to remember all of Izzy's diabetic necessities. We had a great time! Lots of fun things. But now Isabelle keeps asking me what we are going to do special today! Too bad we don't live in a city that has free museums...we would be gone everyday. As it is it is too expensive to do this stuff more then once or twice a year.

During the week that Meme and Logan were here Isabelle had her 3 month appointment with the endo. She had her first blood draw since the hospital. Big drama, but I really have to brag. She did really, really great! She didn't like the idea, but she sat on my lap and held Rufus (http://www.jdrfgeorgia.org/family.asp) and talked to the nurses. She did such a good job that they were all bragging on her. They even said that she was better then most of their teen aged patients. Of course it was only her first blood draw so we will see how the next one goes. I got the results back from her A1C and she did good. In the hospital it was 11. This time it was 7.2! I think that is great. She is doing really great about her diabetes lately. Today has been crazy, but I think everyone has crazy days.

Sorry this post was so long. It has been crazy around here and I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and think much less actually use the computer. So, there's your update. Oh yeah...last night my brother dropped my nephew off for the rest of the week. Garrett is great! He is usually a really big help around the house and with the kids. I am glad that he is here.

Poor Alex

He now has an ear infection. Funny...I know something was wrong when he was up most of the night last night. He just doesn't stay up all night for no reason. He feels better this evening. He should. He has antibiotics, Motrin, teething gel, cold medicine and a tummy full of milk. Plus he got to play with his Daddy and Isabelle.

Alex is too cute these days. He is trying really hard to jump, but can't quite figure out how to get his feet off of the ground. When he is on the bed though he can! He delights in jumping on the bed and landing on his butt. He giggles and then stands up and does it again. He is also trying really hard to give raspberries. Isabelle loves to do that and she thinks it is sooooo funny so now Alex is trying his hardest to do it too. He was totally annoying Isabelle tonight because he kept trying to blow raspberries all over her where ever he could get his mouth. He's too cute.

The Revenge of the Milkshake

I am really beginning to not like milkshakes. We had a problem with Isabelle when we were on our trip for Memorial Day with a milkshake. It sent her blood sugar sky high so we haven't given her another one until last night.

Yesterday was an ok day. We had a low and about dinner time she was in the 300's but of course she didn't want to eat. We gave her a correction and decided to go out for dinner since everyone had a nap and was fresh and ready to get out. We ended up at the new Steak-N-Shake in town. Of course Isabelle wanted a milkshake. She ate and we gave her insulin for what she ate. I was trying to get her to go to bed and she started complaining about a stomach ache so I checked her blood sugar. It was 72. Gave her 4 glucose tabs to correct for it and checked again in 15 minutes. She was at 122. Good. Left her to go to sleep. She finally fell asleep around midnight.

Around 4:00am she woke me up saying that she was wet. I went in and checked and changed her pj's as well as the comforter. I checked her blood sugar again. It was 397!!! WTH??!!! I gave her a correction and she finally fell back asleep around 6:00am. When we finally woke up at a little before 10:00am she was in the high 80's.

It had to be the milkshake. Either that or there is something else going on. I'm going to guess that it was the milkshake since the last time we had the same problem. Very strange night. I'm exhausted.

Bittersweet moments on Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's out there. I know of 3 really great ones!

Today we all piled into the van and went to church. We usually take Isabelle to the children's church and Alex to the nursery, but today they weren't having the in-between (between Sunday school and when children's church actually starts about 20 minutes into the church service) children's church so we took Isabelle to the service with us. She sat and watched all of the kids do the songs from vacation bible school. She asked me to let her go up to the stage to sing with the other kids. I told her that since she didn't get to go to VBS (it was in the evening ending at 9:00pm; her bedtime is 7:00) that she didn't know the songs so she couldn't go up there and sing with them. When it was finally time for the children to come up for the children's message Isabelle just walked right up there and sat down like she did it every Sunday of her life. She sat and listened to the preacher very quietly and while he talked to the kids she raised her hand as if she was going to ask him a question. I waited with baited breath to see what she was going to say. Luckily she never did say anything. She was just such a big girl! When the preacher dismissed them she just stood there like she didn't know what to do then she decided to go and sit down next to her Children's Church teacher. She was such a little lady. I couldn't believe that she looked like such a big girl. I got tears in my eyes. I was so proud of her and her big girl behavior. Just recently she started to dress herself. Plus on top of that she is pretty much past the stage of crying every time we give her her insulin. What a big girl she is becoming.

Alex is also growing up. We have been having problems with him eating. For months he has not wanted to eat anything other than formula. On top of that he has also had problems pooping. A couple of weeks ago I took him in for his 1 year well baby checkup and the ped said not to worry about it that he would eat when he was ready. I have heard this before and have been trying not to worry but every one who is a parent knows that is sometimes hard. He finally started eating!!!! Yeah!!! He started out slow. He would only eat things that were crunchy. Today he started branching out. He grabbed a chicken finger off of my plate and went at it. I'm so relieved.

We also switched him recently to soy milk because he seemed to be having problems with the older infant formula that we were trying. Now he is pooping a lot more. He used to poop about once a week. Since we started soy he is pooping almost every day. At least every other day. One day he even pooped 3 times. Wow...what a difference. He has also stopped taking bottles. He is doing really great with the straw cups and only has a bottle right before bed.

I can't believe the changes in my children lately. Their childhoods seem to be flying by me. I'm so proud of both of them.

Vacations and blood sugar

Boy...what a summer. It hasn't been here that long, but we have already made two trips. Last week the kids and I went to go see my parents. We had a really great time, but it really is hard to keep Isabelle's blood sugar in check while we are gone. I don't know why it is harder...we do a lot of eating out even when we are at home so you think I would be used to figuring out what she has eaten and how many carbs there are in it.

Just before we left Isabelle developed a rash so I took her in to the peds and they said it was viral, nothing they could do, it will go away on it's own. It was of course accompanied by some high blood sugars. Nothing else though until she got a case of the hives for a day. So, I had a feeling that her blood sugars were going to be all over the place but I decided to go anyway. I don't want a little thing like diabetes keep us from doing things. While we were there she actually had a blood sugar in the 400's. I almost freaked out. I'm still new at this, and I forgot the keto sticks. Not a big deal you say? Just pop out to the nearest pharmacy or large discount store. Yeah right. My parents live in the middle of nowhere and since it was after 5:00 everyone that was close by was already closed. I had to drive to the nearest town to find a chain pharmacy that was still open and an hour and a half later figured out that Isabelle was not throwing keytones. Yeah! But, dumb mommy! If I had remembered to bring them I would have saved myself almost two hours of freaking out. Live and learn.

The whole time we were gone I was up every night with one of the kids (it's been like that at home lately too though). Isabelle woke up the first 2 or 3 nights with blood sugars in the high 200's and low 300's. She of course couldn't sleep and I had to do corrections. Doesn't make for a peaceful night, but towards the end of the trip she was just waking up in the middle of the night to make sure that I wasn't sleeping for more then 4 hours in a row. Oh...not really. It just felt that way.

We have been home for a few nights and things were calming down. I finally got to spend almost and entire night in the bed with my husband. Then last night Alex woke up around 1:00 am soaking wet and needing a bottle. I took care of him and then came back to bed. I was just getting back to sleep when Isabelle came into our room to get me. I took her back to bed and checked her blood sugar. It was 414! Yuck! Why? Why is it soooo high? I gave her a correction and it still took her over two hours to get back to sleep. I finally drifted off around 4am. Luckily they both slept a little later this morning. I really hope that tonight goes better. I have absolutely no idea why it was so high. I hope she isn't getting sick again. I need a break.

My child

She makes me laugh every day. In fact they both do. Izzy just came and paid me a visit after getting out of the bath. She soon informed me that she was going downstairs to watch her movie. I said OK, but at least put your panties on (she has a really horrible habit of running around naked and if we don't leave the house all day she is likely not to get dressed at all).

She said, "I can't. My panties are in jail."

She totally cracks me up!

Up High Down Low

We went to the beach for the long weekend and we had a really good time. But, it was hard to keep the diabetes in check. Izzy's blood sugars have been on a roller coaster lately. It really started at the end of last week.

Friday on our trip we made a huge mistake and gave her a milkshake. Of course Chick-fil-a didn't have nutrition information available and we didn't plan on making the stop so we didn't get the info off of the website so we just guessed. Boy did we ever guess wrong. She didn't even drink half of it and it took us 2 corrections to get her blood sugar back down into the 100's. It was crazy. I think we only had one good blood sugar day while we were there.

I have talked to the Endocrine and they can not see any pattern so they don't want to change anything yet. Today she was in the 300's and also had two lows. Lovely.

But, I think that she is getting sick. She broke out in a rash on Tuesday and also vomited. I took her to the peds and he said that the rash looks like a viral rash and there is nothing that we can do but let it run it's course. Today she started with a couple of hives so I gave her some Benedryl and then the blood sugar really went nuts. I would really like a month of just dealing with the diabetes so that we can actually get a handle on what her normal levels look like. She has been sick twice already(not counting now) since she was diagnosed 2 months ago. I am going to keep a close eye on her and check in on her in about a half hour so I can see what is going on with her blood sugar. When I put her to bed we did her Lantus and a correction of Humalog because her blood sugar was in the 300's. Hope we didn't overdose her.

A Day of Firsts

Alex had a big day. Lots of firsts. He learned how to drink from a straw. Yeah!!!! That makes life around here so much better. He has finally started to experiment more with different food and tries just about everything that we put in front of him. He had his first taste of smoothie this morning surprising both him and me. And he liked it. :)

He also had kind of a bad first this afternoon. Thomas had just gotten home from work and was eating dinner and we were all sitting down at the table talking. Alex was wondering around. He walked up to me and took a bite of my thigh. It hurt like crazy and I just put my hands up and kind of looked at Thomas like get him out of here. Thomas picked him up and told him, "No biting! You can't bite Mommy. You are in time-out. You stay there." Alex looked up at me and at Thomas and put his hands down on the floor and just started to cry. Then Isabelle started to cry. It was all I could do not to cry. He was so upset!!! Isabelle was really mad at her Daddy-O for putting her baby in time-out. She said he was too little to go to time-out. Alex just sat there and cried for a minute and then Thomas went over and picked him up. He was like Velcro with him the rest of the evening. What a first to remember.

"Thank you Daddy-O"

Last night after a long day I talked to Thomas and told him that when he got home from work I was going to get out of the house...I had a ton of errands to do and I knew they would be easier to do without both of the kids. I had Alex in bed and Isabelle was already bathed and just needed her bedtime snack and her Lantus shot. I made it easy for him. :)

Isabelle has been doing so much better about her shots. She has not been crying and struggling when we give her shots, but she still isn't that great when Thomas gives her the shots. Last night Thomas came upstairs with the Lantus shot while Izzy and I were relaxing in the bed. He gave her the shot without too much of a problem. We both praised her for doing so well and she said, "Thank you Daddy-O for giving me my shot. Thank you for making me better."

Makes me want to cry. What a change from a couple of weeks ago.

The great bedroom switch

Isabelle hasn't wanted to sleep in her own bed in forever. She constantly wants to sleep in the Queen size bed in the guest room (otherwise known as Meme's room LOL!). I thought it was because she wanted me to sleep with her, but we haven't done that in a while. I sometimes lay down with her while she is falling asleep, but I don't stay very long and she knows that I won't be there when she wakes up. I was talking to my Mom about it when she was visiting and she suggested that she wants to sleep in that room because it is darker and quieter.

I have been talking to Izzy about moving her bed into the guest room and moving the Queen size bed into her room and she has been excited about the idea. So I did it. One afternoon I just went ahead and did it. And of course the little booger is still sleeping in the Queen size bed. She didn't care what room it was in she just wants to sleep in it. I asked her why she wanted to sleep in that bed and she said because it has two pillows. Can't freaking believe it. She has also told me that I should move the beds back. AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I don't think so. Too much work.

When will I be able to relax?

Now that we are dealing with this disease I often wonder when will I ever feel relaxed? Will it ever happen again? I was driving home today from a playgroup and lunch out with our playgroup friends and I passed a swimming pool. I almost instantly remembered the feeling of laying next to a calm pool in the warm sun and not thinking about anything. Falling asleep without a care in the world other then do I have enough sunscreen on. I don't think I will ever feel that way again. I was just getting to the point with Isabelle that I felt like I didn't have to watch her ever single minute of the day. She was getting old enough for me to feel comfortable with taking a nice long shower without having to stress out about leaving her alone too long. Now that feeling of relief is gone. It has been replaced by anxiety. Constant anxiety.

The kids have both finally been sleeping though the night again (Thank God!!) but I still find myself either waking up and worrying about Isabelle and if she is too low or too high or dreaming funky dreams about her or about running away from whatever is chasing me. Let me take a big guess what that is. I have to say that I am really, really, really thankful to my husband and to God that I don't have to work right now. I think if I had one more thing on my plate that I would never be able to rest.

Sorry about this post. I know that it isn't all that uplifting or even very interesting. I just needed to vent and I am kind of hoping that some of you D parents out there can give me a little feedback on how long it is before you can stop stressing completely about your child. I know that I will always worry about her and it will always be there. I'm just hoping that I can get to relax a little sometime soon. We are headed for the beach this weekend so I hope that will help.

Meme and Izzy

My parents are here. Yeah! It's always nice to have them. Isabelle is always on her best behaviour and she is soooo sweet. They got here Monday afternoon. They are here because Thomas and I had a follow up class at the children's hospital for Isabelle's diabetes. I needed someone to watch the kids because we couldn't take them with us and Mom and Dad are going to go to a caregiver class to learn how to take care of Izzy but the class isn't until tomorrow. So my Mom, God bless her, said that if I gave her a crash course in Izzy's care she would try to do it while we were gone as long as I kept my cell on for questions. Last night I went over carb counting with her and how to give the shots. She gave her first shot last night after dinner and Isabelle did great with Meme giving her a shot.

Today went really well! Thomas and I had to leave early because of traffic and because the hospital is about 45 minutes away without traffic. Sometimes with the traffic it can take twice that time. We left before the kids were up so Mom had to do the morning shot and the lunch shot as well and figure out all of the carbs and how much insulin to give. She did such a good job!!!! And Isabelle did great for her. I am so relieved. It's almost as though Isabelle knew that she had to be good for Meme. She is still running and hiding from us as well and crying and trying to jerk away when Thomas and I give her the shots. Maybe Meme doing it will help her to calm down with us. I really hope so...it would make everyone's lives easier.

Izzyism

Sunday Izzy walked up to me and here is what happened:

Izzy: Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.

Me: What Isabelle?

Izzy: Mommy...I have a surprise for you.

Me: You do? What is it?

She walked into the living room with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face.

Izzy: Open your hand.

I held my hand out.

Izzy: Here...Just for you! You've got a button! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Aren't you excited??!!

Me: Oh yeah...I'm excited. :P

She is a trip.

Mother's Day

I feel so bad. I haven't done any Mother's Day shopping. My MIL's aren't even going to get cards. Unless they are late. I have been trying to get out and get to the card store for over a week now, but it just hasn't happened. The kids have been sick all week. Isabelle actually asked to go to bed tonight at 5:30. She didn't even want a bath. She is really tired.

I actually got a Mother's Day present today from my Father and Mother in Law. I was so surprised! It was really sweet. They sent me a miniature rose bush. I hope that it makes it through my care and I will be able to plant it in the flower bed out front. I also got 2 mother's day cards in the mail today. Boy...I feel the love. :)

I went to Mom's Night Out last night with my Mom's group. Even that was quick and not very restful. I was looking forward to it all week. Thomas had it on his schedule. He hit traffic and couldn't make it home until a little before 7:00. I was supposed to be there at 7:00. When he walked in I didn't want to just run off and leave him without giving him a couple of minutes to get his breath. I ended up not getting to the restaurant until around 7:30. While I was there Thomas called three times. The last 2 times were a little scary. Izzy's blood sugar was in the 400's! And of course even with the insulin she didn't come down very fast so he was really worried. By the time I got home it was in the 300's and I told him we should wait for at least another hour to give the insulin 2 hours to work before we completely freak out. When I checked her a little over an hour and a half later she was 68. Gave her some juice which she actually drank and drifted back off to sleep quickly. When I checked her again she was 80. I finally went to sleep with her in the guest bedroom. She woke up at 3:00am wide awake and wanted a fudgesicle. I of course was exhausted. I think she wanted to play, but I convinced her to go back to bed. She's been really strange lately about going to bed. She wants me to sleep with her. I hope that ends soon. I would love to get back to my own bed.

So, I guess I have an excuse. I still feel bad though. My Mom will be here on Monday so I was planning on not sending her anything so that I could give it to her when she was here so at least I have that under control. Maybe I'll be able to get that accomplished.

I'm hanging in there.

The special ring

Last night as Thomas was trying to get Isabelle to bed she came into my bedroom where I was having some alone time to tell me goodnight. She was very sweet and gave me a kiss and then begged me to sleep with her. She was wandering around and found my wedding ring on the nightstand. I tend to take it off when I put on lotion and I hadn't put it back on yet. She grabbed it and took off with it. When I tracked her down in the guest room Thomas was telling her that it was a special ring that Mommy and Daddy wear to show everyone that they are married. She thought that was really neat and she wanted a special ring of her own. Thomas came up with a great idea. There was a small ring on something of his that he thought would be about the right size and it was! She is now wearing her own 'special ring'. She is so excited!

And it begins again

Fever of 102.5. Lovely. I thought she was well. Plus to make things just a little more fun I have a really sore throat and feel feverish too. I went to the doctor's today because I thought I might have strep, but no strep so she sent me home telling me to take some Tylenol and rest. Yeah right. I went to the school to get Isabelle (she didn't have a fever until after we got home) and brought her home and about an hour later I noticed that she had a fever. Now her tummy is hurting and of course she is refusing to eat. Great. Here we go again.

Ice and Diabetes

Lately whenever Izzy's blood sugar is out of whack she asks for ice. She tells me that her teeth hurt and the ice makes them feel better. Tonight as I was putting her to bed I gave her a bowl of ice and she was happily munching away as I was reading the Lorax. When I got done she told me that the ice was going to make her diabetes go away. I told her that I didn't think that the ice would do anything for the diabetes. She again told me that it would take it away.

Then she asked me, "Where is my diabetes?"

I pointed to her tummy and said, "In there."

Izzy: "ohhh...that's not good."

Me: "I know...that's not good."

Sometimes she really makes me want to cry. Actually that has happened a lot today. We have been talking a lot about being brave with her shots and not crying and running away and wiggling. She actually took two shots without crying. Yeah! That is progress. I hope it continues.

Another Izzyism:

We have been reading the Lorax quite a bit lately. She has told me a couple of times that she is a Bar-B-Loot. She has crummies in her tummy. She is too cute!!!

Hi's and Low's

Isabelle has been all over the place lately. She has been high a couple of times today and she had a low in the 30's. Totally freaked me out. She has not wanted to eat anything other then grapes and cheese crackers. Maybe that's what's going on. I do wish she would level out. All of these ups and downs scare me.

We have another appointment with the Endocrine on Monday so maybe by then we will have it figured out or they will be able to figure it out then.

Thank God!

Both of the kids seem to be getting better. Alex had two naps today (rarely ever happens) and he is in a great mood. Isabelle is finished with her antibiotic and seems to be almost completely better. Plus, she never got pink eye! They are both playing together right now and are so cute!!! Alex just follows her everywhere. She is teasing him mercilessly and he is loving it. I love that they are playing so well together. I've been waiting for them to be able to do this...at least it gives me a few minutes of peace during the day so I don't go too crazy! LOL!

Will it ever end?

I am soooo tired of sick kids! It seems that one or the other (if not both at the same time) has been sick since Thanksgiving. Yes that is almost 6 months ago! We have had a few brief respites of like a week or two. Now they are both sick again. Izzy has an Upper Respiratory Infection. She woke up yesterday with green snot so I took her to the peds and they actually gave her antibiotics which almost never happens. Plus the doctor thought she was getting a case of pink eye. Lovely. I'm hoping that she doesn't get the pink eye. So far so good on that point. Then this morning Alex wakes up with lots of snot. Thank God his is clear so we didn't have to spend the day trying to see the doctor. So, I'm back to two clingy babies. I actually have them both off of my lap at the moment. I can't believe it. :P

I am really hoping that when the Spring and Summer really hit that we will get over all of this sick mess. Wish us luck.

Fun times at the Mall

You know my daughter is a trip. She is such a character. Today we went to the Mall to get her glasses adjusted and to do some errands that I needed to get done.

As we were walking through the mall one of the kiosk vendors asked if she could try some pins in Isabelle's hair. I said sure. She put some pins in Izzy's hair and Isabelle just sat there so sweet and quiet. When the lady showed her her hair in the mirror Isabelle said she looked like Cinderella and was very excited about the hair do. We paid for the pins and walked away. We went from there to lunch and as soon as we sat down Isabelle said, "That lady forked me Mommy. Did she fork you?" Another one for the Isabelle books.

Later on we were waiting for a new battery to be put in my watch so we went into Payless to look at shoes. I have been really lucky at that store with children's shoes. Lots of times I walk in there and can find a pair of shoes for $3 or $6. Alex needs a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of water shoes for the summer so I thought we would see if they had anything. Right off I found the shoes that I wanted for Alex, but they didn't have his size. I took the shoes to ask the woman at the counter if they had his size in the back and on the way back up the isle I looked at Isabelle's size just to see if they had anything cute and cheap. We found the cutest shoes marked down to $6 plus they had Buy One Get One Half Price for the entire store. She tried them on and refused to take them off. She was wondering around in them as I stood in line behind two older women waiting to talk to the sales woman. One of the women commented on her pretty shoes and Isabelle said, "They aren't shoes...they are Glass Slippers! I am Cinderella!" They were enchanted. She is still calling them Glass Slippers. Too cute.

Hard or Easy

Hmmm...being a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM). Hard or Easy? I guess it depends on you and your family and your day. Today I'm going to say it is HARD! I did manage to get a shower by myself today although not with enough time to actually shave my legs. LOL! I really enjoy being a SAHM, but sometimes I think most of the world thinks that we don't 'work'. Just because we don't get a paycheck definitely does not mean that we don't work. Plus with being a SAHM you get the added benefit of being on call 24/7. A fact that I have been reminded of almost every night for at least a couple of months. Lovely.

I guess that I will be hearing all about the other side of motherhood (Working Moms) since my best friend just went back to work yesterday. I am missing her desperately. We used to talk on the phone like 5 or 6 times a day and of course we can't anymore. I have to say...I am not very happy with her husband right now. He's right up there with another guy I know right now. Or should I say down there. And no, I don't mean Thomas. :P

Sorry...this post kinda stinks. I'm just really tired and there is no rest in sight.

Crazy blood sugars

Crazy blood sugars again today. We keep getting lows and sometimes they are hard to get up. They start out being between the 50's and the 70's and sometimes don't go up until the third try. It makes me nervous because among our many directions from the Endocrinologist is to call immediately if you can not raise a low blood sugar after 3 tries. Today when I checked her blood sugar for the third time the meter read 557. I didn't even know the meter went that high. I almost freaked!!!! Then I remembered that she probably had something sweet on her hands since I had given her sugar tablets to bring up her blood sugar and I might not have washed them good enough. Thank god when I read it again it was 136. Yahoo!

I don't want to tough it out

This morning I was trying to rally the troops for a trip to the mall so that we could get Isabelle's glasses adjusted (among other things) and Isabelle was giving me a hard time about getting ready. She kept coming up with excuses as to why she couldn't get dressed. Among them were: She was Little Creek (the friendly Indian from Spirit), she was Baby Spirit the horse and she just didn't want to go bye bye. She finally came up with what she thought was the winner. She told me that she was dirty (she had a bath before bed last night as usual) and needed a bath. My reply was that we didn't have time for a bath, we needed to go. She of course tried to argue with me about how dirty she was and how much she had to have a bath. I told her that she wasn't dirty and she would just have to tough it out. Her reply, "I don't want to tough it out. I want to tough it in." I just couldn't contain my laughter. :)

He's Brilliant!

Yesterday as we were hanging out in the living room Sesame Street was on. Isabelle was watching it intently as they were singing the ABC's. Alex was sitting in my lap drinking a bottle. Elmo came across the screen singing the ABC's (it was an ABC day) while he was riding his tricyle. Alex jumped off of my lap and went straight to his toy box. He rummaged around for a few minutes pulling toys out and looking at them then throwing them down. He finally found what he was looking for and he turned around with the most proud expression on his face. He had Elmo in his hand...the one that is like a rattle that you shake and it giggles. He was so excited!!!! He walked over to me talking and giggling the whole way and handed it to me. Then he wanted to climb back up in my lap and finish his bottle.

I had no idea that he knew who Elmo was let alone like him. LOL!

Yucky Day

Last night Isabelle went to bed around 8:00 and by a little after 9:00 she was complaining about her tummy hurting and that she was hungry. I went upstairs with the meter and checked her blood sugar...60. It's supposed to be between 80 and 180. Back downstairs to get some juice and a snack. She finished the juice and it still 74. She wouldn't eat the snack that I brought her and she was complaining about her stomach hurting. I went back downstairs for more juice. Finally it was up to 83. Thank God. I stayed with her for a little while and read another story and then she finally fell asleep around 10:30. I set the alarm for 2:00am to get up and check on her blood sugar again. We didn't make it that far.

At around 12:30 I was asleep and Isabelle came into the bedroom complaining that she was wet and that her bed was all wet. Thomas went in to check on the situation and I heard him say something to the effect of "Oh No!" and I was up. She had thrown up all over the bed. And it looked bad because she had pizza for dinner and some of the juice that I had given her when she had the low BS was red. Lovely. Sweet Thomas stripped the bed while I got Izzy into some new jammies and into the bed in the guest room. I checked her blood sugar and it was 85. That wasn't too bad. But, she wasn't done throwing up. Lovely. She finally crashed sometime after 1:00am and I got to sleep a little after 2:00am. I slept with her because I felt like I needed to be close by in case she started throwing up again and so I could check her blood sugar easily if I woke up again. We both luckily slept all night and so did Alex.

So, today didn't start until around 9:00am when it is usually starting between 7:00am and 8:00am. She has kept everything down today, but it has been a total battle to get her to eat anything. She has mostly eaten fruit so I guess that is ok. Her blood sugar has been all over the place today. We have had at least 2 lows and 1 high. It's almost time for her to go to bed. I hope tonight goes better then last night.

I have felt so helpless today. Izzy obviously was not feeling so great today and I don't think that she felt so great yesterday either. Now that I think back about yesterday she told me quite a few times that she didn't feel good. I thought that she was being a drama queen because she was at preschool yesterday and I am sure that everyone was cautious about her diabetes. I guess I should learn to listen to her better. Some of the info that I got from the Endocrinologist says to call whenever they vomit. So I called them first thing this morning. They just said to keep a close eye on her blood sugars, make sure that she doesn't get dehydrated and to call back if she vomits again.

It's just been such a stressful day. Alex hasn't been himself today either. He has been really clingy. He actually sat with me in the chair just playing with a small toy and cuddling with me for at least 30 minutes. He never does that. He is getting some new teeth in and I think that is what is wrong with him. On top of all of that the DSL has been acting up so Thomas called Bell South last night and they were supposed to come today to check things out. I had to be here from 1-5 and they never showed up. The only phone in the house that is working is the phone in the kitchen on the wall so whenever the phone rings today I have had to stop what I was doing and run into the kitchen. Totally annoying especially since it has been quite a day. The phone guy called around 2:30 to tell us that he was on his way and to see if anyone was there. I didn't answer it because I was upstairs and didn't hear it. He never showed up. Really pissed me off. GRRRRRR!!!! Add frustration to an already crazy day. Hopefully Izzy will feel better tomorrow and we can see some friends.

Funny Isabelle

We were hanging out today not doing a whole lot of anything and Isabelle out of the blue says, "Mommy...I have a baby in my tummy. His name is Achy." Then she turned around and went on playing. I laughed until my tummy was achy. LOL! Guess her tummy still isn't back to normal.

So many new things

It seems like for the last three weeks everything has been new. We are all learning about how to deal with diabetes and how it effects Isabelle. And on Wednesday of this week I took Isabelle in to see the Pediatric ophthalmologist and they gave her glasses. So now we are dealing with a 3 year old with diabetes who has to have her blood sugar tested at least 4 times a day; which actually tends to be more like 8 times a day and the subsequent shots who seems to have figured out that when she eats she has to get a shot which has not helped the eating situation. Now we are supposed to get her to wear her glasses so that she can correct her lazy eye. She does not want to wear them. That makes me say to her at least a 100 times a day..."Put your glasses on." "You need to wear your glasses." or something of that sort. So much fun. She did get to pick out her frames and was very excited about them until she put them on. The prescription is really strong...the girl at the eyeglass place was surprised that this was her first pair with this prescription. She is very cute in them though. If only I could get her to wear them, but I am also thinking that this is just one thing too many right now. Today I took the day off from bugging her about her glasses...I told her to put them on once then not again. I think I will let her go for a couple of days and then start again.

Thomas kept the kids today so that I could get out. Friday was bad so I really needed some time to myself. It was nice to sit and have lunch all by myself without having to talk to anyone or do anything for anyone. Everyone needs a break now and then. I do worry though that Thomas doesn't get enough of a break.

I have found quite a few new websites about diabetes and some interesting blogs. It's nice to know that there are other people out there that are dealing with the same things that we are dealing with. I do feel really sad that she has to go through this and that she is going to have to do it for the rest of her life. I am trying to wait patiently for the day that she won't scream and cry about getting her shots. I hope it is soon. It is really hard to take sometimes.

Sorry this post is so blah...I'll think of something cute to write about the next time.

Sweet Alex

My sweet little guy. I know that I am his mother, but he is just the best baby in the entire world!!! He has such a great disposition. He is always happy and laughing and he just hangs in there no matter what we are doing. Today Isabelle had an eye doctor appointment so I left him with my Mom. Alex loves his Meme, but today he seemed to really want Mommy. I don't know what was up with him, but he was just not happy this morning unless I was holding him. Well, I had to pry him away to take Izzy to the doctors and when we got back he was just so happy to see us. He just walks around most of the day and plays all by himself. Later in the day we went to the mall and he was just content to hang out and watch all of the people.

I guess I was just thinking back to what a sweet little baby he was. Now he is getting to be such a big boy. He is trying sooooo hard to talk. He repeats or tries to repeat everything that you say. He doesn't have much time to cuddle now since he is so busy, I actually find myself not minding at all when he wakes up in the middle of the night needing a bottle or some comfort. Tonight when he woke up (why else would I be up this late???) I went up and took him a bottle. He was just so cuddly. When he was done with his bottle he turned over on me and snuggled his little head onto my shoulder. I just LOVE that feeling. When you have a sweet little one laying on you and they are so sweet and trusting and they are sleeping so soundly. I know that there won't be that many more nights like this so I am trying to treasure them.

The antelope

Ya gotta love toddlers. This morning while Isabelle and I were eating breakfast my Mom came downstairs. On her way to the kitchen through the dining room she noticed that there was a centipede on the floor. She told us about it and Isabelle was very excited to see it. Mom then picked it up with a tissue and flushed it down the toilet.

You would think that it was not a big deal at all and that it would be forgotten. Not with a 3 year old around. Isabelle asked me to tell her the story about the antelope. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out that she was talking about the centipede. So I told like a thousand stories about it. Then I got up to get her waffle out of the toaster. When I had my back to her she said "Mommy I am going to be the Antelope." I have to admit that I was only half listening to her as my mind was on how many carbs were in the waffle that I was making her and how many units of insulin I was going to have to give her. When I turned around to put the waffle on the plate I didn't notice that she was no longer in the chair because I could hear her sweet little voice. When I got the waffle cut up into the necessary 16 pieces I finally noticed that she wasn't in her seat. I walked around the island and there she was. She was laying on the floor on her tummy saying "Look Mommy! I'm the Antelope!" It was hilarious. We were in fits of giggles for at least 20 minutes. Good old Isabelle! She always makes me laugh.

Crazy day

What a crazy day! Isabelle, although very sweet, was a pistol today. I forgot my new lesson that when she is crazy and mean that I should take her blood sugar. I didn't do this and found out later that she was low. Not just once but twice! Hmmm...could this be part of her mood swings? I think so. Alex was also needy today so before 9:00 am they had both driven me a little crazy. At least my Mom is still here so that helps a lot.

When she wasn't driving me crazy she was riding around on her stick horses and asking me to be 'Spirit' with her. She is too funny!

Thanks to Jay who sent me the links on the articles about the news in the diabetic world. I sometimes don't have enough time to look for things on the Internet.

Tomorrow I am headed to Isabelle's pre-school to talk to them about what kind of care she will need. I am hoping that she will be able to return on Monday. On Monday I will be able to go with her and stay for the day so that if anyone has any questions I will be there. Wish me luck.

Isabelle's hospital stay

Ok...I'm trying to move into the computer age so I thought I would start a Blog. I have been spurred on by my friend Sheila. She has a blog and I love reading it.

I started to create this blog a little over a week ago and I got kind of sidetracked.

Last Monday, April 2 my sweet little daughter Isabelle got sent to the hospital. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Totally threw me for a loop. I took her to the pediatrician because she was peeing all the time and really thirsty. She had what we thought was the stomach flu and I just thought that she was dehydrated. While we were at the peds they did a blood test and the doctor came back in and told me that she had Diabetes and that I had to take her to the emergency room at the children's hospital. He said that we would be there for at least 2 days so that we could learn to take care of Izzy. I called my Mom first thing and told her that I needed her to come over asap. Then I called my hubby and told him to meet us at the hospital. We were crazy. Alex was sick with throwing up and diarrhea so I couldn't ask any of my mommy friends to keep him so we had to take him to the hospital with us. We got to the hospital a little before 5:00 and we were finally put in a room a little after 8:00. Thomas was about to go home with Alex when my Mom showed up. Isabelle was so excited to see her Meme that it really helped her to not be so freaked out.

Thomas and I spent the next 2 days in the hospital with Isabelle taking classes to learn how to manage her diabetes. My Mom took care of Alex and stayed with Isabelle in the hospital while Thomas and I were in class. I don't know what I would have done without my Mom. It helped not having to worry too much about Alex.

Isabelle will have to have insulin shots for the rest of her life unless they find a cure. We have to check her blood sugar via finger prick at least 4 times a day and she gets shots after every meal and at least 1 before bedtime. It is really hard to have to give your child a shot every day. Especially when she is crying and screaming for you not to do it. Isabelle thought that she would not have to have shots any more after she got home. I'm so sorry that it wasn't true.