Things diabetes taught me this month... December edition

Every time I sit down to write one of these, I kick myself for not making notations of the things I want to include in the post because my poor brain cannot remember much of anything past my name, my children's names, where I live, and the fact that it is imperative that I put pants on in the morning before I greet the world. So here is my December "Things"... at least, the parts I can remember.

-I never used to do this with the 7, but when I was talking to a CSR at Dexcom while troubleshooting an issue with the G4, she recommended to wipe the bottom of the transmitter with an alcohol wipe every time you change the sensor. Makes sense; you want the contact points to be as clean as possible to make sure it's reading properly.  I love little tips like these!

-It is so important to find out what your insurance company allows wen it comes to reordering supplies.  In the back of my mind I know this, but most days it's pretty low on the priority list.  It seems keeping three children alive consumes most of my energy.  For example, I had called up my Dexcom about our receiver acting wonky.  When I asked if it was still in warranty, the CSR said no, but most insurance companies allow you to reorder a new receiver every year.  It turned out that my reorder time was the end of November and because we met the deductible eons ago, there was no cost to me!  In the end, our old receiver smartened up and is still usable, but it's nice to know I have a replacement tucked away in the cupboard for when we need it.

-I love having friends from fun and cool far-off places, but MAN... swagging their foods can be HARD!  We had a family from South Africa over for dinner during the holidays and they brought a dessert.  I'm not even sure what it was called, but it had whipped cream, sweetened caramelized condensed milk, biscuits, and a bunch of chopped up chocolate bars that were from their home country.  It was every bit as good as it sounds, and shot Elise's BG into the stratosphere for most of the overnight; coming down only after multiple corrections and temp basals.  Worth it?  If you ask her, she'd say yes!

Two more things that have nothing to do with this post, but noteworthy nonetheless:

1. This post won for Best Advocacy in the Best of the 'Betes Blogs 2013. *sob*... there are so many people to thank!  Seriously though, I should write all my posts in 10 minutes while waiting at the gate to board my flight!  Thank you to Sara, and everyone who voted! Now go check out the rest of the winners!

2. I didn't get to do it earlier, but wanted to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Here's to an awesome 2014!

At the very same tree farm I was at a year ago when I
went into labour with Lucas.  

P.S. The reason I'm posting a picture of just me and the kids is because we have zero pictures as a family. One of us is always taking the picture.  If I had awesome super-imposing skills, I'd photoshop Fred in there.

Things diabetes has taught me this month: September edition

-That it's okay to not be perfect, either as a pancreas or a blogger (or a person for that matter). I didn't do a "Things diabetes has taught me..." post for August. Usually I start a draft and write little blurbs as the month goes by, because my brain is too mushy to try and remember anything. As the end of the month drew near, I had nary a thing to post about. I know I learned something, but had no clue as to what it was. I started to panic. I won't bore you with the details of my inner turmoil about missing a month, but eventually I came to terms with the fact that:

a) perfection is impossible

b) nobody cares but me.

c) it's okay that I am not perfect and that no one cares.

-The carb factor for my sweet coconut rice is .18. Remind me to post the recipe sometime. Major YUM.

-Jasmine rice makes Elise's BG soar into the stratosphere. Brown rice does not. Too bad you can't make the above recipe with brown rice.

-Choosing a pump is not easy. Or maybe it's just not easy for me.

-Giving a shot in a poorly lit area of an amusement park is not fun. Especially drawing up the insulin. Six Flags over Texas really needs to invest in a better lighting system. On a sort-of-related-but-has-nothing-to-do-with-diabetes note, my daughter is a total adrenaline junkie. Who knew?

-And finally, I learned that I love it when I write a post and it resonates with other people. I received a "Best of the 'Betes Blog" award in August for a post I did entitled, "Her Sam". I wrote that post with tears in my eyes; it meant a lot to me and I'm glad it meant something to others too. Me likey winning awards! Thanks Sara for putting it all together.

I'm a Wiener!

Words are important to me. I love to write. And read. I think words can accomplish great things. Words can also build up or tear down.

Words are powerful.

If you've ever read the 5 Love Languages, I am definitely a word girl. And that's why finding out that I was selected by a local Chick-fil-a as their "Mother of the Year" means so much to me.

Let me say that I totally fall short of this title, but I try. Every day. Even when I don't want to, I drag my bum out of bed and do my best for my kids. Sometimes I wonder if anybody notices.

Apparently, my husband does. He nominated me and submitted an essay on why he thinks I should win.

Mother of the Year.

Four little words.

Yet they gave cause for this Mom to stand a little straighter, smile a little more, and feel okay about herself amidst all the chaos.

And to all you Moms out there. You all deserve this title too. Happy Mother's Day.

I'd like to accept this award...

Okay, so I'm a bit of a slacker... I've been wanting to do this post but have had other things to blog about first. Better late than never, I suppose. Here are the rules of the award:

1. Thank the person who gave me this award
Tracy (Superhero and the Princess), Denise (My Sweetest Boy), and there might have been one more, but it escapes my tired brain at the moment... please feel free to speak up if it was you!)

2. Share 7 things about myself

-I will not shop at Walmart. I don't even care about the money you can save by shopping there. I have had too many instances of bad customer service and when I contacted them about it, their attitude was basically, "we don't really care". I refuse to spend my money at a business that doesn't value me as a customer. Now Target, on the other hand, rocks!

-I'm really quite shy when you first meet me. Some people have told me I come off as snobby. But once you get to know me, I NEVER shut up!

-I find fart humour and poop jokes funny. I'm really just a 12 year boy at heart.

-I can speed read. Not as fast as I used to, but I can read a 400 page book in a few hours. I LOVE to read, but don't have that much time to do it anymore.

- I am an avid people watcher. Fred makes fun of me because I have no self-awareness and don't even try to hide the fact that I'm staring. Elise seems to have inherited this trait.

-I am a money-saver extraordinaire. At the height of our debt, Fred and I owed over $75,000 in credit card debt. We became debt-free (except for our house) on our anniversary in 2005(it took us four years). I once paid around $2 for over $100 worth of groceries. Yes, I love coupons!

-One of my dream vacations is to do a bike trip through Ireland. The other is to see every major waterfall in the world. Hopefully we'll win the lottery soon, which would be a Festivus miracle if it happened, since we don't play.

3. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic

I'm going to cheat here and say, if you haven't done it yet, consider yourself nominated!

Husband of the Year

And no, I'm not speaking sarcastically like I do when I go and do something stupid and award myself the "Mom of the Year" award.

About a week ago, when I had that awful day and emotionally vomited all over Fred about it, he strongly suggested that I needed to set some time aside for myself every week or so and be able to get away with a friend or two and just have fun. In the throes of my pity party I cried, "but I have nobody to hang out with!"

Which isn't exactly true, but it is mostly true... like I've read on most of your blogs, we too have lost a lot of our friends and support after Elise's dx.

Then he suggested Laura and Jessica, who I do consider my friends, in fact... they are they best, most fun, lovely, wonderful ladies to hang out with. I just know with everything going on in their lives, it's hard for them to get away.

Then Fred made the suggestion that almost had me rolling on the floor laughing... what if he looked after all the kids one evening so we could all get away? Let me run this down for you:

That would be a total of 7 kids. Under the age of 7. And 3 of those kids have diabetes. And 2 are on pumps (which Fred has no idea how to work). 3 of them are in diapers and 1 baby who is only a month old and depends solely on Momma for nourishment.

So I laughed and I laughed, and he told me he was serious. So he emailed Laura and Jessica. And they laughed. And the three of us laughed together. Then he suggested Monday and pretty much set the whole thing up. Jessica's idea was that we should get some frozen yogurt and come back to the house to watch the show through a window.

Long story short, last night the three of us did get together. We did go out for frozen yogurt. And we stayed away for almost two wonderful hours while Fred stayed back at Laura's house and wrangled 5 kids (Jessica's husband was at home with her 2). When we came back, the kitchen was clean, the kids were in their pjs, and everyone was still alive with all limbs attached, and Mattias was asleep.

Before we left, Fred suggested to Laura we do this on a weekly basis. And Laura and I laughed. And Fred told us he was serious.

Hmmmmm....


P.S. Isn't my husband incredible???

Wasn't this a song from the Lion King?

I am very honoured that TWO people have now listed my name for this award. I hope this means I don't have to list 10 things that I love!!! Here goes:

1) That would of course be my amazing husband, Fred. He is incredible and he does so much for Elise and I. And more importantly, he puts up with me and all my many quirks. It's a lot of work, people... trust me!

2) Elise. I love this girl oh-so-much, and I cannot imagine life without her. Everyone who meets her falls head-over-heels in love with her amazing joie de vivre attitude. She constantly astounds and challenges me. Can you tell how crazy I am about her?

3) This wonderful community of D-Bloggers. I would not be as strong as I am without you.

4) Laughing. I love to laugh and make people laugh. It cleanses the soul. There's a saying; "The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed." I believe that with all my heart.

5) My most favourite band, the Hothouse Flowers. I am very picky about the music I listen to, but I LOVE THIS BAND. Not only for their beautiful lyrics and songs, but for the wonderful people they are.

Now for my nominations:

Nicole - The ride of our lives

Beth - Rambling of a Tired Mom

Chasiti - AJsmommy

Maria - On the Carosel of Time

Okay, I can't think of any more. It's late and I need to go to bed. It was a rough night with Elise last night, but her fever broke by morning and although her BG has been running a little high, we got rid of the ketones and she seems do be doing better.

One last note, if you want to see some of the pics from my SF trip, I have the first of two posts up on my other blog. Click here to see it.

Good night.