Birthday Weekend Re-Cap (with still more to come)

What would a birthday be without a 3 a.m. BG reading of 501? Or... a day full of running and playing and treating lows with delicious home aide Evans Orchard apple cider... Or... being so exhausted that you can't treat nighttime lows... Or TURNING TWO YEARS OLD and suddenly REFUSING every attempt to treat a nighttime low... "NO!" to skittles "NO!" to juice "NO!" to cake icing... Thank goodness for one lonely pack of Cars "gummies" which ended up being the ONLY thing this stubborn TWO YEAR OLD would allow us to put in his mouth.

But... This weekend hasn't been ALL about "D."

Friday (Saul's actual "birth" day) was spent playing with Trippy. He got an awesome new "Thomas-piano-book" from the Neely's which he LOVES.... and better than the book was the wrapping paper it came in... "DUMP CAR" wrapping paper. He has carried it around all weekend.

Maw-maw braved stormy weather and eventually made it down Friday afternoon. We spent the evening celebrating Saul's bday going "out to eat." Saul managed to shove in 91 carbs (thanks in large part to a 45 carb chocolate chip cookie) and survive the experience. Following the carb overload... and in one of my favorite moments of the bday weekend - we took Solly to Target to "pick out" his bday gift from Aunt Chris & Uncle Joe. I wish we'd videoed (how many times do I say this?) or attempted to document the experience... SOMETHING to capture the moment.... moments.... HOURS... it took him to pick something out. LOL. This kid is so much like Sebulsky it's not funny. He pondered. He carried around certain toys. He tried things out. He REFUSED to decide quickly... He reminded me so much of Jeff I wanted to scream. "Methodical." Then (just like his Dad) once he FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY decided (on a set of Matchbox Cars which included a dozer and a "dump car") he hasn't let them out of his sight or hands since (fully satisfied with the ultimate decision). Saul also scored with a Cars book (that includes a set of cars) and a new Umizoomi video (Thanks again Aunt Chris & Uncle Joe!). We topped the evening off by going to Half-Priced books to load up on some new reading material which made EH a very, very happy girl.

Madison and Wynne came over Saturday morning and we loaded up and headed out to spend the day at Evans Orchard. What a day! I think we're all still recovering from the excitement. Check out pics here. We picked apples from the orchard, we picked pumpkins from the patch. We ran, slid, jumped, climbed, rode, hid, walked, ate (apple cider donuts... yum) took lots of pics and made lots and lots of great memories. We even ran into some old friends and got to enjoy their company.

I'd like to say we came home and "crashed" but how could these kids rest when they had the "hugest... funnest... bestest ever birthday box!!!" to open from Grandma and Pap. Dinosaurs! Trucks! Legos! More Dinosaurs! Seriously.... will I ever. ever. ever. get them to go to bed ever again? So many new- cool-awesome-"perfectly selected presents" to play with!!! Leave it to Grandma to always send lots of love & fun! We miss you Grandma and Pap!!

Tonight we are supposed to go to Gattitown for a "family diabetes evening" with vendors, information and lots of free stuff. I'm hoping a family nap will give us the energy we need to round out this non-stop, fun-filled birthday weekend.

Thanks to all our family and friends who have "celebrated" from a-far, who have sent "special birthday wishes" and thought about our "sweet boy" on his special day. I hope he knows how much he's loved.

PS. ignore all the typos and terrible grammar... I've got what can only be called a "too-much-two-year-old-partying-headache-hangover"

Well on second thought....

So I woke up this morning refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to roll. Despite the recent inconsistency in blood sugar levels, inability to make contact with UK for pump adjustments AND coming to the realization last night at 10:30 pm THAT $&$*@^& we only have 2 reservoirs left?!?... 2 left?!?...what do we do?!? what do we do?!? what do we do?!? only 2 left!?!?,................Saul slept like a champ and (according to MySentry and 3 BG checks) kept constant, stable "in-range" numbers throughout the entire night.

I celebrated the occasion with an updated FB status.

On top of successful numbers and sleep.... a frantic text to Jennifer (our wonderful-faithful Medtronic nurse) late last night was returned with the response "Fed-Ex'ing you first thing tomorrow morning." This definitely helped ease my mind and allowed me to sleep more soundly. 

I was actually thinking about buying a lottery ticket after phoning Medtronic this morning. I called in regards to Saul's delayed shipment of medical supplies.  When they told me "don't worry... we're shipping you some emergency supplies till your insurance authorizes our reques I allowed myself to let out another huge sigh of relief.

In between calls and texts Saul kept fussing and twice brought me packs of his emergency skittles. Glancing at the MySentry screen and seeing a SG reading of 141 AND being told to wait 2 hours after eating before doing a BG check- I rationalized his behavior as "sneaky" and "just wanting a little candy."

So we ran. We played. We had fun. At 10 I declared time for a morning snack. I sit down to check him and he's 36. 36!!!!! To date that’s the lowest number I've seen on a meter reading. *sigh* forget that lotto ticket. He presented no symptoms. His request for skittles had been an hour before reading. He apparently "felt" himself going low- I ignored his request the result is he plummeted.

A year from now - I pray - we never see numbers so low- because his DAD will catch them as I hadn't... and for the record his CGM was reading 115 (two arrows down) at the time of his BG check.

It's been the second time here recently I've misread his attempt to communicate with me.Last night after putting him to bed we listened to him cry for at least half an hour. His pre-bed BG check was spot on. MySentry reading 150. I peeked in once.We told ourselves he was mad because we hadn't given in to him wanting to take a drink to bed.

I finally caved. Walked in to find he had pulled out his insertion set (which had just been changed) and was bleeding... the tiny steel needle jabbing him repeatedly on his thigh. That poor boy had laid there in the dark crying the whole time. I said Saul... "why didn't you call for Mommy!" "Why didn't you yell pump!" (that’s what he usually yells when his pump falls out or he hears a CGM alert. He just kept saying "ouchie" "ouchie." It. broke. my. heart. However watching Harper jump into "I'll save you nurse status" late at night is quite amusing....anything to avoid sleep- although last night I think she really was concerned. 

We continue to battle highs and lows and attempt to curb Saul's desire to "graze" I seriously considered getting locks on our accordion folding doors yesterday to prevent him for getting into the pantry. I am trying to get to a point where there are no visible signs of food. Lord help us when he's able to actually open the fridge door.

Yesterday though sad- I had to laugh - when he came to me wanting something to eat and I said... lets go play cars...the look on his face was priceless... kinda a mix between "what the?"and "woman you gotta be kidding me.... get me a snack already."

The irony is... as I try harder and harder to cook low-carb healthy meals...I find myself desperately attempting to shove as many carbs as possible down my throat... when the kids aren't looking. I think I might have actually experienced some carb withdrawal symptoms a few days ago. Which speaking of I'm gonna go ahead and end this now so I can cram down a bag of sugar free cookies while the boys are napping.

Hey... whatever it takes to survive right?

I'll leave you with some adorable pics of the sweetest boy I know (I took these pics 5 min before his 36 BG reading) as you can see... he is not presenting hypoglycemic symptoms at the time... especially for a BG reading of 36.  This my friends is not a good sign and why I will soon be asking for your help in acquiring a DAD.

Friendship in the form of food... and get well cards : )

This morning I heard a knock at the door.
It was my friend Lydia.

Delivering this.

As of now I have not sent out invites... and don't plan to do so.

I swept off the aluminum message and found this.
the.
most.
delicious.
cheesecake.
EEEEEEEVVVVVEEEERRRRR......

Sweet Audrey (Harpers buddy) also made her a "Get Well" card



BTW... look at how incredible this is... folks she's only 4!
































A few weeks ago I might have mentioned on FB... that "true love is making someone a cheesecake from scratch"

Well.... move over Jeff Sebulsky... there's a new love in town.

Thanks Lydia.
Thanks Audrey.

Ya'll are THE BEST!!!!

Food. From V to D.

I was a vegetarian for a good 5-6 years or so when I first moved here to Kentucky- partly because I grew health conscious- and- partly because I liked the challenge of testing my will power. While a bit of a struggle at first, over time my taste preferences evolved and eventually I grew to hate the sight of meat, especially in raw form. I couldn’t stand to walk by meat markets or delis or even step foot in BD Mongolian grill (lol).

My relationship with food had changed. I looked at food differently. I contemplated it more, ate less of it for pleasure and more of it for fuel and spent way more time in the “living foods” and “healthy options” section than the “cereal aisle” or “potato chip aisle” (consequently spending way more $$ as well).  

Then… I got pregnant.

I vividly recall the exact moment in time when the hankering happened. Sebulsky and I were driving through Georgetown to  watch the GRC boys play in the state championship soccer game when… all…of… a… sudden… I had the most ridiculous… yearning… craving… desire…..

(for a juicy, thick, delicious steak??)

oh no…  I forced Jeff Sebulsky at pointed finger gun point, to take me to McDonalds for a cheeseburger. I can still remember the smell of those fallen diced onions , the slight crunch of the not-so-fresh bun and that oh so tasty tiny thin burger that was devoured in seconds and was so i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.y. delicious after all those years. 

And that my friends… “is all she wrote.” I’ve been eating meat in all its forms and glory ever since that monumental, ceremonial craving back in October 2007.

Food became “fun” again… corn dogs at Fairs, making late night runs to the border, and yes… I actually started eating more than “plain biscuits” at McDonalds again... curse you Mikey D's and all that crack you lace in irresistible fries and nasty but ohhhh soo sooo sooo yummy nuggets.

Then… I got a diabetic child.

Being a parent of a Type 1 toddler quickly changes a lot of things in life. At just 4 months in- I would say the greatest challenge and most difficult adjustment has been food and meal related.

Because once again... I struggle as my relationship with food is transformed.

Since January 28^th I have had to count, measure and review every single piece of “edible anything” that has entered Saul’s mouth.

Though it has gotten easier - every meal still consists of a meticulous 3 step process: 

1. Carb-counting, balancing protein, measuring serving size

2. Getting Saul to eat (every measured bite on his plate) which he doesn't do (because really... ? what toddler ever does anything you want them to do)

3. Scraping every leftover food item from his clothing, high chair, floor, ceiling and walls so that it can be measured, calculated and deducted from what DID make it into his mouth so an accurate does of insulin can be bolused  by his pump.

Sure I’m much better at it now than I was back in January:  the routine, the counting carbs, knowing serving sizes, balancing meals with lots of protein and healthy diabetic friendly food choices…

- attempting to actually eat out in public where the painstaking process is openly visible. - No matter how desperate my endeavors are at keeping things on the “DL” we have yet to go anywhere in public with Saul & food where someone, outta somewhere hasn’t questioned the practice or given us a verbal (or non-verbal) sympathy.

And while I’ve/we’ve advanced from novice to proficient… dealing with “food” and “eating” is still just as annoying as it was 4 months ago.

I tell myself that I have an advantage over other parents because I have experienced living with food-restrictions (though mine was by choice not need). I tell myself that this is a good lifestyle change for the entire family - not just Saul... and maybe he will lead others later in life to make good healthy food choices because they want too not because they have too.

I tell myself… you never know… maybe I’ll get so inspired I go back to full-fledged vegetarianism (Tofurkey 2012 it IS!) … okay Sebulsky… I can see cyber “eye rolls.”

Hey-  even you can’t deny a love for some good ole' deep fried tofu….