Happy 1 Year Diabetes Anniversary!

Happy 1 year lil Buddy!!! We are so proud of you!!! We all love you and will be rooting for you- year after year!

 

Solly & Wynnie partying it up!

Solly with his 1 year John Deere Tractor cake (EH's idea)

Of course... presents!

Happy 1 year Lil Buddy!

A blurry pic of Wayner & Solly



Digging into cake and ice-cream.... not even stressing over carbs!!!

Big boy insisted on "big cup"

Daddy & Solly checking out his cake!

Yum. Yum. and Yum.

Wynne & Saul's pic to Mawmaw and Papaw

No trip to the Sharps would be complete without the "basket ride" lol.

Fall(ing)

Sure. We started the morning like this.

But we got those blood sugars up enough for some mid-morning shenanigans - as evidenced below.

 

 

I'll take falling leaves over falling blood sugars any day. 

 

 

Shew Wee... is it Friday yet?

What. A. Week. AND IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY (it is Wednesday... right?)

Sunday: We recovered from the absolute madness of Saturday and Evans Orchard. We all took naps (well Mawmaw who never naps) didn't take one... but I'm pretty sure the rest of us did. I did. And really... that was all that mattered. Sunday night we took the kids to Gattitown for Diabetes Education Night which was sponsored through the company Animas. We were one of two families there. We got some sweet free diabetes swag. Harper scored 15 dinosaurs, and two stuffed animals. This girl is either super lucky or really, really, good at playing "carnival" games. Jeff swears the latter is true. Either way... she had a total blast... and... well... Saul ran around like a crazy TWO YEAR OLD... screaming "No" at everyone and everything. Pictures can be viewed here.

Monday: I did an observation of Harper's Montessori classroom in the morning. It was incredible. I was amazed.. It made me miss my kiddos at school. I am blown away by the progress Harper has made in just a short two months. She is already reading simple words, spelling and mastering so many skills. Her ability to focus and concentrate on work is fascinating to watch in the Montessori setting. I hugged Ms. Watt (her teacher) and told her I was grateful- I would have kissed her but I thought that might have crossed the line. From one teacher to another I will forever be appreciative that Harper's first introduction to "school" was in a caring, rigorous learning environment, with a teacher who encourages her to be an independent, well-rounded, life-long learner. *Can I also give a heart-felt-shout-out-virtual-hug and kiss to Grandma & Pap... without them... Harper would not be having this experience.

Tuesday: Saul had his 2 year checkup. Prepared for the inevitable meltdowns... a possible "hulk out" high or a "lethargic low" I packed as much "crap" as I could fit in my book bag purse…it entertained him about half the time we were there... the other half of the Dr's apt was spent with me repeating "no" and chasing him around as he attempted to pull off the tegaderm on his leg site. Stats: 30 some inches tall? 27 some lbs? (I think?) not really sure about percentiles and all that jazz... just know we got a clean bill of health and are growing and gaining weight beautifully... normally... like any kid... like a kid who wasn't diagnosed with diabetes at age 15 months. I have quickly learned that growing and gaining weight is critical for young children with an early T1 diagnosis. So far... 9 months in to diagnosis... we're doing great.

The girls had and eventful Tuesday afternoon- filled with a trip to the library for new books AND meeting a not-so-friendly, overly-feisty, fast and furious "turtle" that came to visit the Grimes-Sebulsky house for a few hours. Folks... it's the little things in life. lol. Seriously.

Now that I've bombarded you with 500 links... I'll leave you with a few pictures.

 

We've had some random breakfast guests lately

Solly & I enjoying a ride.

Little Solly looking not so "little"

Scored "D" swag

 

Girls making Saul bday cupcakes

The boys enjoying aforementioned cupcakes 

Harper's 2-hour pet "Leslie"
 

EH & MD posing with "Leslie"

 

A quilt in progress by one of Harper's classmates. 5 year olds in EH's class are sewing individual 9 piece quilts. I love it!

 

One of the books we checked out at the library yesterday. Preparing our kiddos for our future DAD!!!

 

Oh... yeah... have you heard!?!?! Solly is on his way to getting a diabetic alert dog? Keep up to date here and here. Thank you to everyone who has donated and spread the word! Keep the donations rolling. Lil buddy says "Tank Tu!" 

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"

ahh.... the best of times, the worst of times....

I flat out said... I'm not posting again till I have something not-depressing, not-tear jerking, not-disheartening, not completely overwhelming to talk about. You might have noticed... it's been several days.

And though days are sometimes tough and nights have turned me us into sleep deprived zombies (who too often turn on each other in an effort to... please... just...let... ME... get... the... sleep... tonight....) we've also spent the in-between times... the in-okay-range- times making contacts across the U.S. with some incredible folks and some amazing families who are helping to normalize these "difficult times" and making me feel far less isolated and alone. We've also been showered with cards and dinosaurs (Thanks Aunt Vicky and Uncle Bob) special visits, the coolest T-Rex washcloth (Thanks Aunt Christy.... it's currently the ONLY way of getting Saul into the tub) an hour of respite care (Thank you Willians... this truly was priceless), and lots and lots of texts, messages, emails and phone calls. I never. ever. ever. take any of these gifts for granted. The comments, the kind words, the prayers... friends from back home who I've not seen in years who've reached out... I sometimes become so overwhelmed and entangled in love that I close my eyes and attempt to take it all in- try to remember- savor- relish the outpouring of kindness and generosity.

Saul's BG's have been anything but stable since the seizure episode and reducing his insulin intake. Because we've got him running high and are attempting to find patterns in the data it's made for some interesting "hulk-out" moments... the most recent occuring yesterday at the Palomar Panera in Lex. My apologies to all other patrons- while we were quaranteened in the corner by the door- away from everyone else- I could understand your frustration with the random objects sporadically thrown, the occasional roars and growls, and that one outburst of laughter (sometimes laughter is the best medicine).

Luckily we were able to attend our first American Diabetes Association "Family Day"which was held at the Life Adventure Center in Versailles. The kids had a great time running around and making nature crafts and I enjoyed meeting people and being in the company of other T1 Moms and Dads. I cracked up as I went through line getting food and was given the carb count on the cookies.... It was wonderful getting to see Jennifer (our Medtronic nurse) and meet a young lady from Win-city with T1 who works at our local indoor pool. I had so many "moments" yesterday... from over hearing one mother (of a child who appeared to be 6-7) talk to a vendor about insulin pumps "It's just.... I'm the only person who watches him and how will I teach someone else to do it? I mean... my mother occasionally watches him but when she hasn't done it for awhile... well... she often forgets and I have to teach her all over again... I'm just worried about the pump.... it's so much to learn and then teach someone else." I lowered my head and quietly nodded in agreement... I know exactly what she's talking about. The little 6 year old boy (who happened to be the next youngest after Saul) got too hot and went too low while participating in the "Nature Craft" at the garden... watching him down juice boxes and granola bars while his mother held him in her arms gently running her fingers through his hair gave me chills. There was a Dad who came over to "talk pumps" while I was bolusing Saul... I chuckle now as I look back on our discussion and liken it to two people talking cars "well the Ford actually..." "yeah but a Chevy can...."

Saul of course was a huge hit at Family Day- I mean... it's hard not to fall in love with a little dude running around in overalls pump dangling out of his back pocket. They took lots of pictures of him- and even videoed "us" with our "diabetes story." I'll be sure to link you all to any ADA pics and videos... lol... I sent Mom a text saying something like "Saul is making his debut appearnce."

So many families thought Harper was our T1 child... when I'd say... "No he is" and point to Saul they ALL on cue would tilt their head and let out a huge sigh... then say "I'm so sorry.... I can't imagine what you're going through."

I'd like to think that the outpouring of prayers is what allowed us all to have the best night of sleep we've had in days.... so great that both Jeff and I slept through a number of alarms set to check BG's. Luckily MySentry had him running in the high 200s all night (a far cry from the 300 and 400 hundreds as of late).

I've got lots more to tell you... talk about some upcoming fundraisers for Saul's DAD (diabetic alert dog)... tell you some hilarious Harper stories... but right now I've gotta get off here and figure out what to do about the fact that
1. I lost Saul's lancing device yesterday at the garden.
2. I gave away Saul's other lancing device (you know... his back up).
I'm currently counting out exactly how many lancets we have with the free-bee and guesstimate how long thats gonna last us today.

I'll leave you with a link to Jeff's photos. Check them out if you haven't seen them on FB already... theres some good ones!

Saul making friends and making folks smile

Saul manages to score two awesome weekends in a row!

Last weekend was the dinosaur exhibit at the zoo.

This weekend was Touch-A-Truck at Keenland.

Can we even top the upcoming Labor Day weekend?

This was our first year at Touch-A-Truck and I gotta say... it was pretty awesome. I had read something somewhere about it online and then in the St. Agatha school newsletter they had a flyer for it. I told Sebulsky Thursday... just go ahead and pencil all day Sunday at Keenland...lol.

Cranes, Fire trucks, Hot Air Balloon, Race Cars, Mac Trucks, Helicopter... and so many more vehicles that I won't bother to bore you by listing. Free stuff GALORE... matchbox cars, hard hats, face-paintings, hair-paintings, tattoos, stickers, Hawaiian ice, bottled water.... okay... you get the picture... oh yeah and an inflatable bounce house thingy... which we had to bribe both kids to leave.

Despite blasting 90 degree weather and Saul running a BG of 495 after coming outta a low in the 50s (because he ate lunch an hour later than usual)... both kids had an absolute blast. Saul's favorites included the "crane" (which I begged him to get on but he refused) and sitting at the Explorium display with all the cars and trucks playing with other kids. Harper loved getting her face painted (she had waited patiently for what seemed like 5 hours) to get painted and when completed she agreed it was worth every bit of the wait. Sebulsky and I weren't really paying much attention as the lady was working on her.. but Harper told us as we were walking away that she said to her "you are my favorite "patient" (as Harper put it) of the day. You are so good and quiet and you hold still so well." She was pretty proud of herself for the compliment... telling us at least twice. After face-painting I encouraged (against Sebulsky's groans) to go have her hair painted pink.... which of course she did. I mean... come on... at this point a bath is inevitable.... might as well go all out.

I posted pics on instagram of Solly carrying around this baby doll. While he often takes interest in Harpers babies (and generally better care of them than her) yesterday he was in serious "daddy-babysitting-baby doll carrying" mode. The irony is... almost every other moment of his life (including naps and nighttime) you can find him carrying cars-trucks-and dinosaurs... and here we are at the ultimate car-truck event and he's dragging along this baby. In any case... he was down right sweet and adorable. He is the most loving child I have ever encountered... and I'm not just saying that cause he's mine... cause lord knows... when it comes to my kids I'll tell it like it is.

If you check out the pics take notice of how many shots "baby" is in... most of the time with Saul... but I found myself carrying the stupid thing around as well. At one point I had her strapped in the stroller. A little boy kept staring (as did countless other folks... no doubt questioning my sanity). He came over and said... can I talk to your baby? I looked at him and said "sure... you know it's a baby doll." He stared at me with a puzzled look on his face then finally said "huh?" and walked away. lol.

I just realized this post is the ultimate "Grimes-Ramble" so I will cut to the chase and give you a link to all the pics from this weekend. Sebulsky got some really good ones so be sure to check them out- oh and you'll also see some other shenanighans in there I'm sure.

www.flickr.com/photos/jefseb

Just what the Dr. ordered

(Okay not really... but I'll go with it).

Actually, what the Dr. ordered was 6 new adjustments to basal & bolus rates for Saul's insulin pump therapy. So far (fingers crossed) since tweaking his insulin rates we've had more stable numbers and better moods since then.

I ordered Sebulsky to spend an entire day sans work... the 70 hour work weeks + weekend working must be supplemented with a day or two of genuine rest and escape.... so that's what we did.

Yesterday- as a whole- was exactly what our family needed... time together- out of the house- outside- having fun.

While I enjoy spending my time with the kids as a stay at home Mom - it's coming at a huge cost. Living on a one income salary for a year means Sebulsky and I are constantly making financial decisions and having to chose when to spend and what to cut. Certain things are easy to live without- but a trip to the zoo shouldn't be one of them.

I digress...

Anyway. We decided to put our zoo membership (which we purchased a year ago - lol) to good use and drive over to L'ville for the day to soak in the wonderful weekend weather. It turned out to be the best idea we've had in a while.

EH woke up at 6 am and had herself dressed by 6:15. She failed in her attempts to get us out the door by 6:30... but her excitement got us pumped up and kept us energized on the drive over.

The giraffes were a huge hit (EH is currently in a giraffe obsessed state) while Saul couldn't get enough of the elephants. It was so funny to watch him during this visit - he was so cute. He'd hop out of the stroller - look at the animal - then hop back in the stroller for the next animal adventure. It was like he had his own little system going on.

While most people go to the zoo to animal watch... my inner Sociologist always surfaces as I find the people at places like this far more interesting and entertaining. Yesterday proved to be no exception. Every fair, carnival, zoo, flea market or mall excursion I find myself observing, analyzing & formulating.... filing away qualitative data.... "You can take the girl outta Sociology- but you can't take the Sociology outta the girl." lol.

My favorite animal exhibit however, was the naked mole rat. I'm not sure how I've always missed it- but after reading Mo Willems children's book "Naked Mole Rat gets Dressed" a hundred times to primary school kids last year - and pulling up pictures and info on them from the internet- seeing the exhibit and the actual creature was the cherry on top of an awesome day. BTW- if you have small children or work with them you must get them hooked on Mo Willems... He's one of my FAVE authors... Your kids will love him... Oh and don't even get me started on the Knuffle Bunny series...

Okay so maybe I just exaggerated... because by far... the absolute BEST part of the day had to be watching Saul go through the dinosaur exhibit.

Really that was our primary focus for the trip. This was the last weekend for the special dinosaur exhibit.

Priceless. That's just about all I can say. He was in absolute heaven... I mean like his life was fully completed yesterday with this experience. I shoulda videoed- I would have videoed had I not been dealing with EH who was less than thrilled to be going through it.

Just imagine Little Buddy - biggest smile you've ever seen with his T-Rex in hand RAWWR'ing at each dinosaur display then waving to them saying bbbyyyyyeeee, blowing them kisses and shouting "more more more" oh... and yelling "ttteeeeeetttthhhh."

We debated taking him through a second time- just so we could watch him in action again.

Needless to say the day was worth every calculated penny spent... Saul had the time of his life.

I'm hoping we can squeeze in another trip before Fall gets here so the kids can hit up the Spash Park.. but knowing us it'll be another year before we make it back. Sad right? When we're oh so close.

Sebulsky was in charge of photos. Of course we've already got them on FB but you should be able to link to his Flickr as well.

www.flickr.com/photos/jefseb

Sorry using Blogger app and can't figure out how to imbed link. Argh.