Friday, March 30, 2012

2:30am

One child up throwing up -blood sugar 375. Meanwhile, another child is low. Mom scurrying about, cleaning up puke, completing a set change, serving cereal. Dad and other kids snoring peacefully. Low blood sugar corrected and tummy settled - all kids. return to sleep. Not mom...wide awake! Sigh

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Spring Fever in March

Again it has been a busy couple of weeks!  Taya's hockey team got 3rd in state so her season has wrapped up. That doesn't mean she is done- just on to off season practice.  She has decided no soccer and is going to focus on hockey and volleyball and school- okay, she didn't say school, I added that and really, she has some fabulous grades this quarter!  Tylie did very well at State DECA.  Her team placed second in the Apprenticeship Challenge and she placed first in a role play and 3rd overall to qualify for Nationals in Salt Lake.  Pretty exciting- if only she could pass Algebra!  She will be starting soccer soon.  Tessa wraps up her regular season with the ice show this weekend.  It should be a fun show.  She is still skating in April for Synchro tryouts and to try and test two tests before she gets a break until summer.  She made a really cool mosaic for her Roman/Greek project and it was fun to work on it with her.  TJ finished up his regular season of hockey with his tournament last weekend.  He had a very fun year.  My favorite was when he scored a goal from what might be considered the point (it was a small game). He shot it in, celebrated, and booked it to the net when he realized he was supposed to be goalie that shift!  We are sad to see our backyard rink melt away- or evaporate as my husband says- but happy to see strangely warm weather we have had this March.  We are also getting new windows in part of our house, which I am really excited about!

On that note of spring fever- we are all suffering!  It is hard to focus on school when the weather is so great!  We only hope the weather is still great in July!  As a teacher, attitudes are going down hill and we still have 9 weeks left of school.  As a parent, they are going downhill at home, too.  Homework is just not high on the priority list.  Additionally, with three girls- 2 teenage and 1 tweenage- I wonder how I can be a teacher of Emotionally Disturbed students and a parent!  There are days it is like never leaving work!  Most the time, I like to think they are pretty good kids but there are days I would like to give them up for adoption!  For example, one morning one was yelling at another for taking some item of clothing, another couldn't find her shoes and was crying and the third was lying on the couch because she felt like she might die.  Meanwhile, my 7 year old son was happily doing an art project at the table.  After a while he hands it to me- it is a volcano!  Not sure he saw the symbolism in that but it made me laugh!

On the T1 front- we are hanging in.  TJ's recent appointment had a higher A1c than I would have liked, but not bad.  The girls still struggle with consistency and compliance.  Sometimes purposeful and sometimes unintentional.  Our educator told me last week that in teen years the average kid only complies about 25% of the time.  Wow- that is low!  So, with that as a comparison, I guess we are doing okay.  The perfectionist in me would just like it to be better!  TJ and Taya are all registered for Diabetes Camp and I don't think it can get here fast enough for either of them.  We are gearing up for the Strides Walk in May to support Camp Sioux.  As always, it's an adventure!

Making Strides

It has been one crazy busy month!  We are winding down our hockey season and getting into ice show month. This always makes me kind of sad!  When we are in the thick of it I always think we need more time- it is all too rushed.  Now, with one state tournament over and another next week, I wish it would last just a little bit longer!  The other morning with all but one kid and me at home, I was ready to go in 25 minutes.  I sat looking around my house and missing the usual morning chaos.  Some good news to note for the month:  Two doctor visits and two lowered A1c's!  Not hugely lowered, but heading in the right direction.  Way to go, girls!

Our family has also been asked to be the 'spokesfamily' for an upcoming event sponsored by the local Lion's Club.  It is called Strides Walk for Diabetes Awareness.  They give a portion of the proceeds to assist the blind and a portion directly to Camp Sioux.  We met with them last week and were struck by how genuinely kind these people are.  One woman has had diabetes for 43  years with no complications.  She talked about attending Camp Sioux as if it were yesterday and her words echoed those of Taya.  It's a place where they can belong!  We often wish they could have mini-camps through out the year, just so the kids could come back refreshed.  The walk will take place in May.  They asked us to do it after reading about our family in the Medcenter One magazine.  The kids have mixed emotions about being so "famous".  Tylie has always been all about educating people, Taya is fine as long as she doesn't have to do any talking and TJ thinks it's AWESOME!  He is hoping that he gets to be on TV.  At the meeting I was touched that one of the member's thought to ask Tessa how she felt about not having Diabetes.  It is interesting to think that she has never known any other way and she seemed a bit shocked to be asked such a question.  Overall, we are honored to be a part of it and I hope we can help drum up support for such a wonderful cause!