Diabetes: The guy who lives in the crawl space in the attic of my brain.

Today is the last day of Diabetes Awareness Month. I have blogged for 30 days straight and everyone must wonder, “What could Meri possibly have left to say?”I wonder the same thing. But deep down I feel a small nudge. Something inside of me says there is something important left to say…and right now I am struggling to find the words.I think it is so hard, because it is so personal.The thing is…I don’t think about diabetes much.Say huh? I know you are staring laser eye darts at the screen right now wondering what the hell I am talking about, but let me tell you…I don’t think about DIABETES much.I think about blood sugars. I think about carb counts and food. I think about trends and the safety of my boys. Yes, I think about those things all day long.But what I don’t think about is what the word...

Read more »

Out with the old, and in with the new!

It has been a rocky Thanksgiving holiday…blood sugar wise.Since the first night the boys had no school…wonky city.No rhyme or reason to nothing. Blood sugars went where they wanted to go without any mind to the boluses I threw at them.A couple days in I was bolusing the boys 40% more insulin for their meals.I thought, WOW! They must really get a lot more exercise at school.I upped B’s and L’s basals too.It was getting to be too much. I’ve been so overwhelmed with it, I even haven’t had it in me to read blogs this week. Shameful! I totally know!Every day one of the boys would have an out of the stratosphere kinda number, (or two...or three.) Totally from left field, you know? And no…none of those numbers were low.I was feeling defeated.Until Saturday afternoon after we changed out the boys...

Read more »

Did someone say it was 'Special Sib to a D Kid Day?'

Today has been dubbed Special Sib to a D kid day.And as it so happens…I have one of those.M. :)M has always been just a good kid. His first grade teacher actually wrote on his report card that M was going to be a good father. All his teachers would write of his kind heart and his sweet nature. They would try to credit us…but honestly, the truth is M was born that way.That is why watching him grow up has been so hard…M is 15 and a half now. That pretty much sums it up. He is finding his way to independence and for the most part, he doesn’t look to me for emotional or academic support anymore.It seems to have happened over night. But here he is,...

Read more »

The Christmas Pickle.

One of the traditions we have in the family has to do with this little guy:Every year my husband hides the pickle on the tree. We aren't sure where this tradition started, but it began somewhere within my husbands German heritage. The first to find the pickle wins a prize. Usually a present of some sort, this year a cash prize. B has won the prize three years in a row. Today...the streak was broken!It was especially a tough find this year. They spent almost 30 minutes looking for it. :) Congrats...

Read more »

Feelin' the season.

Hope: One of the most powerful words in existence.And here we are entering the foyer of the season of hope.Step into the season and look around. Hope is everywhere; it is riding in on the frost laden breeze. It is encompassed in the dew droplets on the window sill. It sparkles on the holiday lights…it is burning in the hearts of so many. It is a profound thing to have a deep belief in happiness…in joy. It is beautiful to hope and to believe in something positive.Hope changes us this time of year. Maybe the holiday season starts in October for the bottom line of the economy…but we the people also cling to the season with such fervor…that millions of us have already began decorating for the holidays.We yearn for that feeling. It is a light inside of us that says, “Good things are coming.”...

Read more »

Blessed

Four children who call me mom and love me more than I deserve.One husband who calls me wife and promises to be mine forever.17 years of marriage, of which I wouldn’t change a day.Two in-laws who welcome us into their home day or night.One sister in law who loves our boys as her own, and is a wonderful friend.Two parents who we know will be there if ever a need.100’s of friends in the DOC who get me. Know me. Accept me for who I am.Eleven bottles of insulin sitting in the butter compartment.Fourteen boxes of test strips, so I can test my children whenever I feel the need.Three insulin pumps working day and night to keep my boys alive.One home we only dreamed of when we were young and newly wed.New friends who have shown me how to belly laugh again.A Heavenly Father who knows me, who is aware...

Read more »

Being thankful vs. being grateful

I'm knee deep in being 'grateful' today. So I'm throwing out this post from last year at this time...it's a short one, but one I that helped me through the craziness. I am thankful for a lot of things. I can list all day what I am thankful for…Everything from Family to fingernail clippers. I have so much to be thankful for it is almost embarrassing. But, I learned a hard lesson this week, and wanted to pass it on.Thankfulness mostly consists of words.Gratitude is putting your thankfulness into action.I’m all about words people. You all know that. I write for many reasons…to help others, but mostly to help me. If I am honest, my blog is mostly for me. Sometimes I feel selfish about the amount of time I spend nurturing it. It’s a place I can accomplish something…a place to be thankful. But am...

Read more »

Abe saves the day!

Holy late entry Batman! I almost didn't post today! Where did the day go????? It is minutes before midnight, and I am here! (With nothing to say really.) So I leave you with some of my favorite Abraham Lincoln quotes of all time:"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.""Whatever you are, be a good one.""Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."And my favorite..."How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."True dat Mr. Lincoln...true d...

Read more »

Bubble Trouble?

When my boys first started pumping, we were obsessed with bubbles. OBSESSED. We constantly checked the line and more often than not, there would be an epic airline within the tubing. We would prime it out, and BAM another huge bubble would be just waiting to totally mess with the boys blood sugars.We spoke to our endo many many times about it. She was stumped. She didn’t think it should have been as big a problem as it was. But…it was.Those bubbles made our life miserable…especially our little diabetic boy who had to deal with the wonky numbers and the constant set changes.We finally resorted to reading the pump manual from beginning to end....

Read more »

J's Day.

J turns 13 today…and if you haven’t noticed from my previous “twelvish” comments…I’m not having an easy time accepting it all.You see in my eyes, J is still that little scrawny baby boy who was just diagnosed. Yes, he has grown. Yes, he is smart and funny and amazing. But, despite all that…he is still my child.Well, WAS still my child.Now he is my teenager.I had a hard time adjusting with him taking over his diabetes care. It was a long process, but he is now pretty independent in almost all he does. I finally agreed to give up counting his carbs for him…but how in the heck can I agree to let him give up his childhood?He is sitting on the...

Read more »

Been feeling edgy lately?

A few days ago my husband got out the calendar and his computer. He asked me to confirm the dates he was taking for vacation next year.No big deal right? Except we already did that over a week ago. We sat and confirmed dates and he typed things up in his computer like he was sending it to his boss toot sweet.Apparently he didn't, and as a result I got pretty annoyed. We already did this. Doing things twice messes with my tolerance levels. We went over this and I was figuratively able to take that weight off my shoulders. It was done. Finding out that it actually wasn't done...puts that load back on my shoulders. Yeah...me no likey.Why do I get...

Read more »

The 2010 DOC Awards! Spread the love!

I follow a ton of amazing blogs. I love love love the DOC! So I was really excited to find out about The DOC awards!The DOC Awards are a fun way to give a nod to your favorite blogs in the Diabetic Online Community. This year they mixed up the categories to make it even more fun:Best Blog DesignMost CreativeBlogger Who We Wish Would Blog MoreFunniest BloggerMost Likely to Put You in a Good MoodBest CommenterBest TwittererBlogger with the Best HairBlogger You’d Share a Drink WithBest PhotographerBest Use of Bad LanguageBest VloggerBlogger Most in Need of Comment LoveBlogger I Most Want to Meet OfflineNominations for each category are now being...

Read more »

A method to the madness...

Driving to the big city with a couple of D Mama's today I found out something very interesting about myself, and I thought I would share.It was an epiphany of sorts brought thoughtfully to my attention by an amazing D Mama in her own right.It all started with us hitting traffic on the freeway. We were a bit concerned we were going to be late for an appointment...but at the same time, we were not enough concerned to ruin the moment. We were three mothers...alone...on the road to the city. We were on a mini four hour vacation and we were happy as all get out. So what if we were late! We were going to enjoy ourselves! As the traffic snailed along I glanced at the clock and let my friends know...it runs seven minutes fast. (5 minutes by my boys elementary school clock.)Turns out they both do the...

Read more »

Cuz Alexis wants to know!

Alexis from Justice's Misbehaving Pancreas posted that she just wants to know! So here you go!For informative purposes: J is going to be twelvish (I refuse to say 13!) on Sunday, and was diagnosed at 8 months old. B is 9, and was diagnosed at 5 years old. L is 7 and was diagnosed at 2 years old. We also have a 15 year old son, M. He does not have diabetes.When did you guys start pumping?J started pumping 5 years after diagnosis, at 5 years old. B started pumping two months after his “official” diagnosis, he was 5. L started pumping 3-4 months after his diagnosis, at age 2.What do you use to change sites? What’s your "process"?We peel off the...

Read more »

A super short, super smart, synopsis of blood sugar patterns.

I’ve got it ALL figured out!B has been high before bed quite a lot lately. So last night I threw down the gauntlet and changed his insulin sensitivity between the hours of 5 and 9pm. When a high number popped up at 7:00pm, I gave him the higher ratio correction and he rocked awesome numbers all night long.In fact he was 123 at 1:00am. And woke up 109 this morning. Nice.But here is the deal.My husband told me that the night before B was 169 at 1am, and he was too lazy to correct him. He woke up 105 that morning. That means he dropped 64 points in 6 hours.But this morning he only dropped 14.THEN, the day before the day before…he woke up 203. And...

Read more »

It is funny to us anyway...

It is kinda’ a running joke in this house...If you do something to tick me off, or something especially embarrassing or funny, I threaten to blog it.An example of this came this morning when J and B were brushing their teeth in the bathroom. I was walking down the hall and I heard J grunting. “What’s goin’ on in there J? Are you going #2 with B in there?”J: (horrified) “No mom!” Which was immediately followed by, “Great! You’re going to blog this, aren’t you?!”Me: (Matter of factly,) “Why yes I am son. Yes I am.”And I always live up to my word. :)More often than not, my threats are empty ones. Well, lets be honest...99% of the time my threats are empty ones...but it is fun to see them squirm nonetheless.Another running joke around here is dealt out by none other than our littlest guy, L.Everyday...

Read more »

Leigh! You won Our Diabetic Life's Great PJ Giveaway!

The winner of The Our Diabetic Life Great PJ World Diabetes Day Giveaway is:Leigh from The Evans Kiddos!!!Please email me at ourdiabeticlife (at) yahoo (dot) com within 48 hours, so that we can get your cutie pa tootie PJ's to you ASAP! A new winner will be selected if the prize has not been claimed within the 48 hour window.Thank you Komar and PJs for the Cure for sponsoring this Super Sugar Bolus!If you didn't win, make sure you pop over to PJs for the Cure and buy yourself some! 100% of all sales go directly to JDRF!The following blogs will be rolling out winners from the Great World Diabetes Day PJ Giveaway hourly throughout the day. Be sure...

Read more »

My perfectly lovely, perfectly true, angel story.

It is no secret that I believe in miracles. And I'm not embarrassed to announce that I believe in angels too. In the spirit of the approaching holiday season, I wanted to share with you a very special, very true story of hope. A story that helped me through one of the darkest times. I originally posted this over a year ago. No one was really reading my blog then, so this story will probably be new to you...It was less than two months after J was diagnosed and I was a complete Zombie. Tired, worried, scared. It was such a hard time. J was on a “long acting” insulin, (I'm pretty sure it it was Lente,) of which we had to give him a “light” ½ unit twice a day. Measuring a “light” ½ unit is almost impossible in a needle, and who knows how much of it he actually got. His short acting was an insulin...

Read more »

OUR DIABETIC LIFE'S Great PJ World Diabetes Day Giveaway!

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED****Welcome toOur Diabetic Life'sGreat PJ World Diabetes Day Giveaway!!Brought to you by PJ's for a Cure!PJs for the Cure are specially designed women's and children's pajama sets from Komar, the #1 sleepwear manufacturer in the country.Komar donates 100% of money from the sales of these special PJs to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). 100% = AWESOMENESS! If you spend $25.00 on a pair of PJ's, JDRF gets $25.00 of that $25.oo. Generosity at its finest!Liz, the wife of Komar CEO Charles Komar was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and thus, Mr. Komar founded PJs for the Cure in an effort to raise $1 million...

Read more »

My son J: the 80 year old overweight woman.

J had is ophthalmology appointment yesterday. They took a picture of the back of his eye to make sure his eyes are healthy and strong.That is what I told him anyway.But J is older now, and he wanted to know exactly why he was there. He asked the nurse who was taking the photos, and she happily gave him this brochure that would explain "EVERYTHING."J took the pamphlet and looked at the front pictures. This is what he saw.He studied it for a minute and then looked up and gave me a raised eyebrow, "are you kidding me? This isn't for real, right?" kinda' look.I told him people with diabetes have to keep close tabs on their eyes. If they do they are...

Read more »

Random Meri Musings

* I can now type without looking at the keyboard or the screen. This comes in handy when I am in the middle of writing a thought and a boy comes in demanding my attention.* I like saying "awkward." To make others feel awkward. Especially when it comes to my parents. They will say something to me, and I will randomly say, "I wish you didn't tell me that. Really awkward." Then they automatically feel awkward. True story.* I just made the announcement that no more teenagers are allowed. J turns 13 next week. Sucks for him. Wonder how he's going to work that one out.* I like pumpkin pie. Just thought I would throw that one out there.* I started...

Read more »

Us against them? And my 6 things...

Type 1’s against Type 2’s?Not.Whoever assumes that Type 1’s feel ANY animosity towards Type 2’s is dead wrong.Sure I can’t speak for everybody, but I can speak for myself…and I betcha I'm not too off base from the majority of people who read this blog.I’m going to say this loud and clear. It is not US vs. THEM. It never has been.Unless the THEM that you are referring to is the media.It is the media that gets its facts wrong.And that makes “US” very angry.The stereotype about diabetes as a whole is wrong.Sugar and poor diet alone do not diabetes make. Not Type 1. Not even Type 2.Other factors come into play. MANY other factors.Sure, for the Type...

Read more »

All about J’s day.

I wrote a big long blog today, and realized it was perfect for D Blog day tomorrow. That blog is going to have to wait.I am stumped.So J is right in front of me right now. I’m going to ask him to tell me about his day.GO J! GO! “The extra hour of sleep this morning was great, I was able to run faster and better in PE today. I didn’t feel tired at all! I felt awesome!”“This is the second to last track day we have…so that makes me VERY happy.”“Ummmm…Spanish, my substitute teacher was very very very mean. He yelled a lot. He yelled at me for sharpening my pencil. My pencil broke! I had to write! But we did watch a video. And videos are always cool.”“I found a dollar on the ground, walking to lunch. I thought that was way cool.”“Science, we did more stuff on genetics. And we talked about why marrying...

Read more »

Be part of the bigger picture.

I know this video has been all over the DOC this week. But I don't want you to forget about it...it is that important.57,258...that is how many times this video has been viewed. We need 100,000. EVERY time this video is viewed, Roche will make a donation of insulin to a child in need. If you have watched this, please watch again. If you haven't watched this...please watch it as many times as you can. It is 1 minute and 49 seconds of video. Watching it can save a life. Aren't you up to saving a life today?And then later...on November 14th, participate in the Big Blue Test. Check your or your loved one's sugar. Exercise for 14 minutes. And then check your or your loved one's sugar again. Once you do...you can enter the information from your numbers HERE. Easy peasy! See if the exercise made...

Read more »

November 6th...a story worth retelling.

This is a post I wrote last year. Since I have a few new followers on the block, I thought re-posting it would be a good idea. It is a little window into the personal side of our family. I didn't want to spend too much time on the computer today...too much celebrating to do! :) Have a wonderful weekend friends!A little interesting fact about our family is that I gave birth to my two youngest on the same day of the year. B and L were both born on November 6th exactly two years apart. November 6th is also my father in laws birthday AND most importantly…it is also the day my husband asked me to marry him.We were really young…I was 19 at the...

Read more »

Autoimmune freak-out.

You probably think that my boys’ immune systems were satisfied with killing off the beta cells in the pancreas.Not so.Their immune systems had other ideas and thought it would be fun to plague my cuties with other auto immune ailments.Even though these ailments are harmless and cause no pain…they still tick me off.Can’t autoimmune jerk face stop causing issues for our family??J was the first one to encounter said issues.It started four years ago with a spot on his leg, about the size of a quarter. That spot grew and grew and grew until it became the size of a jam jar lid. (A wide jam jar lid.)Then more spots came.Then more.We brought him to the...

Read more »

An homage to the nighttime check.

Quiet.The house is still.Parents peacefully sleeping. Children gleefully dreaming.Respite from a long busy day.The dog sighs happily in his bed. The heater hums, the faucet silently drips.The alarm waits.It’s black plastic, hard and distantly cold against the softness of the bedroom.Seconds tick by. Soon it will be time.Tick Tick Tick.BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!The scream of the alarm echoes against the still walls of the sanctuary.A mother’s eyes open.She turns fluidly towards the snooze button.The check can wait.Three more minutes of sleep. Much needed precious sleep.BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!A violent throwing of the blanket. She is up.Cautiously she navigates the dark corners of the house. Stealth-like in her movements.Her hand fumbling for the light. A small stream of brightness piercing the dark…her eyes...

Read more »

Halloween and some tough love.

It was the best Halloween ever!(Scratch that.)It was the best Halloween FOR ME ever!We skipped the school Harvest Party.We skipped the church Trunk or Treat.Instead, my husband took the older boys to Six Flags Fright Fest, and I took the younger boys out to dinner and then home to make pumpkin muffins.Then Halloween we trick or treated and that was the end of it.SO NICE! Admittedly a little selfish on my part, but it was so dreamy I can’t even bring myself to feel guilty.I think I mentioned last week that I was planning to have the boys sell me their candy this year for gifts. I did put that plan into action with mixed results.I bought stuff...

Read more »