"She might love you if you learn to play guitar"

I saw this as a comment on a friend facebook post and loved it too much not to re-share! Especially because the reason my husband and I even noticed each other after going to the same church camp for 5+ years is because we were both in the snack shop one day playing our guitars.

Diabetics and their toys

Yep! My new pump FINALLY got here today!

And because I am the kind of person that scours the internet looking for pictures (good pictures) of certain things I'm considering getting, want to find out more information about - whatever. I'm a visual person, I like pictures (obviously). So, I'll just grace this post with pictures of my new toy.

Rylee was almost as excited as I was...

...She couldn't keep her fingers out of my new toy! (I'm the kind of person that loves to look at and play with my new toys before everyone else, and no one should open my stuff before me. Ever.) But she was SO cute saying "Pump!" "Mama's Pump!" over and over and over again.

 

I thought the Ping was considerably larger than my old pump, really it's just a 1/4 of an inch at most longer. 

 

And how cool is it that there is an actual moving animation on the screen of the meter?!!  My husband has been saying that these things should do a lot more than they have been capable of. After just a few hours using it - I LOVE being able to see the status of my pump from the meter. I LOVE being able to give myself a bolus from the meter. I love that it's way easier to access the food list in the meter. So far, it's awesome.

Doesn't it look just right on my hip? Perfectly at home in my colorful house, my colorful wardrobe and personality. I'm in love with a stupid gadget.

Apparently I'm supposed to go through "training" with my doctors office to be on the pump. It's almost identical - as far as the functions go. So, I went ahead and hooked myself up anyway. I'll keep my appointment with my doctor, like a good little girl. But I'm a geek and like to go through manuals and figure things out myself. My own basal rates, my own insulin to carbohydrate ratios, my own insulin sensitivity factors... you get the idea. 

Anyhow, There's my new toy. Sorry to put you to sleep with pictures (...okay, I'm not really sorry), but I love seeing pictures of everyone else's diabetic crap - so there's some of mine too. 

Have a great night!

Cartridges, Pumps and Insulin - Oh Joy?

Oh, site change day, how I hate you - and yet, I am forced to love you.

Without taking the time out of my day to refill the cartridge with precious life-giving insulin I'd certainly be a lot worse off. A few minutes of the day really isn't so bad.

It does irritate me, a lot, though. While I certainly appreciate the blessing of having such a wonderful device to pump my insulin into me as I tell it - allowing me only one shot (if things go right) every 3 or 4 days instead of 6+ shots every day. It really is more convenient to my life to just punch a few buttons and have my insulin instantly on its way to me instead of having to draw up a needle every time I need it.

Okay, I'll try to be thankful, grateful, not so irritated every time I need to refill my pump. It only takes a few minutes, not several hours.

Oh, and these super cute pink infusion sets (a gift from a sweet woman in the diabetic community, as I had run out last week while still waiting for the insurance company to process thing), I guess they make it all a little more okay.

I love my pump, I love how it allows me to be as free and able to live life as I can. I love how it allows me to be a mother - skipping meals while taking care of my child, staying up all night as she gets up for the 100th time, chasing after her as she shrieks for joy. It allows me to be a wife, staying up late eating ice cream with my husband, going out for hikes, paint-balling...whatever the heck I feel like. I'm grateful, really, sometimes I just need some perspective.

Bleh, that's about it.

I'm exhausted. Rylee has slept through the night, or almost through the night 3 times in a row now (**knock on wood**) and my body is telling me how little sleep I have gotten in the last 6 months since we moved (yep, it's already been six months, 2 years to go).

My mother-in-law, Kenny and myself are all getting hit with a nasty cold following the cold my father-in-law had a week ago. It's definitely a nasty one, and my blood sugars are all wonky to prove it. I'm betting it'll either not get any worse than this, or it'll head into a full blown upper respiratory infection. It's that time of year, and I usually get one right about now.



Anyway, that's all.

Anniversaries, Sleep, Getting hit on...

My parents' 27th Anniversary was yesterday, the 10th. We celebrated it as a family - barbecued, had cake, did a few little presents - all in all, I think it was a fun day. I'm so grateful my parents have been together for 27 years. I know it couldn't have been easy for them. Marriage is hard, no matter how much you love each other.

Rylee slept through the night last night - probably due to how much fun she had playing with her grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousin.

Kenny and I have decided that whenever she sleeps through the night she gains a new level of sentience. She's never ever been one to sit and watch tv. She's never been one to sit still very long at all except when she's falling asleep. Today - She got a pillow, blanket, and set herself up on the floor propped up on the pillow and was beside herself with excitement at the movie I was putting on for her (sleeping beauty). She sat at watched that movie for nearly a 1/2 an hour!

She also brought a book to me, like she frequently does, and sat and paid attention to the entire book. Something she hasn't done before either - again, she's had an extremely short attention span that we've been working on.

It's really cute, I love it.

I'm exhausted, the one random night Rylee sleeps through the night always makes me more tired than I realize before. I'm used to running on no sleep - when I get it I can't handle it! ha, okay. Anyway.

Tomorrow we're going to a new church. I hope it goes okay. I'd really love to find a new church home to stay for awhile.

Oh - the highlight of my day!

Kenny and I went to a gas station so we could get some soda before we headed to a family gathering. A biker drove up and parked next to me (I had my window down, arm hanging out). We both nodded and said "hi." (Kenny was inside getting the drinks). Biker Guy, who was at least 55, starts to walk in to the station - then stops and comes back to my window and says "Hey, You're kinda cute, wanna go for a ride?" Heehee! Oh, it was funny and I had a really hard time not laughing. I didn't laugh, though, I was kinda and polite - I didn't want to crush his cute (for an older guy) ego. I just replied: "No, sorry, my husband is inside getting us some drinks." He said "Oh! I'm sorry!" and went on his way.

A couple things about this struck me funny - other than that I got hit on by a biker. Rylee is very much in plain view in the backseat - if I were to have gone with him, what about her? The other is that after Kenny came back we proceeded to have a lively conversation about going with bikers.

That particular guy I might have actually gone for a ride with - if I had no ties to a boyfriend/fiance/husband/child. He was really nice, helping out another fellow biker - bought the guy some gas and gave him some money. It was also major biker territory around there and they all look out for each other. Also, I found out that if a Hot Biker Chick asked Kenny to go for a ride - he would have too. Of course providing he had no girlfriend/fiance/wife/child ties in the world either.

So, we learned something new about each other today. And I was considered "Sort of cute" by an old biker guy. Haha!

Back to that exhausted point I made above - I'm going to bed early.

Then end, for now.

Diabetes and Me

Kerri  started this yesterday, myself and several other d-bloggers thought we'd steal it for ourselves too. heehee.

What type of diabetes do you have:  Type 1  

When were you diagnosed:  March 22, 2002

What's your current blood sugar:  Post breakfast (I forgot to test before hand) 278mg/dl

What kind of meter do you use: Whichever one I can find that my daughter hasn't lost - currently the One Touch Ultra 2.

How many times a day do you test your blood sugar:  When I was pregnant 12+ times a day, now It's a struggle to get 6 times in.

What's a "high" number for you:  Lately it's over 240 mg/dl.

What's do you consider "low":  Anything under 70 mg/dl. 

What's your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater:  Child-sized apple juice boxes

Describe your dream endo:  Understanding, Not Judgmental, (maybe not classified as a "specialist"!), Knowledgeable, Good Natured. 

What's your biggest diabetes achievement: My sweet little baby girl - and the only 5.7 A1c I've had while I was pregnant with her.

What's your biggest diabetes-related fear:  Losing my eyesight or ability to be as active as I enjoy.

Who's on your support team:  My husband, parents, a couple of friends, the Diabetic Online Community! :)

Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime:  Nope. I really don't.

What is a "cure" to you:  At this point, I'd just love an Artificial Pancreas - but a real cure would be to have the entire auto-immune effects be reversed.

The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is:  "I could NEVER give myself shots!" - yeah, you would if your life depended on it!

What is the most common misconception about diabetes:  That my Type 1 Diabetes can be reversed by following some miracle diet for a couple months - my pancreas will start working again and I'll never need to take insulin anymore.

If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be: "Thanks for helping make me who I am today."

Oh sweet bedtime

some days I feel like the time when Rylee goes to bed for the night (or the couple hours before she starts her wake up crying-make mommy lay her back down a dozen times routine) can't come soon enough.

Today was one of those days.

Rylee insisted on pushing every single one of my buttons almost from the moment she got up this morning.

My blood sugar was coming back down after a nasty overnight high due to a pump failure - so I was a little more on edge than I would normally be.

My new pump was still not at all in the actual works to get to me - which also meant that I wasn't going to be able to order more infusion sets and I'd be back on shots indefinitely.

- I was in a baaaaaad mood for well over 1/2 the day until...

Can I just say I LOVE the Diabetic Online Community!??!

I made a little rant this morning on facebook (I'm also rethinking even posting anything like that on facebook any more at all... some places just aren't okay to be "real" anymore...) and several of my fellow diabetics reached out and offered to send me some Infusion Sets until my insurance company gets their act together! Awwwwwwe, I love my diabetic friends. So thankful for you guys!

Anyway, the kiddo was out to get me today, diabetes was out to get me today, my "house" was out to get me with the  clutter that won't end, and I think I was just cranky in general from the serious lack of sleep.

Tonight I'm happy my kiddo is in bed. So I'm enjoying a couple of "childless" moments to write this post. Now I'm heading to bed.

I love me some hiking!

This morning I got the privilege (I'm not joking) of waking up before 5am to get ready to go hiking.  I love hiking tons, but I haven't had the chance to go on a good hike since Kenny and I got married. My Father-in-law was awesome and invited me to come along with him and his uncle and my brother-in-law.

Such an awesome day! We had just started out on the trail and it started snowing! ...the only (only!) problem with this is that I had dressed expecting this hike to go like all other hikes - start out the hike with the weather a bit chilly then shed the layers as you continue on. Not so today, it started out clear and beautiful (although morning chilly) and just got colder, windier, and foggier.

Despite the unforeseen weather and the lack of appropriate clothing - it was a gorgeous climb to the top of the Roman Nose Summit.  

I had (I think) a minor low blood sugar at the bottom of the hill before we even started the actual climb and by the top of the hill (a 3 hour climb to a 7200 elevation peak - freakin awesome) I was so pleasantly pleased to see this number on my meter:

119 is not bad at all for such a strenuous hike! When I had the low I realized I forgot to mess with my pumps basal rates before starting the climb, so I decreased them by 60% and did fantastically the rest of the day. After just a sandwich at the peak I ended the fun at 181mg/dl  - I'll take it. Not a bad day at all considering it's been years since I've done this sort of thing and wasn't sure how much food I might need to make it through - I definitely had a stash with me.

I hope I can go hiking more - also hopefully with Kenny and later in her sweet life with Rylee too. We were considering taking Rylee today - I'm so glad I didn't! It was an awesome hike - but it would have been pretty much impossible with her.

Well, I'm exhausted so I'm gonna call it a night. Maybe more pictures another time. :)