Highs,Lows, and In Between

D-Feast Friday - Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-11-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Can't be more simple.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
1C peanut butter
1C sugar
1beaten egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Shape dough into one inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart. Press with a fork to flatten.

Bake 8 minutes until brown. Cool Completely on pan, on wire rack. Then transfer to storage container.

1 cookie = 10 carbs

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

2010-11-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

Fall is in full swing here and I cannot get enough receipes with pumpkin and apples. The smell of cinnamon wafting through the house just smells so comforting. These cookies have become a favorite around here this time of year.

Pumpkin Chip Cookies
1C canned pumpkin
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/4C sugar (or Splenda)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. each cinnamon AND nutmeg (or use 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice)
1C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar/splenda. Beat in egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients. Add to the pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake 8-10 minutes of greased cookie sheet. Store these soft cookies with wax paper between layers.

I didn't know what I was going to put in this little pumpkin jar when I bought it, but now I do!

This recipe makes 2 1/2 dozen soft cookies.

1 cookie = 10g carbs if using Splenda, 15g carbs if using sugar.

DBlog Day

2010-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Today, being "dblog day", we've been asked what six things we would like people to know about type 1 diabetes. I figured I'd ask Taylar herself and get her input and help here... in her own words.

- Diabetes is when your pancrease doesn't make insulin and you have to go to the hospital.

- I want people to know about the OmniPod and that I like it a lot because you don't have to get shots.

- People with type 1 diabetes can eat whenever they are feeling hungry, well, except at school. But you need insulin to help me not get "high" and to cover the carbs.

- Oh, you can't catch diabetes from a friend. It's just happens.

- When you're the only kid at school that has diabetes, you feel special sometimes. (Yes, she is the only student out of about 300 kids)

- Diabetes doesn't mean you're an odd person.

Halloween - Better late than never

2010-11-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

Cowgirl Jessie and a crazy punk!

I love Halloween. My birthday is on October 26, and growing up I would always have a Halloween costume birthday party. My love for fall in New England and Halloween has certainly rubbed off on my kids too and we always have a fun time. You would think that diabetes and all that trick or treat candy would cause mayhem, but I have been very lucky. I've never been a Mom to hand out lollipops or other candy to the girls on a regular basis. That was the same on Halloween as well, even before diabetes entered our lives. They could each choose 2-3 pieces of candy, eat it, enjoy it, and then get over it. No whining allowed! This year Taylar never even asked the following day for some of her candy so the goodies we have aren't really a problem and will just be rationed out when the urge arises.

The girls and I made some pretty cool, unique Halloween decorations this year, thanks to D-Mom, Leighann. I thought this was such a creative thing to do! We changed these old OmniPods from this:

To this!

Spider and pumpkin decorations made out of old used pods!

The PUMPkins and sPODers were easy and fun to make and you can find out how we did it by clicking here. Taylar had an especially good time making an extra pump-kin and spider for her Aunt and Grandmum. They thought they were adorable and Taylar got a kick out of them trying to guess what they were made out of.

Thanks Leighann for your creativity!

D-Feast Friday! Slow cooker hearty beef chili

2010-11-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's one to just throw in your crock pot and let simmer for a while.

Slow-Cooker Hearty Beef Chili

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

2 15oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I use one red bean and one black)

1 1/2C Salsa

1 16oz. can tomato sauce

2 T chili powder

1 onion, chopped

1C corn kernels

Brown meat; drain. Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Cover with lid and cook on low for 5-6 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).

Stir before serving and top with cheddar cheese and a side of nachos.

Yum!

Makes approximately 8 1-cup servings, about 20g carbs

Naked Pancreas!

2010-11-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Reyna over at Beta Buddies started the Naked Pancreas Challenge and I wanted to weigh in. I haven't blogged in weeks so I figured this was a quick, easy one to do!

1. What kind of insulin management mode do you use?
Taylar has been using the OmniPod since May 10th of this year...the day after her 8th birthday. Some present, huh?

2. How often do you inject/change pump sites?
We change the pod every 2-3 days. Usually we go a full 3.

3. What type (s) of insulin do you use?
Novolog

4. What are your basal settings?
It took forever to figure them out and there is still tweaking that goes on, but for the moment she's at:
12am - 5am - .45 u/hr

5am-10am - .40

10am - 8pm - .35

8pm - 10pm - .65

10pm - 12am - .60

It has taken quite a while and a lot of sleepless nights to get her overnight rates to where they should be. She was constantly in the 200s at midnight check but this has taken care of it....for now.

5. What are your correction factors ?

During the day 1:80

At night 1:140 - This was changed a little while ago from 1:90 because after the corrected highs at midnight, she was dropping too low at 3am check. The 1:140 is working better. Ah, the joys of it all, huh?

6. What are your meal ratios ?
She starts and ends the day with the same ratios...

12am - 11:30am - 1:15 Breakfast & morning snack

11:30am - 1:30pm - 1:30 Lunch

1:30 - 4:00pm - 1:25 After school snack (if she has one)

4pm - 12am - 1:15 Dinner and bedtime snack

7. What do you do for activity and/or PE?
This past summer was the biggest challenge with just starting on the OmniPod and all that summer swimming! Taylar could basically eat what she wanted on the days we were at the lake and in the water constantly. Then at night she would always drop low when I checked her at 11pm or 12am though. After 2 nights of that we did a -15% temp basal for 5 hours overnight and it worked perfectly. The "lag effect" is definitely something we deal with a lot. A couple of preset temp basals we have are:

Bike rides: -30% for duration of the ride
Dance: -20% for one hour
Soccer Practice: -25% for one hour
Soccer Games: - 20% for one hour
Swimming (and bounce house/maze craze type places): -50% for duration

Taylar has PE at 9am this year so she usually tests after it. Where it is so early in the day and so close to eating breakfast we haven't had any problems with lows which is a good thing. Plus, her morning snack time is at 10:45, about one hour after PE ends.

8. How do you manage Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese, or any other "difficult to manage" foods?
Pizza, pizza, oh how we love thee. Taylar loves pizza. Who doesn't? I remember reading about pizza when she was first diagnosed and wondering what they heck the big deal was. Well, I sure found out first hand. Now that I get it, we use the extended bolus feature on her pump. Bolus 35g carbs (depending) per slice giving her 50% now and extending 50% over 4 hours. We just did this the other day when she had pizza at a party for lunch and she was 90 before bed! Yipee! If we have pizza for dinner, however, I add a unit to the calculated bolus from the pump and then continue with the 50/50 extended.

Pizza is the worst, but we also extend on ice cream. Usually 50/50 over 2 hours takes care of it.

9. How do you prefer to manage your logs/data?

Well, I have an on again, off again, relationship with Taylar's "frog log". I'm sure you know what I mean right? I have about 4 of them from the hospital and I do prefer to do it the old fashioned way and just write things down. We also download her pump to the computer and can look at it that way as well.

And that's Taylar's naked pancreas!

D-Feast Friday - Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

2010-10-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been at the mall and walked by Cinnabon? The smell of those cinnamon rolls baking is intoxicating in my opinion. They are also loaded with carbs, calories, and fat. Don't get me wrong I've had one once or twice but certainly not since D has entered our lives.

Here is Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien's, version of "Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing". Let's be honest, they don't compare to a huge Cinnabon roll, but they are good and fun for kids to make. It is a better alternative plus you won't feel guilty after eating one of these.

Picture taken from "Hungry Girl 200 under 200" cookbook

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

For Dough: 1 pkg. Crescent Rolls

For Filling:

1/4C brown sugar (not packed)

1/4C Splenda

1/2T Butter at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Salt

For Icing:

1/4C Cool Whip, thawed

3T cream cheese at room temperature

1T Splenda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all filling ingredients making sure butter is incorporated evenly. Set aside.

Combine all icing ingredients until smooth and chill in fridge to set.

Remove dough from package and knead into a ball using flour if necessary to help prevent sticking. Using a rolling pin dusted lightly with flour, very firmly roll out dough into a thin sheet about 8x12 inches. Spray the dough evenly with spray butter or an additional tablespoon of melted butter.

Spread filling out evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2inch border around edges. Starting with a long side of the dough, roll it up tightly, forming a log. Once dough is completely rolled up, pinch the long seam to seal.

Working with the seamside down, use a sharp knife to cut the log into 8 even pieces, being careful not to squish the dough. (A serrated bread knife is your best bet here.)

Arrange rolls in a baking pan swirl sides facing up. (I like to put them in a muffin tin!) Press down on the tops of the pieces to flatten slightly and pinch side seams if necessary.

Cover pan with foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Distribute icing over rolls and enjoy!

Makes 8 servings
126 calories and 18.5g carbs

Letting Go

2010-10-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to cut to the chase here. Taylar slept over her friend's house last night. Yep, I LET her sleep at a friends. A non-D friend at that. This is her first sleep over with a non-family member so this was a huge deal. Honestly, I'm glad it's over but we all did survive. If anything it was a great hands-on learning experience for Taylar's friend's Mom.

Taylar's bags were packed and she was on her way at 5:00 on Friday. I equipped the Mom with everything Taylar could possibly need in any circumstance that may arise. I had written things down and even gave her our Calorie King book. It all began with dinner (No phone call! This Mom is good! Of course I was hoping for a call but she had already told me what they were going to have so I gave her a guesstimate of the carbs.) Blood sugar of 135. Nice. I got my first phone call around 7:00 for dessert. The kids were jumping on the trampoline and Taylar was now testing at 62. Those stinkin' trampolines. Every time that girl has fun jumping around on one she goes low. No worries though. She had some juice and then her ice cream and was back in range after that.

At 10:35 I hadn't heard anything about a "bedtime" reading so I called over there. They were ending a movie but the Mom had Taylar test and she called me right back. 165. Ok, that's a good bedtime number. I was SO nervous though. That's a good number if I'm going to check her again at midnight...especially after the trampoline incident. Ugh. You know how it is. You get all those negative possibilities flowing through your head. I prayed about it. I prayed again and again.

At 11:40 the phone rang again and it was Taylar. She was fine. She was just calling to say goodnight. I guess they had gone to bed around 11 but she said she couldn't sleep until she called to say goodnight. Awww. I wanted to magically have her come through the phone and be at home. Letting go. Man, this was SO hard. Instead I (prayed again and) went to bed.

Somehow I got a decent night's sleep. Taylar was 90 in the morning and eventually came home. Looking back I'm so glad that Taylar had her first sleep over! It is so much easier to just say no but she had an absolute ball and I know the next time will be easier....not that I'll have it happen again too soon. :-) I'm proud of how she handled herself and her pump on her own and proud of myself for letting go.

D-Feast Friday - Frozen Peanut Butter-and Chocolate Pie

2010-10-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

What is it about chocolate and peanut butter together? All I can say is yum!

Frozen Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie
1 1/2C milk
1/4C sugar
1/2C + 1T creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2C thawed cool whip
1 (6oz.) graham-cracker crust (Or you could make your own!)
Chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated

Combine milk and sugar in saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour.

Gently stir cool whip into chilled milk mixture; spoon into crust. Sprinkled with peanuts and grated chocolate. Loosely cover the pie with wax paper, then aluminum foil. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 4 hours, or up to 2 days. Let pie soften at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.

Serving: 1/8 pie, 34g carbs

The Walk

2010-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

Taylar with her photo board that was posted at the walk

This Sunday was our JDRF "Walk to Cure Diabetes". I showed up at 7:30 a.m. with my Mom to help set things up and to run the "New Walkers" information table. It was only about 42 degrees that morning so I was thankful they supplied hot coffee for the volunteers!

It was so exciting when our team members started to arrive! I loved seeing everyone in their "Sweet T" t-shirts! There were 26 of us who walked and showed up to support Taylar. It truly was heartwarming. Last year things happened so quickly that we only had 8 walkers so to triple our team meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to Taylar to have five of her cousins and three of her friends show up to walk as well. It made it lots of fun to be together.

There was a kid's tent with face painting and such, snacks and drinks, a little traveling zoo type thing, and great raffle prizes. Three people from my team won a raffle item so that was exciting. There were two walk routes this year and we chose to walk the wooded trail. It was pretty cool and I think the kids enjoyed it especially.

Heading up to the wooded walking trail

I am happy to say that Sweet T raised just over $3,000 for JDRF! We surpassed our goal that's for sure! To know that our team members were out there getting donations and spreading the word about type 1 diabetes makes me feel truly blessed. I am humbled by the whole thing. Thank you to all the friends and family members who helped make Sweet T so successful this year. I love you all!

Here is a close up of Taylar's photo board. A cure. What would life be like? Do I even remember? Maybe we won't have to have a walk next year. That is what I pray for every day.

D-Feast Friday - Ham with Apples

2010-10-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a great, simple, fall meal that was a hit in our house. Super easy for a weeknight too.

4 1/4lb ham steaks
1 small onion, chopped
3 apples, cored and cut into 1/2" wedges
1 1/2 C apple cider
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1T cornstarch
2T water

Lightly brown the ham steaks in a skillet with a little olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side and then set aside.
Add onion to skillet and cook over medium heat stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add apples, cider, and mustard; cook, stirring frequently, until apples are tender, about 5 minutes longer.

Stir together cornstarch and water in a cup until smooth, then add to skillet. Cook, stirring contantly, until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 2 minutes. Return ham to skillet and cook until heated through.

4 Servings: 1 ham slice and about 1/2C apples with sauce:
261 calories, 30g Carbs

*This recipe is from the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook*

Constant Battle

2010-09-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've pretty much had it with diabetes this week. Last week we were battling high numbers that were driving me crazy! As if trying to figure out a reason for the numbers wasn't bad enough, I have to deal with the thoughts of what it does to Taylar's body. She did get a flu shot which her nurse said could bump her numbers for a couple of days but it went on for a little longer than I was comfortable with so I called the nurse... again. We changed some basal rates around and adjusted her daytime correction factor. Bam! It worked all right. Too much in fact. Low, low, low. Instead of seeing 250 & 300 now we've got a 56, 65, and a wonderful 42. What the heck!? That's not to mention two of her morning numbers being 70 and finding a 65 at 2am which scares the you-know-what out of me. Thank goodness I pulled myself out of bed that night.

Sometimes it seems like we just can't win. I don't understand how we can go on doing the same things every day but get different results. She eats basically the same things, at the same times of day, exercises at the same times of day yet with different results every time. It's enough to drive a person crazy. We changed some basal rates back to what they were before this latest change so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Diabetes is SO constant and knowing that it isn't going anywhere, anytime soon can be very overwhelming. I would love to just forget about it all for a while. I'd love to forget about carb counting for a day. I would love to let Taylar's little fingers heal from all those finger pricks too. With all those lows we had to recheck recently, I looked at her PDM. In a 24 hour period I counted 14 blood sugar tests. That's just wrong, poor thing. I would love to just ask her how her day at school was when she gets off the bus without looking at her to see if she looks pale to me or wondering what her blood sugar is knowing she hasn't tested or eaten since lunch time. I'd like to just leave the house without asking my famous question, "Do you have the PDM?" It really is all consuming. I think about diabetes when I'm with her, when I'm not, when I'm in bed, in my car, out with friends, at the gym... all the time. I didn't invite this intruder into my daughter's life and here I am catering to its demands. It is just a constant battle.

JDRF Tent

2010-09-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

I know it's still the weekend for a couple more hours, but I am so excited for next Saturday! There is a community event being held all around my town. My Mom, sister, and I scored a spot to host our own JDRF tent. We have been working so hard the past couple of weeks trying to figure out what to offer that will draw people to our tent because there will be many others.

This is what we’ve got, how does this sound? We are going to have lots of colorful JDRF balloons decorating our tent, a few posters and a big JDRF banner that they are letting us borrow. We will have coloring sheets for kids and lots of diabetes information sheets. For the money making part of it we are going to sell sugar free freeze pops, sugar free cookies that were generously donated from Chatila’s Bakery and cups of ice cold Kool-Aid Fun Fizz offered in three different flavors.

As another way to raise funds for research we will also be selling paper sneakers in the amounts of $1, $5, and $10 to see how many “steps” closer we can get to a cure! Also, with any donation kids (adults too if they want!) can choose from a sneaker tattoo, or nail polish with custom nail art. Phew!

Would you want to stop by our tent? I’m so excited! I hope we can handle it all!

First Day of School

2010-09-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well, the first day of third grade went well, but didn't go off without some kind of hiccup. Of course it didn't! That's just how it is when you live in D-world.

First of all let me say that I love the school nurse. She is very thorough and on top of her game. This being our second year with her I could not be happier. Anyway, around snack time, two hours into the school day, Taylar was running a bit high that day which I kind of expected being the first day of school and all. I think it's "normal" (is there is such a thing anymore?) to run high when you mix anxiety and excitement together. At least that's our experience.

So I wasn't surprised when the phone rang and it was the school nurse. "Well, we're off to a great start here." she said. I'm thinking Oh good!! Then she continued, "Taylar bumped her pod on her chair and it's just hanging here with the cannula out."

Wonderful.

She was wearing the pod on her back and when she stood up it got caught on the back rest of her chair. I guess they were playing a game and she got up very quickly. So I dropped everything and headed to school for a site change on the first day of school. Mind you I live 1/2 mile from the school so I was there in a few minutes but, seriously? Luckily Taylar was great about it and didn't really seemed bothered. If anything I think she was happy to see me being her first day back and all.

The good part was that I had the nurse do the whole pod change while I was there and was able to watch her. Her hands were shaky but she got through it. Hopefully this won't happen again but if it does, and I happen to not be close by, I'm confident that between the nurse and Taylar (who could do the whole thing herself I'm sure) can handle it without me.

Happy new school year everybody!

A Moment in Time

2010-08-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Jonas Brothers concert totally rocked! Those guys are talented! I absolutely enjoyed it and loved being there with Taylar. I've been to many concerts but it has always been with my hubby and sister. It was different, but great being there with her. She screamed, danced and sang along through the whole show (Blood sugars pretty high all day because of all the excitement too, but I told myself it didn't matter that day.) Even though we were surrounded by mostly teenagers I was singing and dancing along too. Hey, If you knew what we spent on tickets you would have lived it up too!

During the show there was a "moment" that made it all worth it. I don't even know if you'll understand it but I have to tell you about it. First of all, the name Nick Jonas has become a household name around here. We talk about him checking his blood sugars and what he would chose to eat etc. It's pretty funny but when you listen to their music every single day and have such a strong connection of knowing he has type 1, you start to feel like you know the guy. Taylar has written letters to the Jonas Brothers and everything.

Anyway, Taylar had made a couple of signs for the show. Our seats were dead center 3 rows from the stage. Yes, I said 3 rows!! So needless to say when they were singing to us they were literally right in front of us. So here comes Nick down toward the front of the stage playing his guitar. Taylar held up her sign that says, "Nick, You're my type 1". Nick looks at her sign, reads it, looks right in her big brown eyes and gives her the cutest smile and nod as if to say, "oh, you have type 1 like me. I get that." Taylar put her sign down and gave me the biggest giggly hug ever. Meanwhile I was trying not to cry seeing how happy she was and how much this meant to her. She was so happy to actually "tell" Nick that she was like him. They have something in common that a lot of people just don't understand. It was definitely a "moment" she won't forget. Even the people behind us said, "Oooh, he just read her sign!" They were happy for Tayar too.

Nick and Kevin. Yep, we were THAT close

I don't know if you can understand why this was such a big deal to us but it really was. Taylar looks up to Nick Jonas. She looks up to him because he is living out his dreams of making music, making movies, traveling, making tv shows... all while living with type 1 diabetes. He is a perfect example of "you can do anything you want to do". He does not hide his diabetes and he refuses to let it stop him. Who wouldn't want their daughter looking up to someone like that? That's not even to mention that at his age, Nick Jonas is also the National Chairman of the JDRF Walks to Cure Diabetes this year! Check out his video message here.

Jonas Obsessed

2010-08-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Taylar has always loved music and dancing. It really is something she is passionate about. This year will be her 5th year of dance lessons and there is always music playing in our house. So enter a music group with a band member who has type one diabetes and you have one obsessed kid. Taylar is officially a bit obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. The youngest brother Nick who has type one like her to be exact.

On the anniversary of her diagnosis my husband and I gave her tickets to one of their upcoming concerts! We spent waayy too much money on these VIP tickets but it doesn't matter. She deserves it. It was the perfect way to tell her how proud we are of her and the way she has handled all she has been through during this past year. Finger pricks, carb couting, multiple daily injections, switching to a pump... it has been a lot and she has handled it like the "rock star" she is.

Nick Jonas wrote a song about his diagnosis when he was 13 years old. Here are the lyrics:

A Little Bit Longer

Got the news today

Doctor said I had to stay

A little bit longer and I'll be fine

When I thought it'd all be done

When I thought it'd all been said

A little bit longer and I'll be fine

But you don't know what you got 'til it's gone

And you don't know what it's like to feel so low

And every time you smile or laugh you glow

You don't even know, no, no.

You don't even know.

All this time goes by

Still no reason why

A little bit longer and I'll be fine.

Waitin' on a cure

But none of them are sure

A little bit longer and I'll be fine

But you don’t know what you got 'til it's gone

You don’t know what it’s like to feel so low.

And every time you smile or laugh you glow

You don’t even know, no, no.

You don’t even know, no.

But you don't know what you got 'til it's gone.

And you don't know what it's like to feel so low, yeah!

And every time you smile or laugh you glow

You don’t even know!

Yeah!

So I'll wait 'til kingdom come.

All the highs and lows are gone.

A little bit longer and I'll be fine.

I’ll be fine.

OmniPod Arm Bands

2010-08-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Taylar has been using the OmniPod for three months now. We haven't had any pod failures that others have warned me about, and overall we are very happy with it. There have been a couple times, however, that the pod has been knocked off accidentally. This occurred when Taylar was wearing the pod on her arm. Well, the only solution I could think of was wrapping the pod to her arm somehow. I used an ace bandage type thing, a wrap by 3M that sticks to itself, and a sock cut off above the heel to create a cuff. These things worked but were not exactly the best.

Enter me being obsessed by finding a band that works and my mother in law. She can sew anything and makes the most beautiful quilts you've ever seen. To my advantage, she loves it. She has even made clothes for the girls which is a nice. Me? Nah. I can cook, but don't ask me to sew. Maybe a button or two but it's really not my thing. Anyway, I ran the idea of some kind of stretchy arm band by her and voila, this is what we've got!

These are the two bands my mother in law came up with. They are made out of spandex which I thought would be nice and stretchy but would hold the pod in place. Taylar says they are comfortable to wear. The flower decal is a nice added touch. Because it is made of spandex, Taylar wears hers in the water too with no problem.

The only change since these pictures were taken is that we (by "we" I mean my mother in law! I don't sew remember!?) added a bit of elastic half way around the top and bottom of the arm band. This really keeps it from sliding down over the smooth pod.

I told her we should market them because I've found nothing like this around! Pod users...what do you think?

A Date I Can't Forget

2010-08-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

August 4, 2009

One year ago. On that day I was told that my then 7 year old daughter Taylar has type 1 diabetes.

One year ago today...

I felt like I was outside of my own body as I listened to my daughter cry and yell "I want to go home!" while a nurse put an IV in her small arm.

I watched with a queasy stomach and fear of needles while my daughter received numerous insulin shots every few hours that doctors said would lower her 700+ blood sugar level.

I watched Taylar while she slept in her hospital bed and finally let myself cry about her lifelong diagnosis.

I learned words like hypoglycemia, autoimmune, hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis, insulin, endocrinologist, glucagon, humalog, NPH, glucometer, and hemoglobin a1c.

I remember being gently reprimanded for letting Taylar eat a snack that I didn't realize should have been saved for her next snack time, two hours later.

As I lay in the darkness of the hospital I pictured Taylar going to college and calling home saying she forgot her medicine and how frantic I would be. I pictured her wedding day and made a mental note that she would need a short sleeved dress for shots, and thought of how much I will worry about her health if she and her husband had a baby. Suddenly, although she was only 7, her life flashed before me knowing it would be different now.

I took carb counting classes and a lot of other training sessions that completely exhausted me.

I didn't eat.

I didn't sleep.

I didn't know how I was going to handle all of this. I couldn't help but focus on the foreverness of this disease.

One year ago...

I fought off the nausea that was rising in my stomach and drew up a needle full of insulin and injected it into Taylar's arm knowing I would have to do that every single day, multiple times per day if I wanted her to be healthy.

I began to hate math even more than I did in school. So THIS is what they meant by saying, "You may need this math some day."

I reluctantly cleared out a kitchen cabinet and filled it with diabetes supplies like syringes, alcohol swabs, insulin, glucose tabs, lancets, lancing devices, blood glucose meters, blood glucose test strips, bandaids, ketone blood strips, ketostix, the ever-feared glucagon, a few log books, Calorie King, lists of important phone numbers... and anything else I may have forgotten to mention.

I began to face type one diabetes head on without an opportunity to ever, ever stop.

I cried often. I was hurting.

One year ago our lives changed.

----fast forward----

August 4, 2010

In some ways it seems like this last year has flown by but at the same time I feel like I've been doing this diabetes thing forever. It's a strange feeling. And now that it is one year, what do we do? Celebrate it? Ignore it? It's a weird day.

Now that I am in a better place emotionally and mentally, I can look back at those first few weeks I can see how far we have all come. I eventually got over my sick stomach when giving Taylar shots and I found a good calculator to help with calculating carbs and insulin! I try to not think of the foreverness.... but on bad days it's hard not to. We have participated in one JDRF "walk to cure" and I am on the walk committee for the next one. I am trying to educate people and raise awareness about type one diabetes by manning a JDRF tent at a local community event in September. Yes, I have come a long way. But you know what? It's not really about me. Let's talk about Taylar here.

This girl is amazing. The daily routine that she has put up with for a year astounds me. She is just so brave and strong and amazing and happy and....She inspires me! I could go on! She has also inspired others as well. Her nurse used Taylar as a "model" for a young girl deciding if she should go on a pump or not. Taylar sat in on their appointment and answered questions the girl and her mom had like a professional. When the appointment was over and the door was closing I heard the girl say, "I want that pump Mom."

I received an email from a friend of mine, sent to me, but addressed to Taylar, about two months ago. Her son was diagnosed with type 1 about four years ago and absolutely refuses to talk about using an insulin pump. In this email my friend went on to tell me that because of seeing how brave Taylar and how she is handling her diabetes, it encouraged her to talk more with her son about using a pump. She used Taylar as an example and actually thanked Taylar! Just for being herself. Oh, his pump start date is in 5 days.......

Not every day in the life of diabetes is a good one, but nine times out of ten, my girl doesn't complain. I don't know how she does it. I am truly blessed. It doesn't mean that we don't have bad days or that I don't cry anymore. I feel safe here to say that I still do sometimes. The difference is that I now know better how to handle things. I can count carbs. I know what numbers mean and how to calculate them. I can draw up a syringe and give injections if I have to (although I'm sure glad Taylar's pump does this part for me now). I have the confidence now to do it. I can do this. I never thought I would say that but here I am one year later actually starting to believe it's true.

Good Place

2010-07-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit that I think about diabetes A LOT and worry about Taylar A LOT especially with all these summer activities she has been going to. But overall, I feel like I am in a good spot with this diabetic life. (I can't believe I just typed that.) Taylar's numbers have been pretty good besides the occasional nasty high or (less frequent) low. Her A1C, although not perfect, was down 4 points since last time, and we have just been enjoying the summer. Ice cream treats and all!

I truly believe it is the grace of God that has put me in this place and I praise Him for that. I think that is why there haven't been any posts from me here! I've actually been enjoying life a little! It's been a year since Taylar's diagnosis. Well, one week from today will be one year. We have come a long way and although it still is a daily battle, I feel like I've learned to handle what comes rather than react and play the blame game.

In this year, I've learned that diabetes is a big, fat, scary monster that will always do what it wants to do. I do my best to control it, but I've realized that this monster is going to put its foot down no matter how hard I try to beat it. It will probably always one-up me but I'm learning to accept that and educate myself further so that maybe I can at least tame this monster.

As for Taylar... oh my goodness, I could not be any prouder of her if I tried. She seriously has turned into a rock star at managing her diabetes. She has been to many church functions, friend's houses, and even a summer school cooking class. In each situation, with little or no guidance, she has been absolutely amazing at managing and monitoring herself. Let me remind you, she just turned eight in May! I don't know if it's the OmniPod that is helping her, but she truly has grown in this past year and has inspired me.

Team Sweet T's Walk Video for 2010

2010-07-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have been working on our "Walk to Cure Diabetes" video for this year's JDRF walk in October. This is my first attempt at doing anything like this! Check it out:

Highs

2010-07-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Talk about blog slacker. Oh well, it's summertime. I've already been enjoying it, believe me! I do pop onto facebook for updates but I haven't made the time for my blog. As I sit here tonight there is a constant drum of firecrackers exploding outside. I'm surprised the girls are staying asleep! Speaking of the girls, they have been so wonderful lately. I know that Taylar is enjoying being home from school and Carissa is thrilled to have her big sister to play with. I'm just hoping that I'm lucky enough for it to last for the whole summer.

On the diabetes side of things, Taylar has been on the OmniPod for just under two months now. After a rocky start things definitely evened out and got much better. But you know how it is, that didn't last long as it is still a daily battle. Today has been down right awful! I should have known when she woke up at 206. I don't know how many corrections for highs Taylar has gotten today. I just don't get it... and actually don't feel like talking about it. But obviously something made me hang out here at my blog. Well, at least a little venting is better than none.

Taylar's going to bed number tonight was 232. Taylar looks at me and says, "Mom, I wish I could go down my throat, take my pancreas out and punch it!"

I was all for it. Hey, maybe it would make it start working again. *sigh*

Tomorrow will be another day. A better day......I hope.

Happy 4th of July

------------------------
Update since last night's post.

When I went up to check Taylar after all those highs ALL day, she was 51 at midnight! I have no explanation. I could have used a "Duck Diabetes" shirt today. Ugh!

Just what the Doctor Ordered

2010-06-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Taylar was diagnosed I craved to have someone to talk to and who could relate with me. I wanted to talk with another parent who goes through the same daily struggles as I do. I had reached out to a local organization that helps families in our situation in need of resources or finances. I told the lady that there should be a diabetes support group. She went through her files and made up a list of her type 1 diabetes clients, asked their permission to share emails, and sent out a group email with everyone's information on it.

The email sat there in my inbox, and everyone else's I suppose, for weeks. After a rough d-day, I finally bit the bullet and wrote a group email to those on the contact list introducing myself and my connection with diabetes. For those of you who know me I'm pretty shy so I was quite proud of myself for taking the first step. After all, I was the one who asked for the group in the first place.

Sure enough people replied, telling their own stories and thanking me for being the first one to speak up. There was one lady in particular who also emailed me separately from the group about possibly wanting to get together because her daughter is only a year older than Taylar. I mentioned I'm kinda shy right?

Well, long story short, last night we got together. I invited my friend to go with me along with her daughter who was diagnosed a year ago and goes to Taylar's school. Us three moms and the three girls got along great. It was quite an experience. It's crazy how from the moment I got out of the car I felt like I knew so much about this woman, yet we had never met before. I suddenly wasn't as shy as I think I am. Diabetes has changed me. I was comfortable laughing with her, crying with her, and just sharing stories from the heart. We shared stories that other people may think are insignificant or silly but we all "got it". That's the hardest thing about the big "D". People just don't get it unless they live it... every. single. day.

This new friend's daughter was diagnosed at age 3. It amazes me that after six years she she is still wanting to reach out and connect with other people. It felt so good to hear someone else's stories, whether good, bad, funny, or sad, and say, "I know exactly what you mean!"

We got to her house at 6:30 and didn't leave until 11:30! Talk about out of my character! I am such a stickler about bed time. Ah well, it was a wonderful night and just what the doctor ordered.

Pennsylvania

2010-06-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

So we are 4 days shy of pumping for one month. In some ways it seems like yesterday and then sometimes it seems like we've been doing this forever. Taylar's numbers have been slightly more cooperative but we have still seen our share of lows and highs. I had it in my head that going on the pump would be a quick fix. Boy was I wrong! It's still a lot of work, if not more. I am guessing it will get easier and I shouldn't complain seeing so we're only a month in. When Taylar was first diagnosed, it took a while to figure out her shots too. I'm just being impatient I guess. *sigh*

More changes were made on Friday at her first pump follow-up appointment so I'm back to getting up at 12 & 3am. Well, I really haven't stopped checking her in the middle of the night but lately if her midnight check was in her range I would sleep through until the morning. I was actually starting to feel like a person again! But, not so fast! Back to checking. Ah well, that's okay. It gives me peace of mind anyway.

Taylar and I went to Pennsylvania last weekend. We drove. For six hours. I was dreading what this was going to do to her numbers, but I nailed it by using temp basal rates for the latter part of the drive. You certainly can't do that on NPH! (I had to pat myself on the back for that one. Of course then we had pizza for dinner and, well, that was the end of that. But I'll save that for another time.)

We also went for a hike at the beautiful Ricketts Glen in PA. It's famous for the many waterfalls that you see along your way up the mountain. If we lived closer I would be there all the time. Anyway, we did not complete the whole trail to the top because I didn't think Taylar could make it the whole seven miles AND we were hiking with my almost-8- months pregnant sister! Both of them did great though :) An hour in Taylar's reading was 120 and that was after having a juice box. We still had a ways to go and I did not want to deal with a low on the side of a mountain! Now here is a huge reason why I love the OmniPod. All I did was set her pod on a temporary basal of -25% for one hour. It took us just about an hour to complete the hike and when we were done her reading was 150. Yipee! I called that one a success too.

This is the 40 foot waterfall. They kept getting bigger and bigger as we hiked. Just beautiful.

So for now I'm still learning and still hanging in there. There are only 9 days of school left for Taylar and I'm very excited about that. I'm planning on enjoying this summer to its fullest.

Tear jerker

2010-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

A poem in memory of the author, Gary Hempleman, for all children with diabetes.

She walks down the hallway in silence so deep,

Keep watch over him, as her little one sleeps.

With meter in hand, she opens his door,

Making sure not to wake him as she crosses the floor,

She sits on his bedside and brushes his hair,

As he dreams of shooting baskets, without a "D" care.

She holds his hand softly; his fingers so small,

As she watches and wonders why "D" came to call.

While she watches him sleeping, so peaceful and warm,

The forces inside him fight a constant "D" storm.

Will he ever be free of shots and blood testing?

She sits and she wonders as she watches him resting.

The beep of the meter breaks the silence of the night;

A small drop of blood tells if everything's right.

The seconds count down to the final display,

I hate this damn meter; i want to throw it away.
The number is fine, one down, a lifetime to go,

As he turns in his sleep, will he ever know?

Why does this "D" happen to someone so small?

My son is my hero, but my baby most of all.

She turns at his doorway, looking back one more time,

It's a nightly routine of the very worst kind.

She walks down the hallway and time passes by,

As she sits in dark silence and quietly cries.

I have to stay strong, and for him i will fight,

We'll battle this "D" with all of our might.

I'll teach him to master and conquer this foe,

This "D" will not stop him, i promised him so.

~Gary Hempleman~

Finally a pump update!

2010-05-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

So here I sit on the couch at 3:45 am while the rest of the house is asleep. Why? Because diabetes is keeping me up. It has been two weeks since Taylar started using the OmniPod (is that all?) and things have definitely been interesting. Overall her numbers during the day have been pretty good. Actually, no, they've been great. There have been occasional lows which I don't like and am not really used to though. We've handled them he best we could and I'm convinced the change in weather has a lot to do with it.

The first week was a bit overwhelming learning all there is to know about the pump but by now we pretty much have it down. (Except for extended bolusing which I'm very anxious to use especially for when we eat pizza. But I won't get into that now because "Taylar vs Pizza" could be a blog all it's own!) Of course the biggest benefit is not drawing up syringes or dialing up insulin pens. I hardly use the sharps container anymore which has been a good thing.

So part of this whole thing has been checking Taylar overnight at 12am and 3am. Oh yes, that has been a blast, let me tell you. I've tried handling it in different ways. Staying up until 12 to test, trying to sleep before getting up at midnight, attempting a nap during the day. Honestly, it doesn't matter how I do it because in the end it leaves me T I R E D! And, like tonight, sometimes it leaves me A W A K E! Just can't win sometimes I guess.

Before dinner last night we changed her pod site to her back. She never put it there before so I was a little nervous that it might hurt. But like usual, Taylar took a few deep breaths and moved on.

For these two weeks we have been adjusting the basal rate set for 8pm - 12am to bring down her midnight highs. And we're talking 272, 365, 488, and 255 just to name a few numbers from this week. Lovely, huh? It started out at .3 basal rate. Up to .35, up to .40. It doesn't really matter what we changed it to, she's still high at that time. Talk about frustration! Yesterday I called our nurse educator (yet again) and left a message saying I assume I should up it to .45. She called me back laughing saying, "Hey, you don't need me anymore." (Yeah right!) So tonight .45 it is. That sounded like a lot, it should do the trick. Right after changing the pod I made the basal rate change for the night. Blood sugar check was 120 before bed. Her target! Ooh, happy Momma!

So bedtime....I went through the whole bedtime routine and Taylar started complaining that the site hurts. Mind you we just changed it 3 1/2 hours prior. She tried laying in different positions but she really seemed uncomfortable. After about 30 minutes of trying to convince her that it was fine (because yah, I would know how it feels right? Not!) we changed the site. This was a first. It was a new pod and it was now 8:30 (She's usually asleep by 8pm) and Taylar needs her beauty sleep. (I'll just leave out the part that I had planned on grabbing my iPod and going for a nice long walk by myself after she was in bed. Note to self: Never plan something for yourself because chances are it probably won't actually happen.) Let the frustration kick in here. Ugh! The site looked fine but obviously it didn't feel very good, poor kid. We did what we had to do and by 9pm she was back in bed and sound asleep. I pouted as I folded laundry and then had some ice cream with praline sprinkles. (Hmm, probably not the best decision but my emotional eating could be yet another blog all on its own!)

Midnight check at the new, increased again, basal rate was... 273. Waahhhh!?! I gave a correction and rechecked at 3am...201. What the?

So THAT is why I'm sitting here in front of the computer while everyone else is sleeping. The diabetes monster is having its way with me and won't get out of my head. I'll call our nurse educator in the morning to see what in the world we should do again. ::sigh::

Oh my goodness, it's 4:30am and I hear birds chirping outside! Maybe I should try and go back to sleep now. My hubby leaves for work in an hour and my youngest, Carissa will be up about an hour after that though. Maybe I should just stay up.........Actually, maybe I should grab the iPod afterall and take that walk. But sshhhh, don't tell anyone!

Foodie Friday - Mini Microwave Triple Chocolate Cake

2010-05-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

Who doesn’t like chocolate cake? It is an involved process to make a chocolate cake from scratch including all that yummy frosting, however, which happens to be a good thing in a house with a child who has diabetes. This certainly isn’t like my Mom’s birthday cakes but it serves a purpose for dulling the urge for chocolate cake. On occasion the girls make these mini microwave triple chocolate cakes all by themselves for dessert. This recipe comes from my Hungry Girl cookbook which I love. All of her recipes are so different and include nutrition facts which is a plus. Here’s the recipe for one individual microwave cake but put out two ramekins and measure the ingredients for two!

Mini Microwave Triple Chocolate Cake:
Per cake w/ topping: 27g carbs

Ingredients:

2T cool whip free, thawed

1T Hershey’s Lite chocolate syrup, divided

2T devil’s food cake mix

1T vanilla yogurt

For the topping, stir together Cool Whip and half of the chocolate syrup. Put this in the freezer for firm up a bit while you make the cake.

In a very small microwave-safe dish (like a ramekin), combine cake mix and yogurt. Stir until smooth and blended. It doesn’t seem like much but it will puff up as it cooks!

Microwave for 1 minute. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

Remove chocolatey whipped topping from freezer and spoon over your cake. Drizzle with the remaining chocolate syrup on top. Enjoy!

Better late than never.... If There Was a Cure...

2010-05-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have had quite a week. Taylar has been on the pump for 6 days now and the tiredness and newness is taking a toll on me. I had every intention of taking part in the daily diabetes blog, but I just couldn't keep up. I had a good cry yesterday, pulled myself up off the floor, put it behind me and feel a bit better today. Eventhough blog week is over, I have to participate in the "if there was a cure" day.

I would no longer pray for a cure, but instead praise God that one was found!

I would sleep soundly at night and not become stressed if Taylar slept in a bit in the morning.

I wouldn't hate myself for leaving small bruises on Taylar's arms and buttocks from giving her injections.

I would re-gain a kitchen cabinet that right now it stocked wtih diabetes supplies.

I wouldn't withhold or force food based on what blood sugar numbers are on the meter.

In fact, I would throw away our meters, lancets, lancing devices, test strips for glucose and ketones, control solution, pods, insulin, alcohol wipes, pens, glucose tabs, glucagon, syringes, and anything else I missed.

I would erase the phone number to Children's Hospital from my memory.

I would not panic if I left the house during the day and left my cell phone on the counter by mistake.

I would drop Taylar off at her friends' houses or at their birthday parties without having to give explanations or just staying myself.

I would let Taylar swim, jump, run, and dance for twelve hours straight if she wanted to and not once stop her to do a test or drink juice.

I would not hear another child ask, "Hey, what's that thing?" in reference to Taylar's new pump.

I would not cry as often as I sometimes do.

I would not miss filling out paperwork for school and activities that include a heatlh history. It would be like it used to be....blank.

I would enjoy cooking and baking again because I wouldn't have to worry about the carb counts of foods.

I would never look up food in Calorie King anymore!

I would take the kids out for hot fudge sundaes and only leave the house with my wallet. No supplies.

I would be overjoyed and thankful.

Let's get moving. Exercise.

2010-05-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I missed a couple of days...but hopefully I'm back and will have time to participate the rest of the week!

How do we get moving? Well, we are a family that likes to be outside so weather permitting, after school the girls are outside. Now that Taylar rides her bike well and spring has sprung, we go for bikes rides very often together. We usually go for about two miles. I have a bike bag attached to my bike so I always keep some glucose tabs in there. I also try to remember to grab Taylar's monitor, my cell phone, and a water bottle too. We have never run into a problem blood sugar wise when we've gone on a bike ride but it's good to be prepared.

Swimming! Taylar is a fish and loves to swim! I can barely talk to her when she's in the water because she is constantly underwater doing flips and handstands. My parents live a mile away and have a pool that we visit very often in the summertime. In addition my in-laws have a place on a lake that we visit on weekends in the summer as well. I have never been successful telling Taylar to take a break from the water at the lake so I'm interested as to how this summer is going to go. I plan on stocking up on some gatorade or something!

It's not exactly "pool weather" here in New Hampshire yet but since August every time Taylar has gone swimming at a hotel or at the local Boys and Girls Club she has gone low. I just recently figured out how to handle it though. The solution was simple really. At first I would have Taylar do a blood sugar test and have a snack before she swims. This wasn't enough because her swimming is so strenuous. In addition to testing and having a snack I bring a juice box along and have her sip away at it every 15 minutes or so. Since adding the juice she has not gone low when swimming. I do, however, watch her blood sugar for a few hours afterwards though because sometimes she is a victim of the lag effect.

On her own Taylar is always dancing and performing for us! I would have to say that dancing is the most consistent form of exercise she gets. We are always summoned to her room to watch her latest routine to some great NickJonas music! She has been taking dance for 5 years and the girl is only 8! It is her first love and great exercise!

Whether you walk, bike, dance or swim, it doesn't matter. Just get out there and move!

Making the Low Go

2010-05-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Day2: Making the low go

How we treated two recent lows Taylar had:
Last night's meter reading: 64... at midnight. Ugh! Too much jumping on the new trampoline so close to bedtime. BUT I'm so glad I followed my instinct and checked her at that time.

I urged her to drink 2 oz. juice and eat a 2 oz. chunk of banana spread with peanut butter to make it last a little longer. I rechecked at 2am and she was 146. Zzzzz.

----

Meter reading: 45 after school yesterday. (I have no idea where this came from but I instantly went into stress mode.) Taylar had 2 watermelon flavored glucose tabs (which happens to be her new found favorite flavor) and a small spoonful of frosting left over from her birthday cake. (Score!) After waiting 20 minutes her reading was 96. Not high enough to go to dance class for an hour so she had a graham cracker with peanut butter. We eat the sticky, yummy, nutty stuff a lot in this house. She was 117 after dance/before dinner so we managed this low okay. She was wiped out though after dance and after having such a low, low, poor thing.

Topic 1: A day in the life....with diabetes

2010-05-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

- Wake up around 7:15am and do blood sugar test

- Use sliding scale to figure out Novolog dose per Taylar's "set in stone" 50-55 grams of carbs breakfast; 2 units.  Mix, by syringe, along with 12 units of NPH and give her a shot.

- Because we are on a saline trial for the OmniPod, Taylar and I then work together to give a saline bolus to cover her breakfast.

- PUT PDM IN TAYLAR'S BACKPACK!

- 8am - Eat said breakfast consisting of a set amount of carbs using our digital kitchen scale to weigh and measure. Get dressed, brush hair...all that other good stuff while I...

- Make Taylar's lunch for school consisting of yet another "set in stone" 45-50 grams of carbs.  And, because of the pump trial, write down a big "50" on a slip of paper and put it in her lunch box so the school nurse will know how much of a saline bolus she'll get at lunch. Otherwise, she usually does not get a shot at lunch because the morning NPH covers it. However, if I go over the set 45-50 carbs at lunch it makes her sky high because the NPH can't handle it. Oh yah, throw a morning snack in her bag also.

- Attempt to make the bus before it drives by and ask Taylar to re-check her bag for the PDM and remind her to go right inside and give it to the nurse when she gets off the bus. I also remind her to see the nurse at her morning snack time.

- 10:30 Taylar has her snack with the rest of the class at morning recess. BUT before she goes outside she sees the nurse for another saline bolus per the carbs on her packaged snack.

- 12:00 Taylar goes to lunch but leaves five minutes before her class to check in with the nurse. She does a bg test and bolus covering her 45 g carbs is delivered with the PDM (that we remembered to pack! Yay!)

- Meanwhile, at home, I wait for the phone to ring between 12:00 and 12:15 for a "she's high" or "she's low" phone call.

- At 2:00 Taylar grabs a snack from her afternoon snack stash and eats it in class because her morning NPH is about to peak and I don't want her to be low at 3:00 when she gets off the bus. She's the only one having a snack at this time. (She doesn't go down for a bolus this week because once we start the OmniPod for real this 2:00 snack will go away.)

- 3:15 off the bus. Check Taylar's backpack for the PDM! Do homework and play outside (hopefully) and then she'll bug me for a snack around 4:00. Because dinner is a whole hour away I have her test. Depending on what it is she may have something small to hold her over until dinner is ready.

- 5:00 is dinner time. Do a bg test and dose Novolog pen depending on how many carbs she is going to eat, usually around 55. She usually gives herself the injections with the pen, so I just watch.

- Grab the PDM and deliver a fake bolus based on her food.

- 7:00 is bedtime snack time. Do bg test and give her 14-18g carbs and shot of 4 units of NPH to cover her at night.

There's a lot of eating going on every 2 hours! It's very difficult living by the carb count and by the clock but months ago we figured this is what worked best because we are fairly "routine" household. (Don't ask me what her numbers look like on most weekends though!)

Tomorrow will be our first day using the OmniPod with insulin and not saline! I can't wait for Taylar to have more freedom to eat when she's hungry instead of because the clock tells her to.  I also can't wait until she has a 70 carb lunch! Oh the horror! :)

Foodie Friday - Creamy Carrot Salad

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here's my second recipe, just in time for the warmer spring weather. I made this salad the other day just by going through my fridge and seeing what I had. You may have all the ingredients on hand too so measure everything together, stir it all together, chill it, and serve. It's that easy!

Creamy Carrot Salad

Makes 8 servings

4C grated carrots
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2C mayonnaise

1/2C raisins

1 tsp. sugar

1-1 1/2C cool whip

1/2C shredded coconut (optional)

Combine all ingredients and chill for about two hours before serving.

Nutrition:
Serving size: 1/2C
20g carbohydrates each

If you omit the coconut the carbs drop to about 17 carbs.

Four days in

2010-05-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been four days since starting the saline trial on the pump. Let's see.... one day I forgot to send the PDM remote to school and one day Taylar forgot to see the nurse at snack time for a bolus. All things considered, not too bad! I now have a sticky note on the front door to remind us on our way out to meet the bus in the morning to pack the PDM. For tomorrow I actually put a small sticky note on her morning snack too that says, "Remember to see the nurse!". Hey, anything to help us with this new schedule, right? We're so far into the school year that changing what we've always done has been a bit tricky. And on top of all the pump issues, we had to adjust Taylar's insulin because she had been running in the 200s for three days in a row. Like we needed that. I called our diabetes nurse educator though, who we LOVE and I think is a genius, and just like that...bam.. "normal" numbers and no more 200s. Thank you!

We've also done two site changes since Saturday and they have gone well. Taylar likes to use baby oil to peel the pod off and I like it because it will help keep her skin smooth and soft. She has not shown any irritation which is great. We were with some of my husband's family tonight to celebrate Taylar's birthday which is this Sunday, and she chose to do the site change in front of them so they could see how it works. I was pretty proud of her. We all were actually. The anticipation of the cannula inserting is getting a little bit easier and I assume will get even better with time.

Overall I can see how using the OmniPod (or any pump I'm sure) is going to make life a little bit easier. Dare I say I feel like it will give us a little more freedom? We have been on such a strict schedule since last August that I forget what freedom feels like. I also feel the pod is a good choice for Taylar personally where it just attaches to her body. She tends to always have busy fingers so not having external tubing is helpful in that. It also fits her activity level and withstands how many times a day she changes her clothes! Ha, ha!

Hooked up

2010-05-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

What a day! We waited all day for the OmniPod representative to come to our house for our 2:30 appointment. I don't think I stopped praying all day. The morning went by okay and we were able to distract ourselves but the afternoon was tough.  Taylar started asking questions and seemed to be getting nervous but also excited at the same time about the pump. Me? I couldn't think of anything else all day and never even ate lunch. Of course I didn't realize this until 4:30! Not that missing a meal would hurt me much, but still.  This is such a big step and we are only 9 months into this whole diabetes thing, so it's all very overwhelming.

The girl who met with us was named Megan and she was very nice. She is a podder herself which made Taylar happy. There is such an instant connection when she meets other people with diabetes. Her smile says it all. It's the "Hey, I'm not alone in this" smile. My parents joined us for the training as well.  My Mom is 100% on board with learning as much as she can. She's the one I volunteer with and attend JDRF meetings with. She would do anything for Taylar...or Carissa, or me & Eric for that matter! I have the best Mom in the world. My Dad was able to help with Carissa which was nice because of course, as if on schedule, she woke up from her nap at precisely 2:31...right after Megan arrived. Ugh!

Megan walked us through the PDM remote's nitty gritty settings and how to set basal rates and deliver boluses. Taylar showed a lot of interest in it but then hid on the couch as we were getting to the last menu to review. She knew it was time to put the pod on. This was the hardest part of the day for all of us. She ran from the couch to her sister's bedroom to avoid the inevitable of being "stuck". My husband Eric went in to get her telling her she can do it and it will be fine, etc.  Then came the tears. There's nothing like seeing your kid cry because they're afraid. It was totally the fear of the unknown, and nerves even though all of us (except Carissa) wore a demo pod (with the cannula inserted) at a previous appointment in Boston.

She half-heartedly peeled the backing off the pod and stuck it on her abdomen while sniffling and clutching onto Rufus, her JDRF bear, as tight as she could. There were a few more whimpers out of fear and a few more tears while we used the remote to activate the pod. The anticipation of waiting for the stick was the worst and at that moment seeing Taylar's face I just wanted to take it all away. It was killing me.

When we finally heard the click of the cannula being inserted and told Taylar it was all done she calmed down very quickly. What a trooper!  At this point I looked at my Mom and she was white as a sheet. I don't think she was breathing through this whole process! Moments later after reassuring us that she was in deed okay, Taylar put her sandals on and went outside to play in the yard. That's it. All done. She was fine. She was fine.

My parents stayed over for a while afterwards and we all got to get some much needed fresh air in the yard on this beautiful 70 degree spring day. Mom and I kept talking about how hard it was to see Taylar upset but then as we saw her racing Carissa to the swings, shooting hoops with her Grampy, playing catch, and making mud pies in the sandbox we knew everything would be just fine. GOD is in control. He always has been and always will be.

Foodie Friday - Candy Popcorn

2010-04-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

So, here it is...my first Friday recipe. We will be making this "candy popcorn" for Taylar's 8th birthday party next week so I figured I'd start off easy by posting this sweet snack. I do have original recipes that I plan to share, but this one actually came from dLife.com under the "recipes" tab. If you want to go directly to the site, click here. I use that website quite a bit actually whether it's for a low carb food idea or for the message boards. Back to the food! Here's the recipe:

Candy Popcorn
Makes 10 Servings
Serving Size: 2/3 Cup
Carbs: 13g

Ingredients:

13C popped popcorn

1 egg white

2T molasses

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4C Splenda

1/2C dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 11x13 pan with cooking spray. Place popcorn in a large bowl. In another bowl, add egg white, molasses, vanilla, salt, and Splenda. Whisk very well. Add peanuts and stir until coated. Pour over popcorn. Toss until popcorn is coated.

Place on baking pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally until crispy.

Remove from oven, cool on wax paper. Enjoy!

This is a great alternative to fiddle faddle or other sweetened popcorn treats. It saves you about 10g carbs in comparison so it's worth it to me. Before diabetes, I never gave my kids artificial sweeteners, but now I feel sometimes there's no choice. I've since gotten over it and use Splenda occasionally in baking... and making this popcorn. Everything in moderation I say. Enjoy!

Foodie

2010-04-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to think of something different to add to my blog. I do treat it as my diary for when I need to get something off my chest, but I think it needs a little bit of fun too.

One passion of mine is food. Whether it's cooking or baking or looking at one of the very many cookbooks I have in my collection, I never tire of good food. I guess that makes me a self proclaimed "foodie"! I can't tell you how many Rachael Ray shows I have on my DVR right now. Actually, I enjoy watching just about anything on the Food Network.

Part of my cookbook collection. There are more on top of

this shelf, but it looked too messy to post!

When diabetes first become a part of our life I had a hard time cooking and especially baking for my family. It kind of took the joy out of it when I had to get out the Calorie King to look up the carbohydrates in every recipe ingredient. And making casseroles... it wasn't worth it.

It's been just about nine months since my daughter's diagnosis and I've just recently gotten back in to making cookies and banana breads and things. I didn't realize how much I missed it! With our pump start date right around the corner, I imagine letting my daughter eat "normal" foods will be easier to manage. Right now we're on such a strict eating schedule it's tough. And we're still learning that not all carbs are created equally.

Anyway, I've decided to add a food section to my blog where I will feature a tried-and-true recipe on Fridays. Well, I will try my best to make it every Friday! Oh, and don't worry, I will certainly provide the serving sizes and carb counts, so you can put that Calorie King down!

The Omni Pod

2010-04-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Almost a month ago I mentioned receiving a rather large package from Inuslet Corporation containing the OmniPod insulin pump starter kit. I have since opened the intimidating box and familiarized myself, husband, and Taylar with the system. The OmniPod does not have any tubing like other insulin pumps which is a feature that my daughter was drawn to. The pod will be adhered to Taylar's abdomen, arm, leg, buttocks...just about anywhere, and will give her spurts of insulin (basal) 24/7 delivered through a soft cannula automatically inserted under her skin. We will also use the Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) to deliver quick doses of insulin (bolus) to cover carbs she eats. The site she wears the pod will have to be changed every other day. If you want to see how it works, OmniPod has a great interactive website and you can check it out here.

Before switching from injections to a pump there is some training involved, thank goodness. On May 1 a representative from OmniPod will come to our house to set us up. Or should I say to set Taylar up? She will first wear the pump filled with only saline for about 10 days in order to get used to it and to troubleshoot any issues that may come up. I have to say that I'm pretty nervous about this. Not only is Taylar going to have to wear the pump but because it's only saline at first, we will still have to give her injections as well. Ugh.

Our official pump start date, however, is Tuesday, May 11, which happens to be 2 days after Taylar's 8th birthday. The pump is by no means to be thought of as a birthday present though! It just happened to work out that way. We have a two hour appointment at Children's Hospital, Boston, to start this whole process with real insulin. We will have an hour break for lunch and then another appointment with the social worker. I have to say I am looking forward to the social work appointment both for Taylar and me. This has been such a huge life changing issue but we haven't been able to talk to many people about it. I have found a lot of support online though which has been helpful at least for me.

So that's what's going on with the pump! I mentioned it but then got scared and tried to forget about it. We did have a while to wait in between receiving the package and actually using the pod but now it's here!

Marathon Monday

2010-04-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the famous 26.2 mile Boston Marathon run. To those who live around here it's dubbed Marathon Monday. Each year on this day, Taylar's elementary school holds their very own "Barrathon", named after her school.

This one mile run is enjoyed by all the kids because it means they are out of the classroom, get extra recess, and are rewarded with a popsicle afterwards. Nothing sounds complicated here, does it? Well, when you have a child with type 1 diabetes, it is.

The last thing I wanted to happen is to have Taylar collapse with a low blood sugar. It's something that I fear every day. So the run was scheduled for 1:45pm which is 15 minutes before Taylar's usual 2:00 snack. (No one else has a snack in her class at that time) The questions I had to ask myself were;
Did she eat all of her lunch?
Should she test before the run?
Should she eat her snack before it?
Save it for after?
Skip the popsicle?
Let her have the popsicle?
Have her test after the run?

Nothing is easy but I have learned how exercise, even just a little bit, can cause Taylar's blood sugar to lower so I had to consider all things.

Now, I know I should have contacted the school nurse this morning before the run but I just didn't want to. I don't know what it was but I just didn't want to be bothered by this disease this morning and have to talk about how to handle the Barrathon. This wasn't very responsible of me, however, luckily, the school nurse is wonderful! She was right on top of things. She had Taylar do a finger prick test at 1:30 and because she was in her target range she ate her snack. After the run she had her popsicle too. When she came home she tested at 199. A little high after the sugary, red popsicle, but it wasn't in the 200s so I was very happy with that.

This is just an example of how something so minor can become so much more.

Rollercoaster ride

2010-04-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

The name of my own blog made me laugh because today we've seen just that... highs, lows, and in between! With spring finally here we certainly have been spending more time outside and being more active than in the cold winter. Because of that, the extra exercise has caused a couple of low blood sugars for Taylar. Even when we treat her (with sugar/juice and a snack) her number comes back up but it seems to only be temporarily because the benefits of exercise seem to catch up with her hours later sometimes. The thing I hate most about these lows is how unrecognizable my own daughter can become. When you see a 47 on her glucometer (the device to test her blood sugar with) you never know what you're going to get. Her behavior is just uncontrollable and almost scary. Has your child every had a nightmare at night and was crying but never really woke up when you went to comfort them? It's kind of like that. This crazy behavior that you point out to her and she just looks at you with crazy eyes and has no control over her body. Not to mention that her skin goes pale. That is a sign that I have learned to recognize. *sigh*

Here's our rollercoaster ride from breakfast to bedtime. Picture a graph connecting the numbers.

171 - 47 - 109 - 62 - 280 - 139 - 86 - 127 - 219

The target number we try for is 130. Each number is obtained by doing a finger prick. 9 times in one day. Some days it's just plain wrong.

On a happy note...
Yesterday I took Taylar to the Boys and Girls Club for a 1/2 hour "free swim". She had a blast of course and I'm proud to say that we managed to stay "in between" for that short swim. Every time since her diagnosis that she has gone swimming, be it at a hotel or club, she has had a low. This time I was prepared. It helped that it was only going to be a 1/2 hour, but still. About 3 times, every 10 minutes, I had her swim over to the side and sip a bit of juice from a juice box. The usually forbidden juice box savored only for low blood sugar treatment. She didn't seem to mind and it kept her nice and even through her swim. Happiness.

Pump it up

2010-03-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

The other day I received a large box from Insulet Corporation in Bedford, Masschusetts. It was Taylar's starter kit for the OmniPod insulin pump! At first I kind of just stared at the box but then dove right in. Starting the pump is going to free us of giving her shots 3+ times every day. It's only going to be one stick every other day. The pump will be attached to her body 24/7 and will give spurts of insulin all through the day and night, much like a normal functioning pancreas does. It will help with her blood sugar numbers and will free us up from our very tight eating time table. Once she starts the pump she will eat to her appetite, not by the clock or carb count. I see a little bit of freedom at the end of this tunnel!

You are always on my mind

2010-03-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

The other day Taylar came home with a list of sentence that she had written at school which incorporated her spelling words for the week. I noticed right away that the handwriting was very well done which I was proud of and then that word "diabetes" stuck out like a sore thumb to me. One of her spelling words was "happy". The sentence she wrote was, "There will be a cure for diabetes. I am so happy!" I bet no one else wrote that sentence.
It's times like this that I hate diabetes. I just want it to go away! It is something that invades my thoughts on a minute by minute basis every single day. It is something that I have to consider when making most of my daily family decisions. Although Taylar doesn't complain or talk much about her diabetes in a negative way except for the occasional, "I really don't want to do this", it is sadly always there and always on her mind. I wish I could take it away. It comes out of her in certain ways at random times, like this spelling word sentence. I was happy to see that her teacher drew a little smiley face next to it though. :)

Another example happened last night. It was raining pretty hard and she is the only one with a bedroom upstairs. She sometimes gets woken up from the rain pouring down on the roof which is what happened last night. She came into my room around 3am scared saying she couldn't sleep. I walked her back up after trying to convince her that it's just rain and she'd be fine. She asked me to pray, so I did while sitting on the edge of her bed. In my sleepiness I prayed that the rain would stop soon and that both of us would be able to fall back to sleep until the sun came out. I then asked her if she wanted to pray too and she did. This is what she said, "Dear God, thank you for this night and that I have a Mom, a Dad, and a sister to take care of me and all my diabetes stuff...." I don't know if she said something more after that. I think she did. I totally didn't hear her though because I was trying to figure out what was going on. I thought she was afraid of hearing the rain and couldn't sleep? What did her diabetes have to do with it?

No she doesn't complain about this new way of life but it never leaves her and it's obviously always on her mind. I was so sad when I went back to bed wishing I could take it all away. There are times too when she'll randomly mention some fact about Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers, who happens to have type 1 like her. Or the time she told me a boy had school bought and ate not one, but two ice creams at lunch. She was horrified that he would eat that much sugar. I was too, but that's besides the point!

So I don't know what the root of the problem was last night. We are hopefully transitioning to a pump soon instead of injections and a part of those many appointments is meeting with a social worker to discuss the changes that pumping will bring to our lives. I may let our social worker in on a little bit of my concern of Taylar possibly keeping things bottled up inside of her. Maybe she can ask Taylar the right questions in the right way and she'll express some of her true feelings about having diabetes...without me in the room. I think it may be a good outlet for her. Maybe I'll make myself an appointment while I'm at it. Seriously.

Number check: We've only seen the 200s once this past week. I'm so happy about that!

No more 200s

2010-03-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

If there is one word used to describe diabetes, it's unpredictable. We had to make lots of changes recently to Taylar's insulin doses because her numbers have been all over the place. Luckily this week has been so much better! Today, in fact, we have kept her out of the 200s completely! It definitely makes her feel better and that, in turn, makes me pleased.

It rained for 2 solid days. It was finally sunny out and gorgeous today. After doing homework we were able to go for a bike ride. That was nice.

Here's hoping for good numbers tomorrow!

The New Life

2010-03-09T16:18:00.000-08:00

During our two night stay at the hospital we learned so much about type 1 diabetes. It was extremely overwhelming. At night when she was sleeping I would cry. The quiet of the night (well, as quiet as it could be in a hospital) would just make everything come to the forefront of my mind. I did not want her to see me upset and was so strong during the day. At night I would crumble.

Having a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes means that four times a day Taylar has to do finger pricks to obtain a number relating to the amount of sugar/glucose in her blood. (I may use the words sugar or glucose interchangeably) Her normal range is between 70-180. (Remember she was 550 at the doctor's office?) Depending on what the number and what she is going to eat she gets a certain amount of insulin injected under her skin with a syringe or insulin pen. Four shots a day. NO person should have to live like that. I have to mention here that I have a very strong dislike for needles and have actually fainted twice from shots I received! Can you imagine how I felt learning to give a needle to my own daughter?? It was horrible.

The carbohydrate counting was a learning curve too and still is. She is allowed a certain amount of carbohydrates for her three meals and three snacks per day. We have discovered, however, that not all carbs are created equally. It makes it hard with meal planning, that's for sure. If she has a picky night and doesn't want to eat some of the dinner I made but she already had her insulin shot, there is a chance she may have a reaction to having too much insulin and not enough food, a low blood sugar. She calls it a "low". Fortunately, she has become aware of how she feels when she is low so we can treat it right away by giving her juice, skittles, or glucose tabs.

So seven months in and things don't exactly seem "normal" yet but as I' ve read in a few books it could take up to a year for things to seem "normal". I know inside things will never be the same again however.

How it all began...

2010-03-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

It was that time of year when I go away for a mountain biking weekend in Waterville Valley with my sister. Our "sister weekend" as it has been named, is one of my favorite things to do every year. On Sunday, August 2, 2009, I came home from an awesome weekend of sleeping late, eating good food, and just being with my sister.

While I was away my husband took our two girls to his parents' place on a lake in Maine. There was a pancake breakfast, trip to the candy store, and a birthday party all in that one weekend up there. Sunday night our 7 year old, Taylar, continued to come downstairs at night to use the bathroom. She had started doing this during the two weeks prior, but not as bad as this evening. She was constantly asking for a drink of water and in turn, constantly going to the bathroom. Because her bedroom is upstairs and the bathroom is down, we would hear her every footstep and she would leave the light on. It got very annoying.

The next day I mentioned this situation to my Mom out of frustration of having my precious sleep disturbed. With much hesitation, because that's how Mom is, (she would never want to "butt in". BUT I would never think of it that way anyway! My Mom is the best and would listen and take her advice any day of the year.) my Mom asked me if I thought Taylar's situation had anything to do with the fact that my husband's grandmother has diabetes. She thought some of the symptoms sound like what Taylar is experiencing.

I had no clue. I never thought of that. I just thought the girl was driving me crazy! On Tuesday, August 4, 2009 I made a doctor's appointment for Taylar because the constant drinking and urinating continued. I made them aware of the symptoms and they wanted to see her right away. They took a blood sample by doing a finger prick and her blood sugar level was off the charts...somewhere around 550. Thank God my Mom said something to me.

The doctor looked at me and said, "What you suspected is correct. Your daughter has diabetes." I froze. I completely froze. I didn't have anything to say and I certainly didn't know what to do. How are you supposed to react when someone tells you that your baby has a chronic disease?

Before I knew it the doctor was on the phone informing Children's Hospital Boston that we would be arriving within the next two hours. "You can make it there within two hours, right? Expect to stay for a couple of nights." My world was slowly being turned upside down and my heart literally ached.

I called my Mom on the way home from the doctor and told her the news. She instantly teared up as I could hear in her voice and just kept saying, "Oh no! Oh no." over and over again. I didn't cry. I was still frozen and just going through the motions.

After an immediate call to my husband at work, and as soon as he arrived home and I was able to grab the bare necessities for a hospital stay, we left for the hospital and were admitted through the emergency room. Our younger daughter stayed with my parents through all of this. The rest of the story is a whirlwind.

Change

2010-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

My life has changed so dramatically in the past seven months since my 7-year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Although there is a lot of family support and I am slowly meeting people in a similar situation, I'd like to have somewhere to go and vent my feelings of having diabetes be such a huge part of my life. I'm thinking this blog may help.

I'm realizing on my facebook account that I often update my status to include my diabetic story of the day. In order to lessen the frequency of that and to give people a break from hearing it, I am looking forward to coming here.

I can't help but be an advocate of type 1 diabetes and finding a cure for the millions of people this disease touches on a daily basis.

http://www.jdrf.org/

Highs,Lows, and In Between

D-Feast Friday - Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

DBlog Day

Halloween - Better late than never

D-Feast Friday! Slow cooker hearty beef chili

Naked Pancreas!

D-Feast Friday - ﻿Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Letting Go

D-Feast Friday - Frozen Peanut Butter-and Chocolate Pie

The Walk

D-Feast Friday - Ham with Apples

Constant Battle

JDRF Tent

First Day of School

A Moment in Time

Jonas Obsessed

OmniPod Arm Bands

A Date I Can't Forget

Good Place

Team Sweet T's Walk Video for 2010

Highs

Just what the Doctor Ordered

Pennsylvania

Tear jerker

Finally a pump update!

Foodie Friday - Mini Microwave Triple Chocolate Cake

Better late than never.... If There Was a Cure...

Let's get moving. Exercise.

Making the Low Go

Topic 1: A day in the life....with diabetes

Foodie Friday - Creamy Carrot Salad

Four days in

Hooked up

Foodie Friday - Candy Popcorn

Foodie

The Omni Pod

Marathon Monday

Rollercoaster ride

Pump it up

You are always on my mind

No more 200s

The New Life

How it all began...

Change

D-Feast Friday - Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing