The posts have been light this week as the kids head back to school. I'm making four trips to the school everyday and my time is often short. But the kids are just loving it, and having a great time. I'm getting back into the routine of working from home (uninterrupted) --except for the dogs--and being back on a schedule. In some ways it's good, in some ways it's hard. Good in the sense that the kids are doing better being on a routine and I'm happier having time carved in to balance work and school instead of trying to grab a few minutes here and there to do everything.

If you haven't had a chance to check out Leeann of The Butter Compartments Diabetes Art Day 2010 pictures, do it! Our kids really got a different perspective of what diabetes was like through other people's eyes. They loved the art from different countries and from younger children their age. They then wondered why Dad's picture wasn't up there. Hmmm...

Of course, I'm guilty for not participating. With homework, a book I'm helping to write, and work--it just wasn't possible. But we've got some GREAT ideas for next year thanks to all of you!

This morning my normally bouncing off the walls little boy shyly said hello to his soon to be school teacher. This was his first big test of his school career.

His kindergarten assessment test.

I was in the room, but was kept busy filling out forms and papers and stapling together writing books that the teachers had on hand to keep me busy during the half an hour test. I finished the tasks in about 10 minutes, then whipped out World Series of Poker for the remaining 20. Yes, I was nervous. Extremely nervous for my little boy! This was his first BIG test. Secretly though, I'm excited for my first week of "freedom" post summertime. That will last a whopping two days until the reality of my work schedule kicks in and it's back to work for Mom.



When the teacher came over to me to ask if I had any questions, I blurted out, "Yes, I won! $35,000 in the pot!" Much to her dismay she now probably thinks I'm now a stay at home poker addict. (I seriously have not played that game in at least a year). And this WAS one of those phone games. No money involved. Although secretly I was thinking of all the things I could do with $35,000.

My little boy at that moment came leaping over the reading nook stairs (the teacher calls them a keva) and came running to me. "Mom, I'm all done!!"

The teacher nicely says, "We don't do that. Remember, we walk AROUND the stairs."

"Yeah, okay." he replied. So now teacher is probably thinking: Mom has gambling addiction and lets her kids run wild all day long so they don't have any manners.

"Well, nice to meet you Mrs. C. Let me know if you need anything or need my help in the classroom. I would be happy to help out on the days I'm not in school."

"Yeeeees, (hesitantly), I'll be sure to do that."

Great first impression.

On the way home, I asked my son what he thought of his first test. "Exhausting Mom."

"Oh, what does that mean?"

"Boring."

She's growing up way too fast. With hardly a good bye to me, she walked into the first day of school. Now close to halfway through her elementary school years, school is familiar, exciting and full of old friends. Only the nervousness of meeting a new teacher is present.

But a new year also means new problems for Mom.

When she got out of school the other day, she was approached by several of her guy friends. Who gave her big hugs. I glared at those boys. Who dares to hug my daughter in front of me? But than I realized that the glares weren't very effective when you have your sunglasses on.


My son however is a different matter entirely. With ALL of his friends in school (his grade starts a week later than his sister for some reason) so he is bored, bored, BORED!

So yesterday he came up with 10 things he wanted to do:

1. Play with his sister's toys.
2. Play the Wii
3. Play the Wii
4. Play the Wii
5. Eat
6. Play in his room
7. Go golfing
8. Jump on the trampoline
9. Exercise --- running around the backyard.
10. Play in the mud

I just have to laugh sometimes at how precious these moments are. They just leave too quickly because they grow up so fast.

If you are wanting to try out a new recipe, check out my recipe site at BurntApple.com I've got a recipe posted today for Pluot Crisp . (cross between a plum and an apricot). I posted the original recipe, than a diabetes friendly version too!
Definetely something different to try, right?.

"Hang on Mom. I just need to check my sugar." A young girl's voice rang out  from an open van door a few cars down from us.

"Okay honey. You do that." The busy Mom pulled a young baby out of the van and put her in a stroller. She than began mumbling to herelf about needing a Capri Sun box 'just in case,' a snack for the baby, and remembering all the returns she had.

We were getting out of the car at the mall, and of course when my daughter overheard that comment from a couple of cars down, she immediately whipped her head around trying to see where the comment came from.

"Mom. Moooooooooom. Someone has diabeebees," my son whispered loudly to me while tugging on my arm.

"Yeah sweetie. Just like Dad, huh?"

Oops. I think the girl a couple of cars down heard me. And so did her Mom. Because the girl a few cars down then said, "Mooooom, do you think anyone can see me checking my blood? I don't want anyone to see meeeee."



As we walked away from our car, the girl and her Mom looked over at us. I gave a reassuring smile, and my kids waved. At least, I hope that the family interpreted it as reassuring. And not something different, like 'crazy woman giving wierd a. sympathy?? b. disdain?? or c. understanding?? smile?" Because I wasn't giving her a disdainful smile. At all. Diabetes binds all of us. And I hope that I didn't cause her any more embarrasment by noticing.



What do you do? Do you go over and talk to someone in this situation? Or do you sit silent? I'm not sure what the right protocol is. Usually I assess the situation. And this one didn't seem to warrant me approaching a woman in a vulnerable situation with van doors opened and her scrambling to get everything organized in a stroller with a daughter in the van with the door to the van wide open. (Run on sentence, sorry) I don't think I would appreciate a stranger coming over to me in a parking lot at that moment. But her memory still is haunting me. And the fact that she was so embarrased to have anyone see her checking her blood. My heart couldn't help but go out to her.

The kids are going back to school this week. New backbacks, clothes, and shoes are lined up, ready for that first day. There's an excitement and anticipation of new teachers and seeing old friends that haven't been seen all summer. Pencils are sharp, erasers are full. Notebooks are full of crisp new paper.

And yet, the memories occasionally creep in.

Of my Mom calling to go over menus with the cafeteria staff. Mom calling to make sure that I didn't get chocolate milk on my plate. (Bad for the blood sugars). Snacks at odd hours during the day with school mates looking on quizzically. Getting to know the school nurse on a regular basis. Teachers who got a crash course on diabetes. All memories of my childhood.

While I can't change it, I  am grateful for a Mom who worked hard to make sure that I was okay. She did her best. And she worked hard to make sure that I had as normal of a childhood as possible, even with four other siblings at home. She is a great example to other parents with children who have diabetes.

I probably just wish I hadn't given her so much grief. Or gotten in so much trouble with the teachers.

--SCOTT

Isn't it kind of strange when your doctor asks you a question instead of you asking him or her the questions?

I ran into a good friend of mine who is a doctor I worked with in the past several weeks ago. We were talking about Scott, and she asked how he was doing. For some reason, his Addison's came up. She was asking questions about his initial symptoms. And then, she asked me this:

"Traci, what are the chances that your kids could inherit an autoimmune disease?"

I was stumped. A doctor, asking me an intelligent question like that. And then I became embarrased. Of all the questions that we asked our doctors and endocrinologist before having children, somehow that question never came up. Ever.

Addison's Disease is an autoimmune disease. And it's not an uncommon thing with diabetes. in fact, many of those with diabetes end up with other autoimmune disorders like celiac and thyroid problems.

So when my doctor friend asked me, I had to tell her honestly that I had no idea.

Most of the time, the doctors are concerned with our children and diabetes. I mention Addison's and they don't even acknowledge it. Scott says if it was important enough of a concern, they would've mentioned it back when we were having kids. They certainly were great to educate us on the chances of our kids inheriting diabetes. We keep being told that the chances aren't very high that our children may ever inherit diabetes.

But what are the odds of our children inheriting an autoimmune disease? No one could answer that question for us. Do our chances of our children inheriting diabetes or another type of autoimmune disorder go up because Scott has both diabetes and an autoimmune disorder? It's an interesting question, and one that we might just never get an answer for. Because we know that our generation of those with diabetes is the one paving the way for the next generations. And the answers we seek just aren't always there. But hopefully, they're coming.

 

Sitting in my doctors office this week for my son's annual well child/kindergarten exam I expressed my concerns to my doctor over my son not staying dry at night.

"He's been potty trained for well over a year now, but still wears Pull Ups at night. I've tried waking him up at night, and nothing is consistent. Even if I wake him up, he will still wet his Pull Ups at night. He rarely stays dry at night. We've monitored what we give him fluid wise, but he just always seems thirsty. But not excessively thirsty like he hasn't had enough to drink."

The doctor glanced at his chart and saw that over the past year he had only gained a pound.

"That's not atypical for little boys. They are very active. Doesn't your husband have Type 1 diabetes?"

"Yes, and that's how his parents found out he had diabetes. They didn't notice anything weight wise, but he had been potty trained and started to wet his bed at night. He was always thirsty, and ate a lot. My son eats like a horse, yet only put on one pound in the last year. Does that have any correlation?"

"Not really. Some of the signs we would see would be excessively tired. And he would've lost a pound versus gained a pound. Judging from the looks of your son, tiredness is not a problem."

The doctor looked over to see my son spinning around in the doctors chair, getting dizzy, then running around the room. He then proceeded to try to leap onto the examination table. Since he was still dizzy, he just bounced off ot it.

"Nope, definetely not a problem, but it wasn't a problem with his Dad either. I really don't think he has it, but you always worry as a parent. And it's always in the back of your mind."

"I'll make a note, and write you a prescription for some lab work. I won't date it, and if you feel that it's something you want to pursue, you've got the prescription you can take to get his lab work done. We can also pursue medication, but I really hate to do that. I like to have them try to learn to wake up on their own and learn to train their bladder. We can do an ultrasound too, and insert dye into his bladder to see if there is something else going on. But until you decide, just keep doing what you're doing. Waking him up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom."  

I chose to take the prescription and wait. But I still worry. In my head I debate. Should I get the ultrasound? Should I get the lab work? Should I just give it another year and follow some of the advice countless other parents have given to just wait it out? That he might be in his early elementary years before he is fully potty trained? That it's not uncommon for boys to fully potty train late? Do I freak out, or just patiently put it in the back of mind for another year or so? Could my son possibly have diabetes? Could he have some serious bladder problem? Why do I worry so much?

--TRACI

It isn't often that I post pictures about the kids, but these were just too cute to pass up! The kids were anxious and bored with the dog days of summer in full swing, and with only a week and a half until school starts back up I decided it was time to head to the store to try a new hobby.

I believe that when you get bored, it's pointless to buy a new video game or toy. Buy a new hobby that takes plenty of physical and mental learning. That will get a kid so tired that they won't have time or energy to complain about being bored anymore. And often a new hobby is cheaper than a video game to try.

So this time, the kids picked....skateboarding.

At $20 for the board and the protective gear, it wasn't a bad hobby for them to choose. And for most of the week they have been enjoying trying to master and figure out their new chosen sport. Of course, it's meant a lot of walking alongside them up and down the sidewalk, comforting them when they fall down, and playing cheerleader to keep them trying it again. Oh! and demonstrations. Which usually put Scott into a fit of laughter watching me try to do a sport I haven't tried since I was their age.

--TRACI



     The Girl, The Boy, The Glaring at Dad Mom, and the Laughing Dad (absent)

With a Dad with Type 1 diabetes, I've noticed that my children are more keen and aware of other's who have diabetes. Maybe for them it's reassuring to know that there are others like their own Dad out there. Perhaps they feel bonded to that other family because they understand what it's like. Or maybe it's just as simple as they just recognize someone as having diabetes.

With the summer coming to an end for us, and school getting ready to start, we have been living at the pool. Or at least, it feels like we have. My kids love water, and have always loved the pool, lake, and rivers. When we hike, it's usually to something involving water. This summer we've hiked to one of the most beautiful mountain waterfalls up the canyon. We've hiked and played in the river. And we've been camping and boating at a lake. But the winner is often the city pool.

As we were walking into the deep end the other day, my son noticed something small lying on the pool deck. A small notch on one side, and four prominante black lines on the other side of the rectangular strip.

"Mom, MOM!! Look. It's just like Daddy's!!"

My daughter came over to look at it and told her brother what it was.

"It's just a test strip. For diabetes. Like Dad has. But I do believe we have a mystery on our hands. Who here....has diabetes like Dad?"

Suddenly it became a real life mystery to find out who may have had diabetes.But what they found was that diabetes is pretty transparent. It's pretty hard to know who might have it, or who hold's the mystery test strip.

--SCOTT & TRACI

There is nothing that can replace family. Some of our closest family members aren't just family, they are good friends as well. Family is not defined just by blood. But by a bond that is unbreakable. The diabetes community is considered family. Support when we need it, and an unbreakable (actual blood) bond that shows us that diabetes is manageable, livable and doesn't always consume your life. Although at times it seems too. LIke that bill we got yesterday.

For the next several years, one of our family members is away from us in another country. It has been interesting to see how this has affected our own children. They love this member of our family, and the void has been much greater than we could have ever imagined. This is the first time we as parents have seen them actually, truly go through the process of missing someone and watching how they cope with it. We are excited for his opportunity, but the void is still there.



We told the kids that they could send a package out to him. All week they have been fighting (because it's the end of the summer and that's how it is now that they've been together for two months!!) over what cookies to send to him, what treats need to go in the package, and what other gifts he needs. For awhile it was them picking a particular cookie because it was "their" favorite. Soon it was calls to grandma to see what "his" favorite cookie was.

So while our family spends the morning baking and cooking, enjoy your weekend ahead. May it be a weekend of no episodes, great blood sugars, and happy pumps and Dexcoms!