Oh how I would have loved to be there. So many people who have diabetes and the ones that love and support them talking to our lawmakers in Washington, DC. I can just imagine the energy. Praying for a cure for every type of diabetes - Type 1, Type 2, gestational.
Ramblings of a mother of five, wife of one, and Type 2 diabetic. (formerly known as RFamHere's Ramblings)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Spring break
My children are on spring break this week. Some think it's early, but considering we live in a college town, it's not surprising. Today is one of those days that I want to document. It was an amazing day. A day where my children and I had fun together with very little fighting or whining. What little did occur was toward the end of the day when everyone was tired and starting to get cranky, so I'm not going to count it.
I felt bad needing to wake up my children at 7am on a vacation day, but we needed to leave the house by 8:30 am to make their dentist appointment. We drove to a larger town that has a wonderful dentist that caters to children. I will have to say we have some great dentists in town who treat children, but they are not child-centered. This office only treats children and has a very child-friendly, child-centered office. My kids actually enjoy going to the dentist.
After their visit with the dentist (unfortunately three of the five will be visiting again next month to have one tooth each repaired), we then headed out for lunch. "Where are we going for lunch?" was the question I heard. Honestly, I had no idea. Knowing that after lunch we were headed to the mall (something our small town doesn't have), I started driving in that direction. "We'll just pick something along the way."
Then they spotted it... Steak n Shake. A place they've only heard about on television commercials. Of course we had to stop there! We had a wonderful lunch with burgers, fries, chicken strips, grilled cheese, and shakes. (Mom was good and had an unsweetened iced tea.) Lunch was gobbled up and everyone agreed it was delicious.
Then it was time to visit the mall. A place we only see about once per year, if they're lucky. This mall had something the younger ones wanted and something the older ones wanted. The funny part is, if you look at their purchases you will have a hard time knowing who wanted which store. Build-A-Bear and Hot Topic were the two stores we had on our minds. The children had money of their own to spend and did they ever. The older four children each had previously received a stuffed animal from their Grandma. Now it was the youngest one's turn. Grandma had given her money for her birthday back in October to make her own friend. Yes, it took us a while to get to a Build-A-Bear. Remember that we live in the middle of nowhere and we have five kids with activities. Sometimes things take a while.
Armed with birthday money from Grandma coupled with Christmas money from Granny & Papa, the youngest one went to town. She picked out an adorable purple dog with a sparkly purple collar. She had so much fun stuffing it, giving it a bath, dressing it up, and giving it a name (first name is Twinkles). She also enjoyed watching her sisters shop in the store as well! The oldest got a white owl which was named Hedwig (we're Harry Potter fans, if you can't tell). Hedwig will be joining eldest at college in the fall. My second one decided to get an outfit for the bear Grandma had previously purchased. The middle one picked out a bunny with floppy ears which she named Sir Hops-A-Lot. He received a pair of jeans and a hoodie. The forth one picked out the green 4-leaf clover teddy bear (named Abby) with a St. Patty's day themed dress. They were having so much fun that I almost bought my own stuffed animal (though I didn't).
After all the new friends were adopted and paid for, we ventured over to Hot Topic. We had a variety of items purchased there: a silly finger puppet, gloves, suspenders, rabbit earmuffs, a button that says "free hugs", and a couple hats. We also took a quick trip over to JC Penny's where #2 found a hoodie she really wanted.
After the mall, we headed over to Borders (bookstore). Surprisingly only four books were purchased. We had a lot of fun looking around though. When we were done there, we headed home. When we were almost home, it was dinner time so we stopped at Dairy Queen to eat. Yes, it was a full-service store, too, so we had actual food and very little ice cream. At that point we were all tired and starting to get a little cranky. We were soon home and spent the evening relaxing. Hubby had something else going on for work, so it was nice that our plans could be flexible today. Not something I'd like to do every day, but it was a nice treat.
Tomorrow our plans are to clean house. If I can get half of what I'd like to get done accomplished tomorrow, I would be content letting them have the rest of the week off as long as they don't mess up what we clean. We'll see if that actually happens! (Prayers welcome!)
Edited to add: I realized after I posted this that it is around 1:30 am on Wednesday. The day I'm talking about is actually Tuesday. I guess I should try to get my mind to turn off so I can actually get to bed so we can do that cleaning tomorrow... umm, today.
I felt bad needing to wake up my children at 7am on a vacation day, but we needed to leave the house by 8:30 am to make their dentist appointment. We drove to a larger town that has a wonderful dentist that caters to children. I will have to say we have some great dentists in town who treat children, but they are not child-centered. This office only treats children and has a very child-friendly, child-centered office. My kids actually enjoy going to the dentist.
After their visit with the dentist (unfortunately three of the five will be visiting again next month to have one tooth each repaired), we then headed out for lunch. "Where are we going for lunch?" was the question I heard. Honestly, I had no idea. Knowing that after lunch we were headed to the mall (something our small town doesn't have), I started driving in that direction. "We'll just pick something along the way."
Then they spotted it... Steak n Shake. A place they've only heard about on television commercials. Of course we had to stop there! We had a wonderful lunch with burgers, fries, chicken strips, grilled cheese, and shakes. (Mom was good and had an unsweetened iced tea.) Lunch was gobbled up and everyone agreed it was delicious.
Then it was time to visit the mall. A place we only see about once per year, if they're lucky. This mall had something the younger ones wanted and something the older ones wanted. The funny part is, if you look at their purchases you will have a hard time knowing who wanted which store. Build-A-Bear and Hot Topic were the two stores we had on our minds. The children had money of their own to spend and did they ever. The older four children each had previously received a stuffed animal from their Grandma. Now it was the youngest one's turn. Grandma had given her money for her birthday back in October to make her own friend. Yes, it took us a while to get to a Build-A-Bear. Remember that we live in the middle of nowhere and we have five kids with activities. Sometimes things take a while.
Armed with birthday money from Grandma coupled with Christmas money from Granny & Papa, the youngest one went to town. She picked out an adorable purple dog with a sparkly purple collar. She had so much fun stuffing it, giving it a bath, dressing it up, and giving it a name (first name is Twinkles). She also enjoyed watching her sisters shop in the store as well! The oldest got a white owl which was named Hedwig (we're Harry Potter fans, if you can't tell). Hedwig will be joining eldest at college in the fall. My second one decided to get an outfit for the bear Grandma had previously purchased. The middle one picked out a bunny with floppy ears which she named Sir Hops-A-Lot. He received a pair of jeans and a hoodie. The forth one picked out the green 4-leaf clover teddy bear (named Abby) with a St. Patty's day themed dress. They were having so much fun that I almost bought my own stuffed animal (though I didn't).
After all the new friends were adopted and paid for, we ventured over to Hot Topic. We had a variety of items purchased there: a silly finger puppet, gloves, suspenders, rabbit earmuffs, a button that says "free hugs", and a couple hats. We also took a quick trip over to JC Penny's where #2 found a hoodie she really wanted.
After the mall, we headed over to Borders (bookstore). Surprisingly only four books were purchased. We had a lot of fun looking around though. When we were done there, we headed home. When we were almost home, it was dinner time so we stopped at Dairy Queen to eat. Yes, it was a full-service store, too, so we had actual food and very little ice cream. At that point we were all tired and starting to get a little cranky. We were soon home and spent the evening relaxing. Hubby had something else going on for work, so it was nice that our plans could be flexible today. Not something I'd like to do every day, but it was a nice treat.
Tomorrow our plans are to clean house. If I can get half of what I'd like to get done accomplished tomorrow, I would be content letting them have the rest of the week off as long as they don't mess up what we clean. We'll see if that actually happens! (Prayers welcome!)
Edited to add: I realized after I posted this that it is around 1:30 am on Wednesday. The day I'm talking about is actually Tuesday. I guess I should try to get my mind to turn off so I can actually get to bed so we can do that cleaning tomorrow... umm, today.
Friday, March 4, 2011
A family afair
Recently, our second child (14 yrs) expressed that she would like to join us working out. She doesn't have physical education this semester (health instead), so I thought joining us would be a great idea. Yesterday the three of us went to the Y. Hubby went on the recumbent bike while kiddo and I each walked a treadmill.
It was a lot of fun. Hubby was behind us. Mother and daughter side-by-side. Since no one else was in the room as we started off, I took the liberty to pick the network on the television in front of us. Food Network. Hubby calls it the carrot before the horse. However, the kiddo and I had fun laughing at the show on chocolate while walking. Giggling about chocolate covered insects was the best!
I'm hoping that my children will enjoy exercise like I never did. I'm so glad she joined us and I'm looking forward to many more workouts together!
It was a lot of fun. Hubby was behind us. Mother and daughter side-by-side. Since no one else was in the room as we started off, I took the liberty to pick the network on the television in front of us. Food Network. Hubby calls it the carrot before the horse. However, the kiddo and I had fun laughing at the show on chocolate while walking. Giggling about chocolate covered insects was the best!
I'm hoping that my children will enjoy exercise like I never did. I'm so glad she joined us and I'm looking forward to many more workouts together!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
In honor of standardized testing...
Our school district is doing testing this week. This song always goes through my head during this time of the school year. Enjoy!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Attack! - Update
Hubby and I have made a goal. On Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, and Saturday, we will go to the Y to work out together. We both have medical conditions that make daily exercise an important need in our lives. (High blood pressure for him, diabetes for me.) So far so good! We worked out last week according to our schedule, even on Saturday when I *really* wanted to sleep in. My fasting glucose levels have been back into the 120s. Not yet where I want them, but much better.
As a side-effect, though, I've been very tired. This happened before when I started working out on a regular basis until my body got used to it. On Saturday night, I was wanting to go to bed at 7 pm. I told myself I'd try to make it until at least 8:30 pm. At 8:45 pm, I finally gave in and went to sleep. It's 8:30 pm right now and I'd really like to go to bed. I didn't work out today, but I really did work. Substitute teaching in a four year old Pre-K classroom then working at Y in the nursery. Both very satisfying jobs, but not leaving a lot left at the end of the day.
What type of exercise do you like? I heard it said once that the best type of exercise for a diabetic is whatever he/she will do. If you enjoy walking, that's for you. If you enjoy swimming, do that. I enjoy walking on the treadmill or track. I also enjoy water aerobics. However, I don't enjoy the stationary bike. Do what you enjoy and the benefits will show!
As a side-effect, though, I've been very tired. This happened before when I started working out on a regular basis until my body got used to it. On Saturday night, I was wanting to go to bed at 7 pm. I told myself I'd try to make it until at least 8:30 pm. At 8:45 pm, I finally gave in and went to sleep. It's 8:30 pm right now and I'd really like to go to bed. I didn't work out today, but I really did work. Substitute teaching in a four year old Pre-K classroom then working at Y in the nursery. Both very satisfying jobs, but not leaving a lot left at the end of the day.
What type of exercise do you like? I heard it said once that the best type of exercise for a diabetic is whatever he/she will do. If you enjoy walking, that's for you. If you enjoy swimming, do that. I enjoy walking on the treadmill or track. I also enjoy water aerobics. However, I don't enjoy the stationary bike. Do what you enjoy and the benefits will show!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Attack!
This morning, I was reading online about someone's morning fasting reading. Her reading was 88 mg/dL.
Awesome! That inspired me to check my fasting glucose. 140 mg/dL. Hmm, not so good. Yes, for some that's a good reading. However, as I've mentioned many times, my goal is non-diabetic numbers. I want my fasting under 100 mg/dL.
Thankfully I've been able to keep my weight under control with my diet. It's been pretty steady, only fluctuating a couple pounds now and then. Overall I have been happy with my weight. However, my glucose levels haven't been to my liking. Yes, I know for many Type 2s, my numbers would probably be ok. Most of the time my glucose levels are "acceptable." However, they're not where I want them. What's missing? Exercise!
Since I started substitute teaching (which is basically a full-time job), I have not had the time... scratch that... made the time to exercise. Yes, I walk a lot, going from one side of the school to another, but I haven't kept up with a good exercise plan. Hubby and I talked this weekend and we have a plan. Tuesdays and Thursdays we'll work out as soon as he gets off work as well as Saturday mornings before our family really gets moving. Our schedules for Mondays and Wednesdays really don't match to work out together, so those two days we'll do our own thing. Sundays are a day of rest, though we do like going for walks if the weather cooperates.
Today is President's Day. My children have the day off from school today. My plan? Take hubby to work, drop off #3 for her Girl Scout day trip, then head to the gym. The treadmill and I have a date this morning.
Awesome! That inspired me to check my fasting glucose. 140 mg/dL. Hmm, not so good. Yes, for some that's a good reading. However, as I've mentioned many times, my goal is non-diabetic numbers. I want my fasting under 100 mg/dL.
Thankfully I've been able to keep my weight under control with my diet. It's been pretty steady, only fluctuating a couple pounds now and then. Overall I have been happy with my weight. However, my glucose levels haven't been to my liking. Yes, I know for many Type 2s, my numbers would probably be ok. Most of the time my glucose levels are "acceptable." However, they're not where I want them. What's missing? Exercise!
Since I started substitute teaching (which is basically a full-time job), I have not had the time... scratch that... made the time to exercise. Yes, I walk a lot, going from one side of the school to another, but I haven't kept up with a good exercise plan. Hubby and I talked this weekend and we have a plan. Tuesdays and Thursdays we'll work out as soon as he gets off work as well as Saturday mornings before our family really gets moving. Our schedules for Mondays and Wednesdays really don't match to work out together, so those two days we'll do our own thing. Sundays are a day of rest, though we do like going for walks if the weather cooperates.
Today is President's Day. My children have the day off from school today. My plan? Take hubby to work, drop off #3 for her Girl Scout day trip, then head to the gym. The treadmill and I have a date this morning.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sick again
It's that time of year. Time for three snow days in a week. Time for sniffles. Time for crazy glucose levels.
On Monday night, I sneezed about five or six times in a row. While that might be normal for some, for me that usually is followed by one doozy of a cold. This time was no different. Tuesday afternoon I woke up with the sniffles. Not that big of a deal. I subbed with an eye on where the boxes of tissue were at all times. By the time I got home, I was done. Around 7pm I took my temperature. 100.0 - Yup, I was officially sick. My glucose level was 195, but that probably has something to do with the pizza we had for dinner more than being sick. At 7:30 I put on my pj's and attempted to read in bed. At 8pm I gave up and laid my head onto my pillow.
I was out for the night, barely able to open my eyes when my husband came in complaining about a child who fell asleep on the stairs and had an accident. Barely able to open my eyes when he came in the room to get his shoes and coat to take our the garbage. Something he also wasn't happy about since that's one of the kids' chores. This morning I apologized that I didn't get up and help, but I couldn't even muster up a response last night to offer help. He of course told me that he wasn't upset with me nor did he expect my help. He knew I was sick. (Have I mentioned lately how awesome he is?)
This morning I was feeling better, though looking very much like Rudolph with a shiny, red nose. My temperature had gone down, enough to make me "school legal" as we call it here, but feeling the need to take it easy. I did get a call to sub today for the same person as yesterday, but I declined. I need a day to get better so I don't get worse. Luckily they were able to find someone else.
Time for lunch now. I wonder if I'll be able to sneak in a nap before picking up the kids.
On Monday night, I sneezed about five or six times in a row. While that might be normal for some, for me that usually is followed by one doozy of a cold. This time was no different. Tuesday afternoon I woke up with the sniffles. Not that big of a deal. I subbed with an eye on where the boxes of tissue were at all times. By the time I got home, I was done. Around 7pm I took my temperature. 100.0 - Yup, I was officially sick. My glucose level was 195, but that probably has something to do with the pizza we had for dinner more than being sick. At 7:30 I put on my pj's and attempted to read in bed. At 8pm I gave up and laid my head onto my pillow.
I was out for the night, barely able to open my eyes when my husband came in complaining about a child who fell asleep on the stairs and had an accident. Barely able to open my eyes when he came in the room to get his shoes and coat to take our the garbage. Something he also wasn't happy about since that's one of the kids' chores. This morning I apologized that I didn't get up and help, but I couldn't even muster up a response last night to offer help. He of course told me that he wasn't upset with me nor did he expect my help. He knew I was sick. (Have I mentioned lately how awesome he is?)
This morning I was feeling better, though looking very much like Rudolph with a shiny, red nose. My temperature had gone down, enough to make me "school legal" as we call it here, but feeling the need to take it easy. I did get a call to sub today for the same person as yesterday, but I declined. I need a day to get better so I don't get worse. Luckily they were able to find someone else.
Time for lunch now. I wonder if I'll be able to sneak in a nap before picking up the kids.
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