Wednesday, May 30, 2012

May in Pictures

May was a busy month, but it is always a favorite!

Lydia's end of the year party for 3p


L and her cute friend, Ava

Dantz, Frances and Lydia

The only pic of sweet BB from SGI weekend! We miss you, Honey!



Dantz and Carter

Some of my favorite times is sippin' coffee with the fam!


SGI 2012- not a very good one, but I'm smiling. ha!


Oh Emma King, please stop growing! :(

The girls cheering for Emma while she plays catcher!

Sweet Sue Ellen! You are one fast ball player!

The girls and I got to babysit these precious angel one Friday morning....

:)


Ladybug in Daddy's truck!





Happy Birthday, Dad! Thanks for celebrating with us!






It is Summertime and we are lovin' it!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Great News!

All four of us loaded up yesterday morning and headed to Birmingham.  Our first stop was a follow up appointment to discuss L's genetic test results and pancreatic insufficiency.

 We got GREAT news!!!

 CF was completely ruled out and the second leading cause of pancreatic insufficiency, SDS too! We are going to continue with the digestive enzyme replacements for the next three months and then discontinue and observe.  And our sweet girl has gained TWO pounds!

Will and I let out a big ol' sigh of relief.


D and L when we arrived at Children's. Lydia was SO happy to have her best friend/sister with her!

This sweet fella came over to talk with us when we arrived. Quatarious and Will got into a deep convo about shooting hoops. It helped pass the hour wait to see the doctor.

I don't know what it is about these spinning stools, but she cannot leave them alone. Wrecks us!

Tiny D had had enough and conked out in my lap for about 30 winks.

We were thrilled with the news, but exhausted when we left her appointment. We wanted to head home real bad, but decided since we were all together and it wasn't too terribly hot, we would head to the zoo! We didn't tell the girls until we pulled up and parked. We asked Lydia what starts with the letter "Z". She yelled, "zoo"! 

 They both caught a second wind in three seconds flat.




Seriously, look at my tall girl. When did she get so big? Makes this mama sad.


They walked together like this all afternoon, until they couldn't walk anymore.....


Dantz, head only.

This is a terrible pic, I'm using my cell. Why are gorillas so hilarious to watch?  All four of us were giggling at him!


Birmingham Zoo 2012

It was an extremely long day, but we made the best of it.  They were both asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot  and slept all the way to Montgomery.

Wonderful memories were made.

We also learned something very important...........

The Dowling girls are not quite ready for Disney!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Last Day!

Lydia's last day of 3P and Dantzler's last day at Little Lambs- May 18, 2012

IT'S SUMMERTIME!!!!



 This should be it's own blog post, but I haven't been making the time lately. I came across this from an awesome D-Blog that I follow. www.ourdiabeticlife.com and it is so, so true. I just had to post it, so I would always have it. 



We are the D Mothers

We are called D Moms. D Mamas. Even Type 3's.

Sometimes we get a bad rap.

~We're too "intense."

~We worry too much.

~We are overbearing.

~We over think.

~We over react.

~We over manage.

And I only have one thing to say about all of that...

You are probably right.

I want to tell you that if you are a parent, you can understand.

But that is not true.

I want to tell you that if you have diabetes yourself, you can understand.

But that is not true either...just as I will never fully understand your diabetic life,
you will never fully understand mine.

The only way you would understand what goes on in the swelly brain of a D Mama,
is if you were a D Mama yourself.

We are special. Chosen for our story, as you were chosen for yours.

We are fighters, and we will fight until our last breath to keep our children safe.

New technologies like fast acting insulin and insulin pumps provide keys for better management, but they also provide a clear and present danger at all times.

We have to be vigilant.

We look into the eyes of our children and we love them with a bright tenderness. We want more than anything for them to live a life free from restrictions, free from prejudice, free from complications, free from emergency rooms and hospitals.

We feel a responsibility well beyond any bounds of normalcy. We do not want to live a life of regrets. One day we will need to look into the eyes of our adult Type 1 Children and we want more than anything to say...
"I did my best."

The mothers of Type 1's spend every day racked with guilt. Every blood sugar number pierces our heart. We feel responsible for every high and every low.

An argument can be made that diabetes is responsible for every one of those numbers, but in our eyes...whether a reasonable notion or not, we feel they are a reflection of our efforts.

We may not always admit it to you, or to ourselves...but we take those numbers personally.

The A1C isn't called the mommy report card for nothing.

We do not sleep. That is a choice. We choose to keep a close eye on the numbers while the world takes a break. We don't take breaks. We know that waking up with a off number can domino to the rest of the day.

We know that pancreases sputter.

We know the soccer game from 5 hours earlier can affect the nighttime numbers.
(Yet we urge them to play.)

We know that Pizza can wreak havoc hours after consumption, and we know that Chinese food for dinner means a sleepless night for us.
(Yet we delight in serving them their favorites anyway.)

We know that diabetes never sleeps. That is why we don't either.

We know that a 200 can turn into a 52 in 30 minutes flat.

We know that on field trip days our children may spike with excitement, or bottom out from activity.

We know nothing is for sure.

So we check, and constantly ask our children how they are feeling...and we hover...watching every move...looking for changes in our children's faces...changes in their gait...tiny beads of sweat on the back of their necks...we know the signs of lows. We know our children better than anyone else.

We love hard.

We try hard.

We cry hard.

We hug hard.

We hope hard.

We stress hard.

We are hard on ourselves.

We are D mamas.

Don't judge us because we fret over the details. To us...Our Diabetic Life is all about the details.

We are 100% responsible for the well being of children we love more than anything on this blessed green earth.

No, we will not back off.

No, we will not calm down.

No, we will not stop making noise.

As mothers, we know that our children are special. Diabetes makes them stronger. It makes them resilient, responsible, amazing. It gives them a sense of humor. It makes them grow up too fast, and let's them spread their wings too slow.

We wish we could take away the pain.

We wish it were us.


We are warriors.


We are D Moms.


Hear. Us. Roar.


.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Mother's Day Weekend 2012

I had a great weekend getaway with several wonderful Moms. What a perfect treat for us! We all left the kids and husbands behind and headed to the beach for some fun!


Have I mentioned how awesome my two red headed sisters are? We have a blast together! (and I think it is cute that we favor)



While I was away, Will sent me a few pics. They have named this headless woman, Frances. Should I be concerned? (especially with the fact that Dantz is sleeping with her and dragging her around by her hair?) I'm pretty sure that round brush is going to lead to trouble.


When I returned on Sunday to an empty house, I found this card that made my heart overflow with joy!


Monday, May 7, 2012

7 years!




The ocean was calm.
The dolphins were swimming close by.
The sun was bright, but not too hot.
We were surrounded by our closest friends and family.
It was perfect.


7 years ago today, we said, " i do"...


Wishing we were all back there together today!


Happy Anniversary, WD! You are one awesome man!