What cha want....

Jalapenos?

Rosemary?

Cherry Tomatoes? (Lydia's favorite)

Bell Pepper?

I'm excited about my gardening... it's a little slow, but here is today's harvest. :)



Switching gears... The pool is open and we are ready! The girls have already been twice and they can't wait to go back tomorrow morning. Just gotta make sure we get D's swimsuit on the right way.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Beach Picnic

Dantz had worked up an appetite. Check out that sandwich.

Checking a little BS in the sand :)

"Daddy, a wave!"

Worn out and laid back in the shade

The nap allowed Mama some time to play.

Dantz and JP relaxing

Pier Park On Sunday

That's not good table manners, WD and Dantz.

Holy Moly, they sure were good!

Sweetness!

Beach and Pool Action at the Hudson's on Sunday afternoon.. fun times.

Waiting on a pizza after lots of fun in the sun!



Happy Happy Birthday Brock!




When this heals, we will be back!!!

 The Weekend at the beach was fabulous!

We came back into town today and my last softball game of the season was tonight. I'm going to miss seeing these ladies every Monday night. Good times!

So much fun ladies!!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!

Patience....

it is not something I was born with, but I am learning it more everyday. And I'm trying people, especially with a two and three year old and "betes", too!

The "betes" is a serious waiting game. (waiting on BS to drop, waiting on it to rise, waiting to check BS, waiting for her to take another bite and I could go on and on) I will spare you. I'm thinking,God put "betes" into my life to help me with this serious downfall. :)

My point is, the girls and I woke up and packed up. It was snacktime, so I checked Lydia's BS, before we were going to hit the road. It read 500!! Not at all, what I was expecting to see. I made her go wash her hands, and we gave it another try. Same thing. (yes, dirty hands can give you a bad reading)

You see, last night was a long night. "Betes" doesn't sleep, incase you were wondering. She was high at 10p, so I plugged her with some serious insulin. Checked her at midnight and it had dropped some, but not what it should have considering her last dose.(I didn't think the pod was working, but I make decisions and conclusions FAST- kinda goes hand in hand with the whole patience thingy) Checked her at 2 am and it had dropped a little bit more, but still deserved a correction, so plugged in a little more insulin. At 5 am, she still needed a little more. At 7, she woke up on target and it kinda made me forget everything that had happened during the night. (again, I'm hasty and thought it must be working since her BS was in range) Fed her breakfast, dosed her and we went on about our business.

Snack time at 10am- Decided that blankety, blank pod wasn't working and went ahead and deactivated it. Pulled out the syringes and gave her a shot to get that 500 down. Had to remove the old pod (which seems to be Lydia's least favorite part) and let her just hang without it for about an hour. Put on a new pod before lunch and now I'm back to waiting.

We are all still home. They are snoozing and I will know by 2:00 if the new pod is working properly. If so, we are outta here! I've got two cuties ready for some fun in the sun! And I'm ready too!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

And Happy Birthday Billy (L) and Dad (R). Hope y'all have a good one!!

Pod Change Today

And we did it without any trouble!

She's even starting to accessorize her pods.

I've been doing these...

okay, maybe not that high- more like picnic table bench level. :)

because I am shooting for this....

Sissy and I are doing a serious boot camp three times a week and I can't bend over, much less walk today. Actually, it even hurts to sneeze. She said she is feeling good. I'm not, but I'm not going to quit because I have my eye on the prize.
A Straight up white monokini is what we are talking about!!! hahahahahahaha

Now, all joking aside, I'm off to pop four more Motrin.

Weekends are Good Stuff...

especially when you do a pod change on Sunday afternoon and it's a SUCCESS!!
(Praise God because we were seriously sweating it after our horrible pod experience on Thursday, but we did it on the first try today... YEAH!)

Sisters!

The girls went to a sweet friend's birthday party. Some little girls were curious about Lydia's pod.

Girls: "Why do you have that on your arm?" "What is that on your arm?"

Before Lydia could even answer...

Dantzler replies:  " Insulin Pump" "She has diabetes"  (she said this with her hands on her hips and in a bent over position and with a little bit of volume too)

I'm certain none of those little girls knew what that meant or even understood what Dantz said, but it totally melted my heart that little sister knows. 

I was grinning from ear to ear. It was the cutest! Go Dantz D.

A weekend at home!

Hooray for Friday and it's the first weekend in almost a month that we have all been home together. We are looking forward to playing and catching up on to-dos around here. AND we don't have to worry about a blankety, blank, blank, blank pod change until Sunday afternoon.
(the pod(s) wrecked us yesterday and yes, there's a (s) on the end- all is well now)

Day 3- Pod Change

Lydia did super when we put the pod on her arm in Birmingham. I woke up this morning thinking about having to put on a new one and started sweating a bit.  We didn't send her to school on Tuesday because of her lows, but sent her today. We couldn't let her miss the last day and this.....

FUN, FUN, FUN

She was sporting that pod on her arm and didn't skip a beat. I showed up and checked her blood sugar for snack time. I hit a few buttons on the PDM and it gave her a  "bolus" of insulin to cover her cheese puffs and sunshine cookie. Is that cool or what, people.

Lydia with all of her precious friends from Little Lambs



Long story short, we took off the old pod and put on a new pod. It didn't go as well as Monday and for lack of a better word, she was pissed. A- because the old one was SO stuck and didn't want to come off. B- because the new one went into her leg and it hurt.

It was nap time and she didn't want to pose.



We did it though! Changed a pod, downloaded and emailed her records to Bham and now we are just waiting to hear back from the pros. She is fine and snoozing.

Day Number 1- Check!

Lydia feels great, better than she has in a very long time. Actually, I cannot remember the last time she felt this good. Sad, I know but the whole high/low blood sugar thingy really works on her mood. Today was good though.

She hasn't been high all day today. She's either been in range or low. In target is good stuff,  but it is hard to relax because you aren't sure if it'll stay or drop. It has been dropping. I slept all of about 3 hours last night and don't see tonight being any different.

The good news is, we will send in all of her data on Thursday.They want three full days of info with no changes, sticking strictly to their directions, so they will know how to adjust her insulin to carb ratio. So, I'm predicting we will go into the weekend a little more relaxed and hopefully, get some rest too.

Going from 4-6 shots per day to zero and feeling AWESOME too.  Day number one- check!


Disclosure: I'm not a writer, especially in the midnight hour. I'm just putting this info out there for those of you that care and want an update.

Up and Running

Sunday afternoon we loaded up and hit the road to Birmingham for an early a.m. appointment with Dr. Ashraf.



 This next picture is the definition of trooper. After her appointment with the Dr, we had to attend another pump class. She slept and entertained herself for over three hours, not counting how amazing she was when we put the "pod" on her arm. The nurse educator said it would hurt more than a shot and would make a rat trap noise. This super-awesome child didn't even flinch. :)

I took this next picture with my cell phone and it's blurry. I love it though. (Will's expression says it all- tired and unconditional love) She slept almost until we reached Montgomery. :)

This is the PDM on my leg that controls the pod on her arm. I was in the backseat quizzing myself and Will and checking it all out. It's like playing with a new cell phone, but you have to be a bit more careful than just losing your contacts. Hello Omnipod, I think I'm going to love you.

I checked her blood sugar north of Montgomery and knew she had to eat within 15 or 20 minutes. (No biggie, 'cause I've got the PDM on my leg) We wheeled through "Old McDonalds" and I gave her a small "bolus" (dose of insulin), while Will ordered her Happy Meal. Then, after she finished eating, going down 231 South, I hit a few buttons and it gave her the remainder of her dose. Talk to me!! Is that something or what?

See the pod on her left arm? It has insulin in it and we change the pod every 2-3 days

Now, we learned a lot today..... And, it's going to take some getting used to, but we are "pumped" about it!

Happy Hot Weekend!

Monday is the day!

I get asked on a regular basis if Lydia is using her insulin pump. Monday is the day! We will spend all day in Birmingham, first seeing her doctor, then learning, learning and learning some more. They usually require three different visits, but we have promised to do our homework and teach ourselves all we can before Monday. If all goes well and they think we can handle it, Lydia will come home using the pump.

Lots of reading, programming and online videos
My eyes are starting to cross!

We are extremely nervous about this change. It's hard leaving our comfort zone, but we know the smaller doses that the insulin pump can provide, is what she needs. We've been her pancreas for the past seven months, now we've got to turn it over and trust in this little bitty machine.

We would love your prayers!  This is a huge step and a brand new ballgame with completely different rules. We are extremely nervous, but super excited too!

Love and Hugs,

Kristee

Six Years

This picture was taken on May 6, 2005 on the Friday night before our big wedding day. We were at St George Island, with our family and closest friends. It was one of the best weekends of my life.

Today is Friday, May 6th, again and tomorrow will be six years from that oh, so special day!

Happy Happy Anniversary, WD! You saved my life. (as he likes to tell me)

Love you!

Say, "No" to Troll Teeth!

Lydia had her first dentist appointment today with Dr. Kristen Crowder and she did great! (btw, they are awesome with kiddos)I was concerned about those middle of the night cake gels, smarties and more, but she got a good report.

She got a mask and glove to-go, because she said she wants to be a dentist to her babies and teddy bears.

CBS!

Today was "Share Day" at Community Bible Study because it was the last day until we begin a new lesson in August. So many wonderful ladies stood up and shared why CBS means so much to them. I had a constant tug at my heart because I have a story to tell, but I just sat there. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it together and would sob like a baby.  So, here it goes....

Three years ago, I went to CBS and I was SO nervous. I had never done a bible study in my life and was completely intimidated by the thought of one. Bea, my sweet mother-in-law assured me that it would be the most comfortable and wonderful setting and I'm so glad I listened to her.  Now, I do not think anything happens by luck or coincidence, God led me there. (because the year before, I declined her invitation) He knew what was about to take place in my life and I honestly believe between CBS, Mary Nita Smith and my core group, I was better equipped to handle the death of my brother. I'm not saying it wasn't hard, I'm just saying the love from these women and my new found relationship with God is what carried me through the storm.

Fast forward to this past year, I began a new year and lesson this past August. I was in a new core group with a new core leader, Kristi Jeter. A month after CBS began, Lydia was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Here we go again with an overflow of love and support from women that barely even knew me. All of these women are such Godly women of all ages and every Wednesday they amazed me with their faith, love for God and their unbelievable wisdom.

So, when I say that CBS has changed my life, it has. I have felt God's love like never before and only because I am making time for him and growing in his word. Not to mention, the friendships that I have made along the way!

Join us! www.communitybiblestudy.org  Begins August 24th, and it's every Wednesday 9a-11a. You will love it and your kids will too.

Sweet Lydia doing her program with her CBS class
 the bible verses and songs she has learned will bring tears to your eyes!

Help if you can, please!

Friends,
AAA Cooper and Covan have delivered tractor trailers and boxes to the Fire Station on Westgate in Dothan.  Let's load 'em up with items to be delivered to our friends in Central and North Alabama. Needing; non perishable food items, water, diapers (adult size too), formula, batteries, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, first aid supplies and the list goes on!!

They need us!
Kristee