Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Snow Days...
So, yeah, I'll admit to getting a momentary bubble in my gut, "YAY! NO SCHOOL!" and then I remember that no school doesn't mean the same thing to me anymore! And then it's more like... "Oh man! No SCHOOL???!!!! REALLY?"
So the windchill is a thousand below zero... I can bring him to school wrapped in thermal blankets and plastic wrap to keep the heat in... that's not a problem! OH WAIT! Poop! The car won't start... scratch that idea! OK! I got it! send the bus, and I promise to not hold anyone at the district level responsible should the bus quit between here and school, and my little goober turn into a turdcicle right there on the bus! I PROMISE!
Back when I used to have a job outside the house, snow days were a perfect excuse to call in and say, "Sorry... my kids are home, and I have nowhere to take them, Can't come in today! Bye now!" But now that I'm home all the time, there's no place for me to stay home FROM... and the kids are here, and... and.... anybody have a job they'd like me to cover for today? I need a break from routine. Only "good" thing I can think of is the possibility that just MAYBE I could talk the 4 year old into a nap with me this afternoon. The PROBABILITY of that happening is the same as the weather suddenly turning 180 degrees, and it being a balmy 85 degrees out at 4 this afternoon, but I guess there IS that possibility, right?
So the windchill is a thousand below zero... I can bring him to school wrapped in thermal blankets and plastic wrap to keep the heat in... that's not a problem! OH WAIT! Poop! The car won't start... scratch that idea! OK! I got it! send the bus, and I promise to not hold anyone at the district level responsible should the bus quit between here and school, and my little goober turn into a turdcicle right there on the bus! I PROMISE!
Back when I used to have a job outside the house, snow days were a perfect excuse to call in and say, "Sorry... my kids are home, and I have nowhere to take them, Can't come in today! Bye now!" But now that I'm home all the time, there's no place for me to stay home FROM... and the kids are here, and... and.... anybody have a job they'd like me to cover for today? I need a break from routine. Only "good" thing I can think of is the possibility that just MAYBE I could talk the 4 year old into a nap with me this afternoon. The PROBABILITY of that happening is the same as the weather suddenly turning 180 degrees, and it being a balmy 85 degrees out at 4 this afternoon, but I guess there IS that possibility, right?
posted by Julie B. at
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Starting a new journey in life.
Well, today I had a visit with my doctor. It was a 6 month check up on how well new doses of diabetes medicines were working for me. Truth be told, they weren't working for me. I've been trying really hard to limit sugars, carbs, fats, etc... as my cholesterol, and blood sugar are both way out of whack. A "normal" blood sugar, 2 hours after eating a meal is between 120 and 160ish. Depending on the doctor or dietician you talk to. That was MY target number. MY numbers, 2 hours after eating have been running in the 300's, once even got over 400. And the most frustrating part of it is the fact that the day I achieved that 410, I had eaten NO simple carbohydrates at all. I had mostly protein and veggies, and the complex carbs that they say are so much better for you. And I worked my tail off that day. We were moving my parents to an assisted living facility, and there were 8 of us stumbling over each other in the apartment that they were moving OUT of, and I didnt' have time to eat an actual meal, but when I tested after having had an egg beaters omelet for breakfast, with ham and cheese, (no carbs there at ALL) and a 1/4 cup of roasted almonds for a snack, it was over 300, and I wasn't really hungry, so I didn't eat. And I worked hard, moving furniture, and getting Mom and Dad settled in their new home, and it went UP.
Anyway, I have been an absolute BEAR around here! My husband survived cancer last year, and is in remission, and lately, the bigger threat to his health and well being has been ME, because I've just been SO irritable! And I know it's because of the blood sugar. That was one of the symptoms when I was first diagnosed with diabetes, about a year and 1/2 ago. I had been just SO ornery! And I have been trying to be a "good" girl, and go get all my annual checkups, etc, so I was in for my annual physical, and my Hemoglobin A1C number at that checkup was like 7.8. And my fasting blood sugar was at 123. That's 8 points higher than they accept as "normal". 115 is the cutoff. So they started me off on the most mundane of the diabetes drugs. 6 months later, the A1C is a bit higher... up the dosage on the first pill.... another 6 months, and it's higher again. Up that dosage, and add a second medication. You see where this is going... so now, 18 months later, I've begun taking insulin.
I actually ASKED for him to please consider it. I feel like crap ALL the time, I sit in a pool of my own perspiration most of the time because one of the side effects of Metformin that I take is "excessive sweating". AND it's also a symptom of high blood sugar. The more I'm sweating, the higher my number is. I can usually predict what the number is going to be, based upon how hot I am at the moment. My poor husband and children. I'm perpetually hot, so I insist on keeping the thermostat low, and it's a bonus on the gas bill too... but they'll be running around here complaining of how cold it is in here, and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, contemplating a barefoot run through the back yard to cool off a bit. Only thing keeping me from doing that is the fact that the dog's chain only reaches so far from the back door, and he's got a pretty good buildup of "fertilizer" out there in the snow... ick ick ick... But there have been days when a naked snow angel was almost on the agenda, and to heck with what the neighbors say! We've got an 8 foot tall privacy fence on the back yard! If they're seeing me nekkid in the back yard, they're working awful hard to do so, and if they're doing THAT, they DESERVE to get sick! So THERE!
Anyway. I really thought I was tough. I can handle getting these shots! I've been in the hospital a couple of times since being diagnosed, appendixes trying to burst will do that to you, and they have given me insulin injections while there, and it amazed me at how painless it was! Then I had to fill that needle and poke MYSELF! Amazing how one's mind can work so hard to create a negative perception! It took me almost 15 minutes to work up to giving myself that shot tonight! I finally "cheated", and rubbed an icecube over the area I was going to inject, and then did the alcohol swab thing, followed by the shot. It worked. Gonna have to make sure that I've got something frozen in the freezer for just that purpose from now on. Maybe I'll just put some water in a pill bottle, and put THAT in the freezer, yeah! THAT will work! And it'll be easier to keep sanitary! Now I've got to get a sharps container... ughh... ! SO many things to think about!
Oh well... I'll just have to come to each hurdle as it presents itself. I got over that first day of shots ok. OH! that reminds me! I have to get a log book! Or print something off the internet to keep track. Doc wants an accurate accounting of all readings.
Anyway, I have been an absolute BEAR around here! My husband survived cancer last year, and is in remission, and lately, the bigger threat to his health and well being has been ME, because I've just been SO irritable! And I know it's because of the blood sugar. That was one of the symptoms when I was first diagnosed with diabetes, about a year and 1/2 ago. I had been just SO ornery! And I have been trying to be a "good" girl, and go get all my annual checkups, etc, so I was in for my annual physical, and my Hemoglobin A1C number at that checkup was like 7.8. And my fasting blood sugar was at 123. That's 8 points higher than they accept as "normal". 115 is the cutoff. So they started me off on the most mundane of the diabetes drugs. 6 months later, the A1C is a bit higher... up the dosage on the first pill.... another 6 months, and it's higher again. Up that dosage, and add a second medication. You see where this is going... so now, 18 months later, I've begun taking insulin.
I actually ASKED for him to please consider it. I feel like crap ALL the time, I sit in a pool of my own perspiration most of the time because one of the side effects of Metformin that I take is "excessive sweating". AND it's also a symptom of high blood sugar. The more I'm sweating, the higher my number is. I can usually predict what the number is going to be, based upon how hot I am at the moment. My poor husband and children. I'm perpetually hot, so I insist on keeping the thermostat low, and it's a bonus on the gas bill too... but they'll be running around here complaining of how cold it is in here, and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, contemplating a barefoot run through the back yard to cool off a bit. Only thing keeping me from doing that is the fact that the dog's chain only reaches so far from the back door, and he's got a pretty good buildup of "fertilizer" out there in the snow... ick ick ick... But there have been days when a naked snow angel was almost on the agenda, and to heck with what the neighbors say! We've got an 8 foot tall privacy fence on the back yard! If they're seeing me nekkid in the back yard, they're working awful hard to do so, and if they're doing THAT, they DESERVE to get sick! So THERE!
Anyway. I really thought I was tough. I can handle getting these shots! I've been in the hospital a couple of times since being diagnosed, appendixes trying to burst will do that to you, and they have given me insulin injections while there, and it amazed me at how painless it was! Then I had to fill that needle and poke MYSELF! Amazing how one's mind can work so hard to create a negative perception! It took me almost 15 minutes to work up to giving myself that shot tonight! I finally "cheated", and rubbed an icecube over the area I was going to inject, and then did the alcohol swab thing, followed by the shot. It worked. Gonna have to make sure that I've got something frozen in the freezer for just that purpose from now on. Maybe I'll just put some water in a pill bottle, and put THAT in the freezer, yeah! THAT will work! And it'll be easier to keep sanitary! Now I've got to get a sharps container... ughh... ! SO many things to think about!
Oh well... I'll just have to come to each hurdle as it presents itself. I got over that first day of shots ok. OH! that reminds me! I have to get a log book! Or print something off the internet to keep track. Doc wants an accurate accounting of all readings.
Labels: diabetes, health, injections, insulin
posted by Julie B. at
10:13 PM
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
So the 4 year old comes downstairs the other morning...
as I'm getting ready for a party I'm going to have that afternoon, and out of the corner of my eye, I note that he's completely nude. Not that unusual for him, but usually he doesn't wake up and come downstairs naked, he usually waits until someone has pulled into the driveway, and then quick strips down to his underwear, just to check my reflexes. But this day, he's naked when he comes downstairs. So I just continue on doing what I'm doing, and he suddenly says, in a stern voice, laced with a bit of indignation, I might add, "Will you please LOOK at me?" So I turn my head, and look at him, and say, "Why are you naked?" He then looks at me with that look that I only thought TEENAGERS looked at their mothers with, and said, "Because I jutch tookted a bath last night, and YOU (pointing at me like Uncle Sam) didn't find me ANY clothes to wear!" To which I calmly replied, "No, YOU (pointing back at him) fell asleep on the couch, watching a movie, remember? You had all your clothes on when Daddy carried you up to your room." And his little face changed from consternation to uncertainty, to wonder in just a few moments, and he scratched his head, shrugged his shoulders and turned around and said, "Well, I'm not sure WHAT the hell happened then!" and went up to his room to get some clothes.
So there I am, all alone in the kitchen, the 18 year old is asleep in HIS room, Daddy's asleep upstairs, and I'm just laughing like crazy. I mean, REALLY! The look on his face was what I'd expect from a 21 year old college boy, wondering where he lost his shirt at a party last night, not from a 4 year old trying to understand his naked self! And I know, I know, I should have done SOMETHING about the "adult word" in there, but gosh, it's SO hard to appear convincingly disappointed in your child for saying that kind of thing when there are tears rolling down your cheeks and you're trying not to snicker. I mean, really, WHAT kid is going to take THAT seriously?
That boy is a constant source of amazement for me. Notice I did NOT say amusement. He amazes me. In just 4 short years, he's gone from this chunky little helpless baby to this, this, incredibly, frighteningly intelligent little human being who can, in the space of an hour make me so angry I can barely look at him without picturing him duct taped to the outside of the garage door, to making me laugh with his antics, and then make my heart melt with his sweetness! His imagination is SO far beyond my comprehension! He has, at times, played with three different pretend helicopters... making them do stunts and tricks, and he has three separate controllers for them, and he REMEMBERS which "controller" he set where... and what color the helicopters are, and it's incredible! He has more fun PRETENDING he's using a remote control truck than he actually HAS with the REAL remote control truck we got him for Christmas!
I just know, that if I can refrain from croaking him, this child is destined for big, big things in his life! I just have to figure out how to ignore things like the fact that right now, he's got a "coach's whistle" that he's snarfed out of his big brother's room, and I have to remember to put back before the 18 year old gets home from work and has a fit, and he is randomly just blowing in it SO hard, it makes my eardrums literally rattle! The cats have left the main floor of the house, pried open my closet door upstairs, and have made themselves a semi-sound proof room on the shelves in the closet. Maybe I'll just join them up there! Let him whistle till his lips fall off!
Have a fantastic day!
So there I am, all alone in the kitchen, the 18 year old is asleep in HIS room, Daddy's asleep upstairs, and I'm just laughing like crazy. I mean, REALLY! The look on his face was what I'd expect from a 21 year old college boy, wondering where he lost his shirt at a party last night, not from a 4 year old trying to understand his naked self! And I know, I know, I should have done SOMETHING about the "adult word" in there, but gosh, it's SO hard to appear convincingly disappointed in your child for saying that kind of thing when there are tears rolling down your cheeks and you're trying not to snicker. I mean, really, WHAT kid is going to take THAT seriously?
That boy is a constant source of amazement for me. Notice I did NOT say amusement. He amazes me. In just 4 short years, he's gone from this chunky little helpless baby to this, this, incredibly, frighteningly intelligent little human being who can, in the space of an hour make me so angry I can barely look at him without picturing him duct taped to the outside of the garage door, to making me laugh with his antics, and then make my heart melt with his sweetness! His imagination is SO far beyond my comprehension! He has, at times, played with three different pretend helicopters... making them do stunts and tricks, and he has three separate controllers for them, and he REMEMBERS which "controller" he set where... and what color the helicopters are, and it's incredible! He has more fun PRETENDING he's using a remote control truck than he actually HAS with the REAL remote control truck we got him for Christmas!
I just know, that if I can refrain from croaking him, this child is destined for big, big things in his life! I just have to figure out how to ignore things like the fact that right now, he's got a "coach's whistle" that he's snarfed out of his big brother's room, and I have to remember to put back before the 18 year old gets home from work and has a fit, and he is randomly just blowing in it SO hard, it makes my eardrums literally rattle! The cats have left the main floor of the house, pried open my closet door upstairs, and have made themselves a semi-sound proof room on the shelves in the closet. Maybe I'll just join them up there! Let him whistle till his lips fall off!
Have a fantastic day!
Labels: out of the mouths of babes
posted by Julie B. at
4:04 PM
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2 Comments
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posted by CWMoms at
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Julie BuntKids: Ben is 18 and Andrew is 4 1/2 (going on 30).
Residence: Wisconsin Rapids
Occupation: Stay-at-home mother
Activities: In addition to taking care of her family at home, Julie holds guardianship for her 81-year-old mother, who lives with her dad, in an assisted living facility. She also is very active in her church, Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran, in the town of Saratoga.
A Description of this blog: My blog will be about my experiences here in Wisconsin Rapids, comparing my children's life with my childhood, and my daily struggles to balance time between making sure my parents' needs are being met and making sure that my family here at home has what they need. Also included will be humorous, (I hope) quips and anecdotes describing my daily struggle to find an island of "girly-ness" in the ocean of testosterone I swim in daily.
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SO proud of my little dude!The other side of my life.
Snow Days...
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