I Hate To Cook!

For those who know me well you will understand when I say I don’t cook. I’am not good at it and I really don’t enjoy it. My daughter has grown up thinking men cook! My husband does all the cooking and my boys cook when he doesn’t. I do finger foods and pepperoni bread but that’s about it.

Well Nikki and I decided to surprise everyone the other day and cook supper! With desert! So we went to the market and got everything we needed, spaghetti, sauce in a jar, salad, pre-made meatballs, Italian bread (we thought), and carrot cake in a box to make with frosting.

We got home and started our supper! Nikki set out to make the carrot cake, she has done cooking with her father and at school they are teaching them to cook (lucky Nikki) so she did really well. We had everything ready to mix and I went to get our cake mixer, this is the same cake mixer that we got as a wedding present 31 years ago (remember I told you I don’t good so baking is really not my thing either). So we plug it in and it starts to mix than stops?? We can’t figure out what is wrong with it so we plug it in another outlet, it does the same exact thing, starts and than stops. Well we blew out 2 outlets I guess, no problem we decided to just stir it by hand (after all isn’t that what they did before mixers). We made our carrot cake, and some banana bread. Put together a salad and put on the sauce and meatballs.

Mark (my husband) came in and was thrilled that we surprised him, Patrick came in and said he already ate (after all our hard work) . He has a new job at Moe’s and loves it but not sure yet what it’s doing for his blood sugars and diet! The Italian bread we thought we got was rye Italian bread. Overall it was a good dinner. Nikki and I had fun, she especially liked telling her dad how we blew the outlets in the kitchen.

As we finished our meal in about 20 minutes and I started the chore of cleaning up the mess, I thought. 2 hours to prepare it, only us 3 of us interested in eating it, and 40 minutes to clean up the mess. Nikki had fun shopping for everything, being in charge of her cooking skills, setting the table and just literally having fun “Priceless”

P.S. Patrick ate meatballs later that night and said they were good!


Visit us at Pump Wear Inc.

You Never Know

You Never Know

This past week our children had the week off and we did several day trips. For those of us with children who have diabetes we know the drill of making sure that we have everything under the sun with us for the “just in case” because lets face it you never know when you will have an episode .

One of our day trips was to the NYC Titanic Exhibit. This was a wonderful exhibit and we learned so many interesting things about this maiden voyage such as did you know that the life boats were not full! Lot’s of people died who did not have to simply because the boats weren’t all full when they launched them. They also assign you a name of a passenger and they tell you what class you were in and a little bit about the person. You have to wait till the end to see if you survived! Really, really interesting material.

As we waited in line for our tickets to the exhibit Nikki says to me I feel low! I instantly had her test (funny how you learn to test standing in line holding all kinds of things). She showed me the meter and it was 47! No where to sit and we are waiting for our turn in line, we quickly have her drink a large juice box. She is totally acting ok like no biggie so we continue on in line. Right after we get our ticket she says she thinks she is getting low again? Ok, we find a seat and retest, now we are 37! This is where I totally mess it up every time, because now I give her another drink box, a stack of chips, and a couple pieces of chocolate! I am famous for taking her from 37 to 500 in record time. We tested 15 minutes later and she was 88 on her way back up (but how high up is the question) . Since we were in NYC doing a lot of walking (that’s probably what caused the low) I decided to wait till lunch to make any corrections.

We went to David and Buster’s for lunch a fun adult like Chucky Cheese, where she was 209 (not bad for all that she drank and ate). So she was able to correct and enjoy the rest of the day. So you never know when it will hit you so try to prepare for the unknown!

Here is a list of the items I carry with us that help me make it through most episodes yet not be too weighed down. I take : 2 drink boxes, dex 4 tablets, a snack, a site change, a bottle of insulin, a battery, a spare test kit, a couple packets of sugar (from a McDonalds et) spare test strips, a glucagon, injector and fusion tape.

Oh, on the Titanic Nikki was first class, I was 3rd class. I was an 18 year old mother with a baby and Nikki was a 37 year old lady. Hurray we both survived!

Visit us at Pump Wear Inc.

Julie

Visit Information about the Titanic Exhibit

College Bound

College Bound!

Well, as most of you parents know they have to grow up sometime! Our Patrick is turning 18 this March and he will be graduating this June. We have been on the college search for over a year now and it looks pretty certain that he will be going away to college! (Yes I was still holding out that he might decide to stay close to home). There is no doubt that there will be tears in our house come August of this year! (I don’t want him to go) but I am being the strong person that I am and putting on a happy face. Like Patrick says “Mom you still have 6 months don’t cry now!”

Patrick has done a lot of research on what he wants in a college and has visited many of them. He wants the college experience of living on campus, yet wants the small college feel. Doesn’t want the big campus. He was looking for a place where they offered an education as a history major (that’s today’s thought) from what I am told their major can change. He loves history and eventually either wants to teach or work for a museum etc. So I was not surprised that the College we visited yesterday would have that home town feel, be charming, be historical looking, the lunch room looks like something out of Harry Potters book! To top it all off it overlooks the most gorgeous Lake Cayuga

It’s 3 ½ hours away from us, yet I thoroughly enjoyed the drive out there. My concerns while visiting the college were all pertaining to the health issues, yet I find that at this age it really comes down to making sure room mates and teachers are informed but they have to be informed by the student (you know that Hippa law ). The school really seems to offer a lot of individual attention and I definitely got the feeling that this would be a good fit for him. As we walked around the campus I truly fell in love with the feel of this place, I could even find my way around (which is saying a lot because those that know me, know that I get lost going around the corner).

Patrick has already been accepted at this college of choice and as we prepare to send in his deposit I vow to cherish the next 6 months with him!

P.S. August is going to come way to fast! I am also now going to have to come up with a diabetes college bound kit!!!

Visit us at Pump Wear Inc.

Julie

He Remembers

He Remembers

I was having lunch with my 21 year old son Adam the other day and we were talking about growing up and do you remember when. Some of my favorite questions to ask are Did you have a happy childhood, his response I had an awesome childhood. I then took it further and asked Adam what he remembers from his childhood (don’t you ever wonder what your kids remember and why?). Here is his response:

I remember watching “Full House With you snuggled up in your bed
I remember making pepperoni bread with you (this is funny because its really the only thing I cook)
I remember getting our Christmas Ornaments with our Name on them every year from pop (grandfather who has since passed)
I remember the Christmas you surprised us with Nana & PoP being here Christmas Morning When we woke up.
I remember when we went to Vegas on a shoe string (he was 7) and we went swimming and we snuck into the Flamingo Swimming Pool because they had a nicer pool than where we were staying at. (ok you have to put a little adventure into your life)
I remember you holding me when we were trying to get out of MGM that same vacation because it was a mob scene with Mike Tyson and you were afraid I would get lost (who would think he would remember that)!
I remember getting my picture taken A LOT
I remember lots of things mom and they were all with you!

I think he pretty much sums up the good things that matter, and not once were they material things, and what I totally found surprising was that he never once mentioned that he remembers getting diabetes. Giving Hugs, Time and Kisses really are the best memories.

Visit Us At Pump Wear Inc.

I Feel Like I Am Banging My Head Against A Wall!

Do you sometimes feel like you are banging your head against a wall? That’s the way I feel every time I hear someone tell me that they know all about diabetes because their grandmother has it makes me want to explode. Of course they are talking about type 2 diabetes.

Although the two disease outcomes are the same there is a clear difference for someone with type 1 diabetes and someone who has type 2 diabetes. I don’t like that they group them together. The way I try to explain it is that people with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin therefore they are insulin dependent for life, what they eat, how much they eat and no matter how in control they are of their diabetes they will always have to take insulin to live. A person with type 2 diabetes is different in the fact that they can often control their diabetes without having to take insulin by regulating diet and exercise they still produce insulin but their bodies don’t use it well someone with Type 1 diabetes does not produce insulin at all and no matter what they do they will always have to take insulin it is not a life choice and the control is out of their hands all they can hope to do is to control it as close to a normal blood sugar as they can in hopes of avoiding complications.

I feel for all people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes because both forms of the disease are so very difficult to control and the outcome is devastating to both. However, I am irritated when people tell me they don’t need to know about type 1 where my child is concerned because they know all about diabetes. Then you ask them what they know about it and they tell you that their mother, grandmother and other family member has diabetes but they take pills or regulate it with food and exercise and on occasion may have to take insulin.

I would like to say for the record: Type 1 diabetes is different! It’s the harshest form of diabetes that has no rhyme or reason! Just my 2 cents!

Visit us at Pump Wear Inc.
Where Kids are Kids and Adults Just Have Fun!