Diabetes Rebels

Is it so obvious when I'm on vacation?  I get time to w-r-i-t-e! : )  Nobody needs wiped or washed or fed or disciplined.  Or hugged or loved on..wahh!!  Miss my babies already.  (but I'm going to work really hard to enjoy myself in Atlanta for the next few days!)

time for nap.

rug shopping!

So seriously.  Those big kids and their stupid diabetes have been quite the trouble-makers lately.  They are in a mood and it's cramping my style.  And my Mommy-Has-It-All-Under-Control Persona (haha, like I ever had it!!).  Clay won't carry a meter to school.  He has one in the nurse's office and says he'll use it.  Umm..what about the bus?  Going LOW on the bus, dude?  He says Mary Claire has hers, and he'll borrow it.  (Like he'd ever talk to her.  In public.  In front of people who know them BOTH.)

this awesome photo courtesy of Temme Green!  My boy at Solo & Ensemble.  He earned two blue ribbon medals for 1's!

But get this.  She's quit carrying hers, so he can't borrow it.  Rebels.  Haters.  She says she'll use her friend, Alyssa's meter.  What is with these kids?  and not taking responsibility?

beautiful.

I can't stand it!!  And now..they don't go to the nurse's office for checks.  She has to call them to come down.  Like they are 6 years old.  So..I'm planning to set up alarms on Clay's pump.  So the plan is he'll die of embarrassment when it alarms in class, so he'll book it to the nurse's office BEFORE it alarms every day.  I consider myself smart.  (unlike what they consider me.)

more beautiful in watercolor?

Mary Claire, on the other hand, is prancing in and telling the nurse what she is.  (And she isn't taking her meter to school!)  She is on the Enlite sensor..but she turns it off half the time.  Again, she hates the alarms!  Yes, usually it's because it senses she's low or high, but won't take the five minutes to go check herself.

cake decorating class at Briar Rose Bakery

So..if you know a preteen (ok..11 or 13 year old) who is having trouble with diabetes..it could be the CHECKING YOUR BLOOD part.  Or the eating normal-sized portions and getting insulin for it.  Or eating the lunch your momma packed and counted the carbs for and not buying cookies in the cafeteria.  And getting two packs.  Or learning to give a square wave bolus for half the big tub of Nutella you ate instead of all of it normal and making yourself, oh I don't know..THIRTY-NINE?!

Using the Little Door at Briar Rose Bakery

So, yeah, diabetes is hitting hard right now.  And I haven't had lots of control.  They are as tall as me..and trying to take over.  It's not going so well.  The rebels need to be reigned in.  (good time for a vaca, huh?)

She's just growing up too fast.

Ok..my three things to be thankful for today (since D can make me a bit complainy)..safe travels even though we had some "plane problems" right before the flight, seeing Stone Mountain today and respecting the people who risked/lost their lives on it, and the amazing fresh, fried okra I had today (the seeds were just huge and crunchy and juicy..and the outside was so crispy..mmm..delicious.)  I almost went to the counter to yell back to the cook they were a-m-a-z-i-n-g, but Ches thought I was just starving and delirious.  And I do have weird judgment when I'm hungry.  But I might just tell them on my way back. You know..when I'm so much more full of sense. : )

in memory of the first casualty in the carving of the memorial : (

Stone Mountain, Georgia in honor of my mom who remembers being there as a child.

Just to show you the man rappelling down the face of the mountain..he's above the horse on the right, almost in the center of the picture.  crazy man.

ps-if you'd like your own picture turned to watercolor, you can use the Waterlogue app for only $4.99 on itunes, or you can email me a picture and I can try to do it for you? : )  I think my email is still on the tab up top under contact me!

Me? Missing Laundry? Can't Be.

Something's up with my background! I'll have to do some mechanical work...
Well, it works on mine, but not Ches' computer. Weird.

We are back in Dallas after a very long day.
We got up early (in Houston), got around, and Mary Claire and I ran to Target-more clothes shopping (undies, socks, clothes..), then back to the room. Ches and the boys had been playing ball outside, so I had to pack up all of our mess. Try fitting twice the stuff into full bags! Work. (but no laundry!)
Ethan was sooo crabby, and really wanted to get into the van, and now we know why! He cuddled up, and went to sleep just while we loaded the van! : ) Sweet boy. We headed south to the Houston Zoo (about 45 minutes maybe?), got out, and guess what? Mary Claire didn't have her meter. We recalled the last place we'd checked her was in Target, back up north. Ugh. I had to go to the bathroom sooo bad, we went on in, had to pay for Ethan (second place after they told us he didn't need a city pass), then had an expensive ($34!) lunch, looked at a very few animals, and back on the road to get the meter!
We got it, and Ethan kept saying, "Get out, down? Get out. Peez?" So we went to Chick-fil-A, grabbed a snack, and got back on the road north to Dallas. Newsflash: There is Nothing between Houston and Dallas, I repeat Nothing. It is vast open land with the Adult Video here and there. That I don't want my kids reading. So it was the video changing time-constant changing of the videos-the new ones we've bought in the last few days: Milo and Otis, Tom and Jerry, Strawberry Shortcake-some princess one, Baby Einstein-Numbers Nursery, and we rewatched Wall-E. I'm tired of videos!!! Livestream tv is GooD!
So, we pulled into an Olive Garden, I ran in and ordered, we made it to the hotel, ate, and all kids are asleep. They couldn't wait for bed-seriously. All of them. Mary Claire is still in her clothes (and that's another story), and Ethan just wanted his bed set up so he could roll over and go to sleep already!!

Biggest Funny Thing, One Sad Thing:
Well, in the vast Nothingness, we decided to pull over at a rest stop (no restrooms), but they could play with their balls (yes, made Ches laugh like no tomorrow!) out on the grassy plain. Mary Claire just HAD to pee. So, I held her up, told her straighten her legs and go. She was freaking out (as all good girls should), and then bent and tucked, and got her socks in it, and got her pants all wet. Insert proper grossing out, and eewww! So, we changed her (to yesterday's clothes all folded in her suitcase) and she's okay. Now she knows why we fold our clothes all nice even after we wear them-you might need them again!!! Lesson learned. The Hard Way.

Bad: Didn't get to see as much of the Zoo as we wanted
Good: Thrilled we located her meter!

Bad: Drove thru Nothingness
Good: Our van led us to an Olive Garden!

Bad: Looked Stupid in dress/leggings from Target with my tennis shoes (I only have brown heels, tennis shoes, and Black Mule-type shoes with me), looked kinda pregnant, like I-don't-care-how-I-look
Good: Got opportunity to go back to return them!

We may get power back tomorrow. We are checking out the power restoration map for our area at home (who can see these? Not people with no power!) and some areas are scheduled to have power by noon tomorrow, some midnight tomorrow, some Sunday noon. Our neighborhood has no color. So are we getting power restored? Did they run out of fun Easter-y colors? Do they not know we have no power? Umm, power please.

We have this room reserved for tomorrow also-I really hope to be home though. It's been a fun week, but even the kids are tired. (Yes, me too.) I kinda miss my ol' pals in the laundry room. I'm sure we'll be reacquainted awful soon! I've got about 6 loads staring at me in these little laundry sorters called suitcases. Ahh, to have my own bed with my warm electric blanket. Ahh, my balance board is probably missing me, and will ask where I've been for the past few days! He'll tell me that to stay in shape I have to use him frequently, and I'll roll my eyes, but then Super Hula and Rhythm Box for an hour! I hope Lexi is missing us too. Mary Claire cried for her two nights ago. We aren't sure if she was just tired or if she really wanted to go home just to see Lexi. Guess what? The kids haven't missed a thing in their rooms. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. It's just all junk. Accoutrements of life. (Or barnacles?)

Tomorrow, we set our sails toward home! Yippee!
I'll see ya on the other side!