Weight Watchers and Diabetes

Most of you who know me in real life know that I've had diabetes since I was a kid. This is something I rarely write about, but it has been a major source of frustration for me this week. I decided to share what I've been dealing with in hopes of helping others who are dealing with something similar & maybe get some advice.

On Monday, there was only one thing that I *had* to get done. I needed to take Eva to see her pediatrician, which meant toting Samuel along. Sounds simple enough, but I got up with my blood sugar low & battled it all day long. Getting the kids to and from that doctor's appointment was about all I got done. I felt awful all day. I had a super bad headache. I went back to bed after I got the kids down for their afternoon nap. I'm still following Weight Watchers, so I didn't want to just eat a bunch of carbs. Usually I can treat low blood sugar with a banana or two & it's fine. That just didn't work on Monday. I think I had a banana, cereal, chocolate, ice cream, yogurt, oranges, apples, grapes, and I don't know what else before I went to bed Monday night. I didn't enjoy having to eat it. After that carb feast I would have expected my blood sugar to be pretty high the next morning. But no, it wasn't even 90. Ugh. That tells me that it is time to reduce my insulin dose. (Normal fasting blood sugar range is 80-120)

I've had to make reductions in my dose as I've lost weight, and it always takes a few days to figure out how much insulin I need to take to keep my blood sugar within a normal range. And it is frustrating. It means checking my blood sugar more often than usual & making sure I have snacks stashed everywhere. I try to keep granola bars in the diaper bag, the console of my car, the saddle bag on my bike, both of my purses, my camera bag, and my nightstand. I don't like eating when I'm not hungry, but I simply don't have a choice when my blood sugar is low.  My doctor has asked me to come in for lab work every three months since I've been on Weight Watchers and making adjustments to my insulin, and I go faithfully. We've agreed on what my goal weight should be, and I'm almost there. I've been *almost there* since Christmas, which is another point of frustration. I'm running out of clothes that are not too big for me, but I don't want to buy anything else until I get these last 8 pounds off. I'm down to two pairs of jeans that fit OK, no dress pants, 4 bras, 3 skirts, and well, even my shoes are loose. I've bought some things for the springtime that fit, but since it looks like winter is never going to end here in St. Louis, I don't know when I'll be able to wear them. It was 10 F, when I got up this morning.

One thing that I love about Weight Watchers is that fresh fruit is zero points, so I don't have to count it when I have to eat a banana to treat low blood sugar. This is what has made the program sustainable for me. Getting past the hurdle of a dose reduction just makes for a few rough days. Hopefully, this is the last dose adjustment that I will have to make.

Hanging up my White Coat

At least for a little while that is.  Today was my last day at work. I had been working full time, dealing with a rather grueling schedule. My hours were usually something like 2 AM to 10 AM, and I had a broken sleep pattern. I felt like a zombie most of the time, and it was rough on the four of us.  We tried to streamline things as much as we could. We bowed out of extra activities at church & hired a house cleaning service, but it still left us precariously juggling our time. I missed the kids, and I felt consumed. I have worked with, trained, and taught a lot of pharmacy students over the years, and I always tell them to reconsider a job if the paycheck is the only thing that they find rewarding about it. I was beginning to hear my own advice ring in my ears, so I gave my notice in early January and agreed to stay on part time until my replacement was hired. My replacement started on Monday. She's a single mom of two who needs the jobs worse than I do. I am not envious of her position.

If I decide to look for another job, I'm not going to try to find one until after Eva's birthday, which is in about 2 months.  I worked a little for the local college of pharmacy during the fall semester, and I've been invited back to teach the same lab in the fall this year. I'll probably do that again.

I'm thankful that this is a choice that I have the freedom to make, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a little nervous about staying home with the kids. It's hard work, and it's unpredictable. I am looking forward to seeing the kids more, and I'm relieved to be able to spend the nights in my own house instead of at the pharmacy. The kids will be little only once. I won't ever get a "do-over" of Samuel's toddlerhood because I was too consumed with work to soak in his two-year-old-ness. Work can wait. I get one shot at serving my kids well as they grow up. I've already had a lot of years to serve my patients well, and those opportunities will still be there when my kids are not. I've had a lot of patients who left an endearing imprint in my memory, but the best week of my career was spent serving in Haiti. I didn't get paid anything for that work, but it fed my heart in a way that my regular job did not. I hope I can say the same things about staying home with my kids that I say about Haiti - It was hard, emotional work that I had the honor of doing, and I got to witness Jesus do some amazing things in the hearts of people He created.

Happy Valentine's Day

Photo by Donna Harris

Happy Valentine's Day to my dear James. I'm so thankful for you and everything that you do for our family.  This past year, it has warmed my heart watching you be a daddy to a little girl.  I love watching you play with both our kids, and it's been fun seeing you dote on your little girl.

I'm thankful for the things that you teach Samuel.  I think you've had more success showing him how to operate his "motorcycle" than I've had. 

I've really enjoyed our cycling dates. Sometimes they include dinner, sometimes not, but they are always fun. 

You are a blessing to the three of us!

Photo by Anitra K Photography

Samuel's Second Birthday

 We celebrated Samuel's 2nd birthday last Saturday. We had his party in James' hometown, and we got to see all of our family in the area.  He has become fascinated with trains, so that was the theme of the party.

 A big thank you to one of Louisiana's finest for making this little fella pretty happy. A state trouper let us take photos of Samuel with a caboose that he owned.

James' Uncle and Dad got this train set up for the party. It was the highlight of the party for Samuel. Thank you for sharing it with us!

 The cake came from Linda's Specialty Cakes. It was delicious, and it was
way cheaper than his first birthday cake.  One of the benefits of a small town, I guess. James' parents took care of the party planning, which was a huge help to me.  Thank you! We had the party at the activity building of the church James grew up in. We've had several family celebrations in that building.

Samuel, you are a joy to us!  It is so much watching you learn how to do new things and seeing you grow. We are so thankful for you.

Legally our Daughter

 Yesterday was a big day for our family. It was the day Eva Kate legally became our daughter, and her last name was changed to our last name.  Our hearing was scheduled for 9 AM, and we gave ourselves an hour to get to the court house. It only takes 30 minutes to get there, but you have to go through security once you arrive and there was still a lot of snow on the roads. We needed every bit of that hour. The parking lot at the court house was a snowy mess, so James let us out at the entrance. He had to park quite a way off in a parking garage.  Samuel put on a loving show of his affection during the hearing. I was sitting holding Eva, and James was holding Samuel right beside me. Samuel leaned over to Eva, and they touched noses. It was precious. He loves his sister! We are so thankful for these two kids.

For her big day, Eva Kate wore a dress from James' mom and a hat that my mom made for her. Very cute! Thank you, Mawmaw & Nana!

We both took the day off work so we could spend the day celebrating with the kids.  First up, a visit to The Magic House for the first time. James had been as child, but the rest of us had never been. The kids had fun.

 This water room was their favorite place to play.

 This bench played music when you sat on it. Each seat played music from a different instrument.

 For lunch, we ate at one of our favorite barbecue places - Pappy's Smokehouse. Their food is great. So good in fact, that I am glad that it is a 45 minute drive from my house. If it weren't we would be eating this far too often. Samuel had some of the ribs, and he liked it very much. He and Eva both ate some applesauce and a sweet potato fry or two.

They sell cute shirts for kids that say "Who's your Pappy" on the back. Samuel has a blue one, so we got Eva Kate a pink one to match.

After nap time, we went to The Painted Pot to make a keepsake for Eva. We did the same for Samuel on his finalization day. I really like this pottery studio. The staff there are so helpful. The girls helped me with Eva' hand prints, which was a tricky task.

For dessert, we had some delicious Jilly's Cupcakes. These are the best cupcakes I've ever had. I got a chocolate one for the kids to share, German Chocolate for James, and a Bee Sting for me. The Bee Sting is honey-lemon, filled with lemon curd. So good!

I took them to the laundry room right after they finished and promptly washed their clothes. They both got a bath right away.

Our parents are coming to celebrate Eva's finalization and my birthday with us next weekend!

Christmas Eve 2013

We spent Christmas Eve at our house this year. We had a fun day opening presents, finishing last minute shopping, & cooking. We are so thankful for all we have to celebrate this Christmas - my 16th Christmas with James, two kids that are a joy that we waited a long time for, and birth of our Forgiveness, Love Himself, The Lion of Judah that became The Sacrifice.

James laughed at some of the items I stuffed the kid's stocking with, but it was stuff that Samuel picked out. I took him to the dollar store with me one day & I bought most of what he picked out - except for the six packets of Kleenex that he tossed in the shopping cart.  They both got shampoo with Elmo on the bottle, bubble bath, toothbrushes,  puffs & Gerber Yogurt Melts along some clothes that I embroderied for them.

The gift that Samuel liked best was his bottle of Mr. Bubbles. He recognized the bottle, and exclaimed "Bubble, bubble!"  He wanted to take it upstairs right away and take a bath. We convinced him to finish opening his gifts though.

I have to give a shout out to the esty shop BuellsBeauties, where James bought my gift. It is a wooden growth chart with the children's names and our last name painted in it. I love it & the work is beautiful.  Here is the link to the shop: www.etsy.com/shop/BuellsBeauties

Eva loved the wrapping paper most of all.

I gave James a Van De Graff Generator. You know, that thing at the science museum that you touch & it makes your hair stand up. He had asked for one & he was happy to receive it. He had a little fun with yesterday.  There is a photo below where you can see the arcing occuring.

Samuel with my new "mittens"as he called them. They are cycling gloves for the winter.

Christmas Decorating 2013

We put our Christmas decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Samuel was interested in participating.

This Little People Nativity set was his Christmas gift from us last year. He likes to play with it, and it hasn't looked that tidy since this photo was taken.

I set up the Advent boxes for him. There is one piece of candy inside each one, and he loves to open his box for the day and retrieve his treat. He quickly learned how to climb up in the chair so he could reach them

He wanted to help set the Christmas Village up. 

I finished most of the decorating on the Christmas tree while he napped, but I left a few ornaments out for him so he could put them on the tree. The trains were James' ornaments when he was a boy, and his mom passed them on to us. Samuel is fascinated with them. He walks around the tree looking for them, and he says "choo-choo" when he finds them.

He's not sure about our inflatable bear. He likes to look at it, but he doesn't want to get very close to it. We usually turn it off in the daytime. If he notices that it isn't inflated, he will point to it and say "ah oh" until we turn it back it back on.