A Weekend Without Diabetes (sort of)

I left for the long weekend with my sister.  We headed north to our favorite place...to meet up with my parents and spend some concentrated time with them.  No kids.  No husbands.  No distractions.  Oh, and no diabetes.

My parents are getting older (aren't we all?) and we thought it would be perfect timing to meet with them and talk about things like their rental properties and how we can help out with them.  Two locations are vacant at this time.  They would be showing them to prospective tenants and we could learn.

I made sure the fridge was stocked, laundry done, meds picked up and reminders written down. 

I almost forgot but C reminded me to get a birthday present for one of her little friends on Thursday night.  C seemed to be the one in the family who had a busy weekend ahead.  She was excited to be meeting with her new softaball team on Saturday and going to a birthday party on Sunday. 

After making sure everyone was set for the weekend, we left.

I didn't worry...too much.  My husband is quite capable.  It was a pretty light weekend, activitiy-wise.  Kids were healthy.  C's numbers had been just fine.  And honestly, there was a piece of me, deep-down, that was ready for a little respite from diabetes.

Later that night, when we had settled in, I made my good-night call.  I threw each one a kiss through the phone.  I got on the phone with the husband.

"Okay hon...have a great time with the folks.  Everything's being taken care of here" he said.

"Thanks!  I will.  Love you..."

 "Oh, just to let you know," he said, "C has a bit of a fever.  Nothing terrible...100 point something."

 "What?"

 "And she's been complaining of a sore throat."

 Silence.

 "Hon?  Are you there?  She'll be fine.  I just gave her some Tylenol."

 Big sigh.  "I know," I said.  "But I wouldn't have left if I had known..."

 "I know.  But it'll be fine.  I'm glad you're there.  You needed to go."

 "Please watch her numbers..."

Really this was the first illness C has had this entire school year.  I couldn't believe it.  I felt my neck.  It was already in knots.  Had I wished he hadn't told me?  Yes.  Would I have gotten angry if he hadn't told me?  Yes.  Oh brother.

I kept my phone on that night.  I just hoped he'd check her through the night.  Sometimes those fever highs are relentless and need more aggessive correction.  We had been doing so well on her bg averages.  And her next endo appointment is in a few weeks.  Argh.

It was a sleepless night.  This was not what I had been secretly wanting.  That next morning, as I was sipping my coffee and enjoying the view of the bay, I decided something.  I was going to release this anxiety, Lord willing.  I figured why in the world should I feel this tense?  I'm here.  She's there.  Husband's got it covered.  I can't do a blasted thing about her illness right now except to pray, as always.

I looked over at my dear mom and dad.  They were genuinely thrilled that my sister and I were there.  I smiled at them.  All of a sudden, I realized my role that weekend was that of daughter.  Not mom.  Not nurse.  I let it go.

Now and then, throughout the weekend, I'd get a text:  243, corrected and resting...mild fever...not complaining...91,eating dry cereal...267, but coming down.  And so it went.  Things were fine.  The sad part was that C missed out on the fun that she had planned that weekend.  But by Monday when I returned home, she was feeling rested and much better.  So was I. 

A weekend without diabetes?  No.  Not really.  Not ever, really.

My favorite place.

Candy World!

Oddly, this could be a wonderful dream or a horrific nightmare for someone dealing with diabetes.

During our little vacation this summer, we kept running into (literally) these crazy, HUGE, brightly-lit candy stores! We couldn't help it. It was like a gigantic magnet pulled my kids in!

Now, some folks may be thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought your daughter has diabetes," usually spoken in hushed tones for some reason. Well, yes. Yes, she does. But this store just screamed FUN! So, how could we resist!

Call me crazy, but I let C eat certain treats. I don't allow any of the purely sugar candies. (Although, jelly bellies are beginning to be the fast-acting sugar of choice for treating lows lately!) But, then there's chocolate. Chocolate is just so perfect. It has fat in it...not just sugar. So it doesn't send her sky-rocketing, then crashing. It actually works out okay for us as long as we count the carbs correctly. On special occasions, yes, she eats candy. We don't do it every day. We count and bolus accordingly.

So, in Candy World, I was going to allow my kids some fun treats! The boys picked out the "way-over-priced-by-weight" candies and scooped them into little bags...jelly beans, gummie things and of course the gargantuan jawbreaker. I wandered around with C, in search of the perfect chocolate. The great thing was, she was more interested in all the toys and stuffed animals rather than the candies. She is fanatical about stuffed animals! I kept asking, "Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"Oh, all I really want is this cute little stuffed turtle, Mom! Look! It has a little tu-tu!"

How could I argue with that?! Here we were in Candy World. I was willing to buy my type 1 daughter candy! And all she wanted was a stuffed animal. I actually was in awe of her decision for the remainder of our day.

Candy, candy, everywhere...and C is holding a strange blue squishy thing!

The Boardwalk

Why does this ride scare the bejeebers out of me?

Before we jump into post after post on the "back-to-school diabetes blues," (and believe me, there will be plenty) thought I'd write a light one full of summertime fun...

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We stayed around home most of the summer until August 9th. Then we made it up to the Monterey, California area for a week's break before the routine of school began. Good thing we got out of town when we did. With all 5 of us around the house, day-in and day-out for 2 months, I was seriously thinking of having myself committed. (Just kidding, kind of.)

During one of our days, we knew we wanted to take the kids around the bay to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. I hadn't been there for nearly 20 years! We decided to be real cheapskates and go on one of their 75 cent nights (Mondays and Tuesdays). Every ride was only 75 cents! (Normally, they can be as much as 4 or 5 dollars!) Also, any soda was only 75 cents too...and maybe I shouldn't mention it, but 75 cents for cotton candy too! This promised to be a great time!

We made a day of it and first went up into the Redwoods. It was something! The weather was perfectly mild and we had a great time walking through the forest and peering up at these giant, ancient fellas. We even went inside some! And though the elevation wasn't even 2,000 feet, we felt like we were worlds away. Lunch was eaten under some shady oaks, and then it was time...the Boardwalk!

None of my pictures do these giant trees justice.

We took a very scenic drive down to the coast on Highway 9. With Gameboys banned, I made sure the kids took note of God's beauty all around us. We made our way to the Boardwalk just before 5 (just before the 75 cents rate started!) My kids were about to pop! I don't know what it was. We've done Disney, Knott's and the like, but something about the Boardwalk was making them hyper. Maybe it's the beach that edges right up to it. Maybe it's the scary, ricket-y rides. Or maybe it was the 75 cents for everything. But there we went.

It was so fun! The best part (for me) was the fact that there was no admission fee. We could freely walk in and among the attractions without spending a dime. And although the hotdog dinner was not even worth the 75 cents, it was an awesome time being a kid with my kids. (I told my husband that the hotdogs did not, in any way, constitute a dinner out for me!)

And diabetes? It behaved itself. For the most part. Even after a double chocolate dipped ice cream cone! That's all the credit I'm giving the D.

***So, if you're in or around Santa Cruz in the near future, crack open your piggy bank and get ready to have a great time with your kids. Remember to go on their 75 cent nights! And, again, though I would have loved to have been paid for this review, sadly...I was not. : )

I skipped this ride for a couple reasons!

The giant swing ride!

One last go on the merry-go-round!

---special note---Unfortunately, the day after our Santa Cruz fun, the much publicized Lockheed fire broke out in the forests above the Boardwalk. This saddened us so much and we hope that all the wonderful state parks were spared.

On a Day at Sea World

Sea World...so inspiring! I mean, they pump upbeat music through the trees and bushes. It put a zing in my step! We "oooo'ed and ahhh'ed" at the amazing shows. And that feeling I had as a child...you know the one...the "I-want-to-be-a-whale-trainer-when-I-grow-up" feeling?...I got it again. (And, yes, I do realize, I am a 40-something year old mom of 3!)

It was a great day...just C and me. The boys were off camping - doing their "boys only" trip. So C and I decided to go down to San Diego for the day. She had never been to Sea World before. Well, actually, the last time we'd been there was 8 years ago, when I was pregnant with her. So, technically she had been there. But, anyway...

We got up pretty early, packed some lunch, made sure we had all the necessary D items (insulin and site change, included), had a quick breakfast, and we were out the door. It's a good 2 hour drive from where we live, but we made good time. We arrived soon after the gates opened at 9:00 am. C was so excited.

{I have to share a tidbit of info here. Sea World, like everything else, is expensive. It was going to cost us $110 just for admission for the 2 of us. The night before, I went online and found this sight: RetailMeNot.com I purchased a regular adult admission and got a child's for free! It worked! I printed out our tickets for nearly 1/2 the price!}

Now, I was trying to go cheap, here, but because I saved so much on admission, I decided to put that money toward an animal experience for us. We made our reservations to "Dine with Shamu." Yes, we would be eating dinner with a killer whale! More on that later...

So, we did anything and everything that C wanted. She called the shots. We donned our trusty ponchos and enjoyed Shipwreck Rapids. We flew over the Wild Arctic in a helicopter. We saw the amazing Shamu Show. We meandered through several animal-viewing areas including sea turtles, dolphins, flamingos, penguins and sharks. We saw the perpetual Clyde and Seymour Sea Lion Show. The Dolphin Show entertained us. Then, it was time for dinner...with Shamu!

We were among a small group of people, escorted back behind a large whale tank (the one that used to be used for birthing baby killer whales). We sat poolside and got the "inside secrets" of the Shamu Show! We went through a nice buffet line with yummy beef tenderloin in a burgundy sauce, seafood creole, delicious salads and of course, all the fun kid food you can imagine. The dessert bar was beautiful. However, I waited too long to get a scrumptious piece of double chocolate cheesecake. They were cleaned out on my second trip through ! But C got her "mystery carb count" whale cookie and was happy as a clam (or a whale!)

After our dining experience, whale-side, we were escorted through the backstage area to our reserved seats for the nighttime show. This show is different from the earlier daytime one. All the lights and sounds just dazzled. It was so fun and so worth it. The grinning 7 year old is proof!

Notice how I've barely mentioned diabetes in this post? That's not to say it wasn't an issue. We tested A LOT. But, I must admit, it behaved itself during the entire adventuresome day at Sea World. C stayed 150 or below all day long! And when we were ready for a treat here and there, her number was remarkably in range!

When we finally left the park at nearly 10 pm, we did a quick finger check before heading out...146...wow, I thought! That's pretty good for 2 1/2 hours post a mystery, buffet meal. I felt good with that number, so we headed home.

When we got home around midnight, I took a sleepy girl upstairs and checked her bg. 367! Go figure. I guess diabetes liked Sea World just as much as we did.

(Disclaimer: although I would love to have gotten paid by Sea World for this review, sadly, I did not.)

"Mom, I think he's smiling at us!"

Disney World & Diabetes

This summer, we are trying really hard to be frugal. I know a lot of people are trying to do the same. We may be going to the beach for a few nights (house-sitting a friend's place). And we more than likely will be spending time in the Monterey area (parent's place). But as for a big trip...none planned.

Our BIG trip was last summer. I came across our pictures from last summer's trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I decided, "garsh, as Goofey would say, that was a huge trip for our family...first flight for the boys...first major flight with diabetes...I should write about it!"

...so...that's what I did.
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We were sooo excited! Don't let middle C's sleepiness fool you...We awoke at 4 am to catch our flight from LAX. And I doubt any of us slept much the night before. We were going to DisneyWorld!!

In preparation for our trip, I had read up on, talked to people about, and had even questioned C's endo about travel and diabetes. I had purchased an expensive "cooling wallet" to keep the insulin cool during our travel. I had packed plenty of pump supplies and prescriptions and dispersed them between mine and Dan's carry-on luggage. I had looked into a second "emergency" pump in case C's went on the blink. (Medtronic assured me that a new pump could be over-nighted to us if need be.) I had even remembered to pack syringes in case of pump failure. Glucose tabs, snacks galore, we were set!

While reading, reading, reading, I came upon this article written by a dad of a type 1. It was great! He gave good tips for dealing with diabetes while going Disney-style. The article is called "Disney with Diabetes" and you can find it over at DLife. I thank Bennet "BadShoe" Dunlap for his candid and helpful hints to make the vacation pleasant (despite that varmit called diabetes!)

Here are just a few of "BadShoe's" tips that we used:

• packed way-lots of diabetes stuff...in two bags...carried on (you never know when a slippery insulin bottle will fall onto a hard tile floor!)
• asked for a sharps container from our hotel's front desk
• ordered groceries delivered to our room from local market (case of water...saved us lots $)
• ate most breakfasts in room (cereal & fruit = easy carb-counting for at least one meal per day)
• carried water, snacks and Crystal Light into parks
• tested blood sugar often
• did lots of homework to plan must-sees in each park
• had a ton of fun!!

It really was a wonderful family vacation for us. And I highly reccommend it. If at all possible, just don't plan it in the most humid part of the summer! The other thing we did that helped was to pay for everything up front...accommodations, meals, park tickets, airfare and on-ground transportation. We made reservations at the more elegant (pricey) restaurants since they were prepaid. That took quite a bit of stress out of the actual vacation time. I had checked pricing out with our local AAA and then actually booked everything myself online through Disney and Priceline.com. I ended up saving nearly $800 by clicking the mouse myself!

So, off we went. And like happens when I think C's numbers will be way out of range, she did pretty well on our week away!...except for the plane ride there...

...positive stress, perhaps?

So many princesses...

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...so little time!

Animal Kingdom - unexpectedly my favorite park.

The Magic Kingdom

Hollywood Studios...fun, even in the rain!

Where else would I even consider spending $12 on a balloon?

And...we finally found Snow White on our last day. (whew!!)

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So, take that diabetes!! We had an awesome time, despite your tagging along!