Wrestle mania

From the looks of my blog you'd think I fell off the face of the earth or something.  I guess it's been a week or two or three since I've posted anything.  I did write a post a couple of days ago and then deleted the entire thing.  I wasn't sure if sharing about an 11 year old telling me he was getting the puberty, a 5 year old telling me he squeezed his little goods and it hurt so bad, and a 3 year old giggling and yelling boobies as I walked through the bra aisle at Walmart was appropriate.  At least Grif hasn't said anything too crazy or embarrassing lately.  1 out of 4 is progress at this house.

I guess I haven't blogged because nothing is going on around here except wrestling.  Right now we eat, sleep, breathe wrestling.  

So far Dax is undefeated.  He has pretty much pinned every kid he goes up against.  One week Nate told him if he pinned a kid he could get some extra Halloween candy.  He took it very seriously.  I figure it's fine.  He just burns off the extra calories while wrestling, right?  

 The best thing about Dax wrestling is he has a huge grin on his face the entire time.  He loves it.  I wish my camera didn't suck and I could get some good action shots.  A nice camera is on my list of things to get when we win the lotto.

Dilon has been to a few meets already and won 4th, 2nd, and 1st.  

I still don't understand the desire to roll around on a mat with another stinky boy in spandex.  But whatever, I'll just sit on the bleachers and continue to bite all my nails off until the season is over.

It's that time of year again

November has become that month for me.  That month that changed our world forever two years ago. That month that reminds me Dilon will never be the way he used to be.  That month of Diabetes awareness when we try to educate others on this stinkin disease.  So this is me trying to do that.  I have so much to learn myself still but so much that I need others to know. If I don't, I know I will go all crazy lunatic lady on them because they don't know what they are talking about when they think they do. So I'm going to jump on my soap box for a minute and give you a little glimpse of what our life is like while we fight this disease.  Hopefully it will help educate some as well. I'm not trying to be rude, I was completely ignorant on this myself until we were thrown in the arena and had no choice but to fight or die.  I'm going to try my darndest to keep my language from reflecting anything that is not lady-like. I just get so fired up sometimes over this it's a struggle to watch my words. 

If you don't already know this is Dilon.  Age 11, sports enthusiast, kind-hearted,  fun loving, full of energy, Type 1 Diabetic (T1D).  That thing attached to him would be his insulin pump.  It is a lifesaver--literally.

**We did not cause this disease.  I repeat, it wasn't us. We did not throw him in a room with a bowl full of candy and tell him to have at it.  NOTHING we did or did not do caused this or could have prevented it.

**Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes are two different things.  While many (but not all--let me be very clear on that) people with Type 2 can help control theirs with diet and exercise, Type 1's cannot.  Dilon could run until his little legs couldn't move another step and eat nothing but fruits and vegetables and it wouldn't matter.  He would still have Type 1.

**Dilon's pancreas (and all Type 1 diabetics pancreas') hate them.  They just decide to be lazy and stop producing insulin and eventually die. You have one stinkin job Pancreas....produce insulin.  It's not that tough.  When it decides it doesn't want to do that job it leaves too much sugar in their bodies causing their blood sugar to rise. This is no good.  In fact, it can be fatal.  That's something every parent wants to hear (still looking for that sarcasm font).

** Dilon will be insulin dependent until there is a cure. Right now there is no cure but there will be.  I feel it in my bones.  For now, that doesn't mean my kid can't eat what everyone else can.  That's why he has his insulin.  We're not paying $230 for a month's supply of insulin just for kicks and giggles (look at me watching my language).

I can't count the number of times people have made a comment to him that he shouldn't eat that candy or ice cream or piece of bread.  Back off, man.  He may only be 11 but he knows what he's doing.  If your life depended on it you would know what you're doing too.

**Please oh please don't complain to me about how much money it cost you to go see the doc because your kid has a cold.  I would love to show you my list of what all these diabetic supplies cost.  Plus doc visits.

This isn't even all of it. I got lazy (just like Dilon's pancreas, ha!) and didn't want to go get the other stuff.

**If you have a T1D in the house you will have at least one closet/cupboard/or drawer that looks like a pharmacy. 

**Don't hate us if your kid is sick and we run from you like you have three heads and are breathing fire.  Sick diabetics can easily end up in the hospital.  Remember me already complaining about the cost of monthly supplies?  If I want to feed all my children we need to keep Dilon out of the hospital if possible.  I'm really not trying to complain about $$$ with this.  We do have good insurance that helps a ton.  We pay a ton for that insurance but whatever.  It's just money...who needs it?

**Love sleep?  I used to, too. If you have a T1D in the house a full night of sleep is like winning the lottery. I have run into the wall at 2 in the morning way more times than a person should be allowed to in their lives.  At least it wakes me up enough to make sure his blood sugar is normal.

**He can do what all the other kids do.  Let him.  Sports, food, etc.  Let me and Nate be the one's to worry about what he is doing.  I know you mean well when you ask if he can have it/do it but if he couldn't we wouldn't let him.  We're smart like that.

**This disease is difficult to manage.  We are never really in full control of it. The damn thing has a mind of its own (so much for being lady-like).  When you ask us if everything is going good with it and we smile and say yes, we're lying.  We are doing everything in our power to keep him healthy and safe but sometimes it is impossible to control.  It is too hard to try and explain that to people who don't deal with it everyday.  It's just so much easier to say things are good, even when they're not.

**Please don't just stare at him like he's an alien when he's checking his blood.  If you want to know what's going on ask him.  He would LOVE to tell you about it.

**Reality for Dilon:  he may lose his eyesight, he may lose limbs. He will feel like crap so many days of his life.  He has to carry a pack full of supplies everywhere he goes.  He may go to bed one night and not wake up because he dropped too low.  He can have seizures, he can slip into a coma.  He will always have to count carbs before he eats his food.  He will have to prick his finger several times a day just to make sure he is ok.  He will have to give himself shots or wear an insulin pump all the time to get that life saving medicine he needs.  

I truly believe only the strongest of the strong can deal with this disease.  He gives me strength through his example every day.  

I know this post is super lengthy, in reality I could type 10 more pages of what we deal with.  Just one last thing before I jump off my soap box....

Signs that you may have Type 1 Diabetes

-Increased thirst

-Increased hunger

-Increased urination (this is how we figured it out)

-Weakness/fatigue

-Weight loss

-Blurry vision

-Fast, deep breathing

-Slow or confused thinking

If you or your child show any of these signs, PLEASE do me a favor and go get them checked.  I didn't want to because I feel like I'm that mom who is always at the Doc because something is wrong with my kid.  It makes me sick to think of what could have happened if I wouldn't have taken him in.

I can't get over my Disney obsession

Will some Disney loving family please adopt me?  Pretty please?

I sat the four boys down yesterday for a very important discussion. Nate was in meetings so I figured it would be a good time to convince them we should go to Disneyland instead of doing Christmas this year.  Their enthusiasm was nowhere near mine.  I got three no's and one very excited yes from Baylor who has no idea what it is other than Mater, Buzz and Mickey live there. 

Of course they are all for going to Disney if we have Christmas too.  Dax says lets do both in the very innocent way a 5 year old who has no concept of money would.  My reply was we don't have enough money.  As soon as that came out of my mouth Bay went missing.  I figured he was bored of listening to me.  Nope, he came back five minutes later with his shoes and jacket on, holding his piggy bank and my shoes saying lets go mom.  A kid after my own heart.  He was ready to go to Disneyland right that second.  

So for those willing to adopt me and take me on vacation with them I will have a 3 year old in tow as well. We're a package deal.  Speaking of package deals...do you know get away today has a great deal on a Disneyland vacation.  Just sayin.

Merry Halloween

 This year we decided to head to my brothers house so we could Trick-or-Treat with cousins.  Good times.  I think Nate had an even better time.  He had to work too late so he stayed home and did whatever the heck he wanted all night while I got to deal with four small people who ate too much sugar. 

 Those two pull off cheerleaders a little too well.

We were a sight to be seen.  Cousin itt (mike) couldn't see a darn thing so the entire night we kept hearing "manda, which way do I go" "where is elle? I can't find elle.  And jude, does somebody have jude?" "was that a tree.  I think i'm stuck on a tree." People would compliment him on his costume and he would turn the opposite direction and say thank you. He did win best costume at work so that makes up for almost being hit by a car, right?

 My mom and Moe seemed to be slightly confused on which holiday we were celebrating.  It was surprising how many people stopped Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Rudolf for a picture.

Nate and I at our friends party.  Rainbow Brite and Murky

 The boys with their pumpkins for the pumpkin walk.

 Dax's theme was feelings.....this is his very scared pumpkin

Grif's theme was animals.  If I have to tell you what it is then we suck.

Bay couldn't be left out of the fun.  I'm pretty sure he got more paint on himself than his pumpkin.

And Dilon thinks he's too cool for this kind of stuff anymore.  Lame.

Now this is the aftermath of four little boys Trick-or-Treating

 It looks like a 2 year supply of food storage to me.

Happy Happy Halloween!!