Sigh.....

Well, spring break has come to its inevitable conclusion. The kids are grumpy and don't want to go to bed at a decent hour; I didn't complete everything I envisioned for the week; I'm not feeling especially cheery at the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to work. (Even though the crack of dawn is around 6 AM.)

Please don't misunderstand. I enjoy my job and the students and other teachers with whom I spend my days. Sometimes I just wish I could go back to the time that I was home with my kids and have a "do-over". I also wish I had more time to do the things I want to do (like volunteering, or gardening) rather than the things I MUST do, like pulling weeds and doing laundry. The "want" list gets set aside for the "must" list on an all-too-frequent basis. Welcome to being a grown-up, right? :)

Sorry for the grumps, I'm just feeling a little disgruntled this evening. But tomorrow is another day, even though it's a back-to-work day. Here's hoping for less disgruntled and more cheerful and satisfied tomorrow! :)

Happy Birthday!

Today is the 10th Anniversary of my dear son's birth. I can't believe it's been 10 years since my ob/gyn greeted him with the words, "Look at the size of those shoulders!" As if I didn't already know how big they were. :)

It's also my niece's 21st birthday...St. Patrick's Day babies abound in my family. There are several more way back in the family tree, apparently.

So happy birthday to my boy, and my brother's "baby" girl who's all grown up, and to the rest of you wee little leprechauns born this day. And no, neither one of them is named after the Good Saint. Though I'm thinking that both of their names are good Irish names and that BOTH of them are blessed with the gift of blarney anyway!


An Irish blessing to one and all:
May your purse be heavy and your heart be light!

Spring Break

Well, it's spring break once again, and I'm left wondering how the heck the year got this far already. I've barely blinked and 3/4 of the school year has passed me by! Geez, how old do I sound? ;)

This means that I have kids who will alternate between wanting to lie in front of the TV/Wii all day long and wanting to be shuttled here, there, and everywhere in between, spending copious amounts of money (mine) while they are out and about. The good news is that beloved Auntie and Uncle are coming for a visit from the frozen upper Midwest, so said relatives may take kiddies to Grandma's house for a couple of days. If only I could get the Navigator replaced and working before they go, I'll feel ever so much better about sending them off!

Yes, that's right.....the glorious, wonderful piece of medical marvelousness that is the Abbott Freestyle Navigator Continuous Glucose Monitor has broken. 4 weeks of use, and the itty-bitty little plastic pin that attaches the transmitter (the permanent part) to the sensor bracket (the replaceable part) has broken off. You'd think that a several-hundred-dollar pieces of technology would be locked in with something more than a 2-cm long plastic nub....nope. I'm not even sure how it broke off, but have to assume that it happened when I was removing the transmitter from the bracket in order to trick it into another 5-day session. Even though we now have insurance coverage for the sensors, I am trying to get as much usage as possible out of *everysingleoneofthem*. Having spent $60+ per sensor out of pocket for the last type we tried, it kills me to remove something that is working fine because the FDA says I have to. :P Guess I'm a little more defiant of authority than I thought I was....

Anyhow, the lovely customer-service folks at Abbott (who are on call 24/7, which amazes me) say that we will have a replacement transmitter by Tuesday, Wednesday before 10 AM at the latest. Which should make it possible for said kiddies to go to grandma's house. Have I mentioned lately how fabulous it is for my kids to be old enough to go off to grandma's and stay for a few days? I know lots of people send their kids off when they are teeny, and it's just fine. Not sure why, but I was always worried about having them go stay the night elsewhere when they were little. I was even concerned about grandma's house, even though I know she would do any- and everything possible to keep them safe and secure, just as the hubby and I would. I suppose some of that worry came from the fact that dh's parents live 2 1/2 hours away from us, so if something should befall them I'm not close enough by to get there quickly.

Anyhow, enough rambling for today. It's going to be 80 degrees outside today, and I should take my pasty white self outside and do something in the sun before it suddenly becomes summer! It will be here in another blink of the eye.....

Her Dream Assignment - raise T1 awareness

Michelle Rago, awesome CWD mom and photographer extraordinaire, is trying to win a contest at NameYourDreamAssignment.com. Here is what she says:

I would like to photograph children with Type 1 diabetes doing two things: 1. testing their blood sugar or injecting insulin and 2. doing their favorite thing. I would like to exhibit the photos to raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes.

There are approximately half a million children with Type 1 diabetes worldwide. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the child's body thinks that the pancreas is a virus and attacks and destroys it. It is partly genetic and partly triggered by environmental factors, but scientists still do not understand why children develop it and which children will develop it. In today's society where Type 2 diabetes is on the rise due to less than healthy diets and sedentary lifestyles, children with Type 1 are often told that if they had only exercised or eaten better, they would not have developed diabetes. This is not true.

I would like to photograph children with diabetes throughout the world engaging in diabetes-related care taking activities and doing something they enjoy. I believe that an exhibit juxtaposing children engaging in these two starkly different activities will put real faces on the children who suffer from this disease and bring empathy to their plight instead of misunderstanding.

My inspiration for this dream photo shoot comes from raising a son and daughter with diabetes and from the enjoyment I have received taking photographs at Children With Diabetes conferences in the past. I have watched the joy that children receive from having their photos taken and seeing their portraits in print.

I have many contacts in the world of diabetes throughout this country and Italy and South America. I believe that these contacts will help me identify and photograph children readily. I also believe that, as with the Quilt for Life exhibit put on by Children With Diabetes, an exhibit of photographs of children with diabetes will have an impact on funding research for a cure. The award money would go towards my travel and photography expenses. I would hope to find lodging with my diabetes "family" throughout the world in order to minimize costs and allow me to reach as many families as possible.

Please register your email address and vote for Michelle!
http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com/the-ideas/Michelle/insulin-is-not-a-cure-for-children-with-type-1-diabetes/