Where the heck is the design team???

They would make things so much easier! It hasn't been too bad and I do not regret doing this, just haven't had a good challenge in a while so my brain is rusty. Lauren is so stubborn but I figured out something today, she has 0 confidence when it comes to schoolwork. After a few meltdowns I felt I should separate her into another room and do some one on one work. It worked, phew. She was more focused and calm and was willing to try more things. After we were done (btw knowing what time it is and teaching how to read a clock are things you never think about ugh) I brought Ashley into her room and we had one on one time. That way Lauren did not feel like she was different. I like this method and I am going to try it again and see what the results are.
Learning to plan better, which is great. Actually I am realizing I wing it better then planning. I will write down assignments that I want completed for the day but then let the girls alternate one on one time with independent work so they both aren't yelling at me for help at the same time. Really that seems like common sense but I am not a good planner, so please be proud hehe!
Fighting some cold or allergies not sure which yet. Tonight my nyquil better work better then it has been! Ashley had some small ketones earlier but I got control of them pretty quickly, so avoided that disaster.

If you are wondering what the heck ketones are, here is an awesome article from my friend, Leslie. Her articles rock and are a God send!

http://type1parents.org/type1demystified

ordinary illnesses

As a mom I worry about my children getting sick. We take precautions when we are out and about. We wash our hands and use hand sanitizer at the drop of a hat. My daughter uses so much soap when she washes her hands that I am afraid she’ll slip down the drain. I wish that neither of my children would ever catch a cold or virus, but that’s not going to happen. And it’s when my son with Type 1 diabetes gets a virus or a cold that the ordinary illness becomes not so ordinary.
When Type 1 diabetes is thrown into the loop regular occurrences such as colds and virus become so much more. It becomes ketones and erratic blood sugars and lots and lots and lots of finger sticks. Sure we still have to watch the fever and treat the symptoms of stuffy noses and coughs, but it becomes so much more than that.
Ketones can kill, plain and simple.
In people with Type 1 diabetes ketones are mainly caused by lack of insulin. Ketones are when your body body burns stored fat for energy. In a nutshell, ketones are not good, EVER. Most times you can keep ketones away by providing the proper amount of insulin. But then of course, in times of illness, all bets are off. Ketones can appear at the first sign of illness. So along with fighting stuffy noses, and fever, people with Type 1 diabetes need to fight ketones as well. That is very very hard to do. It’s like fighting 2 completely different battles within the same body.
The way to get rid of ketones is to give more insulin. Most times they are not impossible to get rid of at home, but many times especially when they are stubbornly attached to an illness they have to be dealt with in the hospital. So it’s not the stuffy nose or fever that requires the trip to the ER, it’s the ketones. Remember ketones can kill, let’s not forget that.
Then there are the extra finger sticks. Don’t get me started. My boy already endures 10 or more finger sticks a day just to stay healthy on a regular day. Throw in an illness that causes high, erratic blood sugars and ketones and the finger sticks become exponential. During an illness it is not unheard of to check every hour on the hour. Do the math, that’s 24 finger sticks in one day.
My son only has 10 fingers just like most every other six year old.  Twenty four finger sticks in one day, plain and simple, hurt. They hurt one the actual finger and they hurt on the inside.Think about the last time you had the flu, or head cold. Now think if every hour on the hour someone was going to stab your finger with a needle just enough to make you bleed. Wears on you. Inside and out.
Why check so much you may be asking yourself. We check because it’s the only way to know what is going on inside my son’s body along with all the symptoms on the outside. Tylenol can help a fever, but it does nothing for high blood sugars, believe me I wish it would. The only way to tell if more insulin is needed is to to a finger stick. Insulin helps lower the blood sugar levels and helps rid the body of those ketones. Finger sticks are the window to my son’s blood.
And plain and simple during a time of ordinary illness it is not unheard of to see numbers of 300 or higher. All in the day in the life of a child with Type 1 diabetes when he is hit with the sniffles.
So the next time something seems ordinary to you take a moment to think how lucky you are. Ordinary is just that, ordinary, and that’s not so bad.