Long time no See.

I know.  I switched blogs, but, I like this one.  It was a good break.  I've been up to new things, the kids have grown, school started, and it's time for Halloween costumes.  

I am sewing a lot of leather lately and this is one of my favorite things, the leather Wonder Woman set at my etsy shop:). This is also how big Popi is now, my big 3 year old!!

Remember that Potty Problem?

Well, it's not an issue anymore. Since Christmas time Popi was using the potty pretty frequently. Then we had a minor setback when we traveled to the Austin area for a weekend, it kinda messed us up. When we got back it took us a few days but we got back in the swing of things pretty fast and only use a pull up for bedtime, but she doesn't soil it at night, it's just for my ease I guess. I don't know if it helps that we cloth diapered or that she has 2 older sisters, but she trained faster than June and Bee. It makes life so much easier!

Potty Trying

Since the pop tart turned 2 last Thursday and was exhibiting all signs of potty readiness, I took today to try that "potty training in one day" thing. We had tons of salty food with gallons of coconut water to wash it all down with so she would pee frequently, more opportunity to "learn". We had the baby doll pee pee and put on panties, we sang pee pee songs, read pee pee books, watched Japanese pee pee videos, we were set! Popi loved her big girl panties she was wearing and kept those suckers dry. Every five minutes after cups and cups of liquid we would go to the potty, and there in lied the problem, she will not sit on a potty or toilet of any kind. We have two small potties, and a small toilet seat attached to the big toilet, many choices. She wanted nothing to do with them and nothing to do with putting her diapers back on. I knew she must have needed to pee very badly after all that she had drank, but she just kept on holding it till she could no more. She stood in the hall, asked for a towel, then peed on the floor. She's the kinda girl that doesn't like messes so that's why she needed the towel, to wipe up her pee. Back to the drawing board for me, I can't figure out her aversion. First the bathtub, now the toilet. I guess it'll happen someday!

MAking School Lunches

i have always had a love/hate relationship with making school lunches. our school doesn't have a cafeteria so making homemade lunches is not a choice, but necessity. some days i wish i could drop off the kids without having to make a nutritional, kid friendly lunch. we do have pizza day on wednesdays, but only i would give birth to the kids that don't like delivery pizza. now with our #1 diabetic kiddo, making lunches has gone from a 2-5 minute throw down, to about a 30-45 minute nightly thing. i have to make the lunches at night because there is no time in the morning running around with those 3 girls to do all the mathematical note taking bee's lunches require. these are my tools.....

my calorie king book, scale, notepad, and calculator.
i have to have these to make lunch, dinner, breakfast, well, anything.

this is an example of both the girls' lunch for tomorrow, and popi gets a smaller version of this. 2 oz of cucumber, 9 olives, 1 cup whole wheat pasta with basil and parmigiano, sugar free jello(juni got some sugar filled orange cream jello thing), and a stevia sweetened lemonade.
on that little yellow note all folded up and tucked in her lunch is the exact measurements of the food with the carb content. i take that number, divide it by 20, and voila! i get the number of units beila's teacher needs to inject her with before lunch.

i put the lids on, tuck them in the fridge, and go collapse into bed. i was snuggling in bed with my Greek boo an hour ago watching tosh.0 and laughing, i wanted to stay there, i did not want to make lunches, i did not want to get up, i wanted to stay there, but someone has to feed my chilluns!

don't hate me:)

for the past few weeks i have either been super busy, visiting family, doing school stuff, had mastitis, or now getting over being sick again. i do apologize, i have been down for a week now and today getting out and feeling better. it's odd, just as i got over a small bought of mastitis over a week ago, my bestie, carrie in silicon valley, was getting her own. she had a little girl the day after popi's first birthday. i would have laid money down that zinny and popi would have the same birthday, but then i would have lost it all.

cousins from baltimore came to visit and we went to blue hole and had a fun summer day. we thought it was hilarious that popi figured out the olive trick out all by herself. it's in the blood.

photo by anna at lanford life is just so daily

things are getting back on track again. girls have been at school for about a month. piano starts this week, swim lessons started up last week, popi begins mother's day out tomorrow...hopefully i will find time for the gym, my sewing machine, my blog, and my kitchen. life is fast:)

St. Augustine, FL

after florence, we drove through georgia down the coast to jacksonville. my mom and dad then drove us to st. augustine so the girls and i could go to the beach while they browsed around. all three girls have been to each coast now, now we just have to go swimming in the pacific, not feet wading. we had a blast, it was the fourth of july but not too many people out. we set up camp, a blanket and tent, then played in the water till we were the only ones left. beila and june had the best time playing in the waves while popi and i sat on the sand bar in the shallow end and watched fishies. there were many times when i had to walk down the beach and bring the girls back to where we were, the waves take you down the beach. we had the best time together, got tuckered out, took naps, applied sunblock, found a jelly fish, got sand in everything, and had the best 4th of july!

Dr.Jelley's Day 2

have i mentioned how ironic and awesome beila's doctor's name is? dr. jelley. jelly is so yummy and full of sugar, something beila shouldn't have.
today we spent 4 hours learning more about diabetes and our child. another family was there as well and the mom seemed slightly angry and took it out on the nurse some. it was a little embarrassing at times. parks brought bee and we tested her blood, i knew something was wrong when i walked in but the 30-something blood sugar confirmed it. super duper low, hypoglycemic. beila looked as if she were going to pass out. quickly we gave her a juice box and dosed her for breakfast. by lunch she was hyperglycemic and acting nutsies, licking people and bouncing around. we got lunch in her fast, i wanted to laugh, okay, i did laugh, but her body was reacting to all this up and down and it was so visible. we went over so much today and i can't even recall any of it. it was intimidating knowing i was taking bee home with me and i was the one who was going to have to do all of the insulin and math. i made pasta carbonara for dinner with apples and milk. 91g of carbs, 5 units of insulin. the best part of the day is when my mom in law went to my favorite chocolatier, glacier chocolates, and brought bee sugar free chocolate and me a "your doing great" box all for myself. yummy:) well, anywho, so far today i gave beila 3 shots. one in the arm, leg and tooshy. 3 down, thousands more to go.

Too Much Information...

we got a lot of information today.

beila got her finger pricked at dr. jelley's office this morning. her blood sugar at a fast was 164, her A1c 13.3%. not good. after establishing her blood sugar we (marc, parks, and i) got to talk to dr. jelley and he went over her symptoms with us and answered any questions we had, he also confirmed her as diabetic. type 1 diabetes, my little 5 year old is diabetic. big breath.

we then got to go to the kitchen where the nurse fixed bee waffles and sugar free syrup. before she got to eat we had to be taught insulin mathematics and dosages. the nurse gave bee her very first shot of insulin, something her itty bitty body has been missing for who-knows how long, i could imagine her insides giving a big sigh of relief for that shot. she took it so good. the nurse stuck the small short needle in the back of her skinny arm and counted to ten and let go. how does a mama keep from crying in front her babies? she ate those waffles like she'd never eaten before, and asked for another when she was done. because she wanted more food and we'd only dosed her for those two waffles we had to give her another shot of insulin before she had her third waffle.

after the nurse went over the equipment, math,and dosages with us we got to spend time with a dietitian. we were given a ton of information on carb counting(yuck) and food weighing and measuring.

this is a big job, a "family disease" is what they call it. we are all going have to work together like we never have. all this new information on keeping my daughter's life stable, it is scary and intimidating. it is too much information...

Diabetes?

we got the urine test back today and it was positive for sugar. what that means is that bee is almost positively diabetic. we will hear more on monday.
i am very familiar with diabetes, my father is type 2. type 1 is different, and i needed to know more about it, so i started googling things about juvenile diabetes, if i wasn't worried before, i am most certainly now. thanks internet. i read about parents not letting their diabetic child out of their sight because they might have an "episode." helicopter parents that watch their kid's every move in fear it might be their last. there was calorie counting, carb counting, liver failure, and other horrifying things to have swirling around my mind. the worst thing i read was that diabetes was the 6th cause of death in the united states, and that when my baby dies, it will probably be from diabetes.
just so you know, if you don't know, type 1 diabetes is catagorized as an auto immune disease. your body attacking itself. you are born with a genetic predisposition for it. in life there are "triggers" that put the disease on go. beila must have had some "trigger" recently. it does not rear it's head because someone eats too much sugar, or that they are overweight, or because they caught it from someone. your pancreas makes insulin which lets sugar or energy into your cells, without insulin your body just pees out that sugar or energy. that is why diabetics take insulin every day.
even with the worry i now have, i am not going to let it change us, change beila. our diets might change, but i will not deny her her life that is rightly hers. we eat pretty well here, now it is only going to get better. the hardest part is going to be cutting out all of bee's everyday favorites, like milk and bananas, they will be in our diets, but not every day. hopefully, i will have some better news soon:)

doctor visit

as i watched beila's eyes flutter close and her skin turn from pink to shades of whites and purples that matched the dress she was wearing, it took all the mommy energy i had to not scream and cry for my baby. i was so thankful that my ex husband had taken off work to come be with us for this doctors appointment, i know i couldn't have held my five year old's body tight and rigid as the nice woman stuck my baby's arm with a needle and drew her precious life's blood out. the Greek was out in the waiting room with popi and juni while parks and i had the parental duty to help out with getting the blood sample. all i could do was watch them lay my ghostly beila out on the bench seat and try to wake her up. i was told to hold her knees up and sway them side to side to help the blood flow. parks held her head and helped her drink the apple juice that was brought to her. i sat there and swayed, and swayed those knees while i watched for any signs of rosiness to come back to my baby's cheeks and lips. her eyes were rolling all around and no color came creeping back, and we still had a urine sample to collect. my heart was laying out on this bench seat and i was helpless to do anything.

we were testing for diabetes. the past three weeks or so bee has been incredibly and insatiably thirsty. therefore there has been frequent urination with the frequent water drinking. she also seemed super skinny to me, but i'm skinny, why wouldn't my kids be too? she had been complaining of tummy aches and headaches that never seemed to have an initiation to them as well. it was the water drinking that got me concerned, but it was my dad that voiced the concern on our road trip. i told him i would make a doctor's appointment.

brandy, my pediatrician's nurse who is the best ever, called me back with the blood test results. bee's blood sugar level was at 175. the normal levels range from 70-110, so yup, elevated blood sugar, and that was at a fast. we have to go to a pediatric endocrinologist on monday at a fast for more tests. more blood tests. my poor baby girl. they have not diagnosed her with diabetes yet, and they might not. of course i hope she doesn't have the big D, but it sure is looking like it might be that. i am so thankful that if this is my child's auto immune disease, that it is diabetes we will be dealing with and not a debilitating auto immune like my mom has, dermatomyocytis. i am grateful i am not on here talking about cancer, so absolutely grateful.

well, things could be worse, but all in all life is pretty darn good if i say so myself. i try not to let things get to me, but i am after all human. i yell, i cry, i scream, i think about rude things to say to people who perturb me. so i will go to bed now and leave you with the words of bette milder, "got no diamonds, got no wealth, i got no men, but i've got my health!"

Tulsa Tough Weekend!!!

my favorite summer weekend is the weekend of the TUlsa Tough. i love cycling, not sure why, but i love it. i would never do it, but watching is a blast! juni was at summer camp all week so bee, popi and i had a lot of time on the porch:)

wink always sits by popi, i like to think he is watching out for her.

tulsa tough in the blue dome area the first night!

edible garden tour has me thinking about quail now...

and i am thinking about doing something different with our coop.

saturday night we went all the way out to pawnee for the pawnee bill wild west show and museum.

the use the same original playbill for the current show. there were belly dancers, traditional pow wow dancing, trick riders, roping, guns, swords.....so much fun!

the whole gang, my friend valerie took her boys the same night, it was great to have some time with them.

do you see beila to the right of the fancy dancer? it was so cute. we had a blast last night.
this morning we were up and out to tulsa tough and cry baby hill, my favorite! we had to come home for naps....but we'll be back out there in a few!

Last Week...

since the kids got out we have been one busy little fam.

winky-dog riding on my shoulders, it's how he rolls.
the new chicks, savoir faire and speck-tacle.
juni and her horse for her lesson.
juni riding, she was so good. her teacher says she has a natural ability.

we went to stillwater last week too. we played at theta pond.
went to the library. ate at eskimo joe's. went thrifting. we also went to my old
places, like my house i lived in when i was 8.

my elementary school for 3rd and 4th.
my trailer park.
then we went home on old highway51. we got to see the oldest known homestead in payne county, and next door got a tour of the amazing jim thorpe's home.

saturday we went to the dog show at the fairgrounds. the kids loved it.
for lunch the girls and i made a yummy salad from arugula(rocket), kale, beet greens, parsley, and onion tops from the gardens.

later we went to a birthday party at this land. they had yummy watermelon water, a genuine tee pee, and plenty to play on for the kids!
we have started this summer out with quite a bang. lots done and lots more ground to cover. cannot wait!

Saturday

i couldn't have planned this day any better.
my little fairy skipping around picking beans to put in her watering can while wearing heels.

taking a boring chore like folding laundry and making it beautiful.

my entomologist digging for bugs.

tight rope walking with the neighbors.

we had a wonderful saturday. breakfast with family, a beautiful day, folding laundry on the porch, watching the kids play, hamburgers and shakes for lunch, family visits, feeding bees, dinner with neighbors, and tight rope walking. who could ask for anything more? oh yeah, i got a new bed. rock on.

Happy Mother's Day

a lot of times i look at my life and i wonder how it got to be where it is at. it has not turned out the way i thought it would, or did it? i always knew i wanted children, i am not sure why i wanted them, i guess i thought that is what grown-ups did. they go to college, get married, buy a house, and have kids. that is what you do. i didn't realize you had a choice. i am not a "kid person", i know that sounds odd coming from a mom of three, but i don't like children in large quantities. don't get me wrong, i fell in love with my kids the day the pee stick told me i was with child, and i love all my friends' offspring, i just don't understand them. the problem is i remember being a kid, i remember my imagination, i remember my mind as a child, and i also remember knowing i was going to loose it all. how can i know and not know all at the same time? maybe i am jealous of children, who knows. anyways....that was a ramble. it is mother's day, and i am truly blessed. i would never change my life, i have three beautiful, smart, healthy, bright and incredible girls. i would and do everything i can to make sure they stay smiling. without them i would not be a mom, without them i would not get up in the morning, without them i would not be complete. even though my life is different than imagined, it is completely what i imagined. i'm talking crazy, huh? well, i hope all you moms out there had a wonderful day filled with love made from colored construction paper and glue stick. i know i did, and do...every day of my wonderfully wonderful life.

Weekend in Review

we had a super busy weekend. three birthday parties on the menu and one easter egg hunt, whew!

this is rory, popi, and blythe. we were at mceedee's for tag's birthday. it was so much fun! really. the kids ran around like crazy, the babies sat and stared at the kids running around, and the adults got to relax. i didn't get any good pictures of kids because they were so fast.

easter egg hunt at church was fun and nice weather.

beila showing me her yo-yo. they had snacks, bouncy things to bounce in, cookie decorating, and of course the egg hunt. lots of fun every year.

we then went to a rollerskating birthday party for olivia! i couldn't roller skate, had the bebe in tow, but i had other wonderful parents there to help out. there is logan, logan's dad, beila, kaden, kaden's mom, and juni. kaden's birthday party was saturday night, but we couldn't make it, the girl's had to leave early to go to their step-mom's birthday party. too many birthdays! we have more next week too. this is the first year i have ever let the girls go to school friend's birthdays, and maybe the last....it is too much for me!

MJ Experience

we went over to bianca's house today after school to play on the wii. the girls have been interested in the king of pop for awhile and juni has been trying to moonwalk. when bianca found this out we were invited over to have a mj experience! we all took our turns shaking our groove thang and i maybe even broke a sweat. like many things the girls got tired and gave up trying to keep up with my smooth moves. i really need to invest in one of those wii things!

take a gander at that tongue!

popi got into the music, moving her body and arms.

loved watching her bootie shake

xoxo

"because i'm bad, i'm bad, you know it!"

Bedroom Before

Seesters