December 1st---a date we will always remember

Hard, and sad, to believe that tomorrow marks one year since Dylan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I didn't think I would be one of those moms that thinks about the pre-D days, but for the past few days I have been thinking about those days and the days leading up to his diagnosis. I will never forget that shocked feeling I had when I took him to his pediatrician and he told me the news. It was utter shock and I don't think I understood the huge turn our lives were about to take. And then seeing my poor little boy spend the next 5 days in the hospital.

Luckily we are spending the weekend busy with Christmas decorating so it won't be such a downer of a weekend. We have plans to have portraits taken tomorrow, visit with Santa either tomorrow or Sunday, decorate the tree Sunday and build a gingerbread house. Quite a busy weekend but at least we won't be thinking about what a horrible time it was for us a year ago.

I just hope that soon we will be able to remember a more important date----the date he gets a cure.

Our first fever

Well it finally happened, one of the boys has a fever. Aidan woke up several times last night and we thought it was just from his teething. So Dave would go in and give him back his pacifier since he was having a hard time finding it. Around midnight nothing Dave did could console him so I went in to see if there was anything I could do. I sat down in the glider with him and immediately could tell he was really warm. At first I thought that maybe it was because Dave was holding him (Dave tends to run on the warmer side) but after a few minutes he was still warm. We gave him some motrin and took his temp. It was 101.8 degrees.

Since this was our first experience with one of them having a fever we weren't sure what constitutes a high fever so we called the on-call nurse and she told us it was a low grade fever and to continue to give him motrin. She said the fever could spike again before it goes away and that it could be the result of his flu booster shot he got yesterday.

He had a hard time sleeping last night so he slept with us from 3:30 on and was acting fine today besides being a little cranky (probably from the fever and fatigue). He has eaten okay, not great, and is nursing fine. His temp at 9:00 this morning was 101.2 degrees. Hoping it continues to go down and is back to himself soon. He fell asleep early for his nap and hopefully it will be a nice long one to help him get better.

"Trick-or-Treat; what's this?"

So yesterday was Halloween and Dylan was all excited about going trick-or-treating. He knew exactly what to do: knock on the door and say trick-or-treat. We told him that after he got the candy/treat he had to say thank you. Well, instead Dylan would get the candy and ask, "what's this?". And it wasn't just the first few houses, it was every single time he got something (unless it was M&Ms which he recognizes). After awhile we told him to say thank you and then come down to me or Dave (whomever was down at the sidewalk) and ask us what it was. He said, "okay". But of course he never did. He continued to say "what's this?" Dave or I would answer him and then he would say thank you.

Another funny note about the evening was toward the end we went to a house and the owner put the bowl out for them to pick something. There was a bunch of candy in the bowl and some juice boxes. Dylan said, "ooooh, a juice box, yay!" and grabbed a juice box. As we were walking away I reminded him that he can't have juice. He said, "I know unless I am low". Dave and I chuckled and told him that he was correct and he could have some when he was low.

All in all it was a fun night and they both got to sample a treat or two while we were out and about.

A Sweet Moment

Every night when Dave or I put Dylan to bed we sing him some songs before leaving the room. On Saturday night Dylan wanted both Dave and I to sing to him. So Dave was standing in his room and I was standing by the doorway. Dylan said, "No, Mommy stand IN my room". So I moved into the room next to Dave and, with our arms around each other, we started singing. Dylan then said, "I have an idea. I will sing with you" and proceeded to stand up in his bed so we could hold him. So, both Dave and I held Dylan up and together in a big hug the three of us sang Dylan's bedtime songs. It was a really sweet moment for Dave and I.

Boy it sure has been a long time since I posted. And since I have a quick moment without Aidan hanging on me by the computer I can sit and post.

This past Thursday Dylan had his Halloween party at school and I signed up to help in the class. I got to be there the whole 2 1/2 hours he is there and watch him with the other kids. It was a lot of fun. I helped the kids glue together a witch craft and then they got to make a pumpkin with a rice cake, orange icing, and candy corn. I was worried about what would happen when the other kids ate theirs and Dylan wouldn't or only would get a piece of it. Well lucky for us they don't allow the kids to eat them (or other food projects) because of allergies that some kids might have. They pack them up and send them home. It was such a relief and it makes me more comfortable for future party crafts if I am not able to be there. I also got to witness him dance around with the other kids. It was a nice experience and hopefully I will be able to do it again. I was thankful Grandpa was able to watch Aidan for me so I could do it.

Well that is it for my post for now because Aidan is whining in the living room which means that Dylan is probably trying to take something away from him.

Next week Dylan gets to dress up in his Halloween costume and partake in a Halloween parade at school.

My big boy has started school

Well the day I have not really looked forward to all summer has come and gone. It was this past Tuesday when Dylan started school. Wiat, let me change that, I guess the real day I wasn't looking forward to was last Thursday when he had orientation and I had to discuss with the teacher about his diabetes. That went just fine and the next day Dave and I sat down with the school nurse, teacher and principal of the pre-K program and showed them how to check his sugar levels. Luckily he is only there from 9:00 until 11:30 and the only issue would be to make sure he has his snack at his normal snack time. The teacher was kind enough to arrange the schedule so that snack time was at 9:45. And the nurse has experience with diabetes because there is a little girl in 3rd grade at the school that has it. So, after this meeting I was a little more comfortabel about him being away from me.

So Tuesday morning comes and I am excited for him but nervous at the same time. How will he be when I leave, will he wonder where I am, will he make friends. Dave took the morning off and we both dropped him off. As soon as we took his book bag off his back he went right over to play with the toys and didn't look back. We stuck around for a few minutes and then said our good-byes. He was really good about it. However, there were about 3 other kids in the class that were clearly not happy about the situation and their mom leaving them. I thought that I would get upset walking back to the car and on the drive home, but I was okay. I think I was more nervous; wondering how his sugar levels would be.

We went back at 11:30 to pick him up and the teacher said he was just fine. He told us he loved school. We checked him when he got in the car and his sugar level was just fine. So no worries. He did tell us that he asked the teacher where we were at some point during the day and that she told him we were right down the hall.

Today was day #2 and I was again worried how he would be after I had told him that I would be going home when I left but would be back later to get him. Once again as soon as the backpack came off he left me. This time there were only 2 other kids screaming. As I walked out this moring I was a bit more emotional; maybe because I didn't have Dave to talk to to keep my mind off of things, but it was definitely more upsetting for me this morning.

It's hard for me to accept that there is now a part of Dylan's life that I am not involved in 100%; that he will have experiences I won't get to see or hear. I am, however, glad we made the decision to send him at this age; I couldn't imagine the emotional wreck I would be if I waited until he was of kindergarten age (5) before sending him off.

To CFL or not to CFL

I have been debating the issue on whether to convert all of our light bulbs to CFLs. I know the pro is cutting down on the use of energy, but the con is that they have mercury in them. I have read that when it comes time to dispose of them there really isn't a safe way to do it without risking the mercury leaking into the environment. I know that the bulbs will last a long time and maybe by then they will have a safe way of recycling them, but will they?

Here is an article I found on the subject if you are interested:
article

A mixed blessing

So, now in addition to Aidan being able to climb he is walking about 90% of the time. This has made some things easier but other things a bit more difficult. It is now easier at the parks because he can actually get out of the stroller and go and climb on the apparatuses and interact with the other kids. However it is now harder for me to keep an eye on two kids. Today, at the library (yes I have said in a previous post that we go weekly) I let him out of the stroller to play with the stuff the library has for kids. Well Dylan goes down one aisle of books and Aidan turns the corner to go around another. So I scamper off after Aidan while Dylan calls out my name to help him pick a book. I do believe I will be keeping Aidan in the stroller as much as I can for my sanity.

Maybe I should let him walk through the airport when we go to California in 4 weeks so he tires himself out enough to sleep on the plane :)

Oh, and to add to the insanity of the climbing fascination he now decides to walk on the couch.

Bows on frogs????

Today we took our weekly trip to the library. On our way I noticed something blow/hop onto the road so I stopped not knowing what it was. I backed the car up a bit so I could see it and it was a frog. I got out of the car to try and startle it to go back into the grass on the side of the road. Well the darn thing wouldn't budge. So I got back into the car and drove around it. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that when the next car passed it it hopped back into the grass. Anyway...Dylan asked me what it was so I told him it was a frog. He asked me if it was a boy or a girl frog.

I said "I don't know" (an answer I give him frequently).

He said, "It was a boy frog Mommy because it didn't have a bow on it; girl frogs have bows".

I said, "oh, like Daisy Duck has a bow and Donald doesn't?"

He said, "yes"

I did tell him that real ducks don't wear bows but he swears he has seen a real duck on television with a bow. Not sure where.

Yo Gabba Gabba---some strange tv

Okay, so today is a dismal rainy day and I decided to let Dylan watch a little bit of television and the only channel with anything appropriate for him is Nickelodeon. Well at 10:30 this morning this horrible (in my opinion that is) show Yo Gabba Gabba was on




Dylan seemed to enjoy it. Did some research and discovered that Elijah Wood filmed an episode as did Tony Hawk and Biz Markie, as well as some other musical guests. To me it seems a bit on the strange side.