Test Strip Tuesday – An Oldie But A Goodie

Today was wacko. Like I don’t know what was up with these kids but they tag teamed me today and I couldn’t get anything done and I am beat. So I’m reposting this from a year or so ago just because this really is a great book. Diabetic or not it’s a fun, educational read. Enjoy!!

A few weeks ago I got an email from Jonathan Lazzara from Three Rivers Press, part of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House about a book they just put out (11.1.11) by Chuck Eichten called ‘The Book of Better‘.  He sent me a complimentary copy of the book, & said I wasn’t at all obligated to write about it but if I did that would be great.

via

After getting my copy of the book in the mail, sitting down & reading it a few times I realized there’s no way I couldn’t write anything about this book!  My quote review of the book (like the ones they put on the back) is this: “I’ve had Type 1 Diabetes for over 16 years and ‘The Book of Better’ not only taught me new things but it made me laugh, made me think, & has motivated me to do BETTER!” This book was not only a really easy read & very straight forward but it was seriously FUN to read!!  There were many times while I was reading where I just thought ‘Yes!! That’s exactly how I feel!!’.  It goes over everything from diabetes basics, to pumping, food, injections, even the best (believe it or not) & the worst things about diabetes.  It taught me things like who the first person treated with insulin was, & why exactly I always get super thirsty & pee a lot when my blood sugar is high (something I never really understood before).

The cover of the book says ‘Life with diabetes can’t be perfect. Make it better.’  And in my opinion, Chuck shows how to do it.  He’s honest about the downfalls of this disease but turns around & shows you how to make it better, that there are positive things to be found.  And it’s great knowing Chuck is a Type 1 as well.  It makes me feel like he gets me, he gets how diabetes makes me feel. While it does explain the difference between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes and some things are relevant to Type 2 I feel this book was mainly written for Type 1’s.  Which I think is awesome because it seems every piece of literature out there online & off, about diabetes is geared towards Type 2.  It’s very, very frustrating. The design of the book, I think, is fantastic.  Lot’s of illustrations, big fonts, little fonts, some cartoon-ish things; a lot of elements that make the book POP & stand out from others.  It really catches your eye and makes you WANT to read it.  It draws you in!!

All in all, I really loved this book.  I also think it’s a good book for people who don’t have diabetes (especially those who interact with diabetics daily) because it tells you about the disease, how diabetics feel, & things to watch out for like signs of high blood sugars and low blood sugars. If I could I’d put this book in the hands of my husband, my family, my co-workers, my friends, and especially those other Type 1’s who just want to make living with this disease better.  I really can’t wait to see what else Chuck Eichten will do.

***Disclaimer: Again as stated above I was sent this book free of charge. I was not obligated to write this review to receive it. I wrote this review because this book has too much awesomeness not to.***

Milkshakes & An Itty Bitty Blog Post

Grandma went back to NC today after spending a week with us 😞 At least I know we’ll see her & Poppy again in two weeks when I go up for my best friends baby shower (!!!! so excited!!!!). So to cheer Addy up we went out for milkshakes and took a bubble bath!!!



It was a good end to the weekend especially with how gorgeous it was! I’m not sure about you but it was sunny and 70* out there today 😎 I’m keeping this post short & sweet because I’m actually writing it while rocking the baby. He is fighting sleep like a champ & as soon as he’s out I’m right behind him!!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Lake Murray Love

I live close to Lake Murray which was created with the Dreher Shoals Dam way back when. It has a walking path that spans the entire dam totaling 1.7 miles one way (which means if you went back and forth you could get in an easy 5k!! Sweet!!).  On the Lexington side of the dam runs a chain link fence that holds many many different kinds and sizes of locks. Much like the Lover’s Bridge in Paris, though it doesn’t have quite that many locks on it yet.

Basically you take a lock, write you & your sweethearts name on it, lock it to the fence/bridge, & throw the key into the water. I’ve wanted to do it since we’ve moved but have just never gotten around to it. Well, my mom is down here visiting for the week from NC and she wanted to put a lock on for her & my dad so away we went! I couldn’t find a lock on short notice with a key (darn) but a combination lock works just as good. We scratched off the combo on the back so no one could take it off! Aaron wasn’t with us so instead I made a lock with mine & the babies names on it and will interlock mine & Aaron’s when we go back (aww ♥).

I love it. There are so many different kinds of locks, some decorated, some all together to make a pattern, some that were used to ask someone to Prom. Ah, young love.

We were going to try to walk the dam but it was SO windy!! The poor babies couldn’t bare it so we locked our locks, strolled a little, and then headed back to the car. I can’t wait to go back with Aaron. Maybe it’ll be less windy and we can make it farther out.

Is there anything like this where you live? Have you ever put a ‘lovers lock’ on something?

Mommy Monday: Breastfeeding Lessons

Samuel has officially been breastfeeding for a year now and what a year it has been. I didn’t nurse my daughter. It was new, I didn’t have good guidance with it, I was overwhelmed…lots of things kept me from it. I tried but it didn’t work out. The nurses and lactation consultants I worked with while Samuel was in the NICU were amazing. So supportive, there whenever I needed advice, just absolutely great. Not saying that breastfeeding is easy peasy because it is NOT!! I’ve narrowed it down to 5 things that I’ve learned exclusively breastfeeding this past year.

1. Your nipples won’t fall off. They will surely feel like it though. A lot. Between getting used to nursing, thrush, biting, engorgement, & mastitis you’re nipples are going to go through a rollercoaster. Now not all of these things may happen to you, but if they do I promise there are ways to alleviate all of them, and your nipples will stay on your body.
2. Maybe bottle-feed part time. I did bottle and breast at first but due to certain things I stopped pumping and went to exclusively breastfeeding. I really wish I’d never taken him completely off the bottle because over the course of the past year (& sometimes even now) he refuses to take anything but the breast. I’ve not had a night away from him, or more than a few hours actually, simply because he would freak out if he wanted milk and we tried to give it to him from a bottle or cup. Not that I would have left him with a sitter/grandparents all the time, but a kid-free reprieve would have been great here and there.
3. Sometimes it doesn’t come naturally. I’ve heard the story about the baby who takes to the boob right away and everything goes perfect, it’s instinctual and natural, blah blah blah. Sometimes it’s not! Now it may have part been because Samuel was 6 weeks early, but even when he was discharged and home, it was hard. I had to have him in just the right position for him to latch, heaven forbid I moved after he was on. We both got frustrated A LOT. There were several times I almost gave up and went to pumping/formula. I cried a lot. I felt like I had failed. Why wasn’t this clicking? It’s supposed to be natural! I promise, it gets better, you both get used to it, get into a rhythm, and it doesn’t become work each time.
4. You can exercise and not lost your supply. I was terrified of this. I really exercise and lose the baby weight, but I had heard of so many women exercising and losing their supply. I would do a little then chicken out. Exercise some, and chicken out. Well I’ll have you know it is possible to follow an exercise regimen and NOT lose your supply. The key is to not go hardcore with it, drink LOTS of water, and make sure you’re eating enough calories. Weight will come off a little slower but it will come off, and you’ll keep your supply.
5. I would do it all over again. Yes, last but not least, doing this for a whole year has shown me how important breastfeeding is to me. It’s hard, it hurts, & it’s stressful, but I love it. It really makes me wish I’d have stuck it out with Addy. You get special smiles just for you, special cuddles, and sleepy dust. When they’re hurt/scared/sick, the fact that YOU can comfort and calm them, not a bottle, is a feeling like no other.

I could make a list of 50 things I’ve learned and go into so much detail about breastfeeding but I’ll leave you with these five lessons. I feel that breastfeeding is so amazing, and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to do it this long. Hopefully I’ll get a few more months out of it before Samuel weans.

Have you breastfed? Do you want to? What would you add to my list?

Birthday Party & Shakeology Winner!!!

Sorry this post is getting up so late, I’ve enjoyed a full day of celebrating my sons 1st birthday with my family ♥ Addy had a fun time playing in the snow for the first time, and even went sledding! She liked the snow but didn’t like to walk in it. And Samuel wasn’t too sure about his birthday cake at first but once I went to eat my own he decided that it looked delicious and dove in!

Addy went face first into her cake on her 1st birthday, so to see Samuel so timid about his cake was different. But we had such a good day with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend ‘Nornen’ (Lauren) as Addy calls her. But I know today you’re not here to read about my day, you want to know who won the giveaway! As I said, I did the drawing the traditional way. I wrote both names down on a piece of paper, put them in a jar, and Adalyn drew a winner! Drum roll please….

Congrats to Angela!! Shoot me an email with your contact information and I’ll get your weeks worth of Shakeology in the mail to you on Monday. Thanks to both of you for entering this giveaway. I’m looking forward to doing more in the future. What would you like to see as a giveaway in the future?

Mason Jar Blender Trick

Did you know you can take the base and blade from your blender and attach it to a regular sized mouth mason jar? I didn’t! Thank you Pinterest! Now you have your very own single serve/all in one blender!! The thing I really like about this is that I don’t have to pour what I’ve mixed into a glass to drink it. I will sometimes use the blender to make pancake batter or something but for the most part I use it for smoothies. Using the blender this way means I’m only dirty-ing up one glass not two!!

I’ll admit though I was a little skeptical. Yes my blender base attached to the mason jar just fine but would it hold everything in? It kind of felt like everything would just leak all over the place and that wouldn’t be good for anyone. So I poured all my ingredients in the jar, screwed the base one, and turned it upside down…Everything stayed in! Okay, so far so good. Now let’s see how it blends.

Hi Samuel!

It is a tiny bit shaky and I put my hand on it to keep it steady (I will note that I didn’t have to do this, it just made me feel better), but it worked like a champ! Everything mixed really good, nothing fell apart, or splattered, and when I was done I just unscrewed the base and stuck a straw in it. Voila!!

I’m so excited that I found this, I’ll definitely be using it a lot more. Especially when I make mine & Addy’s smoothies together. That way I’m still only using two glasses instead of two glasses plus the blender. I love making Addy smoothies as a sneaky way to get veggies in her!! Mom win!!

Have you ever heard of this hack before? Do you like using the blender this way?

Test Strip Tuesday?

I’ve discovered that there are several different topics I like to cover in my blog: diabetes, health/exercise, & kids. Those seem to be the main categories I talk about. So I’m trying to come up with a way to organize what I write about and one thing that popped into my head was ‘Test Strip Tuesday!’ Meaning Tuesday’s are diabetes topic days.

How does that sound? Cheesy? Eh, I’ve always been a little on the cheesy side. And I like the tiny bit of alliteration in the title!

For those of you who don’t know I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 7 years old. It’s been a long hard road, but I’m proud to say that despite this disease I have 2 healthy babies and no complications (knock on wood!). This disease is a huge part of my life but not all of it. Diabetes isn’t the only thing that defines who I am. Another reason for wanting to give it a designated day (or two) on my blog. I have a lot to say on the subject but there is also so much more I want to blog about as well. I am more than my disease!

But one thing I could use some advice on is insulin pumps. My pump is now out of warranty and I’m in the market for a new one. Since I got my Animas 4 years ago so many new pumps have come on the market and I just don’t know where to start!!

I would love to hear from my diabetic followers on what pump you love and why, to help me narrow down my search!

Birthday Giveaway!

As some of you may know today is my baby’s birthday! He’ll officially be 1 year old in a little over an hour. Where did this past year go? So much has changed. He has four teeth, is almost walking, and can say Dada. You’d never know he was a preemie. I can’t believe both my kids are toddlers now and I technically don’t have anymore babies. Ah, time slow yourself down.

In honor of my little big guy’s birthday I’m doing a Shakeology giveaway!! Woohoo!! I was really skeptical about this stuff at first, but after using it for a while it’s really grown on me. I look forward to it everyday. I only have the Chocolate but that’s okay with me. I’ve never been a Vanilla or Strawberry fan. I know there’s a lot of people out there who don’t like these shakes and a lot of people who do. I really like it. I feel better when I drink it, it’s super yummy, and it makes my workout recovery just a little easier. But that’s just my opinion.

I’ve never done a giveaway before so I’ll try to make it easy. Just comment below and give my Facebook page a like. I’ll leave it open until midnight Friday (2/27/15) and I’ll announce the winner Saturday morning. I’m going to do it the good old fashioned way and put everyone’s name in a jar and draw! The winner will receive a weeks worth of individual chocolate Shakeology packets. Good luck!!!

***Disclaimer: Yes I am a Beachbody Coach but BB has no part of this giveaway. I’m giving away a weeks worth of my personal Shakeology. This was not given to me for free by BB***

 

Pink eye, Ear infections, and Moving.

So when we first moved down to SC I had every intention of blogging all about our new adventures we would have living with our friends. Weeeeelll, as you can see that didn’t happen. It didn’t help that my laptop was 9 and 1/2 years old and basically decided to crap out. I now have a brand new laptop and am finally capable of blogging again. Over the past weekend we actually moved into our own house down here in good ole SC! Which means we made it almost 8 months with 9 of us under one roof! That’s crazy. While we miss our friends, it’s good to have our own space again.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time too. Both babies were diagnosed with pink eye and ear infections today. Oh boy oh boy. Being in a completely new house with sick babies means no one is getting any sleep over the next several days.

There’s a lot coming up in the next couple of months. My baby boy will be one next week!! Ah, where did this past year go?! Next month we’re going to Charlotte for the Gluten & Allergen Free Wellness Event. My mom went last year and loved it so I’m excited to see what it’s all about! Then in April our local farmer’s market opens. I love love love farmer’s markets.

I’m hoping to find a cheap little treadmill to put in our garage. It’s too cold lately to take the kids for a jog but I severely miss running. I also need to invest in a good double jogging stroller. And I’m struggling with finding a daily routine as a stay-at-home-mom. It doesn’t help that we just moved and both babies are sick. But I need to figure something out so that I can incorporate time with the babies, chore time, and workout time all in during the day.

Okay, enough with the rambles. I was up at 3am this morning with sick kiddos and that’s caught up with me. Goodnight all!!

Bad blogger. Bad bad blogger.

Where have I been!? Gah we’ve been down here for 6 months and I still don’t have any kind of routine down. But with the new year right around the corner I’m hoping to make some serious changes and commitments. Stay tuned!