Falling Back

Fall has long been my favorite season,(new tv shows,all things PUMPKIN,leaves,cool weather)& it's finally here.(the summer wasn't too bad but I'm still glad it's fall) it never seems to last long though,you blink,& it's 20 degrees F outside and though technically still fall it feels like Winter...long,long,winter. According to the forecast it's going to be just as cold and snowy as last year if not more so. Fall feels like a last chance attempt to prepare for the winter,and that means A.getting flu shots B.preparing for the inevitable sick days.

I am not a very cheerful sick person. My toddler has a better immune system then I do,because while he may get a few sniffles I get the all out immune system war (usually respiratory) and fluids just seem to ooze from every single pore & tastebuds stop working & my head feels like an anvil. Thankfully,it's just a cold this time around but I can tell you that if I were a single parent there's no way I could survive. Hubby gets home and I can crawl back into bed and stay there for the next 14 hours. Oddly,it's always my toddler who gives me these colds. I don't think the flu shot will do anything for me,I'll still end up getting the flu at some point because I am just that awesome. It protects me from my family I guess.(that is the hardest thing about being a parent IMO,the world never stops when you get sick)

Other then that,things are going ok. The NightScout project has been giving some pretty solid,stellar blood sugars(& hopefully one I can get back to when this cold passes). I don't know what it is (new device love?) but I do know it is doing awesome things for my a1c.

 I am going to join this fitness study at the local gym. And my sessions at the chiropractor are showing positive results (increased leg strength,less muscle tightness) although will need a back MRI that I am currently fighting the insurance company to pay. They don't want to do it unless I first go through X months of therapy with no improvement or have to have emergency surgery.People,I have diabetes,known high a1cs AND a messed up X-ray what's there to debate?(I would think that would be enough for them) Funny how insurance would rather pay for surgery then a diagnostic exam. So there you go.(on the plus side,since I met my deductible early in the year my chiro visits and all RX's are free for the rest of the year.)

I also joined a church(first time,ever,commentment issues here) and we promptly got a letter encouraging us to enroll J in the 2 year old class. First time went about as well as you can imagine.(20 minutes..they were like come get your kid NOW) 2nd time they cancelled it,unbeknownst to me,so it was turn around go home) It is fairly annoying that they don't have a room where special needs kids can go. At 2,my child is still comfortable in the nursery and yet they expect him to sit at a table & obey a teacher. That's really not happening,he will only sit at a table to eat food. Otherwise he loses interest quickly & runs off. They don't seem to grasp this concept,and think that he will get used to it.I know it to be a bad idea & he is really not ready..combine sensory issues with a anxious child & you have that. I want him to stay in the nursery another year,they say no way..they can work with us and he cannot go back to the nursery. I don't mind sitting with him but I know it will be ineffective and they'll probably send ME to parenting 101 class because they'll surmise that the obedience and other things are somehow my fault. I'm not saying some of it isn't,but I am saying I'm 2.5 years into this journey still trying to figure my child out and if you want to judge me come live my life for a week. I only wish I had more solid answers.(FTR,my mom,who had six kids says J is like three toddlers in one..a very high energy kid. And the state behavioral therapist says he's the most challenging kid she has ever met.)It will probably end in them saying "control your child better" and that will be that,won't be able to even attend church because of no child care. It hurts a lot,because I didn't join this church not to be able to even go to it and I am going to let people know that this is not being helpful. I am going to fight for my child to go back to the nursery if that's what he needs,I'm tired of everyone's else's kids fitting in all the right neurotypical slots and nothing being available for the other kids..where are the other kids? Do those Parents just not even come to church? I can't see how letting a child stay in the nursery awhile longer is hurting anyone.

We also went a beach..and J totally loved the water. (And sand) No fear,this kid!! It was very rocky/shellish/rough on feet so I think the next time needs to be at a whiter,smoother one even it means a longer drive.

So that's how my summer went..how was yours?

In the Cloudz

We are not waiting.

Oh,wait. Yes we are. Because it's not quite as simple as buying a Pebble watch from Best Buy and downloading a CGM app that sends data to the watch...no,this requires some pretty major programming skillz. (Not to mention it isn't cheap) So,this setup, it comes in stages.

Stage 1: Go to Target. Buy cheap Android phone.(Moto G) Go to Best Buy. Buy connecting cables(micro to micro USB) Charge phone. Set up cheap phone access($9/month-Ting) Connect cables. Nothing happens. Beg on a Nightscout FB group for help. Get basic service after trouble shooting. (Data shows up on other devices in raw form.) New version comes out. Setup stops working. Now setup involves 3 more websites and hours more time. Do not have time or energy for that.

Step 2: Hire babysitter. Take devices...charge.

New Pebble watch: charged

Dexcom: charged,data present

iPhone: charged

Moto G phone: charged

Set up Azure, GitHub accounts. Root data to Moto G phone. Yell at computer,spend hours going back and forth between GitHub and Azure trying to get data to work. Finally works. Tweak some stuff,set up to Pebble. Download Pebble screen.Feel proud of self that finally works on any device until you see that new version has once again come out.(Do not have time to fool with that presently. Hope nice programming person can do it for me,post in "please help me" sub thread NightScout forum) And there you go. Not easy or simple,but is it worth it? I think so,having data on the wrist is a motivator for me to be more involved with my D-care. Drawbacks: you have to keep 4 devices charged for this to work,and the MotoG drains like nobody's business.(lasts about 18 hr on full charge) And you have to cart around a phone-CGM setup,which can be incredibly bulky. Your Pebble is kind of married to the iPhone,which is why that has to stay on(although you can see it on any other phone..this is the most convenient way for a parent/SO to see the data.) Although it could be seen on an Android 

smart watch,if that even exists.

I believe in this technology,but yes,it has a long way to go. But the fact that it's here is incredibly exciting.

The Hoarder

Q: What's the difference between a bad hoarder and a good hoarder?

A: There's a difference?

All joking aside, the difference between a good hoarder and a bad hoarder is that the bad hoarders stop giving a darn and let the entropy take over. Much like diabetes management, this turns out to be a disaster. Anyway,in the eyes of the world, hoarding is a horribly slovenly,disgusting thing and I'm not contesting that it can be just that you have to have lots of energy to hoard. But post a picture like this:


Or:



Of your nicely organized, excessive amounts of diabetes supplies and people respect you for being all set for the Acopalypse or anything else that can come your way. Not "you have too many supplies to use and you really should be giving it to someone else." Here's what I think: hoarding supplies is not a bad thing,unless you hoard so much that your stuff goes out of date and you have to pitch it. If you have a generous insurance,absolutely take advantage of that, and if you want to help someone else out that is completely your call. No one should make you feel guilty for that decision, though. I personally would rather someone else can use it if I cannot. So yes, I am a hoarder,diabetes supplies included. (Made worse by a serious couponing addiction.) The only thing bad about it is lack of order,which can happen quickly,& which will be a life long struggle against. I certainly don't want to live in a nasty germ infested house. If you come to this house, you will see diabetes stuffs and baby stuffs and diet coke/juice stuffs in excessive quantities because that's how I roll. (My dream is to live in a self-sufficient farm somewhere with a generator and several deep chest freezers and have the time to garden,can,& all of that. Which I don't,right now.)

So yes, I am a hoarder,and yes,the basement is the disaster area(not to the point of rotting things,mainly a disorganized thing) in our house..but that's why yard sales were invented,to periodically plunge the madness. We all have our "things."


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