November 26, 2012

Today I'm thankful for my sweet boy, Nate. I wasn't feeling well earlier and laid down on the couch. Nate came over to me and started rubbing my head and said, "Mama, I know you not feel good, but I sersty." I got up and fixed him something to drink and laid back down. He took a few drinks, came back over to me, kissed my head and said, "I love you". And walked away to play. He can give me a run for my money, but times like that make it worth it. He takes such good care of me and I love him so much.

November 23, 24, and 25, 2012

Friday I was thankful for insulin. Without it I wouldn't of been able to eat the delicious food that was offered to me over the Thanksgiving holiday and it was delicious. My dad made a ham and squash casserole (which is my favorite) and green beans and rolls. It was soooooo good. I made the macaroni and cheese and it was delicious. It's a Paula Deen crockpot recipe that she calls Creamy Macaroni and Cheese. It's a lot of prep work so I only make it on holidays and I never have any left over. If it wasn't for the insulin I wouldn't be able to eat at all, as a matter of fact I probably would have died within days of being diagnosed. Insulin has been developed and I'm able to eat the good food without hesitation. O.k. maybe a little hesitation, but not much.

Saturday I was thankful for Black Friday sales. I did all of my "Santa" shopping online, but I took advantage of the sales on Saturday and Sunday. I got a lot of things for me without spending a lot of money. I got new shoes and a couple of sweaters. I was surprised at my choices. I usually wear a lot of black and although my shoes are tan, a nice neutral color, the sweaters I bought were pink and bright blue. Maybe I'm coming out of my shell.

Sunday I was thankful for my new found energy and time with my kids. I took Nate and Abbie to the mall to the indoor playground they have. We went shopping before hand which they allowed with the promise of playing on the playground when I finished. It felt good to be able to walk and shop and then take them there and not be overly tired as soon as we stepped in the designated area. I haven't been able to do that in such a long time. I look forward to more days like that.

November 22, 2012

Today is Thanksgiving and rather than writing about one thing I am thankful for, I'm going to list a few things. My family. They are a huge support. My husband. My children. My mom for giving me a new kidney. My doctors because they keep me healthy. My friends. Everyone who has come in and out of my life because they have shaped me into the person I am today. Black friday, because it's fun (in my opinion). My new found energy. A roof over my head. Food on the table. Nap times. Bed times. Chocolate. Time. Shoes. Macaroni and cheese. Chuck E Cheese. Showers. Autumn days and summer nights. There are a lot more things I am thankful for, but I still have 349 posts to write.

November 21, 2012

I am thankful for my friend, Emily. She has seen me when I have been at my worst. She has held my hand through some painful procedures and been there when I have needed someone. She was with me when Anna was born, she has slept in uncomfortable positions in a chair beside my bed when I have been in the hospital. She is not just my friend, she is my sister. She loves my children as her own and they love her. We met through myspace. We had a mutual friend and I had visited her page before, but never thought we would talk or meet or anything.  It was towards the end of August when I received a private message from her asking about my babies and their prematurity. Her daughter had been born prematurely in August and Abbie was born the same year in June and like any mother, she was scared to death. She reached out to me for advice and I told her my story. We clicked and have been friends ever since. I thank God for her and our friendship.

November 20, 2012

Today I am thankful for being able to learn lessons, even if I have to learn them the hard way. For example, my kids don't really eat anything sugary. I mean, I give them a fun sized candy bar pretty regularly and they drink diet coke on occasion, but that's about it. We don't really eat cake. Ice cream is an occasional summer treat. And I give them sugar free popsicles. They get Little Debbie snack cakes for snack (go figure) and they eat doughnuts for breakfast every now and then, but the only time they eat anything with frosting are on birthdays and even then I typically take the frosting off before they eat it. The reason is because it's one of the worst things for a diabetic and guess what I am... diabetic. My mom made strawberry cupcakes with confetti frosting this weekend for Anna's birthday. Strawberry happens to be my favorite kind of cake and add vanilla frosting and I'm heaven. She sent us home with a bunch of cupcakes and a jar of confetti frosting (I love my mommy more than words can express). Yesterday, I wanted one and so did Anna and so did Abbie. I put a little frosting on thme and we divulged in the heavenly sweetness. I decided to take bites of frosting with every bite of cake. And so did Anna. And so did Abbie. And we ate a total of 5 cupcakes between us. Each bite having frosting. They had never had so much frosting in their life and they never will again as long as they live under my roof. They were literally climbing the walls. They were running and screaming and laughing and talking and jumping and falling and spinning in circles and driving me crazy. Bedtime was harder than usual with them up and playing intermittently during the night. I'm talking, they were playing at 1, 3, and 5. About 5:30, they were out and I was getting an unhappy Abbie ready for school at 7. She was tired and whiny and crying and didn't want anyone to talk to her or touch her. She didn't want to be held and she didn't want to be put down. She was impossible. The culprit? Frosting. I was going to get Anna ready for school, but I couldn't wake her up and since she doesn't have to go as early as Nate and Abbie, I left the task to be handled by Tim. He said it was almost impossible to get her ready. That she was upset. Guess what she was doing when I picked her up from school... sleeping. They said she had been tired all day. The culprit? Frosting. Abbie's teacher said she had a pretty good day, but had a hard morning. I am glad I'm able to see the negative effect frosting had on my girls and learn the lesson to never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever give them frosting again.

November 19, 2012

Today I am thankful my new port. Last Wednesday, I had minor outpatient surgery to have a port placed so that I could receive IV fluids at home. It didn't take long and out of all the procedures I have had, I think this one hurt the least. Little did I know, though, that it would be used so quickly. Thursday came around and I wasn't feeling very well. Tim made the decision to stay home with me. I slept most of the morning and at 11:30, I stood up and got really dizzy. Tim said that I said "Oh, gosh", put my head in my hands and started convulsing. He happened to be close to me and said that I became stiff, my back arched and started to shake all over and he laid me in the floor where I stopped. I remember waking up in the floor and wondering how I got there. I remember hearing Tim talking and telling someone what he had witnessed. I wasn't able to speak and I was out of it. All I remember his hearing voices, being asked questions, and wanting to talk but nothing coming out of my mouth. I remember being at the hospital and Emily being there and it taking me forever to process questions and it taking me forever to answer them and even then my answers were shorter than the answers I had formed in my head. I felt like I was moving in slow motion while everything around me was moving in super turbo fast speed. The ER doctor determined that I had had a full blown seizure, and ordered IV fluids. The best thing was going through all of that and not being stuck a gazillion times for an IV. They pressed a couple of times on the place where the port is and that was it. They drew blood and gave me fluids within minutes. I have never had blood drawn and fluids given without a fair amount pain before hand due to an IV. I am in love with my port. And I have to say... I rock this port.

November 17 and 18, 2012

On Saturday, I am thankful for friends that called Tim and invited him to play ballywall... or whatever. I think it's called wallyball, but I call it "ballywall... or whatever". He got out of the house Saturday morning and got some much needed guy time. He came home and was in such a good mood. He encourages me to go out with my friends and typically I do a couple of times a month, but he always stays home. He rarely go anywhere and does anything without at least one of the kids. It makes me feel bad because I know I feel better after a few hours out without the kids, but he insists that he stay home or if he does go out (and I don't mean go out to eat or with friends, I mean go to the grocery store) he usually takes one or two of the kids. He's an awesome dad and wonderful husband, but he needs to get out and have time to himself. All adults do and I was thankful he got that time on Saturday.

Sunday... if you couldn't tell by my previous post.. I am thankful for precious Annaboo and being able to have a happy celebration for her 2nd Birthday. We weren't sure if she was going to have one birthday to celebrate happily and now she has had 2. She is an amazing little girl and I am thankful to be able to celebrate each of her milestones with her.