Been very busy!

Updates haven't been coming because we've been busy and I can't seem to get my brain organized. As a result my house isn't organized and often my brain can't get by the unorganized house to think about typing an update.

But, here's the short one.

The kids are doing great with school - they LOVE that my brain isn't always organized because it results in the teacher needing a periodic "mental health day". But, I think I've finally figured out why we can't seem to get to History enough. I've moved it earlier in the day and I'll think we'll get to it more.

Soccer season is in full swing. Both kids are having a great time and have great coaches. We're pretty lucky! The season goes until the first weekend in November and then Michael's team will play in a tournament during the 2nd weekend.

Micahel is thriving in Tae Kwon Do. I'm actually trying to convince him to take a 3rd class a week. He seems to do well at it and focuses, pays attention and shows a lot of respect for the instructors - I thought maybe if he took more classes it would rub off more and we'll see it a little more at home!

Samantha and I spent this past weekend in New York City. Her dance studio organized a trip. We saw Mary Poppins on Broadway (it was great), had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and had a day at Radio City Music hall with a tour (its beautiful) and a session with a Rockette where the girls learned a few routines and then participated in a mock tryout. I'll write more later but we had a great time (and now I appreciate why I like to room alone when I'm out of town)

My volunteer job with the JDRF has kept me busy. But, we've gotten meetings scheduled with most of the Representatives that I'm responsible for (6) and more than half of them have agreed to sign-on to co-sponsor the bill for the Special Diabetes Program. There is a key meeting this coming week with a rep from our area who is on the sub-committee who will take up the bill. We need his support and we need to know that he'll continue to support the bill regardless of where it gets hung when all is said and done. Rumor has it that the bill will be tacked onto a Medicare reauthorization, because certainly funding for research for a disease that afflicts mainly children belongs on a bill for a program that provides Healthcare for Seniors.

Emma's pumping is going well. I think we are seeing trends now that we can finally recognize. Its so much nicer than injections and we're so glad we moved onto the pump. It used to be that numbers in the 200s were no bother for me - 180 was glorious. Now, my demands are higher. I don't like to see numbers in the 200s and I'm seeing a lot more in the 120s - and expect a lot more in the 120s. I feel more confident that her numbers will stay stable and she loves that 4-5 injections a day is replaced by a set change just every other day that she only cries for a moment (and I think that will pass over time)

If I had a GPS indicator attached to me, you'd find me...

In the car - and everywhere.

A typical week will find me:

• At the dance studio
• At the Taekwondo studio
• At art class
• At the dance studio
• At the soccer field
• At PE class
• At drama
• At the dance studio

There is a lot of running back and forth in the car. The good news is that most all of the places we need to go are nearby so its a quick trip, easy to run back and forth in between, or not bad to stay and wait.

Thus is the typical story of soccer season in the Stopper household. Whoever said that homeschoolers are homebodies is nuts!

Quick Update

We started Emma on her pump last Tuesday. Its been going good. I think we've had all the predicted challenges - changing meal ratios, changing baseline insulin, bad sites, lots of readings, the entire nine yards.

But despite the significant (supposedly temporary) increase in blood sugar testing that we have to do, I still think this is so much better than injections. Yesterday the nurse called to make a few changes while we were at the soccer field. I just called Emma over, pushed a few buttons and we were good to go.

Each time I call her over to "push some buttons on her pump", she says "No more shots?" and we do a little cheer.

With the other kids, we are going full force with school right now. I'm finally getting some plans loaded into my software so I can print out lesson plans - Samantha prefers this. We are also knee-deep into soccer, dance, piano, PE, drama, art, and Tae Kwon Do

Michael earned his first Tae Kwon Do belt this past weekend - his white belt. He was quite proud. The lead instructor, when speaking to them about respect, said that the respect has to go home too. He told them that they had to bow (to show respect) to their family when they left or that belt would be coming right back off!! Michael bowed to Samantha the minute he walked out of the door.

That's a quick update for now - more to come soon!

How did you know?

This is another question I get asked a lot about Emma's diabetes. How did you know that she had diabetes? I think this question comes a lot out of fear - well, if her 2 year old can have diabetes, how do I know for sure that my child doesn't.

There are some clear signs of diabetes - the problem is, they don't usually come until the person has "suffered" for a while.

One important fact to know to understand diabetes - carbs and sugars in foods you eat are absorbed into your body for use as energy. In order for that to happen, insulin has to process the glucose in the carbs and sugars for it to be absorbed into your system. When a person's body stops producing insulin, glucose from food builds up in the blood stream because the insulin isn't present to process the glucose for absorption.

When this build-up begins, you usually don't have any outward signs. But as it proceeds, you begin to have outward signs, which are the symptoms or indicators of diabetes. Because the glucose isn't absorbed into your system, your body tries to find a method to get it out of your system - through urination. So, because you have extra glucose in your system, you pee more trying to get it out. Because you pee more, you are thirstier (you are basically dehydrated). You keep drinking water to quench the thirst caused by the constant release of glucose through urine. So, drinking lots of water and peeing a lot are two very teltale signs of a potential diabetic.

Another problem when the glucose isn't processed into your system is that your cells don't get their energy - which they get from glucose. So, in order for your cells to get the energy they need to function, they find it from other sources - your fat cells. Your body begins to burn fat for energy as its only source of energy. This energy is not as effective as glucose, so you begin to suffer from a lack of energy which eventually turns into extreme lethargy.

A by product of burning fat for energy is the acidic by-product left in your blood stream. These acids are called "ketones". As your body continues to burn fat for energy, the ketones in your blood stream rise. The only way to get rid of the ketones in your system is, ironically, insulin. Because your body isn't producing insulin, they continue to build up. The only way to know that your body has ketones is through a urine or glucose test - there are no outward signs of ketones themselves. However, the burning of fat in your body for energy also results in a loss of weight from the loss of fat. So, an undiagnosed diabetic may be experiencing weight loss.

Left untreated, the buildup of ketones causes ketoacidosis in your system which can eventually result in a coma. Most diabetics, fortunately, are diagnosed before their system reaches this state and can be treated with insulin to reduce the ketones in their system and reduce their blood glucose levels.

So, all of this technical information results in the following simple explanation of how Emma was diagnosed:
- An extreme increase in consumption of water
- An extreme increase in urination (which is easy to tell when they are in diapers)
- Loss of weight (2 pounds in 1 month)
- Extreme lethargy

The lethargy is the factor that finally keyed us in. We had been suspicious for a few days before that and had been researching symptoms on the web. But after Emma got really lethargic (and for anyone who has met her you would understand why this would be unusual), we finally decided something was wrong. And after two finger sticks with my old meter from when I was pregnant confirmed that something was wrong.

Diabetes 101

In my conversations with folks, I realize that many of them don't know a lot about diabetes. I'm not sure I knew a lot before Emma was diagnosed. I did have a grandmother that always "had to have her candy handy" and my brother had a friend in college "who was always checking his sugar" but that's about it. I watched a boy for a short time each afternoon when Samantha was in 2nd grade who was diabetic. I didn't have to give him injections, but I did know that he had to be on a schedule for eating and I knew that "over 300 meant to call his mom"

Boy what a difference 6 months makes.

So, here's a few facts to make everyone a little more knowledgeable about diabetes:

• Emma has Type 1 Diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is when your pancreas stops producing insulin. It can be a genetic disposition, it can be caused by a virus. They aren't exactly sure. What they do know that it isn't caused by obesity, lack of exercise, or too much sugar (those are contributing factors to Type 2 Diabetes)
• For a normal person, their fasting blood sugar level is usually below 100 and their typical blood sugar 2 hours after eating is usually below 150. For Emma, we target to keep her blood sugar between 80 and 180 but we are often happy as long as it stays in the low 200s.
• Until a cure is found, Emma will be dependent on insulin medication. Every day. All day. Without insulin, her body cannot process the sugar that it ingests. Without insulin, her blood sugar levels will increase and her body will basically start feeding on itself and she will go into a state called "Ketoacidosis" which is a very dangerous and coma-inducing state.
• Because we give her "artificial" insulin instead of naturally produced insulin, her body doesn't regulate its production and absorption like it would if she had a pancreas. That means sometimes we can give her too much insulin for what's going on in her body and she'll go low. Lows are dangerous and cause unconsciousness and seizures. We treat lows with juice and sugar in an attempt to get her back into range as quickly as possible.
• Emma currently cannot tell for herself whether her sugar is low or high, so we have to do an enormous number of finger sticks to check it. She typically gets about 8 finger sticks a day (7:30am, 11am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, 9:30pm, midnight, 2am) with additional ones in between if she is acting unusual or something just doesn't seem right. It is clearly an art form to try and know when to check and treat her blood sugar levels.
• Emma currently gets her insulin through injections - 4-6 times a day. She is a trooper about these injections, and rarely makes a peep as she gets them. Due to medical advancements in the past 5 years, she is currently on a wonderful 24-hour injection that gives her a baseline of insulin (like her pancreas would if it functioned). Then we only need to give her an injection based on what she eats. She can eat what she wants when she wants as long as she gets an injection.
• In just a few days, Emma's injections will be replaced by an insulin pump. This wonderful invention is the closest thing to an artificial pancreas right now. This pump carries a vial of insulin that is slowly injected into her body through an infusion set all day and all night. It has programmable doses for her baseline insulin and then settings and calculations that we can use to give her insulin based on what she eats. This pump is about the size of a cell phone that can easily be clipped on a belt or tucked in a pouch, with small tubing attached to her infusion set.
• The long-term effects of untreated / unmanaged diabetes can be pretty bad, including blindness, loss of feeling in extremities, amputation, etc. Even managed, her risk of heart disease is higher than that of a normal human. And pregnancies will be more difficult and high risk for her (yes, I know she's only 2). But, things are so much better than they were even 10 years ago and her chances for a more normal life are better than ever.

This information isn't given to scare anyone or upset anyone, but just to educate readers on the facts about diabetes. What's hard is to look at your child and see the child, and not the disease. I still find myself looking at her and thinking "I wonder what her blood sugar is" instead of wondering if she's happy or what she wants to play. After your mind is inundated with this disease, its hard to get it off your mind. But while we expect this pump start to be difficult, the long run will make it easier for our entire family to manage this disease. Then maybe we can go back to just dealing with the typical "2 year old challenges": potty training, tantrums, business, etc.

Pump Start in 6 days!!

We are excited. Emma will be going on her insulin pump in 6 days. We are looking forward to this as we really believe this will make our lives so much easier. It will also give us some greater control with Emma as the pump can be so much more precise in her dosing than we ever can.

We had our training yesterday on the pump. While it seems intimidating, its really not that difficult to use. I have been wearing it now 24 hours and I have been given a steady "basal" dose of saline (for the test) and given myself doses for meals and to correct readings out of range. I have overriden the suggestion of the machine, taken it as is, and even cancelled a dose mid-stream. I even slept in it last night - it wasn't too bad.

I will wear it for a couple more days and then Mike will wear it - and yes, he will be putting in Emma's meals and dosing himself for her food as well (all with saline). Then Emma will be put on it with saline and we will practice dosing her with saline at the same time we are still giving her insulin shots. And then we go in next Tuesday and we start her insulin doses on the pump. Yay!!

A recent email from a friend made me realize that there is so much that people don't know about diabetes or diabetics. My next post will be geared to educate folks about diabetics, diabetes, and what Emma's life will be like as a diabetic (and what it could be like if we didn't have the advances we have today)

In Memory Of: Odessa Morris

Odessa V. Morris

Imagine a day of great joy turned into a day of great sorrow. That is the feeling that many use to explain what happened on September 11, 2001. And its the story of the Morris Family of Maryland. This post is in honor of Odessa Morris.

September 11, 2001 started like many other mornings for Odessa and her family - only it wasn't just any morning. It was Odessa's 25 wedding anniversary with her husband - Tony. She didn't intend to go to work for long - and her husband dropped her at a nearby Metro station for her trip to the Pentagon that morning.

Odessa was a Budget Analyst working for the Department of the Army on the fateful morning of 9/11. Her "short work day" on that morning was her last day - as the terrorists of 9/11 crashed a plane into the side of the Pentagon. The side where Odessa worked.

After hearing of the attack, it took her husband hours of calling and searching to learn that she was missing. I cannot imagine the feelings going through his mind at that moment - wondering if it was too much to hope for, but probably holding on to the only thing he had - hope.

Odessa loved animals, and she loved to cook, and she had a relationship with Jesus Christ - which means she is residing in Heaven now. Hopefully that brings some comfort to her family. She left behind her husband of 25 years and 3 children, now grown. But nothing, even the passing of time, can fill the void and the hole in each of their souls that was taken the day that Odessa was killed in the Pentagon.

There are so many tribute pages to the victims on 9/11 on the internet now. I have provided links to a few here. If you are so inclined, leave a tribute to Odessa on one of these.

As for me, I have thought about her a lot since deciding to blog a tribute to a victim on 9/11. Having walked the halls of the Pentagon myself, I know exactly where she was when the Pentagon was hit. I have been in many of the offices that were destroyed by that attack. While I knew no one personally who died on 9/11, I feel like I know Odessa V. Morris a little bit better now.

So 9/11 will always be a bittersweet day for the Morris family and when I think of 9/11 and everything our country experienced that day, I will say a prayer for her family to have peace during this trying time and remember her with smiles and laughter.

But never forget. Never forget what they did and those who died. Remember the victims with honor and the agressors with hatred. Hatred for what they took from us and what they did to us. Always remember.

http://terroristattack.com/messages.php?id=2049

http://www.legacy.com/Sept11.asp?Page=Story&PersonID=93707

Gettin in a groove!

Well, finally, the neighborhood kids are back in school and I'm able to get into the groove with the kids. The schoolwork is going much smoother and we are moving along nicely.

I added in History this week. History is pretty time consuming but we've been good about doing it every day. I'm wrapping up a little bit of Sonlight Core 3 (1st 1/2 of Am History) over the next few days and then we'll jump into Sonlight Core 4 (2nd 1/2 of Am History). We're in the "middle" period of "post American Revolution but pre-Civil War" that doesn't have much for elementary-aged kids to study other than "people went west". We don't get into the politics of expansionism or Manifest Destiny at this level, so there isn't much to discuss until the Civil War.

I still need to add in Science. The kids have picked some experiements they want to do from our "Critical Thinking through Science" books for us to do but I'm not quite ready to do them yet. Each of our books has a unit on "observation" at the beginning and since we are just focusing on a bunch of experiments this year, I think it will be valuable to start with teaching them how to actually "observe" and then we'll get in. We'll do our first observation experiment on Monday.

Latin will also start on Monday. I didn't start it this week because Monday was a holiday and the book is structured in "5 part" lessons so I'd like to start on a Monday to try and get it into the "week" mode. Latin is really just for Samantha but Michael wants to watch the DVD too, so I'll have him listen in. The curriculum is 3rd or 4th grade to start, so its a little advanced for him, but not much.

The teacher got a new cart!! Each of the kids last year got a rolling ELFA cart for their books and papers. Its easier than keeping them in one room and using them in a variety - we just move them around. But my books kept moving back and forth from the kitchen table to a pile on the desk and back and forth. Now I have a rolling cart of my own with the books sorted by subject (teacher books, answer keys, test booklets, extra school supplies, etc) and I can already see the kitchen will be neater as a result.

Lesson planning is still happening pen to paper. I have a great program to do my lesson planning but I'm just not there yet. Some of the subjects will be easy - they just have 160 or so lessons numbered, you guessed it, 1 - 160. But there are a few that I'm doing a bit different, and others have 32 lessons, with 5 parts, and its just harder right now to put it in the computer than it is to write it on a piece of paper. We'll get there, just not yet - I'm focusing on getting them into the work right now, which is more important.

Tomorrow, Samantha has her first Drama rehearsal for the season and she's playing with a homeschool friend that we have hardly seen over the summer. She's pretty excited.

Day 2!

Well, I'm sure we'll pick up the pace soon, but we finally had Day 2 of school. Today we did Math, Grammar, and Spelling for each of them. I'm slowly adding in the subjects so that we can ease in a little bit and not throw it all at them at once. Tomorrow we'll add in Vocabulary and Handwriting. I'm saving History and Science and Latin for next week!

We finally started school

So, my plans to start school on Monday of this week were nixed by a migraine on Sunday that took most of Monday to recover.

I didn't start on Tuesday because I knew that we wouldn't be able to do anything on Wednesday.

We didn't do anything on Wednesday because we had our psychology appointment for Emma's pump in DC - and anything in DC takes no fewer than 4 hours.

We started school yesterday!! I had piles of books on the table and we went subject by subject and looked through our books for this year. Some are new and some are ones we are finishing up from last year. Its fun to have new books! They each did a little math, practiced their piano and that sounded like enough for the first day.

My plans to do another day of school today were foiled by day FOUR of a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder. I woke up on Tuesday with a pain in my shoulder, but I've had that before and it usually resolves itself in a day or so. Well, it didn't go away on Wednesday or Thursday, and as a matter of fact, kept getting worse. By this morning, the pain was constant and extreme. So, we didn't do any lessons while I made an appointment with the Doctor.

I had a Doctor's appointment who said that it was probably a muscle spasm that caused the pinched nerve and it would take 3-7 days to clear up (its already been 4). She prescribed a pain killer (since none of the ones I was taking were working) and a muscle relaxer.

I also went and got a deep tissue massage today to work out the muscle. It is much better right now. Between the massage and the muscle relaxant, I'm finally able to turn my head a little (which I couldn't do this morning)

So, ONE day completed, ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE to go!!

Newest resident of Anderby Lane

So I'm sitting at my computer in front of the family room window today and I'm hearing this loud screaching noise. I don't know WHAT it is but it is different than I've heard before.

All of a sudden, a bird flies through my line of vision and lands on the fence next door.

It was an eagle.

This was the source of the loud screaching sound.



Later, I continue to hear the sounds and go looking in the backyard to see that the eagle seems to have taken up residence in the back yard. It seems that there is a nest lodged in the crook of one of the tall trees and the eagle is heading there. I got some video of the eagle singing and then flying on the way to the nest. The lighting is horrible because its backlit but you can clearly see the eagle in the shot and most definitely hear the singing!

Its just soccer for goodness sake!

I agreed to take on a role of commissioner for our area in the local soccer league this season. I have coordinated teams for Samantha's age group for a number of seasons and honestly had just had enough of the parents and their numerous complaints about any number of things - that they made personal since they knew me.

We published the rosters for our fall season this weekend. I have already fielded a number of messages from parents about their unhappiness with the way the teams are formed. I even got a message from a coach who asked for 4 of his former players to be moved onto his team this season. Unbelievable. These kids are 6 years old. Yes, you heard that right - 6 years old! And the parents and coaches are already complaining that they don't get to play with the same players again.

The league has a very well-written policy regarding forming the teams. Its what I used to tell each coordinator in each group how to form the teams. It talks about parity of experience and balancing of kids from other schools, putting specific requests for coaches at the lowest priority - and a coaches request for a number of players with no priority. This is what my coordinators did. The problem is the league doesn't publish this policy for parents - I don't think intentionally, just hadn't been thought to.

The coaches are complaining. One said "we have been together since U5 then U6 and we expected to be together in U7". Well, U5 is 4 freakin years old. These kids need to play with a lot of different kids at this age. This coach even lodged a veiled threat of "I'll be checking out the other rosters to make sure THEIR kids weren't kept together". These coaches and these parents don't get it. Its the ones like this that ruin it for the others - these are the ones that are going to be out on the field assaulting other players when their kids are 14.

We haven't had a consistent commissioner in this area for a number of years - in my 4 seasons of working in Samantha's age group I had 4 different commissioners. With the verbal abuse that you receive in this role, its no wonder.

And if I had to guess - for my mother who is most likely reading this post - this is not at all different than the stuff they had to put up with for the years they helped to MAKE the little league the way it was when we were growing up.

Enough said. Rant over.

Old Friends

I had dinner on Saturday night with some old friends. You know the type - you fall out of touch for months or years but fall right back into step when you see each other again.

Lella, Whitney, and I went to Hollins College together. For the most part, we met on the first day. Whitney lived on my hall. Lella has the same birthday I do, which I know because an orientation activity was to line up based on birthdays.

Our lives parted and collided throughout college - through different dorms, trips abroad, and other activities, but we ended up in the same dorm senior year - Starkey. For my part, I loved that dorm and it was a good year.

Whitney lives in Richmond. We had reconnected a few years back at a Creative Memories convention. Lella lives in Boston. We last saw each other at a party celebrating November and December birthdays in 1999 (I was pregnant with Michael). We've shared a few emails from time to time and reconnected through our blogs recently.

Lella decided to come to Richmond from Boston this past weekend. We all agreed to hook up in Fredericksburg (the midpoint between my house and Whitney's) for dinner. I was leaving the house when I got a call - how about we meet in Springfield because they want to shop at an outlet there. Fine by me - its closer.

So, we meet up in Springfield and ended up at Bertucci's for dinner. We sat and talked and ate good food for a long time. It was like we had seen each other often and were just getting together to chat. We talked about old times at school and recent times with kids and friends.

It was good to reconnect - perhaps we won't wait a number of years to do it again.

Busy in the Stopper Household

We have been busy the past couple of weeks. I am knee-deep in getting the soccer season started for our region - we finalize our team rosters tomorrow so I'll be happy that's on the down-slope.

Mike put a new "timer" on the computer. It limits how much time a week they can be on the computer, how many hours a day, and how much time in each session during the day. It keeps me from having to police it because it will log them off when their time is up and won't let them back on until their waiting period is over. Of course, last week I asked Mike to increase the time because it was just TOO HOT to do anything outside.

The kids have been exploring the art closet since their computer time is limited. They have been running around with walkie-talkies saying "Roger That" and making designs with the spin-art machine and they made finger paint masterpieces.

We are starting our new school year next week. That will give us a couple of weeks to get into the groove before all the activities start up again. I finally sat down yesterday and planned out about 4 weeks of Samantha's lessons. I hope tomorrow or Friday to do the same for Michael's and for their shared subjects. I don't want to do any more because I'm sure once we get into activities, I'll find certain days that are harder to fit all the subjects in than others and I'll want to plan accordingly.

I think we all look forward to getting a little bit of the structure back.

Emma's pump process is continuing - we have our appointment with the child psychologist next week and the pump company is processing the paperwork. Thankfully we haven't had any lows the last few nights - it doesn't mean we aren't getting up but it makes it easier if we aren't having to give her juice and wait to make sure it worked.

Molly Maid is coming next week to do a "whole house clean". It really needs it. When I was scheduling the cleaning, the woman said that I will want to have as much picked up as possible because "we don't want them spending their time picking up" (we pay by the hour). I was tempted to say "hey, can I pay for them to do that too?" But, slowly but surely the stuff is getting organized and straighted so that we can find a few flat surfaces and floors for a good cleaning.

Independence Day - Long Overdue

(This post is a bit overdue while I waited for an internet friend to do some magic by combining two photos into one)

We typically spend Independence Day at Smith Mountain Lake. Some years both of my other siblings are present and other years there are none. This year my oldest brother, who has returned after 15 years in Guatemala, was there.

Our family tradition, started years ago, is to wear Flag Shirts from Old Navy. They don't "necessarily" have to be the current year (and aren't always) but we always have our flag shirt. If anything, it guarantees that we are color coordinated for my scrapbooks.

The family photos on the steps of the deck seem to be developing into a family tradition as well. When you get multiple families together, you just don't want to miss the opportunity to get one!

This year, we had the neighbor take several. And as always with kids, you can't seem to get them all to smile at the same time. But with the introduction of technology, now you can fix that. I had my friend take the face of my daughter and my oldest brother from one photo, and put it on their heads in the other photo, where most of the other people were better. And the final result is above.

We had a nice relaxing weekend. It was our first trip out of town with Emma and her diabetes. The packing is a bit more extensive (definitely) and she was a bit all over the place with her readings, probably because of the change in schedule. But we had a nice weekend (and headed back the following weekend to visit my sister who arrived the next week)

Not much to update

I haven't posted recently because there hasn't been much to update. We are just chugging along through summer, albeit too quickly, but nonetheless chugging through.

I still feel incredibly busy. In true form, I take on too many things and then get bogged down. Right now, I am:
- Trying to finalize table rentals for our scrapbooking retreat in Sept
- Starting my role as volunteer recruitment leader for our JDRF chapter (a Government Relations role)
- Trying to organize the schedule and instructors for our PE co-op for the homeschool group
- Overseeing the forming of all soccer teams in South Riding as Southern Commissioner
- Starting the 2-3 month process of putting Emma on an insulin pump
- Thinking about lesson plans for our next school year
-- So many more things

Samantha and Michael are at tennis camp this week. Two friends from years ago are also in the class, so I am taking them to and from each day as their mother works in DC and their day-care is around the corner from camp. I am leaving shortly to go get them.

A couple of days this week I am having Emma go to a sitter for a couple of hours in the morning. It will give me some uninterrupted time to do some things and give her someone to play with that is her own age!

Found Videos

I have been sorting through a bunch of digital photos this weekend because I am WAY behind in uploading and printing them.

In sorting through the photos, I found a folder of videos that I had taken. I looked and saw that I hadn't shared these. They are cute so I wanted to share.

They were both taken during the first week of March

Emma Counting


Emma and Michael Dancing

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!

Well, my attempts at having a video of the kids have been futile all day, but I wanted to at least take the opportunity to say "Happy Birthday Granddaddy"!

Its a big one!

Nature takes care of itself

A while back, Mike realized that some robins had built a nest where two of our rose bushes grew together. It wasn't too surprising - we have lots of robins in our yard and they seem to have survived the drought of this spring/summer.

A few weeks back, Mike noticed eggs in the nest and now there are babies in the nest! At first he thought it was only two but now it is clearly three. Once in a while, we see mama bird bring food to the babies but most of the time, its just the babies. I have stood and watched them for a while - they will be sitting there with their mouths partially open and then think they hear something, and all go crazy with their mouths wide open, climbing over each other, thinking mama bird is coming to feed them.

As long as we leave them alone, these birds should grow and eventually leave the nest, probably to contribute to the poop on our mailbox with the other robins. But for now, they wait patiently for mama bird to bring them dinner!

Dance Recital

Samantha participated in her 7th dance recital this weekend. She is a member of the Senior Company at the South Riding Dance Academy. Because of this, she participated in both recitals (Sat night and Sun afternoon). We attended the Saturday one as a family (Nancy, Mike, Michael, Granny, and Granddaddy) and I helped out backstage at the Sunday show.

Granddaddy and I laughed over our shots of the backs of heads that we took at the Sat show, so I scooted into the auditorium on Sun to get a few more shots - most were much better.

She performed tap and ballet (shown below) and jazz (pictured above). And by the way, Mom and Dad, it was even hotter in the auditorium today - if that is even possible!

Loss

Severe thunderstorms are pretty much a given each Spring in our area. We have been fortunate that we haven't had any this Spring - until this week. We had a small one yesterday and a doozy today. In the course of 30 minutes, we went from overcast to hail, tornado warnings, swirling winds (yes, in the course of 10 minutes it went from blowing one direction to blowing the other). And then it was gone.

But, alas, so is the weepy willow tree. We have small hopes that we can right it and replant it, but I don't have much confidence in that happening. :(

JDRF Walk

We participated in our local JDRF walk this weekend - the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk. It was damp and drizzled from time to time, but the temperature was cool and it was a nice morning. We saw some familiar faces and met some new friends and even got to talk to some pharmaceutical providers about the types of research and development they are doing in diabetes management

This is definitely a new "annual event" for the Stopper family.

Happy Birthday Michael!!

Michael turns 7 today!!

I will post photos of his birthday party at (ugh) Chuck-e-Cheese later this evening. What he doesn't know is that he has a new bicycle hidden in the shed in the backyard for his birthday. He learned how to ride without training wheels quite easily a few weeks ago (we should have taken them off long ago, but we hadn't). When we looked at his bicycle yesterday, we realized it was a 16" bicycle and he needs at least at 20" bicycle. I think he'll be pretty excited when he sees it.

Samantha also picked out a present for him - a baseball hitting machine for him to practice hitting. She mentioned that was what she wanted to get him, so we made sure!!

7 years ago, it was raining on Saturday morning at 6am when I called the doctor in labor. We spent most of the day in the L&D room at Fair Oaks Hospital and at 5:21pm, Michael was born. That is probably about the time we will be singing Happy Birthday to him at Chuck-e-Cheese!!

Home Run!!

Yep, you read the title right. Michael had a home run today in his baseball game!! An in-the-park home run.

It was the bottom of the 6th inning. In his league, the rules for the 6th inning are you bat until there are 3 outs or you bat around once. Michael's team was up in the bottom of the 6th and he had been the LAST one to bat in the 5th, so we doubted that we would get around to him again.

But, we did. So, Michael comes up with at least 2 runners on base. His coach pitches the ball to him and crack, he takes a big swing at it. The ball flies in the air over the head of the 2nd baseman and the outfielders (who play about 10 feet behind the infielders). So, they start running after the ball and Michael starts rounding the bases. He rounds 2nd and then 3rd, as the ball starts coming in from the outfield. The other team DOES get the ball back towards home plate but Michael crossed the plate before the ball got there - HOME RUN!!!

He was quite pleased with himself!! And we were quite proud!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading!

I had a good Mother's Day. I was served breakfast in bed with cards from everyone. I loved the Disney themed cards from the kids and Mike has given me a "night away at a spa from the Anderby asylum for the insane!"

Then, I got a GREAT gift. Everyone in the family (including me) spent the day cleaning the main floor. This is deep cleaning. Yeah, the putting away the clutter was done, but then sweeping, and wiping down the fingerprints and windexing the glass and mopping the floor. Its so nice and clean right now. Wonder how long that will last?

Many will say that it was my day to relax - but cleaning is actually relaxing for me. What is stressful to me is when I don't have enough time to clean. So, this was great!!

Spring Fever

I don't envy public school teachers right now! I only have 2 kids (and one adult!) that have Spring Fever. They have a classroom full! It has finally gotten warm here and the motivation to get any work done is just going out the window.

I do have some things I'd like to finish up before the middle of June - which is a LONG SIX WEEKS away. I can remember growing up when the end of the year felt so far away. It does for me right now. But the "box checker" type-A personality in me won't let us just NOT finish what we are scheduled to do this year. Besides, I still have to do testing yet and send that in to the county. That has to be submitted by August 1st but I'm not one to put that off to the last minute. I have the test scheduled for the first week in June knowing that it takes about 2 weeks for the results to be returned. I scheduled it that late in case we have trouble completing ANYTHING after that - because we will be close enough that I might feel ok "declaring victory" and being done with our year!

But, for today, we are enjoying the sunny, warm weather outside!

Early morning

There are goods and bads to living close to DC. Good: You have a lot to see and its so accessible. Bad: Everyone ELSE wants to see it to. So, often in order to see an exhibit or have a tour, you have to get to DC early.

Its difficult to get anywhere in DC quickly - and we live 30 miles out - adding to the delays.

I arranged months ago for us with our congressional office to have a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing - where they print money! The kicker: The tour was at 8:45. In order for us to GUARANTEE that we would be in DC in time for 8:45, we left the house just after 6:30AM. That is MIGHTY EARLY for us! On a bad traffic day, it can take that entire time to get into the city. On a good day, not so much. Today was a good day. We drove across the bridge into the city at 7:30 and found a parking lot by 7:45. At least there weren't lines at the BEP.

It was fascinating to see the steps that the paper goes through to become money. Its a multi-step process done on a HUGE scale - for example, one pallate of paper going through one machine was printing $32,000,000. They were having a rough day though - one machine jammed in 3 different places while we were watching and in another room, they had the huge magnifying glass out and a supervisor on the floor and they were scrutizing a sheet of bills.

All in all, a nice tour. We drove around a few streets in DC after our tour, and saw the Supreme Court building and the Library of Congress. We checked out a couple of other buildings that we were curious to their purpose. We then headed out to take Mike to the airport for what I hope is his last trip / conference for a while! Then we all came home and napped!

Been Busy!

Every time I think I'm ready to sit down and put up a post, something else always comes up (often Emma) that prevents me. I realized when replying to an email to Mom last night that I'm just busy. Every time I think I'm getting ahead of the busy curve, it tackles me again.

May and June are going to be a busy month:
- Piano rehearsal
- Drama production
- Another trip to DC for diabetic education
- Dance pictures
- Dance competition
- Regular soccer and baseball games
- Piano recital
- Dance recital
- Finishing up lessons for the year
- JDRF walk

And those are just the major events. There are still a bunch of "things" I need to do (like register the kids for some summer camps, work on some scrapbooking borders for a swap, finishing up plans for a scrapbook retreat in Sept, etc) that are taking up time. And you notice I haven't mentioned the "regular" things such as taking care of the house, doing laundry, and grocery shopping. Those seem to be the things that get pushed to the back when everything else gets busy.

I am looking forward to a little more free time this summer. We aren't going to completely take off of school - the kids do better if I keep their brains working a little - but it will definitely be pared way back and I will have more time to keep up with the regular things I have to do.

So, I'm feeling quite busy right now.

Successful Yard Sale

We had our yard sale out in front of the house yesterday. This has become an annual event - a few weeks before the neighborhood-wide yard sale - so much so that one of the customers yesterday remarked that he looks each year for our yard sale because we always have good stuff!!

Well, this was my big "clean out the baby stuff" yard sale. I had about 10 boxes of clothes too small for Emma and Michael and an equal number of boxes of toys.

I sold a lot and brought some home, still. I was surprised that I didn't sell MORE of the baby clothes than I did, but I got a lot of old toys out of the house!

The even better news. There is an annual "consignment" sale for Baby stuff at the conference center around the corner - THIS WEEKEND. So, if I can get my remaining baby clothes onto hangers and labelled before Wednesday, I can take them over and consign them. The company does a 50/50 split, which is pretty good - and this sale is HUGE. They bring in a TON of customers. So, just when I thought I was done "organizing" for a yard sale, I'm gonna pull my remaining boxes out of the back of the van and put everything on hangers and try again!

And so it begins....

Today was Opening Day for the Loudoun South Little League. This is Michael's 3rd season playing t-ball/baseball. It is his first season getting "pitched to".

The Opening Day was nice. Each team marched in with a banner (I made ours - I'm quite proud of it) and they were announced as they entered the field. The league provided had a batting cage, pitching cage, and moon bounce - Michael tried them ALL out. They also brought in a t-shirt vendor who did silk screening on-site. We were all pretty fascinated by the process of applying inks in a certain order and then using heat to seal it in. Samantha, Michael, and I each got a Tye-dyed shirt with the Opening Day logo on it.

(Michael is on the far right - I know its hard to tell with all of their hats pulled so low!)


We then headed over to Samantha's first soccer game. Yes, we spent many a Saturday during sports season at a variety of venues. Samantha's team only had 6 players there, so they all played the entire game. Samantha played 3 quarters on offense and then one as goalie (she was tired of running)! Samantha's team won 2-0. It was actually a pretty good game - good offense and defense on both sides and decently hustling by everyone!

I didn't actually attend Michael's game today. It was at 5pm and it was cold and damp (it had been drizzling off and on all day). They played almost all of the 6 innings until they called it. Michael played pitcher, 2nd base, and center field. He also had a couple of really strong hits.

So, spring sports have started for us! Is it too awful to start the countdown until they are over?

Highs and Lows (again)

I've used that title before, but its still so appropriate I'm using it again.

It is the best way to explain Emma's week.

We are still on a roller coaster with her readings, although not as dramatic as we were. Starting last Sunday at lunchtime, Emma's readings went over 300 and they stayed there for 24 hours, despite giving her multiple insulin injections. They just didn't want to come down. It got as high as 475, which doesn't scare us nearly as much as it used to!! Anyway, after 24 hours, I went ahead and called into the nurse who told me to give her until she got through another meal and see how she was doing. I tested her right before lunch on Monday and she had come down - to TWENTY-NINE. That is NOT a typo - she was at 29. Many people would be unconscious at that reading - she was running around giggling as I corralled her into her high chair. Needless to say, we were a little freaked out by that reading and couldn't explain it - the nurses are baffled.

That started a period, however, with few highs. She had one high overnight that we treated but then the nurse said not to bother. It seems that children this age often excrete a growth hormone while they are sleeping - and its often around 3am - and it makes their blood sugar increase. So, when you swear that you think your children grew overnight, they did!

Anyway, her growth spurt subsided. We haven't had a reading over 250 since then. Her readings have been in the 60s and 70s most times. This is a little low for our liking (we want her over 100). And, she has decided she doesn't want to eat - which is often typical after a growth spurt too. So, between Emma's low blood glucose readings and her reduced eating, we have actually had several meals where we haven't even had to give her insulin. It was a nice break to give her poor arms and legs a break from all of the poking.

She's tired though because I have to keep waking her up at night to give her juice to keep her readings up - seems backwards to us!!

But, the nurses have changed around her treatment a little and we are trying a couple of things a little different to see how she does. We'll give that the weekend and see.

But, as I tell other folks - Emma seems no worse for the wear. Other than fussing about her shots right now, she's running around perfectly normal (like any normal 2 year old that is testing her boundaries and getting into EVERYTHING!)

Happy Easter!

I have a few quick minutes before I KNOW that Emma will be awake, asking to get out of her bed.

We had a nice Easter weekend. Mike had been out of town all week and returned just after midnight on Sat morning. Just after lunch on Saturday, my brother Larry and his family arrived. They had been touring DC for a few days and spent Sat night out with us (in the boonies!)



The kids colored their Easter eggs. We learned something new this year. You can color an egg, write on it with the crayon AFTER that and then dip it in another color- the words are exposed in the original base color. This caused the kids to want to dip their eggs in a variety of colors over, and over, and over again. We finally just had to say STOP!!

The Easter Bunny visited our house. He had a little tougher job this year as we were striving to limit the sugar content because of Emma's diabetes. The kids got some cute toys in their baskets, some sugar-free jelly beans, sugar-free life savers, a sugar free bunny and a few sugar-full candies too.








After our annual Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard (in sub-freezing temperatures), we all got gussied up and got in the cars for the 2 hour drive to Charlottesville. We met my parents and older brother Bruce at the Boars Head Inn in Charlottesville for Easter Brunch. We had a nice time - would have been nicer had we actually been able to sit outside and visit but, alas, 40 degrees is just TOO COLD!!!






All of the kids slept on the way home - we're not exactly sure how much Michael slept the night before since he had a roommate (Gavin, my nephew) who seemed quite excited of the prospect of sleeping in the room with Michael!!

Here are some photos I took of the kids in the front yard. I may take these again in a week or so when its warmer and the grass is a little greener. I plan to update my blog with new spring colors and incorporate these photos into the design, so that you can see these smiling faces every time you open the page!! (I don't know why the last picture isn't rotated - I'll figure that out later)

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

I went into Emma's room to get her out of her crib - she was resting because she's got a little bug. Anyway, when I walked in she said "horsey". I wasn't sure why. Then I figured it out.

She took her pillow, stood it up on the long edge, put her hand on the railing and climbed on her pillow like a horse. Then, she jumped up and down like one of those "bucking bronco" rides. It was really quite funny and she's laughing and saying horsie the entire time!

Couldn't get my camera fast enough to have photos - maybe she'll do it again.

You really can find out almost anything on the Internet

I do believe that we are fortunate that Emma has developed Diabetes during this time of information technology. It makes it much easier for us to do Carb counting for her meals.

I haven't been feeling well today and decided that I was ordering pizza for dinner since Mike was leaving town. So, off to the Pizza Hut web site I go. I can put in the kind of pizza, toppings, and crust, and how many pieces of pizza Emma might eat, and it will give me a complete dietary breakdown, including carb count.

Did you know that 1 piece of Pizza Hut thin crust pizza with just cheese has 30 carbs!!

I have also been able to find out that a Chicken Nuggett Happy meal has 40 carbs - 10 for the nuggets and 30 for the french fries.

This is good information to know as we desire flexibility with when and where we eat!

A quick update

I've been meaning to provide a quick update for a few days and just haven't gotten around to it.

We are settling into a good routine here. Emma's new insulin regimen works much better. Now if she doesn't eat enough, we can just adjust her insulin down. If she wants seconds, we can just adjust her dose up.

Her blood glucose levels aren't swinging as much as they were, but still swinging some. She has been going low at night, which is intriguing, but we may just adjust by giving her a little snack before bed (we cut that out just because it keeps her awake to eat at 8pm). She also seems to be a little high before dinner, but that is most likely from her afternoon snack, so we'll probably start giving her insulin after that.

She has adjusted beautifully. When we tell her we need to poke her finger, she always says "pinkie one". Then she asks if we have to "pokie leg?" She has now chosen to sit in her rocking chair in front of the TV for her injection and its just gotten so easy because she doesn't even say anything most times now when we give it to her.

Had a little scare earlier this week when the sleep-deprived Mommy gave Emma the wrong insulin in the morning. I realized it about 1 hour into its 2 hour effectiveness - it was her "short acting" insulin. So, she got about another meal's worth of carbohydrates in the form of juice and granola bars to offset the insulin and I was very happy when her readings came back up. The nurse said that is actually a pretty common mistake - didn't feel too common to me. At least it was a short-acting insulin and in 3 hours I knew it was completely back to normal.

So, outside of feeling like we have a newborn that has to eat every 3 hours all night, things are pretty normal. I have gotten Samantha and Michael back into school, although not the full routine that I'd like. We won't be having "Spring Break" per se this week, as I have assignments for them to do, but I'm sure if one of their friends comes knocking on the door to play, I'll let them go out! Is it awful to pray for rain! It's gonna be a tough week regardless as Mike leaves in about 2 hours for a week in San Francisco.

Anyway, looking forward to Easter. Larry (my brother) and his family will be here Sat night after spending a few days in the city and then on Sunday we are driving to Charlottesville to eat brunch at the Boars Head Inn with my parents and my older brother, who I haven't seen in 15 years!

As I hear Emma talking from her bed upstairs, I'll wrap it up and go retrieve her for a snack - anyone want to predict how many of her things are thrown out of the crib and onto the floor? I guess all of them!

New Doctor, New Regimen - seems to be working

So we saw the doctor who will be our permanent endocrinologist yesterday. It was a crazy, hectic appointment because we had to go to Children's Hospital in DC; AND, it was the Doctor's day "on call" which is the only way she was able to actually see us.

She was frustruated with the regimen that the doctor in the hospital had put Emma on; as we were since her levels hadn't stabilized over the week and a half we'd been out of the hospital.

She started a new regimen yesterday. We like it for a variety of reasons:
- We increased her "long lasting" dose (her Basel). This is supposed to be the insulin that manages her throughout the day.
- We changed to a fast-acting "after meal" insulin for adjustments(Bolas). This is great because its based on her level before eating AND how much she eats. If she wants more carbs at a certain meal, we can increase her dose to adjust. If we can't seem to force the food in her mouth (which is often the case), we just decrease her dose. This is GREAT for a child who isn't in a position to understand the need for a certain amount of food.

In the past 24 hours, she hasn't gone above 250 (whereas she had been averaging higher than that most days). She has been staying mostly between 80 and 150 - and our target is 180!! So, for us, we are thrilled with the way her body is reacting. Of course, this could also mean her pancreas has kicked back in for a last hurrah, but either way, she isn't swinging and that makes us happy.

Zoo News!!

Last Wednesday, the day before Emma was admitted to the hospital, we took a day trip to the National Zoo. Sometimes, the downside of living CLOSE to the capital is that you feel that "it will always be there" and don't work it into your schedule.

Last Tuesday night, I heard the weather forecast was going to be great, nice and warm but overcast, and I decided to forego lessons for the today and have a field trip to the zoo.

We started with our favorite attraction - the Pandas. There are 3 Pandas at the zoo now - Mom, Dad, and Baby. While we were there, they had Mom and Dad in the same yard because its "that time of the season", but Mom didn't want anything to do with Dad - and as a matter of fact, she growled quite loudly at him when he came by.


One of my favorite areas is the Lion/Tiger display. There were two tigers sleeping away the morning on one side, but then this very alert lioness on the other. The other area I saw that was new to me was the invertebrate house - we saw lots of coral and sea life (unfortunately, the octopus wasn't there, which is what Michael wanted to see). At the end of that house, they have a butterfly house and you are able to walk through their garden as they flew around you.

The kids LOVE watching the Otters, because they have a great display with a clear window looking into their pool so you can really see the otters playing. I think Samantha and Michael would have watched them for a REALLY LONG TIME had I let them.



We saw almost all of the areas of the zoo, including an area I'm not sure I'd seen before - the bird house. As a point of background, the National Zoo is built on a huge hill. In order to see the entire zoo, you WILL take a trip DOWN and a trip UP the hill. The uphill is brutal!! But, that was the way to the Bird House, so we CLIMBED our way up a steep incline pushing Emma in the stroller. But, it was a neat attraction and Samantha saw what she had been asking about all day - the Flamingos. This is a video of the Flamingo dance that they do - its quite humorous.

Baffling Body Chemistry

I assure you, after we get through this initial phase with Emma, it won't all be about her Diabetes. But for now...

Emma had a pretty good day yesterday. He numbers were getting more normal and the night before when I felt certain she was going to drop really low (because of her evening numbers), she stayed right on track. The one nurse I talked to said that her pancrease could even be beginning the "honeymoon phase" (after a person's sugars get back under control, their pancreas will often begin secreting insulin again. It's not much and it doesn't last forever - its sort of a "swan song" for your pancreas.

Well, Emma's body chemistry said "ha".

She was high over night (over 300). High enough for me to page the doctor, which I'm sure she loves at 3:15am! The Doctor had us give her an extra little dose of insulin overnight. But, her breakfast reading, morning snack, AND lunch readings were ALL over 300. It just doesn't make sense with the amount of insulin she had. It even baffled the nurse on the phone at lunch when she was deciding what to do. Both the doctor and the nurse made a comment "maybe she's coming down with something" (at which point I just wanted to pull out the gun and shoot myself). Getting a bug evidentally messes up your sugars too. Well, the nurse said to do Emma's normal dose and then check it about 3 hours later, when it should have been in effect (and the morning dose should still be working, since they overlap).

She was 150.

It just makes no sense, after being close to 400 for 12 hours, for a drop to 150 just 3 hours later!!

Baffling disease.

But hey, we got in with the new Endocrinologist on Monday. We have to drive all the way to DC for the initial visit BUT she got us a 10:30 appt, instead of the originally proposed 9am (which would have meant a 7am departure!)

The simple things

When you have stress in life, sometimes the simple things can give you the most pleasure.

One of the homeschool curriculums that I am using this year is Sonlight. I actually wanted to use more of it than I did, but it just didn't fit in with the kids this year. I have been reading on their message boards about a completely re-designed language arts program, assisted by a well-known and well-respected home educator. I have been getting excited about the possibility of actually using more of the curriculum next year, which is my objective.

I received my new catalog today. I had heard they were mailed last week and many people on the message boards were talking about already having theirs. So, I was so excited when mine came today that I stopped what I was doing and sat down to look at the new areas. It is definitely exciting for me and makes me excited to finish some things this year so we can start some things next year - if only the kids were as excited about it as us parents!

The kind of post you wish you didn't have to post

For those in our immediate family and close friends, this is not new information. For others, it is.

Last Wednesday night at 10pm, I took Emma (our 2 year old) to the Emergency Room with extremely high blood glucose levels (a normal person would be between 80 and 130 and she was at 580). She was immediately admitted to the ICU and diagnosed with Type I (insulin dependent) Diabetes.

She stayed in the hospital until Saturday when she returned home and we began the processing of testing, and insulin shots on our own. I have spoken to the Doctor no fewer than 2 times a day since we have returned, and we have constantly been tweaking and modifying her injections until her body adjusts to the insulin and stabailizes.

I am happy to say that she has been "almost" stable for 24 hours. She had one "higher than normal" reading overnight, but the Doctor is fairly confident as to why this is happening and after leaving things alone today, she may make one more adjustment tomorrow that will probably address that reading.

But that's not the end of it. She will always have to monitor her sugar levels, and watch what she is eating. Right now, the struggles are making sure a 2-year-old eats what she needs to eat based on our injections. As she gets older, it will be more a "defiance" that will cause our challenges. And each growth spurt, and illness will be cause for adjustments.

But for now, we are just happy she is home and acting as though nothing has changed. She acts like nothing has happened and right now, she is currently transferring crayons back and forth from a lunch box to a Ziploc and back again (I think she has done this about 10 times now).

So for us, we have a goal of this having the least impact possible and being able to do things just as we normally have done. I do expect, however, that she will be eating more than one meal fed from tupperware at the soccer or baseball field so that she doesn't get off schedule.

From time to time, I will provide updates here, as its easier to cover everyone here than remembering all the emails I need to send!

Another tooth bites the dust!

Michael had another tooth pulled today. He had a tooth pulled out last month because his permanent tooth was coming in behind it. After pulling the baby tooth, the permanent tooth was moving nicely into place. The Dentist had warned me that his other front tooth was going to have the same problem and to watch it. I expected that by the time their regularly scheduled checkup came around in April that it would need to be removed. Little did I expect when I checked his first removed tooth on Monday that I found his other permanent tooth growing quickly in his mouth.

The Dentist said to not even bother with an assessment - we just scheduled for it to be taken out. It came out as easily this morning as his other one did last month - and the permanent tooth has almost come in as far as the other one - so it hardly looks like a tooth is even gone!

Photos to come soon - guess the Tooth Fairy is making another visit tonight!

I guess I've started potty training

I bought a potty seat for Emma a while back - one that sits on top of the main seat. She has been carrying it around the house for a while, and Dora has had her turns with the seat. I've also sat Emma on it a couple of times just to get the feel.

She has started asking to go potty. I think most times she has already gone, but its a start. AND, she has gone a few times in the potty over the past few days.

So, I guess we are starting potty training. With the other two, I had the benefit that day care did most of the training for me, and the kids were around other kids their age who were learning, so this is a new environment for us. I guess I'll just get out the timer and start our "every 20 minute" trips to the bathroom!

You can't turn your back on this one!

Michael was inspired to clean up some more in the toy closet today. And I can't seem to find my very important American History folder that has all the cross-references between video and workbooks that I need to give the kids their assignment. So, I think the stars were just aligned for us to get some organizing done in the basement.

As an important note, the kids don't seem to clean if I'm not sitting there handing them piece by piece for them to put away - they don't seem capable of picking it up off the floor and doing it themselves. So, I had spent some time downstairs sorting through junk toys with them. And I left Emma upstairs. There isn't much for her to get into (well, there is stuff but not much that I'm worried about permanent damage).

I came back upstairs to see what she had gotten into, and this is what I found:



She is definitely a creative one and loves to play pretend. For those who can't tell, she has taken her entire princess tea set and set up a tea party on the kitchen table!

The Moon, and other things

Well, there was no eclipse for us last night. The clouds rolled in all day and by the time the moon rose, there was no eclipse. Of course, about 1 hour after the eclipse had finished, the clouds moved off!!

We spent some time this afternoon in the toy closet in the basement. I am convinced we have too much stuff. No doubt. I was hoping to spend the time just sorting the toys into "use" and "not use anymore" piles. Instead I found our toy closet strew with little pieces of many toys, none in the boxes or bags they belonged in.

So, the kids have spent the past 2 hours cleaning out several boxes that I filled from the floor and shelves of little pieces of games and toys. And I haven't even tackled half of the closet yet. It will probalb]]bly take all week in our spare time to actually clean out and sort the toys. BUT, I'm having a yard sale next month and I'd love to get rid of those that aren't played with anymore (and won't hand down well to Emma). Until then, I am just creating piles of things to sell all over the house in expectation of April 21 (yard sale day)!

Getting too old for this!

Our homeschool group went ice skating today for PE. The kids were both pretty excited to go; I took Emma to a sitter so that I could go out and skate with them.

It started out rough. Michael didn't want to let go of the wall for fear of falling. I "helped him" fall so that he could see that it didn't hurt and he gained a little confidence - just in time to fall on his face and scrape his cheek. Its going to be quite a bruise tomorrow - and this just after I had convinced him it didn't hurt.



Samantha gained confidence each minute. She skated out in the middle with the older girls from the group. A little practice and I think she can be really good.



But my body is taking this opportunity to remind me exactly how old I am. My foot is sore (the one that I broke 2 years ago) because those muscles have never been the same. My back is sore and my calf muscles just ache. I'm sure they will be even more sore by the end of the day - a gentle reminder that I am no longer a teenager!

I am becoming my mother

I've always heard that generation after generation, people tend to do things like their parents. I have seen it a lot in what Mike and I do with the kids. But I don't think any more than this morning.

I actually got to sleep in late. Emma slept in late and the kids were somewhat quiet when they got up this morning (which NEVER happens, by the way). Samantha ate her breakfast and did parts of her schoolwork that she could do on her own, and Michael played quietly. I finally got up just before 8 and got Emma up and ready to eat breakfast.

I put Emma in her chair and got her breakfast. I then sat down at the table for a minute to collect my thoughts and look at the pile of papers there to see what I needed to do. Samantha comes up and gives me a run down of what lessons she has left to do, most of which involve me. She said "I'm ready for Dictation". And my response, "Samantha, I can't do that right now. My brain is just not awake yet"

That came straight from my mother!! I'm sure she's laughing as she's reading this!

Snow

We finally got snow!!

For once, the weather forecasters were wrong - but wrong in a good way (at least as far as I am concerned). They had said that we would be getting 1-2" of snow starting around midnight Sat night, and then it would turn over to ice, sleet, and freezing rain mid-day.

The snow came - but the sleet didn't. So, instead of 1-2" of snow, we got about 5" of snow and no ice. Its nice pretty snow. I was actually driving in it for a brief time yesterday and it was beautiful falling down among the trees that I was driving under. Of course, my driving trip didn't take me far as I turned around and came home. The roads were not great for driving at that time and while I am pretty good at driving in the snow, many people around here aren't and all I needed was someone to lose control and run into me. So, I turned around and headed home - not getting my errand done that now will not get done this week, as it isn't something easily done with 3 children and Mike is in Denver until Friday!

The other downside is a big hole we now have in the front yard. We have an unusually shaped front yard due to a lane/driveway on either side. I grant that its unusual, but anyone who has driven by here a few times would know what it looks like. However, it appears that the snow plow driver didn't - and decided instead to plow up a huge hunk of our front yard. Then, to add insult to injury, he then pulled back, lifted up his plow, and just DROVE through the front yard.

So, I'll be filing a complaint with the Homeowners Association that hired the plow driver and having to get my lawn reseeded this spring.

But, it is a beautiful snow.

A few photos from Emma's birthday

Here are a few photos from Emma's birthday weekend.

Her birthday was Friday. On Friday night, we gave her her present - a Dora the Explorer Sit and Spin. It plays music and sings songs. She is as interested in pushing the button and playing the music as she is in sitting on it.



On Sunday, we had friends come over to have cake with us. We got Emma a Dora the Explorer balloon which she carried around the house all afternoon - she called it her "Dora Boots balloon"


So, our "Baby" is now a "Toddler"!



And here is a video of Emma. We can't seem to get the sound to work - so if you do, please let me know how. It is Emma dancing to the music from her Sit-n-Spin - if you get the music you will see how unbelievably cute this is!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

Today is Emma's 2nd birthday!!

I don't have photos to share yet - because the camera is in the shop - but I am borrowing one from a friend this afternoon and then I'll share some current images!!

Just a quick flashback to 2 years ago:
Emma was born on a Wednesday. For the 4 weeks prior to her birth, I had been on bedrest, in the hospital, and then back to the hospital for DAILY testing. Yes, every day - including Saturday and Sunday - I had to go and bed monitored. I have very low amniotic fluid and Emma was breech and they wanted to make sure she was developing ok during that time.

On Wednesday, February 16, I went in for my 2 routine tests AND I had my weekly checkup with the OB. So, I had THREE appointments that day. Normally, through the graciousness of friends, I was able to fit them in while Michael was at preschool and Samantha at school (with the friends helping out when the time went over). But this day, the appointments were way too long, so Mike stayed home to be there when Michael got home from preschool.

My non-stress test, monitoring the baby's heart rate (ups and downs) was fine, but my biophysical profile (which is a specialized sonogram) couldn't register much movement or diaphragmatic movement (breathing). They even brought in the ACTUAL radiologist (who you never see, its always technicians) and he couldn't get these to register. So, they sent me over to the OBs office next door. When I walked in the door, the OB just wrote me a note and sent me back over to Labor and Delivery.

I had been eating trying to raise my blood sugar and increase movement in the baby, so they were forced to wait 4 hours before they could do the surgery - we were having a C-section because she was breech. So, I spent the afternoon sitting in a pre-op room reading a book and watching other babies come in and out from the OR while waiting. During this time, Mike was running around furiously getting Michael to one house and Samantha to another so that they could stay the night, still get to school, and he could be at the hospital with me. He walked into the pre-op room a mere 10 minutes before they were ready for me!!

They hooked me up with an IV and sent me WALKING down the hall to the OR!! That was a sight, I'm sure!! In a very short time, the Doctor was in the operating room and in no time flat, Emma was here!! All 6 lbs, 12 ounces of her with a round head, just like her siblings!! By far the smallest one I had, seeing as she was a full 4 (or possibly 5) weeks early.

We were sent back to post-op and then checked into our room for the night by 8pm. I felt like I was "old hat" at that since I had spent 5 days there just the previous month. I was just so happy to NOT be pregnant any more and have a baby who really did love to sleep - I had to wake her to feed her!

So, here we are 2 years later with a baby that won't stand still - she is always on the run and always has something to say!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

The curse of a verbal child

Emma has been quite verbal for a while. I think she was about a year old and one of the women in our babysitting co-op said that Emma said "Thank you". She has MANY, MANY words - I should count just to see.

She is also trying to learn manners - well, more accurately, we are trying to teach her. We tell her that we don't respond when she yells for something or throws a tantrum and that she is to say please.

So, in her sweetest voice, she comes to me a couple of minutes ago, after being "rescued" from her crib by Samantha to say "My shows please. My shows".

That would be Noggin! My lifesaver while I'm doing school with Samantha and Michael. They have lots of cute shows (and a few annoying ones) and two cartoon characters that "MC" between shows (because there are no commercials) named "Zee" and "Moose". She loves everything about Noggin. You can be guaranteed to get lots of hugs if you are at my house at 6pm - when Zee and Moose go "night night" and Emma cries!!

How can you NOT turn the channel for a child that uses such good manners at such a young age.

Verdict on the dishwasher, and other things

So, we paid a GE repair specialist $179 to come to our house this week and a) replace a piston in the dishwasher that wasn't quite broken but would be soon; and b) tell us that the dishwasher problem was in the hose that was wound back behind the cabinets in the kitchen. Its either a clog or the line is frozen. I voted for frozen since the highest the temperture got this week was 28 degree.

The long term solution to this problem isn't easy - it probably involves removing cabinets or counters or both!!

The short-term solution seems silly but works. About 2 hours before we run the dishwasher, we open up the cabinet doors between the dishwasher and the sink, AND we remove the cover from the bottom of the dishwasher. Then we run a spaceheater into those spaces for a couple of hours. It heats the hose up that is behind those cabinets and enables the water to flow through - thus allowing the dishwasher to ACTUALLY work!

But how obnoxious is that. We have known something is wrong with the back side of the house there when it comes to temperature. I have always felt a breeze under the cabinets in the winter time - yes, literally, a breeze blowing on my feet. We feel certain there is insulation on that wall but perhaps not enough; or perhaps because its a bump out, it doesn't get the appropriate insultion from the basement. When and if we do ever remove the cabinets or countertops (Which is always a possibility because we have always wanted granite), we will find some super insulation and fill back behind those cabinets to the point I will never feel a breeze again. In the meantime, we are heating the cabinets from the outside and washing our dishes!!

In other parts of our life, basketball and cheerleading is continuing. Yesterday didn't see nearly as much time at the gym, but still a few hours, nonetheless. Emma hasn't been feeling 100% so its tough being at the gym when she really should be asleep in her bed.

Emma turns 2 at the end of the week. Two always seems anti-climactic. One is such a big deal. At three, the kids often have a few friends at preschool that you invite over. But then there's two. Of course, we'll have a cake - if not for Emma, then for the other kids who think you are supposed to have cake for a birthday. Perhaps I will invite over our friends, the Legeers. They have a baby 3 months younger than Emma and Lauryn is a friend of Michael's from preschool!

And lastly, our camera is in the shop. Neither of the kids will own up to their role it in, but it had clearly been dropped, as evidence by the DENT in the housing and the break in the LCD screen. We could use it to take photos, but not change the settings, nor see the image we took. After much trepidation, I packed it gingerly in a box (insured for AT LEAST the cost of purchasing a new one) and shipped it off to Canon with assurances of return within 7 days of receipt. We'll see. Since our back-up camera is also broken (slippery fingers in this family also), we are camera-less right now and I am hoping to take a friend up on a generous offer to borrow her "backup" camera until ours returns.

The $20 remedy

Emma has been sick for a few days. She has been acting lethargic and has had a fever. After sleeping for 3 1/2 hours in the morning, I called the Doctor and set up an appointment. (As an aside, she was also experiencing her "pooping" problem again, too). After spending an hour at the Doctor, we didn't get much of an answer other than a) her ears are clear; and b) she looks ok to me (mind you, this Doctor doesn't realize that sitting still ISN'T characteristic of Emma)

By the time it was bedtime last night, Emma was acting like her normal self. Running her mouth and watching her favorite "Baby Show" (that would be Teletubbies). Mike says she got the $20 remedy - that is, we just needed to pay the $20 to the Doctor for her to feel better!!

Things we have plenty of ...

Cold air
Static Electricity
Dirty Dishes

It is certainly cold here. Michael asked this morning if he could go shovel the walk and the thermometer said 12 degrees. I told him it was a bit too cold to be outside shoveling. This is day 3 of freezing cold weather and its at least a couple more days of the cold.

And, the cold dry air is causing a lot of static electricity. I have been shocking Emma a lot and each time I shock her, she gets a funny look on her face and puts her hand where I shocked her - she is definitely trying to figure out what is happening.

And, yesterday we realized that our dishwasher no longer pumps water. It currently has water sitting in the bottom of it and Mike is looking for a repairman to come out and tell us what's wrong. When you have 5 people living in a house, 4 of which are home all day, the dirty dishes pile up. We usually run the dishwasher overnight, so right now we have a pile of dishes on the counter waiting for me to go wash them!

Funny the things we remember

Today is February 5th. Whenever I see that date, I have vivid memories come rushing back into my mind. I will always remember February 5th. I was 13 years old in February of 1983. On the 5th I went on my first skiing trip - with our church group. We went to the Homestead Resort, about 2 hours away from home. I can vividly remember the windy roads going up the mountain. I can remember my ski lesson on the bunny slope and my first two or three times down the bunny slope. I can see in my mind vividly getting in line for the ski lift to go up to the intermediate hill. My first trip down was quick and exciting. And I remember getting in line to go up again.

I remember starting down the hill at the top. I can remember thinking that I was going faster than I wanted and that the snow felt icy. The next I remember, I was laying on the ground and I remember seeing skis stuck in the snow in an "X" formation. And I remember sliding down the hill on a toboggan.

I can remember laying on the table with a ski boot on my foot getting ready to get my leg x-rayed. And I can remember their telling me my leg was broken. I can remember my mother crying on the phone when she was told (gosh, she didn't cry when I told her 18 months ago that I had broken my foot!)

On February 5th, 1983, I went skiing for the first time and broke my leg. 12 weeks in a cast, my dance season cut short and many activities changed that year. I bet that my mother doesn't remember that it was Feb 5th. But I do, and I think I always will.

Upward Cheerleading and Basketball

I received a flyer in the mail in November for a basketball and cheerleading league held at a nearby church. I hadn't ever heard of this league before, but the flyer came at a perfect time, as I was interested in getting Michael involved with basketball, and Loudoun County doesn't have a very organized program.

So, we signed the kids up for "Upward". Michael plays basketball and Samantha is on a cheerleading squad. Its a nice program. They have over 300 children signed up, assigned to teams from 5 years old to 12 years old. They practice once a week and play games on Saturday. For a reasonable registration fee, each of them received their full uniform, that they get to keep!!

The kids are having a good time and have met some new friends. And, I am continuing my family tradition of spending most Saturdays in the winter, all day, at the gym!

My son, the artist

You always wonder when your kids are really little what they are going to be good at. And what they are going to be interested in.

Michael likes to build things. He loves his K'nex and his legos and even Emma's blocks. He loves to build things. Sometimes it just to knock it down. Other times we can't get him to take it apart.

About a week ago, I went into Michael's room looking for him because he was suspiciously quiet. Very unusual for him, which often means he's doing something he shouldn't.

But not this time.

He had decided to make a picture out of the coins in his room. He made a bird. He didn't copy a picture or anything - he just designed it himself



It's a Bird!!!

He says his next creation is going to be a spider.

Reporting on the "no snow" storm

This is how they lead off the news report at 5pm tonight.

We were expecting a little bit of snow with a little bit of ice on the top.

Now we aren't even going to get that.

We want a big snow storm - or at least a decent size snow storm and haven't had one yet.