The Pump is in My Bottom

Yesterday, Sophie woke up and came into my bed and started singing a song:

The pump is gonna be in my bottom today,
in my bottom, bottom, bottom, today.

And then cracked up at herself.

And then today the song went: (try to guess)

The pump IS in my bottom today,
my bottom, bottom, bottom....ha, ha, ha, ha...:-)

She handled it all well yesterday. She wanted to skip past the part where Joe and I had to sit through the class and learn how to use, fill, and change sites on the little thing. But, when it came to actually putting it in, and getting it started, she did great. Very calm, and very proud of herself. Wanted to call her grandparents and tell them all about it, right way.

The overnight part was, as we feared, not so fun. It wasn't bad in the "she freaked out" sort of way. She actually tested well. But, the first time we tested, she was 79, which isn't technically low, but I was afraid she'd go below 70, so I made her drink a little juice.

The second testing at 2 am went fine too, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Somewhere in there, Norah and Jossie picked up on the tension, and couldn't sleep either. So, I spent a couple of hours in there trying to lull everyone back to sleep. When I wasn't in there, Joe was. Norah was in my bed, and completely crying, fitful, etc. Bummer.

Probably we had about 2-3 hours of sleep total. I'm praying tonight goes better. Unfortunately, because of the crazy lack of sleep, her behavior went off the deep end before bedtime tonight. So, it's all a little stressful.

So far, she hasn't had any scary moments. It's not regulating her blood sugar as well as shots were yet, but I know that will get better, as we can do so many more tiny adjustments that can't be done with shots.

Anyway, thought I'd give an update for anyone who might have been wondering. I'm too tired to say much more.

Hopefully pics of the pump tomorrow. As well, as deep, insightful, inspirational thoughts. Ha!

Mostly Pics and Prayers

First off, please be praying for Sophia in the coming weeks/months. Two reasons: 1) She's starting the pump on Wednesday, so that's going to be a huge transition. She doesn't do waking up in the middle of the night well, so we'll see how that part goes, as we have to test 1-2 times nightly for a while. 2) She was pre-diagnosed with possible Celiac disease this week. We can't get into the specialist for 3 months to find out if it's true. You can google it to understand it more. But, basically it means no wheat, or any products with gluten. So, no normal mac-n-cheese, cookies, cheez-its, sandwiches, breaded nuggets, etc. The things that kids eat, and the things that I've come to make our "normal" diet out of for keeping her numbers stable with diabetes. So, my prayer is that the initial report is wrong, and that this is NOT a disease she has to live with. Please agree with us for that. I feel God wants us to trust Him to make that happen. We already accepted that we would trust Him to get us through if it's true, but somehow trusting Him for healing, and a good report seems more outside of what we believe sometimes.


Now for pics.

The toothless grin is here: #2 fell out this morning.





Here's the pic she drew of the toothfairy for the toothfairy:



Norah trying to fill some big shoes.



And being Daddy's "Ba-Pa!" (Back Pack).



"Queen Princess Jossie" during her last day of school:



And hoping the goofy knight will rescue her:



Our tea party for girls only on Saturday.



Nana and Aunt Rosemary donning their wrapping paper hats with style.



Sophie decorating the paper for our paper fans we made at the party.



Jossie politely sipping.




Norah politely sipping.



Jossie thoroughly annoyed with her hat. Actually she loved it until Sophie was thoroughly annoyed with her own hat, and then Jossie followed suit.


The girls celebrating their summer birthdays together at the homeschool co-op.

Mother's Day

First off, a big Thank You to our moms. They're such a blessing. And as we are now raising our own kids, we wonder how they ever survived our antics. xoxoxo

I've had a good weekend, and have felt peaceful and blessed. Many laughs too. My kids are deliciously cute when they're in good moods (and when I'm in a good mood).

I already posted on Sophie's biggest achievement of the week. She is also growing to be so thoughtful. We went to the $1 jewelry shop this week, and on her own, she decided to find her own money and buy a necklace for me in secret. She hid it from me until today. Jossie also did this, but it wasn't as secret. I wore both of them together today, and an earring from both...a little mismatched, but they loved it. And I loved that they're starting to think of others. Sophie hugged me so many times today and said "I love you" and "Happy Mother's Day." She's also getting really good at drawing. She drew a picture of the tooth-fairy last night, and made us take a picture of it, since it would be disappearing with the tooth. :-)

Jossie has the funniest way of saying things. She likes to use a lot of adverbs right now, like actually, perfectly, especially, etc. We had a tea party with Nana and Aunt Rosemary today. Jossie has hit this very conversational age. She loves girlie things like tea parties. She loves to ask, "So Nana, how's your day been?" And she loves to talk, and talk, and talk.

Some of the funny words she says:

Ard (as in playing in the back ard)

o-o (as in yo-yo)

ogurt (as in yogurt)

ell (as in "Sophie elled at me")

awn (as in "I dust had a big awn, I'm tidered" as in "I just had a big yawn, I'm tired.")

She tip-toes everywhere, does a spin across every floor she's walking upon, falls off her chair during dinner or lunch every day from wiggling so much, and runs into every door frame or door knob in the house at least once a day. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we were at a water-park hotel, and Sophie clocked herself between the eyes on one of the water spouts. She got a huge knot and slight black eyes from it. Jossie did the same thing a few minutes later, and her hard head sustained no damage. I'm thankful for her head of steel. She fell off of the top bunk and landed her head first on the wooden toy box a couple of months ago, and again, not even a bump. Angels surround that sweet girl.

She has funny ways of doing things, like she walks through our hardwood floored house, which inevitably always has crumbs on it, and wipes her feet off on the furniture as she's headed back to her room, though she doesn't complain about the mess, because it's mostly caused by her. She drops whatever she doesn't want, wherever she is at. She will roll around on the floor and pretend she can't hear you for an hour at a time, singing songs, and doing make-believe, if you're trying to force her to pick up one single toy.

And Man, is she sweet. She loves to tell me what a good Mommy I am, and she loves alone time with Daddy. She snuggles, and kisses, and giggles, and makes me smile whether I'm looking at her or not. She also learned to write her name this week, and is sooo proud of herself. She likes to avoid homeschool, which I don't mind, because she's so young. But, this week when she accomplished that she looked at me with the biggest smile and squealed, "I like learning!!" Aww, she deserves a bit of time on the blog.

Norah has been just adorable to watch lately. She loves it if she's had a long nap and outlasts her sissies at bedtime. She gets all of the attention for another hour, which involves coloring, snuggling, "chatting," playing babies, or doing projects like putting socks on her hands to make puppets. She loves to kiss and stroke your arm or Joe's back of his head. She's even said, "I yuv jou Daddy." Yes, I'm jealous.

She has a great vocabulary...most of it needs parental interpretation, but we are at that stage where we get a lot of what she's saying. Like "ba-pa gink" is Back Pack Drink, which means she wants her Dora drink cup (she calls her Back Pack, because of the song on the show so frequently sung). She usually wants "I" in it (ice), and she loves to eat "gragoos" (cookies, crackers, general snacks).

She's funny too. When she's overly tired she gets goofy and we say she has bubbles in her. So, the other night she was trying to get wound up, and we mentioned her having bubbles. Then she tried to get us sucked into a silly game of running around the coffee table. After a few tries, I said, "Daddy said it's time to get quiet and go to bed." She looks at him and rolls her eyes practically, sighs, and starts walking to the bedroom, and says, "Nigh-nigh Bubbles." Then she giggles in her exasperation.

Ahh...sweet babies.

So, in reflecting on Mothering, I have so many thoughts...though you'll only be privvy to a few.

Some of my unhappy surprises:

Whining and screaming are too often occurrences and wow they're annoying.

That it hurts so bad when your child is hurting.

It is maddening that you can't completely control your child's health, nor determine their future, nor totally protect them from harm.

Some of my happy surprises:

That I can cry when I stare at any of my children, just because I'm so in love.

The sound of giggles is the most beautiful sound to my ears (well, unless it's accompanied by naughty/sneaky behavior of course).

The smell of their skin, and the feel of their cheeks on mine, is like Heaven.

That I have big dreams for their future, but I love the tiniest sweet moments right now.

Losing Teeth

Sophia has lost her top front tooth, which looks pretty funny to all of us. It was a little traumatic, as it was spurred on by the eating of an apple, and much bleeding followed. But, after giving a list of the types of teeth she has (A lost tooth, a loose tooth, a new tooth, a sweet tooth, an old tooth, a bottom tooth, a top tooth, and a white tooth) she went to sleep and is awaiting the tooth fairy. Sadly, she's expressing her doubts about the magical creature, since she recently found a four-leaf clover and hasn't seen anything magical or "lucky" come of it. You can see her reasoning for doubting the fairy, right?

Can I say this one makes me a little sad? Baby teeth are just so cute. She always had this gap between her two front teeth, and when she was 2 or 3 she would ask me when her other tooth was going to grow in, you know, the one in the middle, she'd say. Awww. It's a little hard letting go of the baby...

Well, anyway, the tooth fairy has had fun with using the moment to speak some truth into her life and giving her a smile and a buck all at the same time.

Here's the tooth fairy's latest letter:

Dear Sophia,

Wow! I can’t believe you’ve already lost your front tooth! Was it scary when it came out? I took a peak, and it looks like I’ll be back soon for the one right next to this one.

It looks like you have still been brushing well, as this tooth is also shiny-clean! Keep up the good work!

You look so peaceful and sweet when you sleep, just like God made you to be. I know you are learning more and more about Him and how much He loves you. Jesus is the best friend we could ask for, a more precious gift than even my little token for your tooth. I know He will continue to give you a strong heart and courage as you conquer the tough times in life. He told me recently how much you have been learning to trust Him. That makes me happy. And the tooth fairy needs lots of happiness to keep these wings fluttering.

You are such a sweet girl, Sophia. I must leave now to gather teeth from other boys and girls. Enjoy my little gift to you.

I’ll see you again very soon! You are keeping me busy!

Your Friend,

The Tooth Fairy

It also has this beautiful picture of the sweet fairy at the top, though it wouldn't cut and paste onto the blog. Oh well.

May you too keep believing in fairies...or at least the power that comes from believing you are this precious person who is loved and created by God alone.

The Pump is in the Mail

I got a call on Friday from our diabetic pump company. He said we were approved by our insurance company, and all he needed was a little information.

Sophie chose a pink pump.

Of course.

Anyway, we worked out a financial plan, and as soon as I can get the lessons scheduled with the clinic we are a go for the next phase.

I hear it's a rough first couple of weeks working out the kinks and new ratios. It makes you feel a lot like the beginning again for a while. I'm not excited about that, but her birthday is coming up, and I'd love to be on the upswing and have things more stable by then.

I cried when I got off the phone. I'm just excited to see us move forward and maybe see some stability.

Keep her in your prayers as we step into this new phase. She's also had a lot of complaints of not feeling well lately. We don't know if she's just hypersensitive to her body because of the whole diabetes experience, or if she is sick with something. We'll be checking into that this week too.

Addendum: Darn! We can't get a start date until May 20th due to the clinic lady being in Jury Duty. Oh well, I'm sure there's something to be worked on or learned in the waiting process.