I guess it has been a few years (?) since my last post!!  Hudson has been thriving ! He is now in grade 1 and able to check his blood sugar on his own at school... able to detect lows, and with the help of his teacher, he is able to treat these lows!

We have been stepping out as a family these last few years not only as a family but as ambassadors!
Hudson has been asked for the third year in a row to be the JDRF Ambassador for our region, which has now become a passion of ours.  To raise awareness of what Type 1 diabetes actually is.. what the symptoms are and that Hudson is perfectly normal, perfectly how he should be.. with something that won't limit him, but with something that makes him who he is without defining him.

This past summer was also a huge milestone for our family!  We left the country for 3 weeks!  We have never left Canada with Hudson since he was diagnosed.  We were scared to leave our comfort zone.  Scared of being so far from doctors that know him.  We were just scared.  But, having a slightly OCD mom... he was totally fine!  Being prepared for anything is a trademark of a type 1 mom.  Prepared for highs, lows, excessive amounts of supplies " just in case", totally not needed but for sound of mind, we got doctors notes for all his meds, pharmacist print outs that all these vials were for him, a plug in cooler for the car to keep everything safe and sound and cool.. over prepared.

But, one of the best parts of our leaving the country... was our little oasis in the desert... VEGAS!  My husbands parents own a place far far from the strip.  Far from the noise, and close to one of the BEST Children's Hospitals in the state! ( which was comforting even though I knew we didn't need it)  Hudson was in pure heaven! We found such a great balance with his constant request to swim in Opa's pool and the heat that would melt you in the middle of the day.  Excessive heat makes Hudson's blood thicken and thus makes his blood sugar sky rocket.. but pair that with the excursus of swimming for hours in the shadow of Lone Mountain... and we found the perfect way for him to burn off that high blood sugar!!! His blood sugar levels were incredible and hardly wavered from a perfect 8!  From Vegas we had planned some incredible memory makers!  We drove the few hours to Disney Land where Hudson received a Disability pass making him able to ride express pass rides without waiting in the hot sun for hours. I can't even begin to count how many times he rode the Star Tours ride... or splash mountain! This boy had no fear!  Tenley and I however do what girls do best.. and we shopped :)  For the record, I know have my own Jedi Knight living in my house, certification and all! And again, perfect numbers!

From the Happiest Place on earth we travelled to San Diego to visit the one and only Lego Land who also gave Hudson a disability pass which allowed him to jump to the very front of every single ride!  My Star Wars obsessed son would not allow us to leave Lego Land without  getting a picture of every.  single . star wars. display!  Memories to last a lifetime!

But, the place we found peace, where our family could relax and just be together was the ocean!   The kids' first time seeing the ocean, experiencing the waves, digging in real sand and not just " prairie kid" kind of sand that exists by a mock lake in the middle of  farmers field.  Real Sand!  A place where it was cool enough not to spike Hudson's sugars, but a place that allowed him to enjoy himself.  Enjoy the freedom and experience the therapeutic sounds that only the ocean can bring.

Somedays its still so hard to accept that my little boy will have this disease for the remainder of his long life.  Sometimes, especially at night, when I am up, checking his numbers at 3am... praying that they are normal and safe, in those hours when the rest of the world is asleep... everyone except us type 1 moms who are up to ensure our small ones wake up to see a new day.. on those nights when Hudson's lips are searching for a straw to drink yet another juice box while totally asleep... those nights I thank God that my son is alive.. That although he has this disease.. that he is here, alive and healthy.   He is safe, he is loved and he is well cared for by people who are an extension of me when I can't be there myself... ( although I could be the lingering mom in the hall ways.. but really, who would that benefit?)  I am amazed at the independence and the confidence this disease has brought my little guy..  he may have been force dot grow up against his will too soon, but he will be a boy who will change the world!  A boy who will influence the lives of many around him.   A boy destined for a purpose bigger than any of us know.  Hudson, with his contagious personality , his bright smile, quick wit and intelligence that still amazes me.  This boy, I am proud to call mine.

Hudson with a fellow type 1 and their teachers at the Telus walk to Cure Diabetes

Mr JDRF Ambassador

Our trip to Vegas with Gramma!

King of the Seaweed

At a Blue Jay's game in Anaheim.. He was hoping to see one of the 2 type 1 players for the Blue Jays

The mini wedding party for my sister's wedding

California Adventure

Hudson ( in the orange hat) chosen to participate in the Jedi Training session at Disney Land

Lego Land Adventures 

No Fear

Enjoying a sunset by our beach hotel

This boy

heartbreaker

I can't believe its been 6 months since our last post!!! Things have gotten quite busy around here!  The summer was great with a blur of activity and settling into this new house.  Hudson had his first golf lesson and has become quite the golfer! This fall he started pre k which I had been secretly panicking about for the last little while.  Giving up control of him for 3 hours 2 days a week caused alot of sleepless nights on my part but he has been thriving and doing excellent!!  Here are a few updated pictures of what we have been up to!! Enjoy!!

The day after the tornado!!

Tornado coming up our back yard!! So scary!! Good thing I had everything packed in coolers under the stairs!

Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes - Hudson's Hulks - June

Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes

Talking with Mommy 

GO! TORNADOS!!!!! - Outdoor Soccer

A day in Waterton,Ab - going for a boat ride  

Left the kids for a week to go to Las Vegas with the hubby for a much needed vacation!! Thanks Mom!!! 

Life is good on the golf course!

High Five Daddy!! It went in!

Treating a low blood sugar at Cornfest!!! Yummy Cotton Candy!!

All that force feeding in the middle of the night and still.. NO CAVITIES!!!!

Supposedly Yoshi now has diabetes and is on an insulin pump :)

Hudson hanging out with his Hippo from Hippo & Friends

1st Day of Pre - K!!!!

Our 2012 fundraising video!

Hands Free Mama

http://www.handsfreemama.com/

Just a quick link to a page  that is amazing about going hands free and creating memories for your children and being present for them and in their lives!!!

Crazy Numbers... Crazy Month

ok, I just realized I haven't posted in a while!!! So to my readers.. Oops :)
We have had a very busy few months.  We just moved into our dream home, and anyone who knows what moving is like, well, its stressful. Add in 2 demanding lil kids who are so excited, but all they want to do is unpack toys or have your attention.. well its 10 times harder :)  I love how excited they were.. but with this change came alot of work where diabetes was concerned.  Yes, diabetes decided to follow us to our new house... Hudson wished that it was "Sold" with our old house.  We battled mysterious high numbers that we were trying to control.  All the excitement from moving and a huge change must have done something to him, so for 3 weeks we were in constant contact with our diabetes educator, trying to figure out a safe way to handle these mysterious numbers.  We went from consistently great number days to numbers all over the map!!  Finally, after 3 weeks and doubling his night time insulin and upping his morning insulin, we finally got Hudson under control and back to amazing numbers.. FINALLY.  I was beginning to worry that a few high numbers a day was taking a toll on his poor lil body.  He was moody, he was grumpy, he wasn't sleeping great and waking up at night dizzy and pukey, which after 2 days, also mysteriously went away.. THANK GOD!! And now, this past week, my lil guy is back and enjoying his new home!! All he can keep saying is "I am so happy mommy" and "I love it here!" Yesterday was an amazing day with my kids.. the sun was out and bright and warm.  Perfect day to spend out side in the sprinkler and for a great walk around the golf course on the walking path.  We loaded up the wagon, gave the kids each a sucker.. which works great since it keeps them occupied and IN the wagon, and also helps Hudson's blood sugar and keeps it from dropping if he decides to get out and walk. Which they BOTH did, despite the amazing idea of suckers!  What should have taken 45 minutes tops, turned into an hour and a half adventure.  If you are walking around the path today, you will notice that there are no more white dandelions left.. my kids blew on every single one.. If you notice rocks on the path its because my lil kids were looking for worms for their new "pet" Sal the Salamander which was bravely caught on Sunday in our Sprinkler Box Control Station outside.. The time didn't matter to me.. we could have taken hours to walk that path.. I must admit though, looking across the golf course, waiting for my kids to stop scaring the birds, I was totally thinking of a great short cut that would get us from there and to my back yard that I could plainly see across the golf course.  Would all the golfers notice a bright green wagon with 2 happily loud kids sneaking across the grass?? probably.. :) so we continued our walk all the way around.. waving to every single old man golfer who would stop to just wave at the kids.  I enjoyed every single second of this simple but beautiful moment together.  I laughed hard and cheered them on as they played "Stomp Your Shadow" and watched as they ran hand in hand together up the path.  Such a great morning!!  
Hudson was so sleepy by that afternoon, so we decided to relax on the couch as his lil sister napped away the afternoon.  After an hour of relaxing we went back out to run through the worm sprinkler , and than decided to go out front in the shade to play chalk.  By that time, Tenley was awake and joining us in the quest to cover every inch of our doorstep.  By 5pm, Hudson was so exhausted but still had soccer to go to, which he did great in ( half the time!! the kids are all tired and hungry by the middle of the game.. so cute )  Thats when we noticed that Hudson was getting a bit warm.. and getting hotter.  I ran off to Zumba, thinking Hudson for sure would be in bed by the time I got home, since he was so so tired.  He wasn't.  He was boiling hot but feeling cold.   Wrapped up in blankets on the couch and trying so hard to stay up until I got home ( at 8pm)  we checked his lil finger, and he was running a bit high even after hardly eating any supper or bedtime snack.  we decided no bedtime insulin was in order since he never really ate anything, but still corrected the slightly high number with his other insulin to bring him down safely.  I went to tuck in lil miss Tenley and than went back to Hudsons room to read him some "Spikey" stories, but found him fast asleep.. water cup in hand.  He woke up at 11:30pm, screaming .. so after a potty break, I brought his lil boiling body to our bedroom.. checked his finger.. he was 26.8!  Corrected yet again with another .5 and let him sleep with his daddy ( who had to be gone at 5:30 am) Hudson slept all night!  I am thankful for the response of the Diabetes Online Community who were there to support us that late at night.. even when it was 2am and time to check their lil diabetics in the middle of the night!! ( thanks Ontario Moms!!! ) I was going to follow their advice and give him tylenol for the fever and take his temp.. but he slept and slept!  I am thankful for the people who prayed for our lil guy last night.. Hudson woke up with a great 7.7 and is eating a tiny bit of breakfast.  He is still exhausted but not as hot as he was yesterday.  Even though its supposed to be hot out again today, I think we are going to sit in the shade or relax on the couch.  We are thankful our lil guy made it through the night with out having to go to the ER.. and so thankful that his blood sugar came down from its dangerously high place!
Today will be another "Happy" day another day to celebrate that we made it through another obstacle we had not yet encountered. But can I just say... I hate that every single thing affects my lil guy.  Even a day filled with playing in the sun can have a dangerous effect on his little body hours later :( 

Such a brave Salamander Catcher!

Hi Sal!!!! The kids are in love with the thing.. I refuse to keep him!

So fascinated by him! She watched him and talked to him for a long time.. Trying to touch him too!

Who can resist this smiley happy face!?!

No matter what the bottle says, Crayola Color bubbles DO stain your skin! But were still a fun thing to play with

Saying "Cheese"

I Am The Mother....

I am the mother of a child with Type 1 Diabetes. I don’t know what it’s like to go to sleep at night and know for certain my child with Type 1 Diabetes will wake in the morning. I don’t know what it’s like to sleep the whole night through without waking up to do blood tests on my sleeping child and be ready to treat at whatever number I get. I don’t know what it’s like to prepare a meal without a calculator, food scale and measuring cups. I don’t know what it’s like to drop my child off at school and know that someone will constantly look after her with compassion. I don't know what it's like to let my child go outside without making sure her blood sugars are high enough so nothing will happen to her & to always watch her out the window the whole time. I do know what it’s like to force feed sugar in the middle of the day or night, knowing I am sacrificing my child’s teeth to save her life. I do know what it’s like to draw up insulin and/or fill up an insulin pump at 3 a.m. and praying that I’m not too sleepy to make a fatal error in judgement, technique or calculation. I do Know what it’s like to sit on the couch holding my sobbing child, explaining to him, “No, we CAN’T take a break just this one time!,“ while I dose him with his needle for the high or for a snack. I do know what it’s like to walk away from the pharmacy counter with an armload of supplies and realize that I’ve just gone through another box of 100 blood sugar strips & 2 vials of insulin. I do know what it’s like to help my child march bravely past the cookies, cakes and cotton candy aisle at the grocery store when his blood sugar is too high. I do know what it’s like to look into my child's eyes and tell him, he has a “THUS FAR“ incurable disease and explain to him what that means. And that I will always be here to handle this with him as long as he needs me to. I do know what it’s like to LOVE and CHERISH my child every minute of every day. I am the mother of a child with Type 1 Diabetes ~ Praying so badly for a CURE for Type 1 Diabetes! But for now, Hudson is in God's hands & God's protection daily... Re-posted & Re-edited.

You Know You're The Parent Of A Child With Diabetes When...

You know you're the parent of a child with diabetes when ...

1. You grab the meter after cutting YOURSELF - that big drop of blood's just too perfect to waste!
2. Everyone in the family comes to you to test their kids just to make sure.
3. You test your non-D child whenever she begins drinking too much.
4. You don't care about the nutritional content of the food you're buying, just how many carbs per serving it has!
5. Your child is cranky and you ask "are you high?" and you don't mean drugs!
6. You're proud when your 3 year old can 'aim' to hit the ketone test strip.
7. You can't let your kid take an afternoon nap without first checking for a low.
8. You've forgotten what the phrase "good night's sleep" means.
9. Instead of whispering "sweet nothings" to each other in the middle of the night, you and your spouse are talking about blood sugar numbers.
10. You sneak into your child's room at night just to make sure they are still alive.
11. You are afraid to give them the freedom that you gave your other kids because "something" might happen.
12. You clean the lint trap of your clothes dryer and find a bunch of test strips.
13. "Let me shoot you up" has a whole new meaning for a teenager.
14. You glance at the digital thermostat, which reads 68, and immediately run for glucose tabs.
15. You look at all children's wrists to see if anyone else is wearing a medic alert bracelet.
16. You and spouse play "guess the carb count" and keep score!
17. You get suspicious looks from the cashier at the store when pointing out the "free" gum to your child.
18. You base your entire self-worth on your kid's last A1C!
19. You've ever accidentally used Cake Mate as lip gloss (and it was green!).
20. Your spouse, you and your child place wagers on what the blood sugar test will reveal.
21. There are test strips EVERYWHERE -- in the beds, under the beds.
22. You look into your purse (now a back pack), and there are no longer brushes or makeup. It looks more like the doctors little black bag.
23. You can't look at a plate of food without counting the number of carbs.
24. You get up at 3 a.m. with the baby (non-d) and check her blood sugar before you give her a bottle.
25. You realize just how nuts you look when you dip the ketone/glucose stick in a soda just to make sure that it is diet.
26. It takes you three hours to go grocery shopping, because you are checking every label.
27. Snacks are divided up into Baggies with carb counts written on them in black magic marker.
28. Your husband's beeper goes off and the first thing you check is the insulin pump.
29. You are able to set up the meter and get the lancet into the device half asleep with only one eye open.
30. Your child has gone away for camp, and you start dreaming that you are the one that needs shots and blood checks.
31. Test strips are everywhere! You know your child was somewhere because you found a test strip in the dirt by the garbage can, not to mention under the couch, bed, rug, car seats, etc.
32. In a last ditch effort to get the carbs in, you consider a cupcake to be a food group.
33. Your child doesn't want to wake up early on a Saturday morning it sends you into a tailspin looking for the meter. Previously, you would take this time to enjoy a few cups of coffee and the peace and quiet.
34. Your child falls asleep on a road trip and you wonder whether he's low or just tired.
35. Your non-D toddler comes and tells you her pump has come unclipped to get attention.
36. You're on a first name basis with the nurse at your child's school.
37. Your son's report card from school says that he has learned to manage his diabetes well during the second semester.
38. You can't find a measuring cup.
39. Your child with diabetes eats more candy than the rest of your kids do, and it for his/her own health.
40. Your back hurts from your purse being so heavily loaded with carbs and diabetes supplies.
41. You get at least one good night's sleep in a month because you forgot to set the alarm for 2 am.
42. You hand out glucose tabs to the neighbor kids instead of candy treats.
43. Other parents contact you to find out how you get your kids to drink more water than pop.
44. You encourage your child to eat candy to bring them out of a low and then say, "You want a sandwich?"
45. You have syringes in your purse that fall out when you pull your wallet out and get VERY funny looks. (REALLY a riot when you are showing ID to an officer!)
46. Your child asks if breast milk is sugar free for the baby.
47. People think your child gets bit by chiggars a lot on their arms from testing blood sugars.
48. You tell your child to "check their sugar" and the kid next to them starts pulling candy out of their pockets to show how much they have.
49. The latest styles and designs in kit bags are more exciting than purses.
50. You tell someone your child's blood sugars and say they were high or low and they give you a look like "Oh yeah?" and then you realize you have to explain what the norms are.
51. People don't understand when you get excited about a new diabetic product and can't wait for it to come in more than a new house, car, etc.
52. Halloween consists of weighing the bag of candy to get an estimate of dollar worth in exchange for the treats.
53. Holiday's consist of getting candy that will keep to treat lows.
54. Your non D child says they are low to get candy too.
55. Your non D child says they are low to get out of doing something physical (cleaning a room, etc.).
56. Your child asks, "When am I not going to have diabetes anymore?"
57. The top shelf in the refrigerator door is reserved for bottles of insulin instead of eggs.
58. You have a list posted on your fridge with 20 different phone numbers to call "In Case Of An Emergency."
59. You have the symptoms of hypo and hyperglycemia posted prominently in your home.
60. You know what glucagon is and what it does.
61. You refill prescriptions for strips and insulin just as soon as your insurance will let you, just in case!
62. You supply the neighborhood with sugar free popsicles.
63. You supply the neighborhood with flavored water.
64. You are always handing 1 oz snacks out to your child's friends.
65. Your teenager says "I've been really high today" and she means blood sugar!
66. I'm out with the boy I wear a "fishing" vest. Lots of pockets loaded down with test kit, glucose, glucagon, snacks.
67. Your car is full of food and juiceboxes, and your pocketbook too!
68. You know more doctors than your grandmother.
69. People ask your advice on the best pharmacy in town.
70. You lay awake at night wondering if those three glucose tabs you just gave him are going to rot his teeth.
71. Your year is broken up into endo visits every quarter.
72. You know which tech at the clinic can draw blood for an A1C with very little pain.