Invisible Illness Week...

In case you didn't know (like I didn't), today wraps up Invisible Illness Week. What, you haven't celebrated it yet? Well then let me enlighten you. Before I go any further, let me credit Kerri at Six Until Me for the source of this meme.

30 Things About My Invisible Illness: 2011

1. The illness I live with is: type 1 diabetes
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:  1992
3. But I had symptoms since: Just a few weeks before my diagnosis in May that year
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Carrying a big enough purse to haul all my diabetes related "stuff," like my glucose monitor, extra pump batteries, glucose tablets, snacks, etc. Also, losing my spontaneity in being able to go anywhere without it.
5. Most people assume: that because I'm a PE teacher and coach, I wouldn't have such a disease. Another assumption is that because I wear a pump and a glucose monitor, then I don't have to poke my finger to test my blood sugar, and things sort of self-monitor themselves.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: not being able to eat cereal, which I love! Cereal in the morning skyrockets my blood sugar!
7. My favorite medical TV show is: I Didn't Know I was Pregnant on TLC. It's outrageous; I mean, how in the world can you not know that???!!!
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: Definitely my insulin pump!
9. The hardest part about nights are: It doesn't happen very often since wearing my Dexcom, but waking up in the middle night with the chills, soaked in sweat, is the worst feeling.
10. Each day I take 1 pill & one vitamin D with calcium.  Who knew Hypothyroidism and Type I diabetes went hand in hand? The vitamin is because I am now over 40:) Oh yeah, I infuse insulin 24/7. 
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: have been annoyed over the years with people suggesting various treatments for my diabetes. Excuse me, but if there was a cure by now, I think the rest of us would know about it!
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose:  Neither, but I don't see that option. Guess it would be invisible, then I can make the choice when and to whom I want to share it with.
13. Regarding working and career:  I've been able to talk a lot about diabetes with my students, and love teaching about living a healthy lifestyle.
14. People would be surprised to know: there is no such thing as "being in good control" of your blood sugars. It's a minute to minute thing.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: don't really have a good answer for this one, as I pretty much accepted it from the beginning.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: nothing here either, although in the beginning I did hear people mention "not being able to have babies." I love proving people wrong anyhow.
17. The commercials about my illness: the ones about the "pain free" way to check your blood sugar crack me up. After nineteen years of poking my fingers, they are so calloused that I don't feel a thing!
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: shopping for clothing when I don't have to worry about whether or not I can accessorize it with my pump
19. It was really hard to have to give up: ... smoking (just kidding, never did!)
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: reading food labels;-)
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: go mountain climbing with my husband, without having to worry about my blood sugars dropping
22. My illness has taught me:  that's an easy one...self-discipline
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: asking/telling me that I "can't eat something." Funny how they know me better than I do...
24. But I love it when people: ask me sincere questions about diabetes
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: that they aren't alone, and a life of moderation is key
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: I am actually healthier than almost anyone I know. Know what you can and cannot control. This is key.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: keeping the kids out of my room:)
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I don't usually blog about my diabetes, not because I hide it, but it's just a part of my life that I think would bore people to read about. Some of you reading this may not have even know I had it. I guess that's why I found the reference to it being an "invisible illness"intriguing.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: like you know a little more about me now, and since you have read to the bottom, you must be interested. Questions, ask away...

Sept. 8th, double duty..

My first chance to breathe since starting back to school this week. Open House, volleyball matches, soccer practice, working in the concession stand, etc., etc.  Here are the kids on their first day of school...

Poor Josh had to double his birthday with the first day of school! Unfortunately I had an away game that night, so we didn't get to do much celebrating. We definitely made up for it on the weekend though, as we had a big BBQ with 20+ of his friends.  It really turned out to be a great time, and he has a great group of friends.

You Know You're Getting Older When...

You definitely know you are not a teenager anymore when you get kitchen appliances for your birthday, and you are excited about it. That's right, Kellen is now 20 years old! Where did the time go? Along with tickets to yet another year of Bumbershoot, he was ecstatic to receive a Magic Bullet and an electric hot water pot (you know, to heat up water for the ramen noodles!) as gifts.

But the best gift was obviously the nerf gun the girls picked out for him. However, they didn't like it quite as much when he used them for targets:(   While we were in line waiting to buy the gift, I was telling Kaia that Kellen was going to be 20. She asked if that meant he was going to get married soon, to which I responded "A long time from now if we are buying him toys like this still!"

He also asked to play his favorite game, Munchkin Zombies, to which we conceded (and we "let" him win)...

Jaelyn played the roll of photographer, and took pictures of everything around the house. Thank goodness for digital cameras! She did get a good shot though of the pork chops that Kellen requested, and Mike barbecued!

 What better way to top it off with than a blizzard cake from DQ!

Does this look like an adult to you???

I think not, but you gotta love him!

The Girls' Turn...

So this week it was the girls turn to go hiking with Mike. The goal, to conquer Sauk Mountain, which not only they accomplished, but our dog Romeo did too! Kaia started to drag about 1.5 miles into the hike, but was re-energized once they hit snow. 

They peaked at over 5,500 ft., and enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers and scenery along the 4.2 mile trail. The only downside was that they were not the only ones who ventured out that day, as the trail was quite busy. 

Mike has been talking one more hike before the end of the summer, which unfortunately is coming all too quickly.

Next Adventure....

So it didn't take long for the boys to be off on their next adventure. This one was steeper, higher, and longer, and according to Mike, "Not as much fun, because we couldn't slide down it!" There was very little snow, so they had to climb down, as well as up, which in all, took eleven hours.

They did have more company though, as Kellen joined them this trip for most of the trip. Here they are energized and ready to go at the beginning of the hike.

Seems he discovered he was a little out of shape with about a mile to go, so he rested his legs while Mike and Josh finished the trip. Unfortunately there was little shade where they left him, so he got a bit of extra sun, despite having copious amounts of sunscreen on already. That's the downside of being 6200' high!

That red dot Josh is pointing at is Kellen!

Looking down at Kellen (click on photo to be able to see red dot)!

From the top of Mt. Pugh they had a 360 degree view of many peaks in the beautiful Cascades. To the south was Mt. Rainier...

 Looking north at Mt. Baker...

And of course, for me, their "living dangerous" photos...

There's talk of one more trip before the end of the summer. Kellen is determined to peak with Mike this time. I look forward to sharing more of their incredible photos.

Sunriver...

So as I mentioned in my last post, we made a mad dash last week for Sunriver after Josh headed off to church camp. Mike's mom was attending the Sunriver Music Festival for her 25th straight year, and as always, invites family to stop in and join her for a few days at the condo she rents.  Since Josh was gone, and Kellen was working, most of our activities while there focused around our girls. And speaking of girls, Mike was feeling a bit in the minority, since two of our nieces and their cousin were also there at the same time. Sunriver has an ample amount of bike paths, so the girls were really able to hone their skills. Swimming, horseback riding, and a magic show were also on the agenda. Mame purchased the girls these cowgirl hats while they were still giddy, following their ride!

On our way home we made our seemingly annual stop for food at the Whitehursts house, long-time friends from our humble beginnings as Navy friends! As always, we enjoyed great company, and wonderful food! It was a first for us, BBQ pizza. Everyone made their individual pizza, and Donald oh so carefully grilled each one to perfection.  Poor guy had to wait to be the last one to eat.

Preparing the dough to rise

You would think she meant to roll the dough into a heart

 Anticipation...

 Adding the sauce and toppings before another grilling to melt the cheese

 

Two proud pizza makers!

Deeeelicious!

World's Best Parents...

Or so, at least that's how our daughters referred to us after we surprised them with a horseback riding trail ride while we were in Sunriver last week. They did not know where they were going, so I captured their reaction as we pulled up to the stables...

Now that we are back home, I'm not so sure our status is quite so high as "World's Best" all the time, but we do our best:-) More on our trip in a later post...