But Wait It Gets Better

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

My speed demons!

A Novel In the Making Or Just a Clumsy Fat Girl??

2009-05-06T10:14:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking I should start writing a novel. It would be a novel along the lines of Bridget Jones Diary or any of the Jen Lancaster books. I just think that I should somehow profit off of the idiocy of my life. Take this past weekend for example.

I had been hearing about the Zumba workout craze for a while now. For those that haven't heard of it Zumba "fuses hypnotic latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a fun aerobic workout". Easy to follow for some, but not me... more on that in a bit. Some of the girls at my gym have been raving about it. I am not usually one to take classes. Too many nightmarish memories of step classes with girls in their thong unitards. Whenever I have taken any aerobics class it seems that while everyone else is kicking up to the left I'm still over to the right doing G-d knows what, all the while trying not to have a heart attack. I explained this to one of the Zumba girls but she assured me that it was nothing like that. So one of my good friends and I took the class together on Friday afternoon. I expected to sweat a lot and feel like dying, so no surprise there. However, the Latin American instructor was like an over-crazed Chihuahua. Her feet were doing things that mine will just never do. So I just kicked my feet around in the hopes that I would somehow look like I knew what I was doing. Meanwhile, the Latin culture tends to have a certain sexual vibe which I'm sure Zumba is supposed to convey. However, this chubster felt about as sexy as these lovely ladies:

So on Saturday I woke up a little sore but feeling good. AJ's soccer game is canceled due to the rain so I figure it's a good opportunity to try a Pilates class. I have done Pilates about 3-4 times before. The last time I had done it I ended up getting extremely ill the next day, which included a 103 degree fever. But I chalked it up to coincidence.

This time around I manage to survive through the class and was actually feeling pretty good about things. The instructor knew I was a beginner and after the class she said I did really well. My stomach muscles were sore in a good way. Yeah, a class I can do! Fast forward about 2 hours. I was barely able to sit because my spine and tailbone were so sore. They felt like they should have been covered in black and blues. Then my back started to really bother me. My shirt rubbing against me was hurting. I finally lifted my shirt up and looked at my back in the mirror. That's when I noticed that part of it was missing. Literally missing. I have a huge circle of missing skin. I have a red gaping hole in my back. Fabulous.

Maybe fat chicks are just destined to stay fat!

On the Hamster Wheel Again

2009-04-01T16:02:00.004-04:00

We are fortunate that on most days Diabetes is just an inconvenience. To be frank it's a huge pain in the rear. There is the endless poking of the fingers to do blood sugar checks, site changes, etc. However, for the most part we go on with our lives. That's not to say that it isn't a constant cause for worry or stress. But we deal.

Than there are days or weeks that Diabetes suddenly rears its ugly head and causes us trouble. This week was one of them. It first started with our interest in a CGMS (continuous glucose monitoring system). This device would check AJ's blood sugar (kind of... I won't bore you with the actual medical mumbo jumbo) every 5 minutes to show us if he is heading up or down. We would still have to perform regular finger checks to confirm what we see and to calibrate the machine. Why bother then? Well because it can show you things that you might not otherwise see. When we check AJ now we only know the # we get; is he high, low or okay? What we don't know is where he is heading. The CGMS can be a very effective tool. The reason we haven't done it before now is that it requires a separate site to be worn. Here's what the CGMS and pump combo looks like:

There was talk that they would somehow integrate it with his pump site but that doesn't appear to be happening. He has been dealing a lot better with his pump site changes but certainly doesn't love them. So do we really want to subject him to that?

Of course, another concern is the cost. This is where I turn into the hamster running on the wheel. I called the company that we would order the device from to see if they knew how much it would cost and if our insurance would cover it. Not so simple. In order to find this out I have to call the doctor's office so they can fax a letter of medical necessity over to the insurance company. Now right there I have to laugh. The doctor basically needs to stretch the truth and state that AJ is "uncontrolled" and that he needs the device. I suppose this "uncontrolled" diabetes will be the reasoning why he will never be able to get life insurance. But I digress. I had the endo's office fax over the ppw. Then the insurance company will get in touch with the company. And the company will get in touch with me. Weeks of spinning on a wheel just to find out how much the thing will cost us! Because we're still not sure we are going to get it!

To top things off both kiddos have had a cold. AJ's must be getting worse. All night his numbers were very high. This morning I checked him and it was way too high. Even worse he had ketones. So we haven't left the house. He's been a tinkle machine all day because of all the liquid I'm pumping into him. And we are all a little more than cranky. Although, I guess if we were going to hibernate a rainy day is the perfect day to do it:)

He Makes Me Laugh... When He's Not Making Me Crazy!

2009-03-26T13:42:00.003-04:00

Some funny AJ comments:

"Mommy, sometimes when we go down to the basement at school they say XYZ." I couldn't understand what he was saying but it sounded like broken toe.

"No. Not broken toe. But I think they are talking about a toe."

After a solid 5 minutes of trying to help him figure it out I realized that they must be saying Boker Tov. It's Hebrew for good morning. Apparently, he missed that translation about 2 years ago when he probably first heard it!

AJ: Mommy can we go to China?

Me: No. (thinking how nice it would be to go and digging the fact that he wants to experience another culture)

AJ: Why not?

Me: Because it is very expensive. Plus, it takes a long time to get there. Also, I don't think they just let anyone come visit.

AJ: But I really want to go.

Me: Why? (as the light bulb is starting to finally turn on)

AJ: I want to see the factory where they make all my Star Wars figures.

So much for culture.

I had to bite my tongue about possibly seeing kids his own age working in those factories:(

I can only do so much but I did point out some of China's other notable attributes, like the Great Wall, panda bears, etc.

I have a diva on my hands

2009-03-26T13:29:00.003-04:00

Funky is already such a little girl and likes to play dress up all the time. She is constantly putting my shoes on and stealing my jewelry. After these pics were taken Daddy took her to the $1 store to get her own necklace, which she refuses to leave the house without. He's a bit worried about her future birthday requests. Diamonds are a girl's best friend! Hint, hint... mommies like them too:)

She loves this hat that is way too small on her.

Posing for the camera. Okay, not really. She just wanted to get into the bathroom.

She normally just puts on my everyday, i.e. flat shoes. However, we had gone out the night before and she found the heels. Evan was shocked and a bit concerned at how well she could actually walk in them!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-11T16:30:00.003-04:00

On Monday night we went to a Purim pizza party at our synagogue.

AJ was dressed in a Batman bathrobe (sort of like a King) and I had a mask for him to wear but he was having none of that. So it was perfect when he got his face painted like Batman.

Our own Queen Esther.

Clearly Funky was having a great time!

Mommy Time

2009-03-10T07:15:00.004-04:00

Recently I was lucky enough to attend a wonderful Moms Night In at the house of Classy Mommy. She always throws a great party. I was able to connect with some bloggy friends while also getting pampered. Thanks to Beth from Role Mommy I had my nails and make up done courtesy of Calista Grand Salon and Spa. Then I was able to check out the products by Slendertone. The Revive system felt like heaven. I was really able to feel my muscles relaxing. One of the ladies demonstrated the Slendertone System Abs. As she lifted her shirt to put on the ab belt I couldn't help but thinking that I didn't need to hear any more. The fact that she could lift her shirt up in front of a room full of women was an advertisement in itself! After having my second child my stomach is a huge problem area so I was so excited to receive the ab system, as well as the Revive system. Look at the video below for some highlights of this great night.

Role Mommy Presents Mom's Night In...Philadelphia! from Beth Feldman on Vimeo

Also, check out this funny video from Slendertone:

One step at a time

2009-03-09T15:52:00.003-04:00

One of the reasons I voted for the President was his stance on stem cell research. I'm glad he followed through. This is a great day for the Diabetes community. One day we will have a cure.

JDRF Praises President for Executive Order Lifting Restrictions on Stem Cell Research

Bloggy Catch Up

2009-03-04T20:31:00.013-05:00

Well there seems to be a serious and contagious virus going around. It's called Facebook addiction. Unfortunately, my blog has suffered the consequence. I know I'm not the only one because it's been pretty quiet at a lot of my regular reads. Anyway, I thought I would catch you up on all our happenings.

So a couple of weeks ago Funky was in our bed watching some Disney while I was putting on my make up. Evan went in to get AJ up and then I hear the uh, oh. Well apparently there was an accident and I went into his room to help strip the sheets off, etc. When I came back to the bedroom I realized that I left my eyeliner within Funky's reach. She must have mistaken it for lipstick.
To make matters worse she was holding her hand up when I walked in the door. All I could think about was the hilarious movie Rat Race, in particular this scene. (If you don't have the time just fast forward to the end)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of weekends ago I had multiple errands to run. For some reason the rest of the family didn't feel like joining me. So Evan took the kids to a children's museum. I was bummed to miss it but they had a great time!

Of course, I realized afterwards that putting her in a headband while under Daddy's care probably wasn't the best idea. Olivia Newton John anyone?

Aiden had fun painting his face.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snow Day! We went out for a little while. It was so cold and windy that we couldn't stay out too long. I looked over at Funky and her cheeks were red and splotchy. AJ's were pretty much the same. They had a great time while it lasted.

This was the best pic I could get of the two of them.

AJ had a great time. I felt bad that we couldn't stay out longer. He really wanted to have a major snowball fight.

These were her first steps in the snow. There were only 2 other times this winter that we had snow. We had an appointment for the one and she was sick for the other. She loved it!

A Little Summer Goes a Long Way

2009-02-06T13:14:00.003-05:00

On one of the coldest days of the year my daughter got to go swimming. Her awesome toddler class teacher had us bring swimsuits for the little ones. She cranked up the heat and set up the baby pool. Funky had a super time as is clear from these pictures.

Happy Birthday To My Baby Boy!

2009-02-03T15:16:00.003-05:00

Here's AJ a few hours after he was born. We had just arrived home. This outfit was also worn by myself and my brother.

And here he is now at 5. This was taken at his Chuck E Cheese party.

AJ has brought so much happiness into our lives. Oh how time is flying by. I'm so grateful for every second I get to spend with him, even when he is making me want to pull my hair out:) He certainly does make me laugh. For example, he had been a bit confused by this whole birthday thing. We celebrated twice over the weekend and he kept saying that he was 5. We explained that although we were celebrating he wasn't actually 5 until today. So this morning he woke up and we sang happy birthday. Then he said, "I think I'm still 4". "Why is that?" we asked. "Because I still look the same and I'm not any taller". So later today I will show him his 4th birthday pictures to prove that he has indeed grown, just not overnight.

I think this is a great shot and AJ is the one who took it!

A Chocolate Revelation

2009-02-02T11:24:00.003-05:00

So this weekend we had some early birthday celebrations going on for AJ. I will be posting some pics and more info later. On Saturday night we were having family over and I was baking him a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, per his request. As he was helping me make it I almost started crying because I started to think back to when he was first diagnosed. As I'm sure is the case with any parent who receives surprising or difficult news about their child, I went through a type of mourning period. I started to think about all of the things that AJ might miss out on. For whatever reason one of the things I was upset about was baking. I have many childhood memories of making my birthday cake with my Mom. She would always let me lick the batter from the mixers or the bowl. I never thought AJ and I would be able to share that experience together. However, now that he is on an insulin pump we do have greater flexibility. Plus, the truth of the matter is that we have learned not to be so worried and rigid with his eating anymore. Did I know exactly what the carbs would be for a lick of the spoon? No. Was it possible that his blood sugar would spike afterwards? Yes. Yet I still let him do it. Overall, his numbers are great and I felt that it was an important part of my childhood that I wanted to share with him. I'm so glad I did because we had a lot of fun. It also made me reflect on all the positives that have come out of his diagnosis. The biggest plus is that we have been able to see how supportive our friends and family are.

On an unrelated side note about chocolate Funky Chicken managed to get into a leftover goody bag. She didn't eat any paper but managed to somehow suck the chocolate out of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. She was covered in chocolate and quite delighted with herself.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-21T12:58:00.002-05:00

AJ got to have some fun with Daddy in the snow. Here he is trying to use the snow brush as a baseball bat.

Yup, that's my boy!

2009-01-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

So let me start by clearing up a common diabetic myth. Many times people will ask me in regards to AJ, "Oh, can he eat that?". Other moms have even gone out of the way to call before a child's birthday party to see if they can have another option available for him besides the cake. Now don't get me wrong I truly appreciate the sentiment and I know that everyone is just being kind. Usually our husband and I just give each other a look and smile. We laugh about it for two reasons. The first is that while eating a ton of junk is not ideal, AJ can have anything as long as we give him the appropriate amount of insulin. Of course we try not to have him eat candy all day long, but that is the same as any other parent. The second reason we laugh is that AJ has quite the sweet tooth. I try to really limit the candy but my husband has differing views on the matter. I think part of it is wanting him to be "normal". Plus, from what I gather he grew up with lots of sweets around (not that I didn't). Whatever the case may be AJ definitely has his share of sweets. We recently went to a b-day party with a pinata. So tonight he picked a Butterfinger from the bag of goodies. It was his first Butterfinger experience. Well to say he liked it was an understatement. He took it upstairs while I was finishing up the dishes. Next thing I heard was "Oh my G-d". My husband said I needed to see the look on his face as he savored every bite. And I thought only women could get the big O from chocolate:)
Oh and by the way one more diabetic lesson for the day. Sugar free is not the same as carbohydrate free. We don't count sugar we count carbs. Believe it or not sometimes items that are sugar free will have more carbs than their regular counterpart. Plus, they can often be harsh on the tummy.

Hail to the Chief

2009-01-20T23:25:00.002-05:00

Yes, that has been stuck in my head all day. So I typically have a rule about not discussing politics or religion. However, I felt I just couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging this historic occasion. I did indeed support Obama from the start, but today was about so much more than that. I won't bore you with any lengthy explanation. I'm sure you heard enough from the commentators today. I just hope that the positive feelings of today still remain tomorrow. We have so much work to do in this country and beyond. When I think about the state of the world today I almost can't comprehend it. But I do know that there are things even on a small scale that we all can do to help. My pledge to myself and my family is that I will try to do more for them and for others.

Whoa... Did I just see that?

2009-01-12T17:36:00.006-05:00

So a couple of weeks ago I was catching up on some Tivo and I decided to watch Private Practice. I got cozy under the blanket and was expecting nothing that would raise my blood pressure other than the usual ogling of Tim Daly or Taye Diggs. It was a short while later that I realized a main part of the story line dealt with a Type 1 Diabetic little boy. His father had kidnapped him in order to protect him from his abusive stepfather. It was discovered he was kidnapped because they tracked down the serial # on his insulin pump. I was so shocked to actually see an insulin pump on TV!! Granted the thing looked ancient and there were definitely some medical inconsistencies. However, I think overall they did a good job.

Speaking of Diabetes if you have 30 seconds to spare please sign this petition.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-07T11:30:00.003-05:00

Funky having fun on her Pony.

Holiday Memories

2009-01-06T11:30:00.004-05:00

So the winter break is over and I am struggling to get back on schedule. I have a lot of catching up to do. Therefore I won't be doing a detailed blog here but thought I would post a few pictures. Of course, I hated my old camera and insisted on getting a new one when Funky was born. Unfortunately, I'm not having any more luck with this one. I can never figure out which setting to use and all the pics come out blurry. So frustrating.

AJ opening up his Wow Wee Alive Lion.

To say that Funky loves her Elmo Live is an understatement.

Although AJ claims not to like Elmo they have been sharing these toys quite a bit.

At the end of a long night... they really wanted to stay up to play with all their gifts from family.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season.

Hanukkah Hooplah

2008-12-18T15:41:00.003-05:00

Since Funky has no school next week they had an early Hanukkah celebration in her toddler class this morning. She had lots of fun. She especially liked snack time!

Like the good little Jewish girl that she is Funky's favorites were the Sufganiot (jelly donuts) and the latkes (potato pancakes).

Containment

2008-12-18T15:00:00.005-05:00

Last night I attended a wonderful holiday party for the Philly Mom Bloggers. Colleen from Classy Mommy hosted the event and Graco sponsored it. There was plenty of yummy food to go around and lots of great conversation. It's always nice to meet other bloggers in person. Graco was generous enough to provide some wonderful giveaways. Everyone took home a box of Rubbermaid containers. They have lids that snap to the bottom. The box also had two of their new produce saving containers. I have been dying to try these out. They are loaded up in the dishwasher now! Graco also had four great prizes for a little game we played. There were two different strollers, a video monitor that my friend Amy won and I won a play yard. It's pretty funny because I was talking with my Mom about Funky being out of control, basically getting into everything. She told me that when we were kids all the moms used play yards. I didn't think they sold them anymore. But here she is...

Granted it only last for about 30 minutes at the most. But I was able to do some laundry.

Not so Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T10:38:00.007-05:00

Since I never posted about Halloween here's a great picture that Shannon at NikiCham Origninals took.

Okay so for the 3 people that might actually read this little blog I apologize for my absence. It has been a bit crazy over here. Mostly we've been busy with lots of boogie noses that won't go away. I'm all for saving the environment but if the ozone layer were to form a large hole right over PA, say raising the temperature about 20 degrees, I'd be okay with it:)

I kept thinking that if I could just sit down and get to it that I would be able to post about everything that we have been up to for the past 3 months or so. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. I will do a little catch up.

Here's a little video from our vacation to Florida. We had such a fun, relaxing time. It already seems like it was forever ago.

Make a Smilebox postcard

Shortly after we came back I went on a short trip with my great friend Shannon. We went to Vegas, baby! It was tons of fun. I really enjoyed the chance to just be Jennifer for a few days and not Mommy. When we got back I felt recharged and in love with my kids again. To be honest that might have only lasted until the next temper tantrum:)

We got great seats to see the Cirque show Love based on the Beatles music.

Dinner at Chef Todd English's Olives restaurant. It was on the patio of the Bellagio with the water show right in front of us.

The Mind of A 4 Year Old

2008-11-16T19:04:00.002-05:00

AJ: Daddy, what game are you watching?

Evan: The Steelers vs The Chargers.

AJ: Why are they called the Steelers?Do they steal things? Oh, I know they must steal the ball a lot.

Evan then gives an explanation of what steel is, etc.

AJ: Okay. What about the Chargers? Do they buy things a lot without using money?

Clearly this Mommy doesn't use cash too often.

And Away We Go

2008-11-01T04:26:00.002-04:00

So this has been a crazy week. Unfortunately, I don't have any time to blog about it. We are leaving in a couple of hours for vacation. We're headed down to Florida (not Disney) for some sunshine and relaxation. I'm really looking forward to it even though I'm dreading bringing my squirmy 15 month old on a plane. Now more than ever I'm upset that they took the infant cough medicine off the shelves... just kidding:)
Anyway, I am bringing my laptop but I don't think I will have Internet access so it will be lights out over here for a while. Have a great week everyone. I'm sure it will be an exciting one with the election! A major perk for this vacation is that I don't have to stand in any long voting lines. We already cast our ballot through absentee voting. Rock the Vote!!

What to Wear???

2008-10-27T17:19:00.003-04:00

Oh how I wish I was a celebrity with my own personal stylist. Of course, if I were a celebrity I guess I wouldn't be sitting in the audience of the Martha Stewart show; I'd be getting interviewed. However, since I'm just a "29" year old mommy I am more than happy to be going to NYC tomorrow to see Martha. I haven't been to the city in years so that alone is exciting. Plus, I'll be with a bunch of my fellow mommy friends. Supposedly LL Cool J is going to be the guest, but I'll believe that when I see him in all his glory (and biceps).
I was hoping to look super stylish but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Unfortunately the weather is looking very bleak... cold and rain. I think I'll have to compromise so that I am comfortable but presentable.

What's in a Word?

2008-10-23T08:00:00.004-04:00

Well it appears that 'tis the season. For overspending. For standing in lines and fighting each other for whatever the latest fad toy may be. For getting horribly annoying songs stuck in your head. Okay, okay maybe it's not so bad. Go ahead call me Scrooge but I just don't like this time of year. Let me explain, as you gasp, that I'm Jewish so we don't do Christmas. If I haven't scared you off then keep reading. I typically don't discuss politics or religion but this has been on my mind lately. Plus, it's not like I'm about to talk abortion here. Let me state that I don't mind anyone celebrating their holiday. I also hope to encourage my children to experience other cultures and religions as much as possible. However, it feels as though X-mas is often forced upon us. What really has been bothering me though is the hypocritical political correctness that happens now. The catalyst for this post is the "holiday" party that our playgroup is having. The playgroup has ornament making events scheduled. All the kids are to make an ornament and then they will hang them on the tree at the party. I'm having conflicted feelings about whether or not I want my kids to participate. I did take AJ to an Easter Egg Hunt in the past. Yet it feels different to me. A fake bunny is one thing. But Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. And it just doesn't sit right with me. On the other hand we have had a Hanukkah play group in the past. The kids made dreidels or menorahs. I appreciated the group's willingness to learn about our holiday. So perhaps I should do the same. I'm just really not sure. If I don't have them do the ornaments I know AJ may feel left out or ask why he didn't get to make one. I recognize that is my issue. We moved to Chester County knowing full well that we would be a minority. It is just a fact of life. I suppose that the problem I have is with pretending to call it a "holiday" party. Let's just be honest about it and call it what it is... a Christmas party. That my family and I will be happy to attend, ornaments in hand or not.

I'm adding a footnote here to tell you that I also find Hanukkah these days to be hypocritical. The advertising powers at be have made it out to be a big event and compare it to X-mas. The truth is that while it is a great story (if you want to read about it click here) Hanukkah is not a major holiday. I don't know what happens in other families but I can tell you that you shouldn't be too jealous of the eight nights of gifts. Growing up we got socks for at least one of the nights:)