Our latest Adventures....

Logan and Jer on the Christmas Carousel at Seattle Center!

Happy New Year to all Pancreas Watchers!!!

Would you like a few photos from our last month of adventures? SURE you would!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions (started by Jer, Max and myself) is to take a hike either on Christmas day, or the day after. *Somehow* this got put by the wayside when our twins were born, but we dusted it off this year, and it was a blast! One of the great things about Logan and Gray is that they are always up for an adventure... but first, a few shots from Christmas eve and morning:

I think Logan and Gray paid Niah to watch out for Santa all night (since their vigil only lasted 12 minutes..) here she is, looking for Rudolph!

After the boys went to sleep... Santa came and put presents under the tree! (sorry for the blur!)

Logan with his first stack of presents to open!

Gray snuggling with his new poodle! Max got up early to watch the boys open gifts.. but somewhere in the chaos, he fell happily back to sleep.. aww..

So the next day, armed with the christmas gifts of new jammies, chocolate vodka, and walkie talkies- we head to our favorite local getaway- Whidbey Island, on our "secret beach". It's secret because you almost NEVER see another person on this beach, and you have to do a little hike down to it. Plus, I'm not sure if we are supposed to be on it. Hee.

Niah comes too- she loves the beach!

Logan and Gray have a favorite thing to do here, which is called "making a lion cave in the cliffs"
Logan has the camo coat, Gray has the brown coat with fur trim. Both are wearing their extra snuggly Christmas Jammies.. yes, on the beach.

I told Logan that his eyes matched his coat perfectly.. so he gave me a better look-Gray enjoys a cup of hot chocolate that we brought in a thermos..


Daddy has some, too- but with a splash of chocolate vodka in it.. yum! Thank you Uncle Jeff!

Niah takes a few moments to make sure "her" kids are safe on the cliffs..

Then it's hours of the happiest dog we've ever seen.. I don't think her feet touched the ground very often!
Tantalized by the taste of a good beach, the next weekend we decide to go on a bigger adventure- to the Olympic Peninsula! We found a super deal at a brand new hotel right on the beach in La Push.. our deck opened up right onto the ocean!
We tossed our bags in the room and headed straight out onto the beach for some family time. It was dusk, and we were all SO happy to be there! We climbed, ran, splashed, and collected rocks until it got dark.
Mommy and Logan posing on a great climbing tree/driftwood sculpture..

Back in the room, we made dinner (it had a kitchenette) and got cozy. Lego time in the boys room!

I had to get one last shot off the deck of the neat sea-stacks on the beach. The sound of the sea was wonderful.

The next morning, we packed up lunches and headed into the Hoh Rain Forest! Logan and Gray were dwarfed by this huge Sitka Spruce! I think it was 400 years old. WOW.

Then we took a hike on a trail called "The Hall of Mosses".

There were several trees that the kids could have lived in! Hobbit homes, we call them.

A very impressive nurse log...

Can you see the three bald eagles in this tree? (Below)

Then we headed out of the rain forest, and back to the coast. We decided to try a beach called "Ruby Beach" which I had heard about in my 'hiking with kids' book.
This was the view as we walked down through the trees to the beach.

It was one of those moments that takes your breath away.

We needed the getaway so badly, and we were having amazing luck with the weather. It rained while we drove, and as soon as we arrived at each of our destinations, it stopped! Even though we were awestruck by the rainforest.. Ruby Beach took the cake. We kept hugging each other and smiling, as if it was put there JUST for us. Up to now, we have been to a lot of amazing beaches.. but at this time, Ruby beach wins the top spot. It has creeks, rocks, rivers, tidepools, sea stacks, wide sandy beaches, soft sand, smooth rocks, and even CAVES! It doesn't get any better than this, with two 6 year old boys and nature loving parents! More pics from the beach below:

Jer on top of a sea stack..

the sea stars and anemones had gorgeous colors..

Spelunking with Daddy "Don't make that face at me!"

Back at the hotel, we had a great evening, we put on "shows" for each other, Logan and Gray vs. Daddy and Mommy. The boys sang "Bust the Windows out your car" and then Jer and I belted out "Don't stop believin'" by Journey! It was so fun to be jumping around, and laughing-

After we put the boys to bed, we stayed up late and had some long conversations about how to survive, and thrive, with a child who has Type 1 diabetes. We talked a lot about the fact that we don't have "control" of what happens in life, and how that is different from what we expected.

It was a wonderful getaway, and inspired us to bring the boys back in warmer weather and do some hikes along the coast.. watch out Olympic Peninsula.. here we come!

Gray and Niah had a wonderful reunion (we left her home) Look how adorable!

Happy February to all!

Happy Birth-giving!!

I hope every one of you had a great day, whether with a gaggle of family, or a quiet break from work, it is a good day for giving thanks... and for giving birth, as evidenced by my cousin, Cammie!

Cammie gave birth on Thanksgiving Day, at 12:59pm, just as her Mom, my Aunt Grethcen predicted: "Right when the automatic timer in the turkey pops up, she will give birth."

I was lucky enough to be a part of the labor and delivery, and it was one of those "life moments" that I will never forget.

However, as all of you know- even though I can really get going on my "woman-power, sacred birth, divine womb" type of tangents.. I also cannot help but seek out the silly parts of life.. which led to me recording some of Cammie's awesome one liners during her labor, which I just had to type into my google phone, lest I forget...

Here are some gems of the evening:

"They're not real...'punctual' around here, are they?" -referring to Doctors and nurses saying they would be back at certain times.. hee hee

which soon led to

"Why do people keep coming in and out of here? I am NOT here for ANYONE'S enter-TAINMENT." - referring to the nurses, aides, and dr's who would show up randomly.

which let to my crowning favorite.. when she realized she'd be delivering on Thanksgiving day..

"I am seriously going to kick some turkeys in the FACE... if I see 'em." -after a particularly intense contraction, and over 24 hours of labor.

In all fairness, once she got her epidural, we had a blast and she progressed to 10cm within just a few hours. She pushed like a primal goddess.. and voila..

MILES TAYLOR FULLENWIDER MEYER!

Born at 12:59pm, Thanksgiving Day, weighing in at 6 pounds, 15oz, and measuring 21 inches long!

Some of you may know Cammie, some not, but she and I are cousins, and have a special bond.

Cammies dad, Bob-and my mom were brother and sister, AND Bob and my dad were best friends... so when they all had kids, we cousins were very close growing up. Jeff and I were a few years older than Cammie and Matt (7 I think) and so we were charged with the role of "older cousins" and loved every minute of it.

We spent every holiday, and darn near every weekend with them, for many years, and Cammie and I both had a special gift for being giddily devious, and we adored each other.

When my Uncle Bob was unexpectedly killed (by a drunk driver) Cammie was just 6 years old, (the age that my twins are now). At that point, our bond became one of survival. We were too young to know how to deal with the grief and shock and pain that were handed to us, we who were the "queens of silliness of mischief" in our family. When you hurt deeply, with someone, the bonds are almost unbreakable.

In our twenties, Cammie and I diverged onto seperate paths. We stayed loosely connected, but rode out the waves of our lives in different states, and in different styles. In our 30's we came back together as a family, and our bond was uncovered, and tested out, and renewed.

Being able to be a part of this birth was one of the absolute highlights of my life. Not only my connection to Cammie, but my new connection with Miles, her son- was just overwhelming for me. So many times as a young girl and teen, I swore softly to myself to always be there for her, to try and protect her, if I could. I wanted to stop this world from hurting my cousin. As many of you know, who have tried to be that for someone, life doesn't work that way.. you can't stop people from learning their own lessons, in thier own way. You can't dampen the gift of life by taking away the pain and growing opportunities that are thrown at us each year. I many times felt that I had let Cammie down, that I wasn't big enough of a "big cousin" to protect her. I never went to enough of her softball or volleyball games. I made choices that kept me from being part of many family gatherings while she was still young, and needed me.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to "be there" for her, in every way, and offer her everything I had to support her to have the best birth experience she could. I am deeply grateful to Todd, her partner, and Gretchen, her mother, for being gracious enough to allow me to take on a role that they had much more right to be in than I did. Not many moms and boyfriends are able to do that kindly and lovingly, and they both did. THANK YOU!

HAPPY BIRHTDAY MILES!!!

CONGRATULATIONS CAMMIE AND TODD!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, my wonderful friends- and my family!

-Jen

This is how we do it, baby.

YAY! Logan has rallied, and did not throw up any more today (hooray!!) and also managed to keep his blood sugars up, and even ate some chicken at dinnertime.

We gave him go-gurts duirng the day to bring on the carbs, but mix them with protien so that they stay in his system longer.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and thoughts!

As a side note, I was cleaning their room tonight, and it hit me how big they are.. as I looked at some of their toys, I realized they are waaay past them. It happens so fast!

I had a relaxing time sorting the toys, and just being in their room, setting up little things for them to discover: a cluster of dragons surrounding a wizard toy, a bin of math activities, a collection of new leap pad stories, etc. Even though part of being a mom for ME will always be about Type 1 diabetes, being a mom is the role I cherish.

Today I just was pissed at this disease. How scary for a little kid to pass out! How dangerous for him! How terrifying for us! arrrhggghhg. It just makes me so mad, because life has enough worries, raising kids in this day and age.

Stupid, dumb, Diabetes.

That's right. I said it.

I think that Global Diabetes walk is coming up, I need to sign up for it, or organize a walk with the kids and neigbors or something.

I will end this post with a pictorial of our recent pumpkin farm visit with the lovely Sherri Monteith and her silly offspring- Irislyn and Sheadyn. It was a perfect fall day, and it's a ritual we like to do with Sherri every year.
This is Mr. Gray Jonathan Liteky, just as cute as he can be:

Some of the many pumpkins that drove my Libra "perfection" quest into overdrive.

Here are the children that make it all worth it: (L-R) Logan, Irislyn (Linny), Logan, and Sheadyn. Sheadyn appears to be having a grand mal seizure, but he is just happy.This is a pic of the cornfields, with a flock of blackbirds in the sky above. Plus some pretty perfect clouds. Every time the birds would fly overhead in thier big flock, Jer and Sherri would announce "The birds! The birds! Did you see that? Look at 'em! Where are they going?" etc etc. I thought if I took a picture they would stop. No. But here is the picture!

Jeremy does Daddy Duty on the pulling of two wagons full of pumpkins....Irislyn decides she can do it herself. :) Atta girl!

Logan loves everything about these "face cut out" thingies.. plus he is trying sooo hard to say cheese!

Here was our final haul! Logan's is the biggest, and Gray's is the tall skinny one on the bench. We chose one for Max, and then I got some fun fancy ones that I SWEAR I am going to do something extra cute with!

Hugs to you all, and to all a good night!

Sick Sucks in a dangerous way............

Logan and Gray were sick all last week, with fevers and various aches, sore throats and the like. One day after returning to school (Friday) Logan is sick again!
He was feeling poorly all morning, and when I sat near him to offer him some Motrin, he projectile vomited alllll over the floor. YUK!
On top of this, we were already treating a low blood sugar, by giving him juice. So I was wiping up his stomach's rejections of the morning, and panic starts to creep in. I like to involve as many people as possible in my panic, so I call Jer up the stairs.
We decide to let him rest for 15 minutes, then give him 2 oz of Gatorade.
The 15 minutes goes by, and the Gatorade stays down, so I check his blood sugar, it is at 65, which is down from the 89 it was just moments before, and far away from the goal of 150.
I give him more gatorade, and wait 15 more minutes.
Next BG (blood glucose) check reads 45, and I can't wake him up....

This prompted our first real "frosting" moment, where we had to rub cake frosting on his gums, because he was too woozy to eat. I don't like this, I don't like this.. I keep saying in my head. Logan's skin is the color of a kleenex, and his lips are an unhealthy blue from the blue frosting tube we are using to shove in his mouth.
OHH............... My brain keeps saying "MY BABY and "Let's panic more!" but I know by now not to, so I try to keep it cool.
"We might have to go to the HOSPITAL!" I squeak.
I can see from Jer's sidelong glance, that this is NOT keeping it cool enough.
"Or, not.." I try to rally- for Gray's benefit really, he is right there and worrying, too.

Finally we have gotten part of a juice box in him, and I was able to temporarily de-activate his Omnipod, so that he is getting NO insulin.. just to make sure he does not pass out

He has only "trace" ketones, so this is risky, but I think it is worth a shot. He needs some insulin to help his body clear the ketones.. so I should give it a few more minutes and then go turn in back on.

So--- the adventure continues, and I will try and update this later today.. keep Logan in your thoughts, and make a voodoo doll for Type 1 Diabetes and stick a needle right in it's privates for me.
:)

Long time, no post!

Hello to all of you friends and family, from the land of Dibaleetez!

Before you get the wrong idea, and start thinking that this post is going to be meaningful, inspirational, or reflective, let me remind you all with a photo, of what I am dealing with day to day:

Yes.






This is a photo of what I found in the Organic, environmentally friendly cereal that my kids eat.


I found a dismembered GI Joe, just floating around. (I can only imagine the battle that has just passed...)


So I guess what I am trying to say is, things are good.




Things are normal. Things are just as amazing, sad, stupid, and fun as they were before the diagnosis, so what more can I ask for?
We are raising twins, and one of them has diabetes.



As it happens, I found this evidence of heroic sacrifice, when I was checking Logan's bowl to see if my insulin dose was right on, or if we'd have to adjust. In the past, I'd have been too panicked by the leftovers to see the humor in the toy, or allow myself the moment to imagine Logan's battle sounds as the GI Joe met his milky destiny. Now, I can. :)

That is the reason that you have not heard from me in so long. Somehow, without my even noticing it, life returned to a very normal state. Diabetes no longer crowded my every waking thought and action, and, well, things were so good I didn't need to write to free myself of the internal stress. Not all areas of life are stress free, of course, it's just that I haven't held up the filter of Diabetes to every situation I encounter.



Either that, or it is so second nature already that I don't notice... either way, it sure feels a lot better.




I'm writing now, and hope to continue writing, to keep up my attempt to show and share how we manage the life we want, with the challenge of diabetes.



Since we've talked, we've camped all over Washington and Oregon, we've gotten a new puppy, Jen got a job, Jer went to London, the boys started Kindergarten, and turned 6!
If you want the short version, you just had it, and you can skip the photos and stories below. But, if you are a glutton for my particular brand of punishment- read on, and enjoy!

Glutton For Punishment Version:

Summer was a good one for us. One of the main goals Jeremy and I have as parents, is getting our kids out in nature. Hiking, camping, swimming, storytelling, firemaking, and yes, general hippie nature loving and relaxation.








Our first trip was to Oregon.. we saw the Goonies house (!) and spent days on the beach at Cannon Beach, and Seaside.




Logan loved running into the waves, while Gray couldn't resist stopping and drawing in the large, flat expanse of sand with his fingers or a stick. He would RUN, stop, draw like a madman, then RUN! Logan mostly tried to attack Seagulls.


















This is where we spent Father's Day, in Seaside Oregon::




We spent the whole day here, digging, building, eating, and playing. You can't really tell, but this is Logan playing a new game he made up called "try to dodge out of the picture before Mommy takes it". We played this game for a while, and he was cracking up!

What a sneaker!

ahhh he got me! Just a foot and a hand, he made it out of frame!

The next month, we went to Orcas Island, and scored the most beautiful campsite in the park:




Here we also boated, fished and re-enacted the trauma of "Mommy dropping the camera in this lake last year". We went to spot where it fell in, and had a moment of silence. (Well, almost silence.)


One item we always brought along our "Diabetes Backpack" which is full of emergency supplies, and backups of pods, insulin and glucose meters. We also, actually bring backups for our backups. This is how Jer and I know we can relax. Even if everything goes overboard, we've got the supplies we need.

I didn't get any pictures of us, mostly because after I took this pic of the site, we had a blast from then on, and I was too involved to take pictures. This is also the place where Gray got stung by a bee... it hid in his snuggy (blanket) and stung him as he was falling asleep! What a total bummer! The whole campground heard his wail, across the lake "It STUNG me!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He casually said to Logan the other day.. "Oh, that's right.. you haven't been stung by a bee yet. I've HAD my first bee sting. I know what that feels like." He can be smug about the weirdest things.







PUPPY!!!!!!!!! I know I've assaulted most of you with the utter cuteness of our puppy, but here she is again:


















Her name is Niah, like "Hi,ya!"
Or

"Princess Niah Organa Puppenstuff Dirtypaws Buckleberry Undertoe Liteky"
We got her from the Humane Society in The Dalles, OR. We were told she was a Border Collie, Lab, German Shepherd mix. Everywhere she goes, she has admirers, and she is wonderfully cute and smart!

When we were not camping, I tried to get the kids out hiking! This is the boys and two of their friends, Bobby and Carmen, on the Ashael Curtis Nature Trail. We found gnome homes, humongous fungus, creeks, ferns, and conifers!

Gray just keeps losing teeth.. er.. I realize this shot is not attractive or.. even bearable.
But how could I not include a shot where you can see Gray's nasal passages?
It was a have to, people.

The next magical spot we camped at was on San Juan Island: San Juan County Park. This is the little privatey beach just below our campsite-where we spent a lot of our days.. we met some great people from all over the world.

We had a community sunset send off every night. (all the campers met on the playfield and waved goodbye to the day together! Why can't we live like this all the time??)

We also camped on Whidbey Island (We got to visit the spot in the forest that we got married in!) and share the park with our friends Brian and Katie Borton.

In September, the boys started Kindergarten, and turned 6!

Starting school was a bit of a stress, as Edmonds School District has decided to "warehouse" all the kids with diabetes into one school, with one nurse. While I understand the budget constraints, this also meant that even though our kids names came up for the lottery to attend our school of choice, Madrona K-8, Logan could not go there until he is "able to demonstrate adequate ability to care for his diabetes on his own". The whole thing is so crazy making- it's a hard combination of rejection, anger, protectiveness, and fighting for your rights-
In a long story that is best told over a glass of wine, I did try to fight it, and got no results.
So, I switched districts, to Shoreline. We found the Room 9 program, which is also a K-8, multi age classroom style of school. The boys LOVE IT~

In this picture, Gray would like you to notice his Ka-ra-tay move, and Logan would like you to notice his Pokemon backpack.



Thank you.

Somehow we got in the habit of taking a photo almost every day when we leave school, so I have a million of these.







We have since been asked NOT to climb on the bike rack.



But notice our Kindergarten buddies, Sylvie and Spencer, following our excellent example.

Room 9 Community School has a lot of parent involvement, and echoes our values in terms of community, focus on nature, personal responsibility, and celebration of life. We already attended "Fall Camp" which is an outdoor school experience for students, teachers, administrators, and parents to all bond and get to know one another at the beginning of the year.

We attended small group classes, including terrarium building, clay art at the river, sewing, bike safety, and this one, a leaf walk and poem writing session:













As far as life goes, it goes on. We have friends that are dealing with less than we are, and some that are dealing with more.

We are learning to let go of our "story" about what our life should look like, and instead embrace the story of what is real. It hurts that Logan has diabetes, but he does.


It also feels good to know that we are able to experience life to the fullest, given the technology that is available to him. We have had times where we almost forget about the D, and also times where it has screwed up our whole day. (like when a pod fails, or we put the pod on the wrong spot and miss the circle of skin that we numbed with cream).

My goal for this second year of life in the land of Dibaleet eez, is to embrace everything I have learned about how to keep Logan healthy from Western medicine, and now move on into exploring alternative health approaches that will support his whole system.

Type 1 ( unlike Type 2) diabetes, cannot be improved or "cured" with diet, exercise, or any other lifestyle change. But as we move past the terror of having to deal with this, we want to find ways to keep Logan as healthy as possible, since illness of any sort is an extra challenge for diabetics.

I am in the process of finding a naturopath who works with diabetics, and I have already started our family on the switch to a much healthier diet. I've been doing this in increments, so that they don't really notice (muah ha ha)!

Okay, it's a little hard to miss the flaxseeds in the pancakes, but who cares! They like them. I think.

I think the best way to end this update, is with a picture.

A picture that tells a story.... of a family.. one that takes part in wholesome activities, and would never gamble, drink, shoot a gun, or be accused of lewd conduct.









Posts Coming soon:


The Puppy ate my favorite __________(fill in the blank)!


How does Logan manage his Diabetes at School?


Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch/AKA watch Jennifer's excruciating search for the "perfect" pumpkin!