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!