Superheros for a cure

This summer, a family friend and amazing photographer Tressa Thomas asked if we were interested in Elise taking part in a photo shoot for her Love Capture Give project; which brings awareness to charities through her beautiful photos. 

She had partnered with Superkids Capes, which donated the capes and accessories, to give the photo shoot a superhero theme... which is only too fitting for our type 1 kiddos.

Elise had a great time, and I love the way the pictures came out.  Here are a few of my favourites:

Please make sure you check out the Love Capture Give blog for the entire post which was beautifully written by Tressa.

And if you're a facebook peep, go to her page and like her while you're there.  You can also check out her website if you're in need of a photographer... working with her was awesome, and you can see just how talented she is by the pictures above.

Thanks Tressa for capturing our little hero exactly how she is... beautiful and amazing!

4 countries, 3 continents, 1 hope

When Team Elise was formed over 4 years ago, it was done so only a few weeks after Elise was diagnosed. Some shirts were hastily put together the night before and a handful of friends came out to walk.

This year, Team Elise had over 100 people join us (we had close to 150 sign up, but many people had to back out due to illness and bad weather). Despite the rain, I was overjoyed at how many people came out and walked in support of Elise and people with diabetes everywhere.

But do you want to hear the coolest thing of all?  Besides the U.S.A., Team Elise has had people walk in Canada, Portugal, and now Mozambique.  Four countries.  Three continents.  It fills me with such hope

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that we have a good friend in Portugal (Tiago) who took it upon himself to organize a walk for Team Elise.  There is no JDRF walk there; HE went out and got the sponsorships, had the shirts made, got people to sign up and raised money.  Two years in a row...

Last year, we had the honour of walking with almost 200 people, most of which had no connection to diabetes or Elise.  It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever been a part of.

Of course, there is also Team Elise Canada.  Put together by Fred's Mom and sister in Toronto.  I love that we have people walking for Elise in my home and native land.

This year, sadly, our friend Tiago moved away from Portugal.  But I was blown away to learn that his Mom taken up the torch this year for Team Elise and on the very day we were walking in Texas, there was a group of beautiful people doing the same in Portugal.

Not only that, but half a world away, Tiago was at it again... this time from his new home in Mozambique.  Again, on the very same day we walked.

Keep in mind, there is really no JDRF presence in Portugal or Mozambique, this was all done by people on their own time.

I still cannot wrap my head around the love these people have shown us.  And I don't think I can properly express just how much it means to me when people take the time to stand with us.  On the days where diabetes has kicked me down, and I feel like I can't take one more minute of it, I think I will return to this post to bring me to my feet again. 

Thank you to everybody who has given me the strength to keep fighting this fight for my daughter.

Things I learned from diabetes this month... September edition

-Elise needs a +50% temp basal running when we are at amusement/water parks.  My little girl is somewhat of a dare devil and all the adrenaline from those thrill rides causes her BG to skyrocket.  Never mind all the running around she's doing, it does nothing to combat the highs.  I had been scared to run a temp basal in these situations, because I was positive she would crash.  But the last two times she's been at an amusement park, I went for it and it worked like a charm!  This is not meant to be medical advice, just something I've observed in MY child.  As Bennet's blog says, your diabetes may vary!

-When two of your prescriptions look very similar, don't make the mistake of putting them near each other.  Especially when one of them knocks you out.  I accidentally took a Phenergan instead of my Synthroid the other day, and didn't realize it until an hour later when I started to feel woozy.  I know I didn't go to sleep, but I have no memory of what I DID do that morning, because somehow, Elise ended up at 32 by lunchtime.  She usually needs a small, partially covered snack in the morning, and I don't know if I just forgot to feed her, or if I bolused her AND forgot to feed her.  In any event, I felt pretty crappy about it.  Sleepy, but crappy.

-Costco cake is of the devil when it comes to Elise's BG.  Usually she can eat cake with little to no problem.  Except for Costco cake.  I don't know what they put in it, but it causes her to go high about three hours after eating, AND to stay there, despite any rage-bolusing I do.We've had several examples in the last month since both kids had Costco cakes for their birthday, we just went to a party where they served it, and they also had it at out Neighbourhood Night Out party this week.  This last time I tried an extended bolus (30/70 over 3 hours), and it was pretty successful, but I think I need to extend it even longer. 

Evil, evil Costco cakes.  Yes, each of my kids got a birthday cake.  Their birthdays are only 3 days apart, so we have a combined party.  Somehow we ended up with 70 people RSVP-ing yes.  It was crazy, yo. 

Still nerdy after all these years

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may remember when I was pregnant with Mattias, I checked my own BG during my gestational diabetes test.

If you haven't been reading this blog for awhile... Yes I did. I'm a nerd like that.  And like I said in that post, you gotta take the perks of having a kid with type 1 where you can find them.

The result halfway through? Here ya go.  Anything above 140 at the end of the hour is a fail.

And here's the final result:

Looks like my pancreas kicked that orange goo's ASS!  Winning!

Meeting Mattias

He doesn't get a lot of attention on this blog, but he is still a huge part of our family.  In fact, the only thing that is really little about him is his waistline (poor guy can still wear 9m shorts).

Of course, I'm talking about Mattias.  He's two now, with a personality that is larger than life.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't do something to make me laugh.

He's turned into a pretty chill toddler, (for the most part - he has his moments like any two year old), with a very sweet and caring heart.  He ooohhhs and aaahhhs over babies, and loves cuddling our dog.  He also doesn't like to see anyone sad and quickly runs to give Elise a hug when she's crying.

I can tell he's going to be a sporty little guy and loves to play "Go Bola" (his term for any sport played with a ball).  Hockey sticks, soccer balls, baseball bats, golf clubs... you name it, we have it. And he plays with reckless abandon.

I also love his passion for pretty much everything in life.  Almost any question you ask him (want to have lunch, go outside, play "go bola", etc) is answered with a, "YEEEEEAHHHHHH!"  Usually accompanied by a dance.  He loves trucks and motorcycles and each time he sees one, it's like the very first time.  "MAMA... camião!!!" (Portuguese for truck). 

He has turned out to be a very good traveller, with trips to Portugal and San Francisco under his little belt already.  During our trip to SF, we were pretty nomadic; not staying in the same place for more than three nights, PLUS all of us were in the same room, and he did awesome.  His whole schedule was out of whack, but he stayed pretty happy the whole time.

He loves Elise and they are so sweet together.  Of course they have their moments, but their adoration of each other is very obvious.  The other day I went into Elise's room to find them both lying on her bed, giggling at who knows what.  Love it.

In my humble opinion, he is Mama's little man, but he also LOVES his Papa.  He asks every morning when he wakes up, "Papa go work?" and is always sad when I answer yes.  When Fred comes home from work, Mattias lets out the sweetest little "happy shrieks".

There is so much more I could write about the littlest man to ever steal my heart, but I can't do him justice.  In his two years on this earth, he has brought so much joy to my heart.  When he naps in the afternoon, I am actually excited to get him up, because I have missed him.

His smile is contagious, his laughter infectious and I love him so much it takes my breath away.