Jared LOVES Lunchables.  He never wants to buy lunch and I pack one everyday.  This is actually a blessing in disguise because school lunch is expensive and hard to figure for carbs (diabetes).  Periodically I will go get a Lunchable and send it as a treat for him but, I don’t enjoy doing it because they don’t have much food and they aren’t very healthy.

Well, check this out – we have a Homemade Lunchable option!!  Rubbermaid has come out with LunchBlox, a great system for adults or kids.  I came across this great post at Hip2Save.com – http://hip2save.com/2013/09/26/lunchbox-coupon-roundup-plus-my-favorite-place-to-stock-up-on-items-to-fill-the-lunchbox/

This is what our Lunchable turned out like –

Crackers, cheese, salami, apples, carrots, ranch dressing, a drink and a treat.  I cut up the apples ahead of time and put them in a ziploc bag with some pineapple juice to coat them. The slices you are seeing have already been cut and sitting in a bag in the fridge all night – and they are not brown!  This is what it looks like all put together –

The blue piece in the middle is a freezeable blue-ice to keep it all cold and it all snaps together.  We are going to have fun deciding on what to fill this with and Jared is very happy too!!

In case you are interested, there is a $2 off coupon at http://www.buildabetterlunch.com/rubbermaid_lunchblox_coupons_and_offers.html

I am also going to pick one of these up.

Just a few thoughts about a day that never goes by unnoticed…

5 years ago today every “normal” we knew changed forever.  On September 18, 2008, Jared was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Type 1, not Type 2.  People confuse the two all the time.  People can be quick to tell me how medicine can fix him, or a better diet or exercise.  They think that if they provide something “Sugar-Free” it solves all the existing problems.  But truth is that they just don’t understand and why would you if you didn’t have to?  I have been learning for the last 5 years and sometimes I don’t think I have it all yet.

For anyone just catching up, Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys certain cells in the pancreas.  These cells — called beta cells — normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose (i.e., sugar) contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced and the glucose stays in the blood instead where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body.  For this reason, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive.

What does all this mean to Jared and to us?  It has been 5 years since Jared did not have to schedule his days around checking his blood sugar every 3 hours.  (He has to “test” at least 6 times per day and I test him at least once in the middle of every night).  5 years since Jared could eat snacks or treats provided to him and his classmates/friends without calling me and “bolusing” first.  5 years since Jared had no idea how horrible a low/high blood sugar could feel.  5 years since putting together a meal did not create a complex math problem to figure out the carbohydrates.  5 years since needles weren’t a regular part of his life.  5 years since his little fingers did not look like pin cushions.  5 years since he hasn’t been on a schedule that provides him more stable numbers but often prevents him from eating with other people who have no schedule.  5 years since he has felt like a “normal” kid.

For me it has been 5 years since I have been able to sleep through the night – like I said, I still have to test him at least once per night but if his numbers are high or low then I will be up every hour or so testing him until all is good.  It has been 5 years since hearing a siren when Jared is not with me didn’t send a moment of worry through me.  5 years of trying to provide the most healthy, happy life possible for Jared free of all worries I can eliminate.  I try to shoulder most of it because it has never felt “fair” that such a young boy has to do all he does.  People look at Jared as he sets a treat aside to save for later and think of what a responsible, mature young man he is.  What they don’t see is the young child on the inside screaming that, “it’s not fair” because he is always different.  My trainers always tell me that I am too tense, that I need to breathe and drop my shoulders – relax.  What they don’t know is that that word was removed from my vocabulary 5 years ago.  I know that all mothers worry about their children but I can tell you that Diabetes took it to another level.  And yes, I am stressed, all. . . the. . . time.   Yes, it is part of who I am but I have seen my baby at extreme blood sugar lows and I have seen him so high that he is violently ill.  This equals stress.

Don’t get me wrong.  Jared is a happy, adjusted 9 year old who leads a mostly normal life.  He is strong and healthy – much of which he attributes to the good side of having such a horrible disease.  He can read a nutrition label like few others!  He knows how to fit a treat into a meal that is well rounded otherwise.   He can recognize unhealthy habits around him and makes amazing choices in the midst of that.  Like his brother, Jared is more sensitive to other people and their struggles and their needs.  He knows how it feels to be on the outside and he doesn’t like to see others there for any reason.  But we have our moments, our moments of fear, of sadness, anger and despair.   All those feelings pass but they creep up sometimes.

A couple of days ago Jared told me that he really hopes that they find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.  Greg and I still believe they will within Jared’s lifetime.  Until then we plug on, we hold our heads high and look at the positives, we are grateful that this is manageable and we are grateful for Jared.

The following is a conversation I had with Jared recently.  I was telling him about one of his cousins (6 yrs old) who is questioning Santa’s existence and being very vocal about it to a younger sibling.  I was using it to feel out where Jared was in his belief level.

Me – “Can you believe that?  Have you ever heard of a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa?”

Jared – “Well back when I was in daycare there was a boy who said that Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and all that wasn’t real.”

Me – “What did you say to him?”

Jared – “I didn’t say anything to him, I just thought to myself, “What, you think the parents put the presents out and eat the cookies and drink the milk and eat the carrots for the reindeer and then write us a note?!?!?  Come on people!!”

It took a lot of work to not burst out laughing.  And the magic lives on…