CRAZY

DANG . . . where does the time go?

Well it is May and all the kids are a year older now.  School is almost out and by months end I will have a 8th grader, 6th grader and 4th grader . . . I know crazy, right?

I can't believe a year ago Dan and I were bursting at the seams wanting to tell the kids about the Disneyland trip we planned for the last day of school and now a year later it seems as if it were a blink of an eye and we are at another year end of school.

Dan is currently employed at URS with each day bringing a changing end date.  Crazy, I think we are both just to the point of wanting to know and moving on.  Stress and change is a killer sometimes.  When he is not working he is running kids, fixing things around the house or helping others.  I truly admire that about him.

I am still at the same job with the State of Utah, almost made my 3 year mark.  I still love my job, had a bit of a break down when my boss announced he was leaving last October, not knowing that my new boss would be even better.  I love what I do and I love who I work for it is great.  The only down fall is the working mom thing.  I still have a bit of guilt not being there for my kids 24/7:-(

Dalton started a new adventure in Jr. High and surprised me with how much he loves it.  Most kids including myself hated Jr. High.  He amazes me each and every day with his love of learning.  He has definitely grown up a ton.  He is currently playing baseball and I couldn't be prouder of him and the man he is becoming.

Georgette has bloomed into a young woman.  She has become my little helper.  She helps out with her sister and she is doing much better in school.   I attribute that to her awesome tutor I found, she has gave Georgette the confidence she needs to achieve what she wants and it shows.  She is playing on the accelerated softball team again this year and is doing awesome.  I am so proud of her for overcoming all the challenges she has had a school.

Whitney is in 3rd grade and she has an awesome teacher.  She is my happy go lucky child.  Not much gets to her and she always has a smile.  She loves the simple things in life, sometimes when I look for her I will find her laying on tramp talking to her dog as if it were her best friend.  She is always cheering for the underdog and is a true lover of life.  She has taught me so much I wish I could be more like her:-)  She is also playing ball, I feel bad for moving her up an age group to her sisters team, but that was me being selfish not wanting to chase 3 kids schedules again this year, but she is doing awesome and you would never know she was the youngest on the team.

Over the year our family has had its ups, downs and struggles but together we always seem to get it right.  I hope all is well with your families and a big shout out to all the moms in my life HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Are you serious, it has been over a year since I have posted.  That is CRAZY . . . but then again that is what my life seems to be lately CRAZY...

Let me see, where to begin . . .UPDATE...

Dan:  Still working for URS, wished I could say loving it, but it will do until something else comes along.  I actually think he likes it, but the fact that it is almost over makes it a bit stressful at times.  It is going to be October in a few days and we all know what that means HUNTING.  Yes he has a lot of hunting planned on the schedule for the remainder of the year, so he will remain busy the rest of the year working, taking care of the necessities at home, running kids and hunting.  He was also recently put in as a scout leader for the 12 and older scouts.  He is a great guy and love that we can depend on him to take care of our little family.

Annette:  Well still working full-time at the Career Service Review Office for the State of Utah.  I have to admit this week is a little bitter/sweet.  My wonderful boss (without him I would have never made it back into the workforce as a full time mom/employee) has accepted a new job and this is his last week with me:-(  I am stressed as I am awaiting for the Governor to appoint my new boss.  I love my job, I love what I do, but that could easily be changed by the new man/woman.  I just keep hoping for the best and keep telling myself change will be good, right!  Last week I had surgery, everything went better than expected and I have fully recovered.  I didn't realize how much pain I was everyday until now . . . now that it is gone.  I only had to miss one day of work, the day of the surgery so YAHOO!  I work all day and chase kids all night and weekends.  I am currently coaching a 10U girls accelerated softball team and I am loving it.  I am still the 11 year old primary teacher, wish I had the same reaction as softball  . . . loving it . . .not!  I love the kids I teach but it just adds to my already crazy life.

Dalton:  He just began Jr. High, yep that is right I AM OLD!  I have a 7th grader.  He has grown up so much I am proud of him and the young man he is becoming.  He attends mutual on Wednesday nights with his dad, kicking and screaming but it is good for him:-)  At least that is what I keep telling him.  He played baseball this spring and also played on a super league during the weekends over the summer.  He is currently playing fall baseball. We were taking him in once a week to a pitching coach and it helped him a ton.  So academically and socially he has excelled as usual.  Unfortunately, the past year we have been struggling with his diabetes.  Yep the teen rebel came out in him a little sooner than I expected.  I think we have it under control now, but it was a rough go there for a bit.  We have been monitoring his kidneys because testing has proven that they are not functioning at the level they need to be.  That was a bit of a scare for all of us, but hopefully we are on the right track now.

Georgette:  My sweet little 10 year old, well used to be . . . lol.  She has came out of her shell and she is a social butterfly.  She is on my 10U accelerated softball team and it has been fun for us to spend some time together doing what we both love.  She is an awesome little ball player and I am amazed at how much she loves the game, and shocked that someone so innocent and shy could be so competitive.  She is in the 5th grade and she is doing OK in school.  I think the testing we done last year and the medication has helped her a ton with her focus and attention.  She loves to be around little kids and she is so good with them.  She has been practicing babysitting for my sister a little bit here and there, I wish I had her patience she is so good with kids.  Last Friday she performed at half-time with the Tooele Buffalo Cheerleaders, like I said she has come out of her shell and she performed like a natural.  She wasn't nervous or timid at all.  Love my Georgie girl and love watching her grow, physically and spiritually:-)

Whitney:  Oh my little Whitter . . . always and I mean always making me smile.  She has a joy for life that I have never seen in anyone.  She is always smiling (except for when her dad teases her).  She takes life by the horns, smiles and never lets anything get her down.  She is so young, but has taught me so much.  She is friendly with everyone.  She is my animal lover.  She loves to dance and she has the moves to prove it.  She is in the 3rd grade, going to be nine before we know it.  She does awesome in school and I am proud of her.  She has had to be a bit more independent than the other two were at this age because of me working full-time but she never complains.  She is always telling me "I love you"  "Have a good day at work"  and on occasion she has even packed me a lunch or two!  She is playing fall softball with the same team she played spring ball with.  They went undefeated all of spring and through the spring tournament.  So far they are undefeated in fall too.  She has taken up pitching and it is cute to see her so determined on the mound.  I love watching her play ball. 

Our family is busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  We are for the most part happy and healthy.  We love spending time together.

LOVE . . .

Love . . .  I love being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, employee and etc.  During my long span of not posting, we were lucky enough to spend a morning with a wonderful photographer to capture some much needed, updated family photos.  I told Dan that is all I wanted for my b-day and Christmas,  to get a new family photo.  We traveled to the small town of Ophir (which is another love of our family) and took a lot of fun shots of us as a family, the kids, couple shots and more. 

On my journey to living life the fullest, I am thankful for my husband and kids.  I love them more than life itself and would not want to change a thing.  It has been fun growing with Dan and watching our kids grow and find their independence and individual characteristics.

Love can fix anything :-)

Attempting to pursue a life full of . . .

Hello everyone, long time . . . no post.  Just a quick update everyone is doing well, we are keeping real busy with work, school, holidays, baseball, gymnastics, b-days and everything else you can think of.  I am going to try and be a little more faithful about posting and little less faithful at facebook (ya right).

So in my attempt to thinking "something's got to give!" I watched my movie The Secret and then from the library I checked out the follow up audio book The Power.  I have been listening all week to and from work to the audio book, it is great and I have tested the waters in situations throughout the week.  So in order to pursue my journey of forgive, forget and start anew, today the following was my post on facebook.

Annette Anderson Morgan is attempting to pursue a life full of: love, gratitude, joy, passion, excitement, enthusiasm, hope and satisfaction. Who would like to join me on this journey?? ;~}

It was funny to see the quick "like" and comments.  I don't think it is going to be easy, but I have always been one to accept a good challenge (I think I may be a bit competitive, LOL).

Wish me luck!

Bring Diabetes to Light

Remember Sunday, November 14, 2010 to Bring Diabetes to Light.  Our family will continue to display the blue lights outside.  Remember to test and post your BG at 2:00 participate in 14 minutes of physical activity and test again at 2:14 and post your new BG.

6 Things about Diabetes . . .

Wow, what a challenge to narrow the things I know about diabetes down to 6:

First, I hate it.  I hate what it has done to my little boys body.  I hate the constant change.

Second, it is a constant worry.  I leave him home I worry that he will have a low or high and I won't be there to take care of him.  I worry that if I make him go everywhere with me or visa verse I go everywhere with him, I will rob him of a normal child hood.  I worry that I check him to much or not enough.  Lets just say I worry!!!

Third, diabetes causes sleep deprivation.  I can not remember the last time Dalton and I slept through the night.  I have only been away from him a few times at night, I remember on my latest trip to Idaho, I laid awake starring at the clock from 2:00 a.m. until 3 a.m. when I knew his dad would be getting up to do a BG check.  I could not go back to sleep until I texted him and he responded with the BG number.

Fourth, no matter how much I plan or try to be prepared, I never am.  I can feed Dalton the exact same lunch at the same exact time of day and never get the same results.  I am not a gambling woman and I hate the fact that sometimes diabetes is a gambling game.  My stakes are way to high and it is a game I never would want to loose.

Fifth, sorry but diabetes does affect the whole family.  When your 4 year old baby walks up to you in Walmart and asks how many carbs are in this treat and can Dalton eat it?  Enough said it affects the whole family.

Sixth, I am stealing this from a D-mom because it hit me hard and so many people don't realize it and don't realize what they are saying.  INSULIN is not a CURE  . . . It is a necessity to keep my boy alive.

Oh I could go on and on, but I am limited to six.  Thanks for listening and thanks to all those who share, I sit and read through tear filled eyes, because I can relate and I feel your pain!

Love ya

If you could give your diabets away for 24 hours . . .

I saw this post somewhere on one of the many diabetic blogs I belong to and I thought it was interesting that I didn't even have to think twice about it.  Ponder this for a moment and if you would like to share I would love to read your comments:

If I could give Dalton's Diabetes to someone for 24 hours who would it be and why???????


Answer:

Daniel (Dalton's Father)  only I would make sure it was back in the day before the pump.  Back when you poked to test before anything entered the mouth, and then poked again to give the insulin to eat anything and everything.  He is always quick to judge and remind me that diabetes should not be an excuse.  This has sparked many of fights between us I hate to admit. 

I don't look at it as an excuse, it is REALITY!  I can not recall one time that Dalton has blamed his attitude, mistakes, not feeling well, not wanting to do something and etc. on diabetes.  There has been many a times he has went to school tired, sore from an all night poker fest and I am not talking about "Poker" the card game.  About two years ago I had a few bouts of hypo, I would feel icky, dizzy and tired.  I would eat something and gradually start feeling better, but it was not the type of feel better that you could take an aspirin and once the pain was gone you were 100%.  I remember the lingering headache, the ongoing shakiness so I can not even begin to imagine how I would feel going hi, low, hi, low, hi, low, hi, low - - - you get the picture!  So I am usually the one that when Dalton is off a bit - - - telling him to test.  Diabetes is not an excuse, it is REALITY, and it does interfere with every moment of every day.  It is so hard to understand what their little bodies are going through because on the outside they look normal and healthy, but the poor inside and the way they feel is a constant reminder they are anything but normal:(

My boy has taken this diabetes challenge and if there were a grand prize he would sure be the recipient of such award.  Anyone who can deal and learn the things he has dealt and learned with as a 10 year old makes for a pretty tough boy.  HE IS A WINNER!

The next time you grab a hand full of chips, or walk by the candy dish and grab a hand full of skittles and throw them in your mouth, think about the Type 1 diabetics that don't have this luxury.  They have to measure, count, add, poke and then eat.

Yes I do think that dad would sing a different tune if he were diabetic for a day!!!!

So here is the challenge, who and why would you give your diabetes to for a day??????