In honor of make me laugh Monday and my new career as a “bodybuilder” – I say that with some trepidation and I do not know why, I must linky link for Jenny on the spot this timeless Jim Carrey piece. He is playing his character “Vera De Milo” the Bodybuilder from the classic In Living Color.
Enjoy
Make Me Laugh Monday March 9, 2009
A “funny” Diabetes story! February 4, 2009
Well – I guess it’s funny in hindsight – or telling others about the neverending rollercoaster that is diabetes. A few weekends ago we went to a hotel for my neices birthday party. We stayed overnight which also included alot of swimming. Swimming and pump sites – always a great combination. In the AM, after two lost pump sites I was out of supplies. It was are day of departure anyways so we got all of our stuff ready and headed out. That all sounds organized I know, but add SEVERAL children, tons of hotel stuff, swimming up until 15 min before departure time, one puking cousin and a baby into the mix and it is CHAOS!!! We get ourselves home (1.5 hours away) and go to change the site an hour after the EMLA cream had sat on the spot and I start digging for the pump. I KNOW I REMEMBER PUTTING IT IN THE BAG. 4 Torn through bags later it is just not there. You might be able to see where this is going…… Call the hotel – yep – there it was sitting on the bathroom counter. So mom, who at this point wants to pack up all the snacks in the house for the trip (but is training for a bodybuilding show) makes a protein shake, brings the phone and catches up with friends for the trip down and back. For some reason Joshua’s numbers stayed low (he had dosed right before he the pump fell off) hallelujia!! We made it through another Diabetes folly!! Woohoo!! And another story to add to the collection that is our life?
Jenny On The Spot February 3, 2009
Look at that Jenny – I even put your whole blog name right in my title. Now that is some great blogging. So Jenny – my esteemed blogging friend from the great state of WA is having a drawing at her site. All you have to do is head over there at:
http://www.jennyonthespot.com/2009/02/hes-just-not-that-into-you-cd-and-hoodie-giveaway/
and give her a shout out. She will put your name in the list for the “He’s just not that into you” soundtrack and a cool hoodie!!
Love the giveaway Jenny!
Christmas Letter 2009 January 8, 2009
It has been a very long time since I wrote a family Christmas letter. It seemed like a good time for an update. In keeping with my character, all of my Christmas cards are ready to go out the door, it’s three days before Christmas and here I am – at the computer. I have always worked best under pressure.
I remember when my children were babies and people with older kids would say: “just wait, it get’s busier”. I just didn’t believe them – how could it feel busier? Well, now I get it! Baby time was busy as in I’m holding a baby and cooking dinner at the same time, and I don’t sleep. Now life is busy like “get in the car, we gotta go, hurry up, were late, basketball, baseball, football, snowboarding, dances, friends house, go, go, go, hurry up” There just never seems to be enough time and life is moving by at an alarming rate. It seems so cliché, but it is so true. How did my boys get to be 12 (Erik), 10 (Josh) and 7 (Lucas), when only a while ago I was at the pond throwing rocks with them and giving them rides on the four-wheeler or snowmobile. Now they are riding the four-wheelers to their deer stands, shooting their first buck (Erik + plus 2 does), and as soon as the snow is on the ground, the snowmobiles are packing it down. If there is an untouched piece of snow on our property – these three are not happy about it. Being 12 this year, Erik will be our third driver which will enable us to take some longer snowmobile trips.
Rodney spent another fun season of coaching football for Erik’s team with another undefeated season. We also got to watch Joshua as he is finally old enough to play the sport he was born to play! Both Erik and Joshua competed in the Punt/Pass/Kick competition and both took home 1st place. It was nice that they each ended up with the same size trophy – not that there is any competition. We are now into the basketball with Rodney coaching the 6th grade and Joshua playing 4th grade we will spend the next 10 Saturdays in different cities. Lucas has made the concession stand his favorite sport, and we are waiting patiently for him to pick up the basketball as well. He is the tallest kid in his class and one of the youngest. Lucas is now in 2nd grade which is okay, but he would so much rather be at home with his mom.
Besides Coaching as his volunteer position, Rodney has been busy growing the Rockwell Industrial Plant Services group from 2 people working out of our shop to now over 40 employees. He manages it all very well and when you don’t find him in dress pants and shirt you will find him with grease up to his elbows, probably buried in a snowmobile or a car that he is restoring.
The past year also brought us a challenge. On March 31st, Joshua was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Many of you may know that Type 1 diabetes is an Auto-immune disease and his pancreas will no longer produce insulin. Joshua uses an insulin pump to manage the disease and his Glucose Meter is never far away at any time. This has been an epic roller coaster ride to say the least but as a family we rise to the occasion and will help and support Joshua to live a very long, active and healthy life. And as all Type 1 Diabetics, we are hoping and praying for a cure.
As for me I continue to be the chauffer, chef, accountant, laundress (sounds better), and the Queen of this Castle. Any time I start feeling like life is crazy I do manage to get a few hours in here and there at St. Mary’s walk in mental health Crisis Clinic as a therapist. I am always assured when I leave that indeed we have a very healthy family and we are not very crazy at all. I have found a love for blogging and social networking (facebook) and would love to keep in touch with any of you that way as well.
I must quit now – as you can see I have never been one short on words.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!
Love,
The VanBaalen’s (vanbaalen5@msn.com)
Rodney, Lisa, Erik (12), Joshua (10) and Lucas (7)
bodybuilding January 8, 2009
Oh yeah, and I am for sure doing a bodybuilding show. AGGGGHHHH
Super scared to death. May 16th (or 17th).
Your Type 1 Diabetes lesson for the day!! January 8, 2009
So Tuesday was the big visit to the pediatric Endocrinologist. We go every three months to check in with him, see how things are going and have Joshua’s A1C’s ran. A1C’s are kind of like a report card. They are the average of your blood sugar over the past three months. A person without diabetes has A1C’s under between 4 and 6%. Lower A1C’s directly correlate to less long term complications. Joshua had great numbers in December. We were very excited to see his A1C.s and were sure that they had dropped a bunch. We were too optimistic. Although Dr. Miller says we are doing a Fabulous job (he used the word Fabulous, not me). It only went from 7.9 to 7.8. So, we plug along and try to continue our roll of good numbers hoping to see that A1C continue to come down. Next update will be in April. I never liked report cards!!
Mom
Sometimes I Wonder…. December 10, 2008
If children were meant to live in groups. What if they are meant to live only with adults and not interact daily with SIBLINGS!!! Maybe somebody made a big mistake along the way and thought that they were supposed to have more than one child, hence sibling. Maybe they are just supposed to reunite when they are old enough to manage and negotiate a complex relationship….you know things like…. “HE THREW THE COMPASS IN MY CEREAL”, or “HE HIT ME IN THE KNEE WITH HIS BACKPACK AND NOW I CAN’T WALK” While limping as if clubbed with a 2×4. I don’t know, it’s a mystery to me. There must be something about the chaos and interaction that they love because they just will not leave each other alone – it’s certainly not like they ignore each other. (more…)
Motivation and Passion December 9, 2008
The past few weeks I have finally re-ignited my passion for Eating Clean and working out. I feel like I stumbled through the summer and fell into fall. I love having that feeling that nothing can take me down, sticking to my meal plan is easy and training for a bodybuilding show would not be a question. It is just that I know my alter ego is just waiting there, evil, hiding for just the right moment to stick her foot out there with a plate full of Christmas cookies and take over once more. If this were not to happen…reaching my goals would have probably already happened. Let’s see how long we can keep her locked up this time! Get down on your knees and pray for me PEOPLE!!! Or does she have you locked up with the Christmas Cookies!
Rising from the ashes… December 3, 2008
Wow, we made it through. I feel like our family was taken up in the middle of a tornado, swirled around a couple hundred times and then dropped down hard to the ground, all in the matter of about 48 hours. Okay – that might be exaggerating our plight a little, but if your family has been hit by stomach flu recently, you would probably agree. All of the fun started on Sunday night. After watching the very BEST Minnesota Vikings game that has been played in the past 2 seasons in person in the Dome, the loudest playing field around – we returned to our hotel. This was a trip out of town for me and my husband and another couple. We had a beautiful room with a beautiful bathroom. When we first saw the room and said “I want to live here”. It was all shiny and clean and new. By the time I left that room and that bathroom – I really don’t care to return. Within fifteen minutes of returning from the game I was in the bathroom which would be my place of no rest for the next 8 hours. While being stuck in the bathroom (dh was eating pizza with our friends in another room – didn’t want to ruin everyone’s fun) at about 12:30am my phone started ringing – remember I was stuck, then dh’s phone started ringing. Uh-oh, this is not good. Finally get to phone and see that it is grandma calling. That just cannot be good. Grandma is at home with 3, yes 3 puking boys. Poor Grandma! To add complications, my Joshua cannot keep anything down and his blood sugar is getting lower – rightfully so, grandma is concerned. We talk about a few things she can do, she reassures me over and over that everything will be okay. She did call back an hour later and BS was stable. We return home the next day with all the kids home from school and everyone at different levels of recovery. All of the bedding is already washed, beds remade, all laundry done and the house is clean. Is Grandma an Angel you ask? why yes she is. And, she is not even sick yet. Athough within 15 minutes of being home, dh visited the porcelain god himself and bit the dust along with the rest of us!!! It has been awhile since we have been hit so fast and furious with a nasty virus like that and never would be too soon for it to happen again!!
Be Aware…..be very aware!!! It is going around people!!
MY LIFE: A Spirograph and an Etch A Sketch November 20, 2008
oooohhhh, Color!
Okay, Now if I could figure out how to make it a diffent font and size. Anyhoo, on to my post!
I was finishing up a super, incredile weight lifting set, after already having a super intense, sweat your heart out cardio session. I was on my last set of back extensions and I suddenly had this feeling of peace and happiness just wash over me that all was right in the world. Instantly this picture of a Spirograph jumped into my head. Remember those as a kid, they had the cogs, you had to place them in patterns, then they woudl draw cool geometric images (I was NOT good at them as a child). But I had this great image of all the pieces of my life being one of those cogs, and they were just all fit together perfectly and all together they made a great pattern!! (this is where if I had mad blogging skills a cool spirograph pic would be placed, I don’t…yet, so it won’t) Not sure where this wave of happiness and self-confidence came from. It may have came from the great workout which made me feel strong. It may have came from my currently clean house which makes me just plain happy. It may have came from feeling at this moment all is right with my children which makes me feel at peace. It may have came from the fact that my husband comes home tonight from a three day business trip and I really miss him. It may have came from having good control over my meal plan today which makes me feel confident. All of it together added up to this moment of perfect contentment, a beautiful spirograph design – if only for a moment, as if it was created on another favorite childhood toy – an etch a sketch, a design easily disrupted!
