Facebook Archive - October 2020

Oct 1 - I figured out how to see how many minutes my kid has logged in IXL so that I can tell him if he's done enough for each subject. He also successfully rewrote his narrative assignment from four lame sentences into a four-paragraph novella that is way more captivating. We're gonna celebrate by buying art supplies today!

Oct 14 - As we basked in all our victories last week, Ian and I took the afternoon off to ride around First Landing State Park. I would have sworn the Cape Henry Trail was 6 miles round trip. It's 6 miles from one end to the other. That means when you get to the end you have to ride 6 miles back to the car. In sand and pine straw and roots and mud.

I had to leave Ian at the Narrows on a bench while I rode back to the car, loaded my bike, and drove the 20 minutes around to retrieve him. When I texted Ian I had made it to the car, he responded, "Yay thank you so much mommy I love you so much."

In other news, Uncle Lee isn't allergic to poison ivy but Ian is. But we got him some steroids and the expensive poison ivy cream so he's no longer puffed up like a blowfish.

Oct 21 - Ian and I are reading a book together (Maze Runner) before bed and it's good enough that I'm annoyed if he falls asleep "too soon". I may have nudged him back awake occasionally to at least let me finish the chapter.

Oct 28 - Ian's room is an RGB oasis. His computer, mouse, mousepad, keyboard, and string lights all light up rainbow colors. You need a blow pop just to hang out in that rave of a room.

Oct 28 - Ian is another year old so his new chore is changing all the sheets on his bed once a week. He managed all that with flying colors despite his mattress being Princess And The Pea depth.

Facebook Archive - September 2020

Sept 1 - Ian: "I feel like the only reason I'm alive is because of you. And not just the diabetes, but I wouldn't make it very long without love."

Sept 8 - I made Ian stand for a first day of school picture for consistency. I made him put on real pants for our walk at lunch. His school day was good from a technology standpoint and only a little emotional. I’ll take it.

Sept 9 - Ian and I have been going for walks this past week. We've been driving to random locations to walk around and while he was resistant at first (and still insists on wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt for anxiety protection despite the heat), we're having a lot of fun. We saw cute houses downtown, some guys on hoverboards, people playing disc golf, some dogs doing scent work, and lots of flowers.

Sept 10 - I just got the letter confirming that Ian has Type 1 diabetes. He has two of the three autoantibodies present. I've never had that test myself, so that was neat to see. The Zinc Transporter 8 Antibody (ZnT8) normal range is 0-15 and Ian's is over 5000. The number actually made me laugh out loud because it's so obviously a "HEY YOU HAVE TYPE 1 DIABETES". It's nice to have something be certain. His thyroid numbers are fine and he doesn't have celiac. They'll test those periodically, but he's fine for now. As a side note, he has been an absolute champ managing his blood sugar. I know he's still in the honeymoon phase so he's getting a little help from his pancreas, but it's nice to have that break-in phase to a new lifelong illness. I'm so stinking proud of him.

Sept 16 - Ian has learned the states that border Virginia in Social Studies. The pneumonic (or mnemonic ... I was so close) device is Mustard With Ketchup Tastes Nasty (Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina). The phrase is really helpful even if I don't agree with the sentiment and think mustard and ketchup go great together.

Sept 23 - Ian managed to poop *before* school started today, which is a big win since a bowel movement for him takes longer than some Zoom meetings. He also scored a win by going outside to play. He's been anxious about the Outside World for months and he's not a warm-weather creature. He literally talks about when he grows up he's going to move to Canada. So he has been happily rollerblading in the driveway in the 60F weather. He also was a legit help to me getting the pool cover installed.

Sept 30 - My job is easy compared to virtual fifth grade. I've been sitting in Ian's classes with him (one in particular that wears us both out) and it's rough. Canvas, IXL, Get Epic!, Clever, Zoom, Zoom that's now authenticated through his school account, StudentVUE, STAR assessments, a new Active Directory email to check, ClassDojo. It's a lot to manage. But we're making progress. Progress, not perfection, is the key. Yesterday we went for a one month follow up for Ian's diabetes at CHKD. His A1C went down from 7.7 to 6.7 already. They were happy with all his blood sugars and health. We are starting the process to get an insulin pump, but that process is not quick and is largely controlled by what insurance will allow and when. But it was a good visit.

Facebook Archive - August 2020

August 5 - Pro tip: if you eat raw cookie dough, it doesn’t smell like fresh-baked cookies so your kid doesn’t ask for any.

August 12 - Ian has not been sleeping well lately. He'll go to bed fine but when he wakes up around 1 am it takes him hours to fall back asleep. It's been wearing on him. The good news is Ian slept for a solid 11 hours last night. He's a whole new person today.

In other Ian news, I installed a new ceiling bracket for his hammock chair so no one will get unceremoniously dumped on the floor (again). I paid for NHL.com so we can watch the playoffs. The Flyers play tonight at 8 pm.

August 19 - Our victory this week is we set up a workstation for me and Ian both at Shrop's house so that we can do school and work there as needed. It also means Ian can continue to play with his friends online while I listen to podcasts and Shrop cleans a carburetor. It helps us feel at home in more than one location.

August 26 - Ian had a glowing dental report yesterday. They're going to do a frenectomy tomorrow (where they trim that thing that holds your top lip down) so that his front teeth can grow together. The good news is they can do it with a laser now so he doesn't have to deal with uncomfortable stitches like I did at his age. We're living in the future.

We also went to Fleet Feet and got Ian a pair of Brooks shoes that fit well. His feet are a little wide and ridiculously tall so most shoes hurt the tops of his feet. He was so delighted with them he kept bouncing and jogging around. It's amazing what you can do when your gear fits. Bonus is we have 3D images of his feet now.

August 27 - Ian is amazing (blog post about his diabetes diagnosis)