Do Not Feed the Animals!

Today was the Harvest Thanksgiving Lunch at Mia's Preschool. I decided the easiest way to do this was to head up there with my trusty salter scale and measure up the carbs as accurately as I could. I laughed out loud when Mia popped out from the playground with this little sign pinned to her shirt. DO NOT FEED ME. Oh but it's so appropriate! People everywhere assume hey you're a cute kid, here's a cookie. Last Saturday I had to chase off a Sam's Club employee who insisted Mia take a regular-sized candy cane. And when I said no thank you for the third time and threw in she's diabetic, the strangest look washed over the worker's face. She was clearly mortified and shocked. Luckily Mia has never had a candy cane - she didn't really know what she was missing. And we were in the toy section so Mia was easily distracted. In theory she probably could have had a bite, but do I even want to go there? I've been battling highs from hell lately and not wanting to start another train wreck. So I think I may keep this sign on her for Thanksgiving at our house. We're coming up on our 2-year diaversary, but not everyone gets it the way we do.

Anyway, wanted to share one more pic of Mia and Mr. Big Stuff, who turned 8 months today. I ran out of clean PJs for him (hello laundry!), so I put him to bed in old Children's Place 3T zip-ups Mia had to stop wearing because of the pump. Umm, they are not that big on him. It's hilarious and a little scary. Maybe I'll grab a pic of Kai in these 3Ts when he wakes in the morning.

Pretty things I do not wear

Every now and then I pop on over to Mod Cloth to torture myself.  They have a bajillion dresses, anywhere from about $40 to $130, all sweet and feminine and flirty.  One of these days I will say goodbye to my collection of Old Navy tank tops, hoodies, yoga pants and busted up flip flops! I will be one of those moms, one of the ones you wonder how in babypukehell they manage to look so put together. I get all excited just to grab a shower in the morning and make it out the door without having peanut butter smeared down my leg.

Party Time

Wasn't it just Labor Day last week? Where has 2010 gone? For whatever reason I thought we still had a bit more to go before Thanksgiving but nope, it's in a few days. And we're having it here, at our house. In a few days. Shite.

I know nobody will care as long as their bellies are full, but I want to make this fun, festive and affordable. And super tasty. I'll probably be scouring Target and Ikea for some cheap table wear and decorations, and also hitting up this site for inspiration. Where on earth do people find the time? And the patience? Or the money? I don't know, but it's fun to look at. Here are a few pics from Kara's Party Ideas. And to any of you reading that will be joining us on Turkey Day, our house probably won't look anything like this.

I do love this idea - simple and sweet. Have guests write what they are thankful for and display.

World Diabetes Day was Sunday

I haven't posted as often in the last week because I've been pretty busy. And the kids have been crazy cakes. Kai cut tooth #2 and Mia's blood sugar has seen better days. She's been toughing out an on again, off again ear infection/stomach flu and taking antibiotics twice daily. It's driving Pete and I INSANE to see her numbers mostly in the 200s and 300s. Why. Why. Why. This scares me to think what it's doing to her A1C. I hate diabetes. And this past Sunday, Nov 14 was World Diabetes Day. Pete asked me what we should do that day, and honestly, to say this as delicately as possible, I just wanted to give diabetes the middle finger. I just want it to leave us alone already, to just let us be. To just let Mia feel as good as she should be.

Elf on the Shelf

What is with this thing? I was all excited to grab our Elf on the Shelf at Barnes and Noble and start a little Christmas tradition every year. But the more I see this little dude, the more I'm not so sure if his intentions are for good or evil. Elfie reports to Santa how naughty and/or nice the little ones are being everyday. Every morning Mia wakes and sees Elfie in a different spot. And then she proceeds to run in the other direction. There is something very sinister about his gaze. Pete says he woke up at 3 am the other night to hear Latin chanting from somewhere in the living room. He flicked on the light, and the Elf on the Shelf smiled back. He might be the Elf in the Trash soon. I'm thinking a little Rudolph would be a lot less creepy.

I am Thankful For Cold Nights

Have I mentioned how much I love, love, love this time of year? I can't get enough of this incredible weather. It's why I live in Florida. We've suffered through six grueling months of dreadful heat and humidity and alas, it's gone. Arrivederci swamp hell. Hello pleasant and delicious. Hello open windows, so nice to enjoy you once again.

And all that cooler weather means cooler things to wear. We can retire the wife beaters and flip flops. Here are a few autumn-ish things I like from that site I need to stay away from.

Olive Organic Cotton Scarf

Meadowsweet Pumpkin Pillowcase Dress

Turkey Hair Clip

Dog Sweater

Emerson Clutch

Copper Earrings

Olivia Flower Clip

Brown Sugar and Fig Soy Candles

Amely Necklace

Slouchy Nit Hat

Porcelain Bangle Bracelet

The Big Blue Test

November is awesome - there's the chill in the air, the pumpkin lattes, the not-so-out-of-reach playoffs and the tryptophan turkey comas. But November is also Diabetes Awareness Month. Did you know that diabetes kills more people in the US annually than AIDS and breast cancer combined? Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, the leading cause of new blindness in adults and responsible for 60% of lower limb amputations. One in every 400 to 600 children have Type 1 diabetes.

If you have two minutes, please watch the video above. For every hit the video receives, a week's worth of life-saving insulin will be given to a child that can not afford diabetes treatment.

From the D-Mom Blog:

The video is a collaboration between Manny Hernandez of the Diabetes Hand Foundation, David Edelman of Diabetes Daily, and Riva Greenberg of Diabetes Stories. “Roche has committed to donate $75,000 which will be split between International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child program and Insulin For Life, in proportion to the number of views the video gets between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14.” In order for Roche to donate the full $75K, the video must get 100,00 views between now and November 14th.

Please watch and share with friends and family. Tweet it, Facebook it, email it, etc. Spread the word. Thank you so much.

Halloween Madness

OK I'm going to try and keep from going overboard with the pics but truth be told, it was a wonderful weekend, and we are still all completely worn out. But that's how it should be, right? Here are some snapshots of everything from the playgroup Friday to Aunt Keri's Halloween Bash on Sunday. Thanks to Erin and Keri for offering their homes for the festivities, and thank you to Melissa for the insanely delicious cupcakes. Lots of fun was had with Cousin Alden and Livie! And in case anyone is wondering what we did with all the candy Mia collected, well she hasn't asked for it, we put it all away. Out of sight, out of mind.